Ministers are to meet Dudley residents to discuss the “violence and disorder” caused by the English Defence League.
Theresa May, the Home Secretary, agreed to organise a meeting after the protest group held two controversial demonstrations in Dudley.
In April, there were 12 arrests as the English Defence League held a protest in Dudley and fought anti-fascist campaigners.
And in an unannounced protest in May, masked English Defence League campaigners held a rooftop protest at a site earmarked for a new mosque in Dudley.
The group also planned a protest in Dudley last month, but this was cancelled after plans to build a mosque with 65ft minaret in the town centre were scrapped.
But the English Defence League warned that future protests in Dudley could still go ahead, and added that the group planned to return to Birmingham, where it has held two demonstrations, with a protest in Alum Rock in the summer.
Dudley MP Ian Austin (Lab Dudley North) asked the Home Secretary, Theresa May, to ensure the English Defence League were not able to cause further disruption.
Speaking in the House of Commons, he asked: “Recent events have seen violence and disorder on the streets, police diverted to deal with that and property and constituents attacked.”
She told him: “Certainly I or another Minister will be very happy to meet a delegation in order to address those issues.”
Birmingham Mail
Saturday, 3 July 2010
Police's far right guns swoop (UK)
KNUCKLEDUSTERS, knives, Tasers, ball-bearing guns and far right paraphernalia have been seized in a raid on a Halifax house.
Police were seen swooping on the home at Beechwood Road, Ovenden, bringing out a haul of weapons including CS gas, batons and balaclavas.
Computers and far right flags and leaflets were also believed to have been removed from the house.
The police raid happened in the early hours of last Friday morning and around 20 officers were thought to be involved.
Police confirmed an 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of conspiring to commit violent disorder in connection with the raid.
He has been released on bail pending further police inquiries.
It is believed he has links with far-right political organisations.
His workplaces are also thought to have been searched
Halifax Courier
Police were seen swooping on the home at Beechwood Road, Ovenden, bringing out a haul of weapons including CS gas, batons and balaclavas.
Computers and far right flags and leaflets were also believed to have been removed from the house.
The police raid happened in the early hours of last Friday morning and around 20 officers were thought to be involved.
Police confirmed an 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of conspiring to commit violent disorder in connection with the raid.
He has been released on bail pending further police inquiries.
It is believed he has links with far-right political organisations.
His workplaces are also thought to have been searched
Halifax Courier
Jury gets murder trial of alleged neo-Nazi (USA)
The 10-woman, two-man jury went home for the holiday weekend after hearing closing arguments today in the first-degree murder trial of Kandin Eric Wilson. They will begin deliberations Tuesday morning.
Wilson, 29, is accused of killing Susana Pelayo-Perez, a 35-year-old restaurant manager on Sept. 27 in the parking lot of the Shannon Glen Apartments at 260 N. Murray Blvd.
Wilson attorney Philip L. Dubois told the jurors that police arrested the wrong man.
“Kandin Wilson didn’t shoot anybody. He wasn’t there when Susan Pelayo-Perez was shot,” Dubois said.
“So why are we here?” Dubois asked. “Two words: Kyle Gray.”
Dubois referred to the co-defendant who took a plea deal and agreed to testify against Wilson during the two-week trial.
Gray is an admitted member of the American Nazi Party, which he described as a white prison gang. He claimed Wilson, also known by the nickname “Trailer,” was a “prospect” who had been admitted into the party on a probationary basis in September 2009.
Gray testified he was driving the car when Wilson fired the .40 caliber hollowpoint bullet that killed Pelayo-Perez.
Dubois asked the jurors not to be swayed by the pictures prosecutors showed them.
“Pretty is a nice slide show and showing as many photographs as they possible can,” he said. “But pretty is not proof.”
Senior Deputy District Attorney Jeff Lindsey bristled at the reference.
“Let’s get something straight. That man took a woman’s life,” Lindsey said, pointing to the defendant. “It’s as ugly as it comes,” he added. “There’s nothing pretty about that.”
Lindsey reminded jurors that both Gray and the victim’s boyfriend both identified Wilson as the shooter.
To drive home that point, Lindsey showed the jury Wilson’s mug shot and a composite sketch the boyfriend helped police draw of the gunman.
“That’s the man, ladies and gentlemen,” Lindsey said, showing the two images superimposed. “That’s the man.”
Gazette
BNP HQ accused of ‘depravity’
Simon Bennett, the British National Party’s former webmaster, has accused Nick Griffin’s supporters of “depravity” by running a vile hate mail campaign against him in his home town of Camelford, in Cornwall, and the surrounding area.
Police told him they had been “inundated with complaints from local residents” who had received a leaflet accusing Bennett of “theft”, “using illegal narcotics”, hiding from “bailiffs and angry ex-clients” of a “string of failed businesses”, “forgery and deception”, and threatening ex-clients with “blackmail in the form of financial extortion”.
The leaflet advises residents with any information on these matters to contact the police or Social Care Services in an apparent attempt to cast doubt on his suitability as a parent.
Bennett has strongly denied all the allegations, which he says put him and his family “at risk from physical attack from some of the more extreme members in right wing circles, which I believe is exactly what Nick Griffin & Co have intended”.
Griffin and Bennett had a serious fallout a few days before the May elections over Griffin’s daft insistence on adding a Marmite image to a version of the BNP’s election broadcast released on the website. Griffin apparently wanted to gain publicity by provoking a response from Unilever, which owns the Marmite brand. It was the culmination of a year-long dispute with Jim Dowson, the convicted criminal and close aide of Griffin, who in effect owns the BNP.
Bennett, who supports Eddy Butler’s challenge to Griffin’s leadership, warns: “If you previously had any doubts that reform is needed with the BNP, then you may want to consider that this type of hate campaign could be bought onto anyone that dares to question the current leadership or refuse to ‘play ball’ or ‘put up and shut up’.”
Meanwhile, the latest attack on one of the anti-Butler blogs has confirmed that the BNP remains a thoroughly racist, antisemitic and homophobic party.
In an attempt to smear Butler by association, the Eddy Butler exposed website lists some of his supporters and their “offences”. Two are condemned for being gay and a third is described as “another long-term bachelor”. Another has “half-caste kids”. One man not only has a “wife of chinese [sic] extraction” but, no doubt worse in BNP eyes, “has worked extensively in Israel”.
Another Butler supporter listed is Jeff Marshall, the central London organiser whose poisonous outburst following the death of David Cameron’s disabled son was quoted in many HOPE not hate leaflets and newspapers. His view that it would be a kindness to kill children with disabilities did not prevent him from being put forward as a council candidate in the BNP’s top target borough of Barking and Dagenham.
Now that he is out of favour with Griffin, he is described as “deeply weird”. The blog continues: “As you hear him lisp and see him slime around, simply ask if you would be comfortable having him babysit?”
Lawrence Rustem, a former BNP councillor in Barking and Dagenham, was one of the earlier victims of the so-called “attack blogs” for expressing support for Butler. Until Butler announced on 30 June that in the event of his victory his deputy chairman would be Nick Cass, the Griffinites were putting it about that Rustem was in line for the role. Rustem is unpopular in the racist BNP because his father was a Turkish Cypriot.
In a new video released on YouTube Rustem criticises Griffin’s decision to stand as the BNP candidate in Barking in the general election. Griffin had a “negative impact” on the campaign and went down very badly on the doorstep, according to Rustem, who also condemned the party’s head office for giving “less than zero” support to its 12 councillors in Barking and Dagenham during the four years since their election in 2006.
The vicious attacks on Butler and his supporters show that Griffin is growing increasingly desperate, a fact that is confirmed by Griffin’s attempts to manipulate the election. An official statement on the BNP website states that nomination forms will be sent to every BNP member eligible to nominate candidates and must be returned to the party by post between 20 July and 10 August.
Butler has pointed out that the party constitution does not require the party to issue nomination papers but only that a candidate for the leadership must obtain the signatures of 20% of the membership with two years’ continuous membership.
