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Reviews, Humber Mouth 2006 |
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The most hated people on the earth
We have made ourselves the most hated people on the earth. They hate us because of what we do. On Question Time recently - every panelist knew the name of the Israeli soldier who had been taken hostage. I raged at the television. Did any of them know the name of any one of the Palestinians killed in the Israeli attacks on them now? The lives of Israelis and Britons and Americans are clearly much more valuable than those of Palestinians or Afghans or Iraqis.
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I remember the thousands of Iraqi children dying from sanctions. Bush and Blair talk about the heartbreaking messages of the airplane passengers on 9-11, but just because Afghans and Iraqis don't own their own mobile phones doesn't make their tragedy any less. The blood of some people is much more valuable than the blood of others.
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No hot water in the mornings!
I met Fidel Castro. Cuba is very lucky their leaders looked the way they did!! Here he is, 75 years old, and still very charismatic. I was 7 hours on TV live with Fidel Castro. 7 hours, live! We talked about everything, Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil, everywhere across Latin America how left wing leaders are coming to power. I wondered would anyone be watching this! The next day every person in Havana came up and greeted me and said they had seen it. Things aren't perfect there - as they say, under socialism there is no hot water in the mornings!
Bush chased out of Austria
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Then there's George Bush - with huge demonstrations chasing him out of Austria recently. He traveled there with 15,000 of his own security men. What an insult to the host country! Whereas Fidel Castro, for example, could walk down any street in any capital in the world.
Should Bush and Blair be up before a War Crimes tribunal for invading Iraq?
Yes. I think Bush and Blair should be tried for War Crimes. But War Crimes trials are for the losers, historically. What I would like to see though is Tony Blair locked up with George Bush for the rest of his life!
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Never forgive him for supporting sanctions
Robin Cook repented and resigned from the Cabinet. He became an important critic of the Blairites until his death. But I told him that I would never forgive him for supporting sanctions, sanctions which killed over 1 million people across Iraq. On one occasion before the war Robin Cook announced in the Commons the arrest by Iraqi police of a 15 year old boy arrested for stoning a picture of Saddam.
I asked questions of him about this. Who was this boy? Give me his name.
Again and again I went from pillar to post demanding the name of this child:
The House of Commons, the House of Lords.
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One Lord told me he would get back to me soon.
I wrote to ask him for his definition of soon! I never got the child's name.
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Reviews, Books - The Phantom of Manhattan by Frederick Forsyth Reviewed by Steve Rudd
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So, The Phantom of The Opera is perhaps one of the best-known stories in the world, but how many
of you good people realised that a sequel to the story has actually been written - and has been
kicking around for some years now - by the one and only Frederick Forsyth?
The original, horrifying Phantom of The Opera story was penned by Frenchman Gaston Leroux, but the world at
large
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Reviews, Books - The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac Reviewed by Steve Rudd
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He doesn't need any money... all he needs is his rucksack.
There really was no end to Jack's writing talents after all! This is the fifth book of his that I've had the pleasure of reading, and it is by far and away my favourite.
When you get to the top of a mountain, keep climbing.
Packed with all the excitement of his classic masterpiece On The Road
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Reviews, Books - I'm a Teacher Get Me Out of Here by Francis Gilbert (Short Books) Reviewed By Cathy Walker
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As I am about to change career to become a primary school teacher, I picked up
I'm A Teacher Get Me Out Of Here with a little trepidation. I'd heard that it presents the
reality of working in a 'tough school', of what a hard and challenging job being a teacher truly is.
I can't wait to become a teacher and I didn't want
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Reviews, Events - Nights Out - Tuesday 24th May 05 - Benny Hill Preservation Society By Adam Atkinson
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My utter fascination with all things Benny started as early as the age of three, when I by
chance happened upon some irrelevant sketch involving the Benster dressed as a cardiac
surgeon examining some saucy minx. 12 years later I would see my own Uncle Frank arrested for the very same thing.
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Reviews, Books - In The Winter Dark by Tim Winton Reviewed by Steve Rudd
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A menacing short story from the ever-interesting Australian writer Tim Winton,
this is a thrilling venture into dark and macabre territory that focuses on a few
people who live in a secluded valley that seems to also be inhabited by a mysterious
creature that preys both on their animals and their worst fears.
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Reviews, Books - The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan Reviewed by Steve Rudd
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First published way, way back in 1915, this is the story that inspired the infamous movie of
the same name that was directed by the king of noir, old Alfred Hitchcock.
I have it on good authority that the film version does in fact differ to quite a large extent to this novel, but what the hell.
I can't imagine the book being any less suspenseful or tense
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Reviews, Books - Junky by William S. Burroughs Reviewed by Steve Rudd
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Where to start with a man of William's legendary literary standing?
Born in 1914, in his own time he came to be regarded as one of the most
important American writers of the Sixties Beat generation - during which
time his writing was revered in the same way that the work of
Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg was.
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Reviews, Books - The Long Rain by Peter Gadol Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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After I had walked around the winery, I climbed back in my truck and continued driving farther up
into the foothills, and some nights I did make it as far as the mountain road.
I wanted to cross the Diablo range.
I wanted to keep driving clear across the state and into the desert, deep into the American
vastness, where I knew no one and no one knew me.
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Reviews, Books - Goodbye, Hessle Road by Daphne Glazer Reviewed By Cathy Walker
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Goodbye Hessle Road is the new novel by local writer Daphne Glazer, set in and around Hull.
It focuses on the lives of Donna, her mum and grandmother Ruby and features many local landmarks
from the leafy suburbs of the Avenues to the inside of Hull Prison.
Donna is a drugs worker at Hull prison; she is portrayed as a strong woman, with
attitude and hidden vulnerability.
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Reviews, Books - Jack Ruby's Kitchen Sink by Tom Miller Reviewed by Steve Rudd
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I have long longed to visit the South-Western states of the USA, and the beautifully majestic Arizona in particular.
In this fascinating and factual book, Tom - who himself lives in Tucson, Arizona - recounts
all sorts of weird and wonderful tales from the region, and also presents tall tales from
California
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Reviews, Books - The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger Reviewed By Cathy Walker
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thisisUll.com readers may have seen The Time Traveller's Wife featured
as part of Richard and Judy's Bookclub.
If you're not a fan of the teatime TV couple do not be deterred; this is likely to
be one of the most unusual and original pieces of fiction
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Reviews, Books -One For New York by John A Williams Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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A remarkable novel in every respect, this is a classic piece of literature from an
incredibly gifted writer who expressed exactly how it felt to be a black man
growing up in the United States early on in the last Century.
This book focuses on his
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