A homophobic teenager - who was jailed for assault following the death of council worker Jim Kerr - has had a second case in less than a year dropped over a legal technicality.
A homophobic teenager - who was jailed for assault following the death of council worker Jim Kerr - has had a second case in less than a year dropped over a legal technicality.
Alexander Kindred, 18, was cleared of a vicious street attack in Perth, after a taxi driver failed to identify him during a trial.
Kindred was 15 when he started a homophobic attack on council worker Jim Kerr which eventually led to his victim being battered to death.
The schoolboy called in his friends to beat Kerr to death. He then callously passed his victim's lifeless body on his way to a party where he bragged he had hit 'a poof'. He was sentenced to one year in a young offenders' institute for assault.
At Perth Sheriff Court last week, taxi driver Brian Richards told the trial Kindred and his co-accused Steven Miller, 32, got out of his cab and assaulted Celtic-shirt wearing pedestrian Shawn McPhee, on August 9 last year.
Kindred and Miller, both from Perth, faced charges of repeatedly punching, kicking and stomping on McPhee to his injury in Rannoch Road, Perth.
Richards told the trial the men had been passengers in his car and climbed back in after the assault and he carried on taking them to their original destination.
Richards was asked to identify the two men in court. He pointed out Miller, but was unable to formally identify curly-haired Kindred.
As a result, fiscal depute Stuart Richardson said: “In light of the nature of the identification evidence given by Mr Richards I do not intend to proceed any further and invite the court to formally acquit the accused.”
Central Scotland Police today moved to reassure an unsettled gay community in Perth, telling PinkPaper.com that the force will “continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to crime motivated by hate."
A spokesman said: “One of the biggest challenges facing the police service is increasing the number of persons detected and then prosecuted for hate crimes.”
Kindred, who claimed he acted in self-defence and blamed Miller for the attack, smirked as he left the dock.
Pink Paper
Wednesday, 8 September 2010
Right-wing coalition back on the table as Wilders says 'I'm in'
Anti-Islam party leader Geert Wilders wants to resume talks on forming a right-wing coalition with the VVD Liberals and Christian Democrats, Nos tv reports on Tuesday.
Wilders pulled out of the talks after four weeks on Friday, saying he no longer had confidence in the CDA.
But now Ab Klink, the CDA's biggest critic of the right-wing alliance, has stepped down as an MP, Wilders says he would like to start talking again.
In an initial reaction, VVD leader Mark Rutte said he would be pleased to resume talks on a right-wing government.
And CDA leader Maxime Verhagen also wants to reopen the negotiations. My position is the same as it was on Friday, Verhagen said. 'The CDA wants to continue.'
Debate
MPs are due to debate the collapse of right-wing cabinet talks with the queen's negotiator Ivo Opschelten on Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, queen Beatrix is currently consulting her advisors and party leaders about what should happen next in terms of forming a new government.
The Netherlands has been without effective government since the end of February when the cabinet collapsed over support for Afghanistan. The VVD emerged as the biggest party with 31 seats after the June general election. Labour has 30 and the PVV 24.
Dutch news.
Wilders pulled out of the talks after four weeks on Friday, saying he no longer had confidence in the CDA.
But now Ab Klink, the CDA's biggest critic of the right-wing alliance, has stepped down as an MP, Wilders says he would like to start talking again.
In an initial reaction, VVD leader Mark Rutte said he would be pleased to resume talks on a right-wing government.
And CDA leader Maxime Verhagen also wants to reopen the negotiations. My position is the same as it was on Friday, Verhagen said. 'The CDA wants to continue.'
Debate
MPs are due to debate the collapse of right-wing cabinet talks with the queen's negotiator Ivo Opschelten on Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, queen Beatrix is currently consulting her advisors and party leaders about what should happen next in terms of forming a new government.
The Netherlands has been without effective government since the end of February when the cabinet collapsed over support for Afghanistan. The VVD emerged as the biggest party with 31 seats after the June general election. Labour has 30 and the PVV 24.
Dutch news.
Jewish groups step up efforts to combat anti-Muslim bigotry (USA)
Jewish groups have stepped up efforts to combat anti-Muslim bigotry, with several national initiatives announced this week and supporting statements coming in from a range of Jewish voices.
In Washington, officials from several Jewish organizations took part Tuesday in an emergency summit of Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders that denounced anti-Muslim bigotry and called for a united effort by believers of all faiths to reach out to Muslim Americans.
Also Tuesday, the Anti-Defamation League announced the creation of an Interfaith Coalition on Mosques, which will monitor and respond to instances of anti-Muslim bias surrounding attempts to build new mosques in the United States.
Meanwhile, six rabbis and scholars representing the Reconstructionist, Reform, Conservative and Orthodox streams have launched an online campaign urging rabbis to devote part of their sermons this Shabbat to educating their congregations about Islam.
The efforts come in response to what organizers describe as a wave of anti-Muslim sentiment resulting from the impending ninth anniversary of 9/11 and the controversy surrounding efforts to build a Muslim community center and mosque near Ground Zero in Manhattan. Jewish bloggers and pundits, mostly on the right, have become more vocal in opposing the center and calling for greater scrutiny of American mosques.
Among the Jewish leaders at the emergency summit was Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.
“As Jews, we could be nowhere else today,” said Saperstein, whose organization co-sponsored Tuesday's interfaith summit with the Islamic Society of North America.
“We have been the quintessential victims of religious persecution … and we know what happens when people are silent,” he said, explaining why clergy and believers of all faiths need to be more forceful in speaking out against anti-Muslim bigotry. “We have to speak more directly to the anti-Muslim bigotry in America today.”
Leaders of the mainstream Protestant, evangelical Christian, Baptist and Catholic churches, Muslim organizations and several Jewish streams issued a joint statement Tuesday after their summit “to denounce categorically the derision, misinformation and outright bigotry being directed against America’s Muslim community.”
In addition to the Religious Action Center, representatives from the Reconstructionist and Conservative movements, the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, an umbrella organization of more than 125 Jewish community relations councils and 14 national agencies, including the four major Jewish streams, also attended the summit.
The National Council of Jewish Women released a statement Tuesday denouncing Islamaphobia, decrying anti-Muslim bigotry and noting that “extremists who use Islam as a justification for their heinous acts of terrorism should not be allowed to dictate the character of the entire religion.”
