Rowen AWOL in Strasbourg?

Has anyone heard from Paul Rowen this week?

(Is that a masonic handshake? 3rd Degree?)

He missed the Lib Dem fireworks at the Ramadhan Foundation Gaza "conference".
The official line is that he had to catch a plane that Sunday to Strasbourg to push a "european-wide (sic) debate on Gaza"

Word from Strasbourg is that it took the plenary session a few minutes to sort this out. No need for Paul to be there at all really. The speech that Dave Hennigan was not allowed to deliver even cheekily suggested that Paul was to head the EU-wide ALDE alliance - "Promoting Liberal values in Europe, from the Caucasus to Cork".

Paul Rowen as Gaza debate leader? Well, is that news to the President, Vice Chairs, Sec Gen and Eighty-odd other members of the ALDE group?

Tumbleweed can be seen around the Google newsbots searching for comment from Paul Rowen, ALDE and the Council of Europe on Gaza.



Even Dave Hennigan isn't spinning on this. Instead he has been a busy bee on making his landlord Cllr Peter Rush a geriatric Facebook star.



Together with nights at the Drake Street office, should Dave be getting a rent discount from Cllr Rush for all this work? Or is the taxpayer footing the bill for this Heywood Lib Dem flannel?

According to RAW's sources in Strasbourg, Paul hasn't been seen. It is a lovely sunny day over there after all. Perhaps he is doing a bit of sightseeing?

Or visiting posh restaurants to enjoy Alsatian cuisine?





If Paul can make it to the Council of Europe offices, perhaps he could lend support to the child protection programme. Paul Rowen could do the decent thing and come clean about allegations of Cyril Smith's past abuse of vulnerable young apprentices and 15-16 yr old lads at Cambridge House. Late night hostel spanking, bottom sponging and testicle squeezing in the early 1960's?

If not, Paul could always sign the online petition challenging violence against children and corporal punishment.

As the Council of Europe says:

"Hands should nurture, not punish".

Dave Hennigan - shocking 'drunken' slur?

The Lib Dem Handbags at Dawn spat is escalating.

Ramadhan Foundation 'Cheif' Executive has posted on Rochdale Online his account and opinion of Dave Hennigan's actions at yesterdays Gaza meeting. A slur using words that clearly stated Dave stank of alcohol at a meeting about Gaza where he wanted to speak on behalf of his boss, Paul Rowen MP?

Some of the published dialogue is presented below.
This is done as a matter of public interest regarding insults traded in public internet forum postings between official representatives of "UK's leading Muslim Youth Organisation" and Rochdale's current MP.

The corporate jet of Carter Ruck, libel lawyers from that there London must be on the runway as we speak. Both Hennigan and Shafiq have threatened to sue each other in libel.

Who will pay the legal costs? The taxpayer for Paul and Dave? What about the Ramadhan Foundation? Shafiq reckons 1000 people attended yesterday's meeting. Bullshit.
He also reckons that £40,000 has been raised for those poor souls in Gaza. If true that is wonderful but let's see the money before fancy London libel lawyers are threatened. Especially IF the libel threats come from Ramadhan Foundation Ltd, a company whose accounts have never been filed and are very much overdue.

For veracity and to ensure that the public know how these 2 individuals operate in the public domain, here are excerpts from their recent Rochdale Online message board battle before they disappeared in a puff of smoke from the t'internet:

MShafiq Bronze Member United Kingdom 103 Posts

Posted - 26/01/2009 : 17:08:23 I think it may be useful to set out the facts as they happened and not respond to some of the vicious attacks on me as an individual. The Ramadhan Foundation is not just me and my brother... and ...David Hennigan turned up stinking of alcohol, the smell was very strong saying he had Paul’s speech and make sure he was on ASAP... and... ...The organising Committee had taken a strong view that any interrupting of any speaker or heckling then they would be ejected from the hall – in light of this the private security company carried out that requirement as stipulated by the organisers... and.. ...Does Paul Rowen not think it is inappropriate for his campaigner to come to a Muslim event stinking of alcohol, heymaker would know that smells and the effect it has on people around him....

then...

