Keith, just a reminder -- George Bush is almighty POTUS and Tony Blair is his prophet.
Ed Weick ----- Original Message ----- From: "Keith Hudson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, March 10, 2003 2:47 AM Subject: [Futurework] Is Tony Blair a coward? > As FWers will know, I think that Bush is a coward. He is afraid of sacking > his senior staff, such as his last Treasury Secretary, face-to-face. > (However, to be kinder to Bush, it's possibly embarrassment rather than > cowardice. He just hasn't the language or understanding to be able to > explain why he [that is, the group behind him] is sacking the staff member > [or even appointed him in the first place!]. I wouldn't mind betting that > Bush has never spoken personally to N. Greg Mankiw, his new Economic > Advisor, when he was appointed last week. Bush is so simple-minded he > wouldn't know what to say to an intellectual like Mankiw, even by way of > casual conversation, never mind economics-talk.) > > We are shortly going to see whether Tony Blair has any courage, as a > consequence of Claire Short's threatened resignation. Claire Short has > expressed herself more forcibly than any Minister before her. She has said > that Blair has been "extraordinarily reckless". Her main argument is that > international law, fragile though it is, must be repsected. Now in any > ordinary circumstance (if a threatened Ministerial resignation can ever be > called "ordinary"!), Blair's immediate response should be to sack her > immediately and not give her the satisfaction of resigning. > > But No! Oh no! He hasn't done so. It is said that Blair is "surprised" by > Short's decision (which, if true, would make Blair to be totally stupid, > which he's not) but that, at the moment, he has no response, because he is > "so totally focussed" on getting international support for the new UN > resolution. > > My guess is that Blair can't do anything about Claire Short just for the > moment (that is, during today and tomorrow) because he can't judge whether > her threatened resignation will set in train further Ministerial threats. > He just doesn't know how far or how deep feelings are in his Cabinet. And > nor does anybody else just at the moment because the only way of knowing > this is when it's publicly announced. Blair will probably go as far and a > speedily as he can in trying to convince people that a second UN resolution > will be attainable. But if he doesn't succeed during today or tomorrow, > then the game is up. > > Blair will have to say whether he's prepared to go to war without a second > resolution. He's almost said that so far. He hasn't quite said so in black > and white terms. > > He'll have to find some courage in the next day or two in deciding whether > he, along with Bush, is going to wreck the United Nations. Claire Short > resignation (or not, as the case may be) will take care of itself. > > Keith Hudson > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- > ------------ > > Keith Hudson, General Editor, Handlo Music, http://www.handlo.com > 6 Upper Camden Place, Bath BA1 5HX, England > Tel: +44 1225 312622; Fax: +44 1225 447727; mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > ________________________________________________________________________ > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
