It just doesn't seem right somehow that the weather is so utterly beautiful and nature so glorious while the world is going to hell in a handbasket. Internationally and domestically we are pretty well screwed. The Middle East is spiralling out of control and the government at home is being unprecedentedly investigated for corruption by the police.
It isn't enough that the Observer today claims to have evidence that leads right to No 10 in the Lord Levy/cash for honours enquiry - to deepen the shame the Mail On Sunday has emails showing Cherie Blair using civil servants to arrange business between her new best friend Martha Greene's boyfriend and the NHS.
Couldn't've picked a worse time for this particular pustulent boil of corruption to burst.Jonathan Metliss, who has been with Ms Greene for more than a year, is a director of a healthcare firm which already has an £8million Government contract to operate the UK's first-ever privately-run NHS walk-in health centre - and is bidding to open more.
[...]Inquiries by The Mail on Sunday show that Mrs Blair has clearly warmed to Mr Metliss, despite his background as a supporter of the Conservative Party.
The lawyer, who sits on the executive board of Conservative Friends of Israel, has become a regular guest at Downing Street.
Last month, he watched the Trooping of the Colour from No10 at Mrs Blair's invitation - remarking to her afterwards that he would try to get tickets for her and the Prime Minister to join him in watching England's cricket team at the World Cup in the Caribbean.
The Middle East is on the verge of a regional conflagration, with all that implies in terms of bloodshed, death and destruction, not to mention a global energy crisis and '70s style stagflation, all tacitly, nay openly encouraged by a country whose government is infested with open supporters of the chief agressor and whose leader is impotent to act even should he want to. It's the end times, see, it's pre-ordained.
All of which plays nicely into the hands of Vladimir Putin, with his iron grip on Russian energy reserves, a grip that will also also tighten on the throats of Western governments as the oil price soars above and beyond its current unprecedented 78 dollars a barrel.
Putin is so sanguine that he feels free to openly mock both Blair and Bush
.Putin enjoys baiting Blair over Levy
By Alec Russell in St Petersburg
(Filed: 16/07/2006)President Vladimir Putin took a swipe at Tony Blair and Lord Levy last night, making clear he thought British criticism of Russian democracy was hypocritical in light of the "cash for peerages" scandal.
Mr Putin was answering a question on the eve of a bilateral meeting today with Mr Blair on the first day of the two-day G8 summit.
Asked what his message would be to Mr Blair in view of implicit criticism by the British ambassador to Moscow of Mr Putin's governance last week, the Russian leader started diplomatically. "We carefully hear out all our partners," he said. "We take into consideration their views on such issues but we take our decisions ourselves."
Mr Putin then spoke of Mr Blair's embattled fundraiser.
"There are also other questions," he said. "Questions, let's say, about the fight against corruption. We'd be interested in hearing your experience, including how it applies to Lord Levy."
Mr Blair was not available to respond, having just finished dinner with the G8 leaders and their spouses.
Where international leadership that could de-escalate the conflict should be there's a vacuum. Blair has no international legitimacy whatsoever: if supporting the illegal war in Iraq hadn't done it, the fact that his bagman Lord Levy is also his Middle East envoy, and an open Zionist (as are many other of his friends and associates) would have sunk any pretensions he had to objectivity. Bush is a lost cause already, as is amply illustrated by his passive-agressive lack of condemnation of Israel's deliberate violence against civilians. "Do you what you like, just make it look good for the cameras".
The US and UK government has already constructed a narrative that paints Iran and Syria as evil masterminds behind Hezbollah and are spoon-feeding tame journalists with it, when in fact its Israel's intransigence that's powering the escalation.
Christ, it's a bloody mess. Best-case scenario domestically is that arrests are swift, a no confidence motion is put to the Commons, Parliament is dissolved, an election called and a colition government elected to push through rapid reform of the upper house and the PM's powers of patronage. It won't happen though, not while so many backbench Labour MP's think they can just install Gordon Brown as PM and carry on as normal. They have no idea how angry the public are, all that matters is continuity of power.
As to what'll happen internationally, I just don't know and neither does anyone else, really. I can guess though. That's why I'm so depressed.
Posted 9:45 AM by Republic of Palau
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"I think all foreigners should stop interfering in the internal affairs of Iraq."
-- U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, 21 July 2003
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What's really happening in Iraq
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"better...faster...coconutter."
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Meaders is active in the RESPECT coalition, but don't hold it against him
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Not just another scummie student commie's blog. By Ed Rooksby.
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Erudite English Socialist Workers Party supporter.
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German/English socialist leaning blog.
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A computer generated, left-wing hedgehog's views on the world and the war
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Home of the Dead Socialist Watch. By Chris Brooke.
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Plays the stock market of the soul -- and sells short!
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Mocking our betters in Hollywood and tv...
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An 11 on the Manly Scale of Absolute Gender
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For Freedom, Democracy and a Pony.
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A group blog dedicated to make fun of idiots.
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Faithful husband, soccer dad, basset owner, and Peggy Noonan stalker
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Come point and laught at the fundies and rightwing loonies
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The liberal answer to Instapundit?
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A groupblog focusing on the EU and European politics.
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Digby, frequent and eloquent commentor at various blogs finally has his own.
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Journalist, media personality and blogger
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Group blog. Nice design, good content.
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Oliver Willis
Like kryptonite to stupid.
Orcinus
Policy, Culture and Journalism in the 21st Century. By David Neiwert.
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regime change begins at home, escalate nonviolence. By Natasha.
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an intermittent weblog by Tim Dunlop.
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News, views, activism and a smattering of something else. By Lisa English.
Sasha Undercover
Observations and commentary on politics, women, culture, and daily life. Not for the faint of heart.
Seeing the Forest
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Shadow of the Hegemon
Written by returned from the death Greek demagogue Demosthenes so is very eloquent.
The Sideshow
Avedon makes me think. Her weblog revolves around US politics.
Skimble
Culture, politics, commentary, criticism. Views from the left, headquartered in Chicago USA.
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Hopeful outrage, politics, culture and religion from a progressive Christian perspective.
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Politics, baseball and more.
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Insightful (inciteful?) and interesting
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