----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, August 03, 2001 9:59
AM
Subject: LBC phone in on bombing in
Ealing today
I managed to get on the air with Nick Ferrari for
a few minutes, at abot 9.30am this morning. I expressed my opposition to
violence in general and then made two points
a. I reminded everyone that Northern Ireland was
just like any other colonial situation. After hundreds of years of colonial
domination, you always get resistance, like it or not. I know this first point
was broadcast because they replayed a bit of it later on in the programme.
Nick argued the point a bit, and then I moved on to my second
point:
b. I suggested that our condemnation of the
bombing was a case of "the pot
calling the kettle black", given that illegal,
ongoing, basically terrorist British and American bombings in southern Iraq
had killed hundreds of innocent people over the last 10 years. Nick did not
respond and immediately after I had made this point, he went off the line and
I heard a commercial break coming on. Then I was cut off, surprise,
surprise! I could almost hear him saying to himself - "How indiscreet of
you to drag our OWN terrorism into the argument". Anyway, hopefully this
crucial point too was broadcast.
Best, Tim