Advising members to send nomination forms to his campaign address not to the party, Butler writes: “They are trying to get members to send their nomination papers directly to them. This is a disgusting abuse of process, similar to the sort of thing one would have expected in Soviet occupied Eastern Europe. I am afraid to say that the Party centre has so far acted in an appalling manner so far with regard to this year’s leadership election. They are bugging gatherings, closing down branch meetings, sacking officials and even suspending the membership of people who support a leadership challenge. The idea that people should send their nomination papers to Clive Jefferson’s Elections Department is nothing short of outrageous and can only be viewed as an attempt to derail the Party’s internal democratic process.”
Unfortunately for Butler, the BNP constitution, largely imposed upon the party membership by Griffin under the guise of complying with the requirements of the court in a legal action brought by the Equality Commission, affords many more opportunities for Griffin to thwart any leadership challenge.
Hope Not Hate
Police told him they had been “inundated with complaints from local residents” who had received a leaflet accusing Bennett of “theft”, “using illegal narcotics”, hiding from “bailiffs and angry ex-clients” of a “string of failed businesses”, “forgery and deception”, and threatening ex-clients with “blackmail in the form of financial extortion”.
The leaflet advises residents with any information on these matters to contact the police or Social Care Services in an apparent attempt to cast doubt on his suitability as a parent.
Bennett has strongly denied all the allegations, which he says put him and his family “at risk from physical attack from some of the more extreme members in right wing circles, which I believe is exactly what Nick Griffin & Co have intended”.
Griffin and Bennett had a serious fallout a few days before the May elections over Griffin’s daft insistence on adding a Marmite image to a version of the BNP’s election broadcast released on the website. Griffin apparently wanted to gain publicity by provoking a response from Unilever, which owns the Marmite brand. It was the culmination of a year-long dispute with Jim Dowson, the convicted criminal and close aide of Griffin, who in effect owns the BNP.
Bennett, who supports Eddy Butler’s challenge to Griffin’s leadership, warns: “If you previously had any doubts that reform is needed with the BNP, then you may want to consider that this type of hate campaign could be bought onto anyone that dares to question the current leadership or refuse to ‘play ball’ or ‘put up and shut up’.”
Meanwhile, the latest attack on one of the anti-Butler blogs has confirmed that the BNP remains a thoroughly racist, antisemitic and homophobic party.
In an attempt to smear Butler by association, the Eddy Butler exposed website lists some of his supporters and their “offences”. Two are condemned for being gay and a third is described as “another long-term bachelor”. Another has “half-caste kids”. One man not only has a “wife of chinese [sic] extraction” but, no doubt worse in BNP eyes, “has worked extensively in Israel”.
Another Butler supporter listed is Jeff Marshall, the central London organiser whose poisonous outburst following the death of David Cameron’s disabled son was quoted in many HOPE not hate leaflets and newspapers. His view that it would be a kindness to kill children with disabilities did not prevent him from being put forward as a council candidate in the BNP’s top target borough of Barking and Dagenham.
Now that he is out of favour with Griffin, he is described as “deeply weird”. The blog continues: “As you hear him lisp and see him slime around, simply ask if you would be comfortable having him babysit?”
Lawrence Rustem, a former BNP councillor in Barking and Dagenham, was one of the earlier victims of the so-called “attack blogs” for expressing support for Butler. Until Butler announced on 30 June that in the event of his victory his deputy chairman would be Nick Cass, the Griffinites were putting it about that Rustem was in line for the role. Rustem is unpopular in the racist BNP because his father was a Turkish Cypriot.
In a new video released on YouTube Rustem criticises Griffin’s decision to stand as the BNP candidate in Barking in the general election. Griffin had a “negative impact” on the campaign and went down very badly on the doorstep, according to Rustem, who also condemned the party’s head office for giving “less than zero” support to its 12 councillors in Barking and Dagenham during the four years since their election in 2006.
The vicious attacks on Butler and his supporters show that Griffin is growing increasingly desperate, a fact that is confirmed by Griffin’s attempts to manipulate the election. An official statement on the BNP website states that nomination forms will be sent to every BNP member eligible to nominate candidates and must be returned to the party by post between 20 July and 10 August.
Butler has pointed out that the party constitution does not require the party to issue nomination papers but only that a candidate for the leadership must obtain the signatures of 20% of the membership with two years’ continuous membership.
Advising members to send nomination forms to his campaign address not to the party, Butler writes: “They are trying to get members to send their nomination papers directly to them. This is a disgusting abuse of process, similar to the sort of thing one would have expected in Soviet occupied Eastern Europe. I am afraid to say that the Party centre has so far acted in an appalling manner so far with regard to this year’s leadership election. They are bugging gatherings, closing down branch meetings, sacking officials and even suspending the membership of people who support a leadership challenge. The idea that people should send their nomination papers to Clive Jefferson’s Elections Department is nothing short of outrageous and can only be viewed as an attempt to derail the Party’s internal democratic process.”
Unfortunately for Butler, the BNP constitution, largely imposed upon the party membership by Griffin under the guise of complying with the requirements of the court in a legal action brought by the Equality Commission, affords many more opportunities for Griffin to thwart any leadership challenge.
Hope Not Hate
Friday, 2 July 2010
Nazi fascination of teenager who used Internet to build 'bombs'
A teenager from the Tamworth area with an "unhealthy interest" in explosives and fascist politics has appeared in court alongside a man from Amington, to face charges relating to making potentially-lethal weapons.
The court heard that police found a pipe packed with nails and screws and charged with gunpowder, in the bedroom of the 16-year-old.
He had made the explosive device with chemicals bought off the Internet.
The youngster also had right wing literature from the BNP and the English Defence League, together with Nazi emblems – one of them in the middle of his bed.
His family home was immediately evacuated while explosives and firearms experts were called in to search the property.
As the search entered its third day, another explosive device was reported hidden under a waste oil tank at Tomson's Garage in Glascote Road.
Mr Malcolm Morse, prosecuting, said the device had the appearance of a home-made sawn-off shotgun.
In one of the "barrels" was a firework with the fuse extending out of it.
The device was taken to Sutton Coldfield police station, which later had to be evacuated while experts assessed how dangerous it was.
Some tape holding the barrels together had human hair and fingerprints which belonged to a co-accused, 27-year-old Jonathan Cunningham, of Greenheart, Amington, who was also arrested.
Cunningham said he had put the device under the oil tank to hide it from the police.
He also tried to take the blame for making it, saying he wanted to show the boy how to do it, but Mr Morse told Stafford Crown Court the prosecution did not accept that.
"[The boy] was perfectly capable of making devices of this kind with no assistance."
In court, Mr Morse said the teen had been asked specifically about the right-wing political literature by concerned officers.
"He denied any specific interest in right-wing politics, and he expressed a general interest in the acquisition of pyrotechnic knowledge.
"He denied supporting the views of either the BNP or the English Defence League, that was his explanation.
"It is to an extent contradicted by some evidence from a lecturer at the college where he studies.
"Her recollection is he was outspoken among his peers in support of such views.
"It is the case that while material of this nature was found, material of a contrary view was not.
"The prosecution, in drawing attention to this literature, is making no comment on its content.
"I am merely indicating the presence of it, together with the ingredients and the skill for making explosives," Mr Morse told Judge John Wait.
He said the mother of one of the boy's friends had also handed in a video clip from a mobile phone camera showing an explosive device being detonated in a tree.
The clip was labelled with the teenage defendant's name and the word "bomb".
A police search of the 16-year-old's family home on January 30 this year, was triggered by an eBay seller who was concerned about commodities being ordered.
The boy used his mother's eBay account to buy the chemicals he used to make the gunpowder.
The device loaded with nails and found in the bedroom was examined by the Defence Laboratory and ruled to be capable of dealing a "lethal shot".
Mr Morse said Internet conversations from a chat room dedicated to explosives and firearms had been found on a computer in the house.
The boy's username was "Eng-Terrorman".
He also had access to a Russian film which shows the process of making a gun.
The boy, who cannot be named because of his age, admitted possessing a firearm without a certificate – the only charge that could be applied to the device found in his bedroom, according to Mr Morse.
The boy also admits having an explosive substance and making an explosive substance.
Judge Wait made the boy subject to a three-year controlling order for public safety, with a three-month curfew, a ban on having any explosive material and the recording of any Internet use.