Dave Hennigan Gold Member United Kingdom 1577 Posts	Posted - 26/01/2009 : 17:27:58 I'm giving you notice Shafiq that am going to start libel proceedings against you! Please understand the seriousness of the allegations that you are making!
MShafiq Bronze Member United Kingdom 104 Posts	Posted - 26/01/2009 : 17:30:49 You are welcome to do whatever you wish, similar proceedings will follow against your vicious personal attacks against the Ramadhan Foundation.Would you like to talk about anyother issue in my response to your vicious and personal attack on the Ramadhan Foundation and what happened yesterday or do you accept it is true? Edited by - mshafiq on 26/01/2009 17:31:40
Dave Hennigan Gold Member United Kingdom 1577 Posts	Posted - 26/01/2009 : 17:32:54 The stinking of alcohol accusation is absolutely appalling. Please remove this immediately!

MShafiq Bronze Member United Kingdom 106 Posts

Posted - 26/01/2009 : 17:48:37 I do not intend to engage an argument with you on this, the private security firm that escorted you off the premises told me about the smell of alcohol along with many others.You do not make vicious and personal attacks against any organisation and then not expect a response. Due to possible legal proceedings I do not intend to make any comments on this at all so any questions you have for me can be directed to me diretly. --------- M Shafiq - Working to promote understanding between communities.

Posted - 26/01/2009 : 17:50:05

and...

Dave Hennigan Gold Member United Kingdom 1578 Posts

Posted - 26/01/2009 : 17:50:09 quote: You do not make vicious and personal attacks against any organisation and then not expect a response. Shafiq, That is lie and you well know it - your response is to just make something up. This disgusting attack on me shows you for who you are! Edited by - Dave Hennigan on 26/01/2009 17:51:17

Topic Locked

Paul Rowen's Gaza Euro cock and bull story?

Following things getting Ugly at last Sunday's Rochdale Gaza meeting, battle has commenced between Lib Dems Mohammed Shafiq and the Paul Rowen camp.

The Mother of All handbag battles.

In an update on Rochdale Online, Dave Hennigan is pushing a big fat juicy line about his affront whilst wanting to stand-in for Paul with a speech.

Paul is quoted with hard probing questions about Shafiq and the Ramadhan Foundation.

"The behaviour of the Ramadhan Foundation leaves a lot to be desired and I must say it puts a big question mark on both the legitimacy and morals of this small organisation"

Well, fancy that!

Indeed Paul, but what you sow, thou shalt reap. He is after all a Rochdale Lib Dem and apparently (according to Shafiq) an advisor to Nick Clegg on Muslim issues.

Cllr William Hobhouse is given an odd quote:

“Why is it that George Galloway can speak and Paul Rowen can not. This was outrageous behaviour and in no way acceptable".

The answer to that should be simple Cllr Hothead. Paul was a no-show. How could he speak? Via a medium? Not the sort of spirits Dave Hennighan is familiar with?

Then comes what could be a classic clanger. Has Paul be caught with his pants on fire?

The stated reason why the current MP was absent from the Rochdale meeting was because
"... he was on his way to a Council of Europe Meeting to push for a European-wide debate on Gaza".

Really? A Council of Europe meeting on Gaza?

The week before this Rochdale meeting, Ramadhan Foundation press releases gushed about Paul's attendence at the top table. It was widely reported on Rochdale Online and the Rochdale Obscurer.

Paul Rowen made absolutely no mention of any important trip to Strasbourg. His banal Letter from Westminster was silent on any overseas trip as alternate to Tory MP Humfrey Mallins.

The diary of Paul Rowen aged 53 3/4 mentions his trip to a Rotarian dinner at an Italian restaurant (favoured by Freemasons and senior Rochdale council officers?). There was a fun quiz about Italy. Was the Mafia mentioned?

Rowen's busy schedule during the Gaza crisis and credit crunch included an evening watching "Annie" at a local chapel.

Where does he get the time?

So now we are treated to the news that Paul couldn't attend because he was hot-footing it to europe. Was such an excuse and soundbite designed to take the sting out of his no-show? Was it supposed to make him look an important man of action for a cause he has only just discovered?

