Tony Blair: People must solve their own internal conflicts

[GAZZPA]

Wow. what is this, a gathering point for the Tony Blair haters?

The man did some good for the UK and he helped get past the deadlock in 2004 in Northern Ireland. Some of that experience is applicable to Thailand.

As Middle East Peace Envoy, he is privy to a great many political issues that devide people. Again, he can share his experience on bridging differences.

Reading some of the comments it appears that some supporters of the Scargill insurrectionist movement are still bitter that Blair didn't dismantle the Thatcher era reforms that challenged the blackmail of some big unions. Well boohoo.

Others offer up the useless blame immigrants line because they need someone to blame. Boo hoo again.

The UK wouldn't need those immigrants, if a great many UK nationals were not so bloody lazy living it up on the dole.

I agree with part of what you say however we do not need the amount of Immigrants that the UK has, the ones that go to the UK, work hard and spend their money within the UK instead of sending it back to their familys in whatever country they come from, intergrate into British society are an asset and should be welcomed

The ones that go to the UK just to milk the benefit system, the ones that are turning parts of the UK into shanty towns (up to 10 living in converted sheds in back gardens) want everything changed to suit them, take to the streets chanting Kill British Police, make radical speeches promoting violence against British people, kill British Soldiers on British soil ... should I go on ...? are not welcome

Tony Blair has contributed massively to this and that is why the UK's identity is slowly but surely been wiped away

Bridging differences? Starting a illegal war does not count as bridging differences to me

There are people who take advantage but not the majority, and what about the British that take advantage of the system? No mention of them here, surprise surprise. The world is a smaller place now, people move, live and work in foreign countries, that's the world we live in, get used to it. Are you living in Thailand right now? Many people on this forum are so comments about foreigners taking over Blightly are hypocritical,, we cannot say it's alright for Westerners to move East but people from other nations cannot move to the West. Stop generalising about these things, each country needs a certain level of immigration for various reasons, some for the money they bring and some for the skills they bring. Generalising on the action of a few idiots is a thin line and you should try and understand the bigger picture.

I am living in Thailand and I pay tax, obey the law and as I work for a manufacturer I bring money into the country from exports to other nations. So, I would like to think that I am contributing to Thai society. But there are some Westerners who turn up here, overstay their visa, get drunk, sell drugs, fight and some even live on the beach illegally. Should the Thai authorities throw us all out because of their behavior? Should the Thai people judge all of us farangs based on the actions of these few?

Tony Blair did a lot of good for Britian in my opinion but he did make some mistakes for sure (Iraq being the one for me that was lunacy), however what he says is right and there is meaning behind his words backed by experience. So I have no problem with his message as it is simple, clear and to the point. I can't help but think some people slate him because they feel they have to, for whatever reason without really listening, very sad.

[Netizen]

Wow. what is this, a gathering point for the Tony Blair haters?

The man did some good for the UK and he helped get past the deadlock in 2004 in Northern Ireland. Some of that experience is applicable to Thailand.

As Middle East Peace Envoy, he is privy to a great many political issues that devide people. Again, he can share his experience on bridging differences.

Reading some of the comments it appears that some supporters of the Scargill insurrectionist movement are still bitter that Blair didn't dismantle the Thatcher era reforms that challenged the blackmail of some big unions. Well boohoo.

Others offer up the useless blame immigrants line because they need someone to blame. Boo hoo again.

The UK wouldn't need those immigrants, if a great many UK nationals were not so bloody lazy living it up on the dole.

I agree with part of what you say however we do not need the amount of Immigrants that the UK has, the ones that go to the UK, work hard and spend their money within the UK instead of sending it back to their familys in whatever country they come from, intergrate into British society are an asset and should be welcomed

The ones that go to the UK just to milk the benefit system, the ones that are turning parts of the UK into shanty towns (up to 10 living in converted sheds in back gardens) want everything changed to suit them, take to the streets chanting Kill British Police, make radical speeches promoting violence against British people, kill British Soldiers on British soil ... should I go on ...? are not welcome

Tony Blair has contributed massively to this and that is why the UK's identity is slowly but surely been wiped away

Bridging differences? Starting a illegal war does not count as bridging differences to me

There are people who take advantage but not the majority, and what about the British that take advantage of the system? No mention of them here, surprise surprise. The world is a smaller place now, people move, live and work in foreign countries, that's the world we live in, get used to it. Are you living in Thailand right now? Many people on this forum are so comments about foreigners taking over Blightly are hypocritical,, we cannot say it's alright for Westerners to move East but people from other nations cannot move to the West. Stop generalising about these things, each country needs a certain level of immigration for various reasons, some for the money they bring and some for the skills they bring. Generalising on the action of a few idiots is a thin line and you should try and understand the bigger picture.