He told the boy: "Anyone who makes such explosives, that in the wrong hands could be used to kill or maim, is committing a very serious offence and putting the public at risk."
The judge said the boy could have put everyone in danger by being used and abused by extreme political organisations.
He added: "That a 14 to 15-year-old boy should be permitted to carry on such activities under the gaze of caring parents is hard to believe.
"The parents saw substantial quantities of material coming in to the house and saw no danger.
"They saw material relating to extreme politics and saw no danger in that."
Co-accused Cunningham, who admitted making an explosive substance and perverting the course of justice, was jailed for 12 months.
Mr Darron Whitehead, for the boy, said: "It would be very easy to simply infer that this young man is a terrorist with hidden agendas. They don't exist in this case.
"There was never at any time, any positive intention to make any aggressive use of the items strewn about his bedroom.
"There is nothing in this case to suggest there was any intention to cause harm to human life."
But Judge Wait responded: "This is a young man who has developed an expertise, who has broadcast it over the Internet, thereby exposing himself and the rest of us to people who would want to cause us serious harm."
Mr Whitehead said the boy's interests in fireworks began as "idle curiosity" and developed into a hobby.
"He plainly has an interest in pyrotechnics. It will no doubt be reported that he developed an unhealthy interest in weaponry.
"The scene met by the police demonstrates that all who visited that house were aware of activities going on inside.
"The youth report makes criticism not only of the boy but also of his parents.
"They are good, hardworking individuals. It appears they not only knew what the boy was doing, they allowed him to have them and indeed involved themselves at stages.
"The garden was littered with fireworks made and ignited over time.
"The neighbours were well aware of the activities and not intimidated by it."
This is Tamworth
The court heard that police found a pipe packed with nails and screws and charged with gunpowder, in the bedroom of the 16-year-old.
He had made the explosive device with chemicals bought off the Internet.
The youngster also had right wing literature from the BNP and the English Defence League, together with Nazi emblems – one of them in the middle of his bed.
His family home was immediately evacuated while explosives and firearms experts were called in to search the property.
As the search entered its third day, another explosive device was reported hidden under a waste oil tank at Tomson's Garage in Glascote Road.
Mr Malcolm Morse, prosecuting, said the device had the appearance of a home-made sawn-off shotgun.
In one of the "barrels" was a firework with the fuse extending out of it.
The device was taken to Sutton Coldfield police station, which later had to be evacuated while experts assessed how dangerous it was.
Some tape holding the barrels together had human hair and fingerprints which belonged to a co-accused, 27-year-old Jonathan Cunningham, of Greenheart, Amington, who was also arrested.
Cunningham said he had put the device under the oil tank to hide it from the police.
He also tried to take the blame for making it, saying he wanted to show the boy how to do it, but Mr Morse told Stafford Crown Court the prosecution did not accept that.
"[The boy] was perfectly capable of making devices of this kind with no assistance."
In court, Mr Morse said the teen had been asked specifically about the right-wing political literature by concerned officers.
"He denied any specific interest in right-wing politics, and he expressed a general interest in the acquisition of pyrotechnic knowledge.
"He denied supporting the views of either the BNP or the English Defence League, that was his explanation.
"It is to an extent contradicted by some evidence from a lecturer at the college where he studies.
"Her recollection is he was outspoken among his peers in support of such views.
"It is the case that while material of this nature was found, material of a contrary view was not.
"The prosecution, in drawing attention to this literature, is making no comment on its content.
"I am merely indicating the presence of it, together with the ingredients and the skill for making explosives," Mr Morse told Judge John Wait.
He said the mother of one of the boy's friends had also handed in a video clip from a mobile phone camera showing an explosive device being detonated in a tree.
The clip was labelled with the teenage defendant's name and the word "bomb".
A police search of the 16-year-old's family home on January 30 this year, was triggered by an eBay seller who was concerned about commodities being ordered.
The boy used his mother's eBay account to buy the chemicals he used to make the gunpowder.
The device loaded with nails and found in the bedroom was examined by the Defence Laboratory and ruled to be capable of dealing a "lethal shot".
Mr Morse said Internet conversations from a chat room dedicated to explosives and firearms had been found on a computer in the house.
The boy's username was "Eng-Terrorman".
He also had access to a Russian film which shows the process of making a gun.
The boy, who cannot be named because of his age, admitted possessing a firearm without a certificate – the only charge that could be applied to the device found in his bedroom, according to Mr Morse.
The boy also admits having an explosive substance and making an explosive substance.
Judge Wait made the boy subject to a three-year controlling order for public safety, with a three-month curfew, a ban on having any explosive material and the recording of any Internet use.
He told the boy: "Anyone who makes such explosives, that in the wrong hands could be used to kill or maim, is committing a very serious offence and putting the public at risk."
The judge said the boy could have put everyone in danger by being used and abused by extreme political organisations.
He added: "That a 14 to 15-year-old boy should be permitted to carry on such activities under the gaze of caring parents is hard to believe.
"The parents saw substantial quantities of material coming in to the house and saw no danger.
"They saw material relating to extreme politics and saw no danger in that."
Co-accused Cunningham, who admitted making an explosive substance and perverting the course of justice, was jailed for 12 months.
Mr Darron Whitehead, for the boy, said: "It would be very easy to simply infer that this young man is a terrorist with hidden agendas. They don't exist in this case.
"There was never at any time, any positive intention to make any aggressive use of the items strewn about his bedroom.
"There is nothing in this case to suggest there was any intention to cause harm to human life."
But Judge Wait responded: "This is a young man who has developed an expertise, who has broadcast it over the Internet, thereby exposing himself and the rest of us to people who would want to cause us serious harm."
Mr Whitehead said the boy's interests in fireworks began as "idle curiosity" and developed into a hobby.
"He plainly has an interest in pyrotechnics. It will no doubt be reported that he developed an unhealthy interest in weaponry.
"The scene met by the police demonstrates that all who visited that house were aware of activities going on inside.
"The youth report makes criticism not only of the boy but also of his parents.
"They are good, hardworking individuals. It appears they not only knew what the boy was doing, they allowed him to have them and indeed involved themselves at stages.
"The garden was littered with fireworks made and ignited over time.
"The neighbours were well aware of the activities and not intimidated by it."
This is Tamworth
BNP member Paul Thompson served six month sentence for violent disorder
One of the candidates standing in a council by-election next week is a convicted football hooligan, The Northern Echo has learned.
British National Party member Paul Thompson was convicted and jailed for six months for violent disorder between two sets of thugs.
He also has a previous conviction for criminal damage after hurling stones through the shop window of a left-wing book store.
Mr Thompson is one of four candidates who is standing for the Darlington Borough Council by-election in the Cockerton West ward. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Jenny Chapman, following her selection at the town’s new MP.
Mr Thompson stood in the 2003 and 2007 council elections, both times in Darlington’s Northgate ward. In 2003 he was last with 151 votes and again in 2007 with 126 votes.
A Darlington Borough Council spokeswoman confirmed that Mr Thompson was allowed to stand.
People are barred from standing as a candidate in council elections if they have been sentenced to more than three months imprisonment within the previous five years.
Mr Thompson was jailed for violent disorder in 1998. He was one of nine men involved in trouble between Darlington and Cardiff City supporters in May 1997.
His earlier conviction happened in 1994, when he was given a 12-month conditional discharge.
Ken Booth, regional organiser for British National Party, said the charges were irrelevant and Mr Thompson was entitled to stand for public office.
He added: “It is a long time ago. You get over it and move on. He is not breaking any law by standing, but obviously someone wants to drag up the past. Is this a topical issue? I don’t think so. Everyone deserves a second chance.”
Mr Thompson has also previously been criticised by the family of a man murdered in a street attack in 2001 after he produced leaflets attacking the three-year sentence given to his killer. People intervened when he handed out the leaflets because they were of a racist nature.
Mr Booth called the accusations “fictitious and bogus”.
Also standing in the by-election are Jan Cossins, for the Labour Party, David Davies, for the Conservatives, and Brian Jefferson, for the Liberal Democrats.
Mrs Cossins is chairman of Cockerton East Community Partnership and a governor at Branksome School. Mr Davies is a former UKIP candidate and husband of Conservative councillor Kate Davies. Mr Jefferson is chairman of Growing Older Living in Darlington.
