A Skeleton in his cupboard ?

by **slimmouse** » Wed May 24, 2006 9:54 am

<blockquote>Quote:<hr>DOWNING Street was under pressure last night to explain how Euan Blair has secured a Pounds 50,000 scholarship at a leading American university. Yale, the Ivy League institution where President George W Bush and Bill Clinton studied, has offered the Prime Minister's son a two- year postgraduate place. <hr></blockquote> Never !! Rest of article ; Insiders said it was highly unusual for anyone to land a scholarship with fees paid. Students generally pay their own way. Yale will gain considerable PR value from having Euan among its students because his father is a popular figure in the U.S.. And questions were being asked last night as to whether the Blairs are taking advantage of the Prime Minister's prestige to secure a topflight education for their son. Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker said: 'Tony Blair should clear the decks and make clear what the position is. 'Should the Prime Minister be using his name to ensure his son gets a top- class education not available to others?' A Downing Street spokesman insisted it was a private matter but sources at Number 10 confirmed that Euan had secured the Yale scholarship. The 22 year old who graduated from Bristol University with a 2:1 in ancient history last year will study for a master's degree in international relations starting in the autumn. An MA at Yale costs around Pounds 17,200 a year plus annual living expenses of Pounds 9,900. That puts the bill for two years of study at Pounds 54,200. It is not known on what grounds the scholarship was awarded. It is highly unlikely that the cost was funded by the U.S. government as it would be a matter of public record. The money is likely either to have come directly from Yale or from one of the many private foundations that help students with their fees. The scholarship will save Mr Blair and his wife Cherie who have mortgage repayments of Pounds 16,000 a month on their properties from having to foot the bill. A British graduate of Yale said: 'This strikes me as really weird. I don't know anyone who has been given a scholarship for an MA.' The revelation follows news that Euan has left the office of a Democrat congresswoman after just two weeks. Roll Call, an influential Washington political journal, reported that he was 'a wee bit on the spoiled side' and was 'bored' by an intern's work which consists mainly of photocopying and opening post. He spent two and a half months working as an unpaid intern for Republican congressman David Dreier. He was scheduled to put in the same time with Democrat Jane Harman who is a critic of U.S. policy in Iraq but quit her office abruptly last week. Downing Street claimed he left to spend more time studying ahead of the MA but insiders said Euan's acceptance letter from Yale was sent to Number 10 back in March. He is also believed to be planning a holiday rather than concentrating on his studies. Euan began his gap year with two months of 'work experience' at a Paris radio station owned by the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy chain. He enjoyed an estimated Pounds 40,000 worth of perks including the use of a Pounds 2million apartment and a chauffeur-driven Mercedes with bodyguard. During his time in Washington, he regularly ventured into the city's Latin quarter where he partied into the early hours. On one occasion he visited a blues bar named Madam's Organ, famous for the scantily- clad women that dance on its bar. Euan is likely to fit in at Yale, which has a reputation for partying. Based in New Haven, Connecticut, two hours north of New York, it is said to be where George Bush 'graduated in drinking'. Yale officials refused to discuss the scholarship. j.merrick@dailymail.co.uk (c) 2006 Daily Mail; London (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

by **sunny** » Wed May 24, 2006 10:00 am

<blockquote>Quote:<hr>The 22 year old who graduated from Bristol University with a 2:1 in ancient history<hr></blockquote> Do the Brits calculate GPA the same as in the US? If so, baby Blair blows.

by **antiaristo** » Thu May 25, 2006 6:25 pm

slim, I reckon the probabilty of the Blairs staying in Britain after he leaves office lies somewhere between zero and something measured in Angstrom. This is a bit of a laff. <blockquote>Quote:<hr>Secret plans to protect Blair from terror attack left in hotel By Pat Hurst, PA Published: 25 May 2006 Secret plans to protect Tony Blair from a terrorist attack were left in a hotel, it was claimed today. They were part of a folder which lists ways in which assassins could try to kill the Prime Minister and other members of the Cabinet, it was alleged. It includes suggested "attack scenarios" including car bombs, mortar attack, rocket grenades and suicide bombers. The dossier covers security arrangements for the forthcoming Labour Party conference in Manchester in September. It was left in the Midland Hotel in the city, around the corner from the conference centre. It was handed to a newspaper, The North West Enquirer, which handed it to Greater Manchester Police. It is not clear how much of a security blunder release of the the details could be. The documents were stamped "Restricted" and "Confidential", but Greater Manchester Police said security had not been compromised and no specific threat against the conference or the Prime Minister had been identified. The information is from a variety of sources dealing with security arrangements for the conference. A number of different agencies had taken part in the planning and it was not yet known which one had left the dossier in the hotel. A force spokeswoman said it was not a member of Greater Manchester Police. Yesterday, the force's anti-terrorism squad carried out a series of raids across the city as part of an investigation into suspects allegedly supporting terrorism in Iraq. In 1996 Manchester's Arndale centre was bombed by the IRA and the same group killed five in an attack on the Tory Party conference in Brighton in 1984. A GMP spokeswoman said: "Officers are confident that the folder does not belong to a member of GMP staff and are currently talking to partners to establish how the file was misplaced. "This is a major security operation involving many agencies and a great deal of planning and information sharing is inevitably involved in dealing with an event of this scale. "The information which police share with other agencies is risk assessed and the documents in this folder were of a level deemed safe to share with partners. "Greater Manchester Police take all information and intelligence about security issues extremely seriously. "There is no intelligence to suggest that this event is a specific target for terrorists. However we are conscious of the fact that the city has been targeted in the past so we need to remain vigilant and it is only right that we have contingency plans in place to deal with all manner of eventualities."<hr></blockquote> <a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article580468.ece">news.independent.co.uk/uk...580468.ece</a> sunny, Nobody else would get a scholarship to Yale on a 2:1 (upper second). Maybe it's changed, but about 35 or 40 percent get an upper second or better.

by **slimmouse** » Thu May 25, 2006 9:40 pm

Bairn - Scottish equivalent of a son or junior. A new Branch of the Yale fraternity ? Skull and Bairns <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/wink.gif ALT=";)">

by **dranek7** » Thu May 25, 2006 10:09 pm

The younger Blair is a blood relative of the Confederacy's greatest hero, John Wilkes Booth. Of course the Neoconfederates in power will do everything to cultivate their young charge...

A Skeleton in his cupboard ?

A Skeleton in his cupboard ?

Re: A Skeleton in his cupboard ?

Re: A Skeleton in his cupboard ?

Skull and Bairns.

Re: Skull and Bairns.

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