"It is our
pleasure to officially announce that our class' commencement speaker will be the
former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Tony Blair. Mr. Blair served as Prime
Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from May 1997 to June 2007. He
was also the leader of Britain's Labour Party from 1994 to 2007 and a member of
Parliament. You can learn more about Blair's current globalization efforts at
his website: tonyblairoffice.org "
Oh Dear! I thought Colby was so much smarter and cooler than
this!
Tony Blair!?? This little inglorious FOP of a man, GW's Lapdog?!?
What can a morally bereft war criminal possibly have to say to young people going out into the world?
Tony Blair!?? This little inglorious FOP of a man, GW's Lapdog?!?
What can a morally bereft war criminal possibly have to say to young people going out into the world?
How to "Sex-Up" information to suit your self-serving aims?
How to pander to Fascists? How to start a war?
Hopefully Colby will re-consider this very poorly thought-out choice for a commencement speaker that can only tarnish its good name!
Hopefully Colby will re-consider this very poorly thought-out choice for a commencement speaker that can only tarnish its good name!
Already there are letters flooding
in:
Tony Blair's Legacy
When I read that former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, will deliver the
Colby commencement address, I thought it must be somebody's idea of a joke,
somebody with bad taste in humor, at that. I assumed that Colby students
wouldn't accept such an insult to them and their college.
Blair is a person who remains a potent reminder of the greatest cause of
violence and human rights abuse in the world: war. When Blair was faced
with the gravest decision of his life, he chose unnecessary war, against the
advice of his top advisers. If there is any greater evil than waging a war
of choice, I don't know what it could be. It left millions of people
displaced, many thousands of orphans, widows and amputees. The war will
never be "over" for them or their families.
This speaker choice creates a poor image of Colby. It points to an appalling
lack of awareness and empathy in Colby students, while their contemporaries
have been recycled and damaged beyond anything Colby grads can apparently
imagine. (Military suicide deaths have exceeded combat deaths for 2 years).
Where is Colby's Amnesty International organization? Where are the women's
groups? (Innocent women and children are the one who suffer most in wars)
All of Blair's self-serving, alternative-history-building cannot erase his
real legacy: monstrous destruction, death and misery for so many. I urge the
Colby students to have open discussions about Blair and reconsider the
commencement plans.
Carole Whelan
Hope, Maine
Military Families Speak Out
mfso.org
Maine Chapter
Hope, Maine 04847
When I read that former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, will deliver the
Colby commencement address, I thought it must be somebody's idea of a joke,
somebody with bad taste in humor, at that. I assumed that Colby students
wouldn't accept such an insult to them and their college.
Blair is a person who remains a potent reminder of the greatest cause of
violence and human rights abuse in the world: war. When Blair was faced
with the gravest decision of his life, he chose unnecessary war, against the
advice of his top advisers. If there is any greater evil than waging a war
of choice, I don't know what it could be. It left millions of people
displaced, many thousands of orphans, widows and amputees. The war will
never be "over" for them or their families.
This speaker choice creates a poor image of Colby. It points to an appalling
lack of awareness and empathy in Colby students, while their contemporaries
have been recycled and damaged beyond anything Colby grads can apparently
imagine. (Military suicide deaths have exceeded combat deaths for 2 years).
Where is Colby's Amnesty International organization? Where are the women's
groups? (Innocent women and children are the one who suffer most in wars)
All of Blair's self-serving, alternative-history-building cannot erase his
real legacy: monstrous destruction, death and misery for so many. I urge the
Colby students to have open discussions about Blair and reconsider the
commencement plans.
Carole Whelan
Hope, Maine
Military Families Speak Out
mfso.org
Maine Chapter
Hope, Maine 04847
_______________________
from Sarah Furo:
Sarah Furo also sent hers to the BDN:
William D Adams
Colby College
Office of the President
4600 Mayflower Hill
Waterville, ME 04901-8846
Dear Mr. Adams:
I am sorry to hear that Colby College has invited former Prime Minister
Tony Blair to speak at the commencement ceremony. Consider the fact
that this man made a decision to support the American invasion of Iraq,
condemned by the most of the rest of world as an illegal act of unprovoked
aggression. Thousands of Americans, British and Iraqi people are now
dead or wounded because of his decision.