I am living in Thailand and I pay tax, obey the law and as I work for a manufacturer I bring money into the country from exports to other nations. So, I would like to think that I am contributing to Thai society. But there are some Westerners who turn up here, overstay their visa, get drunk, sell drugs, fight and some even live on the beach illegally. Should the Thai authorities throw us all out because of their behavior? Should the Thai people judge all of us farangs based on the actions of these few?

Tony Blair did a lot of good for Britian in my opinion but he did make some mistakes for sure (Iraq being the one for me that was lunacy), however what he says is right and there is meaning behind his words backed by experience. So I have no problem with his message as it is simple, clear and to the point. I can't help but think some people slate him because they feel they have to, for whatever reason without really listening, very sad.

Tony Blair's sole career motive was self gratification and self enrichment in which he succeeded totally.

Grab the money and run Tony.

[cup-O-coffee]

Ahh, the good life. Blab for money and then it's off to a tropical beach. Nice one, Tony; you dodgy old boy!

[Arkady]

Sounds like our Tone actually made quite a sensible speech for his travel expenses. He certainly has a wealth of experience from Northern Ireland to draw. However, most of it should have been obvious to the ruling party beforehand and they have absolutely no intention of following any of the advice dispensed by all the worthies who flew in for this boondoogle. It was purely for show before they just go ahead with they intended to do in the first place to serve their own narrow vested interests and ride roughshod over everyone else. The Boss is an impatient man.

Tone probably found fellow public schoolboys and Oxford graduate Brits Mark and Korn more to his personal liking than the PT bigwigs but we have to remember that he is on record as having interrupted a cabinet meeting to take a call from Thaksin and simply remarked, "That man is seriously rich" by way of justifying the interruption to national business on his return to the room. When all's said and done it is purely a case of, "Show me the money".

[personchester]

And my opinion of the UK is not affected in the slightest by the last (last) time I visited the uk, when, at Heathrow, an Indian guy took me aside and questioned me, and inspected my gear, asking if I planned to overstay and remain in Great Britain. I replied not in any way.

How do you know he was Indian? Did he show you his passport?

Well, the guy's appearance obviously indicated that he was of the Indian "race" and not necessarily the Indian state passport holder.

Humans with an Indian "race" appearance do not only belong to India, they could belong to the following nearby countries ... Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, etc ...

Moreover, in this case the guy could have been born in the UK by parents of the Indian race, as a result his passport would be a British passport,

[Gummigalgen]

Great job. That worked out at around 610,000baht per word, without even really saying anything.

In Myanmar they are getting some old Spitfires out of the ground. Can we fill the hole with non-speakers like Tony 'whirlwind' Blair?

[Thaddeus]

Wow. what is this, a gathering point for the Tony Blair haters?

Possibly, if Winston had a verruca removed, that would be, how can I put this, a man with some integrity having a part of him that didn't sit well with his ideals taken away.

If Tony Blair had a verruca removed, it would be the verruca shouting 'freedom'

Now who's living in the past?

I assume Thatcher had nothing to do with the state of the UK before Labour assumed electoral responsibility for governing the country

Errr ..... What?

Who mentioned Thatcher, sounds like you have an axe to grind, please go grind that one elsewhere.

[Mosha]

Tony Blair the man who in his 1st 6 years in office, ordered British troops into battle 5 times in the so called "War on terror" . More than any other British PM. Some peace envoy.

[Yunla]

Errr ..... What?

Who mentioned Thatcher, sounds like you have an axe to grind, please go grind that one elsewhere.

Yup. Thatcher is not profiting from being a mass-murderer. Blair is. If you kill one innocent child you go to prison for ages. If Blair kills hundreds of thousands, he goes on a lecture circuit. Rewind that tape please, world, and watch it again for the sake of the future.

Edited September 3, 2013 by Yunla

[robertson468]

Yes, empty platitudes and cliches, at absolutely, positively, no cost to Thailand. Not impressed with Blair's tenure as PM, meaningless rhetoric that resulted in ultimate failure, and did little to repair the damage done by the conservative government. If Thailand was truly interested in getting a new perspective on their nation, then asking people other than ex-politicians for advice is the way to go. There are scientists, technologists, biz people, thinkers, futurists, and a few weirdos, with good ideas.

