Blogroll Me! How This Old Brit Sees It ...: August 2006

31 August 2006

G.W. Bush - Impeachment Invitation ...


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Richard reports.
You decide.
Either click the banner above
...... or don't.




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29 August 2006

Katrina, New Orleans, Bush, Others And Shameless Serial Lying ...

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Anyone wanting to be told the truth about the Katrina-New Orleans catastrophe of a year ago should shut their ears to the never ending, erronious emissions of George Bush. It would be far better for them to talk to someone who was there at that terrible time. If fact, enquiring of almost anyone but Bush would be a better bet than listening to his load of ludicrous lies.

Since like so many modern day professional politicians -- who would by the way be more accurately described as merely, mass-marketing-men or perhaps better still, straightforward PR-pros -- G.W. Bush is a two-faced, forked-tongued twerp. And that's putting it mildly.

For he knows full well that by telling people what they want to hear, rather than those truths they're entitled to hear, it will invariably work wonders apropos his awful administration's many hidden agendas. Moreover, Mr Bush is smugly certain that invariably, mainstream media all but 'aids and abetts' him, along with any others involved as actual accomplices.

This particular President, perhaps more than most, is being briefed brilliantly (and always has been), by absolute masters in all matters propaganda. In a nutshell, 'el pretzeldente' is permanently practicing what his string pullers preach -- which is that 'perception is everything'.

Can everyone say Karl Rove?

Of course, this sort of despicable, duplicitous shit didn't just start with the 43rd presidency of the United States. Oh, no; not by a long chalk.

But ..... Richard believes that in this instance what would be better than This Old Brit blathering on about this any further, would be for you to take took a peek below. It's been clipped & pasted from a fellow blogger's site.


The methods had been used for years to promote the hard to sell policies of the government, but starting with Clinton and Blair a new use was found.

Polls were taken to find out what the voter desired most. These finding[s] were easily turned into speeches and in the cases of Clinton and Blair, won elections.

Blair took it one step farther and used it to set policy while Clinton simply did what he and his advisors thought was best after the election was won.
The above, incidentally, is borrowed from one of our own online buddies, Tom Rushing at 'Current Era'. And boy, is this fellow on fire today.

Witness something else Tom says.

One would think that the population would eventually catch on to this trick, and perhaps some have, but the public relations business is stronger and more centralized than ever.

Just a few short years ago, there were over 50 media stations broadcasting news to Americans. Now there are only five. This number could go lower soon, but at this point the company heads are all of one voice pounding out PR about whatever they want us to think we want.

The journalism schools in the U.S. are very few and most have switched over to public relations.

Journalists will soon go the way of the dinosaur if something does not change this horrible trend.
Yessir, Tom. Hammer, nail, head. We believe it. Too bloody true, we do.

So if it's an educational eye-opener you're after, and an especially enjoyable as well as enlightening one at that, slip straight across to
'Current Era' to read Tom's remarkable article in full.

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27 August 2006

Jimmy Carter's Crushing Criticism Of Compliant, Subserviant Tony Blair


Perhaps twice a year (at most), do we two take it upon ourselves to tip the nod in the direction of The Daily Telegraph - aka - Torygraph.


Well, thanks to one of our long standing, liberal American friends (lets call the lady in question, Lucy) today has turned out to be one of those times.

When Lucy found and alerted us to this link, we were immediately reminded that there always were things about former American President Jimmy Carter, which we'd liked; often, liked a lot. This Telegraph header from today's online edition should show you what we mean.

Compliant and subservient: Jimmy Carter's explosive critique of Tony Blair

By John Preston and Melissa Kite - (Filed: 27/08/2006)


Well, what did we tell you? Come to think of it, what have we been trying to tell everybody - and their cats & dogs - for what seems like forever?

Okay, disregarding (purely temporarily), our (trademark), braggardly rhetoric, read right on.

Tony Blair's lack of leadership and timid subservience to George W Bush lie behind the ongoing crisis in Iraq and the worldwide threat of terrorism, according to the former American president Jimmy Carter.


Outspoken: Jimmy Carter, who condemns the pre-emptive strike on Iraq
Outspoken: Jimmy Carter condemns the Iraq invasion

"I have been surprised and extremely disappointed by Tony Blair's behaviour," he told The Sunday Telegraph.

"I think that more than any other person in the world the Prime Minister could have had a moderating influence on Washington - and he has not. I really thought that Tony Blair, who I know personally to some degree, would be a constraint on President Bush's policies towards Iraq."

