You can have him...

October 9, 2003 8:50 AM

I created this website because it seemed to me important that Americans said thank you to Prime Minister Tony Blair and the British people.
posted by i_cola (48 comments total)

[speechless]
posted by i_cola at 8:53 AM on October 9, 2003

yea right. thanks for buying into lies.
posted by omidius at 8:55 AM on October 9, 2003

Hey, thanks for the link i_cola! Notwithstanding your intent, I added my message to the 12,000 already submitted. There's still something to be said for loyalty and courage.
posted by pardonyou? at 8:59 AM on October 9, 2003

hmmm - that's fascinating. I was wondering about your lack of chatter on the FPP, i_cola -
posted by djspicerack at 9:02 AM on October 9, 2003

In similar vein, Blair for President 2004.
posted by grahamwell at 9:03 AM on October 9, 2003

The only thing I can think to thank Tony Blair for is maybe saving American taxpayers a few billion by taking from English taxpayers... Wait a minute... Thank you English taxpayers!
...and condolences for your losses. sigh.
posted by LouReedsSon at 9:12 AM on October 9, 2003

you know you're prodding the polar cows of mefi with this post
posted by Satapher at 9:13 AM on October 9, 2003

yea right. thanks for buying into lies.

Hey! We created a few of our own. Fair's fair.
posted by Summer at 9:15 AM on October 9, 2003

What about Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and the 500 Bulgarian soldiers currently serving in Iraq? Why do some vassals get all the glory, and others don't even get a simple: "www.geocities.com/thankyousimeonsaxecoburggotha"? It's hardly fair.
posted by Ljubljana at 9:20 AM on October 9, 2003

He should also be thanking IDS and the Conservatives for being so stunningly inept that Tony can take us to war and still be certain of re-election.

Re-call Tony, we want Arnie. Or maybe Sylvester.

Just makes me miss John Smith all the more.
posted by ciderwoman at 9:21 AM on October 9, 2003

what omidius said...and also for giving this unnecessary war a sheen of legitimacy by agreeing with our administration's justifying lies. No thanks, Tony--you could have listened to the massive protests, or to the people in your government who were against it, or who actually resigned over this war, or your neighbors in Europe...

British soldiers shouldn't have had to die too (or Canadian or any other "coalition" member).

On a related note, we see American companies are cleaning up from this--what about British companies?
posted by amberglow at 9:24 AM on October 9, 2003

Amber: Canada was not a member of the coalition.
posted by jon_kill at 9:32 AM on October 9, 2003

Click Here to Thank Tony

I don't get it... if I click, does it send Blair a message flipping him the bird? I mean, it's not serious, is it?
posted by Shane at 9:49 AM on October 9, 2003

Re-call Tony, we want Arnie. Or maybe Sylvester.

Couldn't we have Sean Connery instead?
posted by thedude256 at 9:58 AM on October 9, 2003

Amber: Canada was not a member of the coalition.
see, Mr. Blair? Even Canada was smarter than you guys ; >
(sorry about that, jon)
posted by amberglow at 10:00 AM on October 9, 2003

Pity Benny Hill's dead...
posted by i_cola at 10:02 AM on October 9, 2003

Couldn't we have Sean Connery instead?

No, because we need someone to look as follish as us and Sean is just too damn classy! :)
posted by LouReedsSon at 10:03 AM on October 9, 2003

oops... foolish.
posted by LouReedsSon at 10:04 AM on October 9, 2003

I would sooner apologize the the British people, and commiserate with them that we share not only a heritage but also a serious lack of ethics, morals and veracity at the highest levels of our respective governments.

"Saddam is a person who claims he has no weapons of mass destruction, in order to escape the dictums of the U.N. Security Council and the United Nations --but he's got them."
George W. Bush
Remarks by the President in Colorado
October 28, 2002

"We have sources that tell us thatSaddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons -- the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have."
George W. Bush
Radio Address
February 8, 2003

We are learning more as we interrogate or have discussions with Iraqi scientists and people within the Iraqi structure, thatperhaps he destroyed some, perhaps he dispersed some. And so we will find them.
George W. Bush
NBC Interview
April 24, 2003

"This wasn't an invention of British intelligence or the CIA. The intelligence that we got is essentially correct. In my experience of intelligence, not every single item is correct but if there is a pattern as strong as the pattern here then it is correct."
Tony Blair
Press conference
September 28, 2003

"Sometimes the American people like the decisions I make, sometimes they don't. But they need to know I'll make tough decisions based upon what I think is right."
George W. Bush
Response to the Kay report announcing no WMDS
October 3rd,2003

Just a friendly reminder - we are now more than six months into to the invasion/occupation/"liberation" of Iraq. No Saddam. No WMD. No Osama Bin Laden. No end to terrorism. No security for the homeland.