And my opinion of the UK is not affected in the slightest by the last (last) time I visited the uk, when, at Heathrow, an Indian guy took me aside and questioned me, and inspected my gear, asking if I planned to overstay and remain in Great Britain. I replied not in any way.

Funny old thing, the last time I went back, was standing outside the Non-UK Passport Holders Desk, waiting for my Thai Wife to go through Passport Control when lo and behold a big Guy of African ethnicity came up and said, "are you an alien?" I checked the top of my head for any tell tale antenna and having found non, replied, "only if being Scots counts!" The expression, "not amused" sprang to mind

[salapau]

Tony Blair, conman of the highest order. As I said previously he does nothing unless he gets a huge payment.

[NoshowJones]

Wonder if the Iraqis agree with him. He's got more front than Hua Hin

What a hypocrite, typical of a UK labour party politician.

[jaidam]

What a pity the lovely Cherie couldn't join him on this Bangkok trip. She has such a beautiful and sincere smile, warming the hearts of all that have seen her. Fantastic couple, and a real credit to the UK, although as much as I love seeing a mosque every 10 meters, leaving most of the UK looking like the Kabul slums wasn't ideal.

Edited September 3, 2013 by jaidam

[BigC]

Show some charity towards this man, he has had alot of problems to deal with in the past few years , his wife likes to spend money and gets very jealous if he "talks"

to another woman or emails another woman

His job is very difficult and requires him to travel a lot and keep up with all the "news" notwithstanding the cruel but understandable rumours around him

And that is our problem because ?????

[mrfill]

are there ever any stories of the well of arab nations helping out their muslim brothers in time of need?

Yes. The Saudis were invited into Bahrain to 'help with internal security' or some such waffle. Don't you remember all the fuss when they had to cancel the Formula 1 race there a couple of years ago?

[Rinrada]

Wow. what is this, a gathering point for the Tony Blair haters?

The man did some good for the UK and he helped get past the deadlock in 2004 in Northern Ireland. Some of that experience is applicable to Thailand.

As Middle East Peace Envoy, he is privy to a great many political issues that devide people. Again, he can share his experience on bridging differences.

Reading some of the comments it appears that some supporters of the Scargill insurrectionist movement are still bitter that Blair didn't dismantle the Thatcher era reforms that challenged the blackmail of some big unions. Well boohoo.

Others offer up the useless blame immigrants line because they need someone to blame. Boo hoo again.

The UK wouldn't need those immigrants, if a great many UK nationals were not so bloody lazy living it up on the dole.

Every thread regarding Tony Blair seems to be full of criticism or even downright hatred. He's not perfect but much of what is said simply doesn't make sense. I often think I'll post with some defence but to be honest it hardly seems worth it. Thanks GK for injecting a little realism into the proceedings.

I have been out on the farm all morning but I wear a hat....seem to be almost the only one....

Reminds me of the old Noel Coward "ditti" about "mad dogs and Englishmen who go out in the etc...."

I have only met Tony Blair a couple of times ..once at the clause 4 debate...me for /brother against but we got interviewed and made the headlines of the BBC 9 o"clock news that night and although missed it...everyone in our local gin joint didn't....

Anyway I am with the Non RNs/Unionists/NIBMYS and L"Otres who don't like those nasty overseas chappies at Heathrow ....and although maybe not in his fan club our Ex PM Blair is recognized as a genunine World Statesman and his views are widely regarded as socially,politically and internationally constructive ......like it or.... not........noises from the dark.....

Anyway Tony ..you still owe me a beer....

[sustento]

And my opinion of the UK is not affected in the slightest by the last (last) time I visited the uk, when, at Heathrow, an Indian guy took me aside and questioned me, and inspected my gear, asking if I planned to overstay and remain in Great Britain. I replied not in any way.

How do you know he was Indian? Did he show you his passport?

Well, the guy's appearance obviously indicated that he was of the Indian "race" and not necessarily the Indian state passport holder.

Humans with an Indian "race" appearance do not only belong to India, they could belong to the following nearby countries ... Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, etc ...

Moreover, in this case the guy could have been born in the UK by parents of the Indian race, as a result his passport would be a British passport,

And thus he'd be British even though his skin wasn't as white as some would like.

[Escapologist]

"It is about relationship between the majority and the minority to eliminate the feeling of discrimination among the minority, he said."