The election takes place on Thursday. Labour will maintain its overall control of the council whatever the result of the election. It now has 28 councillors, the Conservative party 18 and Liberal Democrats six.
The Northern Echo
British National Party member Paul Thompson was convicted and jailed for six months for violent disorder between two sets of thugs.
He also has a previous conviction for criminal damage after hurling stones through the shop window of a left-wing book store.
Mr Thompson is one of four candidates who is standing for the Darlington Borough Council by-election in the Cockerton West ward. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Jenny Chapman, following her selection at the town’s new MP.
Mr Thompson stood in the 2003 and 2007 council elections, both times in Darlington’s Northgate ward. In 2003 he was last with 151 votes and again in 2007 with 126 votes.
A Darlington Borough Council spokeswoman confirmed that Mr Thompson was allowed to stand.
People are barred from standing as a candidate in council elections if they have been sentenced to more than three months imprisonment within the previous five years.
Mr Thompson was jailed for violent disorder in 1998. He was one of nine men involved in trouble between Darlington and Cardiff City supporters in May 1997.
His earlier conviction happened in 1994, when he was given a 12-month conditional discharge.
Ken Booth, regional organiser for British National Party, said the charges were irrelevant and Mr Thompson was entitled to stand for public office.
He added: “It is a long time ago. You get over it and move on. He is not breaking any law by standing, but obviously someone wants to drag up the past. Is this a topical issue? I don’t think so. Everyone deserves a second chance.”
Mr Thompson has also previously been criticised by the family of a man murdered in a street attack in 2001 after he produced leaflets attacking the three-year sentence given to his killer. People intervened when he handed out the leaflets because they were of a racist nature.
Mr Booth called the accusations “fictitious and bogus”.
Also standing in the by-election are Jan Cossins, for the Labour Party, David Davies, for the Conservatives, and Brian Jefferson, for the Liberal Democrats.
Mrs Cossins is chairman of Cockerton East Community Partnership and a governor at Branksome School. Mr Davies is a former UKIP candidate and husband of Conservative councillor Kate Davies. Mr Jefferson is chairman of Growing Older Living in Darlington.
The election takes place on Thursday. Labour will maintain its overall control of the council whatever the result of the election. It now has 28 councillors, the Conservative party 18 and Liberal Democrats six.
The Northern Echo
Anti-Semitic hate crimes rise in 2009: report (Sweden)
The number of anti-Semitic crimes reported in Sweden rose 57 percent last year, mainly in the southern region of Skåne, the national crime prevention council said on Thursday.
Last year, 250 anti-Semitic crimes were reported, primarily in Skåne, the report said, adding the overall number of hate crimes reported in Sweden had remained unchanged.
"In 2009, 5,800 hate crimes were reported. Crimes against foreigners or with racist motives continue to dominate and the reporting of anti-Semitic crimes has increased," the council said in a statement.
Presenting its latest hate crime statistics report, the council added that it did not know if there had been an actual increase in the number of anti-Semitic crimes or merely in their reporting.
Crimes and threats against the small Jewish community in the southern city of Malmö recently received much media and political attention.
Education Minister and Liberal Party leader Jan Björklund met with Jewish community leaders earlier this year after it was reported some Jews decided to leave the city because they felt unsafe.
Malmö Mayor Ilmar Reepalu was criticised in the media for failing to stop the crimes or even fuelling the anti-Semitic sentiment in the city.
Of the hate crimes reported in Sweden in 2009, 71 percent were against foreigners or motivated by race, 18 percent were related to sexual orientation, 10 percent had religious motives (Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, or anti-religious crimes) and one percent were against transexuals.
The Local Sweden
Last year, 250 anti-Semitic crimes were reported, primarily in Skåne, the report said, adding the overall number of hate crimes reported in Sweden had remained unchanged.
"In 2009, 5,800 hate crimes were reported. Crimes against foreigners or with racist motives continue to dominate and the reporting of anti-Semitic crimes has increased," the council said in a statement.
Presenting its latest hate crime statistics report, the council added that it did not know if there had been an actual increase in the number of anti-Semitic crimes or merely in their reporting.
Crimes and threats against the small Jewish community in the southern city of Malmö recently received much media and political attention.
Education Minister and Liberal Party leader Jan Björklund met with Jewish community leaders earlier this year after it was reported some Jews decided to leave the city because they felt unsafe.
Malmö Mayor Ilmar Reepalu was criticised in the media for failing to stop the crimes or even fuelling the anti-Semitic sentiment in the city.
Of the hate crimes reported in Sweden in 2009, 71 percent were against foreigners or motivated by race, 18 percent were related to sexual orientation, 10 percent had religious motives (Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, or anti-religious crimes) and one percent were against transexuals.
The Local Sweden
Swede's remand for Auschwitz theft extended
Anders Högström was extradited to Poland from Sweden in April and initially remanded for three months to give prosecutors probing December's theft more time to question him.
The court in the southern Polish city of Krakow accepted a prosecution request to keep him behind bars until September 9th, Poland's PAP news agency reported.
Högström was arrested in his homeland on a Polish warrant in February. He risks 10 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors have said Högström denies plotting the theft of the gateway sign from the site of the camp in the southern Polish city of Oswiecim, which has became a notorious symbol of genocide by the occupying Nazi Germans.
Polish police recovered the five-metre metal sign - which means "Work Will Set You Free" in German - two days after it went missing.
They arrested and charged five Polish men, three of whom, considered relatively small fry, have already been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
The two others, suspected of playing a far more prominent role in the theft, are to be tried after Högström has been questioned.
In 1994, Högström founded the National Socialist Front, a Swedish neo-Nazi movement he ran for five years before quitting.
He has told Swedish media he was to act as an intermediary to pick up the sign and sell it to a buyer, adding, however, that he informed Polish police about the people behind the plot.
The sign, which had been cut into three parts, was returned by investigators to the Polish state-run Auschwitz museum on January 21st, less than a week before commemorations for the 65th anniversary of the camp's liberation by Soviet troops.
Of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, 1 million were murdered at Auschwitz, mostly in the camp's notorious gas chambers, along with tens of thousands of others including Poles, Roma and Soviet prisoners of war.
The Local Sweden
RACIST THUGS DEFACE LAWRENCE MEMORIAL (UK)
Three men are being hunted after they were filmed vandalisinga memorial plaque for race murder victim Stephen Lawrence.The trio, with T-shirts covering their faces, were caught on CCTV pouring a substance over the pavement plaque.
Cctv operators immediately alerted the police but the men ran off before officers got there in the early hours of Monday.
Police were unable to confirm reports that the substance was petrol but were carrying out forensic tests on it.
The memorial is at the spot in Eltham, South East London, where 18-year-old student Stephen died in April 1993.
Sixth former Stephen had been walking with a friend to a bus stop when they were attacked by a gang of six white youths shouting racist abuse.
Stephen was stabbed to death.
Five men were arrested but no one has ever been convicted.
Stephen's death led to the Macpherson Inquiry declaring the Metropolitan Police to be "institutionally racist" following their bungled handling of the investigation into his murder.
Yesterday Scotland Yard appealed for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward to the police.
Investigating officer Det Con Nic Sargant said: "We would like to hear from anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious in the Well Hall Road area of Eltham on Monday morning."
A 19-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident and was released on bail until September pending further police inquiries.
Anyone with information about the plaque vandalism should call Det Con Sargant on 020 8853 1212.
This is the latest in a string of attacks on the memorial.
In March 1998, shortly before the start of a public inquiry into the murder, vandals chipped and poured paint on the plaque. The same happened the following year, despite 24-hour camera surveillance.
And in 2008, yobs attacked the Stephen Lawrence Centre by smashing windows, worth £120,000, with bricks.
The £10million centre in Deptford, South East London, centre promotes architecture, which Stephen had planned to pursue as a career.
