Euan Blair accepts US Internship

[Caledonia]

Euan Blair accepts US internship

Euan Blair is about to graduate from Bristol University
Euan Blair, the prime minister's eldest son, is to work in Washington DC as an intern for Republican politicians.

The 21-year-old will spend three months working for the Committee on Rules in the House of Representatives - the lower chamber of the US Congress.

The move has surprised Democrats, who see the committee as highly partisan, says the Sunday Telegraph.

A Downing Street spokesman said the prime minister's son would also seek an internship with a Democrat politician.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4623333.stm

[anakie]

1. John Howard's (Aust PM) son

also did an internship at the WH during the last election.

[realFedUp]

2. spending some time with David Dreier eh?

love to see the house rules on that one.

[havocmom]

3. Long ago, lesser kings had sons/daughters stay in courts of more powerful

rulers. They were taught and treated well, but they were hostages and insured the loyality of the lesser kings.

Think about that little tradition.

[FourStarDemocrat]

49. Interesting... n/t

[Darth_Kitten]

4. Shouldn't this position go to an American?

:shrug:

Gee, wouldn't it be a more "valuable" experience for a young american? :shrug:

[AX10]

6. I was wondering the same thing.

[Darth_Kitten]

8. Someone is getting special treatment...

isn't this the same Blair kid with the projectile vomiting problem? :sarcasm: :nopity:

[Caledonia]

37. Yes, he is getting special treatment

The post was arranged through talks with the UK Ambassador, I heard that 100,000 Americans apply for these posts every year. So, I was thinking.... maybe W could send one of his daughters as a foreign exchange to take orders from someone like, erm.. Charles Kennedy or George Galloway for instance. :D

[Lilith Velkor]

52. Doesn't matter, they just gotta be rich.

We serfs are expected to be nationalistic, sexually prudish, etc. but the overclass has a different code, as they always have.

[Lavender Brown]

73. American students have taken government-related internships in the UK

:shrug:

[Bismillah]

5. Like father, like son.

"That's ma boy, ah say, that's ma boy..."

[Tinoire]

7. No surprise here

"Saddam has plans for chemical and biological weapons that could be activated in 45 minutes."
-- Tony Blair, September 24, 2002

[kskiska]

9. Tony Blair's Son to Work with US Republicans

LONDON (AFP) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair's son Euan is to take an internship with a leading US Republican Congressman, a newspaper said.

Euan Blair is to spend three months unpaid with the Republican majority on the House of Representatives Committee on Rules, the Sunday Telegraph revealed.

He will reportedly be under the wing of Californian lawmaker David Dreier, the committee's chairman and a member of the lower House of Representatives for the Republican Party of US President George W. Bush.

(snip)

Despite the warm relationship between centre-left Labour Party premier Blair and the rightwing Bush, the move astounded US opposition Democrats, traditionally closer to Labour.

more…
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050625/wl_uk_afp/britainusblair

[blm]

10. This is good. It shows that gay Republicans are trusted by world leaders.

I highly doubt that Blair would let his son intern for Santorum or Inhofe.

[Oversea Visitor]

11. Yeah US safe place for him

wrong info confuse Blair and thatcher son.

[oasis]

12. We'll wait 'n see if the corporate media sweeps the Dreier/intern

scandal under the rug before the 2006 elections.

[billbuckhead]

14. He will reportedly be under the wing of Californian lawmaker David Dreier

Thing's that make you go hmmm.

[oasis]

22. Mrs. Dreier should hire a private eye.

[thebigidea]

23. she'd probably need to exist first

[DanCa]

13. So the devils get blair son as a sacrifice

Tell me is it tony's first born?

[madrchsod]

15. this guy?

http://www.drinkfromthefurrycup.com/stories/073.shtml
Euan Blair Made Me Pregnant ! | Drink From The Furry Cup | News Satire


1009

1030

[SoCalDem]

16. Dreier will probably hit on him

he's a smarmy dude, that one:(

[dave29]

17. Blair believes in outsourcing too!

so nice how Bush and Blair agree on so much.

