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George Galloway's columns in the Daily Record

CLICK HERE to read George Galloway's weekly columns in the Daily Record. ***Updated every Monday***

George Galloway in Kansas City for Viva Palestina Fundraiser NOWPUBLIC - Sun, 28 Jun 2009 KANSAS CITY, MO -- MAS Freedom, Citizens for Justice in the Middle East, Citizens for Peace and Justice in the Holy Land (Lee's Summit, MO), American Friends Service Committee—Kansas City, Peaceworks-KC, and American Muslims for Palestine recently announced a fundraising event for medical supplies to Palestinians in Gaza. The event will feature British Member of Parliament George Galloway, Imam Mahdi Bray, and local speakers. The Kansas City area peace and advocacy groups will host a large fundraising event on Thursday, July 2, 2009 at 6:30 pm at the Overland Park Marriott hotel in Grand Ballroom E located at 10800 Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park, Kansas. Fresh from the success of the "Viva Palestina: Lifeline from Britain to Gaza" aid convoy in March 2009, which took over 100 vehicles to Gaza from the UK, George Galloway has linked up on his US tour with the Vietnam veteran and peace campaigner, Ron Kovic, to launch a similar, but even larger venture from the United States. Galloway announced the initiative recently at a 1000-strong meeting in Anaheim, South California, rounding off a packed-out, coast to coast speaking tour highlighting the Palestinian cause. “There’s a new atmosphere in the US over Palestine,” says Galloway, “the phenomenal response to this tour demonstrates that.” Ron Kovic, whose story was immortalized in Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July, will be the co-leader of the convoy, which will travel from New York City to Egypt before making its way across the Rafah border into Gaza. Viva Palestina: The USA Convoy to Gaza is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, but individuals and groups from across the nation are organizing locally to generate support for the convoy, which aims to bring 500 vehicles and $10 million of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza. “And what better day to head off,” says Galloway, “than July 4 - Independence Day!” For more information on the event, visit http://www.cjme.org org or call 816-213-3022 or 816-729-9102. From www.SpideredNews.com

George Galloway's speech to the Iraq Inquiry debate WORLDPRESSNETWORK - 25 Jun 2009 With respect, Mr. Deputy Speaker, 10 minutes of most Back Benchers is more than enough, but there are odd occasions when it is not enough. The speeches of the right hon. Member for East Hampshire (Mr. Mates) who has vast experience and of the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood (Clare Short) should have been extended. They were extremely important to this debate and this 10-minute rule should give you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, the flexibility to allow a moment or two for important, decisive speeches in a debate. I have now given away 30 seconds of my time, but I thought that that was worth saying. The Government just do not get it. That is evident again this evening from the languid complacency with which the Foreign Secretary spoke, which led the hon. Member for Cannock Chase (Dr. Wright) to say that he felt that the Foreign Secretary’s heart was not in it. It is evident from the period of time when there was not a single Government Member on the Front Bench and from the body language of the two Ministers who now are on it when the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood was speaking. They were sneering and nudging, utterly oblivious to the fact that her speech will be listened to and read by millions tomorrow and given real weight, while what they have to say will be treated, if they are lucky, with derision. The Prime Minister’s initial prospectus for this inquiry proved that the Government just do not get it. When, in 2005, I was elected as the first left-of-Labour Member of Parliament in England for 60 years, I was elected because of Iraq. The Labour party’s membership has halved because of Iraq. Millions of Labour voters have left them and new parties—some of the left and some of the right—are proliferating and strengthening, in substantial part because of Iraq. That has happened not directly, but indirectly because of the poison that the Iraq question has caused to pulse around the British body politic. The lack of credibility of the British political class has also been the result of Iraq. The Government still do not get it. If they did, they would have used this opportunity for a grand catharsis, to turn the page and finally leave Blairism behind and call for the kind of inquiry that has been repeatedly demanded in the House this evening. Jeremy Corbyn: Will the hon. Member also concede that it is not just British politics that has been changed and shaped by Iraq, as the issue has had an effect across Europe, all over the world in respect of the anti-war movement, but also particularly in the United States? For all his support for the war in Afghanistan, President Obama basically owes his position to his opposition to the Iraq war and his initial victories in the Democrat primaries because of that opposition. American politics has also been delineated by Iraq. Mr. Galloway: Indeed. There has been a holding to account in the United States of America—there has been catharsis. Those responsible for the disaster have been cleansed away and there is the sense of a new beginning. Of course, we do not have that option. Some of us recall only too vividly the iron-clad consensus between those on the two Front Benches in the run-up to the war. The then Leader of the Opposition differed from the Government only in that he wanted the war faster, and more brutal and overwhelming. We have no chance for that catharsis, because either Tweedledee or Tweedledum will rule the country when the general election comes. That is a disaster for us, and it makes the inquiry much more important than it might otherwise have been. That is why we ought to have a real inquiry. CLICK HERE to read the rest of the speech ... From www.SpideredNews.com