The group of interfaith leaders met later in the day with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to coordinate parallel efforts with the government to combat anti-Islam sentiment.
The joint statement calls upon clergy of all faiths to denounce anti-Muslim bigotry and hate violence from their pulpits, and asserts that “leaders of local congregations have a special responsibility to teach with accuracy, fairness and respect about other faith traditions.”
In a similar vein, Jewish interfaith leaders in an online letter called upon pulpit rabbis to use part of their sermons on Saturday to address the need for understanding Islam. Professors and deans of the rabbinical seminaries of the Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative movements, as well as the independent Hebrew College, signed the letter.
“The proposal for the ‘mosque at Ground Zero’ that turns out not to be a mosque and not at Ground Zero has brought to light this simple fact: We Americans need to know a whole lot more about Muslims and their religion,” said Rabbi Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer, director of multifaith studies and initiatives at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and a main organizer of the appeal.
Organizers say a number of rabbis from various streams have indicated they will take part.
The ADL’s initiative underscores the shifting tide within the organized Jewish community.
Several weeks ago the organization generated national headlines when its national director, Abraham Foxman, came out against placing the Islamic center so close to Ground Zero. Foxman said the sensitivities of families who lost loved ones in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks should be respected.
Its new coalition is focused on helping Muslim communities that face bigotry when they attempt to build local mosques.
Foxman told JTA that within two weeks, the Interfaith Coalition on Mosques will begin its work collecting details of incidents in which mosques are being challenged, determining whether bigotry is involved and, if so, whether public or legal responses are warranted. Mosques that are opposed due to zoning problems will be outside its purview.
The coalition's charter members, the ADL said, will include a diverse collection of religious scholars and leaders, including representatives of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Catholic Church.
Despite creating the coalition, the ADL has not changed its position on the Islamic center near Ground Zero, Foxman told JTA.
“Our position is very clear: They have a legal right, but the location is not sensitive to the victims,” he said, noting that not everyone in the coalition agrees with the ADL position.
One Jewish observer who rejected what he described as a strategy by Islamist groups to "cry Islamophobia" is Steve Emerson, who directs the Investigative Project on Terrorism that tracks such groups.
Noting that the most recent FBI list of hate crimes includes many more attacks against Jews than against Muslims, he suggests that talk of anti-Muslim hatred plays into the hands of anti-American radicals.
"Given this significant disparity in real world hate crime incidents, is there truly a 'surge of Islamaphobia' occurring, or is it more perception generated in and by certain media in cahoots with the Islamists?" he asked.
Foxman said that defending the rights of Muslims to build mosques “does not obviate” the need to continue to monitor mosques and churches for instances in which they preach hatred.
“We have to do that as well,” he said.
JTA
In Washington, officials from several Jewish organizations took part Tuesday in an emergency summit of Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders that denounced anti-Muslim bigotry and called for a united effort by believers of all faiths to reach out to Muslim Americans.
Also Tuesday, the Anti-Defamation League announced the creation of an Interfaith Coalition on Mosques, which will monitor and respond to instances of anti-Muslim bias surrounding attempts to build new mosques in the United States.
Meanwhile, six rabbis and scholars representing the Reconstructionist, Reform, Conservative and Orthodox streams have launched an online campaign urging rabbis to devote part of their sermons this Shabbat to educating their congregations about Islam.
The efforts come in response to what organizers describe as a wave of anti-Muslim sentiment resulting from the impending ninth anniversary of 9/11 and the controversy surrounding efforts to build a Muslim community center and mosque near Ground Zero in Manhattan. Jewish bloggers and pundits, mostly on the right, have become more vocal in opposing the center and calling for greater scrutiny of American mosques.
Among the Jewish leaders at the emergency summit was Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.
“As Jews, we could be nowhere else today,” said Saperstein, whose organization co-sponsored Tuesday's interfaith summit with the Islamic Society of North America.
“We have been the quintessential victims of religious persecution … and we know what happens when people are silent,” he said, explaining why clergy and believers of all faiths need to be more forceful in speaking out against anti-Muslim bigotry. “We have to speak more directly to the anti-Muslim bigotry in America today.”
Leaders of the mainstream Protestant, evangelical Christian, Baptist and Catholic churches, Muslim organizations and several Jewish streams issued a joint statement Tuesday after their summit “to denounce categorically the derision, misinformation and outright bigotry being directed against America’s Muslim community.”
In addition to the Religious Action Center, representatives from the Reconstructionist and Conservative movements, the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, an umbrella organization of more than 125 Jewish community relations councils and 14 national agencies, including the four major Jewish streams, also attended the summit.
The National Council of Jewish Women released a statement Tuesday denouncing Islamaphobia, decrying anti-Muslim bigotry and noting that “extremists who use Islam as a justification for their heinous acts of terrorism should not be allowed to dictate the character of the entire religion.”
The group of interfaith leaders met later in the day with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to coordinate parallel efforts with the government to combat anti-Islam sentiment.
The joint statement calls upon clergy of all faiths to denounce anti-Muslim bigotry and hate violence from their pulpits, and asserts that “leaders of local congregations have a special responsibility to teach with accuracy, fairness and respect about other faith traditions.”
In a similar vein, Jewish interfaith leaders in an online letter called upon pulpit rabbis to use part of their sermons on Saturday to address the need for understanding Islam. Professors and deans of the rabbinical seminaries of the Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative movements, as well as the independent Hebrew College, signed the letter.
“The proposal for the ‘mosque at Ground Zero’ that turns out not to be a mosque and not at Ground Zero has brought to light this simple fact: We Americans need to know a whole lot more about Muslims and their religion,” said Rabbi Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer, director of multifaith studies and initiatives at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and a main organizer of the appeal.
Organizers say a number of rabbis from various streams have indicated they will take part.
The ADL’s initiative underscores the shifting tide within the organized Jewish community.
Several weeks ago the organization generated national headlines when its national director, Abraham Foxman, came out against placing the Islamic center so close to Ground Zero. Foxman said the sensitivities of families who lost loved ones in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks should be respected.
Its new coalition is focused on helping Muslim communities that face bigotry when they attempt to build local mosques.