Except that Tony Blair's record of eliminating "the feeling of discrimination among the minority" in England involved creating a monstrous grievance industry and alienating the indigenous majority. It involved the creation of thought crimes and a horrible, looking over you shoulder before speaking, atmosphere of cultural-Marxist political-correctness. It involved minority and Marxist activists seeking out grievances with which to brow-beat and punish the majority. It involved purposely relaxing immigration controls, and unleashing unprecedented mass-immigration into the UK, in order to "rub the right's face in diversity". Blair created huge resentment and a precarious social situation which has yet to play out. His government rushed through more legislation than any regime in UK history and he centralised and consolidated all political power around himself. He was addicted to war and his government bankrupted the country, even after inheriting a healthy economy, enslaving 30 years of unborn children to pay for his unfunded election promises and unrivalled profligacy. Oh but he put the icing on John Major's Northern Ireland cake and hasn't failed to bask in all the glory himself.

He deserves to meet the same fate as Saddam Hussein. There is still time.

[darrendsd]

His Immigration policy will ensure that the UK will be a Muslim state in under a hundred years, this man has contributed to wiping the identity of the UK away

Well, let's remember, the Poms are a bit inbred! What was the last Englishman that you met like?

Your comment makes no sense but coming from a convict I guess that's no great surprise

[Thai at Heart]

Wow. what is this, a gathering point for the Tony Blair haters?

The man did some good for the UK and he helped get past the deadlock in 2004 in Northern Ireland. Some of that experience is applicable to Thailand.

As Middle East Peace Envoy, he is privy to a great many political issues that devide people. Again, he can share his experience on bridging differences.

Reading some of the comments it appears that some supporters of the Scargill insurrectionist movement are still bitter that Blair didn't dismantle the Thatcher era reforms that challenged the blackmail of some big unions. Well boohoo.

Others offer up the useless blame immigrants line because they need someone to blame. Boo hoo again.

The UK wouldn't need those immigrants, if a great many UK nationals were not so bloody lazy living it up on the dole.

200,000+ dead Iraqis might beg to disagree with you about Blair the biggest scoundrel ever to be elected in UK.

As Middle East Peace Envoy he is blatantly an envoy of Israel and is despised by the Palestinians who at one stage refused to even meet with him. More free money for Blair for brown nosing Bush.

He is now wafting around blathering and collecting the benefits Bush promised him for his infamy in Iraq.

Blair is mostly despised in UK and internationally.

At the end of it all his government blatantly lied to parliament to go to war. A respected academic even committed suicide over having his reputation rubbished by the government.

The British will normally get behind any government that proposes military action on the basis of national security or moral/legal right. This putz abused that trust horrendously.

[Noistar]

Wow. what is this, a gathering point for the Tony Blair haters?

Possibly, if Winston had a verruca removed, that would be, how can I put this, a man with some integrity having a part of him that didn't sit well with his ideals taken away.

If Tony Blair had a verruca removed, it would be the verruca shouting 'freedom'

Now who's living in the past?

I assume Thatcher had nothing to do with the state of the UK before Labour assumed electoral responsibility for governing the country

Errr ..... What?

Who mentioned Thatcher, sounds like you have an axe to grind, please go grind that one elsewhere.

Possibly the personal attacks on Mr Blair, appropriate or not, are way outside of a topic related to informed, sensible and obvious contributions to the complex problems facing Thailand.

Try analyzing his comments, put them in the context of present day Thailand and comment appropriately.

"sounds like you have an axe to grind, please go grind that one elsewhere"

[Noistar]

Wow. what is this, a gathering point for the Tony Blair haters?

Possibly, if Winston had a verruca removed, that would be, how can I put this, a man with some integrity having a part of him that didn't sit well with his ideals taken away.

If Tony Blair had a verruca removed, it would be the verruca shouting 'freedom'

Try reading this about your hero

http://www.english.emory.edu/LostPoets/Lusitaniapapers.html

I think the word is 'opportunist'. Appears innocent lives were a price worth paying for the greater good

[Thaddeus]

All that proves is that axe grinding appears to be a team sport.

[jpeg]

Better late than never Tony to realize that. Its easy with hindsight to look back at history and get it right now but Saddam did keep the lid on Iraq and he was never involved with Al qeada, this was just a revenge hit for the 9/11 disasters. Is Iraq really a better place today? Would Syria be a better place if we went and tried to sort it out? When you invade to liberate you do free the country, only the countrry's nationals can do that and looking at the situation that is going on there who are the freedom fighters? At best rag tag coalition of who knows what. The whole place is frawt with danger.

As far as Thailand is concerned I expect his speech will be forgotten in a few days, just like the badminton girl champion was.

No, it was a lame excuse to invade a country and steal it's natural resources.