George Galloway’s letter to the Charity Commission

George Galloway has written a damning letter to the Charity Commission after its leaks to the media and intimidation of banks led to Viva Palestina's account being frozen - exceeding its remit and smearing a campaign aimed at breaking the siege of Gaza

Click here to read the letter in full

CRISIS AT WESTMINSTER - RESPECT TO BROADEN ELECTORAL CHALLENGE SOCIALISTUNITY - Thu, 28 May 2009 There is a political earthquake shaking Westminster politics. MPs of all the main parties have been found with the snouts in the trough – claiming fat expenses on everything from sink plugs to duck islands, ‘flipping’ second homes and renovating flats at the taxpayers’ expense. Some of the figures involved are eye watering. The revelations in the Telegraph have thrown the political establishment onto the back foot – creating a wave of righteous anger at the sheer naked greed of our supposed representatives. .... From www.SpideredNews.com

George Galloway says “We need a revolution in public life” WORLDPRESSNETWORK - “We need a revolution in public life, halving the size of the lower house, and directly electing the revising chamber – all by proportional representation. We need transparent and contemporary disclosure of all financial details – publish the income tax returns and all details of perks, outside jobs and jollies. Party funding and election spending decisions must be part and parcel of the reform. None of this can be done by the current discredited House of Commons.” The Guardian Wednesday 20th May – read the full article here : http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... n-snobbery “The only possible solution to this, the greatest crisis in modern Parliamentary history, is to disolve this Parliament and elect a new one. Now.” The Daily Record Monday 18th May - read the full article here : http://blogs.dailyrecord.co.uk/georgega ... to-go.html From www.SpideredNews.com

George interviewed on CBC’s "The Hour"

The interview you won't want to miss. George Galloway appeared on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos, Canada's award-winning late-night TV talk show, on Monday, March 30 -- the day a Canadian federal court denied Galloway's appeal to enter the country. Check out George’s interview here

ANOTHER CONVOY ENTERS GAZA WITH HUMANITARIAN AID WORDPRESS - Thu, 28 May 2009 Like ships passing in the night, the Code Pink Convoy entered Gaza as the Hope Convoy was preparing to leave. There apparently were less hassles for this group as the Egyptian authorities are finally in what seems to be a cooperative mood. As a side note, George Galloway raised over $100,000 for Gaza at a meeting in Brooklyn last night. About 300 people were there. He is coming back on July 4th with a goal of $10 million to purchase over 500 trucks loaded with humanitarian supplies. Egypt is going to be under enormous pressure from all sides. Hope the Egyptian people will be exerting pressure too. Things ARE happening….. there will be a CHANGE! Click HERE for updates on the Hope Convoy From www.SpideredNews.com

The banned speech - George Galloway addresses Canada by way of video. 30 March 2009 WORLDPRESSNETWORK - 30 March 2009 Say what you will about George Galloway, the Government of Canada was not justified in labeling him a terrorist and banning him from the country. It was nothing but politically motivated censorship. Canadians who wished to do so had the right to hear him speak. Here is the speech in 5 parts **CLICK HERE** From www.SpideredNews.com

As Judge refuses injunction, follow Gerry Hawke! WORLDPRESSNETWORK - 31 March 2009 Dear friend, As Judge refuses injunction, follow Gerry Hawke! In Canada, a federal judge today refused an injunction to force the Canadian government to allow George Galloway to speak at a series of meetings. We're asking everyone to follow the example of Gerry Hawke. He donated $20 to Viva Palestina, which is accused by the Canadian government of supporting terrorism because it sent aid to Gaza, and has turned himself in to the police, challenging them to prosecute him! Please click this link https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?c ... id=4159493 to donate to the special fund to fight Kenney’s political ban and to support Viva Palestina’s political campaigning work to lift the siege of Gaza. If you’re sick of illiberal, pro-war policies – help fund opposition to them. Follow Gerry's example of donating and then letting the authorities know what you've done. Gerry also wrote to his local newspaper letting them know - all of which helps not only to show the minister's actions up for what they were, but also to keep Gaza alive in the media. And please keep the pressure up by emailing the minister responsible for the decision, Jason Kenney: KenneJ@parl.gc.ca; Kennej7@parl.gc.ca; minister@cic.gc.ca We've been overwhelmed by the level of support for George, both from friends and from people who disagree with him but think it's outrageous that George Bush was allowed to travel freely in Canada, but George Galloway isn't even allowed to cross the border. Please support the Viva Palestina campaign financially if you can, and please keep making your voice heard. With best wishes, George Galloway's campaign team From www.SpideredNews.com

