MSNBC: UK's Galloway blisters US policy on Iraq - (VIDEO and AUDIO)

[dzika]

May 17, 2005

Video - MSNBC: UK's Galloway blisters US policy on Iraq

You must watch this. Dial-up and MP3 audio versions are also provided.



Video in Real Media format (4 minutes)

dial-up version (4 minutes)

Audio Only in MP3 format (4 minutes)

[mhr]

1. Can We Make This Man A Citizen? - Unbelievable

eom

[Warpy]

16. This is the most beautiful thing I've heard in years.

Thank you.

[NewJeffCT]

31. Would he want to be one?

I don't know about that.

[brainshrub]

105. I nominate that we make Galloway an honorary American citizen.

[jwirr]

132. Better yet make him an honorary DUer. He is our kind of

man.

[Snotcicles]

161. I Second

[tavalon]

197. Don't think he'd want to

He knows who the enemy is. However, we ought to make him an honorary DU member.

[imax2268]

275. seriously...

did you see him...he never once looked down to read a script like the misadministration in DC...he told them like it was while staring them in the eyes...!

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

2. Thanks for the link !

Lets make him a citizen then elect him President!

[mom cat]

237. Ditto! I just sent him the following e-mail:

The Honorable George Galloway

I woke up this morning to hear your solid stirring truth telling speech about Iraq posted on democraticunderground.com.Thank you for your courage in the face of the global corporate/military/media elite for whom 1,000,000 lives are chump change.
We would welcome your input on this international forum at any time and welcome wholeheartedly you and everything for which you stand!
You are a lion indeed and I love it when you roar!

[understandinglife]

3. dzika, you are a champion!! Thank you! Thank you, once again!

Peace.

Oh, and here's an interesting tidbit on how they tried to frame Galloway:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3672704&mesg_id=3672704

Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[Mojorabbit]

4. OMG!

I love this man!

[pbartch]

62. 31 recommendations! Here is his email address [e-mail]

I have emailed this one and the thread with the 100+ to DEM friends.

I hope AIR AMERICA covers his speech

I wrote Galloway an email. Here is his email address: [e-mail]

[pbartch]

112. GALLOWAY IS GOING TO BE INTERVIEWED BY WOLF

on CNN in just a minute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tavalon]

198. I have a dumb question

How does one address a member of the British Parlaiment? I would like to use the proper salutation towards such an esteemed politician.

[Saynt]

211. Well I Guess...

that is to say I could be wrong... but here in Aus, which I would hazard a guess would be very similar to the British our politicians are 'The Honourable' or I think 'The Right Honourable' for the PM and higher ranking officials but that's only an official title used in parliament... I mean we call our PM 'Johnny'. :eyes:

[Arriba]

276. Reply to what to call your "leader"

Well, Saynt. Here in the US we call our "president" MANY names. He's formally called "Mr. President" or SIR!! the latter by his various lackeys. Other than Condi Rice who once slipped and called him her "husband". THAT was interesting. Especially from a woman who's never been married. What SOME of us call him has a wide range variations.

Shrub, Dubya, Dumbya, Chimp-in-charge, Bozo-in-Chief, dipwad, lying sack of manure among other things. The language I use when I'm hurling invective at him when he's babbling on TV, for the most part, would violate the rules of this and most other message boards. So I'm not going to enumerate those.

This is my 1st post here. I found this place through a link from a friendly, to me, message board on Delphi message boards. But I DO know a bit about Shrub as I've lived in Texas for over half my life - since 1976. We had to put up with this bozo as Gov. for 6 years before he got foisted off on the rest of the country by the US Supreme Court. For that I apologize. Not that I had anything to do with the Supremes decision or ever voted for the sorry sack of manure but I would have gladly have put up with two more years of Shrub as Gov. to spare inflicting him on the rest of the country. And myself as well. He's a worse Prez than he was a Gov. and he was a REALLY bad Gov.

Since I've only spent an hour or so here I certainly haven't had time to explore more than a tiny fraction of this board. But from what I've seen I like it already. And don't anyone here be afraid because I'm a Texan. Not ALL Texans agree with what has been done to our state and to our country by BUSHCO and their subsidiaries. Not ALL of us are like that. There are many of us - an growing - that want to take back our state from the idiots that are currently running it and then with a strong TX Democratic vote take back the country from the current idjits that are running both the country and the state.

I DID read the rules here that didn't allow personal attacks. I made the assumption that that meant personal attacks against other posters. I figured Bush, his henchmen and lackeys were fair game. These idjits were either elected or willingly took jobs with the corrupt bunch of snakes and idjits currently running the country. I'd call THEM fair game. If they didn't know the job was dangerous when the took it they dang sure should have. You make yourself a "publicly elected or appointed" figure, you got to withstand a little hurled invective. And you're lucky if that's ALL that's get hurled. Rotten vegetables come to mind. :-)

Course we got a few here in the Texas political ruling class where tar, feathers and being run out of town on a rail comes to mind as well. But most of us have gotten more civilized than that. We'll settle for tossing the bums out of office in elections. Or in the case of Tom DeLay throwing them in the slammer for felonious violations of Texas election funding laws. 3 of his aides have already been indicted. And the DA in Travis county where Austin, the Texas capitol is, is STILL investigating DeLay. Ronnie Earle, the DA, has held his office for over 30 years and he's NOBODY'S fool and VERY careful and cautions when he builds a case. But if he builds a case it tends to STAY built. And this is most likely the most important case he's ever built. Yes he's being cautious, but if he indicts DeLay I'd bet dollars to donuts that DeLay WILL get nailed. And if convicted of only breaking a Texas election law he SHOULD get time in a TEXAS slammer, not a federal one. Texas slammers are WELL known as snakepits and DeLay may find the other inmates may harbor some resentments against him. Or fancies toward him. Either way - the guards dang sure don't care. :-)

Arriba

[ROH]

277. Interesting post

:hi: Welcome!

[robbo2356]

221. The Honourable George Galloway M.P.

[tavalon]

229. Thank you

Now, I will send my letter.

[Paddy Maynooth]

264. That's what you might write on the envelope, but ...

... as far as I know, you should open your letter with a simple "Dear Mr. Galloway".

This is my source:
Forms of Address
for use orally and in correpondence
prepared by the Crown Office
June 2003
http://www.dca.gov.uk/dept/titles.htm

[Goldmund]

5. Wow.

That almost made me cry.

[clem_c_rock]

6. This guy for president

I would throw 95% of our democrats off a cliff for just one of these guys.

Boxer, Conyers, McKinney - We're keeping you. You others - good riddence. If you ever showed some fucking balls maybe you'd be worth keeping.

[tavalon]

199. I'd help n/t

[ztn]

208. HERE HERE!!!

WHERE WAS THIS FIREY SPIRIT DURING THE ELECTION!!!!

THEN AGAIN, WHERE WAS THE FUCKING MEDIA!!!???

WHAT HE SAID IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE TO THE WESTERN WORLD AND 48% (MAYBE LESS!) OF THIS COUNTRY!!

[clem_c_rock]

218. Exactly - except it's probably only 10% of this country

Full of nice, highly draftable, stupid fucking rednecks.

[Quixote1818]

7. Thanks for that! nt

[kerrygoddess]

8. Some text here

LUTD has some text of pre-hearing and hearing ...

British lawmaker George Galloway, implicated in the Iraq oil-for-food program, said today he word reject the charges against him a U.S. Senate hearing and issued some scathing words for the “Republican lynch mob.” Galloway was a witness today before the committee examining the United Nations oil-for-food program.

“This group of neocons (neoconservatives) is involved in the mother of all smokescreens,” he said of the committee. “I want to turn the tables on this neocon, pro-Israel, pro-war, Republican lynch mob.”

He earlier told Reuters that he had "no expectation of justice from a group of Christian fundamentalist and Zionist activists under the chairmanship of a neocon (President) George Bush who is pro-war.”

“I come not as the accused but as the accuser,” he added.

Galloway offered some choice words for Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., the chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, as well.

MORE - http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view=plink&id=904

[Im with Rosey]

121. What Senator was he addressing?

Was it Coleman? Looked like a great crowd behind him, I hope this makes it into mainstream.

[Snotcicles]

164. Yes Coleman Senator Skrinkle is what Ed Schultz calls him. n/t

[clem_c_rock]

9. kick it and vote it

Goddamn - a politician finally telling the truth.

[Malikshah]

10. Kicked, bookmarked, bronzed in

frikkin gold.

This is SO -- Sir, have you no decency.

What I would give to have seen Coleman's face.

I love it.

OMG-- it's a breath of fresh air, a ray of light. It is history.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

21. Half the time he looked like he was peeing his pants,

and at other times when he was asking the questions he'd get this arrogant smirk on his face, which was quickly wiped off by our hero.

[Just Me]

46. A ray of light, indeed. Isn't it just beautiful after living in the dark

world of the neoCONs?

When I get to experience these moments of inspiration, I am totally re-charged!!!!

[tavalon]

200. "Sir, have you no decency?" Exactly right!

This was on a station other than Cspan too. Maybe, a yokel or two heard this.

[CantGetFooledAgain]

11. I'm speechless. Everybody MUST see this.

This is the turning point, folks.

Dzika: thanks for posting this. Is there more?

[Gelliebeans]

12. Give George Galloway

a round of applause :applause:

[doublethink]

13. Galloway's testimony sends Bush to the Gallows !!!!

Well like I said in another thread, I can dream anyway ... :) I'm forwarding this thread to everyone I know ... this is a must see. :bounce: Thanks for the link ... coooooooool ....

[pbartch]

99. Galloway warned us!!!

why didn't we listen?


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1789261

[Botany]

14. a patriot!

