Mayor of London on *: "greatest threat to life on this planet that we've..

[sabra]

I know this is from a few years back, but Livingstone was so right on this one...

<<SNIP>>
http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2003/11/18_morris_bush-threat.htm

Livingstone says Bush is
'Greatest threat to life on planet'
by Nigel Morris, November 18, 2003

Originally Published in independent.co.uk

Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, launched a stinging attack on President George Bush last night, denouncing him as the "greatest threat to life on this planet that we've most probably ever seen".

His provocatively timed comments, on the eve of Mr Bush's arrival in London tonight, threaten to create severe embarrassment for the Prime Minister. They also come with talks under way on whether to re-admit Mr Livingstone to the Labour Party before his five-year exile ends.

Although he made his many differences with the Government on a range of issues clear, he reserved his strongest comments for the American President in an interview with The Ecologist magazine.

The President's three-night trip, which will culminate on Friday with a visit to the Prime Minister's Sedgefield constituency, has sparked a flood of protests from those opposed to his foreign policy. But Mr Livingstone's outburst makes him one of the most high-profile and explicit of his critics.

<</SNIP>>

[Chicago Democrat]

1. AMEN!

I like him.

[in_cog_ni_to]

2. I remember that.

He was spot on and it still holds true.

[frankly_fedup2]

8. Great quote; however, the people no longer have any power,

albeit in the voting booth or through activism. Our media is obviously censored, freedom of the press is a joke, representation with taxation hasn't existed since 2000.

We have a narcissistic, somewhat sadistic, lying, stealing, cheating, born-again Christian (they say) sitting as the most powerful man in the World.

That has scared the Hell out of me for a long time. Hitler looks like a pussy compared to Bush. What's the difference? Hitler was a devout Catholic (Pope Pius was his man and without his help, Hitler would never have succeeded in his almost total destruction of a people who Christians believe their Christ is one of. Of course, they also blame the Jews for the death of Christ. The Jews just cannot win anywhere in the World.

The only way we could ever feel safe again in this country is the government would have to be led away in handcuffs to Gitmo. Then when we wanted information, we could take them out on the ships and torture their asses until we find out what we want (oh my, I'm fantasizing again -- sorry).

[Cha]

3. Ken Livingstone was right

then and it's even more true now.

Too bad so many in the USA can't see it..but they're under the thumb of the US corporatemedia and evidently don't investigate for themselves.

[xxqqqzme]

4. a 5 yr 'time-out' - I like that idea

A few democrats, who shall not be named, would benefit from a similar action on this side of the pond.

[Taxloss]

12. Well, that's not quite how it happened.

Ken led the Greater London Council before it was scrapped by Margaret Thatcher in the early 1980s - the RW government considered it too left-wing, too powerful, and too popular. Plus, Ken wasted no opportunity to humiliate Thatcher - at the time the GLC HQ was just across the river from parliament, and they used to hang huge banners proclaiming the (ever-rising, at the time) number of London jobless. But Ken's policies and demeanour made him extremely popular with Londoners, myself included.

It took more than 15 years for a single London authority to be reinstated, and the instant it was Ken ran for mayor. However, first he ran for the Labour nomination. Sadly, by this stage he was too left-wing for Labour, who sabotaged his nomination, despite the fact that he was a shoo-in. So he announced that he would run independently, and was promptly expelled from the Labour Party.

This was one of Labour's biggest political errors.

Ken stormed the 2000 elections and became mayor. Labour had to go crawling back to him. Tony Blair was publicly humiliated. He actually admitted he had been wrong on national TV. It was a wonderful moment. Ken swanned into a second term in 2004; he'll take a third term in 2008, and perhaps a fourth. He's that rarest thing - a politician people like as a person.

When he regained power in 2000, the first words he said were : "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted ..."

[mom cat]

5. The truth of those words gets stronger every day. I would only add

that Bush is only one person in this mafia style attempt to conquer the world for the benefit of a few. If the top ten members of this crime syndicate were to die today, there would still be a powerful, coordinated oligarchical conspiracy that subscribes to the totalitarian goals of PNAC and the neo-con agenda.

[indepat]

6. Such a dire assessment seemed over-the-top at the time, but the world

has now had an additional nearly twenty more months of works to gage just how over-the-top those remarks were.

[Beaver Tail]

7. YEEESSSSS!!!!!

Good for him.

[mod mom]

9. Mr. Livingstone is a wise soul. nt

[roguevalley]

10. I love Red Ken. He defied Thatcher too.

[Taxloss]

14. remember the banners?

That guy had balls.

[cascadiance]

11. Hey Galloway now has come competition!

... and this sort of competition is GOOD! Tell it like it is!

[Taxloss]

13. I remember that visit.

It sparked some of the largest street protests in recent memory - I was there. (I love a good march.)

Ken hosted an anti-visit festival - extraordinary and I believe unprecedented for a city mayor during a state visit.

Ken rules.

[starroute]

15. The really funny part is how Rush Limbaugh was just praising him

http://mediamatters.org/items/200507080004

From the July 7 broadcast of The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: That's, ah, the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. Very powerful, excellent. And it was such a great contrast to what we're seeing in our own media this morning with the hand-wringing I was speaking about and the "Oh, woe is us" and "Oh, what did we do to cause this?" and "Oh, does this mean we're going to get hit?" and "Oh ..." It's like I said -- 40 people dead, 150 seriously wounded, 1,000 wounded, out of over 1 million people in that transit tube. It's not a successful terrorist attack, folks. They didn't succeed in doing anything, and that's just what you just heard the mayor say: "You don't scare us. You didn't accomplish diddly-squat. We've been through this before, much worse than this. And look at us -- we're in the 20th century, you're still back in the 14th century. Blah, blah, blah."

[Independent_Liberal]

16. HAHAHA!!!

Yep, * is the greatest threat there is!

:D

[jarnocan]

17. GREAT!

I wonder if he is a member of Mayors for Peace! Sounds like he should be.

[jazzjunkysue]

18. Honey: Get the suitcases and 2 visas. I'm moving to England.

Cucumber sandwich, anyone?

[jazzjunkysue]

19. Cheney: "Mr. Livingstone, I presume? Time for your plane ride..."

:scared:

[grace0418]

20. Ron Livingstone Rocks.

I don't know much about the guy, but these comments alone are enough for me to say that.