Lutfur Rahman

[Gittins Gal]

Bent as a nine Bob note.

link

Hats off to Andrew Gilligan, though, for exposing this shocking corruption. Reading that made my blood boil though, what are we a banana republic?

(Err.. Wasn't he responsible for exposing something else 10 years or so back?)

[SpontaneousOrder]

'extremist-linked...'

Emotionally charged, yet meaningless words. I do hope this trend goes away sooner rather than later.

[IR35 Avoider]

That's funny, just yesterday I was reading something in the Guardian about how all the investigations of him had found nothing wrong, that he was a good mayor who represented his consituents well, and that all the stories were just the result of Labour smears.

The smear campaign against Lutfur Rahman is an insult to democracy

The Telegraph article seems to be based on more actual research though, so the accusations are worrying.

I suppose it is possible for someone to be popular and good at their job at the same time as having an over-enthusiastic (corrupt) campaign crew.

If there's evidence of fraud then the election needs to be re-run with better scrutiny.

[barrydidit]

Emotionally charged, yet meaningless words. I do hope this trend goes away sooner rather than later.

From the telegraph article above

The Telegraph has been following the extraordinary career of Mr Rahman, a man thrown out of the Labour Party after this newspaper exposed his close links to a Muslim extremist group, the Islamic Forum of Europe.

I dunno the details, but if the paper is happy to print those words, and the labour party threw him out over the allegations then maybe they're not quite so meaningless in this instance?

Leaving that issue to one side, there are plenty of other problems highlighted in that report, any one of which ought to trigger further enquiries.

[SpontaneousOrder]

From the telegraph article above

I dunno the details, but if the paper is happy to print those words, and the labour party threw him out over the allegations then maybe they're not quite so meaningless in this instance?

Leaving that issue to one side, there are plenty of other problems highlighted in that report, any one of which ought to trigger further enquiries.

What i mean is that 'extremist' is a meaningless word. It's now just a generic dirty word used to attack anyone without having to actually articulate any accusation which can be criticised.

'extremist' is a way to attack someone without having to actually accuse them of anything in particular. It's even less meaningful than 'terrorist' which has been almost entirely destroyed over the last decade. Terrorist used to have a particular meaning - now it just means someone who *might* do something that the state disagrees with.

I don't know if the guy does deserve criticism or not - i didn't read the article. I just hate the deliberately meaningless words that are use these days which I'd hoped would remain contained to politician's spin.

[xoggoth]

What i mean is that 'extremist' is a meaningless word. It's now just a generic dirty word used to attack anyone without having to actually articulate any accusation which can be criticised

Not to say that there is not plenty in that article we should be concerned about but have to agree with that sentence. Too much "argument" from left/right, whether it's about UKIP or Islam, are smears that do not address the real issues of what a party/religion/whatever is about.

In general what should concern us is that minorities act in their own interests while our daft PC attitudes prevents the white British from doing the same thing. Islam is slanted towards religious conservatism and "moderate" is only relative. Anybody who wants rational laws, democracy, equality and freedom of choice, should be concerned at his election at all, not just the corruption. Because of our awful electoral system and the way a government can hinge on marginal seats, migrants and minorities can disproportionately influence our future.

Mr Ismail then produced a devastating set of statistics which showed how important Muslims could be come the general election. He claimed that there are 77 marginal seats where Muslim voters could tilt the balance.

The Tories are failing to connect with Muslim voters. This is not good enough – Telegraph Blogs

The group behind Britain’s most popular Muslim website (MPACUK.org) are launching the biggest ever campaign to mobilise Muslim voters. The Muslim vote could prove decisive with 82 constituencies having a Muslim population large enough to determine the result.

PRESS RELEASE: Muslim vote will play decisive role | MPACUK – Empowerment through political participation

[xoggoth]

This the reality of one group according to the Guardian.

Close to one million strong, 45 per cent of all Muslims in Britain are of Pakistani origin and 80 per cent come from villages in Kashmir and Punjab. They brought with them a rural tribal mentality, where everything remains in the family group. Marriage, business, religion - who your friends are, who you vote for, everything from the cradle to the grave - it's all designed to keep power with the elders, who are in turn answerable to clan elders, who may be answerable to senior members in Pakistan. This clan system is called the Biraderi.
In a community with two thirds aged under 35, the closed doors of clan power mean frustration. Clan elders have for years provided huge vote banks for mainstream parties, in return for positions and influence in local politics. Uneducated, even illiterate, Biraderi elders can get elected as councillors. Younger members of the community talk about a closed hierarchy, which does not recognise talent or ability. I am No 53, in a huge extended Biraderi, and no amount of personal achievement will change that.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2005...nel4.terrorism

[TheFaQQer]

Private Eye have been writing about him for years.

[TheFaQQer]

(Err.. Wasn't he responsible for exposing something else 10 years or so back?)

His track record for fabricating quotes to try and fit his story isn't really one to be proud of.

[MicrosoftBob]

The racist anglophobic 'The Guardian' piece is just comical, they claim he's disliked because everyones racist and islamophobic