:patriot:

[Old and In the Way]

15. Whoa...no holding back there.

How can we get some of those politicians working for us here?

I'll bet that doesn't make the Nightly News....

Thank You, Mr. Galloway.

[Spazito]

17. Thank you SO much for this clip!

It needs to be sent FAR AND WIDE, it needs to be sent to ALL the media outlets with a DARE for them to play it uncut and uninterrupted!

[Paul Dlugokencky]

230. C-SPAN???

Has anyone been able to find this on C-SPAN? My search on c-span.org didn't bring this up.



http://www.cafepress.com/kickindemocrats

[spooky3]

18. Omigod, this is like watching a movie! Perfect words, perfectly expressed

[pacalo]

63. And very passionate, straight from the heart. God Bless Mr. Galloway.

[smoogatz]

19. This guy freaking rocks.

Too bad it takes a foreign citizen to speak truth to power in this country. What the fuck is OUR opposition party so afraid of?

[stevietheman]

83. They're afraid...

of losing much of their big corporate contributions. I think this is obvious.

[smoogatz]

260. Of course. But does it go beyond that?

Fear of being labeled extremists? Or insufficiently patriotic? Or do Democrats still buy the antiquated proposition that occupying the high ground in the civility debate is some sort of victory?

[FreedomAngel82]

20. Thank you for this video!!

:) Much appreciated! Love it!

[rocktivity]

22. We must download the MP3 and send it to everyone we know

And we must ask the coporate media what they're going to do about it.

THE TEA IS IN THE HARBOR! I REPEAT--THE TEA IS IN THE HARBOR!

:headbang:
rocknation

[caligirl]

24. Hey I remember when a Deaniac came up with that while i was

supporting Dean. Love it.

[CantGetFooledAgain]

23. This is news. If this is not covered

...by every evening news show, and every cable news show, with the best parts LEFT IN, then it is absolute proof of the censorship of the media by the administration.

Let's hope that it hasn't come to that.

[caligirl]

25. I am pretty sure I have seen the Absolute proof. Valerie Plame.

[manly]

202. you won't believe this...

I just watched wnbc news at 11:00 pm, to see how they treated this fantastic piece of news.
They didn't even mention it. The only possible explanation is that it was the first item up, and I missed it. Which I don't think happened. I think what happened is that wnbc news is a bunch of chicken-shit, gutless, stupid republican assholes, and were afraid to show it.

[BobRossi]

26. This guy is more of an American than shrub himself!

I have goose bumps.

[MelissaB]

80. Welcome to DU, BobRossi!

:hi:

[tavalon]

213. Actually, he's more of a human

than Shrub. Not to put too fine a point on it.

[Mandate My Ass]

27. WOW just WOW

:patriot:

[Beelzebud]

28. This guy just said more for We The People than the democrats have

since the start of this fiasco.

When do we get real politicians like this guy? When do our representatives grow a spine, and speak truth to power as this man just did?

[Blue Diadem]

29. Thank you!

I saw it on TV and was elated to hear someone speak the truth.

Thanks Dzika..now hubby will be able to see it this afternoon.

[electricmonk]

30. That was one of the most awesome things I've ever seen

I sure hope he has some good bodyguards. He just made a lot of enemies in DC.

[Nordmadr]

32. Now there is a true Scot!!

FRRRREEEEEEEDDDDDDOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!

:)

Olaf

[NewJeffCT]

33. replying so I can see it at home tonight

We can't really stream here at work...

[tenshi816]

34. There was a time I didn't like George Galloway

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, back when everyone's emotions were red and raw, he said some very unkind things about the American people - not just the * administration, but the American people themselves (tarring us all with the same brush) - that as an ex-pat living in Britain I found very hurtful.

But I've gotta say, today I am loving me some George Galloway.

[pacalo]

66. Exactly what did he say?

Please back up what you said.

[tenshi816]

232. 8_year_nightmare, how am I supposed to do that?

Back up what I said, I mean. I don't tape George Galloway when he sounds off on television, not now, not four years ago, not ever, on the off chance I might be asked about it one day.

Have you recorded every bit of news and current affairs programmes you've seen over the years? Just because I can't give you a link to something doesn't mean I didn't hear or see it. (This will be the cue for someone to jump in and comment that I have a low post count. I do, because I haven't known about DU for many months. It doesn't mean I'm trolling from that "other" website. For one thing, I know how to spell.)

I live in the UK (and have for 19 years). Do you? If you do, then you can't help but be aware of George Galloway's feelings about the Americans. In the days right after 9/11 he was one of those (along with the likes of former MP Tam Dalziel) who fell into the "well, they had it coming" camp. There are quite a few people in Britain who despise not only the American government, but Americans themselves, and politicians aren't immune from feeling those same kinds of emotions.

Galloway earned points with me in 2003 when he apologized for describing George Bush as a "wolf", because by saying that he demeaned wolves. I love that.

I also love what he said yesterday: "I have met Saddam Hussein exactly the same number of times as Donald Rumsfeld met him. The difference is that Donald Rumsfeld met him to sell him guns and to give him maps the better to target those guns."

I admire that he speaks his mind. However, some of the other stuff he says and does makes me very uneasy about him.

For example, George Galloway is most assuredly not pro-choice. In the Independent on Sunday newspaper on April 4, he said that he is “strongly against abortion. I believe life begins at conception and therefore unborn babies have rights. I think abortion is immoral.” He also said “I believe in god. I have to believe that the collection of cells has a soul." While still a member of the Labour Party, he was consistent in his opposition to a woman's right to choose.

Yep, good ol' "moral values". This from a man whose Palestinian wife announced on April 30 - 5 days before the election - that she was divorcing him because of his adultery. (Link: http://election.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=466692005)

More recently, he courted the Muslim vote in the UK election by stressing his religious and anti-abortion views, something virtually unheard of in elections over here, in addition to running a campaign tinged with racism.

After he was deselected from his constituency in Scotland, Galloway decided to stand for Parliament for the newly-formed Respect party in Bethnal Green and Bow, one of the most impoverished sections of London, and also an area with which he had no previous connection whatsoever. Why Bethnal Green? It is my opinion that he felt it was his best shot at getting elected, given that the incumbent MP, Oona King, was not only black, Jewish and a woman, but half-American and pro-war as well, and serving a heavily Muslim constituency. (King herself has said that it's not that she's "pro-war", but rather "anti-genocide". Whatever. It nevertheless must be said that she has a reputation as an MP who worked tirelessly for her constituents.) It is also my opinion that choosing Oona King as a target was a cynical move designed to exploit racial tension.

This is a link to an enlightening article about George Galloway that appeared in the Sunday Observer newspaper on April 17: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1461621,00.html

The article is called Following Mosley's East End footsteps (Appeals to communalism are once again echoing across the streets of Bow)

Among many other things it says:

"To add to the foul atmosphere, there's a whiff of old hatreds in the air. Oona King, the Labour candidate, is getting fed up with Respect supporters bringing up her Jewish mother, although she says it makes a change from the British National Party bringing up her black father. Last week, King and a group of mainly Jewish pensioners gathered for a 60th anniversary memorial service for the 132 people who died in the last V2 rocket attack on London in 1945. Muslim youths spat and threw eggs at the mourners and shouted: 'You fucking Jews.'"

<snip>

"The media never tell you but Respect isn't a new organisation but is dominated by the old Socialist Workers Party, which ran the anti-war movement. After the great demonstrations against the war, it hoped for electoral gains. In the May 2003 council elections, it flopped. The only seat it won was in Preston, where local priests ordered Muslims to vote for their candidate.

The SWP has learned the lesson and made its own entirely cynical switch. It hopes to ride the religious tiger by persuading devout Muslims to follow the lead of godless communists. Boring old causes have been dropped to facilitate the marriage. 'I'm in favour of defending gay rights,' declared Lindsey German, the SWP leader. 'But I am not prepared to have it as a shibboleth, people who won't defend George Galloway and regard the state of Israel as somehow a viable presence.'"

<snip>

"As the line changed, the party's paper tried to reconcile anti-capitalism and religious fundamentalism by calling on the comrades to protest against Spearmint Rhino lap-dancing clubs.
Galloway's propaganda follows the same pattern. It features a picture of Oona King with a cheesy smile and a low-cut dress. The headline doesn't say 'Decadent Western Bitch', but then it doesn't need to."

Here's another link, to a BBC4 radio interview Oona King gave after the election talking about the campaign: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/wednesday.shtml

If you scroll down the left side, it's there. I couldn't get the link to the interview to open without right-clicking and "save target as", but it works if you do that.

George Galloway has also publicly lamented the demise of the Soviet Union and I can't support a politician who says that, particularly given the privileged lifestyle he leads.

Like I said, "Gorgeous George" was wonderful before the Committee yesterday and he told some home truths that needed to be said. I loved the smackdown he gave. On the other hand, he has his own agenda and my feeling, after years of observing his antics and listening to him speak, is that George Galloway's main concern in life is George Galloway. Just my opinion.

[fiorello]

254. Thanks so much for posting this.

I'm sure most DU'ers are caught up in celebrating Galloway's great speech... Galloway's election win was reported here only as the win of an anti-war candidate. Shame when an eloquent anti-war spokeseperson turns out to be a hate-mongerer - hating Americans is also hatemongering, however much some of us deserve it.

[TankLV]

282. He is no "hate monger" - he just tells the unvarnished truth.

To some of you - it is "hate mongering". I don't see it that way.

More power to him I say.

Amerikkka and amerikkkans are not a bunch I have been terribly proud of these past few years. I feel like what the innocent germans must have felt about their own fellow countrymen during that period in time.

Did you know that over 58% of DEMOCRATS in Texas love bunkerboy?!?!