In an exclusive interview, President Carter made it plain that he sees Mr Blair's lack of leadership as being a key factor in the present crisis in Iraq, which followed the 2003 invasion - a pre-emptive move he said he would never have considered himself as president.

If ever there was an old Yank president who This Old Brit appreciated, then Jimmy Carter was, quite catagorically, his number one.

Here's another excellent extract from the same Sunday online story.
We now have a situation where America is so unpopular overseas that even in countries like Egypt and Jordan our approval ratings are less than five per cent. It's a shameful and pitiful state of affairs and I hold your British Prime Minister to be substantially responsible for being so compliant and subservient."
So compliant and subservient, eh?

Plainly, gentleman Jimmy's far too polite to come right out and call a poodle a poodle. Though he does say this.

"We've never before had an administration that would endorse pre-emptive war - that is a basic policy of going to war against another country even though our own security was not directly threatened," he said. In his book, President Carter writes: "I have been sorely tempted to launch a military attack on foreigners."

But had he still been president, he says that he would never have considered invading Iraq in 2003.

"No," he said, "I would never have ordered it. However, I wouldn't have excluded going into Afghanistan, because I think we had to strike at al-Qaeda and its leadership. But then, to a major degree, we abandoned the anti-terrorist effort and went almost unilaterally with Great Britain into Iraq."

Now, before buggering off to The Telegraph to read the rest yourself, we'd like you to look at this little quote.

At 81, Mr Carter - the 39th American president, from 1977 to 1981, and the winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize - plainly has no intention of sitting on his porch and nodding quietly away as the sun goes down over his peanut farm.

And finally ....

He has just published a book, Faith and Freedom, in which he savages the American administration for leading the country into insularity and intolerance.

Right, then. Now read the remainder.

Here's the relevant link.

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25 August 2006

Germany And Israel In New Nuclear Submarines' Joint Venture ...

Good gracious me (and him), it seems we're slowing down in our dotage. We were 50 flipping hours late finding this tasty tale. Though there may still be many around who haven't yet heard about the IDF's latest, awesome aquatic-armament acquisitions.

The following headline is from Tuesday's online edition of the Jerusalem Post -- as is the illustration.

Exclusive: Israel buys 2 German subs

In the face of Iran's race to obtain nuclear power, Israel signed a contract with Germany last month to buy two Dolphin-class submarines that will, according to foreign reports, provide superior second-strike nuclear capabilities, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

The submarines will be assembled in Germany and provided with a propulsion system allowing them to remain underwater for far longer than the submarines currently in the Israel Navy's fleet.

Further reading of the report revealed the following.
In 1993, Iran bought two Russian Kilo-class submarines and eight mini-submarines from North Korea, although officials said this was not the only reason the system was being considered. In 2005, Israel spotted a Western submarine snooping off its shore.
Elsewhere in the piece we found this -- which was also news to us.

The navy already has three Dolphin-class submarines. They are the most expensive weapon platforms in the IDF's arsenal. Germany donated the first two submarines after the first Gulf War and split the cost of the third with Israel.

Continuing to read, we came across this.
The submarines will also incorporate specifications gleaned from Israeli experience. The Dolphins currently in the navy's fleet were tailor-made for Israel's needs and reportedly have considerable operational capability.

They are designed for a crew of 35 and can support 10 passengers. They have a maximum speed of 20 knots, a range of 4,500 kilometers and, according to Jane's Defense Weekly, the capability to launch cruise missiles carrying nuclear warheads.
Germans and Jews in joint monetary and military ventures, eh? And apparently have been for quite some time.

It's a weird old world we're living in, ain't it?

Still, we suppose it's just as the old saying says -- stranger things happen at sea.

Click here for the complete article.

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Bush Caption Competition ...




It's caption competition time.

You know you can't wait.

We know we can't wait.

All are welcome.

Enjoy!

We're relying on you.

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23 August 2006

Israel: Is Tainted Leadership Implosion Imminent ?



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Today's Independent gives an interesting Israeli insight, internal news-wise.

And for some pretty important Israeli individuals none of it can, by any stretch of the imagination, be seen as good news.

Above, left to right you're looking at: President Moshe Katsav, Former Justice Minister Haim Ramon and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Below, you're looking at three separate clip and paste quotes concerning those pictured above.


Israeli President's home raided as police examine rape claim

By Eric Silver in Jerusalem


Published: 23 August 2006

Israeli police have raided the official residence of President Moshe Katsav and taken away computers and documents in connection with sexual harassment allegations.

Detectives will question the 60-year-old today under caution after a female former employee accused him of forcing her to have sexual relations with him.