[puck2]

For this world class Bla-Bla-Bla ....he should have to pay an injury award to the audience

Edited September 4, 2013 by puck2

[darrendsd]

*Noistar*

Questioning a former Prime Ministers policies is not a personal attack, how did you come up with that statement?

For a man who helped to start a illegal war to advise others to "bridge differences" is pure hypocrisy

The man only came here to talk because of the money he was given, he knows nothing and does not care about this country one bit

[Noistar]

*Noistar*

Questioning a former Prime Ministers policies is not a personal attack, how did you come up with that statement?

For a man who helped to start a illegal war to advise others to "bridge differences" is pure hypocrisy

The man only came here to talk because of the money he was given, he knows nothing and does not care about this country one bit

Your opinion is noted

[irishsmile]

Tony,

I admire your advice and optimism in your attempt to educate and show the DEMORCRATIC way to an uninterested nation who don't even know who you are........ But here is a massive PAT on the back and a couple of million BHAT for your amazing after dinner speech!!

Unfortunately it won't make a difference to the majority of poor Thais in this LAND OF SADNESS ...... good try.... Enjoy your FEE.

The Thais may not know who Mr Blair is, but it's certainly a homing beacon for posters who can suddenly forget about the issues in Thailand.

It's the message, not the man which is relevant.

When the 'axe-to-grind' posters have got it out of their system, perhaps some constructive posts will be forth-coming.

I don't remember saying in my post that Thailand don't have issues? I live here and of course Thailand has major issues,

My point was simply to indicate that it won't even matter who addresses the people in authority over this country because change must come from within...and those do gooders from outside can say what they like because its not gonna change the minds and policies of the bad apples in power who are rotting to the core lining there greedy pockets with the thai nations budget. Why would they want to change?????

[puck2]

There is now doubt that T.Blair is blessed with an excellent eloquence and intelligence.

Therfore it is obvious he himself has been fully aware of the PT-invitation as a lobby job. As lobbyist he couldn't talk against the interests of his advertising client. One reason why he didn't refer to the de-facto MP in Dubai, the only reason for this puppet theatre of reconciliation. If Blair was unbiased he had to bring up this painful subject. But what do you aspect from a coward lobbyist?

That this event was such a puppet or muppet show is easily to understand when you read the reactions of the members of the ruling party . Maybe they are to stupid to understand all what Blair and the others said in their generalising blabla. The alternative, for their own interest the PT picked only one sweet raisin out of Blairs muddy soup.

As Blair has already lost his credibility when joining the Iraq war I cannot trust him any more. No money for his speech ? White lie to win credibility.

Edited September 6, 2013 by puck2

[jackspratt]

Heres my practical framework for your future Tony.

War Crimes Trial. Subject: Your invasion of a sovereign & non-aggressive nation. Exhibit A: 1m+ Iraqi dead civilians. You : guilty. Prison. Key. Throw key away. The end. Additional/PS ; Parents use "tony blair" in future generations as a boogeyman figure to frighten them when they've been naughty, and say what can happen to you if you sell your soul to Lucifer.

May the lord forgive me that I agree with Yunla ...................... but the wheels of justice may be slowly gathering momentum:

For years it seems impregnable, then suddenly the citadel collapses. An ideology, a fact, a regime appears fixed, unshakeable, almost geological. Then an inch of mortar falls, and the stonework begins to slide. Something of this kind happened over the weekend.

When Desmond Tutu wrote that Tony Blair should be treading the path to The Hague, he de-normalised what Blair has done. Tutu broke the protocol of power – the implicit accord between those who flit from one grand meeting to another – and named his crime. I expect that Blair will never recover from it.

The offence is known by two names in international law: the crime of aggression and a crime against peace. It is defined by the Nuremberg principles as the "planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression". This means a war fought for a purpose other than self-defence: in other words outwith articles 33 and 51 of the UN Charter.

That the invasion of Iraq falls into this category looks indisputable. Blair's cabinet ministers knew it, and told him so. His attorney general warned that there were just three ways in which it could be legally justified: "self-defence, humanitarian intervention, or UN security council authorisation. The first and second could not be the base in this case." Blair tried and failed to obtain the third................

.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/sep/03/tony-blair-the-hague-iraq-war

As the main arse-smeller, Blair deserves slightly less opprobrium than Bush, but slightly more than Howard.

Bush and Howard have kept their evil heads down in retirement - it is sickening that Blair continues to profit in the face of being a war criminal. Hopefully the 3 of them will eventually confront justice, before they face their maker.