Just blood and sand.

Get used to it.
posted by Perigee at 10:28 AM on October 9, 2003

blood and sand

Sounds like an album title. Kind of like Judas Priests Diamonds and Rust.

They (Bush&Blair) should have left Iraq to its own ends. I was perfectly content with how Hussein was running the country. Didn't bother me one bit.
posted by a3matrix at 11:07 AM on October 9, 2003

(Actually, I think I filched the line from Brendan Frasier in "The Mummy;" sounded macho as hell for a while, didn't I?)
posted by Perigee at 11:22 AM on October 9, 2003

Thanks Tony, for lying down like a dog with no backbone and going along with whatever Bush wanted. You are a true patriot and a man of unquestionable moral fiber. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
posted by xmutex at 11:32 AM on October 9, 2003

Tony, thanks for getting rid of the Tories. Aside from that, thanks for nothing.
posted by squealy at 11:39 AM on October 9, 2003

blood and sand

Sounds like an album title. Kind of like Judas Priests Diamonds and Rust.

...or maybe an opera by former Police drummer Stewart Copeland?
(KAY! ...that's my second Police reference of the day. I can go home now.)
posted by Shane at 11:57 AM on October 9, 2003

My letter:

Screw you, Tony -- you dragged Britain into war on a false pretext, and made the evidence up as you went along. The ends don't justify the means, and just because you are the Prime Minister, that doesn't mean you were elected to mislead your people.

So bugger off. Thanks..

Mark, Santa Clara, CA, USA
posted by insomnia_lj at 12:25 PM on October 9, 2003

They (Bush&Blair) should have left Iraq to its own ends. I was perfectly content with how Hussein was running the country. Didn't bother me one bit.

I guess that's because you didn't have to live (or die) under his "benevolent" regime.
posted by Durwood at 12:53 PM on October 9, 2003

Dear Mr. Prime Minister:

There is nothing for which to thank you, but much for which to despise you. You and the American government brought on this shameful, needless, cowardly war by lying to your respective peoples. Your rhetoric and actions have been despicable. The blood of Iraqis, Americans, and Brits are on your hands.

There's still something to be said for loyalty and courage.

Yeah. There really is.

Loyalty: Plame-Wilson.

Courage: neocon chickenhawks and their supporters ranting for a war none of them will ever have to fight.

No doubt there's "something to be said" about truthfulness to the American and British people, too...but it won't come from Bush/Blair or any of their bleating supporters.

And speak of the devil....up pops a reasonable facsimile:

I guess that's because you didn't have to live (or die) under his "benevolent" regime.
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 1:02 PM on October 9, 2003

Dude, F&M, you can't reference something from 1984 to argue against or for an argument being made in 2003. That's ridiculous.

But don't let common sense stop you.
posted by xmutex at 1:06 PM on October 9, 2003

Oh no it was WMD's, Britians decision to enter the war had absolutly nothing to do with the decline of North Sea Crude Oil.
posted by thedailygrowl at 1:09 PM on October 9, 2003

Yeah, Foldy - after all, you use that line of logic and you could say that Iraq had biological weapons and other WMDs.

Oh, wait...
posted by Perigee at 1:39 PM on October 9, 2003

Well I assume your intentions were well placed in creating such a site and self-promoting it on Metafilter, it seems like a waste of your time and money.

Maybe you should make a site that appeals to certain leaders to prevent the killing of American and British soldiers EVERY DAY.

And I don't understand how your Mefi profile says you're from the UK, yet the site says you are from Massachusettes. What's that about?
posted by nyukid at 2:25 PM on October 9, 2003

"And I don't understand how your Mefi profile says you're from the UK, yet the site says you are from Massachusettes. What's that about?"

The post title is a line from the 'about this site' section of the website. The person who posted didn't actually make the site.

Unless he actually did create the site, and I misunderstood.
posted by graventy at 2:40 PM on October 9, 2003

You'll note the absence of British websites fawning over Dubya. Anybody want to start wesalutedubya.co.uk ? (I assume welovebush.co.uk is already taken)

Another thing, John Major sent our country into Gulf War I yet I don't see fawning websites for him. What the fuck is that about?
posted by dodgygeezer at 2:56 PM on October 9, 2003

You'll note the absence of British websites fawning over Dubya. Anybody want to start wesalutedubya.co.uk ?

Here are some Brits who want to salute Bush.
posted by homunculus at 3:50 PM on October 9, 2003

Like pardon_you?, I added my sincere appreciation to the list, despite the intent of the FPP. Prime Minister Blair has integrity and courage, and stood up for what he believed to be the right thing to do.