The President, a Likud politician whose family migrated to Israel from Iran when he was five, could be charged with rape.

Police are planning to confront him with the complainant, who is reported to have passed a lie-detector test.



Then there's this.


Former Israeli justice minister indicted on sexual misconduct charge

AP - Published: 23 August 2006

Former Justice Minister Haim Ramon was indicted today on a charge of sexual misconduct in a case that dealt a blow to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and added yet another layer of scandal to Israel's tainted leadership.

An 18-year-old female soldier has accused Ramon, 56, of forcibly kissing her at a farewell party at the Defense Ministry. Ramon has said he is innocent. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to three years in prison.

Then the same report says this.


Olmert himself is being investigated in connection with a Jerusalem property deal.

Tzahi Hanegbi, another prominent member of Olmert's Kadima party, was informed earlier this week he would be charged with fraud, bribery and perjury.

And Army chief Dan Halutz has come under fire for selling his stock portfolio in the hours preceding the war.
You can read the rest of both stories via the links we've listed below. As for any of these other fellow's photos you feel you'd like to look at, go get googling for images;it's fast, fun and free.

Oivey, eh?


1./ http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article1221082.ece

2./
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article1221214.ece

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22 August 2006

Islamic Human Rights Commision Seeks To Sue UK Over American Arms Flights ...



Until a little earlier today, we two hadn't ever heard of the Islamic Human Rights Commission.

Then someone showed us this.

So now we're showing you.


Legal challenge over US arms flights

Tuesday 22 August 2006, 21:26 - Makka Time, 18:26 GMT

Shadjareh: We hope the court will enforce the law

The British government could face charges of aiding and abetting serious violations of international law by allowing US arms flights to Israel to use UK airports.

The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), based in London, is seeking high court permission to bring proceedings against the Civil Aviation Authority, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Des Browne, the secretary of state for defence, to prevent them from what it says are crimes against the Geneva Conventions.

A number of US aircraft believed to be carrying military hardware to Israel refuelled in the UK during the Lebanon conflict.
Hmmm.

So they're seeing if they can sue someone, or two, or three, eh?

Certainly sounds interesting wouldn't you say?

So see some more of the same story.

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21 August 2006

The Latest Bush (Iraq) Crap ...


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Speaking of George W. Bush, and crap, which we so recently were -- once again the 'orrible ombre's opened his offensive orifice, only for more crap to come cascading out.

And to think that at one time, we two thought his one-time old faithful retainer, Colon Bowel was full of it.

Also, we see that China's hefty hint re; how much better things might be should certain entities simply "shut T F up" -- seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

Anyway, you can see and hear the crook-and-liar-in-chief's latest load of terror & Iraq crap, as aired on CNN, over at Crooks and Liars. com -- so long as you're prepared to run the risk of cringing and squirming yourself to death, with a case of acute embarrassment.

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20 August 2006

Blair Betrayed By Crap Bush, Crap ?


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Wowzer.

Talk about about flattening the pair of us with the proverbial feather duster -- in a single swipe.

No sooner do we take our own (satirical), swipe at the Blood-Brothers, Bush and Blair, than sounds of a seemingly serious 'domestic disturbance' are reported as having been heard coming from a certain dwelling in Downing Street; the celebrated number 10, no less.

But, did you, like us, miss this tasty tid-bit when it first appeared in yesterday's Daily Mail ?

Blair 'feels betrayed by Bush on Lebanon'

By SIMON WALTERS

22:57pm 19th August 2006

The alliance between George Bush and Tony Blair is in danger after it was revealed that the Prime Minister believes the President has 'let him down badly' over the Middle East crisis.

What? Don't tell us Tony's actually waking up at last.

Here's some more of the same.

A senior Downing Street source said that, privately, Mr Blair broadly agrees with John Prescott, who said Mr Bush's record on the issue was 'crap'.
So, whadaya know -- who'd have ruddy thunk it, eh? It seems some semblance of common sense is finally being seen by some who should have known better -- eons ago.

Read on.

The source said: "We all feel badly let down by Bush. We thought we had persuaded him to take the Israel-Palestine situation seriously, but we were wrong.

How can anyone have faith in a man of such low intellect?"
Ouch!

The disclosure comes ahead of a mini recall of Parliament to allow MPs to vent their fury over Mr Blair's handling of Israel's war with Hezbollah and whether the recent terror plot in Britain was affected by his role in the Iraq war.

Foreign Affairs Minister Kim Howells, who has criticised Israeli attacks on women and children, is to be summoned before an emergency meeting next month of the Labour-dominated Commons foreign affairs select committee.

