Anthony Charles Lynton Blair, better known as Tony Blair, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 6th May 1953 and spent the first nineteen months of his life living in the Willowbrae area of the city. At that time his father was studying law while working as a junior tax inspector. The family moved to Adelaide in Australia during the 1950s. living there for a few years while his father taught law in Adelaide University.
The Blair family returned to the United Kingdom before the end of the decade and Tony’s father took a post lecturing at Durham University. Until 1966 Tony Blair was studying at Chorister School and then at Fettes College in Edinburgh.
While in Edinburgh Tony developed an interest in music and became involved in playing the guitar. After finishing at Edinburgh he moved to London and a year later started studying at Oxford University.
While he was at St John’s College he developed his interest in left wing politics. Having passed his BA with Second Class Honours Blair became a pupil barrister and, in 1975, joined The Labour Party. He met his future wife, Cherie Booth, at 11 King’s Bench Walk Chambers.
Blair worked his way up the political ladder of the Labour Party taking full advantage of his powerful connections and, in 1983, he stood for Sedgefield, not too far from Durham, and won. At this time his politics swung much further to the left than his eventual settlement in the centre.
In 1984 Tony Blair had already become the Opposition Spokesperson on Treasury and Economic Affairs, which was an extremely rapid progression compared to his previous years progress. In 1994 he became Leader of the Labour Party.
Immediately Blair set about changing the Labour Party and “Clause IV” was replaced, in April 1995, effectively changing the party’s aims and values. The change was so dramatic that the party became known as “New” Labour.
Warning. The following video from Reuters has several disturbing brief graphic segments about the war in Iraq.
Reuters, as you probably know, is one of the premier news reporting organizations in the world. While it made its reputation by reporting financial news Reuters does a fine job, largely through it’s worldwide network of local correspondents, of covering breaking news and news of importance, like the war in Iraq.
Americans have paid a high price for the war in men and women killed or wounded, about 4,100 killed and over 30,000 wounded over five years, as well as many thousands of mentally disturbed warriors returning to the States from Iraq combat. Now a shaky economy made worse by the misguided effort in Iraq is beginning to cause more misery at home.
The war is helping to push up the cost of oil and by costing the US about 12 billion dollars a month is contributing to the sad state of America’s finances.
However, the price that America has paid for its misadventure in Iraq pales in comparison when compared to the price that has been and is being paid by Iraq and Iraqi’s. Some 4.7 million Iraqis have been displaced by the war, over 2,700,000 have left the country as refugees, and while estimates vary considerably up to 1,000,000 Iraqis out of a population of only 27,000,000 have been killed.
This film by Reuters called “Bearing Witness in Iraq” shows up close and very personal the horror that George Bush and his government have brought to the people of Iraq.
The American Army doesn’t like to see insurgents drive around in new Mercedes automobiles while they have to hump it in the heat or ride around in uncomfortable hot tanks.
The payback? Take a look at this tank taking on an obviously hostile and dangerous Iraqi owned black Mercedes automobile. The outcome of this contest is not even close.
And how do the American soldiers know for sure that the Mercedes belongs to the enemy. That’s an easy question. The Mercedes is in Iraq, isn’t it?