Galloway: “Oslo deals are dead, will not lead us anywhere” IMEMC - Sat, 11 Apr 2009 British Legislator, George Galloway, stated on Friday that the Oslo agreements between the Palestinians and the Israelis are dead and will not lead the area to any peace. Galloway added that what is happening now cannot be called peace talks, and that the Israelis are holding talks but are not ready to achieve justice that could lead to peace. He stated that Israel wants endless and aimless talks, and that this issue will not lead to peace but is only meant to grant Israel more time to continue its violations. Commenting on the siege on Gaza, Galloway said that this siege is unjust, cruel and inhuman. He also said that this siege violates democracy and human rights. “I hope we will be able to break it”, he added, “Egypt holds the key, it has a huge responsibility in this regard”.   “We formed the Viva Palestina which was in charge of sending aid ships to Gaza”, Galloway added, “We are now preparing to send a convoy of ships from Cyprus to Gaza”. From www.SpideredNews.com

George Galloway MP at Penn State - 25 March 2009 SHIATV - 28 March 2009 George Galloway at Penn State University in a speech about the 22 day attack on the Gaza strip. He talked about what he saw in his recent visit to Gaza after the Israeli attack, including the illegal war-crime use of phosphorus chemical weapons against civilians. From www.SpideredNews.com

Apology call in M65 terror arrest BBC - Mon, 30 Mar 2009 Police chiefs have been urged to give a public apology to the Muslim community in Lancashire over their handling of recent terror arrests. Nine men, from Burnley and Blackburn, were arrested on the M65 near Preston but later released without charge. At a meeting attended by 200 people on Sunday in Blackburn, Lancashire Police were asked to apologise. Cmdr Andy Rhodes refused to give a full apology but said the incident was "regrettable". Ibrahim Master, a former chairman of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, said there has been disappointment about the way the men were treated. Mr Rhodes added that officers had done all they could to minimise inconvenience. Two vans and an ambulance were travelling in convoy to London last month when they were stopped by counter-terrorism officers. Although six men were later released, three faced extended questioning and several homes in Burnley were also searched. From www.SpideredNews.com

Save Woolworths from closure and create a People's Woolies RESPECTRENEWAL - Link to website "Save Woolworths: Campaign for a People's Woolies" http://www.savewoolies.org.uk Download a petition form here Also, fill in an online e-petition at Number10.gov.uk by clicking here I ask everyone to get involved with this campaign as a matter of urgency. 30,000 jobs are at stake. This is the single biggest loss of jobs so far since the credit crunch hit. The government must step in as they did with the banks to save the company and turn it around. I have launched a nationwide petition to save Woolworths from closure and to create the People's Woolies which I will be presenting to Gordon Brown and Business Secretary Lord Mandelson. Download a petition form today and start campaigning outside your local Woolies. Hundreds of people will be only too happy to sign. I have also tabled an Early Day Motion – EDM 250 – Woolworths Closure. “That this House is appalled by the imminent closure of Woolworths, after 99 years of trading, with the loss of some 30,000 jobs and more than 700 high street stores; calls on the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Business to take all the necessary steps to create a People’s Woolies, under public control, as a bulwark against the worst effects of the recession, employing local people, sourcing local produce, easily accessible by public transport, and providing the goods and services that those on low incomes need; and asks that this is done as a matter of urgency before Woolworths’ assets are stripped without any public benefit whatsoever.” Contact your MP today and urge them to sign it. Although Woolworths was clearly at the weaker end of the retail market, it has collapsed purely and simply because of the credit crunch. It remains a much-loved business used by millions of people up and down the country. We cannot allow 30,000 Woolworths employees to be thrown on the dole before Christmas and a shop to go under which provides cheap goods in particular to those on lower incomes. From www.SpideredNews.com

George’s two shows on Press TV!
"Comment" and "The Real Deal"

George presents a one hour programme live on Press TV called "Comment". It is live at 10.30pm every Thursday, and is repeated on Friday at 3.07am, 9.07am and 3.07pm. It can be viewed on both the Press TV website and on Sky Channel 515 (see below) .