Phew. Exciting stuff or what?

Read the relevant Daily Mail report in full,
right here.

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18 August 2006

Revealed At Last: The Special Relationship Between Bush And Blair ...



Don't ever let anyone tell you that This Old Brit & Richard don't constantly strive to see to it that our readers remain amongst the most informed on the internet.

If, like ourselves, you've wondered for a long while what in the world it is that so strongly binds Bush and Blair together -- you need wonder no longer.

Since now you can actually hear the answer from them themselves -- from their very own lips -- with your very own ears.

So turn on your speakers and sit back and listen -- to the truth about the 'special relationship' between the leaders of the United States Of America and the United Kingdom.



We ask you, where would our world be today, without the wonders of YouTube?

And us two.

Eh?

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17 August 2006

John Prescott, British Deputy Premier As You May Never Have Seen Him Before...



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Just about everybody and their dog have now had something or other to say about John Prescott and his alleged, recent remarks re: Bush being a crap cowboy -- or something similar -- or so we heard.

So, while we're still staying on the subject of dear old deputy leader, we've decided to offer you all something completely different -- angle-wise.

Okay, seconds out. Ding, ding. Round one.

Ha! So whadaya think of the show so far, eh?

Next we're going for a few more laughs.


Watch & listen to this 'YouTube' offering until the final still shot, since the further it goes along, the funnier it gets.



Incidentally, at the 'YouTube' page shown above, you can see some 'slow-mo', action replays of Prezza's punch-up.

Well, every now & again, a good old giggle does us good, eh?

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16 August 2006

Israel Defence Force Shoots Unarmed, Protesting Palestinian Civilian Villager ...





We dare say some will say the cartoon shown to the left is in pretty poor taste.

Some, we're sure, will even say it's sick.

So, we wonder what some will say when they watch the film footage set to follow shortly.

Rex, a regular reader, left a link in the comments' section of our previous blog-post.

It's remiss of us not to have thanked him and not to have highlighted his link somewhat sooner.

But better late than never. We're about to put things right. (Including altering location of incident - from Lebanon to Palestine - after verification of reliable [ MFI] source. See coments section).

First, here's a fair warning; what you may be about to watch could offend your sensibilities, because this isn't a cartoon.


This is/was real life in Palestine -- with the IDF.

Finally, Rex himself titled his link at the time of his posting, as shown below:

This video shows the IDF shooting an unarmed, protesting Palestinian villager.

N.B. Turn speakers on - give page time to load - click start-button on video player console - note left sided scroll bar.

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15 August 2006

Lebanon, Israel And America's Blind Eye ...


Andrew Gumbel is an excellent English journalist and successful author living in and working out of Los Angeles. He also happens to be one of the best none-whore media men still around, especially in modern day Bushamerica.

He's eminently experienced in what he does best -- getting the truth out -- even if and when it hurts. He's well traveled, well educated, well versed and well informed with regard to the things that matter most (or should do), to the regular man & woman in the street. In a nutshell Andrew Gumbel is one of the good guys, and you can take our word on that since we have it on the (very), best authority.

Moreover, Gumbel's a guy whose press reports and other writings should be required reading in the United States. Yet he's a man whose name won't ring many bells with most regular Americans. And that's a shame, since they simply don't know what they're missing -- in many more ways than one.

Here's a snip of a piece of his, published just today in one of Britain's best selling mainstream newspapers 'The Independent', for which he writes regularly.

America's one-eyed view of war: Stars, stripes, and the Star of David

There are two sides to every conflict - unless you rely on the US media for information about the battle in Lebanon. Viewers have been fed a diet of partisan coverage which treats Israel as the good guys and their Hizbollah enemy as the incarnation of evil.

Andrew Gumbel reports from Los Angeles - 15 August 2006

If these were normal times, the American view of the conflict in Lebanon might look something like the street scenes that have electrified the suburbs of Detroit for the past four weeks.

In Dearborn, home to the Ford Motor Company and also the highest concentration of Arab Americans in the country, up to 1000 people have turned out day after day to express their outrage at the Israeli military campaign and mourn the loss of civilian life in Lebanon. At one protest in late July, 15,000 people - almost half of the local Arab American population - showed up in a sea of Lebanese flags, along with anti-Israeli and anti-Bush slogans.

A few miles to the north, in the heavily Jewish suburb of Southfield, meanwhile, the Congregation Shaarey Zedek synagogue has played host to passionate counter-protests in which the US and Israeli national anthems are played back to back and demonstrators have asserted that it is Israel's survival, not Lebanon's, that is at stake here.

