Oxfam overload...

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Some defence of Oxfam...and some not. First the defence: despite Guido's post today on the official Oxfam staff training guide on sexual exploitation, Oxfam do make it very clear - on pages 126 and 135 of the guide that most important of their non-negotiable principles in the Sexual Conduct guidelines Code of conduct are the following:

"To clarify: you must not demand or accept sex or sexual contact in return for goods or services from you or Oxfam." Clear. So, as Guido asks, is it really impossible to have a no tolerance policy for this?



Chez Stumbling and Mumbling believes that there are certain mechanisms at work in this and similar situations: ego-depletion, moral self-licensing and - whereby organisations can 'drift away from their original purposes' - the iron law of oligarchy.



Of course, much of the hoo-ha is political (of course!) but we've known for decades that Oxfam is "Leftist, anti-British, anti-capitalist and corrupt".[Conservative Woman]** It turns out that the Oxfam trustee Caroline Thomson, who made a 'full and unqualified apology' is an ex-BBC grandee who received - only 6 years ago - a nigh-on 1 million dollar pay-off when her bid to become director general floundered as 'she was dragged into the controversy over the cover-up of the activities of paedophile Jimmy Savile...and hence - of course - into a row over excessive pay-offs for BBC executives! [Daily Mail].



It's the all-too-common merry-go-round of BBC-quango-charidee-New Labour-EU gravy train once again! Her father was a Labour MP (then SDP), later made a Lord. She joined the BBC; husband political activist and very close friend of Peter Mandelson; he co-authored The Blair Revolution; a policy adviser to Blair and aide in No 10 for seven years; embroiled in Lobbygate [remember that? Only one year into the New Labour disaster but still several years before any UK MSM really took them to task] ; later an adviser to European Commission and now "having been ennobled for long service as a Blairite ultra is a key figure in the Lords in the battle against Brexit." They are an archetype couple of the New Labour stay-behind army that has the nation so blighted, the Civil Service is also full of the same.



Finally, to add injury to insult, the chairman of the charity Oxfam International, Juan Alberto Fuentes, has been arrested as part of an investigation into a corruption scandal although, as is made clear, "his arrest is not related to his role at Oxfam"; just unfortunate timing.



** please read the excellent responses there on this subject, especially from Mike, now probably a long way down the comment thread. 

Oxfam overload...

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Some defence of Oxfam...and some not. First the defence: despite Guido's post today on the official Oxfam staff training guide on sexual exploitation, Oxfam do make it very clear - on pages 126 and 135 of the guide that most important of their non-negotiable principles in the Sexual Conduct guidelines Code of conduct are the following:

"To clarify: you must not demand or accept sex or sexual contact in return for goods or services from you or Oxfam." Clear. So, as Guido asks, is it really impossible to have a no tolerance policy for this?

Chez Stumbling and Mumbling believes that there are certain mechanisms at work in this and similar situations: ego-depletion, moral self-licensing and - whereby organisations can 'drift away from their original purposes' - the iron law of oligarchy.

Of course, much of the hoo-ha is political (of course!) but we've known for decades that Oxfam is "Leftist, anti-British, anti-capitalist and corrupt".[Conservative Woman]** It turns out that the Oxfam trustee Caroline Thomson, who made a 'full and unqualified apology' is an ex-BBC grandee who received - only 6 years ago - a nigh-on 1 million dollar pay-off when her bid to become director general floundered as 'she was dragged into the controversy over the cover-up of the activities of paedophile Jimmy Savile...and hence - of course - into a row over excessive pay-offs for BBC executives! [Daily Mail].

It's the all-too-common merry-go-round of BBC-quango-charidee-New Labour-EU gravy train once again! Her father was a Labour MP (then SDP), later made a Lord. She joined the BBC; husband political activist and very close friend of Peter Mandelson; he co-authored The Blair Revolution; a policy adviser to Blair and aide in No 10 for seven years; embroiled in Lobbygate [remember that? Only one year into the New Labour disaster but still several years before any UK MSM really took them to task] ; later an adviser to European Commission and now "having been ennobled for long service as a Blairite ultra is a key figure in the Lords in the battle against Brexit." They are an archetype couple of the New Labour stay-behind army that has the nation so blighted, the Civil Service is also full of the same.

Finally, to add injury to insult, the chairman of the charity Oxfam International, Juan Alberto Fuentes, has been arrested as part of an investigation into a corruption scandal although, as is made clear, "his arrest is not related to his role at Oxfam"; just unfortunate timing.

** please read the excellent responses there on this subject, especially from Mike, now probably a long way down the comment thread. 

Oxfam obitual oakum..

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Oxfam have been warned they could lose official funding (not fundraising income). To be honest what is going on is hardly a surprise but the depth of depravity in some of the news and the witness/whistle-blower statements is sickening: the complaints, the covering-up, the bullying, the Catholic Churchesque moving of culprits to other areas, the harassment etc are bad enough but where is the due-diligence in hiring/taking on/controlling/ managing these fucking cunts. [edit: now we hear of rape and attempted rape of co workers before even starting any relief work..."around 10 percent of staff had been sexually assaulted and others had witnessed or experienced rape or attempted rape by colleagues"]. What the fuck is wrong with some people; do we have to BAN men from doing this sort of work?



We've thought it - through anecdotal mutterings - for multiple decades; we've actually KNOWN about it for literal decades (Sexual Violence & Exploitation: The Experience of Refugee Children in ...[insert country name here]).



