Saturday, December 19, 2009

Is Tony Blair narcissistic?

 . . .  a person who has been charged with acting as he did for reasons such as a desire to keep in with America, or to flatter George Bush, or because of oil, or of imperialism or colonialism or militarism, and who has also been charged with telling lies about his reasons for action, might quite legitimately say that he did what he believed was right - that is, he believed there to be morally compelling reasons for acting as he did, rather than the scurrilous reasons which are being attributed to him by others. There's nothing narcissistic about defending yourself against criticism. (Eve Garrard)

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Chilcot Inquiry

As a corrective to the latest wave of anti-Blair hysteria please read John Rentoul's journal.

In particular you will learn that:

"in respect of this morning's front-page report in The Independent:

(a) It's not new;

(b) It fits at least one of several interlocking anti-war narratives;

(c) Nobody lied."

Read it and be demystified.

Saturday, December 05, 2009

A Winter's Tale

It was dark. It was winter. But perhaps not too late.

A mother, no longer a young woman, had come to visit her son.

She had not seen him for twenty years. On Christmas Day 1989 he walked out on her in anger and never came back. She had not seen him since. Nor had she met his son, her own grandson, now ten years old. She had tried to communicate by letters and cards and presents at Christmas, but they had all passed without acknowledgement.

She rang the bell. The door was opened. Before her now stood a man in early middle-age she did not at once recognise. Their eyes met.

"Hi!", she said wistfully, then paused, and allowed the level of hope in her to rise.

"Go away!" he sneered.

There was nothing to add. And nothing to fight for. An end of sorts.

Without pity.

Friday, December 04, 2009

When you think of it

If all the questions that could be asked about life, the universe and everything were actually asked, the answer to nearly all of them would be:

NOBODY KNOWS!

At least that's what I think.