Such is the normal exercise of free speech in an open society, one might think. But these are not normal times.

Here's another tasty teaser taken from the same story.

It is not just the US media which tilts in a pro-Israeli direction. Congress, too, is remarkably unified in its support for the Israeli government, and politicians more generally understand that to criticize Israel is to risk jeopardising their future careers.

When Antonio Villaraigosa, the up-and-coming Democratic Mayor of Los Angeles, was first invited to comment on the Middle East crisis, he sounded a note so pro-Israeli that he was forced to apologise to local Muslim and Arab community leaders.

There is far less public debate of Israeli policy in the US, in fact, than there is in Israel itself.
Then there's this quick clip & paste.

"There is no major figure in American political life who has been willing to raise the issue of the legitimate needs of the Palestinian people, or even talk about them as human beings," Lerner said.

"The organised Jewish community has transformed the image of Judaism into a cheering squad for the Israeli government, whatever its policies are.

That is just idolatry, and goes against all the warnings in the Bible about giving too much power to the king or the state."
Read the rest of his latest report.

14 August 2006

Israel & Lebanon: Truce? Cease Fire? The Winner? The Loser?



We've not a lot left to say about the latest Israel and Lebanon debacle; not at this particular point in time.

So today we'll settle for passing just the following three personal opinions.

1./ Israel's originally stated objective at the outset of all that's recently happened, was the location and repatriation of two missing IDF soldiers.

Therefore, in our eyes the mighty Israeli military machine simply couldn't cut it -- with or without big brother Bush's and little cousin Blair's varied & various brands of 'backing'.

2./ The last time we looked, there was [as usual] only one clear and undisputed winner in all this chaos -- the US Military Industrial Complex -- or rather the relatively small and select band of mega-rich, major stockholding bandits.

But then what's new?

3./ It's as well that neither This Old Brit nor Richard have ever been betting men. Since the way we see something else soon set to hit the headlines in Israel [and elsewhere], it's no more than a toss-up as to who will survive the longest.

Ariel Sharon, in this life's mortal coil -- or Ehud Olmert, in his present premiership position.

Either way, to be brutally honest and fearlessly frank, along with many others -- we could not care less.

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13 August 2006

Imminent Threat Of Passenger Plane Bombings' Lies ...










Once again, further emerging evidence appears to support the long standing claims by the 'unconditioned' among us that the 43rd US president's pants instinctively insist on serially self combusting.

Seen anything of this story from NBC yet?

Source: U.S., U.K. at odds over timing of arrests

British wanted to continue surveillance on terror suspects, official says


Disagreement over terror arrests - Aug. 12:

U.S. and British authorities disagreed on when to break up an alleged plot to blow up airliners bound for the United States, officials say.

NBC's Lisa Myers reports.


And quite apart from what the above headline says, how do you feel about the following revelations? Which, incidentally, we've so far failed to find anywhere in the UK media.

In contrast to previous reports, the official suggested an attack was not imminent, saying the suspects had not yet purchased any airline tickets. In fact, some did not even have passports.
What?

No imminent threat of any attacks?

Not a single plane ticket purchased?

Nor even passports possessed?

The 'imminent threat' they made so much about must have been the same sort of 'imminent threat' from Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that Jack Straw said were a mere 45 minutes away, before we illegally invaded and occupied that country.

Here's another little eye opener from the same revealing NBC report referenced above.

The source said the suspects in Britain had obtained at least some of the materials for the explosive but had not yet actually prepared or mixed it.
Imminent threat'?

Imminent ?

Imminent as in immediate?

Purleeez, Mr President, as the people populating our part of the planet are prone to intone -- pull the other one, pal -- it's got bells on.

Well we don't know about you, but whenever we discover such whopping discrepancies in any story sold to us as the gospel truth, we can't help but wonder what other Alice In Wonderland sort of stuff's been simultaneously slipped into in the same script.

Find the full NBC 'fib' report right here.

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12 August 2006

Lieberman Laughing With Bush And Clinton ...



Here's a picture that doesn't paint a mere one thousand words.

Here's a picture that says it all.

Joe Lieberman and George Bush along with Hilary Clinton sharing a joke.

Can you guess who the joke is on?

The three of them are having a good old laugh.

Can you guess who they're laughing at?

All the way to their respective banks?

No?


Never mind, don't worry too much.

Since strangely enough, plenty more people still don't seem to get it.

And it's our guess that those people are the same ones still finding it hard to face up to certain facts -- even when the facts stare them right in the face.

