Prince Charles tried to stop war

Prince thought Tony Blair was wrong on Iraq and mocked him as 'our glorious leader'

By Robert Jobson, 03/01/2010

PRINCE Charles was so convinced Tony Blair was WRONG to take Britain to war in Iraq he broke Royal tradition and actively campaigned against the invasion, the News of the World can reveal.

Behind closed doors, the heir to the throne voiced his fears to senior politicians and mounted a staunch anti-war crusade in which he:

• ATTACKED the then prime minister’s stance, mockingly calling him “our glorious leader”.
• BLAMED American president George W Bush for action he believed to be misguided after reviewing secret intelligence.
• WARNED the war would only stir up more serious trouble in the region.
• ACCUSED western leaders of failing to deal with what he feels is the real cause of Islamic unrest – the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Meddling

Our extraordinary revelations – from the most impeccable inside sources – are certain to pile pressure on former premier Blair as he prepares to give evidence to the Chilcott inquiry into the war.

And they come as ex-PM Sir John Major twisted the knife yesterday, accusing Blair’s handling of the 2003 invasion of damaging trust in the UK political system more than the expenses scandal.

Read more…

Erica Jong Tells Italians Obama Loss ‘Will Spark the Second American Civil War. Blood Will Run in the Streets’

Jason Horowitz | New York Observer | Friday, October 31, 2008

Erica Jong, 1976.

It seems that the final days of the presidential campaign have made Erica Jong and her friends more than a little anxious.

A few days ago, Jong, the author and self-described feminist, gave an interview to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, the choicest bits of which were brought to my attention by the reliably sharp-eyed Christian Rocca, the U.S. correspondent of Il Foglio, who published excerpts on his Camillo blog. Basically, Jong says her fear that Obama might lose the election has developed into an “obsession. A paralyzing terror. An anxious fever that keeps you awake at night.” She also says that her friends Jane Fonda and Naomi Wolf are extremely worried that Obama will be sabotaged by Republican dirty tricks, and that if an Obama loss indeed comes to pass, the result will be a second American Civil War.

Here’s a translation of Jong’s more spirited quotes to the Milan-based Corriere, as selected by Rocca.

“The record shows that voting machines in America are rigged.”

“My friends Ken Follett and Susan Cheever are extremely worried. Naomi Wolf calls me every day. Yesterday, Jane Fonda sent me an email to tell me that she cried all night and can’t cure her ailing back for all the stress that has reduces her to a bundle of nerves.”

“My back is also suffering from spasms, so much so that I had to see an acupuncturist and get prescriptions for Valium.”

“After having stolen the last two elections, the Republican Mafia…”

“If Obama loses it will spark the second American Civil War. Blood will run in the streets, believe me. And it’s not a coincidence that President Bush recalled soldiers from Iraq for Dick Cheney to lead against American citizens in the streets.”

“Bush has transformed America into a police state, from torture to the imprisonment of reporters, to the Patriot Act.”

 

She also laments that not all of America’s men of letters share her devotion to Obama.

“Tom Wolfe and John Updike are men of the right and Philip Roth is at this point a hermit who leads a monastic life in Connecticut, far from everything and everybody.”

Luckily, she said there is her and Michael Chabon, who, she says, have “taken the place of Susan Sontag and Norman Mailer respectively.”

They have the same political sensibilities, she said, but a better “sense of humor.”