Shall I finish you off, Tony?
/Lord Levy: 'I warned Tony Blair about long massages with Carole Caplin'
Lord Levy's book reveals that he was asked by a senior figure within Downing Street to confront Tony Blair over "long massages" that the then Prime Minister was said to be receiving from Carole Caplin.
He says he was asked to intervene when rumours swept No10 about visits that the fitness guru was paying to the Prime Minister's country home, Chequers. And when the peer raised the matter at a private meeting in Downing Street, an embarrassed Mr Blair "went bright red".
Wright through the wringer
/Dave Winer on the Rev Jeremiah Wright
Wright says the religion of the people on the deck of a slave ship must be different from the religion from the people under the deck. On the deck, god is justifying the practice of slavery, and below -- god gives them hope that someday they will be free. My people, the Jews, understand this very well, it's part of our tradition. We've just celebrated the holiday of Passover, a feast that's all about the pride of an enslaved people. If we're still telling the story, passing it down from generation to generation, after 3000 years, why should we be critical of the African-Americans who are telling the story of their enslavement, which ended only 145 years ago, and whose manifestations are still with us today.Watch the video of the interview HERE
JC Power 100 (no relation)
/The Jewish Chronicle Power 100: The people shaping Jewish life in Britain
Coming in at No 76 (up from 92 last year) is Ken Livingstone:
Coming in at No 76 (up from 92 last year) is Ken Livingstone:
Although he will be less influential after May 1 if he loses the London mayoral race to Boris Johnson, Mr Livingstone, 62, has impressed the Charedi community with his appreciation of its housing problems and his support for new projects. He has raised the prospect of a Charedi presence in the proposed major development of the Thames Gateway. In the short-term, he has held talks with community leaders about providing bigger houses for the strictly Orthodox. However, many Jews find it difficult to forgive his likening of Evening Standard journalist Oliver Finegold to a concentration-camp guard; insulting comments about businessmen David and Simon Reuben; and his hosting of controversial Islamic cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi.But nosing in front is David Toube (aka DavidT) of Harry's Place who storms in from nowhere to take the No 71 spot:
An up-and-coming name as key contributor to the well-regarded Harry’s Place blog, which is sympathetic to Israel, if at times critical, (sic) (emphasis mine) and exposes what it sees as left-wing hypocrisy. In professional life, the Oxford-educated blogger is an associate at the London office of international law firm Cleary Gottlieb, where he specialises in Financial Services Authority requirements to which regulated companies are subject. He has also authored legal guides and lectured in law at Queen Mary College, University of London.Via JsansF
Humphrey Lyttleton 23 May 1921 – 25 April 2008
/Obituary: Humphrey Lyttelton
Slightly disconcerting to find the obituary of Humphrey Lyttleton written by George Melly, who predeceased him by nine months. Unlike Melly, who gave up playing jazz in the sixties, only to return later as a rather irritating, glorified Fat's Waller impersonator, Humph continued playing the trumpet to the end. But it's for his radio programmes that I'll remember him most fondly. 'I'm sorry I Haven't a Clue', where he was undisputed champion of the double entendre and 'The Best of Jazz', which was essential listening for any jazz fan.
Slightly disconcerting to find the obituary of Humphrey Lyttleton written by George Melly, who predeceased him by nine months. Unlike Melly, who gave up playing jazz in the sixties, only to return later as a rather irritating, glorified Fat's Waller impersonator, Humph continued playing the trumpet to the end. But it's for his radio programmes that I'll remember him most fondly. 'I'm sorry I Haven't a Clue', where he was undisputed champion of the double entendre and 'The Best of Jazz', which was essential listening for any jazz fan.
He was, like Ronnie Scott, the perfect ambassador for jazz, but, as another "old fool", for me he will always be that Pied Piper on the cusp of the 1950s, beating in Snake Rag in a magic cellar when we were young and didn't even know it. - George Melly
They don't make 'em like this anymore
/Pee-wee Herman and the gang, which includes a young Laurence Fishborne as Cowboy Curtis and, singing this theme tune, Cyndi Lauper, in the opening of the wonderful Pee-wee's Playhouse.
Bill Clinton’s Madness...
/...A Consequence of Heart-Bypass Surgery Brain Damage!
Via J-Walk
One of the savviest politicians of our generation, known for his wit, charm, and calm under extreme pressure, Bill Clinton appears out of character in the speeches and interviews televised since his bypass surgery September 6, 2004—and his mental deterioration may be accelerating. Remember, this is the president who withstood public impeachment before the entire world for his relationship with Monica Lewinski without once losing control. Now, he is easily angered by hecklers, and makes factual mistakes and racial slurs while aggressively defending his wife’s campaign for presidency. Everyone sees his mental and emotional decline, yet to date, no medical professionals have spoken out about the cause or offered help.
Via J-Walk
Who'd have thunk it?
/City bonuses helped cause banks crisis, says CBI chief
The director general of the CBI yesterday singled out the bonus culture that has turned thousands of bankers into millionaires as one of the main causes of the financial problems now engulfing the world's banks. Richard Lambert said the bonuses rewarded success but did not penalise failure, and that if bankers had been staking their own capital they might not have taken such big risks...If it had been their own equity at risk, things might have played out differently." The bonus culture has turned thousands of relatively mediocre performers in the banking industry into multi-millionaires, while top performers have earned vast sums. The head of Barclays investment banking, Bob Diamond, was paid £36m last year even though Barclays took a £1.6bn hit from the US sub-prime crisis.
Is it 'cause he's Black?..Well, yes, actually.
/Yes it's politically incorrect but race matters
The 2008 US election has all the makings of a Greek tragedy, in which noble heroes and heroines are forced to follow a course to catastrophe, divinely preordained as punishment for sins and blunders committed by their forefathers in the dim and distant past. In acting out their ineluctable doom, the eloquent protagonists do not just destroy themselves but also their cities, their nations and even their entire civilisations. If this description sounds too grandiose, consider yesterday's results from the Pennsylvania primary. The outcome seemed to be precisely calibrated by the gods to maximise the agony of the Democrats. It gave Hillary Clinton just the support she needed to stay firmly in contention, but not quite enough to turn the tide in her favour. Worse still, this result underlined the fear that senior Democrats have long been aware of, but have never dared to express in public: America may not yet be ready to elect a black President.The most shocking revelation from polls in the US is that millions of Clinton supporters would either not bother voting or would actually vote for McCain rather than vote for Obama.