George's Space

He's a bit slow jumping on the bandwagon, but via a friend request I received today for the Socialist Standard page, I discover that George Galloway now has a page on MySpace. The byline for the page says the 'Official George Galloway Profile', so perhaps the blurb on the page really is from GG.

I never knew that he was a Man Utd supporter first, Glasgow Celtic supporter second and Dundee Utd fan third but . . . wait up, what does this say on the profile page: "Without blowing my own trumpet too loudly, everything I said about the war and its consequences in the House of Commons at the time has come to pass, as even my enemies admit." Yeah, it's definitely him: He makes Tommy Sheridan look shy and retiring by comparison.*

With regards to his other listed interests, whilst David Cameron namechecks the Smiths and Gordon Brown's speechwriter makes mention of the Arctic Monkeys, George will only admit to being a Dylan nut who has a soft spot for The Killers. (I wonder if that means their song, 'Smile Like You Mean It', is being considered as the campaign song for Respect at the next election?)

And for someone who gives lipservice to the idea of the self-activity of the working class in politics, it is perhaps unfortunate that under books, he lists reading biographies of politicians as his favourite reading matter. Perhaps I'm being far too cynical on this matter, and reading political biographies is not all about: 'The Great and the Good did Good . . . now read on for 457 pages', but . . . wait up (again), where does that link on George's MySpace page lead to?:

"In the year that Fidel Castro turns 80, this is a fresh look at his life from childhood, through his dramatic conquest of power, and his extraordinary, charismatic leadership of Cuba over 47 years—including sharply focused “takes” on the guerrilla struggle in the Sierra Maestra, life with the Soviet Union, involvement in Third World politics, and survival in the face of the hostility of the United States just 90 miles away. The author has researched archives from Havana, London, Washington, and Madrid and conducted original interviews with Fidel Castro’s contemporaries, in Cuba and throughout the world, that provide fascinating insights into his personality and achievements." From the forthcoming 'The Fidel Castro Handbook', by George Galloway (432 pages)

Perhaps I'm not being cynical enough?

FURTHER READING:

From July 2006 Socialist Standard: A So-Called Socialist in Parliament

From the October 2003 Socialist Standard: Cuba: No Workers Paradise

*To give him his credit, Galloway can sometimes laugh at himself. See the picture accompnaying this post as evidence of that.