Incidentally, we guess George's poppy and Hilary's husband couldn't show for this photo-shoot, since that particular pair of good old buddies were probably playing one of their regular rounds of golf together.

(Thanks to our dear friend Doug Watt for the inspiration).

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10 August 2006

Talking Of Today's Trans-Atlantic Terror Alerts, Chaos, Mayhem And More ...

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I had some minor surgery to suffer today -- just as a day case -- so all the talk of trans-Atlantic terror, high alert states, imminent attack threats, etc, only got to me in dribs & drabs.

And, since I'm still as sore as hell in spite of shoveling down pain-killers by the handful, I'll be hunkering down early tonight.


But before I do bugger off to me bed, I'm leaving a link to a site I'd like you look at.

Once there, you'll find (via a kindred spirit called Craig), exactly what I personally think of today's terror, chaos, mayhem and more -- caused right across the country, courtesy a couple of cretins caught on camera, above right.

The truth is that Craig Murray has already written just what I wanted to write.

So as I sneak off in search of some serious snores,
go read Craig for yourself.

You won't regret it -- I guarantee it.

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American Talk Radio Show Host Sucks ...

Okay, here's where we get our big chance to live up to our angry old man - cum - grumpy Old Brit image.

Anyone who read our previous blogpost will understand exactly where we're coming from with this one.


And, re-reading it will show that all specific mention of and live links to, a certain US talk show, have now been 'lost'.

Just like the so-called-pro host 'lost' specific mention of or reference to, This Old Brit's blog.

Here's a copy of the note we just sent the sob in question.


Thanks for nothing, Mr XXXXX.

I was happy to agree [as a blogger], to your producer's invitation/request to contribute to The XXXXX XXXXXX.

So, it would have been nice to actually have had my blog mentioned -- instead of merely my given name -- which means absolutely nothing to anyone except my own friends, family and neighbours.

No wonder some of us old guys get to be so grumpy, eh?

Have a nice day.

Well, it sort of seems like This Old Brit just voluntarily ended the shortest radio-broadcast-career in history, eh?

Awrh, so what? We should worry?

Who the heck needs any more voluntary work, anyway?!

G'night all. Sweet dreams & sleep tight.

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08 August 2006

This Old Brit's Radio Broadcast Premier ...


Yep, that's him; This Old Brit; taking it easy, taking afternoon tea, at a Turkish beach-front bar sometime last summer.

International, jet-setting playboy or what? Eh?

Okay, we heard that -- who said 'more like a semi-senile old sod'?

Anyway, if you're wondering why in the world we'd be wanting to indulge in such a surprising show of such unashamed self promotion -- here's your answer.

Readers may recall Richard being recently contacted, via our comments' section, by a certain American radio show producer, regarding a possible interview.

Well, we're here to tell you today that said interview, via a trans-Atlantic telephone connection, took place a short time ago -- and was recorded for posterity. Well, maybe the posterity bit is pushing it a bit, but as for the recording bit -- you can take that bit as gospel. Hand on heart -- we kid you not.

As to how This Old Brit's going to sound and/or come across on air --that's anyone's guess. For our own part, we hadn't heard a peep since the day of recording -- until a few hours ago. Even then, all we found out -- via an email -- is that the relevant 'show' airs -- in just a further few hours.

But being the brave ( or maybe barmy), old bugger that he is -- This Old Brit's prepared to take his chances on asking you in advance to tune in and make your own mind up about him. Maybe he'll come across as a comical old clown, or just another boring old Brit fart, or even something completely different. Only time will tell.

We've been warned by a good American friend in the broadcasting business, to expect 'anything'. After editing, cutting out chunks of anything considered too crappy, etcetera -- it could all end up coming out nothing like we thought it might.

All we can tell you in advance about what we do know for certain, is that This Old Brit bumbled along for about fifteen minutes or so, at the time of the 'interview' recording. But it's been pointed out to us by folk who are 'au fait' with such stuff, that this could end up being edited down to something a lot less. Therefore, when it does air -- we'll be as surprised as anyone else, as to the eventual outcome.

So, here's the broadcast basics.

This year Queen Elizabeth II, Hugh Hefner and Fidel Castro turn 80 as do Alan Greenspan, Jerry Lewis and Cloris Leachman.

But there is something remarkable about the Windsor-Hefner-Castro triumvirate. Each one of them came to power nearly 50 years ago and they each did their part to define the second half of the 20th centuryÂ…they continue to thrive in the 21st. So come raise a glass and join us at the intersection of Monarchism, Hedonism and Communism.