William D Adams
Colby College
Office of the President
4600 Mayflower Hill
Waterville, ME 04901-8846
Dear Mr. Adams:
I am sorry to hear that Colby College has invited former Prime Minister
Tony Blair to speak at the commencement ceremony. Consider the fact
that this man made a decision to support the American invasion of Iraq,
condemned by the most of the rest of world as an illegal act of unprovoked
aggression. Thousands of Americans, British and Iraqi people are now
dead or wounded because of his decision.
As a mother of a soldier sent to both Iraq and
Afghanistan, I know the cost of this war first hand and hope that your graduating seniors will be spared the pain
these wars have cost to so many.
I hope you will reconsider your decision to welcome this man who along
with his American co conspirators has set back the cause of peace an
international relations by decades.
Sincerely,
Sarah Fuhro
Natick, Ma 01760
I hope you will reconsider your decision to welcome this man who along
with his American co conspirators has set back the cause of peace an
international relations by decades.
Sincerely,
Sarah Fuhro
Natick, Ma 01760
Dear editor,
I do not understand why anyone would be pleased to have Tony
Blair speak at a commencement or anywhere else. Firstly, what could he say that
would be of the least interest to anyone? Secondly, the man is a war criminal.
One has only to read the Downing Street papers to realize that. The mayor of
London told George Bush that if he came to London for a book signing he would be
arrested as a war criminal. Canadians have threatened Dick Cheney with citizens'
arrest if he ventures above the border. Colby should univite Blair; if he shows
up he should be arrested.
Reverend Gerald Oleson, O.C.F.
*************
Mother of a War Veteran wrote;
It is interesting that the Colby Echo is endorsing a man known
to foster the war in Iraq with Bush on trumped up calls saying they had
discovered weapons of mass destruction. There never were any such weapons and it
all was a play to get the oil for Braitain and the US. We had ten or so years of
useless war all on account of this man. He should be condemned, not
honored.
Russ Christensen Human Rights Lawyer from
Farmington
****************
Your invitation to have
Tony Blair address the graduating class is astounding and also dismaying.
He is one of the
greatest example of this world's abusers of humanity and of human rights and
dignity.
With no regard for the
harm caused to his own country by the indiscriminant bombing of England by the
Nazis in WW II, he has opposed his own constituency and has perpetrated a
similar disaster upon another nation, Iraq , for no good reason, if there were
such a thing
He has brought misery
and sadness to millions of innocent citizens of that country for this generation
and more to come, of death, loss of limbs, broken homes and displaced families.
Shame on him and those
at Colby, who made the decision to bestow this honor upon him.
Hopefully, he will be
arrested as a war criminal when he exits the plane, before he can besmirch the
good name of Colby.
Yours
truly,
Paul A
Piraino
(Alumnus:
Boston Latin School
Boston College
Northeastern University)
1
me that Tony Blair has been invited to give the commencement address. He is a
person who remains a potent reminder to many people of the greatest cause of
violence and human rights abuse in the world: war. When Blair was faced with the gravest decision of his life, he chose war, against the advice of his top advisers. If there is any greater evil than waging a war of choice, I don't know what it could be.It left millions of people displaced, many thousands of orphans, widows and amputees. The war will never be "over" for them or their families.This speaker choice creates a poor image of Colby. It points to an appalling lack of awareness and empathy in Colby students, while their contemporaries have been recycled and damaged beyond anything Colby grads can imagine. Military suicide deaths have exceeded combat deaths for 2 years.All of Blair's self-serving, alternative-history-building cannot erase his real legacy: monstrous destruction, death and misery for so many.I urge the Colby students to have open discussions about Blair and reconsider the commencement plans.