DEMOCRATS!

What is wrong with these people - are so called fellow countrymen?

[welshTerrier2]

35. totally blown away ... can he become Democratic Party Chair??

is this someone that represents all those wacky left-wing extremists i keep reading about on DU?

he didn't sound left-wing or right-wing or any other wing to me ... he just told it like it is ...

why can't Democrats stand up for the truth like that ???????????

[SeattleRob]

91. Bingo!

<why can't Democrats stand up for the truth like that ???????????>


You hit the nail on the head, Welsh Terrier2! Why don't the Democrats stand up and tell the truth like that?

Our party, with Reid and Dean at the helm is doing a much better - but isn't it time they just started speaking bluntly?

[TyeDye75]

36. Galloway to Coleman

"Wheres the money"

[flygal]

37. Galloway - you sir, are a HERO!!

That clip is getting emailed to my freeper in-laws. How the hell you can watch that and not question * and gang's intentions. Thanks for the link!!

[mopaul]

38. kick this fucker forever

[caligirl]

39. Galloway told the truth, and Sadam told the truth, Bush was lieing.

When dictators tell us the truth and the President lies to us what does that say?


Oh and go to the Salon war room, Buchanan says the conservative movement is dead.

[stevietheman]

85. Buchanan has...

seen the writing on the wall, and he is the next Arianna Huffington.

The Conservative Movement in the U.S. is hereby, and most assuredly, DEAD.

Enter the New Progressive Era!

[caligirl]

88. Best part, they screwed themselves.

[FighttheFuture]

247. It's not dead by any means, just battered and bloodied...

watch out, that's when an animal is its most dangerous.

[mopaul]

40. "the mother of all smokescreens"

that describes not only the phony baloney oil for food scandal, it describes the entire bush agenda

[Botany]

41. Kick

:kick:

[mopaul]

42. kick for the ugly truth

[ElsewheresDaughter]

43. OMFG I LOVE THIS BRAVE AND HONEST MAN!!

[Greybnk48]

44. kick

I'm speechless (almost). After years of almost never hearing the truth out loud I don't know how to respond. I don't know about the rest of you but when I listened to this it brought tears to my eyes!

I hope TDS is all over this tonight because most of the students where I teach watch him. Otherwise they (most) won't see it, sadly.

[BobF]

240. Same thing here...

Sitting at work and trying to hide the tears.

It's been so long since I've heard the truth spoken openly and without fear that I've almost forgotten what a powerful thing it is.

I'm suddenly 100% recharged. We can win. The Chimp Collective is rotting from the inside, and beams of light are bursting through the cracks.

It is NOT over. The Fascists HAVEN'T won.

[JohnyCanuck]

45. Here is George's email address, if you care to write.

[e-mail]

[Spazito]

53. Thank you for the link!

Appreciative e-mail sent!

[babsbunny]

149. Email sent!

Thanks!

[Nordmadr]

77. My letter to Mr. Galloway:

Dear Sir,

I would like to personally thank you for your testimony today. The truth you spoke today has warmed many hearts in this country, including my own. We hear so very little of it these days, the truth that is. There are many of us that are opponents of the government that has been elected (selected) in this Nation and your voice was a breath of fresh air compared to the typical media drivel that we have to tolerate. We want the facts, not the spin of politicians trying to cover their collective rumps while they continue to push hypocrisy to its outer limits. I fear that democracy, truth and freedom have slipped drastically away from us in recent years. Today, while defending your name, you have championed a people not your own, but who are today, your brothers and sisters in this fight. I, and many others, applaud you. You are an asset to your Nation.

Sincerely,
Richard A. Reichert
New York, USA

[liberal4eva]

204. that was beautiful--

.....esp the part about us being his "brothers & sisters."

brilliant!

[ztn]

212. BEAUTIFUL!! My eyes are misty!

I hope he reads these.

[babsbunny]

169. My letter came back

undeliverable.

[honigdachs]

252. email for gorgeous George

try:

[e-mail]

[oasis]

193. U.S. companies were the biggest violators of sanctions against Iraq

in connivance with the U.S. government. Of course that was widely known outside of America's borders.

And Norm Coleman wasn't aware of it after months of investigation?

:dunce:

[ztn]

214. Sure he was aware of it. They all were! The only people who weren't

were most of the well-meaning, allbeit STUPID, people bamboozled by the GOP and even some Kerry voters who STILL don't realize just how DEEP the rabbit hole goes....

[mopaul]

47. .......

........

[Nickster]

48. Truly amazing. What a great speech.

[rndmprsn]

49. the truth hurts neo-cons...doesn't it?!

i bet this is the first time that many ppl have even heard of any of this bullshit and major fucking kudos to george galloway for calling them on it and holding them to it!!

BRAVO!!!

so...what can we do with this...LTTE's big time and contact you reps!

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

[taxdodger]

50. Great to hear it at last, watch out Tony

Does anyone have a copy of the whole of Gorgeous' testimony
for download so I can give it to a friend tomorrow morning?
She is on dial up only and missed the whole thing earlier.

[Rainscents]

150. Welcome to DU!!!

:hi:

[fooj]

51. Geez...That just gave me goosebumps! Thanks Dzika!

Galloway did the right thing! When will the rest of this country follow his lead?

peace.

[Joe Chi Minh]

255. Perhaps,

those wise words of MLK, "longevity has its place", haven't been too far from the minds of Democratic politicians for many a long year.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

52. Inspiring. This is a leader.

I want leaders to speak with the fire and brutal honesty. Thanks for the link.

[Coexist]

54. Speaking Truth to Power 101

this IS truly must-see-TV

[Just Me]

55. The man was on fire!!! He gave power to truth!!!

It was an inspirational experience to watch him, to listen to him!!!

[Quixote1818]

56. Send this to everyone you know!!!! And tell them to pass it on! nt

[pacalo]

57. \/\/( )\/\/ ! ! !

Thank you, dzika! This is much appreciated. :)

[Frederik]

58. Magnificent!

I saw some more on CNN, it was fantastic. Finally someone telling the truth to these scumbags! This is for the history books (or history dvds, or whatever they will have in the future). Too bad none of the Democrats have been as honest and direct.

[dubyaD40web]

61. BBC also has an article and video of a different part if his testimony

Just as honest and forthright. Just as scathing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4556113.stm

[Frederik]

151. Thanks

The whole thing is on BBC now. 47 minutes, then it's called off, they couldn't take any more!

[DrCorday]

223. The BBC online clip is great...

Much better than the MSNBC one. Thank you!

[beam me up scottie]

59. Oh my god I'm aroused

by that man and his speech.
THank you for the link, I thought I missed the show of the year.
I can see why they refused to let him continue.
Damn that was awesome.

[Ysolde]

60. Kick!

Why Oh Why does it take a Scot to speak truth to power? Where are our Leaders?

[lucca]

64. Thank you George Galloway.

My heart is filled with joy and amazement.

Truly inspiring....Brave..Honest...Heroic.

What a breath of fresh air to hear the truth.

Are you listening MSM?
Are you listening Congressmen & Senators?
Are you listening America?

I surely hope so.

[Avalux]

65. Wow. Now if only our Democratic leaders would speak like this -

it's almost strange to hear the truth, it's been so long missing. I hope this fellow stays safe.

[tjdee]

67. I know, it's pretty sad, isn't it.

This guy comes over here, and is not scared by little Norm Coleman.

He tells the truth, smartly and concisely, and look how people take notice!

Helloooooooooooooooo ..... Democratic leaders.............

[mzmolly]

75. Many have, and I don't wish to forget them.

149 Democrats voted against this war only to be marginilized by our media and their fellow countrymen.

Please, let's not forget them.

I can name a few who ran for President and spoke "truth to power."

[ROH]

82. Do you have anyone particularly in mind?

Kerry? Dean? Both have shown courage before, so will they step forward again now?

[Avalux]

86. Kerry, Dean - yes

All the other 2004 candidates - those in the House and Senate now - EVERYONE. I want them to attack the corporate media and drown them with the truth. Even if they have to say "I was wrong, I didn't speak out against this war at first, but now I see it was a lie". My wish is that they can somehow put the good of the country above their own selfish needs.

This is what I want. We'll see what happens.

[mgmstl]

103. DAMN!!!!!!!!!!! What a great SPEECH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just finished listening to this amazing speech!!!!!!!!! I am sure that the caps fell off of Norm Coleman's teeth!!! Wow how refreshing, and how reinvigorating it is to hear someone get up in front of Congress and speak the plain truth.

What was the response from the committtee & Coleman??

I only imagine this brave gentleman's safety & life could be in danger.

Let's just get some Democrats to follow suit and speak with the absolute BALLZZZZZZZZZZZZ that George Galloway did!!

[Garbo 2004]

68. WOW! Thanks for the video. That was fantastic! n/t

[tjdee]

69. Holy shit I LOVE THIS MAN.

Wow. Thanks for posting it.

[DemReadingDU]

70. Wow Wow!

Thanks for sharing the video with us dzika!

[mzmolly]

71. One slight addition to his comments: The US had a large vocal Anti-War

Movement that was also "right."

But, far be it for me to whine about the semantics, great statement from Mr. Galloway.

[crispini]

72. Wow.

that was great.

[bpilgrim]

73. anyone got the whole thing?

including senators reactions?

tia :toast:

peace

[go west young man]

74. Galloway was asked before he left the U.K does he have any

notes on what to say. He just said " I have some thoughts in my head". Now that speaks volumes. Our politicians would be lost without a script. He spoke powerfully, eloquently, and angrily and slammed Norm Coleman to the mat! Galloway for Prez!