The exciting thing about this show is that it is live and George invites people from all over the world to phone, text and e-mail him with comments, views, queries etc.

You can watch the "Comment" show by visiting the Press TV website and clicking the "Watch Live" link on the right hand side of the page

The second show on Press TV is called THE REAL DEAL. This is on air 10.07pm on Sunday and is repeated on Monday at 3.07am, 1.07pm. This programme is a pre-record and there is no interaction with the viewers as yet.

You can watch archives of both shows at http://www.presstv.com/Programs/archive/#

Now on Sky Channel 515

These are the regular scheduled times for Georges Press TV programmes on Sky Channel 515
 
Comment

Join the big conversation each week with George and viewers from around the world, for 45 minutes of lively debate about the most pressing challenges facing us today.

comment@presstv.co.uk
SMS: + 44  78 0000 8066

Live on Thursdays at 9.33pm  
Repeated on Fridays at 2.06am. 6.06am, and 1.33pm

                                                       
The Real Deal

Shooting from the hip and shooting from the lip, George brings you news and views you cannot find in the corporate media.

Sundays at 8.06pm 
Mondays at 2.06am, 12.06pm

Help Tin Soldiers hit gold!

If you missed George interviewing 10Shott and playing his brilliant track Tin Soldiers on his Sunday evening TV show on Press TV you can buy it at the address below and help put it into this week's Top 20.

Tin Soldiers is a compelling and moving song about the disillusionment of a young soldier after a tour of duty in Iraq. Its powerful anti-war message will embarrass the government if it charts. You can make it happen if you buy the download this week! The download costs 79p (don't download more than once or it won't count) and half of that goes towards our anti-war campaigning.

It's easy. Don't hang about, do it now by clicking this link!

"We did it with our War track a few months ago," George said. "Make it happen again. Send the message to Brown and his fellow warmongers in music. Tin Soldiers in the charts and 10SShott performing it on TV would be the ultimate anti-war message."

George Galloway's website commended - BCS names best MP websites COMPUTERWEEKLY - "Many MPs are sceptics of technology but blogging and websites are becoming essential to politics in the same way that the printing press was when it was invented." The judges also commended the websites of Tory Nadine Dorries, Tory London mayoral candidate Boris Johnson, and Respect MP George Galloway. From www.SpideredNews.com

George writes from Bahrain

At a charity event in the Bahrain capital Manama on Monday I helped raise half-a-million dollars for charity relief in Gaza.

The event was put together at short notice in the Crowne Plaza hotel and the response to my appeal was stunning. In a few minutes we raised $500,000. I put up a signed copy of my book The Fidel Castro Handbook in an auction and it raised $22,000 - that's £11,000!

It just shows you the depth of feeling in the Arab and Muslim world to the tragedy we are helplessly witnessing in Gaza. Well, not so helplessly because this money will assist in putting food on the tables and clothes on the backs of children. If only the world's leaders were as willing to help.

‘Time for openness over Parliamentary expenses’ says Respect MP

Respect MP George Galloway has written to the House of Commons authorities supporting a ruling by the Information Commissioner in favour of greater disclosure of MPs’ expenses.

Mr Galloway was named as one of the high profile MPs information about whose expenses a member of the public wanted disclosed. “I have no reason to hide the information,” says Galloway. “The House authorities have pursued a particular route in opposing the Information Commissioner’s ruling. Whatever the claimed merits for that on the grounds of privacy, there is no way it can be justified, especially in the new climate of public concern over these issues.

“Whatever other parliamentary colleagues decide, I have told the House authorities that I have no objection to the disclosure of the information pertaining to me. I don’t claim for a second home; I don’t have family members on the payroll and I don’t claim for travel.”

Please find below the text of the email sent today to the House of Commons official responsible for data protection issues:

Dear Mr Castle,

I noted that the Sunday newspapers have now reported that I am one of several members whose expenses details have been requested by a member of the public – a matter you’ve already corresponded with me on.

I am writing to inform you that I do not wish you to appeal this matter on my behalf. I don’t know about the other parliamentarians involved, but I have no reason to hide these details and rather than expend any further public money appealing this matter I would rather you provided the member of the public in question with my details.

