Blair half-inched our bust and gave it to George
observer: A bronze bust of Winston Churchill, owned by the British Government Art Collection and paid for by the taxpayer, is at the centre of a row after it was loaned by Tony Blair to George W Bush.
The renowned Jacob Epstein sculpture that sits in President Bush's Oval Office was loaned to the White House four years ago, on orders from Blair's office, in an unprecedented act outside the strict remit of the collection.
The claim, to be made in a BBC radio documentary on Thursday and supported this weekend by art specialists, forms part of new scrutiny of the GAC and its backroom handling of tens of millions of pounds worth of British art each year.
'This is a little-known government arm that still works in surprising secrecy,' said Mark Whitaker, the reporter and presenter of the Radio 4 investigation. 'But it was clear the GAC are rather embarrassed by the loan to Bush. They could only tell me they didn't think it had happened before.' Read more
db: churchillbust.co.uk have forgotton more than you or I will ever know about the Churchill bust. And those boys want it back, NOW:
Isn't it a contradiction that although the 'war on terror' is often described as 'a different kind of war' - every time there is a justification for pre-emptive action, George Bush and Tony Blair invoke Winston Churchill (1874 -1965). Generally the hawk's resort to similarities with Churchill's prophesies of the dangers of Nazi Germany and Stalin's Russia. His battle with an apathetic public to take action, and his spirit of 'never surrender' which is summoned in times of tragedy.
This year alone notable comparisons include New York Mayor Guiliani who likens George Bush to Churchill. George Bush who likens Tony Blair to Churchill remarking, "I see the spirit of Churchill in Prime Minister Tony Blair." Tony Blair who asks the British nation to unite behind him, comparing recent set backs in Iraq to the darkest days of World War 2. Even Tory party leader Michael Howard has jumped on the bandwagon comparing himself to Churchill. So where did it all start?
The renowned Jacob Epstein sculpture that sits in President Bush's Oval Office was loaned to the White House four years ago, on orders from Blair's office, in an unprecedented act outside the strict remit of the collection.
The claim, to be made in a BBC radio documentary on Thursday and supported this weekend by art specialists, forms part of new scrutiny of the GAC and its backroom handling of tens of millions of pounds worth of British art each year.
'This is a little-known government arm that still works in surprising secrecy,' said Mark Whitaker, the reporter and presenter of the Radio 4 investigation. 'But it was clear the GAC are rather embarrassed by the loan to Bush. They could only tell me they didn't think it had happened before.' Read more
db: churchillbust.co.uk have forgotton more than you or I will ever know about the Churchill bust. And those boys want it back, NOW:
Isn't it a contradiction that although the 'war on terror' is often described as 'a different kind of war' - every time there is a justification for pre-emptive action, George Bush and Tony Blair invoke Winston Churchill (1874 -1965). Generally the hawk's resort to similarities with Churchill's prophesies of the dangers of Nazi Germany and Stalin's Russia. His battle with an apathetic public to take action, and his spirit of 'never surrender' which is summoned in times of tragedy.
This year alone notable comparisons include New York Mayor Guiliani who likens George Bush to Churchill. George Bush who likens Tony Blair to Churchill remarking, "I see the spirit of Churchill in Prime Minister Tony Blair." Tony Blair who asks the British nation to unite behind him, comparing recent set backs in Iraq to the darkest days of World War 2. Even Tory party leader Michael Howard has jumped on the bandwagon comparing himself to Churchill. So where did it all start?
posted by exoplanet at 2:18 PM
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