The cost of the Stephen Lawrence Centre in Deptford, South East London, the education facility built in memory of the murdered teenager
The Mirror
DUTCH TEENS HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT EQUAL RIGHTS FOR IMMIGRANTS
Dutch 14 and 15-year-olds have more doubts about granting equal rights to immigrants than their peers in many other countries, according to an international research project partly carried out by Groningen University researchers. Only some 45% of 'native' youngsters in the Netherlands, Britain and Flanders (the Dutch speaking part of Belgium) believe in equal rights for immigrants, the research shows. In most other European countries, around 50% of youngsters believe in equality for all citizens. In a pre-general election poll, Geert Wilders' anti-immigration and Islam party PVV was the big winner under high school pupils. The researchers looked at attitudes to citizenship in 39 countries and found only one in four Dutch school pupils understood what active citizenship actually means. In Finland and Denmark, between 55% and 60% of young teens were aware of their civic responsibilities. International report [PDF]
The Dutch News
The Dutch News
MOROCCO, CONCERNED ABOUT INCREASING ISLAMOPHOBIA (Kazakhstan)
Morocco voiced "growing" concern about the increasing Islamophobia, Morocco's Ambassador to the international organizations Omar Znibar said on Tuesday in Astana (Kazakhstan). Speaking at a conference of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Znibar underlined the importance to "strongly condemn the confusion, made by the media and some public discourses, between any religion and terrorism". The Moroccan delegation attending the event reiterated its call on the OSCE to adopt a declaration and/or decision on fighting discrimination against Muslims, similar to the anti-Semitism declaration that was issued by the organisation at Berlin conference. Morocco’s openness, tolerance and attachment to promoting good neighbourhood, respecting minority rights and encouraging the peaceful settlement of conflicts, enabled the Kingdom to play a crucial role in terms of dialogue between cultures and religions, Znibar added. The delegation also stressed the need to establish a partnership between States, civil society and the media in order to promote the values of tolerance, dialogue and mutual respect. Morocco commended the OSCE’s efforts to fight anti-Semitism, Zniber said, recalling that the Kingdom was the first Arab country to sign an agreement with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to cooperate in the fields of archives and the opening of classified files relating to the past anti-Semitic persecution and actions.
The OSCE High-Level conference on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination, held on June 29-30, focuses on Sharing positive experiences and best practices in boosting tolerance and non-discrimination.
Morroco Board
The OSCE High-Level conference on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination, held on June 29-30, focuses on Sharing positive experiences and best practices in boosting tolerance and non-discrimination.
Morroco Board
Croydon BNP member Charlotte Lewis investigated for race crime
The former animal rights campaigner and BNP election candidate for Carshalton and Wallington, advocated the murder of illegal immigrants in the wake of the recent Cumbrian massacre.
Right-wing activist Charlotte Lewis, from Thornton Heath, wrote on her Facebook page that mass-murderer Derrick Bird should have come to London and slaughtered illegal immigrants rather than his "fellow British people".
Miss Lewis was reported to the police after someone reading the comments decided she had gone too far in her racist rhetoric.
Detectives have logged the complaint as a crime and are now deciding whether or not they can prosecute her for inciting racial hatred.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: “We can confirm the MPS are investigating a complaint that has been made to them regarding alleged comments made. Detectives from Croydon CID are dealing but no arrests have been made.
Her tirade is the latest in a string of hate-filled rants and calls for violence against "pakis" through her Facebook page.
The latest post reads: "Ok, so I may well get in to trouble for saying this - but I've got to get it off my chest.
"I wish that Derrick Bird could have come down to London & shot dead some illegal immigrants, rather than killing his fellow British people.
"If that offends you then tough; it's my opinion and I'm entitled to it."
Her comments refer to taxi driver Derrick Bird, who went on a killing spree in west Cumbria on June 2, shooting dead 12 people and injuring 11 others.
Her latest Facebook rant was highlighted by website Hope Not Hate, Searchlight's campaign to counter racism and fascism in elections and beyond.
Gerry Gable from Searchlight said: "I think anybody advocating the murder of illegal immigrants should be prosecuted.
"People may view Charlotte Lewis as being a bit potty, but the overwhelming interest in firearms of the BNP tells a much more serious story."
Sutton Guardian
Thursday, 1 July 2010
BNP heavyweight supports Eddy Butler leadership challenge
Eddy Butler, who is challenging Nick Griffin for the BNP leadership this summer, has announced that Nick Cass, the popular former Yorkshire BNP organiser, will be his running mate to become deputy chairman of the BNP in the event of a Butler victory.
In a “BNP TV” video posted on YouTube and some BNP-supporting websites, Cass explains that Griffin does not have the time to be BNP leader because since his election to the European Parliament he is focusing his attention “across the water”. Party members feel that the leadership has become detached from them, he adds.
Cass, 36, says that Butler is asking sensible questions to which members want to know the answers, but the party leadership is ridiculing them. He has been “shocked” by the campaign against Butler. He expected the party, in which he has been an activist for 20 years, to be “straight-talking and honest”, not to come out with smears against Butler.
Cass is helping Butler in the hard task of obtaining the signatures of 20% of BNP members of two years’ standing. He says every senior BNP officer in Yorkshire wants change in the leadership. The BNP’s Liverpool branch, a centre of activity in the region in which Griffin is an MEP, also supports Butler.
It did not take long before Griffin’s supporters went onto the attack on one of the most extreme nazi web forums with a thread –withdrawn after a few hours – titled “Nick Cass Scum Traitor”, in which commenters suggested that Cass might be a Searchlight agent, state asset or, worse from a nazi viewpoint, Jewish.
The insult was ironic. Cass with his wife and three children have appeared on many BNP election leaflets as the typical wholesome white family that votes BNP.
It was also highly unlikely. Cass sports a prominent “tree of life” tattoo on his right arm, between shoulder and elbow. This symbol, also known as the life rune, is a favourite among nazi groups worldwide, several of which have adopted it as their logo. Under Hitler it was the symbol of the SS Lebensborn project, which encouraged SS troopers to have children out of wedlock with “Aryan” mothers and kidnapped children of Aryan appearance from the countries of occupied Europe to raise as Germans. To white supremacists today the tree of life signifies the future of the “white race”.
The tattoo was pictured in Sky TV’s BNP Wives documentary. The same programme revealed that Cass had instructed his wife, Suzy, to insist on a white European midwife when giving birth to their children, which reveals his attitude to women as well as his racism.
This is not the first time that Cass has fallen out with BNP colleagues. It was widely reported in 2007 that Cass was sacked from the job of BNP party manager two minutes before a meeting, after he had been given a role for which he was unsuited. Cass disputes this, saying that he resigned so that he could spend more time with his family.
The announcement of Cass’s support for Butler put paid to malicious rumours from the Griffin camp that Butler was putting forward Lawrence Rustem as deputy leader. Rustem, a former BNP councillor in Barking and Dagenham, suffers from the fatal flaw in the eyes of the BNP’s racist members that he is of part Turkish Cypriot descent.
Griffin supporters have also tried to link Butler with Sharon Ebanks, a former BNP activist who fell out with the party after Griffin reneged on a promise to meet her legal expenses for a challenge to a council election result in Birmingham that the party encouraged her to mount. She is widely derided in the BNP because of her West Indian father.
Meanwhile the anti-Butler blog run by Paul Golding, the BNP’s national communications officer, has listed reasons why Butler is unsuitable to lead the BNP. Butler is accused of being “bland and boring and grey and colourless”, “rude and arrogant”, having “no intellectual ability whatsoever”, “pure repellent”, “defeatist”, a “raging control freak” and, horror of horrors, “arranging the most disgusting food ever served at a BNP event”, a feat that takes some doing, judging by the reports we have received of typical BNP catering.
Griffin, in contrast, has “heaps of charisma”, is an “accomplished writer and intellectual”, “affable”, a “visionary” and “able to command respect and loyalty”. Unfortunately for Griffin, a growing number of BNP members are rejecting Golding’s sycophancy.
Hope not Hate
In a “BNP TV” video posted on YouTube and some BNP-supporting websites, Cass explains that Griffin does not have the time to be BNP leader because since his election to the European Parliament he is focusing his attention “across the water”. Party members feel that the leadership has become detached from them, he adds.
