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Hypocrisy ..and my friend Winston.

I call him Winnnie; we were that close.

Winnie is said to have liked Kipling (though he liked MacCauley -Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron Macaulay- more.) Doubtless, he liked this and its arrogant advocacy of imperial might. Everything for Empire,( pronounced "Empah.")

Rudyard Kipling. b. 1865
  
867. Recessional
June 22, 1897
  
GOD of our fathers, known of old—
  Lord of our far-flung battle-line—
Beneath whose awful Hand we hold
  Dominion over palm and pine—
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,         5
Lest we forget, lest we forget!
The tumult and the shouting dies—
  The captains and the kings depart—
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
  An humble and a contrite heart.  10
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget, lest we forget!
Far-call'd our navies melt away—
  On dune and headland sinks the fire—
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday  15
  Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget, lest we forget!
If, drunk with sight of power, we loose
  Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe—  20
Such boasting as the Gentiles use
  Or lesser breeds without the Law—
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget, lest we forget!
For heathen heart that puts her trust  25
  In reeking tube and iron shard—
All valiant dust that builds on dust,
  And guarding calls not Thee to guard—
For frantic boast and foolish word,
Thy Mercy on Thy People, Lord!  30

Writing as president of the Air Council, 1919 he allegedly said:


 "I do not understand this squeamishness about the use of (poison) gas. We have definitely adopted the position at the Peace Conference of arguing in favour of the retention of (poison) gas as a permanent method of warfare. It is sheer affectation to lacerate a man with the poisonous fragment of a bursting shell and to boggle at making his eyes water by means of lachrymatory gas. I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes. The moral effect should be so good that the loss of life should be reduced to a minimum. It is not necessary to use only the most deadly gasses: gasses can be used which cause great inconvenience and would spread a lively terror and yet would leave no serious permanent effects on most of those affected."


Doubtless Winston would have called upon this verse, from Recessional, to make his point.
For heathen heart that puts her trust  25
  In reeking tube and iron shard—
All valiant dust that builds on dust,
  And guarding calls not Thee to guard—
For frantic boast and foolish word,
Thy Mercy on Thy People, Lord!  30

And Churchill to the Palestine Royal Commission, 1937 (Peel Commission.) said:
"I do not agree that the dog in a manger has the final right to the manger even though he may have lain there for a very long time. I do not admit that right. I do not admit for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly wise race to put it that way, has come in and taken their place. "

So this verse is appropriate:
If, drunk with sight of power, we loose
  Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe—  20
Such boasting as the Gentiles use
  Or lesser breeds without the Law—
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget, lest we forget!

As a non-betting man, I bet you did not know this. i am also willing to bet that Winnie's successors in the British Parliament, who I bet would all be Churchill (or King, since we have quoted Kipling), do not know about this either. 
Their American counterparts don't know nuttin.
As for me, I regret to say that I agree with Winston in the first opinion. Murder is murder, the murder weapon whether it is the iron shard that comes from a reeking tube, or gas that is more than lachrymatory, matters little; perhaps it matters not.
Dead is dead, I wonder what the world's mayor would have to say?




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