I’ve been mindful over the past few months that the House has wanted to take a collegiate and collective approach to this issue. However, in the light of current circumstances and the understandable concerns of the public, I don’t feel this matter should be resisted any further.

Yours sincerely,

George Galloway MP

"No return to Life on Mars policing"

Respect MP George Galloway has tabled a parliamentary motion today (EDM 839) condemning the rush to return to 1970s style policing, which targeted young black and Asian people, criminalising a generation, poisoning community relations and eventually erupting in flames.

"It would be Ashes to Ashes indeed, if Gordon Brown - in a race to the bottom of the
barrel with David Cameron - were to scrap the lessons of the Macpherson report into the murder of Stephen Lawrence and unleash untrammelled police powers back into the same communities," says Galloway.

"We are calling on the public to demand their MP signs this motion. This is an issue
across Britain, but nowhere more than in London, where I am determined to intervene to ensure that bigotry and institutionalised racism is beaten back at the ballot box when London votes on 1 May."

Early Day Motion #839, 31 January 2008

Stop and Search, and social cohesion

This House recalls the systemic use of police stop and search powers in the 1970s and 1980s, and the social consequences - in the form of the inner city riots of 1981 and 1985 - which followed; is mindful of the increased use of stop and search in recent years and the deleterious consequences that has had for social cohesion; is further mindful of the evidence which shows that not only is stop and search an ineffective method of dealing with crime and terrorism, its widespread use leads to the alienation of the very communities whose cooperation is vital to tackling extremism; this House is therefore alarmed at the apparent willingness of the Government and the official Opposition to encourage still more use of stop and search, and the abandonment of checks and balances which were part of the lessons learned from the tragic murder of Stephen Lawrence.

George Galloway MP

Galloway condemns strike ban for prison officers

Reacting to a statement by Justice Secretary Jack Straw in Parliament this afternoon, Respect MP George Galloway condemned New Labour’s move to reimpose a ban on industrial action in the prison service.

Galloway said, “New Labour’s assault on trade unionists is, incredibly, getting worse under Brown than it was under Blair. Three years ago the government lifted the Tory-era ban on the right to strike for prison officers in return for a no strike agreement. The Prison Officers Association in return got a pay review body that was supposed to ensure decent pay rises.

“Now Brown’s government is imposing a 1970s-style pay freeze across the public sector. It has refused to implement the review body’s recommendations, just as it is set to swindle half a million teachers by imposing a pay award less than the rate of inflation.

“The response from prison officers has been justified indignation which boiled over into wildcat strike action last year. The only people to blame for that are the government. But the government is now seeking to punish prison officer trade unionists by reviving one of the very few Tory anti-union measures it ameliorated.

“It is an outrage, particularly from a party that continues to rely on trade unionists dues to keep going. Every trade unionist and everyone who cares about rights for working people should stand with the Prison Officers Association in opposing this mugging of their rights.

“This is not simply a matter for the POA and it would be foolish to be sidetracked into the minutiae of the rights and wrongs of prison officers. This is a sign of the anti-union measures Brown is prepared to invoke in order to slash working people’s pay while food and fuel bills go through the roof and the banks start foreclosing on mortgages.

Blackpool Pleasure breach - convention cancelled at the last minute

We are now trying to contact everyone who bought a ticket or expressed an interest in going to Blackpool for the convention, cancelled at the last minute by David Cam, a director of Blackpool Pleasure Beach Ltd.

Personally, I can only apologise once more. But we wll be meeting when all of this is sorted.

George

Claiming a refund on the cancelled conference

Please post the following information to Miranda Media, 10 Abington Close, London SE1 5RW :

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Full Name:

Ticket reference number:

E-mail:

Phone number:

Transport cost:

Accommodation cost:

Any other loss (days taken off work):

These losses should include any irrecoverables like fares or hotel deposits, together with documentary proof if available.

Sign

Full Name

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The above form does NOT not have to be printed out from the website - it can be typed/written.

Please include copies of receipts/tickets/confirmation of booking/employer letters. Please do NOT send originals

Mark Steel: Why should Galloway be the only fall guy?

http://marksteelinfo.com/writing/default.asp?id=35

Perhaps the explanation is their procedures were taken from 'Alice in Wonderland'

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

At last a politician has been suspended for their role in the Iraq war. You'd have thought it would have happened before now, and you might have thought when it finally happened, it wouldn't be the politician most prominently against the war.

Suspending George Galloway for his conduct in Iraq is as if last week's trial of those failed suicide bombers ended with the judge saying "This was a monstrous crime. So I'm going to let you off, and jail the bloke who chased you through the Underground."

The main reason given for the suspension is that some of the money for Galloway's charity came from a dodgy Jordanian businessman. Is this the normal attitude with charities, that no donation should be accepted without the donor being investigated? Maybe it's a new culture, and in next year's "Children in Need", Terry Wogan will say: "And how about this? We've had a grand donation of £25 from Mrs Wimthorpe in Derby. Well I've got one thing to say - who the hell are you, Wimthorpe, and what's your game? We're going to go through you with a microscope and if you've put one finger out of line you can keep your dirty money you old scallywag, spina bifida doesn't need you."

Another source of friction is that Galloway's charity, The Mariam Appeal, which assisted sick Iraqis who were suffering from the effects of sanctions against their country, was political in that it was against those sanctions. In other words, it was against the thing causing the suffering. And that's wrong, apparently.

So presumably there will also be investigations into appeals for victims of earthquakes. How dare these people oppose earthquakes in the name of charity? At least they should be balanced, and allow space for supporters of earthquakes to present their side of the story.

The original investigation into Galloway's dealings in Iraq came when The Daily Telegraph accused him of taking money from Saddam, an allegation that cost them £150,000 when they lost the libel case. Now, despite their acceptance he didn't take a penny for himself, the parliamentary committee says his charity "damaged the reputation of the house". So there's the explanation - the full report probably went: "You mean you weren't on the take? How the bloody hell does that make the rest of us look, you bastard?"

Somehow, however, the diligent committee seems to have missed other possible examples of the house being brought into disrepute, such as a Prime Minister taking the country into war because "I have no doubt that Saddam possesses weapons of mass destruction - absolutely no doubt, no doubt whatsoever."

And insisting we could be attacked in 45 minutes when he knew this was bollocks; and ignoring his own intelligence that this would make us targets for terrorism; and ignoring the UN and the weapons inspectors, so assisting in the creation of mass carnage, while he swans off to make millions from his memoirs.

If they want to investigate corruption in the Middle East, they could look at the $300m taken in cash from the Central Bank in Iraq, and secretly flown to Beirut in a chartered jet to buy arms, organised by the Iraqi Defence Minister whom we helped put in place. This led to his colleague, national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie saying: "I am sorry to say that the corruption is worse now than in the Saddam era." No wonder Blair resigned - how do you top helping to make Iraq more corrupt than under Saddam? In his new job, is he planning to make Afghanistan less keen on heavy metal and women's football than under the Taliban?

Or the committee could glance at the billion pounds in illegal payments made to Saudi Arabia in order to secure arms deals for British Aerospace. Unlike Galloway's crime, parliament decided this matter was too trivial to warrant an inquiry. And if they did find them guilty, they'd have probably ordered them to pay it back at one dollar a week.

But instead, the person suspended is the one who opposed these things. The only explanation is the Commons procedures were originally taken from a chapter in Alice in Wonderland, in which you get charged by the authorities for being an un-criminal. And maybe that's the plan for our whole legal system, so you'll be sent to prison for being an un-corrupt arms dealer, or an un-robber, while liberal types complain that prison doesn't work because most un-criminals re-offend, and if you lock someone up for not stealing a car, when they're released they'll do something even worse such as not rob a bank.

Meanwhile robbers and murderers will be allowed to stay free, but only if they remember to ask you to draw a line under robbery and murder, and accept that, hand on heart, you thought that robbery and murder was right at the time.

Oily cretins (latest attack on Galloway)

Oily Cretins - latest attack on Galloway
Tuesday, July 17, 2007.

You remember, I think, some years ago there was a libellous story in the Telegraph. The newspaper, still then under the control of the now convicted felon Conrad Black, ran a story about documents purporting to show that George Galloway was in the pay of Saddam Hussein. Galloway was awarded £150,000 in compensation for the defamatory claims, and also full legal costs, amounting to over £1.5m. Justice Eady defined the claims in the newspaper's coverage as containing four basic claims that any ordinary reader would take away:

a) Mr Galloway had been in the pay of Saddam Hussein, secretly receiving sums of the order of £375,000 a year;

b) He diverted monies from the oil-for-food programme, thus depriving Iraqi people, whose interest he had claimed to represent, of food and medicines;

c) He probably used the Mariam Appeal as a front for personal enrichment;

d) What he had done was tantamount to treason.

This was libellous, and these remain defamatory claims to make. However. Immediately upon hearing of the allegations, a pro-war hard-right Tory MP named Andrew Robathan wrote to the Committee on Standards and Privileges to demand that an inquiry be made into them, reminding them as he did that he had fought in the Gulf War. Subsequently a prolonged inquiry was held into this matter, and the Committee has now concluded that George Galloway will be suspended for 18 days from the House of Commons for "damaging the reputation of the House".

This may seem curious. After all, the Commissioners accept Eady's definition of the libellous claims, and the Commissioner for Parliamentary Standards either acknowledges that George Galloway did not personally benefit from "moneys derived from the former Iraqi regime", or accepts that George Galloway did make many declarations of interest over Iraq, eleven times. Further, he finds no instance in which monies from the appeal were improperly spent. There is no suggestion that George Galloway attempted to deceive anyone about his involvement in the Appeal or his interest in the matter. The Commissioner does not believe that George Galloway's views or advocacy were a result of receiving money from Saddam Hussein, because he doesn't accept that George Galloway's views changed or that he received money from Saddam Hussein. The complaint made by Andrew Robathan is clearly unsubstantiated: this should have concluded the matter. So, what gives?

Well, here's a clue: the majority of the Committee voted for the war on Iraq. Two of its members are former chairs of the Labour Friends of Israel. One of them, Kevin Barron MP, played a pivotal role in the witch-hunt of miners’ leader Arthur Scargill in 1990. Seasoned red-baiters and warmongers, then, and they had to find him responsible for something. Here is the basis of the suspension: he called into question the motives of the inquiry and therefore brought the House of Commons into disrepute. That is to say, because he dared to suggest that a committee of ten members of parliament might have a political motive, he is suspended. This is pathetic.

Now, the committee did make other complaints, which Galloway disputes, but they say these would have resulted merely in a request for an apology. Namely, they say, George Galloway: didn't use his parliamentary resources in a "reasonable" fashion by using them to help the Appeal (this is stretching the definition of what is "reasonable", but those are the breaks with a bunch of pro-sanctions, pro-war MPs); didn't cooperate with the inquiry and tried to conceal "the true source of Iraqi funding" from them (in fact, the claim that Galloway didn't cooperate is belied by the record of transactions which is available on the website of the committee, in which the Commissioner notes as late as November 2006 that he was very content with Galloway's cooperation); wasn't quite forthcoming enough about declaring his interests (despite the fact that he did discuss it in the House of Commons numerous times, widely advertised the appeal, held meetings in the house, and consequently was satirically known as 'the MP for Baghdad Central'); did not register the Appeal in the Miscellaneous Category (although as they concede, he was not directed to do so when he consulted the previous Commissioner in 1999). This ragbag of petty complaints is the sum of a great effort made over several years to try and impugn the reputation of an antiwar MP.

Added to it are several bizarre implications, which occur throughout the deliberations, but not in the recommendations. At one point, the Commissioner raised a 'suggestion' that had been made to him that Elaine Galloway, George Galloway's former spouse, received £13,000 in payments from the appeal. The Commissioner then claimed to have 'forgotten' who 'suggested' this to him. This allegation of criminal behaviour rests on the person of Ms E Laing, who received payments from the appeal: the implication was that Ms E Laing could be made to look like 'Elaine'. But, as the Commissioner acknowledges, George Galloway tracked down Ms E Laing and passed on the details to him, and so there is no mystery about who Ms E Laing is and what the sum was paid for (secretarial work), and who paid it (Stuart Halford, since she has his personal assistant). So, this smear was introduced into the proceedings and instead of being removed or clarified, was deemed 'peripheral'. Additionally, a photocopy of a purported "minute" of a meeting between Galloway and Hussein in 2002 was introduced at the last minute, having landed on the commissioner's desk some hours before a meeting with Galloway. It was without any explanation as to its specific provenance or how it remained secret until then. It purports to show Galloway suggesting that some of his work on behalf of the Mariam Appeal might be financed by "an oil-related mechanism". The only possible explanation as to its provenance, provided by Ms Alda Barry, was stricken from the record. She explained that it would have been a tape recording. However, since Galloway supplied the Commissioner with the evidence that there had not and could not have been such a tape recording, a letter of apology was sent by the Commissioner on 17th April 2007 to George Galloway, in which he apologised for having tried to prove that such a tape existed. His report nevertheless left open the 'possibility' of such a tape. We are told that it comes from 'intelligence' and that the commissioners "take the view that the alleged record of the meeting between Mr Galloway and Saddam Hussein in August 2002 is authentic", even though they acknowledge that it has not been "substantiated". Similarly, the Committee members decide, citing only one of the experts who looked at the Telegraph's documents (while ignoring the existence of other forged documents), that on balance they think they're probably not forgeries: whether they are forgeries or not, the information contained in them is certainly untrue, as the Commissioner also concedes. They breach their own standards, too, by insisting on including claims made by utterly discredited witnesses, including one "Tony" Zureikat, whose evidence supposedly supports the claims in the 'minute', but who manages to get the time of the meeting wrong by at least six months (he is vague: it happened in Christimas time or New Year, according to him).

Given that the nature of the evidence they adduce is so flimsy, and so disreputable, the Committee's decisions are naturally sparse. You might have thought that a Committee that was confident in its various assumptions would be a bit more harsh than asking for an apology for not having registered the appeal in Miscellaneous and so on. You might have thought that the basis of a suspension from the House of Commons for bringing it into disrepute would be somewhat stronger than that George Galloway said mean things about the committee's motives. Instead, they have produced a great many conclusions, which proceed from ommissions and distortions, and as such the best that they could do with it was trump up some sort of headline-grabbing charge. How pathetic, and how risible. If the Commissioners don't realise that they have brought themselves into disrepute with this disingenuous charade, this can only further confirm the impermeability of the Westminster village to the real world.

Galloway response to 18-day suspension

17/07/2007
"Once more and yet again I have been cleared of taking a single penny or in any way personally benefiting from the former Iraqi regime through the Oil for Food programme or any other means.

The Commissioner's report states that unequivocally no less than six times. The Commissioner further states that it would be a "travesty" to describe me as a "paid mouth-piece" and that my actions on Iraq stemmed from "deep conviction."

This is therefore an argument about the funding of a political campaign to lift non-military sanctions on Iraq, which killed one million people, and to stop the rush to a war which has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands more.

The Committee appear utterly oblivious to the grotesque irony of a pro-sanctions and pro-war Committee of a pro-sanctions and pro-war Parliament passing judgment on the work of their opponents, especially in the light of the bloody march of events in Iraq since this inquiry began four years ago.

They describe that as questioning their integrity and bringing Parliament into disrepute. The House would do well to honestly calibrate exactly how its reputation on all matters concerning the war in Iraq stands with the public before deciding who precisely has brought it into disrepute.

After a four year inquiry - costing a fortune in public funds - the report asks me to apologise for not registering consistently the Mariam Appeal I established (the Commissioner concedes that I did so, but randomly) and for using House of Commons resources allocated to me to campaign against the policies of those now sitting in judgment on me.

The Committee of MPs acknowledges that "had these been the only matters before us, we would have confined ourselves to seeking an apology to the House."

However, in a surprisingly thin-skinned rejoinder, the MPs complain that because I questioned their impartiality and made trenchant criticisms of evidence and witnesses (which, incidentally, they don’t attempt to refute in most cases) I am to be suspended for 18 days.

I reiterate that the Commissioner is right to state that he found no evidence that I benefited personally in any way from any Iraqi monies and moreover I never asked any of the Mariam Appeal's donors - the King of Saudi Arabia, the Emir of UAE, or Fawaz Zureikat, the chairman of the Appeal - from where they earned the wealth from which they made donations to a campaign to end sanctions and war."

George Galloway MP

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George Galloway speech in Parliament, Friday 23 March 2007 on the UK Government cutting back on English lessons to the detriment of disadvantaged minorities, and increasing isolation

UK Parliamentary Debate on "Community cohesion and the English language (Mr George Galloway)", Fri, 23 Mar 2007 2:30 GMT

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"There is no Iraqi government"

George’s speech to the House Of Commons (UK Parliament) on Iraq, 24 January 2007

"The Foreign Secretary says that we stand by our soldiers. We stand by them so much that we pay them so little. We had to give them a Christmas bonus to make up their wages. Their families are claiming means-tested benefits and living in houses that you would not put a dangerous dog in. We send them, ill clad, ill equipped, ill armed, without armour, on a pack of lies into war after war after war."

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