Foxman told JTA that within two weeks, the Interfaith Coalition on Mosques will begin its work collecting details of incidents in which mosques are being challenged, determining whether bigotry is involved and, if so, whether public or legal responses are warranted. Mosques that are opposed due to zoning problems will be outside its purview.
The coalition's charter members, the ADL said, will include a diverse collection of religious scholars and leaders, including representatives of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Catholic Church.
Despite creating the coalition, the ADL has not changed its position on the Islamic center near Ground Zero, Foxman told JTA.
“Our position is very clear: They have a legal right, but the location is not sensitive to the victims,” he said, noting that not everyone in the coalition agrees with the ADL position.
One Jewish observer who rejected what he described as a strategy by Islamist groups to "cry Islamophobia" is Steve Emerson, who directs the Investigative Project on Terrorism that tracks such groups.
Noting that the most recent FBI list of hate crimes includes many more attacks against Jews than against Muslims, he suggests that talk of anti-Muslim hatred plays into the hands of anti-American radicals.
"Given this significant disparity in real world hate crime incidents, is there truly a 'surge of Islamaphobia' occurring, or is it more perception generated in and by certain media in cahoots with the Islamists?" he asked.
Foxman said that defending the rights of Muslims to build mosques “does not obviate” the need to continue to monitor mosques and churches for instances in which they preach hatred.
“We have to do that as well,” he said.
JTA
US church defiant despite condemnation of Koran burning
A small US church says it will defy international condemnation and go ahead with plans to burn copies of the Koran on the 9/11 anniversary.The top US commander in Afghanistan warned troops' lives would be in danger if the Dove World Outreach Center in Florida went ahead.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the church's plan was "disrespectful and disgraceful".
Muslim countries and Nato have also hit out at the move.
And the US Attorney General, Eric Holder, called the idea "idiotic and dangerous".
But organiser, Pastor Terry Jones said: "We must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam."
The controversy comes at a time when the US relationship with Islam is very much under scrutiny.
There is heated debate in the country over a proposal to build a mosque and Islamic cultural centre streets from Ground Zero, site of the 9/11 attacks, in New York.
'Significant problems'
Speaking at a State Department dinner marking the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Hillary Clinton condemned Pastor Jones.
"I am heartened by the clear, unequivocal condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act that has come from American religious leaders of all faiths," she said.
Despite having a congregation of just 50, the plans of Pastor Jones' church in Gainesville have gained worldwide notoriety, sparking demonstrations in Afghanistan and Indonesia.
Gen David Petraeus, the top US commander in Afghanistan, said on Monday that the action could cause problems "not just in Kabul, but everywhere in the world".
"It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems," he said in a statement.
The Vatican, the Obama administration and Nato have also expressed concern over the plan.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Tuesday that "any type of activity like that that puts our troops in harm's way would be a concern".
Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen blasted the plans, telling reporters that burning Korans violated the Nato alliance's "values".
Pastor Jones - author of a book entitled Islam is of the Devil - has said he understands the general's concerns but that it was "time for America to quit apologising for our actions and bowing to kings".
Another pastor at the church told the BBC that members intended to burn several hundred copies of the holy book on Saturday evening, the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, in defiance of an order by the city not to hold an open air bonfire.
Muslims consider the Koran to be the word of God and insist it be treated with the utmost respect. Any intentional damage or show of disrespect to the holy book is deeply offensive to them.
"I have heard many Muslim Americans say they have never felt this anxious or this insecure in America since directly after 11 September," said Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America.
Claims that US soldiers have desecrated the Koran in both Afghanistan and Iraq have caused bloodshed in the past.
There were deadly protests in Afghanistan in 2008, when it emerged that a US soldier deployed to Iraq riddled a copy of the holy book with bullets.
And further lives were lost in Afghan riots in 2005 when Newsweek magazine printed a story alleging that US interrogators at Guantanamo Bay had flushed a copy of the Koran down a toilet.
The story later turned out to be false and was retracted by the magazine.
BBC News
North Idaho marks 10 years since Aryan Nations verdict (USA)
Ten years ago, on Sept. 7, 2000, a Kootenai County jury rendered a $6.3 million verdict against the Aryan Nations and its leader, Richard Butler.
That action bankrupted the racist organization, severely diminishing its influence in North Idaho.
On Tuesday, civil rights leaders joined with leaders from Coeur d’Alene, Kootenai County, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and law enforcement to celebrate the victory at the Kootenai County veterans’ plaza. The Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations unveiled a monument made of black marble to commemorate the day.
“What a great day this is. Ten years ago and more, we had people living in this community and in this area that were full of fear,” said Coeur d’Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem. “We had many people that lived outside of this community that wouldn’t come here because they were afraid. And today, because of the heroes standing here, we can celebrate the fact that we don’t live in fear and people come to this community from all over the world.
“Silence never did win any rights,” Bloem said. “Silence never did pick up and make us a better place. And silence certainly wouldn’t have done it 10 years ago.”
On July 1, 1998, Victoria Keenan and her son, Jason, were driving past the Aryan Nations compound near Hayden when they were attacked by the organization’s security guards after their car backfired. Bullets hit their car and they were driven off the road. The guards threatened to kill them if they reported the incident. When the Keenans contacted the task force, its attorney, Norm Gissel of Coeur d’Alene, recruited renowned human rights lawyer Morris Dees and the Southern Poverty Law Center to represent the Keenans in the civil trial.
Coeur d’Alene attorney Ken Howard also joined the legal team. On Tuesday, Howard said that for years, Butler and the Aryan Nations used their notoriety to “embarrass and define this beautiful North Idaho homeland of ours as a place inhospitable to all of those who were not of the white Christian race.” For years, he said, they held parades along Sherman Avenue, and followers of Butler acted out “hatred and intolerance” by engaging in bombings, shootings and murder, but none of the violent acts could be tied to Butler.
Butler survived in this community, Howard said, because people here believed in the constitutional protections of freedom of speech and religion, despite being “deeply troubled” by the reputation of hatred and intolerance brought upon the area.
“On Sept. 7, 2000, this community’s tolerance of Butler came to an end,” Howard said. “This verdict was, in part, directed to compensate the Keenans, but largely to punish Butler and his followers and to serve to deter similar conduct in the future.”