[Nictuku]

78. It was Live on MSM

To me, that is the most amazing thing. Here they expected to drag this man's name thorugh the mud with the Oil for Food scandal, and I don't think they quite expected that.

Live on MSNBC. Amazing!!!

I hope Keith Olbermann covers it tonight.

I love DU, I wouldn't know about this without it.

Keep up the fight for Truth and Justice and the American Way (the /true/ American way, not these god damned neocons)

[rodeodance]

138. but the cables keep cutting away for 'commontary"--altough they

did cover his opening statement for the most part.

[Firenze777]

117. That's what struck me too

that he was so eloquent, so methodical, so complete without any notes or prompter or pauses.....it gave even more weight to the truth and gravity of his message. it was awesome.

[getmeouttahere]

122. Yeah, if I remember correctly, from the days of my youth...

they call that sort of person "educated" something to which we only pay lip service in this country!

[kerrygoddess]

76. Waxman calls for investigation in Bush admin successor to Oil for Food

Also today Waxman calls for investigation in Bush administration handling of successor program to Oil for Food - http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view=plink&id=906

[Lori Price CLG]

79. OMG, awesome!! Kick, kick, kick! n/t

[Lori Price CLG]

90. I voted for this thread for 'Greatest,' thanks for video links. n/t

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

81. That was Glorious! Thank you for posting! n/t

[kcwayne]

84. Help me out here, what was the context of his appearance

before this committee?

[dzika]

87. Oil for food...

I believe that he had been accused of illegally benefiting from the oil-for-food program.

[Pithy Cherub]

89. Bloody Beautiful!

Thanks Much dzika! That was an astonishment to watch live! :wow: Then to see it on replay it gets better with each view!

Galloway verbally blowtorches the mepublicans undershorts on LIVE TV!

[alfredo]

92. For your viewing pleasure, ole lick-spittle himself

[Chico Man]

101. Here's what Coleman (the Green Goblin) was really feeling..

Looks like him, doesn't it?

[canichelouis]

206. That's hilarious !!!!!

[ztn]

217. LOL

[bunkerbuster1]

102. Light up the Ass-hat signal!

http://rising-hegemon.blogspot.com/2005/05/you-should-see-cool-uniform.html

[progressivebydesign]

116. Ewww.. wet juicy lips! Lick-Spittle indeed!! n/t

[kissmygrits]

154. I just emailed Norm Lick Spittle Coleman's manager

'[e-mail]' I went on line and found several sites to email this jerk. Told them the investigation was a sham and a shame and they needed to be investigating Dubbya and Halliburton. Also told them that Galloway was an honorable man, something that Coleman could never aspire to be.

[leesa]

93. Beautiful. It's so refreshing to hear English spoken in the Senate!

I'll bet Dubya doesn't even understand most of those big words though.

This man is a hero.

[getmeouttahere]

125. Exactly! English...I hadn't heard much of it since last....

I was in England.

Here is George's party's website...I urge all of you to take a look.

http://www.respectcoalition.org/

[Frederik]

163. He has the support of John Pilger

one of the greatest journalists around.

[Joe Chi Minh]

242. Blair's now

wants a piece of the Respect kudos, and is touting it now as one of his priorities.

Trouble is, it's one thing for George to champion it, and other for Blair. He just sounds that much more like a Mafia capo.

[Joe Chi Minh]

251. The word, "forensic",

springs to mind.

[hvn_nbr_2]

94. DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS: Training video here: What opposition looks like.

I won't get to see this till I get home, but from all the buzz, it sounds like our Dems ought to be watching this, to learn how not to be wimps and enablers.

[rndmprsn]

203. "DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS: Training video here: What opposition looks like."

fantastic! my oh my how do we get ppl like this over here?!

[jmc777]

95. I'm going to upload the full version (all 47mins) soon....

It's a big file though, 78MB, and I'm currently uploading something else right now, but I'll get it uploaded a.s.a.p

[Spazito]

96. That would be awesome! Thank you!

*

[Nothing Without Hope]

114. Does this mean that you'll post a link at DU? I hope so! n/t

[jmc777]

123. I will, yes. I'll make a new topic in this forum. n/t

[Nothing Without Hope]

128. Excellent! In the meantime, for those whose computer systems can handle

it, here's the 47 minute video from BBC:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1789359#1789452
Thread title: “Looks like entire Galloway testimony is posted (Video)”

I assume that won't be available forever, so your download will be very welcome.

And here is the transcript:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3674986
Thread title: “GALLOWAY TRANSCRIPT HERE”

I hope at least SOME of the craven people in that Senate chamber felt some guilt when faced by the truth in their own nest. Cockroaches don't like the light.

[jmc777]

130. My link will provide the same footage....

...I captured the stream from the BBC website. You'll be able to download it to your hard-drive and watch it over, and over, and over, and over again! ;)

[Nothing Without Hope]

135. That sounds perfect! Because this is not to be forgotten it's to be

watched and shared and spread around.

Let's not let the echoes of Galloway's truthtelling speech ever be silenced!
:toast:

[Postman]

97. The Truth Shall Set You Free.....Thank You Mr. Galloway.

All said without written notes. Awesome.

[redacted]

98. BBC News top story clip--direct link (2:57):

Real Player, narrowband:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/avdb/news_web/video/9012da68000cbf8/nb/09012da68000cced_nb_16x9.ram

[AngryOldDem]

100. Wow. Just wow.

Somebody finally said what has been left unspoken for the past two years. That was one powerful testimony.

We deserved that. Every last word of it. What will it take for most in this country to wake up and realize that we are among the world's pariahs?

I recommend Galloway for knighthood. Hell, make him a citizen and let him run for office over HERE.

[brainshrub]

104. Damn!

The truth is a powerful weapon.

[DearAbby]

107. DearAbby to Democratic Leaders...."Balls to the wall, Boys"

Truth, what an amazing concept! And it took a Scotsman to show you how it's done. Fight for us...Fight for your country. Speak the truth and the devil be damned!

[Nothing Without Hope]

106. WOW!!!! Compared to him, most of our pols look like what they are -

fascist collaborators. How starved we've been to hear the truth stated so clearly. Amazing that it was actually on the air at all in the US - this is the sort of thing they suppress. The truth is toxic to them.

[lynch03]

113. I THINK I JUST ORGASMED

SERIOUSLY THAT TIRADE WAS THAT FUCKING AWESOME. It wasn't awesome it was above awesome , it was.... A word that has yet to be added to the dictionary, a word that transcends the level of awesomeness , a word that should take the form of that guys last name to describe the level of superior awesomeness that the dictionary is deviod of

[Nostradammit]

173. Gallowacious!!

is the word you're looking for. Always used in conjunction with two (2) exclamation points.

[Voltaire99]

108. Gorgeous George 1, U.S. -1622

The appearance of truth of any sort in the U.S. Congress is always a rare occasion for celebration. So we celebrate today.

But we are also cognizant that a man has had to fight for his good name in a loathsome Star Chamber, where the ghosts of McCarthy and J. Edgar are being channeled by the dwarfish putz Coleman from Minnesota.

Nor let us exonerate the Democratic Party, co-authors of the misery in Iraq, and whose pro-empire web sites (cf. Talking Points Memo) were heard to moan when Galloway won his seat earlier this month.

The U.S. is under a spell woven by both its guilty political parties. Who will break it?

Today we have watched one such man. Thank you, George Galloway.

[progressivebydesign]

119. Speaking of MN.. Paul Wellstone is probably smiling down on us today. N/T

[Joe Chi Minh]

146. Gorgeous George.

Sounds like he's their nemesis for what they tried to do to Wild Bill Clinton. Ladies' men can be a tad passionate, can't they, whatever their faults?

They got away with picking on Bill for lawful private conduct that wasn't even any their business, and must have seen it as a validation of their partisan propaganda. Never good to believe your own publicity! GG was the fall they were headed for. It was almost like Daniel's defence of Susanna.

[Jon OapostropheBrien]

190. I think Galloway was well aware of...

...the presence of McCarthy's spectre today. Note his deliberate use of the phrase: 'I am not now, nor have I ever been, ...'

[EnfantTerrible]

109. I have hope again!

Thank you for sharing that... you have no idea hhow much that has made my day!

[go west young man]

110. The Repukes must be loving Norm Coleman today!

He didn't realize what a Pandoras Box he opened up. Galloway has shined some light on our corrupt government. There is video up at BBC. CNN and I hate to say it but even Fox. Ironically Fox has a longer segment on their front page than others. I think they would have trouble ignoring this one though. I also checked the Senate site and it seems they have not made it not currently available. I wonder if Coleman had something to do with that.

[mr blur]

111. This is an old-style Labour politician

this is what our party was like before President Bliar crept in the back door. This, presumably, is why George G. left the Labour Party.

[Jon OapostropheBrien]

191. Old-style Labour politicians

Much like Tony Benn and Ken Livingstone, in fact.

[Joe Chi Minh]

243. More like Aneurin Bevan,

I think. Though he has Wedgie's extaordinary grasp of the facts.

[progressivebydesign]

115. Holy Shit! Straight talk!

How can the regime handle that? No wonder that coward Coleman cancelled the rest of the day's hearings. I guess Galloway realizes that NO ONE will listen to the 50+% of Americans who feel the same way.. sad that it had to come from an outsider for the media to take notice. Brilliant stuff... and did you notice? He could execute complete sentences from memory, no cue cards or teleprompters, can our pResident do that?

[secretdj]

118. Freakin awesome

All it takes is courage. That's what I'm recommending to my candidate. People are sick of the extremism.

[erpowers]

120. Whoa

He came out swinging. He did a great job fighting back against these claims. I guess Norm Coleman is not so happy that he brought Galloway into this mess. Galloway just kicked his butt. Too bad every American could not see and hear Galloway respond to these claims.