Cass, 36, says that Butler is asking sensible questions to which members want to know the answers, but the party leadership is ridiculing them. He has been “shocked” by the campaign against Butler. He expected the party, in which he has been an activist for 20 years, to be “straight-talking and honest”, not to come out with smears against Butler.
Cass is helping Butler in the hard task of obtaining the signatures of 20% of BNP members of two years’ standing. He says every senior BNP officer in Yorkshire wants change in the leadership. The BNP’s Liverpool branch, a centre of activity in the region in which Griffin is an MEP, also supports Butler.
It did not take long before Griffin’s supporters went onto the attack on one of the most extreme nazi web forums with a thread –withdrawn after a few hours – titled “Nick Cass Scum Traitor”, in which commenters suggested that Cass might be a Searchlight agent, state asset or, worse from a nazi viewpoint, Jewish.
The insult was ironic. Cass with his wife and three children have appeared on many BNP election leaflets as the typical wholesome white family that votes BNP.
It was also highly unlikely. Cass sports a prominent “tree of life” tattoo on his right arm, between shoulder and elbow. This symbol, also known as the life rune, is a favourite among nazi groups worldwide, several of which have adopted it as their logo. Under Hitler it was the symbol of the SS Lebensborn project, which encouraged SS troopers to have children out of wedlock with “Aryan” mothers and kidnapped children of Aryan appearance from the countries of occupied Europe to raise as Germans. To white supremacists today the tree of life signifies the future of the “white race”.
The tattoo was pictured in Sky TV’s BNP Wives documentary. The same programme revealed that Cass had instructed his wife, Suzy, to insist on a white European midwife when giving birth to their children, which reveals his attitude to women as well as his racism.
This is not the first time that Cass has fallen out with BNP colleagues. It was widely reported in 2007 that Cass was sacked from the job of BNP party manager two minutes before a meeting, after he had been given a role for which he was unsuited. Cass disputes this, saying that he resigned so that he could spend more time with his family.
The announcement of Cass’s support for Butler put paid to malicious rumours from the Griffin camp that Butler was putting forward Lawrence Rustem as deputy leader. Rustem, a former BNP councillor in Barking and Dagenham, suffers from the fatal flaw in the eyes of the BNP’s racist members that he is of part Turkish Cypriot descent.
Griffin supporters have also tried to link Butler with Sharon Ebanks, a former BNP activist who fell out with the party after Griffin reneged on a promise to meet her legal expenses for a challenge to a council election result in Birmingham that the party encouraged her to mount. She is widely derided in the BNP because of her West Indian father.
Meanwhile the anti-Butler blog run by Paul Golding, the BNP’s national communications officer, has listed reasons why Butler is unsuitable to lead the BNP. Butler is accused of being “bland and boring and grey and colourless”, “rude and arrogant”, having “no intellectual ability whatsoever”, “pure repellent”, “defeatist”, a “raging control freak” and, horror of horrors, “arranging the most disgusting food ever served at a BNP event”, a feat that takes some doing, judging by the reports we have received of typical BNP catering.
Griffin, in contrast, has “heaps of charisma”, is an “accomplished writer and intellectual”, “affable”, a “visionary” and “able to command respect and loyalty”. Unfortunately for Griffin, a growing number of BNP members are rejecting Golding’s sycophancy.
Hope not Hate
Roma arson attack proceedings postponed until September
Ostrava, North Moravia, June 30 (CTK) - The Czech court dealing with the arson attack on a Romany family in Vitkov, north Moravia, Wednesday adjourned the case until September 6.
A baby girl suffered severe burns and her parents were injured as a result of the attack committed in spring 2009. Four right-wing extremists suspected of throwing three Molotov cocktails in the house face life imprisonment if their guilt is proved.
The closely-watched trial was launched on May 11. Originally, it was to continue in August but it was postponed until September due to holidays of the judge, attorney and defence lawyers.
The judge was to hear Wednesday witness Martina Ondrejikova who told the police that one of the suspects took a burn ointment from her a few hours after the attack.
She said previously she thought that the man might be one of the attackers but did not report her suspicion to the police because she was afraid of a possible revenge from both local neo-Nazis and Romanies.
Ondrejikova refused to give testimony though she earlier told the police that she knew two of the suspects and the extremist movement as her husband played in a neo-Nazi band.
The key witness in the case, a local firefighter, who helped police trace the alleged culprits, has received anonymous threats and he fears to testify in court.
According to the prosecution, the act was to make extremist groups more visible and was connected with the 120th birth anniversary of Adolf Hitler.
Prague Monitor
A baby girl suffered severe burns and her parents were injured as a result of the attack committed in spring 2009. Four right-wing extremists suspected of throwing three Molotov cocktails in the house face life imprisonment if their guilt is proved.
The closely-watched trial was launched on May 11. Originally, it was to continue in August but it was postponed until September due to holidays of the judge, attorney and defence lawyers.
The judge was to hear Wednesday witness Martina Ondrejikova who told the police that one of the suspects took a burn ointment from her a few hours after the attack.
She said previously she thought that the man might be one of the attackers but did not report her suspicion to the police because she was afraid of a possible revenge from both local neo-Nazis and Romanies.
Ondrejikova refused to give testimony though she earlier told the police that she knew two of the suspects and the extremist movement as her husband played in a neo-Nazi band.
The key witness in the case, a local firefighter, who helped police trace the alleged culprits, has received anonymous threats and he fears to testify in court.
According to the prosecution, the act was to make extremist groups more visible and was connected with the 120th birth anniversary of Adolf Hitler.
Prague Monitor
BULGARIA'S PRESIDENT FEARS REVIVAL OF HATE CRIMES
The recent neo-Nazi attacks in Bulgaria have caused the Bulgarian Antifascist Union to meet with the country’s President Georgi Parvanov to discuss their fears for revival of extreme ideological incidents in the country, caused by hate and aggression. “There should not be a statesman who does not realize the difference between the conflicts between football fans and the attacks caused by ideological and racist intolerance,” said Parvanov who shared the Union’s fears. At the meeting, the Honorary Chair of the Bulgarian Antifascist Union, Velko Valkanov, and the Chair of the Union, Chavdar Stoimenov, have expressed to the Bulgarian President their fears of xenophobic and neo-Nazi actions in the country. The President said that the Bulgarian society needs to reach a national reconciliation and added that this process happens through reading and understanding of history, as well as through giving a clear political assessment of these actions and not through denial and misinterpretation of the past. He also pointed out that the country should not allow leniency towards the arousing tendency of republication of Nazi and other anti-Semitic literature. Bulgaria’s President has confirmed his position for moral recognition of the contribution of the Bulgarian anti-fascists in the global resistance.
Novinite
Novinite
SUSPECTED ARSONIST CAUGHT ON TAPE PRAISING ‘DUDES’ WHO SHOT HUNGARIAN ROMA (Czech Rep.)
New evidence emerged on Monday at the trial of four neo-Nazis accused of racially-motivated attempted murder after throwing petrol bombs through the windows of the home of a Roma family last year. A two-year-old girl was horrifically burned in the attack, which has received unprecedented attention here in the Czech Republic.
A scratchy police surveillance recording of suspected arsonist Jaromír Lukeš, recorded several weeks after the attack on the Roma family in Vítkov, North Moravia, last year. In the recording - played to Ostrava Regional Court on Monday – the two discuss how well the attack had gone and how the police would never track the group down. A voice – allegedly belonging to Lukeš – then expresses envy at a similar attack in Hungary, where a 27-year-old Roma man and his six-year-old son were shot dead as they fled their burning home: “In Hungary they chucked their petrol bombs in, waited for them to run out, and then shot them. Total dudes they are.” Experts are hesitant to draw any direct link between the attacks in the Czech Republic and Hungary, although from the police wiretaps it appears Czech neo-Nazis could at least have been partly inspired by the spate of race killings in Hungary in recent years. Robert Kushen is the Executive Director of the European Roma Rights Centre in Budapest. On the phone from New York, he told me advocacy groups were still waiting for courts in Central Europe to send a clear signal that racially motivated murder cannot be tolerated. “The trial in the Czech Republic is encouraging, but we have to see what the final verdict is. We’re hoping there will be a severe penalty assessed to serve as a deterrent.