Following the jury’s civil verdict, Butler and the Aryan Nations declared bankruptcy in federal court. The Keenans were awarded the compound, which they sold to philanthropist and human rights activist Greg Carr. He destroyed the compound and turned it into a “peace park,” which he donated to the North Idaho College Foundation.
“What I love most about this victory is the way the local community handled it,” said Carr, also among Tuesday’s speakers. “You didn’t take away the free speech of the other side; you just made your own voices louder. And because your cause was just, you won the argument.”
The stone for the monument unveiled Tuesday was donated by Da Vinci Stone Design of Post Falls. Artist Julie Wood contributed her services designing and engraving the stone. The monument will be displayed permanently either at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library or at the North Idaho College library, following a decision by the task force’s board of directors.
Paul Mullet, the self-described national director of the Aryan Nations, contacted the media two weeks ago when he heard about the planned ceremony. He said that although he has moved to Ohio due to a death in the family, the Aryan Nations will never leave North Idaho.
Spokesman
That action bankrupted the racist organization, severely diminishing its influence in North Idaho.
On Tuesday, civil rights leaders joined with leaders from Coeur d’Alene, Kootenai County, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and law enforcement to celebrate the victory at the Kootenai County veterans’ plaza. The Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations unveiled a monument made of black marble to commemorate the day.
“What a great day this is. Ten years ago and more, we had people living in this community and in this area that were full of fear,” said Coeur d’Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem. “We had many people that lived outside of this community that wouldn’t come here because they were afraid. And today, because of the heroes standing here, we can celebrate the fact that we don’t live in fear and people come to this community from all over the world.
“Silence never did win any rights,” Bloem said. “Silence never did pick up and make us a better place. And silence certainly wouldn’t have done it 10 years ago.”
On July 1, 1998, Victoria Keenan and her son, Jason, were driving past the Aryan Nations compound near Hayden when they were attacked by the organization’s security guards after their car backfired. Bullets hit their car and they were driven off the road. The guards threatened to kill them if they reported the incident. When the Keenans contacted the task force, its attorney, Norm Gissel of Coeur d’Alene, recruited renowned human rights lawyer Morris Dees and the Southern Poverty Law Center to represent the Keenans in the civil trial.
Coeur d’Alene attorney Ken Howard also joined the legal team. On Tuesday, Howard said that for years, Butler and the Aryan Nations used their notoriety to “embarrass and define this beautiful North Idaho homeland of ours as a place inhospitable to all of those who were not of the white Christian race.” For years, he said, they held parades along Sherman Avenue, and followers of Butler acted out “hatred and intolerance” by engaging in bombings, shootings and murder, but none of the violent acts could be tied to Butler.
Butler survived in this community, Howard said, because people here believed in the constitutional protections of freedom of speech and religion, despite being “deeply troubled” by the reputation of hatred and intolerance brought upon the area.
“On Sept. 7, 2000, this community’s tolerance of Butler came to an end,” Howard said. “This verdict was, in part, directed to compensate the Keenans, but largely to punish Butler and his followers and to serve to deter similar conduct in the future.”
Following the jury’s civil verdict, Butler and the Aryan Nations declared bankruptcy in federal court. The Keenans were awarded the compound, which they sold to philanthropist and human rights activist Greg Carr. He destroyed the compound and turned it into a “peace park,” which he donated to the North Idaho College Foundation.
“What I love most about this victory is the way the local community handled it,” said Carr, also among Tuesday’s speakers. “You didn’t take away the free speech of the other side; you just made your own voices louder. And because your cause was just, you won the argument.”
The stone for the monument unveiled Tuesday was donated by Da Vinci Stone Design of Post Falls. Artist Julie Wood contributed her services designing and engraving the stone. The monument will be displayed permanently either at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library or at the North Idaho College library, following a decision by the task force’s board of directors.
Paul Mullet, the self-described national director of the Aryan Nations, contacted the media two weeks ago when he heard about the planned ceremony. He said that although he has moved to Ohio due to a death in the family, the Aryan Nations will never leave North Idaho.
Spokesman
Dutch anger as fertility clinics accept neo-Nazi sperm donor's request to only promote 'strong white race'
Holland is considering tightening up regulations governing sperm donors after clinics accepted the offerings from a prominent neo-Nazi who said he wanted to promote ‘a strong white race’.
Patrick de Bruin attached the condition that his sperm should ‘only be used for white couples' infertility treatment’.
De Bruin wrote on an extreme-right web forum that he was donating his ‘Aryan seed’ in order to compensate ‘for the high birth rate among Muslims’.
He added: ‘I want as many blond blue-eyed children to be born as possible.’
Although his offer was rejected by some clinics, two centres - the Rijnstate hospital in Arnhem and Sint Geertgen clinic in Elsendorp – allegedly agreed to the restrictions.
The scandal was unearthed during a joint investigation by public broadcaster VARA and the Kafka research group.
The Sint Geertgen clinic even allows donors to detail restrictions on admission forms.
Pim Janssen, head of the Rijnstate sperm bank, told the show the incident should not have happened and called for stricter guidelines governing sperm donation.
He said his clinic has since destroyed the sperm.
The case is particularly sensitive in Holland because the country, which was occupied by the Nazis during WWII, has recently seen the rise of far-Right politicians.
Geert Wilders, who leads the increasingly powerful Party for Freedom, has called to ban the Koran and stop further Muslim immigration.
Daily Mail
Patrick de Bruin attached the condition that his sperm should ‘only be used for white couples' infertility treatment’.
De Bruin wrote on an extreme-right web forum that he was donating his ‘Aryan seed’ in order to compensate ‘for the high birth rate among Muslims’.
He added: ‘I want as many blond blue-eyed children to be born as possible.’
Although his offer was rejected by some clinics, two centres - the Rijnstate hospital in Arnhem and Sint Geertgen clinic in Elsendorp – allegedly agreed to the restrictions.
The scandal was unearthed during a joint investigation by public broadcaster VARA and the Kafka research group.
The Sint Geertgen clinic even allows donors to detail restrictions on admission forms.
Pim Janssen, head of the Rijnstate sperm bank, told the show the incident should not have happened and called for stricter guidelines governing sperm donation.
He said his clinic has since destroyed the sperm.