[MisterP]

18. neolib, neocon, what's the difference!

[bluestateguy]

19. Paying attention nativist Freeper lurkers?

He's probably a spy. The framers of the Constitution would be mortified by this foreign influence in US government.

Call me old-fashioned, but I think congressional internships should be for American citizens only.

[redacted]

20. Agreed. He's taking a job a young American should have.

I think this is quite alarming.

[oasis]

21. He's working for no pay. They can shove those kind of jobs.

[1932]

31. Is he working for the committee or for the congressperson?

If he's working for the committee then it hardly seems fair to say that he's working for Drier just because Drier chairs the committee.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

24. What? No Royal Marines?

Shocked, surprised and disillusioned!

[Apollo11]

25. I almost choked ...

... on my breakfast this morning when this was announced on BBC News 24.

But then I remembered that Tony Blair's own father was a lifelong Conservative voter - so right-wing leanings would seem to run in the family.

Cherie started out with leftish credentials, coming from a Labour family, but 25 years of being married to Tony (sleeping with the enemy) have obviously taken a toll.

I'm sure Tony doesn't see any problem with this, because he lives in a parallel universe where:
(a) Tony Blair remains extremely popular and well-loved by the British people, and has won massive victories in 3 successive elections (ignoring the fact that only 22% of the electorate voted Labour in the 2005 election - and a lot of them voted for candidates who don't support Blair's policy on Iraq).
(b) W won the Presidency fair and square, was re-elected with a strong mandate in 2004, and enjoys the support of most Americans (ignoring all the evidence that the results of the 2000 and 2004 elections were distorted by widespread abuse and possible fraud, as well as W's latest approval ratings).
(c) partisanship is "so yesterday" and there aren't any major differences between Republicans and Democrats anyway. So if you sacrifice your first born son to work for one side, then the other side won't hold that against you (ignoring the acrimony around issues like the Bolton nomination and judicial appointments).
(d) most people believe that it was necessary to invade Iraq and remove Saddam from power, because he posed a significant threat, and Blair and Bush would not have taken military action unless it was absolutely necessary, and certainly never lied or tried to mislead anyone about their true motives and intentions.

To be fair - Tony already warned us that he sees no differences between his political values and those of the Republican Party.

On July 17, 2003, Tony Blair told the US Congress (with a Republican majority in both houses): "Don't ever apologize for your values."

PS - Given that this is an unpaid internship, I don't think it's necessarily a problem that Blair Jr. is not a US citizen. I am aware of American college students doing unpaid internships in the British Parliament and in the European Parliament. If it's done right - it can contribute to international understanding ...

I think it's worse when the Blairs make money out of Tony's political position. Like Cherie getting paid thousands to talk about life inside 10 Downing Street. But an unpaid internship is just killing time until he figures out what to do with his life. It can't be easy being the son or daughter of a world-famous politician. But I would see it as less problematic if Euan was working for the Democrats.

It cannot be good for Tony's relationship with the membership of the Party of which he is still the leader, that his son is helping what most Labour Party members would regard as "the enemy". It's kind of like a young Jedi going to do an intership with a Sith Lord. It raises eyebrows - and questions!

[non sociopath skin]

26. Disappointed, saddened but not in the slightest bit surprised.

Blair sees the "New Labour Project" as having much in common with Fundie-Repukism.

The one saving grace is that he is probably still in a minority in the Labour Movement.

The Skin

[emad]

27. David Drier to be mentor: BBC

SNIP:
"Duties our interns are responsible for include filing, assisting senior staff, sorting through mail, preparing for committee meetings and assembling folders," the website stated.

It is extremely surprising that the son of a Labour prime minister would intern with the Republican majority staff on the committee

The Sunday Telegraph claimed Californian congressman David Dreier, chair of the committee, would be Euan's mentor.

Mr Dreier was a part of the team assembled by California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to help the state tackle its economic crisis in 2003.