Anyhow, as you may have guessed already, This Old Brit's brief was to blather on a bit about the Queen. And here's how you can hear on XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX This Old Brit duffer himself -- for yourself.

Other times elsewhere, plus further important listening details can NOT ANY LONGER be found here.

And by the way, if it all turns out to be a terrible train wreck -- tough! We never promised anyone any rose-garden -- and anyway, what the hell do/did you expect for free?

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07 August 2006

US Troops' Iraqi Rape & Murder Room ...




We are far too angry to add more than a bare minimum of words to this photo -- since we do understand that not all Americans are murderous monsters.

Suffice to say that shown above is the spot where a poor innocent, young Iraqi girl was shot to death in cold blood -- after first being gang raped, by some animals in American uniforms.


Other members of the poor girl's family were summarily slaughtered out of hand, at the same time.

As we actually have some very good American friends who we would like to keep as friends, and since we're short on suitable and/or adequate words -- and similarly short on self constraint -- we're shutting up.


We may also throw-up.

BBC Link = US troops took turns ...

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06 August 2006

Does Tony Blair Believe His Backstabbing US Buddies Come Before Brother Brits ?

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Do you, like we, believe Tony Blair truly is George. W. Bush's poodle?

Do you also believe that Blair has gradually become far more beholden to his creepy, Crawford cowboy compadre than to the British people who voted him into power in the first place, to represent them and theirs? And not to do the bidding [for their personal benefit] of a tiny but powerful pack of vicious warmongering, war-profiteering, mega-wealthy, abominably avaricious, rampantly racist, neocon American wolves ?

You do?

Then you'll also have to believe that whatever else the Bush maladministration's Condoleezza Rice may or may not be -- she's every bit the shyster we said she was, a short time ago.

She's also a back-stabbing bitch who would, we believe, willingly sell out her own sister so long as the price was right.

Much more than that -- the way we see it -- she's a US master-spy.

Small wonder then that Lebanon puts so little trust in such a two faced woman.

Now, though some see cynicism as some sort of psycho-screw-up, personality-wise, we've always viewed it as more of an admirable attribute. So, shoving any semblance of false modesty aside, we're here today to tell you straight that we smelled a rat at the outset; as soon as Condi and Jack Straw started standing too close for comfort to each other, on a serial basis.

Inviting each other to their respective private homes, indeed. That sort of thing is quite simply 'not done' -- not in such circles as they constantly circulate. As we say over here in Merrie Ole "... it's just not cricket, old chap."

In fact, after hearing whispers of some others' similar suspicions, we purposely placed comments relating directly to this matter at a few online forums, and other web/blog sites.


Interestingly, in not a single case did we elicit one solitary response -- neither by way of any agreement nor indeed in the form of any argument. So we shut up.

But, having learned over a longish lifetime that patience really is a virtue, we sat down and waited ... and waited ... and waited ...

Then this morning we saw this headline in Britain's Sunday Mail.

U.S. 'told Blair to sack Straw after Condi's Blackburn trip'

By SIMON WALTERS,

Mail on Sunday 10:05am 6th August 2006

Hmmm. Eh?

Anyway, as one might expect, we read on -- and here are said piece's three first paragraphs.

Dramatic new evidence that Cabinet rebel Jack Straw was sacked as Foreign Secretary as a result of pressure from George W. Bush has been revealed.

Senior sources close to the US Government told The Mail on Sunday that Mr Straw's outspoken opposition to America's policies on the Middle East was discussed by White House aides weeks before his shock dismissal by Tony Blair in May.

It follows the disclosure that the Bush Administration feared Mr Straw was in the pocket of Muslims in his Blackburn constituency.

Further into the article we came across this.

It was revealed last week by a senior aide to media mogul Rupert Murdoch that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was shocked to learn of the influence of Muslims in Mr Straw's constituency when she visited Blackburn with him during a tour of Britain in April.

Four weeks after her visit, Mr Straw was mysteriously fired. His lightweight successor Margaret Beckett was so stunned when the Prime Minister offered her the job of Foreign Secretary, she exclaimed: "F***!"

Hmmm, again. Eh?

Okay, so as not to keep you in any further, needless suspense --
go here to read the rest for yourself.

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03 August 2006

Lebanon, Israel, Inaccurate Accusations, Uri Avnery And Gush Shalom ...

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We're sick and sodding tired of accusations of anti-semitism being flung about like flipping confetti, in the direction of absolutely anyone daring to stand up and say that they're against Israel's laying waste to Lebanon.

And/or, that they're against the barbaric belief that collective punishment is not only permissible in this enlightened day and age, but actually acceptable.