The case is particularly sensitive in Holland because the country, which was occupied by the Nazis during WWII, has recently seen the rise of far-Right politicians.
Geert Wilders, who leads the increasingly powerful Party for Freedom, has called to ban the Koran and stop further Muslim immigration.
Daily Mail
Schools 'must investigate all playground bullying for racism' after pupil left brain damaged in gang hammer attack
Every incident of playground bullying should be investigated by schools for racism, a review has urged.
The study, which focuses on events surrounding an attack on a white schoolboy by a Muslim gang, called on teachers to have more contact with police.It also pushes for schools nationwide to record the ethnicity of bullies and victims and take urgent action should a pattern of racism arise.
The report, due to be released today, was the first serious case review into problems at a school.
It examined circumstances surrounding the attack on Henry Webster who suffered a fractured skull after being hit with a claw hammer in January 2007, when he was 15.
The 6ft 2in former rugby player was left brain damaged when he was ambushed by a group of Asian youths outside Ridgeway School, in Wroughton, near Swindon, where they all attended.
Afterwards, his attackers punched the air in triumph, shouting: 'That's what you call Paki bashing.'
In 2008, 13 people were convicted over their role in the attack.
Today’s review, which involved speaking to the school, police, council and other organisations, slams the school for failing to tackle the growing tensions between Muslim and white teenagers.
It claims opportunities to intervene to address escalating issues were missed – even after a riot on the school playing fields.
And it claims the school did not adequately prepare when about 20 Asian pupils joined in September 2005 – less than two months after the 7/7 London bombings.
According to the Telegraph, the review says: ‘[Ridgeway] knew well in advance that a significant number of British Asian pupils were joining the school in September 2005.
‘They did not prepare for this which was soon after the London bombings in July 2005. The likely influence of all pupils’ communities and families on pupil behaviour was not understood.’
However, Henry’s mother Liz Webster called the report a ‘whitewash’.
‘We are very concerned that the report has failed to address many of the failings which surrounded our family’s treatment throughout this terrible episode in our lives,’ she told the Telegraph.
‘The criticism of the local authority is tantamount to a whitewash as it is so minimal and limited.
‘The review doesn’t mention what needs to be done to improve race relations in Swindon which is an urgent concern considering the increase in the vote for the BNP.’
The Department for Education is expected to release an executive summary of the serious case review - not the entire report.
About 40,000 incidents of racism have been reported by schools every year since 2002 when they were placed under a legal obligation to monitor all racist incidents.
However, the review's 32 recommendations would further add to the ‘red tape’ facing schools which Education Secretary Michael Gove has planned to cut.
Daily Mail
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
Tories’ European allies in far-right pact with neo-Nazis
Key European allies of the Tory party have lurched to the far-right in a pact with nationalist elements of Latvian neo-Nazis.
Key European allies of the Tory party have lurched to the far-right in a pact with nationalist elements of Latvian neo-Nazis.
The deal means that the unashamedly neo-fascist “All for Latvia” group is now an official partner with the Tories’ Latvian allies. The group is inspired by Nazi ideology and imagery and its logo echoes the swastika.
The official Latvian section of the Tories’ European Parliament group is made up of the For the Fatherland/LNNK party – TB/LNNK, which has one MEP in the Parliament. The Latvian party has consistently been attacked for closely allying themselves with Waffen SS veterans who fought for Germany in the Second World War.
The British Conservatives have always sat uneasily in their political grouping in the European Parliament, the European Conservatives and Reformists. As well as the Tories, the group is made up of several factions of extreme right-wingers. In a televised election debate in April, then-leader of the Liberal Democrats in opposition Nick Clegg (now Deputy Prime Minister) accused David Cameron of aligning his party with a “nutters, homophobes, anti-Semites and people who deny climate change exists”.
Now Cameron’s Latvian allies have gone one step further and established a formal electoral alliance with the Latvian neo-fascists in the form of an electoral coalition. The All for Latvia party is led by Raivis Dzintars, a populist neo-Nazi who proclaims that the common interests of the state have a higher value that individual civil rights.
Eric Pickles, the Communities Minister, has previously defended the TB/LNNK party’s support for SS war veterans, claiming that they were Latvian patriots. He has accused critics of recycling “old Soviet smears” about the Latvians.
Foreign Secretary William Hague described criticism from his shadow David Miliband of the Latvian for Fatherland’s Nazi sympathies as “unfounded and outrageous”.
The Tories appear powerless to control their far-right allies in the EU, and because of parliamentary arithmetic it seems they cannot afford to break their ties. Financial support for political groups is generous in the EP but if the Tories were to expel their Latvian allies it would jeopardise the viability of the group and risk losing funding.
Tribune Magazine
Key European allies of the Tory party have lurched to the far-right in a pact with nationalist elements of Latvian neo-Nazis.
The deal means that the unashamedly neo-fascist “All for Latvia” group is now an official partner with the Tories’ Latvian allies. The group is inspired by Nazi ideology and imagery and its logo echoes the swastika.
The official Latvian section of the Tories’ European Parliament group is made up of the For the Fatherland/LNNK party – TB/LNNK, which has one MEP in the Parliament. The Latvian party has consistently been attacked for closely allying themselves with Waffen SS veterans who fought for Germany in the Second World War.
The British Conservatives have always sat uneasily in their political grouping in the European Parliament, the European Conservatives and Reformists. As well as the Tories, the group is made up of several factions of extreme right-wingers. In a televised election debate in April, then-leader of the Liberal Democrats in opposition Nick Clegg (now Deputy Prime Minister) accused David Cameron of aligning his party with a “nutters, homophobes, anti-Semites and people who deny climate change exists”.
Now Cameron’s Latvian allies have gone one step further and established a formal electoral alliance with the Latvian neo-fascists in the form of an electoral coalition. The All for Latvia party is led by Raivis Dzintars, a populist neo-Nazi who proclaims that the common interests of the state have a higher value that individual civil rights.
Eric Pickles, the Communities Minister, has previously defended the TB/LNNK party’s support for SS war veterans, claiming that they were Latvian patriots. He has accused critics of recycling “old Soviet smears” about the Latvians.
Foreign Secretary William Hague described criticism from his shadow David Miliband of the Latvian for Fatherland’s Nazi sympathies as “unfounded and outrageous”.
