Man Blames Fires on Arsonist Targeting Neo-Nazi Bill White (USA)

Three fires in one southwest Roanoke neighborhood over the past month have neighbors on edge.


Some believe imprisoned neo-Nazi leader Bill White may be the common denominator.

Investigators are working the case to find out if a connection is legitimate.

Dallas Powell spends his days buying, rehabbing then renting out properties but has never had as much trouble as he has since he bought this home on Patterson Avenue.

"I knew that he owned it before, but honestly I didn't think anything would happen," said Powell.
It is one of many homes that used to be owned by neo-Nazi Bill White, who is serving a stretch in prison for various hate crimes.

In September, arsonists tried to burn the house down to no avail. Three weeks later there was another fire. This time it was upstairs.

Still under investigation, Powell says it can't be anything else but arson.

"At that point in time I was pretty confident they were going after Bill White," Powell said.

In between it all, a home still owned by White, also caught on fire, although that has been ruled electrical.
"There's no indication, at all, that the two fires at 832 Patterson Avenue are any way related to Bill White,"
said Allen Williams, with the Roanoke Police Department.

Something Powell doesn't buy.

"They told me that there's quite a possibility they are connected," he says.

Taking no chances, Powell has put up signs and called the press, begging whoever may be responsible to stop.

"There might be a little humor in the signs but the reality is that I need to notify this arsonist that Bill White does not own this house, so please leave me alone," said Powell.

Officials are still investigating these fires, and say a connection has not been completely ruled out.

 WSet

Neo-Nazi caught coaching youth football despite club ban (Germany)

A children’s football coach suspended from his club in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt for his membership in the neo-Nazi NPD party has defied the ban and is back on the pitch, according to media reports on Friday.

Right-wing extremist Lutz Battke has been recently photographed at football practice in Laucha by broadcaster MDR, despite being suspended from his post in late August.

His football club, BSC 99 Laucha, gave in to massive pressure in August, banning him after months of conflict with the state sporting association (LSB) and the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), who objected to Battke’s membership in the far-right party.

The 52-year-old, who sports an Adolf Hitler-style moustache and a mullet, sits on the local county and city councils for the NPD. He is also planning to run for state parliament next year, MDR reported. Both the LSB and the DOSB found that his political affiliation him unfit to lead a children’s sports team.

But both Battke and BSC 99 Laucha appear to be defying the sporting authorities.

“This is insufferable news, which goes without saying,” president of the LSB Andreas Silbersack told MDR when shown the photographs. “Obviously some people use this position as a platform and use sports for a purpose they are not meant for.”

The LSB will pursue measures to have Battke permanently removed from the club, Silbersack said.

In a separate interview with news magazine Der Spiegel Silbersack said the entire football club could be dissolved for its failure to comply with the ban, calling the situation a “provocation.”

The LSB recently revised its rules to allow for a heavier hand against political extremism within sporting clubs, the magazine added.

But residents in the town of 3,000 who spoke with Der Spiegel seemed more upset about the “aggressive media interest” in their community than the possible far-right indoctrination of their children.

The NPD is deeply entrenched there, garnering 13.5 percent of the vote in the last community election – more than anywhere else in the state, the magazine said.

Battke, who is a master chimney sweep, is no stranger to headlines, though. In April 2008, state authorities stripped him of his position, which is akin to that of a civil servant. But he won a court appeal that July and was allowed to return to his post.

The Local Germany

Sarkozy meets Pope after Roma row (France/Italy)

President Nicolas Sarkozy met Pope Benedict XVI yesterday in a visit aimed at smoothing relations with Catholic leaders who have been critical of France’s expulsion of Roma migrants.

Mr Sarkozy appeared tense before his audience with the pontiff but was more relaxed after their talk, which lasted about 30 minutes and focused on international issues.

The visit, organised at the President’s request, follows strong criticism of the French government by Catholic bishops over the clearance in August of several illegal Roma camps and the forced repatriation of hundreds of Roma migrants. In August, the Pope made an apparent reference to the crackdown during a sermon in which he switched into French to make a call to “accept human diversity”.

After the meeting, Mr Sarkozy made a brief visit to St Peter’s Basilica and the chapel of St Petronilla, an early Christian martyr traditionally revered by the Church in France, where Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran said a “prayer for France”.

No public mention was made of the controversy surrounding the Roma issue but Cardinal Tauran’s prayer included an appeal “for the welcome of the persecuted and immigrants”. It was the first time a French president had participated at such a ceremony since the start of the Fifth Republic in 1958. France’s secular constitution and strict separation of church and state generally make her leaders wary of overt religious displays.

