Tariq Ali Visit

by Coilín Tue Feb 07, 2006 01:23

And he had a rocking article in the paper the other day. Something on the following lines:

It's not that the colonised peoples of Britain did not recognise the advantages of the Roman empire: hygiene, better roads, big orgies and improved military techniques. They just didn't like being enslaved.

The Roman governor of Britannia, Agricola, gazed wistfully across the Irish Sea. Ireland was a threat, because it offered the hope of freedom.

Similarly, the American empire must conquer those Middle Eastern countries that remain outside its axis: Iraq, Iran and Syria.

by pj Tue Feb 07, 2006 09:32

Don't forget the beacon that is North Korea.

by pat c Tue Feb 07, 2006 15:47

Tariq Ali has never defended N Korea or any breed of stalinism. I remember after tianemen square Tariq had a poem on the front of the Guardian about the massacre.

by Will Lynch Wed Feb 15, 2006 16:31

I am really looking forward to hearing Tariq speak in Dublin for the first time this evening.

He is a gold-mine of information and he displays faultless logic. I have enjoyed his essays over the years and his not frequent enough appearances on Question Time and Newsnight. He is a highly intelligent, moral and incredibly cultured gentleman.

He is incredibly eloquent too and he has the ability to inspire audiences with the enthusiasm and belief that they can and should change things.

Tariq is an inspiration to us all and he puts the lie to the myth that the radical children of the 1960's who opposed the Vietnam War grew up and became good conservatives. Forty years later, Tariq is still at the spearhead of resistance to illegal wars, human rights abuses and Imperialism in all its many guises. Particularly rapacious imperialism masquerading as humanitarian intervention.

A cause for optimism in these dark times is that in 1968 , the anti Vietnam protests that Tariq famously lef, drew 65,000 people or so to Belgrave Square. In 2003, the anti-war movement in London,of which Tariq is apart, drew 2 million.

by pat c Wed Feb 15, 2006 16:36

Tariq Ali comes from an Islamic background but he doesnt support the Islamic Fundamentalists who wish to censor the press. On a radio interview with Tom McGurk on Tuesday Tariq pointed out that non-religious people have to suffer annoyance from the religious every day.