The Tories appear powerless to control their far-right allies in the EU, and because of parliamentary arithmetic it seems they cannot afford to break their ties. Financial support for political groups is generous in the EP but if the Tories were to expel their Latvian allies it would jeopardise the viability of the group and risk losing funding.
Tribune Magazine
Interior Ministry raids neo-Nazi group locations nationwide (Germany)
The Interior Ministry staged raids on outposts of a right-wing extremist group in several German states on Tuesday morning, searching buildings and confiscating evidenceBeginning at 6 am, authorities stormed offices of the Hilfsorganisation für nationale politische Gefangene und deren Angehörige, or HNG, one of Germany’s largest far-right groups, the ministry said.
The group’s goal is working with imprisoned right-wing extremists to strengthen their views and motivate further criminal activity, the ministry suspects.
The HNG was founded in 1979 and has an estimated 600 members, making it the largest such group in Germany.
The National Germany
Monday, 6 September 2010
FRENCH BID TO BAN VEILS WORRIES ALLIES, TOURISTS
Protests in Pakistan, al-Qaida warnings, skittish Muslim tourists: France's plan to do away with burqa-style veils is already reverberating far beyond its borders. A bill to outlaw face veils, aimed at upholding French republican values, is expected to win Senate approval this month. If it passes this key hurdle, French diplomats will face a tough task ensuring the ban doesn't alienate governments, deter devout foreign shoppers loaded with cash, or provoke Islamist terrorists. It's a complex challenge for a country that works relentlessly to preserve its global diplomatic influence, its cherished secular ideals, and its status as the world's top tourist destination. Ensuring gender equality, woman's dignity and security are the official reasons France wants to outlaw Islamic veils, most often worn as "niqabs" that hide all but the eyes. Authorities insist the global ban — which would include visiting foreigners — is not anti-Muslim. But that message has failed to convince some governments, be they Western or France's traditional Arab allies, or trickle down to moneyed travelers who swarm Paris' so-called Golden Triangle, a high-priced shopping district centered around the Champs-Elysees. That some other European countries like Belgium are considering similar legislation — and Muslim countries like Syria and Egypt have instituted their own limited bans on face veils — may help bolster the French argument, but not win the debate. "When you're a tourist, you want to go to places you feel you are welcome," said Dalal Saif of Oman, a sultanate bordering Saudi Arabia, during a three-week summer visit to France. Saif, whose work is tied to the oil industry, spent hours one day with his family selecting perfumes and cosmetics by the bagful at a Champs-Elysees store. "If they feel unwelcome, France will lose this kind of revenue," he said, adding that such a measure "infringes on (France's) image as custodians, protectors of liberties."
The number of visitors to Paris from the oil-rich Middle East was up nearly 30 percent in the first half of 2010 compared to last year, according to the Paris Tourism and Congress Office. "I can see that many families will actually change destinations because of this," said Saif, standing by his young daughter, black-robed but bare-faced sister, and wife wearing a chartreuse head scarf. Many Muslim tourists who wear face veils at home shed them for European vacations, instead donning stylish, often brightly colored headscarves, sometimes paired with big sunglasses. But that choice doesn't erase a sense that France is offending followers of Islam with its proposed veil ban. "My family is asking me 'why do you want to go there? They don't like us.'" said Maryam Saeed, a 40-year-old mother of four who works in school administration in Dubai. "They are taking it religiously, like it shows that in France they don't like Muslims or we're not welcome here," said Saeed, covered in a black abaya cloaking her head but not her face, as she emerged from a shopping spree at the Paris department store Galeries Lafayette. So far, foreign governments are either silent over the proposed veil ban, divided or unfavorable, said Joseph Maila, who heads a year-old division at the French Foreign Ministry devoted to religious issues. Some of France's closest allies, Britain and the United States, both with large Muslim populations, are among those who publicly disagree with Paris. On the veil, "the world isn't black and white," said Maila, "it's gray." Moderate Muslim leaders in France and elsewhere agree that Islam does not require women to cover their faces, but many are uncomfortable with banning the veil. Scores of religious leaders have denounced the measure, and are struggling with what to advise the faithful.
Sheik Aedh al-Garni, a popular cleric in Saudi Arabia, responding to a query from a Saudi woman in France, said in a July pronouncement that facing an official ban on the veil, "it is better for the Muslim woman to reveal her face" to avoid "harassment or harm." Saudi Arabia adheres to a strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam with women required to veil themselves in public, so the advice by al-Garni, who is widely read, was notable. But there have been dissenting voices like that of Mohammed al-Nujemi, a Saudi professor at the Institute of Judicial and Islamic Studies: He told women to stay home. Traveling needlessly to a non-Muslim country "is not permissible according to the Shariah," or Islamic law, he told the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV network. The Saudi government, which has defense and business ties with French companies, is among "silent states" that prefer to say nothing about France's veil bill for diplomatic reasons, said Maila, the Foreign Ministry official. Opposition is strongest in Pakistan, where there have been demonstrations against the measure. A defense of the French position by Ambassador Daniel Jouanneau was published in nine papers this summer, Maila said. In Jordan, where full veils are rare, the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest opposition group, said Muslim women should continue to visit France "especially if they have business to attend to." But the group's spokesman Jamil Abu-Bakr said: "The French move will cause chaos and we condemn it." European countries that impose a ban on the face-covering veil "will harm their interests, friendships and historically cordial neighborly relations with several Muslim nations." Beyond such tensions, possible constitutional challenges await an eventual law. But the French are not about to budge. The nation's concept of integration, in which ethnic or religious differences are subsumed by Frenchness, is the ultimate argument for making the face visible.
