Robin Cook dead at 59

by **Peachtree Pam** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 3:12 pm

Just heard this on BBC World, no details.

by **Dreams End** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 3:33 pm

If this is a "suicide" I'm seriously building a bunker. If natural...truly natural causes, then RIP and thank you for your brave stand.

by **DrDebugDU** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 3:41 pm

Don't build a bunker just yet. Former minister Robin Cook dies Former Cabinet minister Robin Cook, 59, has died after collapsing while hill walking in north-west Scotland. It is believed he was taken ill while walking with his wife Gaynor on Ben Stack, around 1420 BST, Northern Constabulary said. Mr Cook was flown by helicopter to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, with attempts made to resucitate him. Mr Cook quit as Commons leader in March 2003, in protest over the war in Iraq. Following his death, a report will be prepared for the Procurator Fiscal, as is usual in such circumstances. 'Keen walker' On his personal website, the former cabinet minister described himself as a keen follower of horse racing. He was also a keen walker and cyclist. The 721m-high Ben Stack is popular with hill-walkers. Mr Cook, who first became an MP for Edinburgh Central in 1974, was appointed the shadow health secretary in 1989 and became the shadow trade and industry secretary in 1992. In 1994, he became the shadow foreign secretary, a position he held until the 1997 election. After Labour's landslide win, he entered the Cabinet as foreign secretary. A Cabinet reshuffle after the 2001 Labour victory saw him replaced at the Foreign Office by Jack Straw, with Mr Cook instead given the job of Leader of the Commons. He resigned that position in the lead-up to the conflict in Iraq in protest over Tony Blair's decision to go to war. He had been an outspoken critic of the government's foreign policy from the backbench. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4127654.stm">news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4127654.stm</a>

by **GDN01** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 3:42 pm

<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5194467,00.html">Here is the story</a> from the Guardian. By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press Writer LONDON (AP) - Former British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, who quit Prime Minister Tony Blair's Cabinet in opposition to the Iraq war, has died, Scottish police announced Saturday. Northern Constabulary said Cook, 59, died after collapsing on Ben Stack mountain in the Scottish Highlands while walking with his wife. He was taken by Coast Guard helicopter to a hospital in Inverness, where he was pronounced dead. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who is filling in for a vacationing Blair, was due to make a statement later Saturday, 10 Downing Street said. Jack Straw, Cook's successor as foreign secretary, said he was ``devastated.'' ``Robin and I had been good friends for nearly 30 years and that friendship survived our policy disagreements over Iraq,'' Straw said. ``He was the greatest parliamentarian of his generation and a very fine foreign secretary. I deeply mourn his loss.'' Cook served as foreign minister from 1997 to 2001 before being demoted to leader of the House of Commons. His resignation speech, days before war began in March 2003, received a rare standing ovation from lawmakers. In it he asked: ``Why is it now so urgent that we should take military action to disarm a military capacity that has been there for 20 years, and which we helped to create?'' Renowned as an intelligent lawmaker and skilled debater, Cook remained a high-profile figure despite his withdrawal from government and became an increasingly vocal opponent of Blair's policies. Some supporters believed that Cook should have been leader of the Labour Party. But opponents saw him as arrogant and distant. A lawmaker since 1974, Cook - a short and bearded redhead - declined to stand in opposition to Tony Blair when he was elected Labour leader in 1994, declaring: ``I am not good-looking enough.'' Instead, Cook accepted the post of foreign secretary following the landslide election victory that made Blair prime minister in 1997. But his promise of an ``ethical dimension'' to British foreign policy often came back to haunt him, particularly after he sanctioned the sale of 16 Hawk jet fighters to Indonesia in 1999, despite the country's widely criticized human rights record in East Timor. Another diplomatic miscalculation came during a trip to India and Pakistan when he suggested that Britain could mediate any negotiations over the disputed territory of Kashmir. The remark irritated both countries. Cook was praised by many for his tough-minded handling of the 1999 Kosovo crisis, but that and other successes were partly overshadowed by the scandal of ending his 28-year marriage to his wife Margaret at an airport as they were about to leave on vacation. Warned by Downing Street that a tabloid newspaper was about to disclose his long-standing affair with his secretary Gaynor Regan, Cook immediately told Margaret that he was leaving her. Margaret wrote a book accusing her former husband of being a drunk and a depressive. She said his intelligence and ability were unmatched, but that he had ``absolutely no natural courtesy or sympathy.'' Cook, who later married Regan, had shifted to the right of the party under Blair's leadership but gravitated back to the left following his demotion, earning a reputation as a leading Cabinet ``dove'' opposed to war on Iraq without a U.N. mandate. An ally of Treasury chief Gordon Brown, Cook had been tipped to return to Cabinet should Brown succeed Blair as Labour leader, as many predict.  So... he collapsed. Is that natural causes? Was he in poor health?

by **Dreams End** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 3:43 pm

Well if it's not natural causes then we could never prove it. People do die of natural causes...just freaky timing maybe?

