Propaganda: Tony Blair wins ‘philanthropist of the year’ award

PLEASE NOTE THIS REPORT IS IN TWO TAKES. THIS POST IS LIGHTLY ANNOTATED BY THE EDITORS.

Gary Lineker tweeted: ‘Apparently, Tony Blair has won GQ’s philanthropist of the year award. Finally these awards have grasped irony!’

(First iteration: SEPTEMBER 3, 2014.)

[dropcap]O[/dropcap]N SEPT. 3 Tony Blair [still unindicted war criminal and all-round crook] won an award as philanthropist of the year by a leading magazine.

The former prime minister was handed the award to a ‘muted’ response at a celebrity-packed gathering in central London. It was in recognition of his ‘philanthropy, establishing three charities’.

GQ magazine’s decision drew immediate criticism (see TAKE TWO), with Labour MP John Mann saying last night: ‘It sends the wrong message. This sort of award should go to an unsung hero who has given up their time for charity.’

Tory MP Charlie Elphicke pointed out that Mr Blair has advised Kazakh leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, including on how to improve his image after his police killed 14 unarmed protesters.

He said: ‘It is jaw dropping that he should be given this award given his involvement in spinning the alleged brutal massacre in Kazakhstan.

‘People will be greatly concerned and wonder if this was the right decision.’ Gary Lineker (an English former footballer and current sports broadcaster) tweeted: ‘Apparently, Tony Blair has won GQ’s philanthropist of the year award. Finally these awards have grasped irony!’

The GQ Men of the Year awards are popular among celebrities with many A-listers attending last night, including Kate Middleton’s sister Pippa and the model Cara Delevingne.

On receiving his award at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, Mr Blair, 61, said: ‘I would like to dedicate this award to the people that work with and for my organisations.’

He and his wife Cherie have a property empire worth an estimated £30million, having bought homes for their children.

Earlier this year, Mr Blair, who earns millions of pounds a year from his consultancy roles (sic) and charges fees of £250,000 for public speaking, was forced to deny being motivated by money. [The “consultancy” money these creeps earn after serving in high political posts for the empire, is one more polluted reason to bring this empire down.—Eds]

He insisted: ‘In respect to my new life, first of all, I have to say that reports of my wealth are greatly exaggerated. Just for the record, I read I’m supposed to be worth £100 million – Cherie’s kind of asking where it is. I’m not worth that, half of that, a third of that, a quarter of that, a fifth of that … I could go on.’

Sherlock Holmes actor Benedict Cumberbatch, Doctor Who’s Peter Capaldi and Love Actually star Colin Firth all won gongs.

Former Beatle Ringo Starr picked up an award for his humanitarian work and Pirates Of The Caribbean actor Johnny Depp presented punk pioneer Iggy Pop with the ‘icon’ trophy.

The tribute to Mr Blair on the GQ website read: ‘In 2007 Tony Blair stepped down as prime minister, but his surging momentum’s shown no signs of slowing.

‘Alongside his role as a Middle East peace envoy, Blair’s channelled his energy into philanthropy, establishing three charities.

As if to prove the complete decadence of the awards, the GQ editors also gave Kim Kardashian the Woman of the Year Award. The notorious salopette naturally accepted the prize.

‘The Tony Blair Sports Foundation pairs volunteer sport coaches with children in Britain’s North East and his Faith Foundation aims to reconcile the three Abrahamic faiths, but his most ambitious is the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative.

‘Launched in 2008, the foundation operates in six African countries – Sierra Leone, Rwanda Liberia, Guinea, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Senegal – where teams work alongside government bodies to bridge the gap between African leaders’ visions for a better future and their government’s ability to implement it.’ [All useless window dressing PR by the global plutocratic empire as long as its claws are firmly planted on African soil to facilitate neocolonial plundering.—Eds)

But BBC journalist Sarfraz Manzoor tweeted: ‘It has been another hard day and just when I needed a laugh Tony Blair wins philanthropist of the year at the GQ awards.’

TAKE TWO | THE INDEPENDENT (UK)

Richard Dodgson – who organised the GQ Men of the Year Awards – said a little controversy is no bad thing.

“We like to have celebrities at our event who cause a bit of a stir,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “So having Tony was fantastic. We like to have people who have opinions and are forthright.”

The publication’s decision to award the former British Prime Minister was met with bemusement by some, and outright condemnation by others, who felt his controversial 2003 decision to invade Iraq was at odds with the definition of a philanthropist.

“Huge congratulations to Tony Blair for winning GQ magazine’s Philanthropist of the Year award,” wrote Rod Liddle in The Sun.

“It is about time his brilliance was recognised. Not only has he destabilised the Middle East, he’s also pocketed vast amounts from Asian dictators who he advises on how to clean up their image.

“I assume ‘philanthropist’ is a politer way of saying ‘see you next Tuesday’.”

“I would like to dedicate this award to the people that work with and for my organisations,” said Blair upon receiving the trophy. “I feel the pulse of progress beating a little harder.”

A statement from GQ said that the accolade was a celebration of his charity work, rather than his political strategies.

“On Tuesday evening at The GQ Men Of The Year Awards, Tony Blair was named Philanthropist of The Year in recognition of the charitable contribution made by the three Foundations he has established across the world,” a spokesperson for GQ toldThe Independent.

“Highlighted in his citation was the Tony Blair Faith Foundation’s work in Sierra Leone, which is dedicated to saving lives using a pioneering malaria prevention initiative that engages with faith communities to tackle the problem. (If there isn’t a hospital there will be a church or mosque, and in this way the message can be shared with the most remote towns and villages throughout Sierra Leone.)

“In this way, the Foundation has supported 600 Muslim and Christian leaders, trained over 14,000 people, and reached over two million people with potentially life-saving messages. Other successes have come from working with African governments on building basic infrastructure: roads, ports, etc. GQ is pleased to acknowledge this work, and also his contribution to alleviating social deprivation in the UK.”

But it appears that Blair could have his reservations about how deserving he is of the honour; an eBay seller using the name ‘blai_cheri’ has listed what may or may not be a fake GQ Award, with the following product description:

“This will really sex up your mantlepiece! Can be delivered in as little as 45 minutes.”

Bids start at £500.

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