------------------
Downing Street said British diplomats had been involved in the process.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4623333.stm

[realFedUp]

28. Dreier is gay

Can we just be candid here? His longtime partner
is his chief of staff and they've taken over 25
trips overseas on taxpayer dole, although he holds
no foreign relations committee position.

So Blair's son will be under the tutelage of
Dreier and his partner which is fine, just
so everyone understands these are the circumstances.

I have no problem with Dreier and Brad being
gay partners.I do have a problem with Dreier being
a closeted gay Republican and voting
anti-gay on issues of civil rights.

[msongs]

29. is this the BLAIR SON found passed out on a street one morning

because he had been on a huge drunken bender and lost his way and passed out on the street in the middle of the night and been found lying there like a common street drunk (which he was at that moment)?

Msongs
www.msongs.com/liberaltshirts.htm

PS - the drier is gay thing has been well known around here (So Cal)for a decade. his opponent in the last election was an open and out lesbian, but the issue of drier being an anti-gay was hypocrite not used in the campaign.

[muriel_volestrangler]

38. Not lost - he was in the centre of London, in Leicester Square

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/822238.stm

He had been celebrating the end of his exams with 'friends' - who left him, to be picked up by the police, rather than taking care of him. Teenagers getting drunk after their exams is very common - it was the abandonment by his friends that pissed me off.

[fedsron2us]

30. Is Blair trying to found a political dynasty ?

Clearly, he has spent too long hanging around with the Bush family.

He should remember that the top hereditary political job in the UK is already taken and they have a long record of seeing off all upstarts.

Once again it seems those whom the gods would destroy they first make mad.

[1932]

32. Is Blair trying to cut child poverty in half, raise wages, lower unemploy-

ment, and cut African debt (no matter what the IMF and Wall St say about it)?

[fedsron2us]

34. Blair does not give a fuck about the poor

wherever they live. All the measures you describe originate and have been pushed through by Gordon Brown,the Labour Chancellor, often in the face of opposition from his own leader. Anyway what the hell has your point got to do with Blair's ambitions for his family.

[1932]

36. You have a cite for that?

If we're talking about Blair's ambitions, I thought it help to have a little perspective on what his policy ambitions are.

Even if you believe the fantasy that because his son wants to intern for the US Congress means that Blair dreams of a world of inherited privilege, you have to acknowledge that the policies he's implementing in the UK are going to achieve the exact opposite.

[Nihil]

47. Short answer: No, he isn't.

> Is Blair trying to cut child poverty in half, raise wages, lower
> unemployment, and cut African debt (no matter what the IMF and
> Wall St say about it)?

If you believe that, I'd like to sell you something ...

[1932]

48. Explain baby bonds to me then.

[Nihil]

50. Should be easy to tie that into your claims ...

> Is Blair trying to cut child poverty in half,

Sure, he's going to give payments to (some) people with new babies.
That will make sure that the children will have enough money to ...
ah ... ok, it doesn't give anything to the children for how many years?

> raise wages,

Sure, Blair will be raising the money for baby bonds by giving people
a pay rise ... ah ... ok, it's going to be funded by another tax hike?

> lower unemployment,

Sure, all of the additional incomprehensible and unnecessary paperwork
that this adds to the potential beneficiaries will require quite a bit
of hiring in the government sector ... oh, they've outsourced it ...
to India?

> and cut African debt

Sure, all of the starving children in Africa will really benefit from
a British politician's paper party ... except they can't eat empty
promises, can't drink policy documents and have absolutely no use
whatsoever for the unelected advisers, spin-doctors and business
cronies of Bush's poodle.

Like I said: if you believe that, I'd like to sell you something ...

[1932]

51. It's depressing that people who consider themselves liberal say things...

...like that.

Baby bonds are not something they're giving to people with children so much as they're something they're giving to people. We all start as babies. Baby bonds is an idea that progressive DEMOCRATS in the US have argued for, and somehow when Blair does it, it's suddenly conservative and ineffective? Come on. At very low cost to society, it encourages to save so that at age 18 you have 40,000 bucks to spend on a home or college education so that you don't make socially unproductive choices (like going into unsupportable debt or skipping college). The social payoff is going to greatly offset the social costs. I can't believe anyone considering themselves liberal doesn't see the advantage of this.