A 2004 law banned head scarves and other "ostentatious" religious symbols in public schools. With Western Europe's largest Muslim population, some 5 million, France also wants an Islam tailored to the West. "To understand the ban on hiding the face, it must be placed in the French tradition ... To hide behind the veil is to barricade oneself against society," said Maila. President Nicolas Sarkozy officially opened the debate in June 2009 when he told parliament that veils that hide the face "are not welcome" in France. That same month President Obama, addressing the world's Muslims in a speech in Cairo, defended Muslim women's right to dress as they like. U.S. disapproval of the veil measure was voiced again after France's lower house of parliament overwhelmingly passed the bill July 13. Sarkozy would still need to sign the veil bill if it passes the Senate. For Britain, any clothing ban would be a "rather un-British thing to do," Immigration Minister Damian Green has said. Raphael Liogier, a sociology professor who runs the Observatory of the Religious in Aix-en-Provence, fears that France will isolate itself with the measure and, worse, become a "justifiable target" in the eyes of Islamist extremists. "It's an opportunity for them." The No. 2 of al-Qaida, Ayman al-Zawahri, said the drive by France and other European nations to ban the veil amounted to discrimination against Muslim women. "Every single woman who defends her veil is a holy warrior ... in the face of the secular Western crusade," he said in an audio message released July 28.
Associated Press
The number of visitors to Paris from the oil-rich Middle East was up nearly 30 percent in the first half of 2010 compared to last year, according to the Paris Tourism and Congress Office. "I can see that many families will actually change destinations because of this," said Saif, standing by his young daughter, black-robed but bare-faced sister, and wife wearing a chartreuse head scarf. Many Muslim tourists who wear face veils at home shed them for European vacations, instead donning stylish, often brightly colored headscarves, sometimes paired with big sunglasses. But that choice doesn't erase a sense that France is offending followers of Islam with its proposed veil ban. "My family is asking me 'why do you want to go there? They don't like us.'" said Maryam Saeed, a 40-year-old mother of four who works in school administration in Dubai. "They are taking it religiously, like it shows that in France they don't like Muslims or we're not welcome here," said Saeed, covered in a black abaya cloaking her head but not her face, as she emerged from a shopping spree at the Paris department store Galeries Lafayette. So far, foreign governments are either silent over the proposed veil ban, divided or unfavorable, said Joseph Maila, who heads a year-old division at the French Foreign Ministry devoted to religious issues. Some of France's closest allies, Britain and the United States, both with large Muslim populations, are among those who publicly disagree with Paris. On the veil, "the world isn't black and white," said Maila, "it's gray." Moderate Muslim leaders in France and elsewhere agree that Islam does not require women to cover their faces, but many are uncomfortable with banning the veil. Scores of religious leaders have denounced the measure, and are struggling with what to advise the faithful.
Sheik Aedh al-Garni, a popular cleric in Saudi Arabia, responding to a query from a Saudi woman in France, said in a July pronouncement that facing an official ban on the veil, "it is better for the Muslim woman to reveal her face" to avoid "harassment or harm." Saudi Arabia adheres to a strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam with women required to veil themselves in public, so the advice by al-Garni, who is widely read, was notable. But there have been dissenting voices like that of Mohammed al-Nujemi, a Saudi professor at the Institute of Judicial and Islamic Studies: He told women to stay home. Traveling needlessly to a non-Muslim country "is not permissible according to the Shariah," or Islamic law, he told the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV network. The Saudi government, which has defense and business ties with French companies, is among "silent states" that prefer to say nothing about France's veil bill for diplomatic reasons, said Maila, the Foreign Ministry official. Opposition is strongest in Pakistan, where there have been demonstrations against the measure. A defense of the French position by Ambassador Daniel Jouanneau was published in nine papers this summer, Maila said. In Jordan, where full veils are rare, the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest opposition group, said Muslim women should continue to visit France "especially if they have business to attend to." But the group's spokesman Jamil Abu-Bakr said: "The French move will cause chaos and we condemn it." European countries that impose a ban on the face-covering veil "will harm their interests, friendships and historically cordial neighborly relations with several Muslim nations." Beyond such tensions, possible constitutional challenges await an eventual law. But the French are not about to budge. The nation's concept of integration, in which ethnic or religious differences are subsumed by Frenchness, is the ultimate argument for making the face visible.
A 2004 law banned head scarves and other "ostentatious" religious symbols in public schools. With Western Europe's largest Muslim population, some 5 million, France also wants an Islam tailored to the West. "To understand the ban on hiding the face, it must be placed in the French tradition ... To hide behind the veil is to barricade oneself against society," said Maila. President Nicolas Sarkozy officially opened the debate in June 2009 when he told parliament that veils that hide the face "are not welcome" in France. That same month President Obama, addressing the world's Muslims in a speech in Cairo, defended Muslim women's right to dress as they like. U.S. disapproval of the veil measure was voiced again after France's lower house of parliament overwhelmingly passed the bill July 13. Sarkozy would still need to sign the veil bill if it passes the Senate. For Britain, any clothing ban would be a "rather un-British thing to do," Immigration Minister Damian Green has said. Raphael Liogier, a sociology professor who runs the Observatory of the Religious in Aix-en-Provence, fears that France will isolate itself with the measure and, worse, become a "justifiable target" in the eyes of Islamist extremists. "It's an opportunity for them." The No. 2 of al-Qaida, Ayman al-Zawahri, said the drive by France and other European nations to ban the veil amounted to discrimination against Muslim women. "Every single woman who defends her veil is a holy warrior ... in the face of the secular Western crusade," he said in an audio message released July 28.
Associated Press
Dutch coalition talks collapse as Geert Wilders quits
Mr Wilders said he did not trust some members of the Christian Democrats to adhere to any agreement reached.
Some Christian Democrats have expressed deep reservations about any deal with Mr Wilders because of his strong anti-Islamic and anti-immigration views.
The collapse comes three months after an inconclusive general election.
The Netherlands has been without a government since the previous coalition collapsed in February
BBC News
Sunday, 5 September 2010
Neo-Nazi rally provokes outcry in Dortmund (Germany)
The Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe granted an application for the neo-Nazi demonstration on Saturday morning after the court in Gelsenkirchen refused permission on Friday and the organisers appealed.
Police had banned a proposed march after thez arrested a 19-year-old man in the Aachen area, fearing he had been building an explosive device. The far right extremist, who is said to have connections to Dortmund, was found to have ammunition in his flat.
After the Constitutional Court allowed the march to take place, the police restricted it to a car park.
Around 1,000 neo-Nazis turned up to the rally, which drew around 15 times as many people in largely peaceful opposition.
Police had their hands full with around 500 of the far-right group who, on arriving in Dortmund, raced off the train and started marching towards the city centre rather than to the car park where the rally was being held.
Fighting broke out as the police stopped them and redirected them to the car park, where around 460 others were waiting.