That's one side of this shit-storm. The other side is more manageable: we've called them fake charities for years and we continue to read about the "fat-cat pay, appalling waste and hidden agendas". The multiple billions being poured into 'charidees' with their multi-million mid-London office rents, lavish exec lifestyle and merry-go-round appointments for New Labour and Common Purpose apparatchiks. Another reason to hate Tony Blair and associated cunts.



In the UK charities are a massive massive 'industry': eighty BILLION GBP is the estimated total annual income, which equates to 120+ quid/year for every man woman and child in the country (if the official population census figures are to be believed...ha-ha). However this mammoth amount is well spread with about 200 thousand registered charities and nearly 200 thousand more unregistered (bear in mind however many schools, churches, all mosques etc are also "charities". More than 10% of the £80 billion is spread amongst the top 100, charity financial spotlight on the Top 100 are listed HERE (PDF) with the top 10 raising 2 billion, swelled to 3 billion by government funds (so we are giving at least twice). Interestingly "Faith-based charities dominated the fastest-growing fundraisers".

Oxfam obitual oakum..

---

Oxfam have been warned they could lose official funding (not fundraising income). To be honest what is going on is hardly a surprise but the depth of depravity in some of the news and the witness/whistle-blower statements is sickening: the complaints, the covering-up, the bullying, the Catholic Churchesque moving of culprits to other areas, the harassment etc are bad enough but where is the due-diligence in hiring/taking on/controlling/ managing these fucking cunts. [edit: now we hear of rape and attempted rape of co workers before even starting any relief work..."around 10 percent of staff had been sexually assaulted and others had witnessed or experienced rape or attempted rape by colleagues"]. What the fuck is wrong with some people; do we have to BAN men from doing this sort of work?

We've thought it - through anecdotal mutterings - for multiple decades; we've actually KNOWN about it for literal decades (Sexual Violence & Exploitation: The Experience of Refugee Children in ...[insert country name here]).

That's one side of this shit-storm. The other side is more manageable: we've called them fake charities for years and we continue to read about the "fat-cat pay, appalling waste and hidden agendas". The multiple billions being poured into 'charidees' with their multi-million mid-London office rents, lavish exec lifestyle and merry-go-round appointments for New Labour and Common Purpose apparatchiks. Another reason to hate Tony Blair and associated cunts.

In the UK charities are a massive massive 'industry': eighty BILLION GBP is the estimated total annual income, which equates to 120+ quid/year for every man woman and child in the country (if the official population census figures are to be believed...ha-ha). However this mammoth amount is well spread with about 200 thousand registered charities and nearly 200 thousand more unregistered (bear in mind however many schools, churches, all mosques etc are also "charities". More than 10% of the £80 billion is spread amongst the top 100, charity financial spotlight on the Top 100 are listed HERE (PDF) with the top 10 raising 2 billion, swelled to 3 billion by government funds (so we are giving at least twice). Interestingly "Faith-based charities dominated the fastest-growing fundraisers".

Oxfam Oxscam...

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Oxfam, Oxscam, Oxslam, Poxscam...[with thanks to a few comments at Guidos's]. "A confidential report by the charity said that there had been 'a culture of impunity' among some staff in Haiti and concluded that children may have been among those sexually exploited by aid workers. The 2011 report stated: 'It cannot be ruled out that any of the prostitutes were under-aged.'" [Link: Times £££]

There's helping people in distress and there's "helping" people in distress. Over the last two decades Oxfam seems to have become little more than a failing political lobby group (paying it's high up staff small fortunes of course), this news will just convince many ditherers that - along with fraud, sex abuse allegations, deaths caused by workers etc. - they were right to eschew another faux 'charidee'.





Worse than expected: [LINK] "A Times investigation found that Oxfam, which receives £300 million a year in British government funds and public donations, allowed three men to resign and sacked four for gross misconduct after an inquiry into sexual exploitation, the downloading of pornography, bullying and intimidation."



Update: In the interests of fairness here is Oxfam's statement of reaction. One snippet: "That the event took place seven years ago and involved a small number of staff is no cause for complacency. This is not the first story of sexual misconduct Oxfam has faced in recent months.

We have not done enough to change our own culture and to create the strongest possible policies to prevent harassment and protect people we work with around the world. We are doing that now with all our effort."

Oxfam Oxscam...

---

Oxfam, Oxscam, Oxslam, Poxscam...[with thanks to a few comments at Guidos's]. "A confidential report by the charity said that there had been 'a culture of impunity' among some staff in Haiti and concluded that children may have been among those sexually exploited by aid workers. The 2011 report stated: 'It cannot be ruled out that any of the prostitutes were under-aged.'" [Link: Times £££] There's helping people in distress and there's "helping" people in distress. Over the last two decades Oxfam seems to have become little more than a failing political lobby group (paying it's high up staff small fortunes of course), this news will just convince many ditherers that - along with fraud, sex abuse allegations, deaths caused by workers etc. - they were right to eschew another faux 'charidee'.

Worse than expected: [LINK] "A Times investigation found that Oxfam, which receives £300 million a year in British government funds and public donations, allowed three men to resign and sacked four for gross misconduct after an inquiry into sexual exploitation, the downloading of pornography, bullying and intimidation."

Update: In the interests of fairness here is Oxfam's statement of reaction. One snippet: "That the event took place seven years ago and involved a small number of staff is no cause for complacency. This is not the first story of sexual misconduct Oxfam has faced in recent months. We have not done enough to change our own culture and to create the strongest possible policies to prevent harassment and protect people we work with around the world. We are doing that now with all our effort."