The Independant 

Jury in Shenandoah hate crime case hears racist music (USA)

Derrick Donchak, one of two men charged with federal hate crimes in the beating death of an illegal Mexican immigrant, often wore a "Border Patrol" T-shirt and listened to "racist music" when he drove around Shenandoah, one of his high school friends testified Friday in federal court in Scranton.

As federal prosecutors continued to lay out evidence racial hate was behind the murder of Luis Eduardo Ramirez Zavala, they played the song, "The White Man Marches On" whose lyrics glorify violence against minorities. It was a song Donchak apparently knew well.

"He'd sing along with it," said Colin Walsh, 19. "He really didn't like Hispanics."

Walsh was with Donchak, Brandon Piekarsky and a group of other young men when Ramirez was fatally beaten and kicked on a street in Shenandoah on July 12, 2008. He has admitted he punched Ramirez in the head, sending him to the pavement, where he smacked the back of his head.

While Ramirez was on the ground, motionless, Walsh said, "I saw Brandon kick him in the side of the head."
Dr. Isidore Mihalakis, a forensic pathologist, said Ramirez died from blunt force trauma to head. He said Ramirez's skull was fractured in two injuries, one to the back of the head when he hit the ground, the other from a kick to the head. Mihalakis said he believed the combined effects of both injuries caused the death, though he later said either one alone was serious enough to have killed Ramirez.

Walsh said after the beating Piekarsky told him that "he kicked the guy so hard his shoes flew off."
Ariell Garcia, another witness at the scene who saw Ramirez lying on the ground, began to cry when she was asked about the kick to the head.

"It was like a muffled crack," she said.

Her husband, Victor Garcia, said Ramirez had called him on a cellphone that night, saying, "I'm getting beat up. Come back." About 20 minutes earlier, Garcia said he had dropped Ramirez and his girlfriend off at a nearby park.

In the background, Garcia said he heard voices yelling, "Mexican, spic." Garcia said he tried to break up the fight when he got back to the park until someone threw a punch at him.

"People were still trying to kick him, stomp him," Garcia said. He said he saw Ramirez get kicked in the head and watched the group of young men run away. He tried to "wake up" Ramirez who had foam coming out of his mouth.

When police began arriving on the scene, Garcia said he told them which way they had run. He said the police told him to "take everything out of your pockets."

"But they never went after the kids," Garcia said.

There was other testimony about steps the police did take after in the days after the fatal beating.

Julia Mickalowski, the mother of Brian Scully, one of the young men at the scene that night, said she received a phone call from Lt. William Moyer, telling her that if her son had gray blue sneakers to "get rid of them."
The small-town nature of Shenandoah has surfaced in other testimony involving Piekarsky's mother, who was a friend of then-Police Chief Matthew Nestor and was dating one of the officers, Patrolman Jason Hayes.

Hayes, who is no longer a police officer, stopped Donchak and Piekarsky while they were running from the scene that night. Nestor, Hayes and former Lt. William Moyer are scheduled to stand trial in January in federal court for their roles in the alleged cover-up.

After the beating, Walsh said Piekarsky joked to his friends about getting a Hispanic name tattooed on their bodies while hatching a story they would tell the police, one that would exclude any references to racial slurs being uttered that night or kicking him.

Walsh recalled a visit he had received from then Moyer at his house. He said Moyer, "asked if I talked with my friends."

"You know what I mean?" the officer said before leaving, adding, "Good luck, buddy," Walsh testified.
Defense attorney James A. Swetz, representing Piekarsky, quizzed Walsh on the plea agreement he signed in the federal case against him. Walsh said he had been told he could receive a nine-year prison sentence but hopes to receive only four years. Prosecutors have offered to seek a reduced sentence in exchange for his cooperation against Donchak and Piekarsky.

Though he has pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime, Walsh said he does not believe what he did that night was motivated by racial hate on his part. He said he believes racial hate was behind the beating inflicted on Ramirez by Donchak and Piekarsky

The trial resumes Tuesday morning. The courthouse is closed Monday for the Columbus Day holiday.

Citizens Voice

'Defence leagues' plan Amsterdam show of support for Geert Wilders (UK)

• Hate speech trial is focus of far right anti-Islam protest
• English Defence League to defy Leicester march ban

Far right groups modelled on the English Defence League have been set up across Europe and are planning to demonstrate in Amsterdam in support of the Dutch politician Geert Wilders.