In Hungary for a long time there was no effective action taken against some very serious violent incidents resulting since 2008 in nine deaths. We understand there will hopefully be an indictment handed down some time in the fall, but thus far we haven’t seen it.”
After hearing the recordings Jaromír Lukeš told the judge he had deliberately lied about the attack because he suspected his friend of being a police informer and wanted to catch him out. That argument may not stand up in court, but his lawyer says the wiretaps were illegal and is lobbying for them to be rejected as evidence.
Radio Prague
A scratchy police surveillance recording of suspected arsonist Jaromír Lukeš, recorded several weeks after the attack on the Roma family in Vítkov, North Moravia, last year. In the recording - played to Ostrava Regional Court on Monday – the two discuss how well the attack had gone and how the police would never track the group down. A voice – allegedly belonging to Lukeš – then expresses envy at a similar attack in Hungary, where a 27-year-old Roma man and his six-year-old son were shot dead as they fled their burning home: “In Hungary they chucked their petrol bombs in, waited for them to run out, and then shot them. Total dudes they are.” Experts are hesitant to draw any direct link between the attacks in the Czech Republic and Hungary, although from the police wiretaps it appears Czech neo-Nazis could at least have been partly inspired by the spate of race killings in Hungary in recent years. Robert Kushen is the Executive Director of the European Roma Rights Centre in Budapest. On the phone from New York, he told me advocacy groups were still waiting for courts in Central Europe to send a clear signal that racially motivated murder cannot be tolerated. “The trial in the Czech Republic is encouraging, but we have to see what the final verdict is. We’re hoping there will be a severe penalty assessed to serve as a deterrent.
In Hungary for a long time there was no effective action taken against some very serious violent incidents resulting since 2008 in nine deaths. We understand there will hopefully be an indictment handed down some time in the fall, but thus far we haven’t seen it.”
After hearing the recordings Jaromír Lukeš told the judge he had deliberately lied about the attack because he suspected his friend of being a police informer and wanted to catch him out. That argument may not stand up in court, but his lawyer says the wiretaps were illegal and is lobbying for them to be rejected as evidence.
Radio Prague
Tory MP bids to 'ban the burka' (UK)
A Tory MP has launched an effort to pass a law banning Muslim women from wearing the burka.
Philip Hollobone will attempt to steer legislation through the Commons to regulate the wearing of "certain facial coverings".
The Kettering MP said his Bill would make it illegal for people to cover their faces in public "which would obviously have a big impact for those who wear full-face Islamic veils".
He told the Press Association: "I think it's inappropriate to cover your face in public, whether it's a burka, a balaclava or anything else.
"We are never going to get along with having a fully integrated society if a substantial minority insist on concealing their identity from everyone else."
Mr Hollobone has previously described the burka as "offensive" and "against the British way of life".
His comments have attracted criticism but also a "great deal of support", he said.
The MP said the British public like to smile and greet one another in the street but "you simply can't have that degree of interaction with people if you can't see their face".
The backbencher was one of 20 MPs drawn in a ballot for the chance to get a Private Members' Bill on the statute book.
His Face Coverings (Regulation) Bill had its first reading in the Commons on Wednesday, a formality which allows the legislation to be printed. Because Mr Hollobone was only drawn 17th in the ballot, his Bill stands little chance of progress.
MSN News
Philip Hollobone will attempt to steer legislation through the Commons to regulate the wearing of "certain facial coverings".
The Kettering MP said his Bill would make it illegal for people to cover their faces in public "which would obviously have a big impact for those who wear full-face Islamic veils".
He told the Press Association: "I think it's inappropriate to cover your face in public, whether it's a burka, a balaclava or anything else.
"We are never going to get along with having a fully integrated society if a substantial minority insist on concealing their identity from everyone else."
Mr Hollobone has previously described the burka as "offensive" and "against the British way of life".
His comments have attracted criticism but also a "great deal of support", he said.
The MP said the British public like to smile and greet one another in the street but "you simply can't have that degree of interaction with people if you can't see their face".
The backbencher was one of 20 MPs drawn in a ballot for the chance to get a Private Members' Bill on the statute book.
His Face Coverings (Regulation) Bill had its first reading in the Commons on Wednesday, a formality which allows the legislation to be printed. Because Mr Hollobone was only drawn 17th in the ballot, his Bill stands little chance of progress.
MSN News
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
Coalition must tackle issues fuelling far right (UK)
The apparent failure of the British National Party to secure a parliamentary seat at the May 2010 general election has obscured the growth in support for far right groups.
In 2001 the BNP picked up 47,000 votes, in 2005 it had grown to 192,000. This year it was 563,000.
Based on a new analysis by iCoCo of the voting patterns for far right groups, this appears to be part of an underlying trend of gathering support which threatens the stability of the UK’s communities, and would lead to the need for greater spending by local government and their partners on dealing with tensions.
Under a proportional representation system the BNP would have picked up12 seats for the BNP.
Many people do have real concerns about migration and change within their neighbourhoods and we dismiss these concerns as ‘ignorant’ or ‘racist’ at our peril.
There is no doubt that the increased population numbers and changes in composition of local populations have increased pressure on local services and these do have to be understood and addressed.
It is true they are often exaggerated by the far right – but some are very real and pressing and are most keenly felt in poorer areas who already feel that they are under the greatest pressure.
In engaging with those arguments, there will no doubt be some racist views with which to contend, but for the most part people are simply concerned about the pace of change and will respond to debates which acknowledge the problems and where there is a willingness to address them.
Communications are key. We have to remember that the far right are constantly putting out messages, spreading alarm with misinformation and false rumours. Counter messages therefore have to be at least as pervasive and persuasive.
Formal publications, and even myth busting leaflets, may well only serve to reinforce the myths, or they may be disbelieved on the basis that ‘they would say that wouldn’t they’ or simply unread.
Again, there is no substitute for face to face engagement and debate, in which local people are involved and, whenever possible, are recruited as the champions in their local community.
There is also a need to engage with communities in different ways.
In particular, it is dangerous to depend upon self-appointed community leaders who may simply be the community ‘gatekeeper’ and who use their position to control communications to preserve their position of influence.
We need to develop a new model of ‘gateway’ community leaders who are willing and able to open their communities to wider and more varied influences and to empower them to do things for themselves.
It is therefore also necessary to have a much better ‘map’ of local communities which is constantly updated to reflect the changing patterns of diversity – and also to recognise the diversity within particular communities.
In long established communities, social capital and leadership has been slowly eroded. Working Men’s clubs, trade unions, local shops, clubs and societies have been under pressure and in some cases all but disappeared.
These local institutions also provided an opportunity to ‘air’ their views and discuss concerns about what is happening (or what they perceive to be happening) in their communities.
In common with many other parts of society, there is some evidence that the ‘glue’ of social networks which helped to bind local areas together has given way to an individualised community in which families provide their own entertainment and have little time for their neighbours.
This is to some extent recognised in the Coalition’s commitment to a ‘big society’. In the context of poorer, insular and disaffected communities, we therefore need to ask how civil society can be rebuilt to give people the opportunity to learn about others, come to terms with change and develop shared interests.
There is a danger in regarding the BNP as a spent force. They lost ground because of campaigns to oppose them on the ground in places like Barking and Dagenham, but also all of the minority parties were squeezed by the media focus on the three main parties, especially around the televised debates.
That may not be the case next time. We have to recognize that they do tap into real concerns, as the ‘bigoted woman’ incident showed and we need more debate, not less, to answer these concerns.
But we also need to recognize that whilst the BNP is part of the legitimate democratic framework they do stir up tensions in local communities and are often accompanied by more extreme far right groups who peddle hatred.
These tensions then have to be dealt with by public agencies and community groups who have to try to calm things down and offer reassurance – a costly exercise in both social and monetary terms.
Reuters
Professor Ted Cantle is executive chair, Institute of Community Cohesion at Coventry University. The opinions expressed are his own.-
In 2001 the BNP picked up 47,000 votes, in 2005 it had grown to 192,000. This year it was 563,000.
Based on a new analysis by iCoCo of the voting patterns for far right groups, this appears to be part of an underlying trend of gathering support which threatens the stability of the UK’s communities, and would lead to the need for greater spending by local government and their partners on dealing with tensions.
