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| Source: photo by David Leaming "Choose A Cause" Waterville Morning Sentinel 5/21/12 |
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| Source: "Tony Blair At Colby College: 'Are We An Empire That's Fading'" Hunter Stuart Huffington Post |
Links to the news coverage:
UK/Ireland
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2147568/Tony-Blair-heckled-gives-graduation-speech-US-college.html
“But, while he has long been dogged by demonstrations in Britain
carrying out stunts like trying to arrest him, it is the first
time his appearances in the U.S. have been hijacked by protesters.” [My note: Actually, Blair was protested at Stanford University on May 18.]
other international
Ukraine
Iran
New Zealand
Australia
Ghana
-----
U.S.
Tony Blair Topics Page - USATODAY.com
content.usatoday.com/topics/more+articles/.../tony+blair
Heckled: Four protestors shouted at
former Prime Minister Tony Blair as he delivered the
graduation speech at Colby College in Maine Other protestors
stood by ...
Maine
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article/201283/2/Man-arrested-during-former-British-PM-commencement-speech
best tv coverage
Maine Public radio uses the
pejorative term marred:
Several people took exception to our disturbance of commencement
ceremonies at Colby, including the brother of one of the graduates. Here
was my reply to his thoughtful and civil response to my blog post about the
action:
Thank you for your critique of the
disruption I helped cause at Colby College when Tony Blair spoke at
your brother's graduation. I gave considerable thought to whether I
was comfortable with intruding rudeness into a well-earned
celebration for the graduates and their families and friends. I was
not entirely comfortable doing it, but I do not regret the decision I
made.
It's interesting that your criticism
centers on concluding that I wanted to draw attention to myself,
personally. For more on how much I have had to overcome my upbringing
in order to do the political advocacy work that I now do, you could
read my short statement about that on the Smithsonian Institution's
website: http://click.si.edu/VisitorStory.aspx?story=485
It was very tempting to stay at the
lake with my family and not make the effort. In the end, seven of us
did, and it resulted in press coverage far beyond my wildest dreams.
Getting the message that we must hold those who wage wars of
aggression accountable out all over Europe, Iran, New Zealand,
Australia, Ghana, and to scores of U.S. media outlets was the goal.
It wasn't about me at all.
What I particularly liked was that
there was mention made of war crimes, globalization, the Bring Our
War $$ Home campaign, the Occupy movement, and environmental and
economic concerns in one or more of the articles. These issues are
all connected, and we ignore them at our peril.
Sometimes it isn't nice to protest, or
to hear protests; probably institutions should give more careful
thought to what kind of public figures they chose to showcase, their
moral character and their track record presumably standing as a role
model to the young being educated at college.
A woman I respect very much contacted
me after Sunday's disruption and said, “Thanks for being the voice
for the voiceless.” R.I.P. the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who
died because of Blair's lies.
Lisa Savage
CODEPINK
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