French and Dutch "defence leagues" will join the EDL and several other anti-Islamic organisations on 30 October to coincide with the end of Wilders's trial for hate speech and inciting racism.

About 2,000 EDL supporters are expected to demonstrate in Leicester tomorrow. Home secretary Theresa May banned marches in the city this week but the EDL said its protest would go ahead, raising fears of unrest.

The EDL, formed in Luton last year, has become the most significant far-right street movement in the UK since the National Front. It claims to be a peaceful, non-racist organisation protesting against "militant Islam". Many of its demonstrations have descended into violence and Islamophobic and racist chanting, attracting known football hooligans and far right extremists. At its most recent demonstration in Bradford, in August, 1,600 police officers tried to contain EDL supporters as bricks, bottles and smoke bombs were thrown. There were 13 arrests.

Critics say the demonstration in Amsterdam is a sign of the EDL's growing influence among far right and anti-Islamic groups in Europe and the US, and part of its self-proclaimed "international outreach work and networking".

The EDL refused to answer the Guardian's questions today but its leader, who uses the pseudonym Tommy Robinson, wrote on the group's website that the Amsterdam demonstration would "take the English Defence League global".

"The EDL has been in contact with our European brothers and sisters and we have decided that on Saturday 30th October the European defence league will be demonstrating in Amsterdam in support of Geert," Robinson wrote. "We hope that all of you will be able to join us for this, what promises to be a landmark demonstration for the future of the defence leagues."

The Amsterdam protest will see EDL supporters join other activists from countries including Germany, Belgium and Switzerland for the launch of what is being called the "European Defence League".

One group planning to attend is the French Defence League, or Ligue de Defense Française. It was formed in July and one of its co-founders confirmed it was modelled on the EDL. "We were indeed inspired by their [EDL's] statutes and by the spirit of openness which enlivens them," a spokesman wrote in an email to the Guardian.

Like the EDL, the French group denies it is racist or violent and says it aims to fight the "threat" Islam poses to France's values and customs. "We who wish to keep our values and our liberties must unite and fight those who are willing to sell the nation and our country for a politician's sash," the spokesman said.

The growth of the EDL and similar groups is of growing concern, says the Labour MEP for London, Claude Moraes, who chairs the all-party European parliament group on anti-racism.

"The EDL's racist and Islamophobic message is resonating across Europe as we can see from the formation of these groups," he said. "This is particularly dangerous because they are using this virulent Islamophobia as an excuse to promote what is a dangerous agenda of hate and division."

The European connections are part of a number of international links forged by the EDL in the past year. In August it emerged that the EDL had received endorsements from Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller, opponents of a Muslim community centre being built near the site of the 9/11 attacks in New York. In one of her blogs Geller wrote: "I share the EDL's goals ... We need to encourage rational, reasonable groups that oppose the Islamisation of the west and not leave it solely to fringe groups like the BNP."

Last month Robinson and at least seven other EDL supporters flew to New York to attenda protest against the community centre near "ground zero".

In April EDL supporters attended a demonstration in support of Wilders in Berlin, and in June EDL delegates spoke at a "counter-jihad" conference organised by the International Civil Liberties Alliance in Zurich, where they gave a presentation entitled The Anatomy of an EDL Demo.

Nick Lowles of anti-fascist organisation Searchlight said: "The EDL is operating on two levels. There are the violent street demonstrations that have brought fear and division to towns and cities across the country, then there is the political wing of the organisation that is partly inspired by Christian fundamentalism and is making links and inspiring other groups in Europe and elsewhere."

The Guardian

Roads cordoned off ahead of Leicester EDL protest (UK)

Part of Leicester is being cordoned off ahead of two protests expected to take place in the city centre.
The English Defence League (EDL) is due to hold a demonstration and Unite Against Fascism (UAF) will stage a counter-protest.

Several roads around the eastern part of the city will be closed from 0900 until 1800 BST.
The groups are banned from marching but will be escorted to hold static protests in Humberstone Gate East.
Peace events
 
Officers from 13 forces will be on hand to maintain order. It is expected to be the largest police operation in Leicester for several decades.

Some bus routes will also be disrupted, so temporary stops have been set up in Belgrave Gate and Abbey Street.

A map showing details of road closures and other public information is available on the council's website.
A series of "green-themed peace events", including a performance by musician Billy Bragg, were held in Leicester on Friday and more are expected to take place on Sunday.