[d_b]

124. Which Senator is he speaking to?

Great clip, btw.

[tandem5]

126. Damn! I'm fired up! that's awesome! nt

[getmeouttahere]

127. Now that we've seen Mr. Galloway in action....

check out his party's website at:

http://www.respectcoalition.org/

I guarantee you that some portion, if not all of the media and certainly the administration will villify this man because he is a socialist!

If you are not toeing the line for unfettered capitalism, you are targeted by BushCo...just ask Hugo Chavez, democratically-elected president of Venezuela...

www.handsoffvenezuela.org

[meppie-meppie not]

129. any decent liberal is a socialist! n/t

[kcass1954]

178. Cool little tidbit on that site from last week...

Before I knew whether he was liberal, conservative or ?, he had already gained my respect just for having the balls to tell the truth.



http://www.respectcoalition.org/?ite=780


Galloway vows to confront Senate committee
12/05/2005

George Galloway, the Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, welcomed the opportunity - so far denied - to testify before the Senate committee in Washington which has accused him of receiving $20 million of oil from the Saddam Hussein regime.

"I understand, through the media, that the committee have offered a microphone and a chair on Capitol Hill on May 17," he said. "I'll be there to there to give them both barrels - verbal guns, of course, not oil - assuming we get the visas. I welcome the opportunity to clear my name. My first words will be 'Senator, it's a pity that we are having this interview after you have found me guilty. Even in Kafka there was the semblance of a trial'."

Galloway reiterated that he had never been asked to appear before the committee prior to it reaching its conclusion, or to provide even written testimony. "This is a right-wing committee with an agenda which reached its conclusion before even considering the facts," he said. "Joseph McCarthy must be smiling admiringly in Hades."

[jimshoes]

131. Mr. Galloway,

You sir are a breath of pure oxygen in room full of carbon dioxide. Thank you for that brutally honest testimony you gave today.

[AwakeAtLast]

133. Amazing, simply amazing!

I could actually feel real hope welling up in my soul. I want to hear more from this man!!!!!

:woohoo:

[Roland99]

134. VIDEO of Entire Session today

http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/audio_video/051705video.ram

[rodeodance]

136. Lou Dobbs will have Sen. Coleman on tonight (soon). see this thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3675422

[The Jacobin]

195. Its the WHOLE thing

So scan out to 1:51:20.

That's where Coleman's introduction of the hearing with Galloway starts.

P.S. It looks like Coleman is the only one there!

[Roland99]

201. Thanks. I was wondering how far into it was.

Does Coleman go running off like a little girl shortly thereafter?

[lady lib]

137. MAGNIFICENT

Looks like I might have to add another hero to my collection.
:woohoo:

[aintitfunny]

139. That Was In"effing"credible

What a man, what a wonderful wonderful human being.

[rodeodance]

140. now--to get the Downing Street Memo televised!!

[rodeodance]

141. just flipping the networks--this is NOT the lead story (filly on two of

them and credit card use on the other)

[rodeodance]

142. but it is lead story on BBC evening news (pbs)

[rodeodance]

143. Coleman saying afterwards that Galloways credibility is suspect if he

indeed lied to this committee. Whow--planting the seeds on his credibility already (bbc news now).

[Enraged_Ape]

235. Of course, Coward Coleman couldn't say it to his face

This was like the new kid in school beating the shit not out of the school's worst bully, but ALL of the school's bullies, in the same fight.

[aintitfunny]

162. That would be something!

but I have my doubts. Thought Galloway held his own very well on Hardball, watched that part to see him again.

[Peace Patriot]

144. Well, here's a home grown dissenter--former WSJ and National Review...

...editor and former Reagan Asst. Sec. of Treasury...

(Sorry if this is a dupe. Don't see it elsewhere. New at CounterPunch...)


http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts05172005.html

May 17, 2005

"The Lies that Kill

"Why Isn't Bush in the Dock?

"By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

"George W. Bush and his gang of neocon warmongers have destroyed America's reputation. It is likely to stay destroyed, because at this point the only way to restore America's reputation would be to impeach and convict President Bush for intentionally deceiving Congress and the American people in order to start a war of aggression against a country that posed no threat to the US. America can redeem itself only by holding Bush accountable.

"As intent as Republicans were to impeach President Clinton for lying about a sexual affair, they have a blind eye for President Bush's far more serious lies. Bush's lies have caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people, injured and maimed tens of thousands more, devastated a country, destroyed America's reputation, caused one billion Muslims to hate America, ruined our alliances with Europe, created a police state at home, and squandered $300 billion dollars and counting.

"America's reputation is so damaged that not even our puppets can stand the heat. Anti-American riots, which have left Afghan cities and towns in flames and hospitals overflowing with casualties, have forced Bush's Afghan puppet, "president" Hamid Karzai, to assert his independence from his US overlords. In a belated act of sovereignty, Karzai asserted authority over heavy-handed US troops whose brutal and stupid ways sparked the devastating riots. Karzai demanded control of US military activities in Afghanistan and called for the return of the Afghan detainees who are being held at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

"Abundant evidence now exists in the public domain to convict George W. Bush of the crime of the century. The secret British government memo (dated July 23, 2002, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-15936), leaked to the Sunday Times (May 1, 2005), reports that Bush wanted:


"'to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. . . . But the case was thin. Saddam was not threatening his neighbours, and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran. . . . The Attorney-General said that the desire for regime change was not a legal base for military action. There were three possible legal bases: self-defence, humanitarian intervention, or UNSC authorization. The first and second could not be the base in this case. Relying on UNSCR 1205 of three years ago would be difficult.'

"This memo is the mother of all smoking guns.

"Why isn't Bush in the dock?

"Has American democracy failed at home?"

-----

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions.He can be reached at: [e-mail]

[Vladimir]

145. Well that's why we love Gorgeous so much

no prisoners, no quarter, pure entertainment. He is a gutsy bastard George, and frankly when you are fighting the anti-war cause few have the spine that he has.

[cat starbuck]

147. He kicked their Ass!

[demo dutch]

148. Of course NOT A WORD ON NBC News tonight about it!

[Enraged_Ape]

152. This was like Cassius Clay vs. Sonny Liston

It's outrageous that they can't even think of ONE THING to say about it.

It's sad, living in the former Soviet Union.

[Joe Chi Minh]

246. Surely not...

Didn't Liston have shady connections?

[Enraged_Ape]

258. Couldn't have been any shadier than Coleman or Levin (n/t)

[Joe Chi Minh]

268. It was an ironical comment.

I was affecting horrified incredulity that the far right could be compared to someone with close ties with the criminal underworld (and the more louche instruments of the CIA. Either or both are a feature of the far right everywhere. Not the CIA, of course, but respective national clandestine agencies; sometimes, the leadership of the latter being more compliant to their designs, and others less so).

[Enraged_Ape]

271. Sorry about that. I'm slow on the uptake.

Too many head injuries in the past.

I'm sure whatever peccadilloes Liston was involved in, he was an Eagle Scout compared to the lion's share of our representatives in Washington. Next to Norm Coleman, Al Capone looks like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.

[Joe Chi Minh]

279. Oh, I get your point EA,

and it's a very valid one, (in principle, at least, since I know next to nothing about our Norm, though a lot about where he's coming from, and the ethical, political and judicial culture of fantasy he must live and breathe).

[DirtyDawg]

153. CNN and Jim Lehrer...

...both handled the piece to some degree. Predictably, they made sure that people knew of Galloway's issues with Blair - showed him being carted off by 'Bobbies' following a war protest and 'praising' Saddam Hussein (thought his comment about having met Hussein exactly as many times as Rumsfeld...and not to sell them weapons and maps to using them...was pretty effective) and generally attempting to undermine his credibility. They also allowed Coleman to come across as a somewhat sympathetic player in all this - for the uninformed, anyway.

What I want to know is when is somebody gonna go public with their desire to wire Coleman's gonads to electrodes, put a hood over his head and ask him direct questions about Paul Wellstone's plane crash?

[AlmightyTallest]

155. OMG That's Hot

This is the best thing I've seen... well in a really long time. He looks like he was about to deliver a well deserved spanking. Was it Coleman he was addressing? He's so smarmy, I hope it gives him nightmares. :toast:

[AmBlue]

156. Watched this with tears overflowing

It has been soooo long since anyone in this land spoke with that kind of conviction, authority and passion. The truth of his words speaks loud and clear. Let's spread this far and wide!!!

[lildreamer316]

157. Excuse the french YOU GO MOTHERF****ER!!!!!!

Now I wish I was British.

Just kidding.

I owe this man probably more than I can say.

[lady lib]

158. Guardian Article: Galloway and the Mother of All Invective

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1486417,00.html

<snip>
George Galloway stormed up to Capitol Hill yesterday morning for the confrontation of his career, firing scatter-shot insults at the senators who had accused him of profiting illegally from Iraqi oil sales.
<snip>

Even so, Mr Galloway was in his element, playing the role he relishes the most: the little guy squaring up for a fight with the establishment.
<snip>

For these purposes, Senator Coleman served symbolically to represent all the evil in the world - the entire Republican party, the conscience of George Bush, the US government and the British government, too: no wonder his weak smile looked so nauseous.
<snip>

[IronLionZion]

159. Hell Yeah!!!

Now that's what we need more of in this country. I love how the British can give it to you straight. The Tony Blair town hall meeting is another wonderful thing to watch. Real people asking real questions is just beautiful. Tony is still an asshole, but at least he can face his people unlike our worthless little bitch of a president. Tony actually took responsibility for his mistakes.

