Tim Blair

er, so the bombings in saudi arabia were aimed at all the jews there?

"if you look at all the main attacks there have been since we invaded Iraq, every single one of them has been aimed at either a Western or an Israeli target."

So um, Baghdad and the other attacks in Iraq don't count, eh? Plenty of Muslims killed in those attacks.

Dumbass, go back to hiding in your media room, we here in the US coalition will worry about the heavy lifting. Again.

Not to mention all the bombs in Morocco, Saudia Arabia, and the recent attacks in Iraq against Iraqis.

When presented with that fact, did John Humphrys chuckle condescendingly ?

So, Shiite mosques are western targets?

And Iraqi police stations?

The really depressing thing about the Clarkson outburst is that he is supposedly the BBC's token anti-PC right-winger.

The John Humphrys thing was just a preface to this.

I didn't see it, but the Clarkson thing as described sounds totally out of character. I suspect it might have been meant to be ironic. At least, I hope so...

bulldog:

I dunno. Remember, it was 1939 (iirc) when the folks at Oxford passed their famous resolution that they would never again go to war for King nor Country.

Do these people ever listen to themselves, or do they just talk?

Oh, right....

Clarkson writes a mostly fairly frivolous column for the Sunday Times, reading which doesn't give you much of a clue to his political beliefs, other than a bluff, worldy cynicism towards politicians generally. Presumably from his remarks on Question Time, he's of the school of thought that believes we shouldn't be risking British lives to fight people who aren't a threat to us.

This is a reasonable enough position - albeit one I don't agree with - and is vastly preferable to the Left who believe that Arab fascists, whether Ba'athist or Islamic, are our moral equivalents.

Any contempt anyone wishes to hurl at John Humphreys, however, is of course wholly deserved.

You know, I can see why people want to jump ship to Al Qaeda and such. Sure, they're morally reprehensible mass-murderers, but at least they have the courage of their convictions to fight and die for what they believe in.

The West, on the other hand, seems to want to commit mass-suicide.

The Oxford Union: King and Country debate was 1933.

As for Humphrys: well, what can I do, but repeat that age-old motto - "your licence fees at work". Wanker.

when the folks at Oxford passed their famous resolution that they would never again go to war for King nor Country.

Nothing wrong with that. Democracy is a far better cause to go to war for.

(Yeah yeah, I ended with "for". This is
the sort of pedantry up with which I will not put.)

Clarkson also hosts "Top Gear," a weekly BBC car show. I wouldn't peg him as a shrieking socialist... he's actually more of a libertarian, at least if his rants about speed limits, traffic wardens, etc., are any indication.

Clarkson! Ironic. Recently he did a BBC documentary on the Market Garden operation at Arnhem in '44. That figures, with Clarkson managing to promote himself as the son-in-law of Robert Cain VC who was decorated for his bravery at Arnhem, where he knocked out several tanks with a PIAT at close range whilst wounded. Big mouth, small heart.

Andjam:

If you're going to be pedantic, try to be accurate about your arguments before going for points on grammar.

The Oxford Union's debate was not about fighting for King versus fighting for democracy. It was about pacifism and whether anything was worth fighting for at all.

Clarkson is a prick, who wrote an extremely nasty article (just spent 20 minutes looking for it online but can't find link) late last year about Australians, in which he completely rubbished the country and the culture. Some may say that he was indulging in a bit of post world-cup Aussie-bashing however I won't forget his glib dismissal of the country in his ST column. He can go back to his car show because that's about all he's good for.

J

Glad to see you still on air Tim. I was a bit worried that the news papers had dumped one of Australias best loved comedians. They just cant appreciate a good conspiracy theory Thankfully you have survived to inhabit the information netherworld along with the likes of Brian Wiltshire (insert twilight zone music here.) Fortunately there are still those of us who believe that an argument can be won by character assassination of your opponent. Lets face it, kicking someone in the goolies is a far more effective way of winning an argument than using facts....and funnier too...I love the slapstick. So keep up the good work Tim, you are better than Dilbert.