by **Sweejak** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 3:48 pm

Wasn't his last major public statement describing the origin of "al Queda" as the base.... the CIA dataBASE?

by **antiaristo** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 3:53 pm

I had a disagreement with Michael Meiring a few weeks ago about Robin Cook. Robin had just told us the real origin of the name al Qaeda. I said I had a soft spot for him, because he had been one of the few to acknowledge me and my plight. And now they've done him, just like they did John Smith to make way for that dirty little Nazi. Don't believe a word in the papers. One example: An ally of Treasury chief Gordon Brown, Cook had been tipped to return to Cabinet should Brown succeed Blair as Labour leader, as many predict. Robin Cook hated Brown, and the compliment was reciprocated. We are close to the end game.

by **Sweejak** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 7:27 pm

Robin Cook on DSM <a href="http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2005/7/11/17239/8989">www.boomantribune.com/sto...17239/8989</a>

by **antiaristo** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 7:51 am

I'm pretty sure Robin Cook would have stood against Gordon Brown in the post Blair leadership election. So that event may not be far off. Cook was a really decent man. Those not familiar with the machinations of British governance cannot know how hard it is to remain decent inside the machine. I said not to believe a word in the press. Most of it will be self-serving. But this leader from the Observer avoids the use of any name other than that of Robin Cook. We've lost another champion, and new champions must step forward into the breach. And step forward they will. Robin Cook An outstanding parliamentarian Leader Sunday August 7, 2005 Observer The news that Robin Cook has died is a shock and tragic loss to his family and friends and a cause for dismay to all those who care about the quality of our political life. In the Cabinet and out of it, he was one of the leading figures of Labour's years in office. He was an outstanding parliamentarian and it was in the House that his forensic and potent skills in debate shone most clearly. Cook was one of the keenest and sharpest debaters of his age. He combined a formidable intellect with enormous integrity and even those who profoundly disagreed with his stance on the war in Iraq knew that they would face powerful and persuasive opposition when the invasion led him to resign from Cabinet. The government's most effective and intelligent critic, he continued his opposition in lucid and forensically argued journalism. The man who began his public political career as an Edinburgh councillor was a genuine radical and reformer. He was also an idealist. As Foreign Secretary in Labour's first term, he played a key role in the war to prevent ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. His attempt to commit Britain to an ethical foreign policy may have proved over ambitious. None the less it has continued to inform the national debate on world issues, particularly on arms sales. Even when most at odds with the leadership of his party, in opposition to war in Iraq, he conducted himself with great dignity and a marked lack of rancour and sectarianism. The tributes pouring in last night from political opponents are testament to the enormous esteem in which he was held and to his capacity to argue his case rather than indulge in personal attack. His performance in government has been so outstanding that it is easy to forget how powerfully he performed in opposition, and what a key figure he was in the emergence of new Labour as a viable political force. He was a genuine radical and reformer by intellect and instinct. His death leaves an irreplaceable gap both in parliament and in public life. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005

by **Peachtree Pam** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 8:53 am

Way back in the 1950s the CIA was developing TWEP technology, Termination With Extreme Prejudice, including a pill to induce heart attacks which was untraceable in an autopsy...the following is from Jim Marrs book "Crossfire", dealing with the huge number of people connected to the JFK assassination who died "mysteriously"....There are no details given as to whether the pill was slow acting or had immediate effect.. <a href="http://www.assassinationresearch.com/v1n2/deaths.html">www.assassinationresearch...eaths.html</a>

by **rain** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 9:07 am

<a href="http://www.datafilter.com/mc/nonlethalWeapons.html">www.datafilter.com/mc/non...apons.html</a>

