On 25 Apr 2003 at 8:13, Graham Durham wrote:

> What would Twain have made of Blair ?

I don't know about Blair, but while everyone was quoting what Mark
Twain had to say about the French, I was waiting for someone to find
his speech introducing Winston S. Churchill.  Here's the version
printed in the 1910 edition of his speeches:

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China and the Philippines
Mark Twain's Speeches (Harper & Bros., 1910).

For years I've been a self-appointed missionary to bring about the
union of America and the motherland. They ought to be united.
Behold America, the refuge of the oppressed from everywhere (who
can pay fifty dollars' admission) -- any one except a Chinaman --
standing up for human rights everywhere, even helping China let
people in free when she wants to collect fifty dollars upon them. And
how unselfishly England has wrought for the open door for all! And
how piously America has wrought for that open door in all cases
where it was not her own!

Yes, as a missionary I've sung my songs of praise. And yet I think that
England sinned when she got herself into a war in South Africa which
she could have avoided, just as we sinned in getting into a similar war
in the Philippines. Mr. Churchill, by his father, is an Englishman; by
his mother he is an American -- no doubt a blend that makes the
perfect man. England and America; yes, we are kin. And now that we
are also kin in sin, there is nothing more to be desired. The harmony
is complete, the blend is perfect.

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There's certainly a lot there relevant to the current situation.

Jim Zwick