Hopefully people who do buy it may want to burn it,as a token gesture to all the soldiers and forces personel that have lost their lives,due to this warmonger, who deliberately organised a war, for reasons just to keep himself in a job.

At least buying it and having a ritual burning will mean that money goes to the servicemens charity, and you dont have to read the rubbish that has been said on the radio all day today.

Does it tell me who Stig is??!!

The Stigh was Gordon Brown, according to bliar, but then he doesnt tell the truth.

Hmmmm.

I'll be buying it. I'm interested in the guy. He makes a strong case re the middle east policy, though the cost of iraq was massive in both cash and casualties.

I have to say I'm torn on Blair. Have just watched the interview in full, and to be fair Marrs gives him a hard time.

Suggest everyone watches it.

But the book – yes – an interesting set of memoirs and apart from everything, initial reviews say it's a pretty good read.

I'll buy it if it's heavy and I get to **** Tony around the head with it.

It probably is interesting but I cannot bring myself to line his pockets. I may steal a copy instead.

If you pop in to waterstones and they've accidentally put it with the autobiographies do them a favour and move it to 'crime' 🙂

Almost interested in reading it. Not sure whether it will be lies, if i ever agreed with him etc… but interesting as he is the first PrimeMinister of my mature life (not impressionable youth or drunken student).

I also think we share the same opinion on Gordon Brown other than the fact I would have booted him.

I'm finding it hard not to to deface copies with a 'comedy' moustache, glasses and possibly even a four letter obscenity on his forehead.

I never thought I'd say this, but…. I think I hate him even more than I hate Thatcher. I read the first chapter of her memoirs and hurled it in the bin in disgust.

His sounds even more self-serving and delusional than hers. I doubt my blood pressure would make it past page 1

Undecided on bliar but I certainly hate brown more than I hate fatcher.

might ring round a few bookshops. If I find one that hasn't any in and won't be getting any on principle, then make a donation to them

I certainly won't be buying it but I might illegally download the ebook when it turns up. Not that big a crime compared to illegally invading a country eh?

Undecided on bliar but I certainly hate brown more than I hate fatcher.

Why?

I'll be buying it, not a fan in the slightest but it will be an interesting read for sure.

I thought he was pledging his advance and royalties Royal British Legion charity?

BB

I quite liked the Gordon Brown people moaning that it only gives Satan's side of the story – you do understand what is meant by memoires

I would rather stick pins covered in faecal matter into my eyes whilst sliding down a rusty razor blade using my balls as brakes than read that crap. The guy just doesn't get it does he…

backhander – Member
It probably is interesting but I cannot bring myself to line his pockets. I may steal a copy instead.

You won't be, if you steal a copy you will be stealing from the soldiers

I'll make a donation to the RBL for the required amount obviously. At least I'd be confident they'd be getting it. This would be on top of my regular donations to HFH.

I shall not buy it, but I shall read it. Won't line the ba5tard's pockets any more than they already are.

I've never really "got" the idea of boycotting books. Just because you buy a book, then read it, does not mean you endorse it's content. And equally not buying a book does not send a message to the author that you do not agree with what is written.

What am I saying? Not sure really, but reading, no matter what, is never a bad thing.

BB

CaptainFlashheart – Member
I shall not buy it, but I shall read it. Won't line the ba5tard's pockets any more than they already are.

FFS you won't be lining his pockets

So, Ian, he won't be making any money out of this? Why else has he published? Money. That's all. He's lost almost any semblance of power (his other great love) and now is stuck on his other great venal passion, money.

CFH – http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tony-blair-gives-book-profits-to-injured-troops-centre-2054014.html

The royalties, and the £4.6 million advance he got. Thats a third of his total wealth.

Hmm, well maybe, but I fail to believe he is not going to profit from this in some way. He isn't a decent man.

He will profit from it, apperences, publicity, it's all the 'tny machine' but he could of given £1 million and it still would of caused the media hype, not 1/3 of his wealth.

I'm not saying anything about his charactor because i don't know enough about him, but it seems a genuine gift rather then a publicity stunt.

For his sake, I hope it goes some way to ease his obviously (and rightly) troubled conscience. I also really hope this was given from the heart and not in any calculated manner to restore his reputation.

Sssh…ian, stop talking sense will ya!? I'm enjoying flashy frothing at this one. Yeah, I agree, he's bound to be making something on the side flashy. 🙂

I think if it was trying to restore his reputation then he could of got away with giving alot less.

For those who won't buy it because they don't want to line Tony's pockets – he has pledged all of his payments from the book (including the advance) to the RBL. He won't get anything from it.

I plan to read it and will probably buy it. In his early years he did a significant amount of good. Having lived through the Thatcher years living in Yorkshire, he was a breath of fresh air. However I suspect anyone could have won the election of '97 if they had been a labour leader.

His latter years are dominated by the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The legality of both are dubious but we are helped with hindsight. The biggest crime with Iraq was the total lack of planning for after the invasion. However we were always going to join in the war after Bush Snr. and Thatcher had stopped at the gates of Baghdad in Gulf War I. Both major parties supported the war – and given that we the public had voted them in – we get what we deserve.

You could claim that most of our major leaders are criminals. Churchill was no saint, Thatcher was a war criminal for some of the actions in the Falklands and remember that we invaded Egypt back in the 1950's to grab Suez to satisfy Anthony Eden

Blair was no worse than lots of them and may have been better. However until we have had time to reflect on his time in office we cannot rationally compare his Premiership.

At least buying it and having a ritual burning

Now there's an idea – I wonder when we'll see the first "May 10" style mass burnings (maybe in some middle east muslim country)? 😯

I agree with most of what you've said there, except

Thatcher was a war criminal for some of the actions in the Falklands

Why?

Thats a third of his total wealth.

We do not know how much Blair is worth since he hides his finances behind many secret companies, or rather companies who are not required to submit accounts. All we know is how much his many houses are worth in the UK.

It is unlikely that buying the book will help troops. The advance was £4.6m, then add on another £1m for publicity. The publishers need to sell 500,000 copies at £25 each to break even, but then most copies are selling at half that (although that may not half the publisher's turnover.) I am not so sure the publishers will break even on the book.

If you've got £100 in the bank and you give away a third of your wealth then that is a worthy gesture. If you already have more money than you'll ever spend and you give away a third then that smacks of trying to buy forgiveness. In any case he will make it all back in no time.

An example of the man? "Gordon Brown is the best man for the job," or similar in the run up to the last election. Don't exactly match the comments in his book now does it?

Why?

Because she should have let the Argies have them. The Malvinas are theirs after all.

An example of the man? "Gordon Brown is the best man for the job," or similar in the run up to the last election. Don't exactly match the comments in his book now does it?

Just politicking surely?

He won't get anything from it

Very naive IMHO.

Because she should have let the Argies have them. The Malvinas are theirs after all.

Oh no they're not, not any more 😆

I know politicians lie by default, but this is just rank hypocrisy. He didn't need to get involved. He allegedly knew Brown would lose. Why get involved at all? To raise his own profile.

backhander – Member
I agree with most of what you've said there, except

Thatcher was a war criminal for some of the actions in the Falklands

Why?

Posted

Belgrano.

Not that I agree with him. A certain kind of tribal Labour voter would have far preferred that we lost the war.

The belgrano captain himself said that he thought the sinking a fair action;

Captain Hector Bonzo: "Yes, I agree with that statement. I think we posed a real threat… we never had any intention of going back to shore; we were only waiting for the right moment to act."