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15 Feb 2005, 3:58 pm
i'd have to say he's my favourite british politician by quite a stretch. any other uk aspies a fan of his? 
15 Feb 2005, 4:06 pm
15 Feb 2005, 6:38 pm
15 Feb 2005, 7:57 pm
I'm a massive fan of Tony Benn - the fact that he's reckoned to be AS too doesn't hurt either.
cornince wrote:
What's he about?
He's an extreme left-winger in his beliefs (certainly by US standards). He always speaks his mind, always seems to speak the truth (even though he is a politician), is never afraid of alienating his own party (he was one of the few Labour MPs who spoke out about the Iraq War throughout) and generally speaks more outright sense than any other politician I've ever heard. He's been demonised by the British press throughout his career, of course, and the fact that he once spent a spell at a mental institution is always brought up in "Tony Benn is a nutter because...." arguments by drunken imbeciles down the pub.
15 Feb 2005, 9:08 pm
Hmmm, this reminds me of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, MD (R-TX 14) over here, except that Ron Paul is a libertarian (though registered as a Republican). Ron Paul has been very opposed to the Iraq War for the whole time it was an issue, he wants drugs legalized, he wants the federal government shrunk down to a very small size, he wants the Constitution to be interpreted and enforced strictly (including the 10th amendment, which says that if the Constitution doesn't explicitly give the federal government the power to do something, then it doesn't have that power--instead the states and the citizens would have that power), he wants the Patriot Act repealed and gone for good, etc. I like him. 
15 Feb 2005, 11:40 pm
16 Feb 2005, 1:49 am
16 Feb 2005, 1:25 pm
16 Feb 2005, 1:50 pm
TAFKASH wrote:
I'm a massive fan of Tony Benn - the fact that he's reckoned to be AS too doesn't hurt either.
He's an extreme left-winger in his beliefs (certainly by US standards). He always speaks his mind, always seems to speak the truth (even though he is a politician), is never afraid of alienating his own party (he was one of the few Labour MPs who spoke out about the Iraq War throughout) and generally speaks more outright sense than any other politician I've ever heard. He's been demonised by the British press throughout his career, of course, and the fact that he once spent a spell at a mental institution is always brought up in "Tony Benn is a nutter because...." arguments by drunken imbeciles down the pub.
cornince wrote:
What's he about?
He's an extreme left-winger in his beliefs (certainly by US standards). He always speaks his mind, always seems to speak the truth (even though he is a politician), is never afraid of alienating his own party (he was one of the few Labour MPs who spoke out about the Iraq War throughout) and generally speaks more outright sense than any other politician I've ever heard. He's been demonised by the British press throughout his career, of course, and the fact that he once spent a spell at a mental institution is always brought up in "Tony Benn is a nutter because...." arguments by drunken imbeciles down the pub.
i only read someone that he had AS a few days ago. never heard about his mental institution stay either.
i have read a few volumes of his political diaries.
i really wish his views (and mine) were a lot more popular. i think the chance of someone like benn being elected into power is virtually non-existant. i'm not looking forward to voting in a few months time.
anyway he's great.
i cant think of many things i disagree with him over. i'm not sure about his views regarding europe but then thats probably because i'm not sure about mine either.
i wish there were more of his creed
16 Feb 2005, 6:11 pm
car_crash wrote:
i really wish his views (and mine) were a lot more popular. i think the chance of someone like benn being elected into power is virtually non-existant. i'm not looking forward to voting in a few months time.
anyway he's great. i cant think of many things i disagree with him over. i'm not sure about his views regarding europe but then thats probably because i'm not sure about mine either.
i wish there were more of his creed
anyway he's great.
i cant think of many things i disagree with him over. i'm not sure about his views regarding europe but then thats probably because i'm not sure about mine either.i wish there were more of his creed
Hear, hear! I think Tony Benn in power would have been a great thing, but obviously Rupert Murdoch (or most of the Labour Party for that matter) would've never let it happen.
The thing I forgot to mention about him to the unitiated is that he was born to a privileged background (his father was a Viscount), but he renounced his title to be able to continue as an MP (which yet further confirms his greatness). Another thing illiterate plebs use against him is "well, if he's supposed to be a socialist, then why don't he give the money away then, innit?"
16 Feb 2005, 6:35 pm
Asparval wrote:
I used to like 'Mr Benn' (as in Festive Row) but that's also a bit off topic.
'...just then the shopkeeper appeared.'
16 Feb 2005, 6:38 pm
Mel wrote:
Asparval wrote:
I used to like 'Mr Benn' (as in Festive Row) but that's also a bit off topic.
'...just then the shopkeeper appeared.'
How come Mr. Benn got away with never paying for his cossies, that's what I want to know! "Just then the shopkeeper appeared after spotting him shoplifting" more like......
17 Feb 2005, 2:35 am
17 Feb 2005, 5:51 am
TAFKASH wrote:
Mel wrote:
Asparval wrote:
I used to like 'Mr Benn' (as in Festive Row) but that's also a bit off topic.
'...just then the shopkeeper appeared.'
How come Mr. Benn got away with never paying for his cossies, that's what I want to know! "Just then the shopkeeper appeared after spotting him shoplifting" more like......
Mr Benn, as opposed to Viscount Benn, was a cross dresser. does anyone else think it's a bit dodgy, a bloke wandering into a shop, where the shopkeeper says, "Oh, ho, ho - i just happen to have yet another costume you might want to wear. Please step into my back room and try it on"? not having to pay? or who was paying whom, eh? in kind?
no? just me, then...
17 Feb 2005, 5:29 pm
TAFKASH wrote:
car_crash wrote:
i really wish his views (and mine) were a lot more popular. i think the chance of someone like benn being elected into power is virtually non-existant. i'm not looking forward to voting in a few months time.
anyway he's great. i cant think of many things i disagree with him over. i'm not sure about his views regarding europe but then thats probably because i'm not sure about mine either.
i wish there were more of his creed
anyway he's great.
i cant think of many things i disagree with him over. i'm not sure about his views regarding europe but then thats probably because i'm not sure about mine either.i wish there were more of his creed
Hear, hear! I think Tony Benn in power would have been a great thing, but obviously Rupert Murdoch (or most of the Labour Party for that matter) would've never let it happen.
The thing I forgot to mention about him to the unitiated is that he was born to a privileged background (his father was a Viscount), but he renounced his title to be able to continue as an MP (which yet further confirms his greatness). Another thing illiterate plebs use against him is "well, if he's supposed to be a socialist, then why don't he give the money away then, innit?"
yeah i knew about him renouncing his peerage. haha did you see will self on have i got news for you a few months back giving kinnock a hard time about excepting a peerage amongst other things?
i cant say ive engaged in a political discussion with a pleb recently. sounds like they should be avoided though.
tony benn is a christian socialist aswell isnt he? which i find quite interesting. (even though i'm not religous) obviously he's read a different bible to the one dubya has read