And it *was* the right thing to do.
posted by davidmsc at 4:26 PM on October 9, 2003

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read,
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed,

And Fuck you Tony Blair for thinking us a Labour hope,
and stealing from us the health service, human rights,
a decent education and peace.
posted by seanyboy at 4:40 PM on October 9, 2003

"Life" (of Phi-Life Cypher) thanks Bush and Blair.
posted by iamck at 10:52 PM on October 9, 2003

I created this comment because it seemed important to me to note that there's a guy in Japan who created a website to play recordings of him farting. See quonsar for details.
posted by y2karl at 10:54 PM on October 9, 2003

And it *was* the right thing to do.

You bet. Keep repeating that to yourself, and maybe Santa will bring you some nice presents, too!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:38 AM on October 10, 2003

And Fuck you Tony Blair for thinking us a Labour hope,
and stealing from us the health service, human rights,
a decent education and peace.

Amen. How I desperately wish it wasn't so. I voted for the bastard.
posted by Summer at 2:06 AM on October 10, 2003

Jesus, I kept clicking and clicking the links looking for the punch-line....
posted by sic at 4:29 AM on October 10, 2003

nyukid: I'm not sure which assumption I find more offensive; that I would self-link on MeFi or the that I would ever use Korinna in anything I designed. ;-)
Anyhow, as graventy says...it was a line from the "about' section. Shoulda put it in quotes really.

As for thanking ol' Tone, I think everyone should post on the site - follow pardonyou?'s lead. TB's popularity is at its lowest point ever, mainly down to the fact that he lied so blatantly. He needs all the friends he can get...

Plus people in the UK aren't too happy with the fact that he is more loyal to the head of another country than to those who elected him & pay his wages. He may learn a lesson at the next election...

Courage? Yeah, there's so much courage in hanging on to the coat tails of the biggest army in the world as they obliterate the pathetic non-fighting force of an evil dictator rather than have the patience to work out a long-term solution. Did someone say 'exit strategy'?
posted by i_cola at 5:00 AM on October 10, 2003

Tony blair has always struck me as a man of unremitting (bullshit) bravery.
posted by johnnyboy at 5:16 AM on October 10, 2003

This ignorant gratitude is certainly not mutual. Note that Blair will spin all he can to minimise the perception of the 'special/one-way relationship' as it stands in the UK, even the myopic sycophants who support Blair have utter contempt for George Bush.
posted by niceness at 5:42 AM on October 10, 2003

Courage? Yeah, there's so much courage in hanging on to the coat tails of the biggest army in the world as they obliterate the pathetic non-fighting force of an evil dictator rather than have the patience to work out a long-term solution.

It was courageous of him to risk his political career because he felt it was the right thing to do, and loyal because he valued Britain's relationship with the U.S. I don't understand the argument: "Thanks Tony, for lying down like a dog with no backbone and going along with whatever Bush wanted." That argument might make sense if the prospect of war was supported by most in the U.K. But iirc, before the war, the majority was against British involvement. Blair had more to lose politically by supporting the war than going along with the U.S. (what good does U.S. support do if you're not in office?) Sounds like a courageous decision to me.

And i_cola, the Iraq issue has been front-page news for about a year now. I'm still waiting to hear from anyone what that "long-term solution" might have been, had we only had patience.
posted by pardonyou? at 7:03 AM on October 10, 2003

It was courageous of him to risk his political career

Not if he didn't think he was risking his political career. I think this was a serious misjudgement on his part. He felt invulnerable when it came to foreign policy and, when it comes down to it, he was following decades of precedent. He thought the war would be won easily, nothing more would be said and everyone would go back to sleep.

because he felt it was the right thing to do

People secure in their own convictions don't have to lie and they don't change their reasons for doing something retrospectively. Blair used to be very, very good at coming across as honest and impassioned. The electorate now knows far too much about his methods to be fooled by that anymore.
posted by Summer at 7:16 AM on October 10, 2003

'it was the right thing to do'

A phrase etched in every terrorist's mind no doubt. And there was me thinking that it was about WMD...

I'm still waiting to hear from anyone what that "long-term solution" might have been, had we only had patience.

I politely suggest that you expand your reading. With regards to the US & UK govts., listening & working with the dissenting voices in the UN instead of ignoring them & engaging in childish insults might have been a step in the right direction. Ah, those heady days of freedom fries...what a fun summer we had...

Remember: It was not a case of either doing what has been done or nothing at all. As Joseph Wilson has said, 'invasion-conquest-occupation scenario was the highest risk-lowest reward of all the options that we had.' [In this Salon article - Premium content.]
posted by i_cola at 8:33 AM on October 10, 2003

i_cola: 'it was the right thing to do'

A phrase etched in every terrorist's mind no doubt.

Ah - moral equivalence between hateful, death-mongering, evil terrorists and the peace-seeking, freedom-loving, and GOOD United States and U.K. Isn't that what you are saying?
posted by davidmsc at 8:30 AM on October 16, 2003