Baby bonds or no baby bonds, Labour has already raised salaries and lowered unemployment, and it's the poorest people in the UK that have seen the biggest increases in salaries.

And the idea that cutting Afrian debt is bad...man...rhetorical backflips to ignore reality.

[Nihil]

58. You really don't know what you are talking about.

> We all start as babies.

This is the only line of unspun truth in your post.

Do a little research on reality in the UK instead of regurgitating
Blairite (and Republican) spin.

> so that you don't make socially unproductive choices

Hmmm ...

> And the idea that cutting Afrian debt is bad ...

Care to suggest where I stated that? You appear to be the only
person performing "rhetorical backflips to ignore reality".

[1932]

60. Throw a dog a bone.

You're not giving me any reason to post anything more than I said in my last post.

If you're just going to attack me personally without backing up your claims, I'll stand on my last post and let readers decide who is full of shit.

Now, if you want to engage in a debate on the issues, I think you know what you need to post.

By the way, Labour has lifted 1 million children out of povert since 1997, and during most of that period, the UK has faced a tough global economy. Tories have defitely given them a lot of room to improve society. And Labour has grabbed the opportunity to make life better for working and poor people.

[Nihil]

61. Funny you should say that when defending the poodle!

> If you're just going to attack me personally without backing up
> your claims,

Please review your own:

> It's depressing that people who consider themselves liberal say
> things like that.
+
> I can't believe anyone considering themselves liberal doesn't see
> the advantage of this.
+
> ...rhetorical backflips to ignore reality.


Meanwhile, back on the subject ...

> Baby bonds are not something they're giving to people with children
> so much as they're something they're giving to people.

Wrong. They are something only given to people with children,
specifically people with children born after September 2002.
Very small subclass of "people".


> At very low cost to society, it encourages to save so that at age 18
> you have 40,000 bucks to spend on a home or college education

Not in the country we are talking about. (Hint: This is NOT the US ...)


> You're not giving me any reason to post anything more than I said
> in my last post.

Well, for a start, I corrected each of your own content-free guesses
but if you are into "link chasing", here's a start for you:

> All newborn babies will receive £250 from the state, rising to £500
> in the case of low income families. The money will not be available
> to the child until they are 18, but there are no rules on how the
> funds can be used.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3236626.stm)

Woo hoo ... that should make for a damn good 18th birthday party ...
but no, you thought it would be spent on "a home or college education".


> Children from low-income families will have £500 invested - and
> if that achieves 7% annual growth, it will become £1,410
> in 18 years.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4164731.stm)

What? Not "40,000 bucks"? My, my ... someone's been bullshitting ...

In addition:
> ... this amount given by the government will be swallowed by the
> much larger amount that 18 year olds will be charged in tuition
> fees - which by next year will be £3,000 per year in most
> universities.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4164731.stm)

Oops. Give with one hand and take away (more) with the other ...
sounds like Blair ...

And, in case we forget exactly why this came up ...

> Mr Blair promised he would introduce the new Child Trust Fund,
> paid in installments, if he gets re-elected.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1298642.stm)


Yes, I think I'll let you "stand on your earlier post" - that's all
it's fit for.

[1932]

62. See my next post.

And thanks for giving me the links to support my argument.

[Nihil]

68. Trying to get your post count up?

Is your first name "February 27th"? :-)

Or possibly "November 24th"?

:hi:

[1932]

75. See post 74, which gets truer with each response to me you post.

[1932]

63. You should read your links all the way through.

Relatives and friends will be allowed to top-up a child's fund to the tune of up to £1,200 a year to a total of £22,000 by the time he or she reaches 18 years old.

That's from your first link.

At about 1.85 pounds to the dollar, that's almost $40,000.