The Council of Europe meeting on Gaza is this THURSDAY. Why does Paul need 5 days to empty his trunks after his Christmas Thailand holiday for a shuttle trip to Strasbourg on Thusday 29th January?

Does Paul and Dave think his contituents are stupid? The agenda for the CoE meeting is a public document

Monday- general opening sessions
Tuesday- Armenia and Ukraine
Wednesday- Georgia and Russia
THURSDAY - POSSIBLE debate on GAZA.

Is Paul Rowen really going to Strasbourg on Thursday for a possible debate on Gaza?

Why did he miss the Sunday meeting in his contituency with 5 days to go? Had he started walking to Strasbourg on a barefoot march?

Or was he hiding behind the couch, phone off the hook with his curtains closed?

Is Rochdale Online and the Rochdale Obscurer going to swallow Paul Rowen's cock and bull story?

Is Paul Rowen going to look a dummy over this?




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Ugly scene at Galloway Gaza gathering

Lib Dem Agent eejit Dave Hennigan ejected.

Late this afternoon the Castlemere Community centre held a meeting about Gaza.

Arranged and promoted by the Ramadham Foundation's Mohammed Shafiq (RAW's passim)

The main speaker, George Galloway was almost overshadowed by rather ugly shenanigans.

Despite a promise he would attend, current Rochdale MP Paul Rowen was a no-show. Was it a crisis of confidence or conscience?

In the tangled web of Rochdale politics, was the cruel plight of the dead and the dying in Gaza just a backdrop for local opportunism? A platform for young Mohammed Shafiq to relaunch his heady political aspirations? A chance for reconciliation? Not between Israel and Palestine but actually for Shafiq to re-enter the Rochdale Lib Dem bosom?

At the meeting George Galloway gave his usual excellent oratory. A genuine call for justice and assistance. He spoke of real aims- a fully laden 100 vehicle convoy for Gaza to leave London on St Valentines day. George spoke to an appreciative audience of mostly genuine souls who wanted to help brothers and sisters at a time of terrible distress. At such events it is inevitable, but nevertheless distasteful, to see a minority of crackpots, bigots and shallow opportunists.

Cue: Paul Rowen's “Agent” troubled Dave Hennigan. To add insult to the injury of the current Rochdale MP's disappearance, the use of such an understudy to give the Rochdale Lib Dem messsage was too much for the 'Cheif Executive” of the hosting Ramadhan Foundation. In the kurfuffle some say Mohammed's Shafiq's veins were popping out with anger.

Dave had his speech ready and was determined to have his say about Gazza.

Using the oft quoted mantra of many z-list celebrities and Amy Winehouse, Dave was heard to shout “don't you know who I am?”

“I'm Paul Rowen's Agent”

Was there then a Spartacus-like call from a young Adam Power whimpering the words-

“Dave no, I'm Paul Rowen's agent!”

Shafiq's stormtroopers gave short shrift. There was a noisy and messy ejection from the community centre.

What did the poor Hobhouses think of such Shenighans?

Picture the scene of Dave's telephone call to his boss Paul, eager to hear news that his thousands of pro-Gaza votes are in the bag. Did his agent triumph in the Galloway glow?

Gulp...did Dave need some dutch courage before reporting on what really went on?

Another fine mess? The tears, the excuses, the tantrums...the empties?

As the twisted bodies lie in the rubble of Gaza. As millions of innocent souls suffer without the most basic of services. As disease and hunger threaten children in Palestine, it is sickening to think that a meeting to call for humanitarian aid and assistance was hijacked and harmed by a Rochdale Lib Dem spat between vain hubristic morons.

Tomorrow will see handbags at dawn between the Shafiq and Rowen camp.

Cyril Smith: some Auld Acquaintances should never be forgot.

Burns Night. A time for the Scottish diaspora and friends to join together in thanks and remembrance.

Back in the 1960's a group of young Scottish lads came down to Rochdale. They were apprentices at a local engineering firm called Whipp & Bourne. Some stayed at a hostel called Cambridge House. Hundreds of miles from home, were these young Scots greeted by the Cup of Kindness?

No.

According to an investigation by RAP in May 1979, some of these vulnerable young lads were subjected to repeated sexual abuse from local politician Cyril Smith.

