polite_gandalf wrote on Feb 23^rd, 2015 at 8:24pm:


Perhaps then change the term to denote what it does come from? But I can see resistance to this, as shouting 'racist' or 'racism' has achieved such excellent result for us "progressives". Why change a good thing? This is progress.

I couldn't be bothered writing it out again

Racial discrimination on online forums is illegal. This includes both written &  visual content.

Sites can now be closed down.

Conservatives suspend Sir Malcolm Rifkind over cash-for-access claims

The Conservative leadership has suspended the party whip from Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former foreign secretary, in the wake of the cash-for-access allegations involving a fictitious Chinese company.

David Cameron confirmed the move by the chief whip, Michael Gove, and announced that a short disciplinary inquiry into the allegations against Rifkind would also be carried out by the party.

If the internal inquiry finds against Rifkind, he will not be allowed to stand as the Tory candidate for Kensington and Chelsea at the general election, raising the prospect of a contest for one of the party’s safest seats in the country.

At stake is also Rifkind’s role as chair of parliament’s intelligence and security committee...The committee is still expected to publish its report before the general election on privacy and security arising from the leaks by the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, even if Rifkind is forced to stand down as chair.

The announcement by the prime minister came after an investigation by the Telegraph and Channel 4’s Dispatches alleged that Rifkind and Jack Straw, the former Labour foreign secretary, offered to use their positions as politicians on behalf of a fictitious Chinese company in return for thousands of pounds. Straw suspended himself from the parliamentary Labour party on Sunday night while both men referred themselves to the parliamentary standards commissioner.

The prime minister said: “These are very serious matters. We have, rightly, very clear rules in this country which is MPs being paid to lobby – that is not acceptable, that is not allowed under the rules..."

...Rifkind reportedly claimed to be able to gain “useful access” to every British ambassador in the world. Journalists recorded him describing himself as self-employed, even though he earns a salary of £67,000 for being MP for Kensington. “I am self-employed – so nobody pays me a salary. I have to earn my income,” he said.

Rifkind told the journalists that he usually charges “somewhere in the region of £5,000 to £8,000” for half a day’s work...

www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/feb/23/conservatives-suspend-sir-malcolm-rifki...

Sir Malcolm, who oversees Britain’s intelligence agencies on behalf of Parliament, said he could arrange “useful access” to every British ambassador in the world because of his status.

He has told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that it was “quite unrealistic” to think MPs could live on “simply £60,000” a year without looking for extra income.

The senior Conservative told undercover reporters from this newspaper and Channel 4’s Dispatches, to be broadcast on Monday night, that he would submit questions to ministers on behalf of a paying client, without revealing their identity...

...Sir Alistair Graham, the former chairman of the Westminster standards watchdog, said it was “shocking” that two experienced MPs responded to the approaches in the way that they did.

He expressed concern that Sir Malcolm was “so willing to sell himself” with his “enormous range of contact lists”. He added that it was against the rules for Mr Straw to attempt to negotiate a business contract in his Commons office...

...He said he could meet “any ambassador that I wish to see” in London. “They’ll all see me personally”, he added.

“That provides access in a way that is, is useful”.

In a second meeting, Sir Malcolm suggested that he would be willing to write to ministers on behalf of the company without declaring the name of the firm...

...Sir Malcolm’s offer to write to ministers without “nam[ing] who was asking” is likely to cause concern because of the rules governing interests when communicating with ministers or officials.

Sir Alistair said it would be a “clear breach of the code of conduct if he’s not explaining that he’s acting as a consultant on behalf of a particular company when he’s seeking information”.

During a discussion about the former minister’s availability, he disclosed that he had a lot of “free time”...


www.telegraph.co.uk/news/investigations/11411007/Jack-Straw-and-Sir-Malcolm-Rifk...

★★★ ANTI SEMITISM IS TAKING OVER OZ POL ★★★

Actually it already has. When there is free range to attack Muslims and Arabs Ozpol became an anti-Semite site.