Under a proportional representation system the BNP would have picked up12 seats for the BNP.
Many people do have real concerns about migration and change within their neighbourhoods and we dismiss these concerns as ‘ignorant’ or ‘racist’ at our peril.
There is no doubt that the increased population numbers and changes in composition of local populations have increased pressure on local services and these do have to be understood and addressed.
It is true they are often exaggerated by the far right – but some are very real and pressing and are most keenly felt in poorer areas who already feel that they are under the greatest pressure.
In engaging with those arguments, there will no doubt be some racist views with which to contend, but for the most part people are simply concerned about the pace of change and will respond to debates which acknowledge the problems and where there is a willingness to address them.
Communications are key. We have to remember that the far right are constantly putting out messages, spreading alarm with misinformation and false rumours. Counter messages therefore have to be at least as pervasive and persuasive.
Formal publications, and even myth busting leaflets, may well only serve to reinforce the myths, or they may be disbelieved on the basis that ‘they would say that wouldn’t they’ or simply unread.
Again, there is no substitute for face to face engagement and debate, in which local people are involved and, whenever possible, are recruited as the champions in their local community.
There is also a need to engage with communities in different ways.
In particular, it is dangerous to depend upon self-appointed community leaders who may simply be the community ‘gatekeeper’ and who use their position to control communications to preserve their position of influence.
We need to develop a new model of ‘gateway’ community leaders who are willing and able to open their communities to wider and more varied influences and to empower them to do things for themselves.
It is therefore also necessary to have a much better ‘map’ of local communities which is constantly updated to reflect the changing patterns of diversity – and also to recognise the diversity within particular communities.
In long established communities, social capital and leadership has been slowly eroded. Working Men’s clubs, trade unions, local shops, clubs and societies have been under pressure and in some cases all but disappeared.
These local institutions also provided an opportunity to ‘air’ their views and discuss concerns about what is happening (or what they perceive to be happening) in their communities.
In common with many other parts of society, there is some evidence that the ‘glue’ of social networks which helped to bind local areas together has given way to an individualised community in which families provide their own entertainment and have little time for their neighbours.
This is to some extent recognised in the Coalition’s commitment to a ‘big society’. In the context of poorer, insular and disaffected communities, we therefore need to ask how civil society can be rebuilt to give people the opportunity to learn about others, come to terms with change and develop shared interests.
There is a danger in regarding the BNP as a spent force. They lost ground because of campaigns to oppose them on the ground in places like Barking and Dagenham, but also all of the minority parties were squeezed by the media focus on the three main parties, especially around the televised debates.
That may not be the case next time. We have to recognize that they do tap into real concerns, as the ‘bigoted woman’ incident showed and we need more debate, not less, to answer these concerns.
But we also need to recognize that whilst the BNP is part of the legitimate democratic framework they do stir up tensions in local communities and are often accompanied by more extreme far right groups who peddle hatred.
These tensions then have to be dealt with by public agencies and community groups who have to try to calm things down and offer reassurance – a costly exercise in both social and monetary terms.
Reuters
Professor Ted Cantle is executive chair, Institute of Community Cohesion at Coventry University. The opinions expressed are his own.-
Tories reinstate racist texts row councillor (UK)
A Tory councillor who admitted sending racist texts from his mobile phone has been reinstated by the board of the Conservative Party.
Cllr Richard Powell, a 24-year-old language school consultant, was suspended after it was revealed that he sent offensive texts over a six-month period.
But his membership has been “immediately reinstated” after he agreed to attend a diversity awareness course.
Cllr Powell, who represents Westbourne and West Cliff on Bournemouth council, still faces possible sanctions after the case is discussed at a group meeting at the town hall tomorrow.
His attendance on the course has been welcomed by councillors from all political groups in Bournemouth.
But they have voiced concerns that it may not be enough to repair the Conservatives’ tarnished reputation in the town.
Fellow Conservative Cllr Nick King told the Daily Echo: “It is all very well going to a training course but he needs to understand how that fits with the role of a councillor.
“We have to represent everybody. You can’t do or say anything that to you might be funny but to others might be grossly offensive. Even your private actions can have an impact on how people perceive you.”
Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Claire Smith added: “I am certainly glad that he is undertaking the training but it does concern me that the reputation of all councillors has been damaged in this fiasco.”
Cllr Powell is one of four Conservative councillors currently under investigation and Cllr Smith added: “People are just disgusted with councillors in Bournemouth at the moment – they are tarring us all with the same brush, unfortunately.”
Christopher Hammond, community development officer at the Dorset Race Equality Council, said it was “content that the standards committee has addressed the issue” in recommending that Cllr Powell attend training.
He added: “However, we do feel that it is imperative all councillors act in a manner which is in keeping with their public position in both their private and official capacity, acting as community champions for all of their constituents regardless of race, sexuality, disability or religion.”
Bournemouth echo
Cllr Richard Powell, a 24-year-old language school consultant, was suspended after it was revealed that he sent offensive texts over a six-month period.
But his membership has been “immediately reinstated” after he agreed to attend a diversity awareness course.
Cllr Powell, who represents Westbourne and West Cliff on Bournemouth council, still faces possible sanctions after the case is discussed at a group meeting at the town hall tomorrow.
His attendance on the course has been welcomed by councillors from all political groups in Bournemouth.
But they have voiced concerns that it may not be enough to repair the Conservatives’ tarnished reputation in the town.
Fellow Conservative Cllr Nick King told the Daily Echo: “It is all very well going to a training course but he needs to understand how that fits with the role of a councillor.
“We have to represent everybody. You can’t do or say anything that to you might be funny but to others might be grossly offensive. Even your private actions can have an impact on how people perceive you.”
Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Claire Smith added: “I am certainly glad that he is undertaking the training but it does concern me that the reputation of all councillors has been damaged in this fiasco.”
Cllr Powell is one of four Conservative councillors currently under investigation and Cllr Smith added: “People are just disgusted with councillors in Bournemouth at the moment – they are tarring us all with the same brush, unfortunately.”
Christopher Hammond, community development officer at the Dorset Race Equality Council, said it was “content that the standards committee has addressed the issue” in recommending that Cllr Powell attend training.
He added: “However, we do feel that it is imperative all councillors act in a manner which is in keeping with their public position in both their private and official capacity, acting as community champions for all of their constituents regardless of race, sexuality, disability or religion.”
Bournemouth echo
Neo-Nazi claims life at risk for testifying in murder trial (USA)
Kyle Robert Gray, an admitted member of the American Nazi Party, testified that he was the driver on Sept. 27 when Kandin Eric Wilson shot and killed Susana Pelayo-Perez during a bungled robbery.
In exchange for his testimony, Gray got a plea agreement that will allow him to serve between 20 to 34 years in an out-of-state prison for his protection.
“You’re not just talking. You’re testifying,” Deputy District Attorney Nathan Whitney said. “What do you think could happen to you?
“If they can get a hold of me, I’ll be killed,” Gray said.
Gray explained the structure of the party: how “prospects” like Wilson serve a probationary period before they become soldiers who follow orders from a general.
At the time of the shooting, he said there were about four party members in Colorado Springs. Wilson, known by his street name “Trailer,” had been turned down previously for acceptance before being given a probationary period in September 2009.
Wilson’s attorney, Philip L. Dubois, has suggested that the real gunman was a higher-up within the party for whom Gray is covering.
Dubois debunked some of the party terminology, asking if party members held elections or lobbied the Legislature.
No, Gray replied.
“The ANP is nothing more than a street gang, isn’t it?” Dubois asked.
“More so a prison gang,” Gray replied.
“So you were just out on the streets temporarily,” the attorney countered.
Dubois asked Gray about the tattoos he got when he became a soldier while in prison in 2007.
Gray pointed to an SS symbol next to his right eye and described another of an iron cross on his torso.
When Dubois asked him what SS stood for, Gray said it was a German word for “bodyguard.”
“So whose body are you supposed to be guarding?” the lawyer asked.
“My own,” Gray replied.
“I guess, one might say, Mr. Gray, isn’t that what you’re doing right now?”
Testimony continues tomorrow. The trial is expected to conclude later this week
Gazette
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