[RoyGBiv]

160. Kick It!!!

:kick:

[NightOwwl]

165. OMFG!!!!

:applause: :applause: :applause:

"I told the world, contrary to your claims, that the case for war was a PACK OF LIES!!!"

"1000,000 people have paid with ther lives, 1,600 of them American soldiers, sent to their deaths on a PACK OF LIES!!!"

:nuke: BUSH :nuke: CHENEY :nuke: RUMSFELD :nuke: WOLFOWITZ :nuke: THE NEOCONS

[cosmokurt]

167. Galloway made Coleman look like an amateur

I, as an American, salute you Mr. Galloway for standing up to your convictions and putting the truth of American government's atrocities and lies out in the open...

OMG... They are playing clips of Galloway on Countdown!!!

Go Keith!!!

[NightOwwl]

194. Welcome to DU cosmokurt!

:hi: Glad to have you here!

[Joe Chi Minh]

256. Imagine how much greater

the excitement and mirth of most of the troops must be!

[raggedcompany]

166. Not since Jon Stewart tore up Crossfire

have I so admired a performance as this. Well done indeed.

[cosmokurt]

168. raggedcompany... wait til The Daily Show gets a copy of this tape....

I can just see it now... Stewart plays bits of Galloway's allegations.... camera pans to Stewart all wide-eyed... and "what?"...

I can't f***ing wait for tonite's show!!!!! Better not be another rerun... dammit!

[meganmonkey]

174. Hi cosmokurt!

:hi:

Welcome to DU! :toast:

[IronLionZion]

179. reruns all week

they have shows for 3 weeks then take a week off.

[liberal4eva]

219. it was another re-run, dammit!

[Zen]

170. BEST. RANT. EVER. He stuck it SO far up Bushco's arse, it's over.

I mean, I am just going to play this any time any rightwinger come near me talking shit. Over and over again. And I hope the Dems have learned that there IS a proper way to express oneself WRT this travesty known as Bushco - with proper anger! x(

[BikeWriter]

171. YEEHAW!

[go west young man]

172. Galloway is appearing on the Charlie Rose show tonight.

www.charlierose.com

[JRob]

175. : )

[Rainscents]

176. This man is AWSOME!!!! He has Spines!!!

:toast: :applause:

[angryxyouth]

177. In a related story From April 24

http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.com/2005/04/bushs-chum-thrown-to-sharks.html

Galloway was awesome, But the shit is so thick that the average American will never be able to see through it, and so will just live in it. Oh and by the way in two days Galloway's speech will have never happened.

[rodeodance]

182. give it one day.

[wildeyed]

180. If that was a boxing match, they would have had to stop the fight.

Man that was sweet. :applause:

[malaise]

231. They did

Coleman et al were knocked to the canvas and called for recess.

[On Par]

181. The Greatest Statements I've Heard In Five Long Years!

[rodeodance]

183. will Galloway be talking with the committee tomorrow?

[qanda]

184. That was beautiful

I need to watch the rest of that, will it be repeated?

[Griffy]

185. see camera guy behind Galloway.. I wanna see the Senators FACE!

.. the guy starts clicking the shutter as you hear Galloway tell him about the "pack of lies" ... look for those photos!

[ROH]

187. Here's one photo...

"At times the Senate panel looked uncomfortable"


from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4553601.stm

[TyeDye75]

239. A quote from Coleman

"Mr Coleman said he didn't think Mr Galloway had been a "credible witness". If it was found he had lied under oath, there would be "consequences", he said.

Better take the boat home George, planes can be very unsafe

[LifeDuringWartime]

186. BRAVO

id vote for him

[go west young man]

188. Air America Radio right now.

[For PaisAn]

189. Wow

wow, wow, wow, wow. The truth, such a rare and beautiful thing to hear.
Love it.

[muchacho]

192. awsome

this man is a hero!!

[tavalon]

196. Wow, honest, blunt truth from a politician

and the world did not, in fact, explode.

[FrankBooth]

205. This is the most cathartic political moment

I have had in a very, very long time.

[ztn]

207. tell me about! HEY DEM PUSSIES, TAKE A LESSON!!!!!!!

THIS IS HOW IT'S DONE! NO BULL! JUST RELENTLESS FACTS!!!!

CHEERS, MR.GALLOWAY!!!!!!!!

[clem_c_rock]

209. YOU GOT THAT RIGHT!!!!

I say that about all of them except for

Conyers, Boxer, Mckinney, and Kucinich

All the rest, including you Dean and Obama - take some fucking notes.

[CountDmoney]

210. My hero

Damn. Nuff said.

[ztn]

216. I wish everyday was like this!!!!

I wonder what the media whores AT ALL LEVELS OF THE MSM who've KNOWN and ignored these ridiculously basic FACTS are thinking right now?!

I'd love to look into the eyes of a SPINELESS BIMBO like Paula Zahn or coward like Blitzer right now.

[Melodybe]

215. Holy Shit, WOW, I love this guy!!!!

My hero:loveya:

[twenty4blackbirds]

220. One of the best laughs in the mess

Dark humour.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4556113.stm

Lots of wandering around the question, delving into topics his questioners clearly did not want to pursue - this method has a bad name in debating but then this clearly isn't a debate.

Most definitely the committee members sat there with an agenda, as evidenced by the final speeches of the Senators.

I thought it was most clear that the Senate Permanent Sub-Committee on Investigations wanted the Scots British MP to stick to the script. I didn't like the following:

Senator: I will say that American politicians who find the source of money after it is given to them is troubling, they find out something they didn't know afterwards frequently will, and hopefully I think always but at least frequently, will return that money or say they disagree with the source of the money hopefully all of us will do that but whether we all live up to that standard you clearly will not adopt that as a standard for contributions to Miriam's Appeal. You're not gonna look at the source of the money, you're just simply gonna accept the money and you've made that clear. (45.24 - 46.00)

as that statement does put a wholly different implication on the question-time. It changes the investigation from 'did Galloway profit from oil dealings with Saddam Hussein' into 'the moral standard of Galloway'.

Obviously the Senate got an answer to the first question, that Galloway did not profit from oil dealings with Saddam Hussein - the more complete and elaborate answer being that Galloway has never been involved in oil dealings with Saddam Hussein, that his charity Miriam's Appeal received donations from a businessman who was a "representative of some of the world's biggest companies in Iraq" who "did a vast amount of business with Iraq". (30.25)

Although this was quite a bit of classic:

Galloway: Well Senator, I've gotten used to the allegation that I was taking money from Saddam Hussein...it's actually surreal to hear in this room this morning that I'm being accused of giving money to Saddam Hussein. (32.37)

I am puzzled by Senator Coleman's statement that there would be consequences if the MP could be shown to have lied under oath - what consequences would there be for a British politician testifying in the US Senate, if it is later shown that the MP had lied? Could he be put on one of those black lists for visas to USA, or an international arrest warrant on him?

The Galloway testimony is very interesting. I may be very biased in reading the online news so I hope that the testimony itself will not overshadow Galloway's message of this 'mother of all smokescreens' covering the blatant politicising of facts exposed in the Downing Street Memo http://www.downingstreetmemo.com/

[LynnTheDem]

222. And an even bigger laugh...the man "Lickspittle" Coleman accuses Galloway

of accepting money from, was, and currently is, doing business between Iraq and the United States of America, with bushCartel approval.

I get huge laughs from the rightwing hypocrisy. There's just SO MUCH of it.

[bluestateboomer]

224. Kind of takes your breath away.....

Living in our country you forget that their are people who can show courage by "speaking truth to power".:applause: :woohoo:

[Raksha]

225. Wow! I just listened to the audio because it takes less time to load.

It's the first time I've heard his statement in its entirety. The sound of Truth...what a rare and beautiful thing!

[slipperduke]

226. That's our boy!

The man is a bit of a hero over here, though the left-wing press rarely bring themselves to admit it.

Bizarrely, instead of celebrating the fact that he will perpetually tip shit over Tony Blair's head, a huge swathe of the UK left tries to distance itself from him. Staggering, isn't it?

When you think about the array of tabloid-style mouthpieces employed by the right to set the public agenda, you would think that the intelligensia would welcome someone with the power to do likewise.

If you get a chance, try and get his book, "I'm Not The Only One". It's not perfect by any means, a lot of it is actually quite schmaltzy and sometimes a little self-congratulatory. But it does give you an insight into a man who has spent most of his life being smeared by one government after another and never giving up the fight.

Oh, and all you Americans trying to adopt him can back off! He's ours. With Blair at the helm again, we really need him more than ever.

Peace.

[getmeouttahere]

250. That's ok, slipperduke....

why would GG want to come to America? After all, his truth-to-power home run barely made a dent with the MSM! He can swoop in, raise hell, and return home anytime he likes, as far as I'm concerned. Let's just hope he returns home safely. The very senator he tore up is probably there only because his opponent died in a plane crash!

[Wildlander]

227. Meanwhile a whistleblower gets crucified.

Folks might note that Sabrina was sentenced today. She was the one who took the pictures and made America aware of the abuses in Abu Ghraib. Note her letter home during the time of the abuses where she stated that she wanted to document the "abuses" and "what if I were in their shoes." You might also notice that the detainees in the prison spoke out on her behalf in giving their testimony. So how in the hell can our courts prosecute here. I will tell you, Galloway was absolutely right - we have a corrupt government and corrupt military courts.

Sabrina, if you are out there. My hats off too you for the greater good you did for this country! It has not gone unrecognized.

God bless you girl!!!

http://www.wildlanders.com/wildlanders/aaaasp/home/home.asp#sabrina

[Huckebein the Raven]

228. *Applause*

:applause:


My hat's is off to Mr. Galloway.