And/or, that they're against any state sanctioned terrorism at all.


And/or, that they're against serial mass murder and/or the indiscriminate, wholesale slaughter of innocent civilians.

And/or, that they're against any of the continuing war crimes currently being commited on a daily basis.

Now, 'This Old Brit' and Richard have said it several times before, both here and elsewhere -- in fact we're so & so sick of saying it -- but we'll say it again for the benefit of those who may have missed it -- be it by accident or design.

We are NOT anti-Semites. We do NOT hate Jews. We do NOT hate Israelis.

But we DO hate what Israel's government is doing. And, we DO hate Bush and Blair's governments' reactions -- or rather, their entirely inexcusable joint inaction.

Now, pictured above left is a long standing, old Hebrew hero of ours.

His name is Uri Avnery and he's a Jew. He's an Israeli too. One could also quite reasonably claim that Uri Avnery IS
Gush Shalom -- ie; The Peace Bloc.

Here's a recent Uri Avnery related snippit .

(snip)


"It is rank hypocrisy to assert that the Kana inhabitants have been warned to leave their homes," former MK Uri Avnery said. "From the first day of the war, our army has bombed the roads and whole families were killed on the way. They have concluded that it is safer to stay in a shelter at home than to move on the roads."

Avnery added that a commander who bombs and shells an inhabited area must know such disasters are bound to happen." "The criminal returns to the scene of the crime," commented Gush Shalom spokesman Adam Keller, referring to the massacre that happened in Kana in 1996, when Shimon Peres started a war in Lebanon.

"That massacre compelled Peres to break off his war. The conclusion is that we must stop this war at once, before it is too late."

Opposite, a small counter-demonstration took place. Usually, the fascists of the Kahane group play this role, but this time they were Labor Party members, who support the war completely.

In the course of the demonstration, a special unit of the riot police appeared and for a moment it seemed that they were about to attack the protesters, but they only drove them off the road.

After two and a half weeks of suppressing every voice against the war, this demonstration was covered on TV and the radio.
(snip)

Read the rest of this piece right here (scroll down a bit), then see some of Uri's demo pics.

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BBC Says Gaza Crisis Is As Bad As Lebanon ...




That's a picture of a patently petrified, poor little Palestinian boy being carted off (to God knows where, for God knows what), by a bunch of big, brave, fully tooled-up, Israeli IDF fellahs.

How do we know he's petrified?

Just take a peek at the little lad's pants -- paying particular attention to the stained left leg of his Levis.

Sort of hammers home how true the term 'peeing one's pants' is when used to describe sheer, unadulterated, abject terror. Eh?

Oops! Pardon us -- please.

Did we just type that terrible word "terror"? We did? Really?

Well now, we wonder why in the world we would want to do that?

Oops, again! We're ever so frightfully sorry!


We almost forgot what we originally intended posting.

Gaza 'crisis as bad as Lebanon'

By Lucy Williamson BBC News, Gaza

Israeli air attacks occur several a nights a week in GazaThe United Nations has called on world leaders not to forget the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying it is at least as serious as that in southern Lebanon.

More than 140 people have been killed during Israel's operations there over the past month, many of them civilians.

Delivery of food and other essential items has been reduced to a trickle.

Thirty aid agencies backed the appeal, and one charity spoke of a sense among aid agencies that Gaza's population was being terrorized.


Now, since tonight's another one of those occasions when we're truly 'feeling our age' -- we're sneaking off upstairs and leaving you lot to it.

You know the click-link drill by now.

Read the rest of the BBC's latest Gaza-Crisis report right here.

01 August 2006

Lebanon : Listening, Looking, Lamenting ...


How would you like a family photo album showing your kids, looking like this?

On second thoughts, don't tell us -- our question should remain rhetorical - since any honest answers will bring too many tears to too many eyes. Or in some cases may instead open an entirely different type of floodgate -- one of lies.

Depending of course, upon whether or not one is a civilized human being, still possessing a heart and a soul -- or an appeasing apologist for Israel's insane & merciless savagery, and are actively endeavouring to defend the indefensible.

And then again, there are those we catergorize as serial fence-sitters-cum-ostriches, struggling to ease their collective conscience.

Listening, watching and weeping here at Gorilla's Guides, could help one decide which of the above three groups one is in - or wants to be in - or should be in.

So, while we two wonder why we all won't do more to stop this multi-state-sanctioned mass murder, here's hoping we, our children & grandchildren all have a real nice day -- as nice a day as each individual one of us has earned -- and by logical extension therefore deserves.

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