I'm glad I could help you with both your reading skills and your math.

[Nihil]

67. I did. I also noted how much Blair was helping.

> Children from low-income families will have £500 invested - and
> if that achieves 7% annual growth, it will become £1,410
> in 18 years.

Blair was helping to the tune of £1410 (if it manages 7% annual growth).
Much less than $40,000 no matter what exchange rate you use.

Or perhaps you were confusing the amount that *Blair* was providing
with the amount that *relatives & friends* will have to provide in
order to achieve your pie-in-the-sky figure?

Or maybe you were simply assuming that these loving relatives & friends
would not have given a brass farthing to the kid if not for the kind
example of Brother Blair?

You are in no position to help with anyone's reading skills if you
constantly translate from English/American into Bollocks.

[1932]

70. Nope. That doesn't save you. I note the colickiness, however.

If a politician creates a 401K program that allows you or your employer to match your investment and the matching funds grow tax free (and give the donor a tax benefit) you don't pretend that the only beneift created was a small fraction of the total benefit.

That you read that and left it out has worse rhetorical implications for you than my original interpetation.

Why are you so angry, by the way?

[1932]

64. How any progressive could not appreciate this program is beyond me.

Are you putting the horse of your desire to criticize me before the cart of being a liberal?

Also, your next google adventure should be an investigation into how people pay for college in the UK.

The US could solve a lot of its problems if they had the same program (it's an interest-free loan that you pay off only if you have above the median income, and the maximum you pay is 10% of your income -- and if you can't see how that's a good, progressive plan then I have no idea why you're posting at Democratic Underground).

[Nihil]

65. Lots of things are beyond you aren't they?

> your next google adventure should be an investigation into how people
> pay for college in the UK.

I have no need to use google for that ... I live in the UK and have a
lot of google-free experience of this.

There again, given your inability to understand the world outside the
US, perhaps that too is beyond your "vision".

[1932]

69. I'll interpret the personal attacks as you not having an argument.

[Nihil]

72. Pot, this is kettle ... (n/t)

[1932]

74. If you can find a single personal attack by me,

please point it out and I will apologize for it.

I try to avoid ad hominem attacks.

Description of Personal Attack


A personal attack is committed when a person substitutes abusive remarks for evidence when attacking another person's claim or claims. This line of "reasoning" is fallacious because the attack is directed at the person making the claim and not the claim itself. The truth value of a claim is independent of the person making the claim. After all, no matter how repugnant an individual might be, he or she can still make true claims.

Not all ad Hominems are fallacious. In some cases, an individual's characteristics can have a bearing on the question of the veracity of her claims. For example, if someone is shown to be a pathological liar, then what he says can be considered to be unreliable. However, such attacks are weak, since even pathological liars might speak the truth on occasion.

In general, it is best to focus one's attention on the content of the claim and not on who made the claim. It is the content that determines the truth of the claim and not the characteristics of the person making the claim.

http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/personal-attack.html

[mitchum]

33. Isn't that internship supposed to go to a privileged AMERICAN?

Since that twit is going to wind up as a lobbyist for some multinational, this will provide valuable experience.

[sleipnir]

35. Blair The Toady, sends his son down the same path.

Thank god for our modern royalty!

[maddezmom]

39. US congressman with anti-gay voting record to be Euan Blair's mentor

By Cahal Milmo and Andrew Gumbel
27 June 2005


David Dreier, the Republican congressman expected to mentor Tony Blair's eldest son Euan during a summer internship in Washington, is a hypocritical homosexual with an anti-gay voting record, critics allege.

During the election campaign last November, his Democrat opponent in California, Cynthia Matthews, came out as gay and urged her West Coast conservative rival, who idolised Ronald Reagan, to do the same.

One prominent LA publication outed him as gay and denounced him as a hypocrite. Mr Dreier, who is not married, has consistently refused to comment on his sexuality.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=650051

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

40. Euan Blair gets job in US as an intern (Tony Blair's Boy)

Prime minister's eldest son to spend three months in Washington after university working for Republican congressman

Michael White, political editor
Monday June 27, 2005
The Guardian

Euan Blair will be spending three months in Washington working as an unpaid intern for a powerful Republican congressman this summer. But he is also hoping to work for a Democrat as well, Downing Street confirmed yesterday.