:patriot:

The Democrats could take some pointers from him

[DemonFighterLives]

233. He Gallow weighed Coleman

I'm trying to think of who to pester with this. God knows all of our Dem politicians need a lesson.
:nuke:

[Joe Chi Minh]

253. "He weighed Coleman ....",

and found him/(them) wanting.

"Mane, Thekel, Phares", as in the writing on the wall at Belshazzar's feast?

[mom cat]

234. Thanks Dizka.

[Botany]

236. I am still in aw of Mr. G.

Please all democrats take notes. This is how you talk to
those bastards ......... I wonder if Norm can sit on the new ass
he got torn?

:kick:

[Mr_Spock]

238. Kick - this needs to be at the top forever.

I couldn't find this immediately in the GD forum - WTF? How can i forward it to everyone I know if it's not on the front page?

[Ian_rd]

241. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy Crap!

This is what politicians sound like when they haven't received large checks from Halliburton and the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

[mwb970]

244. WHY CAN'T WE HAVE SOMEONE LIKE THIS IN OUR GOVERNMENT?? (n/t)

[dogindia]

261. Conyers

continues to rock.

[ROH]

266. McKinney, Boxer...

maybe some others?

[Joe Chi Minh]

270. Your mention of Boxer

reminded me. There was a mention in a newspaper today that GG was a middle-weight boxer. Pound for pound, don't they say they're the toughest? Though I'd be surprised it was not at a modest amateur level, such as a university blue.

[ROH]

274. Link here:

http://www.andrewmueller.net/scroll.lasso?ID=53&story=GEORGE%20CROSS_full_story

[Joe Chi Minh]

278. There are some people

whose opinions it would flatter to describe as negligible, ROH. One can only wonder how low the target he set himself must have been, to have evidently failed even that so ignobly. It being scarcely possible to imagine the arrantly transparent propaganda he had evidently swallowed, and assumed the readers to be dishonest and perverse enough to concur. Did it not strike you as being just a tad "ad hominem" in its tenour? And dishonest to invest so much time and effort in those discursions, rather than at least try to rebut Galloways assertions?

When he grudgingly conceded very significant contentions of Gallow, which had been vindicated, instead of being appalled at the enormity of the lies he had exposed, he sought to carp and cavil and demean the man. I sincerely hope your only interest in that article, ROH, was that bit about the boxing.

[petron]

245. That dude kicks ass!

Kicking for an asskicker!

All Americans should here see this and here it!

[Callboy]

248. fox tried to spin it this am

[Enraged_Ape]

259. They can spin it all they want

Anyone who watched it knows what they saw. It was the opening of the world's biggest can of whupa$$.

[SF Bay Area Dem]

265. How did Fox try to spin it?

What did they say? That he just some crazy Brit? We must remember that Faux News form the very start of the war stated they were "Totally Supports the War" and President *... by default Galloway made Faux look like a-holes as well.

BTW: Anyone else remember the sexual predator O'Reilly telling anyone ho disagreed to "just shut-up" or they would face the "consequences" --- I guess either form him or his half assed show.

[Liberal In Texas]

249. Looks like Mr. Galloway handed them their asses on a silver platter.

The witch hunters better be careful, otherwise the public is going to find out that they're really the witches.

Everyone here must watch the 47 minute version; it's brilliant, just brilliant.

I wish I could tie some of my neo-con friends to a chair and force them to watch it. Although, when the brain is Kool Aid addled, they won't hear what he's saying anyway.

And unfortunately, MSM will probably relegate it to some backwater, spun to look like they want it to. It's no wonder our electorate is so ignorant.

[Q3JR4]

257. Yay!

:woohoo: :applause: :popcorn:

I want Him to represent me!

[Irish-Socialist]

262. I wish to address the post by tenshi816

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3672646&mesg_id=3678923
This one.

To start with I shall state my bias. I'm an Irish socialist, with no ties to Respect (and I would not join them even if I did live in the UK for reasons I'll outline below). I've met Galloway once in my life and had a brief conversation with him about the Afghan war (which we were both opposing, he was speaking at a meeting in Dublin about it c. October 2001) - that is my only connection to him. So this is not Partisan hackery on my part.

Now to address the post.

You rightly criticise him for his anti-choice stance. However, I don't know if its right to characterise him as a 'moral valuist' - as far as I know he supports gay rights, divorce rights, equality in the workplace, freedom from religion. His oppositon to abortion, while definatley regrettable, I think is based in his faith (he's a Scot-Irish Catholic), and not like so many other moral valuists in desire for political gain. That is Galloway's religious values are consistent - he does have moral values, he feels abortion is murder, he ALSO feels that bombing the shit out of people is also murder and not 'collateral damage'. If you follow what I'm saying. He also appeared on BBC's question time - and spoke out in support of Terri Schaivo's family. However, unlike certain others (Tom 'turned his Dad's machine off' DeLay, Jeb 'tired to turn off a poor persons feeding tube' Bush and others) he framed his argument thus. He said (i'm paraphrasing) 'if we allow this kind of thing, where will it stop? Will the government start switching off life support for the poor in this country or others? Will life support end up being about who can pay the most money?'. Now I know the Schaivo family were hardly poor, but I can understand his logic, I do disagree with his conclusions though.

As an individual, it is of course his right to hold these positions - and he certainly has more right to them than those 'pro-war yet somehow claim to be pro-lifers' on the right. My problem is that there seems to be no alternative coming from the Respect leadership, including the usually vocally pro-choice Socialist Workers' Party section of the leadership (Respect is not a party in the conventional sense, in that its a coalition of various leftist parties and individuals - and some not so leftist. Perhaps akin to the Greens in the US).

As to the allegations from his wife about adultery - well. I don't claim to know the truth of this matter - and to be honest infidelity is not on the top of my list of politcial criticisms of Galloway - but another 'adultery scandal' emerged around the leader of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) Tommy Sheridan. The scandal was manufactured, but it led to his resignation as Party leader (due in part to sections of the SSP's leadership moving to oust him - but thats another story). However, given all that has been thrown at Galloway in the past (and present), I'm sure I'll be forgiven for not taking these allegations at face value.

More recently, he courted the Muslim vote in the UK election by stressing his religious and anti-abortion views, something virtually unheard of in elections over here, in addition to running a campaign tinged with racism.

Now this I take issue with. Galloway is a Catholic - hardly the historical friend of Islam. I have no idea how much or how often religion and anti-choice rethoric was used on the campiagn in Bethnal Green & Bow (or any of the constituencies in which Respect ran), but I would imagine it was not much, given that the main thrust of the campaign was on the issue of the war in Iraq (and Afghanistan, and the obscene treatment being meted out to 'terror suspects' in the UK. Being Irish, and having lived in the UK for a period, I know about British Justice when it comes to 'terror suspects' - the old phrase used to demonise the Irish - "if it wasn't him, it was someone like him" - now applies to Muslims).

Now you say 'courting the Muslim vote' as if that was some kind of crime. BG&B is a constituency with a 50% or so muslim makeup (mostly Bengalis). The muslim community in Britain was overwhelmingly opposed to the Iraq war (as was about half, if not more, of the country - black, white, arab, asian, jewish - but muslims in particular for obvious reasons). Now in taking an openly anti-war stance, making that stance the main element of his campiagn - Galloway and Respect made a wise political choice. New Labour under Blair and his stooges (like Oona King) abandoned the Muslim community in their slavish support for Bush's oil war. This is evidenced by the fact that the muslim community, which has historically been supportive of Labour, overwhelmingly defected from Labour. And not just to Respect, but also to the misnamed Liberal Democrats (who took an anti-war stance, posing as a soft left alternative to New Labour).

There is absolutely nothing wrong with reaching out to a section of the electorate that is angry and not being listened to. In fact, if one wants to level charges of racism, look to New Labour and their ignoring of the Muslim community's opposition to war. Blair and Co. obviously figured that they could do without Muslim support. Respect and the Lib Dems filled the vacuum. I do have a problem with the manner in which Respect approached the campiagn in majority-muslim areas - in that, it was more like Lowest Common Denominator politics, rather than trying to win working class muslims to a socialist program. But then Respect is a left-populist party, not a socialist party, so they are under no obligation to do so.

As to the 'tinged with racism' comment, I have yet to see any evidence of this. In fact, Oona King had been successfully sued twice during the course of the campiagn by Galloway, over making things up about the Respect campiagn. I believe one of these included King asserting that Respect supporters had beaten up an elderly Jewsih man. The evidence was a leaflet she claimed was 'left as a warning'. As it turned out, the leaflet (a Respect campaign leaflet) had not been even printed until about a week after the assault took place. And even the man who was beaten up says that it was nothing to do with Respect.

King has also alleged her tyres were slashed by Respect supporters - I've yet to see proof of this either. King alleges that there was an 'anti-semitic' campiagn against her. The general consensus is that no-one even knew of her Jewish heritage until she herself brought it up. (It's also interesting to note that some veterans of the anti-fascist Battle of Cable Street in 1936 - where there were street fights between Mosley's fascist blackshirts and anti-fascists - supported the Respect campaign). It was King who produced different sets of leaflets for muslim and white areas (the 'white leaflets' deleted references to 'muslims' among other things).

King, in the BBC interview linked - actually I would like to point out that it is totally unprecedented for an outsed politician to be given such a carte blanche 'interview', and its totally devoid of balance, it was more like an Oona King press release - anyway in the interview she makes reference to a 'campiagn in the Bengali press about halal meat'. In a letter to the Guardian newspaper, a Begali journalist from BG&B refuted this claim. I quote the letter in full, because it makes quite a few valid points about the election in general:

On Radio 4's Today programme on Wednesday, Oona King claimed the Bengali media ran a big campaign making Halal meat one of the biggest issues in this election. Her religious background was another major issue, she says.

