Notable quotables
WORDS OF WISDOM FROM THE DEVIL
"Whatever people might think, we are not about supporting the rich but about giving the poor the opportunity to shine. We are not about holding people back, but about giving everyone the chance to be great." Chris Mounsey, Director of Communications for the Libertarian Party, on his blog (The Devil's Kitchen) yesterday. I suggest you read the whole article if you haven't done so already - it's pretty good. Just be prepared for some strong language. 
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THE "INFALLIBLE" GORDON BROWN
On being congratulated on making the right decision to visit the Dalai Lama by David Cameron, Cyclops modestly declared: "We make the right decisions at all times."
Was he using the royal "we" or was he also claiming infallibility on behalf of the Parliamentary Labour Party? Whatever, he has to be wrong about this, because the decisions he makes are usually radically different to what I would do, therefore he must be wrong. In any case, as far as I know only the Pope and I are allowed to claim infallibity - and the Pope's mistaken. There could be a copyright issue here.
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DAVID TRIMBLE ON THE SLAVE TRADE
David Trimble on Question Time, 30 November 2006, when asked if Blair was right to express “deep regret” over the African slave trade (and if he should now apologise for the present unpleasantness in Iraq):
“I think the question of apologising for slavery was just quite stupid, because what we did, what Britain did 200 years ago is, it stopped the slave trade, and it was the first major country to do that. And we did it, actually, by unilaterally intervening on all other nations – we sent the Royal Navy out to stop the trade, not just to stop British merchantmen doing it, but to stop all other countries doing it. And we did that without asking their leave and we did it for the good, and I think that’s a hugely important point which should be celebrated.” The full programme can be viewed here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/question_time/default.stm
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LITVINENKO'S DYING STATEMENT
"I would like to thank many people. My doctors, nurses and hospital staff who are doing all they can for me, the British police who are pursuing my case with vigour and professionalism and are watching over me and my family. I would like to thank the British government for taking me under their care. I am honoured to be a British citizen. I would like to thank the British public for their messages of support and for the interest they have shown in my plight. I thank my wife Marina, who has stood by me. My love for her and our son knows no bounds. But as I lie here I can distinctly hear the beating of wings of the angel of death. I may be able to give him the slip but I have to say my legs do not run as fast as I would like. I think, therefore, that this may be the time to say one or two things to the person responsible for my present condition. You may succeed in silencing me but that silence comes at a price. You have shown yourself to be as barbaric and ruthless as your most hostile critics have claimed. You have shown yourself to have no respect for life, liberty or any civilised value. You have shown yourself to be unworthy of your office, to be unworthy of the trust of civilised men and women. You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life. May God forgive you for what you have done, not only to me but to beloved Russia and its people." Alexander Litvinenko
21 November 2006
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KILROY ON FREE SPEECH
Robert Kilroy-Silk is by no means my favourite politician, he's a bit too arrogant, I think he was wrong to ditch UKIP and his general political outlook seems to be stuck in the 70s, but when he's right, he's right. In this week's Question Time, the subject came up of the acquittal of Nick Griffin (Spit!), and the implied threat by Gordon Brown to change the law so people could be convicted for criticising religion. In full oratorical mode, Kilroy gave the most impassioned defence of free speech of any politician I've heard for a while: "I fervently believe in free speech… It’s the foundation of our democracy and our civilisation and everything that we have that is important in this country… Without free speech you can’t find out whether Tony (McNulty, also on the panel) and I agree with each other and want to join the same party, you can’t form associations, you can’t form trade unions, you can’t form a Countryside Alliance, you can’t demonstrate, because you can’t know what other people are thinking if they’re not allowed to express their views freely, and we have to be able to express our views fearlessly and fervently about religion. I don’t like religions. I think they’re all false. I think they’re stupid. I think they’re full of fairy tales. I think they mislead people. I genuinely believe they’re the opium of the masses. Why should I not be allowed to say that? If I wasn’t, if people hundreds of years ago weren’t allowed to say that, we would have no progress, no science, no civilisation, and we would be back in the Star Chamber and the Inquisition and prosecuting Gallileo.” It's not very often that I see a politician on TV and agree with every word he says. The full programme can be seen on the BBC's Question Time page here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/question_time/default.stm
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