ME and Ophelia

TONY BLAIR'S COMMISSION FOR AFRICA
The world's first blogging Lord: Clive Soley

Apologies for not keeping up with posting, emailing and commenting. [HD London: sorry not replied since Easter; C Surrey: still not back to where I was]. Must rest to concentrate on UK political blogs and news. Here is a copy of a post I have published today at my other blog Sudan Watch:

Apologies for intermission at Sudan Watch over next few days. Today is the final 24 hours of the run up to the General Election here in Britain. Much bitterness is felt by many voters in the UK about British Prime Minister Tony Blair supporting the US with military intervention to remove the dictatorship in Iraq and enable Iraqis to vote and elect their leaders.

No doubt many Americans don't give two hoots about who is in power outside of America. Today, I feel like writing a vent about all those who mindlessly argue and spread political propaganda in mainstream media, on the Internet and in blogland and make concerted attempts to drown out political discussion, but I shan't because it would be complete waste of time and energy.

Suffice to say, Tony Blair has done more for Africa than any other British prime minister. Through his leadership, the UK is second to the US in its huge contribution to help the people of Sudan. The next G8 meeting is to be chaired by a British prime minister which Tony Blair has spent several years working towards with the aim of getting the G8 to agree on cancelling the debts of the world's poorest nations.

For this reason, and many others, I hope he wins another term in office, which I believe he will. Former prime minister Margaret Thatcher won another term for the Conservatives after taking Britain to war not in a fight against terrorism but over a piece of rock, in the middle of nowhere, that never seemed to belong to us in the first place. There's an old saying that goes something along the lines that "there is nought so queer as folk". If things go pear shaped tomorrow because of the UK's support to the US over Iraq, it is questionable if any more help will be coming from the UK for the people of Sudan and Darfur, not to mention the whole of Africa and the world's poorest nations.

On this note I shall say a warm hello and congratulations to my most favourite British blogger Clive Soley who, having recently retired as an MP after 26 years of great service to this country, has just been made a Lord. Surely Lord Clive of British Blogland must qualify for an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's first blogging Lord.

[Note to any new readers: please understand, this is not a political blog. The only reason this post appears here today is to encourage any British readers, no matter where they are on the political spectrum, please vote tomorrow. Comments are welcomed if they are non-political and relate to a genuine and kindly interest in peace and prosperity for Africa and in particular DRC, Uganda and the Sudan. Thank you.]

Further reading:

Tony Blair's Commission for Africa, La Commission pour l'Afrique.
Clive Soley's Why MP's Should Get Blogging plus Fabian paper on Iraq.

Tags: Blair Soley Darfur Sudan Africa