The speech in full (Lord Black of Crossharbour's speech, why UK should support US)

UK Telegraph ^ | Feb. 14, 2003 | Lord Black of Crossharbour

[FairOpinion]

Long, but worth reading.

[jwalburg]

Lord Black of Crossharbour, wasn't he one of Gandalf's buddies?

[vbmoneyspender]

Thanks for posting that. I wish there were more people in Europe who understood America the way Conrad Black does.

[xzins]

Pax Anglicana

[wimpycat]

Lord Black of Crossharbour, wasn't he one of Gandalf's buddies?

I thought he won best of the herding group at the Westminster Dog Show a few years ago.

(Just funnin' ya Blackie! I tease because I love, at least in this instance.)

[Miss Marple]

This is an excellent speech, and although long, well worth reading.

It covers all of the arguments, defends the US, and at least twice relegates Germany to the therapist's couch. HA!

[McGavin999]

I would be willing to bet there are a lot of British like this man. That's why we respect the Brits.

[don-o]

A snip.

The United States is not weak, and civilized people should not lament that fact.

oorah

[don-o]

The United Nations is principally composed of corrupt, failed, despotisms and the suggestion that its opinions can be aggregated into an unappealable world supreme court is bunk.

snip.<p< This guy is good.

[UncleSamUSA]

Thanks for posting this speech. It is remarkably astute and full of insight. And it gives one hope that at least some semblance of sanity still resides across the pond.

As a long-time admirer of Winston Churchill, I sincerely hope that many others in England share Lord Black's worldview, but honestly after being bombarded day after day by opinion polls from Europe, and even the UK, showing how much America is resented and hated, I regretfully think that his Lordship is definitely in the distinct minority.

Can anyone tell me exactly who Lord Black is: what is his background, his standing in England, so sort of perspective on who this man is? That would be greatly appreciated.

One last thing: I hate to nitpick so please forgive me, but I must correct Lord Black in one small detail: the US black Olympic athletes who gave the black power salute on the medal stand did so at the Mexico City Olympic games in 1968, not the Munich games in 1972. The Munich games were infamous for the slaughter of the Israeli athletes by the Palestinian terrorists while German police stood by and failed to rescue them. How little has changed in 30 years.

[vbmoneyspender]

Lord Black is Conrad Black. He owns the National Post in Canada and a number of newspapers in Great Britain. His newspapers are the ones that run Mark Steyn's columns. He is conservative along the lines of Rupert Murdoch and is a press baron like Rupert Murdoch.

[FairOpinion]

Can anyone tell me exactly who Lord Black is: what is his background, his standing in England, so sort of perspective on who this man is? That would be greatly appreciated.
-------
He is member of the House of Lords, apparently recently got the honor of peerage, and is a publishing tycoon, originally a Canadian.
Here is more info about him, quite interesting.

Conrad Black
http://media.guardian.co.uk/top100_2002/story/0,12156,743678,00.html


Monday July 8, 2002


Job: chairman, Hollinger International
Age: 57
Industry: publishing
Company turnover: £780m
Salary: £300,000 with £250,000 bonus. Worth £121m
2001 ranking: 17
Conrad Black remains a powerful force in UK publishing, even if his global empire is shrinking.

The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph wield political clout and have maintained their strong positions in the broadsheet market, with the daily title keeping the Times at arm's length, much to Rupert Murdoch's annoyance.

His Spectator magazine has had a storming start to 2002, causing serious embarrassment to the Labour government with its revelations about Downing Street's conduct during the Queen Mother's funeral.

As the owner of the Jerusalem Post, the Middle East is also high on the agenda. Mr Black's wife, the journalist Barbara Amiel, caused a storm late last year when she accused the French ambassador of anti-semitism in her column in the Daily Telegraph.

The newly enobled Lord Black of Crossharbour has also dispensed with both his Canadian newspapers and his citizenship in the past year. The latter cleared the way for his elevation to the House of Lords, while the former rid him of a huge drain on his finances.

His Hollinger International group pulled out of Canada because titles such as the National Post were eating into his fortune. A severe advertising downturn at the Telegraph titles has not helped either, leading to reports that Hollinger was adrift and could become a takeover target. The rumours were emphatically and angrily denied.

As if to underline his point, Lord Black has backed the New York Sun, an audacious bid to make headway in one of the most competitive newspaper markets in the world.

He is well connected in the UK. He was nominated for his peerage by William Hague, the former Conservative leader; he was introduced to the Lords by Lady Thatcher; and he enjoys hosting dinners for the great and good at his home in Kensington, London.

The couple have other homes in Toronto, New York and Palm Beach. Mr Black is famed for his obsession with Napoleon, his encyclopedic knowledge of English and military history, and the Tory party.

He is a shrewd businessman, too. He bought the Telegraph title in 1985 for next to nothing and turned the loss-making publications into money-spinners.

[jwalburg]

Finally finished reading the whole thing. What struck me most was the clear, logical framework of his argument. He listed the main objections of the anti-war crowd, and shot them down concisely and gracefully.

The other side gives grunts and chants "No War for Oil," "Not in My Name," etc. but never do I see clear, persuasive argument on this scale.

What an inspiration!

[jwalburg]

Interesting stuff. Know anything about this New York Sun? Circulation? Reputation?

[Hawkeye's Girl]

A smart man with a cool name. Perfect :-)

[primeval patriot]

bump

[jwalsh07]

Pretty good even if slightly verbose.

[Don W]

WOW! someone who actually UNDERSTANDS!

[rmlew]

The NY SUN is a 1 year-old newspaper published 5 days per week. It has a low circulation.
It is heavliy centered towards NYC affairs, but carries national and some international news. It's coverage of arts, sport, and culture is parltry. However, the broadsheet is only 20 pages.
Most readers of the Sun also read the Wall Street Journal and/or the NY Post.
The Sun is supposed to be a competitor to the Times. However, given its narrow focus, and an editorial page that overlaps with that of the Post and WSJ, i question its sustainability. Already the price has dropped from $.50 to $.25 .

[UncleSamUSA]

FairOpinion:
Thank you very much for that informative post on Lord Black.