Some street lights will glow green, and the city council has urged people to wear green ribbons and attend the peace events as an alternative to taking part in any demonstrations.

BBC News

FAR-RIGHT BELGIAN COULD FACE MASSIVE FINE FOR MECCA SLUR

A far-right Belgian leader who posted names and addresses of 770 residents on the web in a bid to prove "Islamisation" was at work in the city of Antwerp could face a 500,000-euro fine for racism. Filip Dewinter, leader of Vlaams Belang (which means Flemish Interest), said on his website that the official registry of residents of an Antwerp suburb "includes only 21 Flemish names". "All the other names are African or North African. This mind-boggling list symbolises the Islamisation of entire districts of Antwerp and elsewhere," he said. Dewinter, who has a seat in the regional parliament of Flanders, dubbed the district in question "Mecca-on-Escaut", the latter being the river that runs through the northern city. His party, unlike an increasing popular sister movement in neighbouring The Netherlands, is on the decline, sliding from 24 percent of the regional vote in 2004 to 12.6 percent in June this year on an anti-immigrant and separatist platform. A commission for the protection of privacy filed a complaint Thursday against him before the Antwerp prosecutor's office, alleging violation of a 1992 law banning the publication of private information "based on racial or ethnic origin". A commission official, Emmanuel Vincart, told AFP that if the prosecutor pressed charges under article six of the country's privacy legislation, the politician could be fined up to half a million euros. Dewinter responded by saying he would keep the list to first names only. "But the political analysis remains unchanged," he said, according to the domestic Belga news agency. "Barely three percent of the names on the list are ethnic Flemish."

AFP

BURKA BAN A STEP CLOSER IN ITALY

Italy is set to ban the burka after a government report ruled in favour of a new law. MPs from the anti-immigration Northern League party have presented the proposal in a bill, saying the ban would be not for "religious reasons but for security reasons". As part of the report, leading Muslims said the Koran did not mention the burka. But the Italian Islam Committee said the move, "risks inflaming Islamophobia." It comes just weeks after France banned the burka, a decision which prompted threats from al-Qaeda.

The Mirror

Racism: India summons Aussie envoy

India on Saturday summoned Australian High Commissioner Peter Varghese here in connection with a racist email involving top Aussie police officials. According to Australia's Herald Sun, police officers have been caught joking about the electrocution of an Indian train passenger in a racist email scandal.

They circulated sickening video footage of the man being killed and suggested it could be a way to fix Melbourne's Indian student problem, the paper wrote.

The Herald Sun has discovered some of the force's highest-ranked officers have been implicated in the scandal, which also involves pornographic material.

India asked the Australian High Commissioner on the actions that the country took against the policemen.

According to reports, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna in a statement said "implication of police officers in such behaviour, especially vis-a-vis Indian community in Australia, is shocking and matter of serious concern."

"Such attitudes have no place in any society. We understand investigation already underway. We sincerely hope that apart from taking action against concerned officers, Australian authorities will also take necessary and effective measures to address concerns about safety of all people of Indian origin in Australia."

India on Thursday lodged a strong complaint with the New Zealand government for a Kiwi TV show in which the host allegedly made racist remarks against New Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

According reports, the New Zealand High Commissioner to India has apologized and called the TV show comments "culturally insensitive and vulgar". 

 India Blooms

Council supports anti-racism drive (UK)

A special  board has been put on display in the lobby of County Hall in Morpeth to show Northumberland County Council’s support for the Show Racism the Red Card campaign.
The authority is backing the campaign in its bid to become the Football Association’s charity of the year in 2011.

Council chief executive Steve Stewart and Coun Leslie Rickerby, executive member for children and young people, were among the first to add their signatures to the board.

They were joined by Shaun Johnson, from sponsor Potts the Printers, Jane Walker, from children’s services, Craig Bankhead, Show Racism the Red Card’s education manager, Olivier Bernard, former Newcastle defender and Show Racism the Red Card coach, and Trevor Benjamin, former Leicester City forward and current player/manager for Morpeth Town.

Council staff and elected members are being encouraged to sign the board, which is on display this month.
The charity, which has been tackling racism in the north east since 1996, has been delivering workshops in Northumberland’s schools since January 2010 and has already worked with hundreds of young people in the county.

As part of the bidding process for the FA title, Show Racism the Red Card has been asking members of the public to lobby their local MP to sign an Early Day Motion in Parliament, which has already been signed by more than 60 MPs and sign display boards across the region.

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