After the publication of “The Strange Case of Cyril Smith”, RAP was never sued for libel. In fact a Scottish MP was quoted to have said in 1979- “all we are talking about is a few smacked bottoms”. This from the same David Steel who later made a name for himself as the first Speaker in the new Scottish Parliament.

In the 1970's the decade after Smith is alleged to have groped, spanked and abused these young Scottish lads, he was photographed being fitted for an oversized kilt for a Burns Night held at Rochdale Town Hall. At the height of his fame as rolly-polly celebrity MP, the telly's Ronnie Corbett was a guest, laughing and chatting with the grossly obese Smith.

In the same way that young Master Hennigan now does not see the people who serve his food and drive him around, Smith was blind to those on that celebrity Burns Night who were disgusted about the Cambridge House allegations.

How did serious sexual abuse allegations get swept under the carpet in Rochdale?

As with some of the poor innocent wretches of Knowl View residential school, some victims emigrated. Those with long and terrible memories went as far afield as Australia. But some stayed in Rochdale.

Those events from a time when Smith was a relatively young and influential politician still burn bright in the memory of some.

Some Auld Acquaintances shall never be forgot.

For those young Scottish lads, now old men, truth and justice must be delivered.

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Paul Rowen: YOP. Acceptable in the '80's ?

The world economy is in turmoil. What is Rochdale's current MP Paul Rowen's solution to save jobs?

According to today's Rochdale Obscurer Paul's words of wisdom include:

"There is an urgent need for job creation along the lines of the community programme of the 1980s"

Thatcher's Youth Opportunity Programme? That is a truly original peice of blue sky thinking from the Lib Dems deputy, shadow, shadow DWP no.2 spokesman. Keep this up and we will see much more of Paul's paunch on TV behind Nick Clegg at PMQ's. Trebles all round!



How does Paul Rowen propose we get back to the 80's? Borrow Lord and Lady Speakman's DeLorean and fuel it with leftover cheese pie from the Old Spanker's 80th birthday bash?

Manchester

Acceptable in the 80's? Michael J Fox meets Calvin Harris? No, that is very wrong.

Poor young Dave Hennigan, he was a failing choir boy back then and had only just started experimenting with booze and fags.

Is Paul Rowen for real? The 1980's?


(Cllr Greg Couzens - hairdresser since 1983)

The 1980's-
A time of greed, dispair, bad hair, bent coppers, racism, corporal punishment, asbestos shenanigans, sex abuse and planning corruption?

Come to think of it, little change for some Rochdale Lib Dems?

Rochdale, like TV's Royston Vasey, is for some very 'local'. A town that time forgot.

But we should not forget the 80's and especially the role some politicians played in making Rochdale the basket case it is today. If there is justice in the world, one day the truth will come out.

-Knowl View school- vulnerable young boys abused and institutionalised. Making pocket money by turning tricks in the Smith Street toilets.

-Cyril Smith and asbestos. Enough said. Shameful.

-In the days before Sky TV there was Rediffusion in Rochdale council houses. Did some of the subscription money end up in brown envelopes?

-Rochdale Hornets had its own ground in Kingsway (near today's muddy fields). It was sold off to a supermarket. The millions trickled away. Now our RL team is in Administration.

-Take a look at the poor quality 1980's developments that stick out around Rochdale like a sore thumb. Follow the money. Was planning achievable in Rochdale for reasonable contribution to party funds? Has Rochdale been sold down the river? Who was on the planning committee in the 80's?

-Gross miscarriges of justice such as the imprisonment of Stefan Kiszko. Perversely, Spanker Cyril, as "Liberal" MP, wanted him hung. This poor innocent, vulnerable scapegoat got a long sentence. Not helped by Cyril's media showboating and his Tory parliamentary mate, barrister Dave Waddington MP (who enjoyed his tea and sandwiches with Cyril at the Turner Brothers Asbestos factory).

The list could go on. And will.

Paul Rowen has mentioned the 80's in some lame excuse for a soundbite. Thanks Paul, we remember it well. For the sake of making Rochdale a better place rather than a basket case, justice needs to be done.

Dodgy going ons to investigate about Rochdale in the 80's?

Fire up the Quattro!