As a senior Bangladeshi journalist, I reject this. Halal did not feature in election leaflets or debates, of which there were hundreds here, or in the local or Bangladeshi media in recent weeks.

King accepted the support of local people, black and white, Muslim and non-Muslim, in 1997 and 2001. What changed this time? Not her background, but voters' disquiet at New Labour locally and nationally.

The longest-serving councillor has resigned the Labour whip. Respect came second in both Newham constituencies, and in one Birmingham seat.

One should watch out for the next local council election in Tower Hamlets. Attempts to isolate and discredit the voters here on grounds of race and faith are divisive and unacceptable.

Syed Nahas Pasha
London Bangla Press Club

There was the incident when King was pelted with eggs while attending a memorial to Jewish people killed by V2 bombs in the East End. However, despite most media attributing this as an anti-semitic attack by Respect 'supporters', I don't think I've seen any evidence that Respect supporters were involved. In fact, to the contrary, Guardian columnist (and no friend of Respect) Jonathon Freedland was at the ceremony and clearly states - in an actually balanced article:

Among the dignitaries at the service was the local MP, Oona King. When she spoke, she attacked the "ignorance" of the assailants and insisted that their real target was her. Later she repeated the claim to newspapers, suggesting the attack was part of an increasingly vicious contest between herself and George Galloway, who is seeking to win Bethnal Green and Bow for his anti-war Respect party.

Indeed, the episode became part of a new escalation in hostilities between the two candidates which would later include King's charge -emphatically denied - that Respect activists were seeking to whip up Muslim antagonism against her by highlighting her Jewish background.

I was there and I must confess it did not look like an attack on Oona King to me. She was not especially visible, and no slogans were chanted or words uttered - as surely they would have been if this was merely a stance against King's support of the Iraq war.

Most of those there thought it much more straightforward. They believed this was an attack by Muslims on Jews. After all, the men wore skullcaps, the prayers were in Hebrew. There was no doubt who they were.

A revolting act, no doubt about that - but hardly indicative of a Respect campiagn of 'anti-semitism'. One final note on this, often we have seen in the British press that this was a 'bitter campiagn' and that 'death threats were involved'. Both of these statemnts are true. What is often ommitted is that it was Galloway himself who recieved the death threats - not King. Galloway was taken hostage (yes, actually taken hostage) at a campiagn meeting by about 30 Islamic fundamentalists who said he was marked for death becasue he was an infidel. One typical example of this ommission/distortion in action was a Guradian report that stated

"Mr Galloway, who was mobbed by a group of Islamists two days ago, was given a standing ovation by the majority of the crowd as he appealed for their votes."

serving to make it look like the fundamentalists were endorsing his campiagn, when the exact opposite was the case.

After he was deselected from his constituency in Scotland, Galloway decided to stand for Parliament for the newly-formed Respect party in Bethnal Green and Bow, one of the most impoverished sections of London, and also an area with which he had no previous connection whatsoever. Why Bethnal Green? It is my opinion that he felt it was his best shot at getting elected, given that the incumbent MP, Oona King, was not only black, Jewish and a woman, but half-American and pro-war as well, and serving a heavily Muslim constituency. (King herself has said that it's not that she's "pro-war", but rather "anti-genocide". Whatever. It nevertheless must be said that she has a reputation as an MP who worked tirelessly for her constituents.) It is also my opinion that choosing Oona King as a target was a cynical move designed to exploit racial tension.

A few things to clarify here. First Galloway was not deselected, he was kicked out of the Labour Party on trumped up charges that he 'encouraged troops to disobey orders'. What he in fact said was that troops should not dehumanise themsleves and they shouldn't carry out illegal orders, the right to disobey such orders being defined by the Nuremburg Tribunals. For Galloway to stand in his old constituency (which actually was dissolved, as were all other scottish ones, and redrawn) he would have to stand as an Independent with no party machine (Respect is not organised in Scotland, and Galloway is opposed - wrongly IMO - to the Scottish Socialist Party).

Now, why Bethnal Green & Bow? Well you say Galloway 'has no previous connection' - well thats not entirely true. Galloway ran on the Respect ticket in the 2004 Euro Elections for the London Euro seat. It was in the East End, and particularly BG&B that Respect recorded its highest votes. The choice to stand there was logical - it was supportive of Respect. It should also be noted that other candidates 'with no previous connection' (ie they had never run before) stood in East Ham, West Ham and Poplar/Canning Town, coming respectively 2nd, 2nd and 3rd. Also in Birmigham Sparbrook, Respect also came 2nd - almost returning the first ever female muslim MP!

It should also be pointed out that as a leading figure in the anti-war movement in Britain, Galloway has a 'connection' everywhere there is anti-war sentiment. Even Ireland, and as can be seen from the platitudes in this thread, even in the US of A.

Also, it nevertheless should be said that if King was a 'tireless worker for her constituents' - she obviously wasn't a very effective one, because BG&B - after 8 years of having Ms King as its MP, and an MP in the ruling party no less - it remains the most destitute constituency in London. I hope Galloway will be a good MP for local issues as well as anti-war ones, but I have my doubts this. (Now this is legitimate, constructive criticism - not New Labour slander).

You also quote an article in the Observer (A pro-Labour paper it must be pointed out - and I buy the Observer and its sister paper the Guardian every day - and I think its generally a good paper, with a lot of failings), by Nick Cohen (a pro-Labour commentator, and a man who once described the British Army as the 'armed wing of Amnesty International' - again, being Irish I'm obvioulsy biased, but my jaw dropped when I read that). There's a good rebuttal of the arguments he puts forward here - including the rather relevant fact that: "Respect had not started canvassing when King made her claim "

George Galloway has also publicly lamented the demise of the Soviet Union and I can't support a politician who says that, particularly given the privileged lifestyle he leads

This is a valid criticism and one I definitley share. And yes, its true, Galloway is a man of many flaws and foibles - and I have numerous, nay countless, political differences with him and with Respect (and indeed with the SWP). However, I feel that Respect must be defended by anti-war activists from the slanders of the right, and the loyal Blairite scum who voted for this criminal war and who, as George Galloway put it during his election victory speech "have the blood of a 100,000 people on their hands".

[Seb]

280. The post by Irish-Socialist

"You rightly criticise him for his anti-choice stance."

I don't think that's accurate:

Letter

Galloway:
Sacha Ismail manages three inaccuracies in 100 words (Letters, June 4). I am not opposed to a woman's right to choose and neither is the Respect coalition: we recognise people's right to express their own views and choices on this matter.

I agree broadly with all the points you have made. It was truly a heroic performance from Galloway.

It would also agree that New Labour became desperate and resorted to smears and dirty tricks. Here's a link to that story on double standards for her leaflets:

King deletes 'Muslim' in leaflets

And finally some of the New Labour corruption in the Bethnal Green & Bow seat in the run up to the general elections:

Exposed: Brick Lane's vote riggers

And then there is the vexed question of the council funding. On the record, Rana Miah, a member of the management committee of the Brick Lane Youth Development Association (Blyda), tells the Standard that two

Labour councillors have threatened his colleagues that if they do not vote for King in the election, their funding is at risk.

“They’ve been told that some of the Labour councillors feel that if we don’t side with them, we’ll lose out on funding,” says Miah, who is a Green Party supporter. “This is not politics, this is blatant thuggery. I am sickened.

Thanks!

Seb

[Oliverwright]

283. Irish Socialist

I agree with most of what you say.

What I would add is that GG is an outsider and is brilliant at throwing stones in.

I don't always agree with his views but on the war I do, as the old saying goes - Its horses for courses - On this issue I back GG 100%.

I attended a huge anti war rally in London and GG gave a witty, hard hitting and uplifting speech. I can say he was most definitely anti Bush but most definitely not anti American. Right-wing Media in the UK like to spin anti Bush into anti American.

Just for the record - I thought Robin Cook's (former foreign sec)resignation speech (March 2003) in the House during the build up to war was a class act.

[SF Bay Area Dem]

263. This guy deserves the Medal of Freedom!

Could Galloway signal the beginning of the end of the neocons? What a brave and honorable man. I can only wish our "leaders" would have this type of spine.

[dogindia]

267. kick.

for clear brave speech

[whistle]

269. Can we make this man president of the U.S. or at least.....

....Prime Minister of the United Kingdom? That was like a fresh mountain wind blowing the stench of death and decay and corruption out the senate chambers.

What U.S. politician has the brass balls to stand up and tell the truth that way to the American people? I can't think of a single one. But if there is one or a group, let them stand up now and join in. Let America hear from them now before the doors are permanently slammed shut by the barbarians and retro-conservatives that walk the halls of power in the U.S. government.

[Enraged_Ape]

272. If the repugs try to change the Constitution to let Arnold run...

I say we draft the man to run for President. I would lay down miles of shoe leather to take up a collection to PAY Galloway to go for the White House. He would eat a phony-baloney hero like Arnold for breakfast. He is truly a born and bred a$$-kicker.

[pamrotella]

273. Here's the transcript

The full 4 minutes:

http://www.pamrotella.com/polhist/rants/rants001/rants00007.html

[TankLV]

281. Glad to finally see someone telling the truth - loudly and clearly!

My jaw dropped when I "accidentally" saw this on TV in my hotel room while on business this week.

All I want to know - why have they pulled this and I have never seen mention of it any time since and nowhere is this re-broadcast.

This should be story number one - yet it has dissappeared down the repuke rat hole.

And some people still talk and believe in a "liberal" bias in the press and think we are all "fair and balanced".

BULLSHIT!

[Itsthetruth]

284. Check Out This Interview With Galloway ....

if you haven't already read it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3710502