by **antiaristo** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 8:42 pm

I suspect it was this matter where Robin Cook finally crossed the line. The Queen wants a new Trident as enforcement arm for her transcendental`protection racket. I think the letters of response are the most illuminating of the position (and risk) taken by Robin Cook. Letters -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ending the nuclear age Wednesday August 3, 2005 Guardian Robin Cook has unsealed a powerful window of opportunity in challenging the government to review our archaic nuclear-defence policy before any tender for a successor to Britain's Trident defence system is published (Worse than irrelevant, July 29). A successful contract will be appointed with a 21-year lead time to fulfil a role that is ideologically redundant in 2005, let alone 2025. The dissolution of the cold war has exposed our nuclear status as nothing more than a pseudo-trinket of power. It is hypocritical to bark at paranoid states seeking to build the bomb while we persist in polishing ours without any geopolitical rationale for keeping it. It perpetuates the bomb's ability to force the security council to take aspiring nuclear-nations more seriously. This "window" must now be widened. The opportunity we now have is far greater than the challenge faced at the wire fences of Greenham Common or Aldermaston. We need to re-activate the nuclear debate and force open the cracks in post-cold-war thinking. The contrived war on terror may be our new cold war, but it will not be resolved with strategic weapons, let alone the threat of nuclear ones. Disarmament signals emanating from Britain would sap the momentum of nuclear proliferation around the world. The bomb may represent a scientific peak in military power, but no longer the apex in military strategy. We face stealthier challenges now and there will be even fewer if the iron curtain is finally brought down in Whitehall. Kingsley Roberts Harpenden, Herts Robin Cook is right to cast doubt on the government's assertions that a decision has not yet been made to replace Trident. Current vacancies at AWE Aldermaston exist in the warhead development centre, including a manager with "successor capability" duties and an initiation design specialist responsible for "possible future warheads". Of course, they are always careful to include words like "possible" but we shouldn't be fooled by this. A massive redevelopment is happening at Aldermaston; scientists and engineers are being recruited in large numbers and negotiations are reported to be already under way with defence companies. So far the only democratic forum to consider the Aldermaston redevelopment, with all of its implications, is a local parish council's planning committee (which is not permitted to consider such issues). Perhaps it would be appropriate for the debate to move up a few rungs. Kay Tabernacle Cardiff There was a depressing sense of deja vu about Robin Cook's call for Trident not to be replaced. Couldn't Labour's left come up with some new policies rather than recycling the calls for unilateralism that split the party and kept Thatcher in power throughout the 1980s? Abandoning our nuclear deterrent is, rightly, anathema for Labour's core working-class voters. Unlike Cook, they know that in a world where rogue states are developing WMD capabilities and missile technologies, maintaining the UK's strategic nuclear deterrent is a national-security necessity. Luke Akehurst London Robin Cook usefully draws attention to the huge investment in new weapons- related facilities at AWE Aldermaston. In fact, construction is already in progress: three new buildings have recently been completed, and work is expected to start on a new laser facility soon. This week we will remember the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - and, on August 8, blockade Aldermaston with the intention of further disrupting this illegal, immoral and irrelevant war work. Janet Kilburn Aldermaston Women's Peace Campaign Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005

by **rain** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 9:14 pm

John, your phrase 'transcendental protection racket' is such a classic. LOL. as to the rest, I'm feeling a little philosophical about the whole thing today. time to start knitting those winter woolies ?

by **antiaristo** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 10:04 am

9.45am Postmortem for Robin Cook today Matthew Tempest and agencies Monday August 8, 2005 Guardian Unlimited A postmortem examination will be performed today to determine the cause of Robin Cook's death on Saturday. Details of the former foreign secretary's funeral are also expected to be announced. Mr Cook, 59, collapsed while on a walking holiday with his wife Gaynor in northern Scotland on Saturday and was pronounced dead after being airlifted to hospital some 90 minutes later. It is thought that the MP for Livingston may have collapsed with a heart attack and then injured himself as he fell. Today's procedure should determine whether Mr Cook was killed by the illness which caused his collapse or by injuries sustained in his fall. The post mortem will take place at Inverness's Raigmore Hospital, where the 48-year-old Mrs Cook yesterday went to formally identify her husband's body. She was today at the couple's home in Edinburgh, being comforted by friends. After her husband had been airlifted to the hospital, where he was declared dead at 4.05pm, Mrs Cook was left to make her way down the mountain by foot. Details of Mr Cook's funeral should come later today. Mr Cook's election agent and family friend Jim Devine, told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "I have to meet with the funeral directors and various people this morning, and we will be making that announcement this afternoon." The Cooks are thought to have been staying in the village of Durness - the most northerly inhabited locality of mainland Britain - and were reported to have spent Friday at nearby Cape Wrath. Mr Cook's two grown-up sons by his marriage to his first wife Margaret - Peter and Christopher - have travelled to Scotland from their homes in England. Their mother yesterday paid tribute to her ex-husband as an "exemplary father" and a political "heavyweight". Political tributes were led by the prime minister, Tony Blair, who called him an "outstanding, extraordinary talent". His successor as foreign secretary, Jack Straw, hailed him as "the greatest parliamentarian of his generation". Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock predicted that, had he lived, Mr Cook would have returned to the party's front bench, which he left in 2003 in protest at the Iraq war. The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, described the former foreign secretary as a "partner on a wide range of issues". "Throughout a rich and varied life, Mr Cook displayed exceptional intellect, eloquence, vision and passion in the domestic and international arenas alike," said a spokesman for Mr Annan. The US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, paid tribute to a "passionate defender of human freedom and dignity". Guardian Unlimited ¿ Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 <a href="http://politics.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5257546-108996,00.html">politics.guardian.co.uk/p...96,00.html</a>

by **dqueue** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 9:04 am

I caught RawStory's link to <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1749382005">this Scotsman.com</a> article which reports Blair snubs Cook funeral for his holiday. Blair's refusing to attend Cook's funeral, because he doesn't want to interrupt his vacation? Guilty conscience?

Robin Cook dead at 59

Robin Cook dead at 59

crap

Details

Re: crap

hmmm

Re: hmmm

Robin Cook RIP

Re: Robin Cook RIP

Robin Cook RIP

Fuel for conspiracists

a variation on this -

The Final Straw?

re: the last straw

How to isolate your victims

Blair's guilty conscience?

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