Wednesday, May 31, 2006

So that's what it's for.

"To the Euston Station. The other day I went to the vast Union Chapel in Islington for the launch of the Euston Manifesto, which is an attempt to shake the Left out of its blind anti-Americanism."
Nick Cohen, Evening Standard 31/5/2006

5 Comments:

Blogger Matthew said...

Not that Cohen could ever have been "anti-American"? Apologies for the length of this comment but these are Cohen quotes from 2002/2001 (all after 9/11)

"More effectively than the fiercest anti-war polemic, Helms's congratulation delineates Blair's capitulation to America"

"Until 11 September, all right-thinking people denounced America's anarchic sabotage of global security. Britain opposed her when we had a foreign policy. "

"America is in Tony Blair's debt. Because Bush can barely be trusted to behave when he's let out in private, Blair has turned himself from British Prime Minister to American ambassador and willingly accepted exhaustion and humiliation as he tours the world on the President's behalf. He has ordered British troops to stand 'shoulder to shoulder' with the US military.
He has - and there's no point being prissy about this - pinned a large target sign on this country"

"If it is to have Star Wars, America must make the world a more dangerous place by tearing up the 1972 Anti- Ballistic Missile Treaty."

"The only explanation for American opposition to international law was that her generals could see themselves committing a few war crimes, as they may well do in the coming days."

"Neither the Prime Minister nor Foreign Secretary had the bad taste to ask if unity is meant to be found in unconditional support for the most criminal members of the Israeli Right? Or the judicial execution of children? Should we agree, perhaps, to come together in opposition to the Kyoto protocol on global warming? Or the proposed agreement to regulate the trade in small arms? Or to the comprehensive ban on the testing of nuclear weapons? On all these matters, a unilateral America is on its own or thereabouts"

"Blair has spent the past month inventing an imaginary America we must be ready to die for. "

And in March 2002

"Ministers used to explode when you said that subservience to America after 11 September had made Britain an international joke."

"Bush's declaration of war against the axis of evil was a declaration that Washington now saw all that loyal service as a risible failure"

"He won't because he can't bring himself to admit that a roaring, uncontrollable America sees him as an ornamental extra: nice to have, but inessential."

6/01/2006 07:45:00 AM  
Blogger Captain Cabernet said...

People should check out the Chicken Yoghurt piece on Euston

http://tinyurl.com/q9a3u

6/01/2006 08:13:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

In the Observer Nick COhen said that The Euston Manifesto was to make sure
"You should not allow cultural relativists to persuade you that brown-skinned women should not enjoy the same rights as white-skinned women, for instance".

Oddly, as far as I can see they had trouble getting any women to the event, and even less "brown skinned women". Maybe it would help if they could avoid using the phrase "brown skinned women", which coming from well known leerer-at-women Nick Cohen sounds pretty pervy, like "brown sugar, whoo, (etc etc, in a rolling Stones style)

6/01/2006 09:48:00 AM  
Blogger Sonic said...

Lovely bit of satire of the Decent's today in the HP sauce comment box.

"The crucial difference is that although in theory Israel might do wrong (and I would be the first to criticise her if she did) in practice she never does!

Posted by Any Decent at June 1, 2006 04:49 PM
"

6/01/2006 10:16:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The official real-world launch of the Euston Manifesto took place on 25May06 in London and was a huge success. Thank you to all (250) of you who came and generously gave (£1300). You made it the event it was, but there wouldn't have been an event to invite you to if it hadn't been for the brilliant organisational skills and hard work of the launch team.

This may be my usual "god is in the details" rant, but while *I* am sure that it was written by Andrew "Blogger4Labour" Whose-surname-I-always-forget and the "launch team" were Nick C, Damian C (no relation), Norman G, Alan "NTM" J, and perhaps others, this does read rather as "we congratulate ourselves for our brilliance and effort" as it appears on the home page of the EM.

But then they are rather fond of using "the left" as a term of disapprobation, while never making it clear whether they're refering to all the people on the march in February 2003 or George Galloway or some of the first or something else.

6/03/2006 09:29:00 PM  

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