The prime minister's eldest son, who is about to graduate from Bristol University, will work for Congressman David Dreier, chairman of the House rules committee as part of preparation for what he hopes will be an MBA course at Harvard, possibly after a gap year.

Mr Dreier, 53 next week, has represented California in Congress since he was 28 and has been attacked from both left and right for supporting tax cuts and not being tough enough on illegal immigration. Gay groups accused him of being anti-gay, even though other opponents demanded that he "out" himself.

Before the 2003 Iraq war Mr Dreier was quoted as saying that the US would not be fighting alone, in part thanks to "a great speech by Tony Blair", a man who had been elected "out of the mould of Bill Clinton and yet has become a great ally of George Bush".

More: http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labour/story/0,9061,1515389,00.html

Bush pays his bills.

[Arugula Latte]

41. Republican?

That's pathetic. So much for New Labor. Smells a lot like the friggin' Tories.

Tony, Tony, Tony. You let the family down. (Say in mafioso voice.)

[Taxloss]

42. Time for an ASBO!

Oh, no, hang on, they're meant for the poor.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

43. ASBO?

Whuzzat?

[Taxloss]

44. An Antisocial Behaviour Order.

Thses can be issued by a number of public and semi-public authorities - such as social landlords - for pretty much anything. They have to be approved by a court, and if you breach an ASBO you could get heavily fined or go to prison. They have been issued for really strange and absurd things. A woman was served an ASBO for answering the door in her lingerie on a regular basis. Antisocial, apparently.

Incidentally, one of their defining characteristics is that they're only used against poor people.

Odd that.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

45. I duped your post. Sorry I missed it and a kick!

[Senior citizen]

46. Blair is probably going to be looking for a job here himself soon.

He may be a Republican, but they have no power to block inquiries into the DSM in Parliament the way they can here. If he ends up going before the World Court as a war criminal, I doubt if his son will be safe here. We may not recognize the World Court, but the world does.

[GoldenOldie]

53. "Shouldn't this job be going to a young American?"

Not just any young American! I would think the California Pubs and the Young College Replublicans would be totally pissed that a Republican slot for an intern in DC is going to a foreigner.

These CON kids and their parents have whined about being passed over by minority kids for college placement. How will they accept being passed over for a foreigner.......they can't even whine that it's a Dem Liberal.

[emad]

54. Embassy helped on Euan job: Times

June 27, 2005

Embassy helped on Euan job



THE Conservatives have demanded an explanation of the role of the British Embassy in helping Euan Blair to get work experience as an intern with a Republican US Congressman.

The Prime Minister’s son, 21, is about to graduate from Bristol and has landed unpaid work with David Dreier. He also wants work with a Democrat Congressman.

Downing Street admitted that the British Embassy in Washington had been involved, but did not offer any further details.

Liam Fox, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, said: “It is reasonable for to take advantage of a service available to any other British citizen, but Embassy officials cannot be used for the personal convenience of elected officials.”


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,170-1670605,00.html

[realFedUp]

55. Tony didn't have enough clout on his own?

I imagine Euan will be enjoying some
infamous Palm Springs pool parties
this summer too. The tabloids could
be very busy....

[emad]

56. Maybe Guckert/Gannon can show Euan the ropes.....

?

[emad]

57. Maybe Guckert/Gannon can show Euan the ropes.....

?

[sweetheart]

59. How pathetic

Blair has become the figurehead for asinine brittania and all that
is regressive about a great nation.

Hopefully ewan will find his nazi uniform too tight and come home and
report the truth to his FUCKING STUPID dad.

[salin]

66. just training the heir - how to remake Labour in the shape

of Major's old Tory party.

[MetaTrope]

71. Time for another tea party?

:beer: