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Defend George Galloway!

harry | 08.11.2005 10:43 | Anti-militarism

Defend the reputation of George Galloway.

George Galloway is not only being attacked by the right but also by large sections of the left, especially on this outlet.
Galloway has been the mainstay of the anti-war movement saying things that people would only dare. Greg Palast the so-called anti-capitalist reporter had attacked him so badly that George was not able to organise effectively in America.
The charges of corruption laid by Coleman are also idiotic. Coleman charges that the business man Fawwaz Zureikat put £85,000 in Galloway's wive's bank account. There are also allegations that Ron McKay, Galloway's campaign manager recieved over £20,000, and $446,000 was funded into the Mariam Appeal the political campaign to draw attention to the sanctions against Iraq.
It is true that Zureikat was involved in the oil for food program, and he was also a contributer to the Mariam Appeal as was Galloway's wife and McKay. Many businessmen across the globe involve themselves in charities or political campaigns that they support. It is no unusual. These links are slim to say the least and do not justify another witchhunt by Norm Coleman and his like.

harry

Comments

Hide the following 21 comments

No defence

08.11.2005 11:30

If there is evidence let's see it. Then we can judge

Not George and glad of it

Absence from the Commons

08.11.2005 12:39

A week ago I would have supported your call. Since Gorgeous George couldn't be bothered to interrupt his book tour to attend the House of Commons vote on Blair's disgusting endgame Enabling Act (which Blair won by one vote), I condemn him as just another ambitious politician. His absence from that vote was simply unforgivable.

Antipholus Papps
mail e-mail: antipholuspapps@hotmail.com

George needs people to defend him...

08.11.2005 12:58

...because he's far too busy lining his pockets on a lucrative speaking tour to defend himself, represent his constituents etc etc.

FTB

realist

08.11.2005 13:01

george galloway should go and live in the middle east and stop trying to force his agenda on everybody else.

qwerty579@robot.org

Or maybe...

08.11.2005 13:12

...he could pop over to Buckingham Palace and salute president Hu Jintao's courage, strength and indefatigability for overseeing a regime that invades its neighbours, bans political opposition, imprisons people because of their beliefs and slaughters thousands of its own people for daring to resist.

He's always been quite keen on that kind of leadership, after all.

FTB

Personally...

08.11.2005 13:13

...I think this is just an example of what happens to
a) people who try to change things "from the inside" of a corrupt political system
b) egotistical idiots who probably don't care where their precious money comes from

Therefore I have zero sympathy with Galloway or any of the foolish Swappies and I hope I'm not alone in this.

No Solidarity Here

08.11.2005 13:14

I agree Galloway must be defended but your in the wrong place if you are looking for solidairty. These Anarchists are consistent sectarians. A witch hunt on a leading international anti-war leader is hardly something they will rally to.

Memory-Hole-Catchers-Mitt

Spot the reason

08.11.2005 13:18

" a leading international anti-war leader" - whose leader is he?

Anarchists don't actually do leaders......

antichrist

oh lovely

08.11.2005 13:38

He's going to be made a Lord.

Lord George of Bagdad

doesnt run very well Im afraid

five rail

Let's See The Evidence

08.11.2005 14:10

Well, if Gorgeous George is innocent of the charges laid against him, presumably he'll have no objection to facing his accusers head on and debunking their case.

Personally, I have very little respect(no pun intended)or time for Galloway.

Galloway strikes me as simply another careerist political hack, and an old-school demagogue as well. He's a good public speaker and a great orator, I've seen him first hand, but I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him.

And his record for actually representing his constituents isn't exactly sterling either.

So, Galloway should, if he's innocent, face his accusers head-to-head and then his supporters and detractors can make of the case what they will.

Pilgrim

Who's Norm Coleman?

08.11.2005 14:32

I've never heard of Norm Coleman so I have no idea why I should be moved to defend anyone from him or his "like". If you want to post News, cos that's whzt Indymedia is actually FOR, maybe you should give us all the facts we need in the story. Otherwise you're just offering your opinion and should get yourself a weblog.

Justin Fax

To defend or not to defend?

08.11.2005 16:36

As an anarchist I know that the powerful will always attempt to smear those who oppose them, so I remain suspicious of the allegations made against George Galloway - its not easy to sell oil or hide huge
sums of cash without leaving a trail. If there is evidence against GG lets see it published now so that he can refute the innuendos. I don't like his politics, or the way that he toadied up to Saddam Hussein, but I do recognise that he campaigned hard for sanctions against Iraq to be overturned, but the lack of proper evidence being presented I'm prepared to admit that there is a good chance he is being framed by the same old COINTELPRO mob.

Forget Galloway, defend Iraqis from the US hypocrites

08.11.2005 16:39

Every US senator will have share portfolios that mean they personally profitted from trade with Saddams regime, profitted from sanctions, profitted from the invasion and profitted from the invasion. Whoever else is guilty, Mr Coleman and all his associates should be tried and hung first.

Danny

Galloway must be doing something right!

08.11.2005 16:43

Galloway is a hated man and he is hated by those who led the drive to war.Oh and some sectarians on the left.
Galloway had the distiction of being thrown out of the Labour party despite calling on Tony Benn as a defence witness.How he is hated by Blair and his acolytes...and how he is hated by the US govt for having the courage to stand up to them face to face.
He is also hated by some on the left who supported the war..step forward Nick Cohen... or who support Israel.Bush and Blair lied to get us to war and they are lying still over Galloway after all both govts spend billions from the war budget on disinformation and the black arts and the so called evidence has been much discredited but still the war gang come back to try to destroy Galloway.He needs our support not some armchair winging from supposed opponents of the warwho are brave enough to criticise him on Indymedia but have done littleto oppose the war in any other way.
Albert
South Wales

ALBERT

Organised Smearing

08.11.2005 16:51

The lead article is a fake, and many of the comments are by the same person. This is organised smearing. What´s the point?

Harry who?

Tactically sound

08.11.2005 18:04

Palast has been far and away the most powerful leftist voice in the US over the last few years, because he does his research properly. His attacks on Galloway were entirely fair, it would be highly damaging to the US left if they allowed Galloway to take any sort of prime position as a speaker for them because the man has been so thoroughly compromised (truthfully or no), and apart from anything else, is not American (not big whoop to his supporters perhaps, but fuel to the fire for hawks painting their enemies as unamerican. He's a liability, and his continued attempts to get hold of speaking contracts there only go to show his own greed, vanity and selfishness (or stupidity, if he's unaware what damage he'd be doing). If the US left have kept him out, it's a damn good thing.

Are you serious

08.11.2005 20:42

I don't understand this post. Is Harry saying that there is no connection with a businessman doing business through the oil for food program, and then giving money to Galloway's wife and his campaign manager?
Okay, there might be a innocent explanation, and the accusations might be unfounded, but if the businessman did put money into bank accounts, then Galloway's wife and his campaign manager (McKay?) are guilty of gross stupidity.
As for the Mariam Appeal I don't think it is criminal for the businessman to fund the campaign, but Galloway should have done more research on where the money had originally come from if the businessman made his profits from oil for food.
Such bad business practice is like handing over a smoking gun to Norm Coleman and his gang.

confused about this posting

Yes, defend Galloway

09.11.2005 01:58

Do you have any other stridently anti-war deputies in parliament? No? Then stand up for the one you've got.

It doesn't matter if you find him personally unpleasant. It doesn't matter if you don't always agree with him. When he's the subject of a politically-motivated smear campaign, you've got to remember that it's not a smear on George personally. No one in the US government cares what kind of person he is (what kind of people are THEY?). They do care, however, about trashing the anti-war movement, and trying to scandalise the names of the few brave people who stand up to the warmongers. Stop joining in the name-calling - you're the real target, not Georgeous George!

Hasn't reading IM taught you anything?

The Hammer

what list is this?

09.11.2005 12:08

What the hell is going on? This isn't a RESPECT (the s stands for socialism!) email list, it's indymedia. Not everyone who uses this is an anarchist, but a lot of us are (and since when have we defended politicans?) I saw that man speak at my university, he's not doing anything remotely useful in the house of commons, he is touring the country recriuting middle class trustifarian students to bulk out RESPECT's membership lists. I wouldn't bother defending him, one of the 'E's satnds for 'environmentalism' but he seems to be doing a lot of flying, and the RESPECT students seem to be doing a lot of flyering and not tidying up afterwards (tut tut). Plus the usual, it's evident that all politicans are as slimy as each other, and why replace our current system/party with yet another inferior one? (I just don't get this socialism/marxism thing do I?)
respct! x

student deliquent

attacks on Galloway weaken the anti-war movement

09.11.2005 15:35

Hammer has it right. The smears against Galloway aren't to take him down personally, they're aimed to divide, demoralise and undermine the whole anti-war movement.

Just ask yourself - when Galloway kicked the Senators' asses in Washington, who celebrated and who got cross? Which side should we be on?

As to the 90-days vote, in all fairness at least read Respect's own explanation:

http://www.respectcoalition.org/?ite=917

Mr Spoon

He can defend himself

09.11.2005 17:08

Let him defend himself. This matter is too confusing for simple minds like myself to take sides. The truth will come out eventually.

Bonnie Clyde

UK Indymedia