Further violence broke out as the police broke up a sit-down blockade of around 1,000 anti-fascist demonstrators.
One police officer was seriously hurt during the day and at least 160 people – mostly counterdemonstrators – were either arrested or taken into preventative custody.
The Local Germany
'Sweden discriminates against Roma'
The Roma people are the most discriminated in Europe and Sweden is no exception, the Council of Europe commissioner for human rights argued on Saturday.
Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg, and archbishop Ander Wejryd argue in a debate article in the Dagens Nyheter daily on Saturday that Sweden's deportation of 50 Roma EU citizens is evidence that the country is complicit in the ongoing discrimination of the ethnic group.
The deportations have been defended by the migration minister Tobias Billström who has argued that the EU rules on the free movement of labour are not intended to encourage begging.
The deportations have been carried out despite the uncertain legal framework, Hammarberg and Wejryd argued.
"They are identified as a danger to society by politicians who seek to win political points on demands of a tough line against this already vulnerable group. They are subjected to arrest and collective deportations."
Hammarberg and Wejryd wrote that the growing "anti-Romaism" has to be fought across the whole European continent. They maintain that the legal rights of the Roma has to be taken seriously and that their citizens' rights within the EU have to be given the same importance as other EU citizens.
The Local Sweden
Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg, and archbishop Ander Wejryd argue in a debate article in the Dagens Nyheter daily on Saturday that Sweden's deportation of 50 Roma EU citizens is evidence that the country is complicit in the ongoing discrimination of the ethnic group.
The deportations have been defended by the migration minister Tobias Billström who has argued that the EU rules on the free movement of labour are not intended to encourage begging.
The deportations have been carried out despite the uncertain legal framework, Hammarberg and Wejryd argued.
"They are identified as a danger to society by politicians who seek to win political points on demands of a tough line against this already vulnerable group. They are subjected to arrest and collective deportations."
Hammarberg and Wejryd wrote that the growing "anti-Romaism" has to be fought across the whole European continent. They maintain that the legal rights of the Roma has to be taken seriously and that their citizens' rights within the EU have to be given the same importance as other EU citizens.
The Local Sweden
Protests against Roma expulsions held in France
Thousands of people have attended rallies in Paris and 130 other French towns to protest at the government's policy of deporting Roma people.
Police say turnout across France was slightly more than 77,000 while organisers put the figure nearer 100,000.
With polls suggesting at least 65% of French people back the policy, the government played down the protests.
The EU parliament is to debate the Roma situation in Europe next week
About 1,000 Roma (Gypsies) returned to Romania and Bulgaria from France last month, while official figures record that 11,000 Roma were expelled from France last year.
The League of Human Rights, which called for the demonstrations, said it wanted to counteract government "xenophobia" and what it described as the systematic abuse of Roma in France.
The rallies were backed by the opposition Socialist Party and the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), France's second largest trade union confederation.
'Pushed away'
Trade unionists, students, anarchists, illegal immigrants and others turned out in Paris to the sound of whistles and drums.
Cities such as Marseilles and Nantes saw similar marches, and there were solidarity rallies in neighbouring countries like Spain and Belgium, as well as more distant states with significant Roma minorities such as Hungary and Serbia.
Addressing the demonstration in Paris, actress Jane Birkin said it was up to the French public to stand up for the rights of the Roma people.
"We are pushing away people that have a history of being pushed away," she said.
"We have to defend them because they don't have enough of a voice. We have more of a voice than them. We have to be supportive."
In the south-western city of Bordeaux, more than 1,000 people took part in a two-hour march calling for an end to "xenophobic" policies, AFP news agency reports.
"It is a right and a duty for us to take part in this demonstration, because if we let them crush us, you wonder where this will lead," said Antoinou Jimenez, a representative of a group of travellers in the area.
'Disappointment'
Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux dismissed Saturday's protests, describing the turnout as a "disappointment" for the organisers.
"Today's so-called 'defence of human rights' demonstrations only managed to bring out, in total, across the whole of the territory, a few tens of thousands of people," he said.
France began a high-profile campaign of clearing large numbers of illegal Roma camps last month, as part of a security crackdown announced by Mr Sarkozy.
The move was announced after a number of incidents of violence targeting the police, including involving travellers in the Loire Valley town of Saint Aignan in July.
The mass expulsions have drawn criticism from the Vatican and the UN, and President Sarkozy has also faced dissent from within his own cabinet.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon hinted that he disliked the crude links being made between foreigners and crime, while Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he considered resigning over the issue.
Earlier this week, the European Commission criticised France over its expulsions of Roma, saying it did not put enough emphasis on the individual circumstances of those facing expulsion.
Under EU rules, the state can expel people who have been in the country for at least three months without a job or are a social burden. They can also be expelled within three months of their arrival if they are deemed to be a threat to public security.
BBC News
Police say turnout across France was slightly more than 77,000 while organisers put the figure nearer 100,000.
With polls suggesting at least 65% of French people back the policy, the government played down the protests.
The EU parliament is to debate the Roma situation in Europe next week
About 1,000 Roma (Gypsies) returned to Romania and Bulgaria from France last month, while official figures record that 11,000 Roma were expelled from France last year.
The League of Human Rights, which called for the demonstrations, said it wanted to counteract government "xenophobia" and what it described as the systematic abuse of Roma in France.
The rallies were backed by the opposition Socialist Party and the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), France's second largest trade union confederation.
'Pushed away'
Trade unionists, students, anarchists, illegal immigrants and others turned out in Paris to the sound of whistles and drums.
Cities such as Marseilles and Nantes saw similar marches, and there were solidarity rallies in neighbouring countries like Spain and Belgium, as well as more distant states with significant Roma minorities such as Hungary and Serbia.
Addressing the demonstration in Paris, actress Jane Birkin said it was up to the French public to stand up for the rights of the Roma people.
"We are pushing away people that have a history of being pushed away," she said.
"We have to defend them because they don't have enough of a voice. We have more of a voice than them. We have to be supportive."
In the south-western city of Bordeaux, more than 1,000 people took part in a two-hour march calling for an end to "xenophobic" policies, AFP news agency reports.
"It is a right and a duty for us to take part in this demonstration, because if we let them crush us, you wonder where this will lead," said Antoinou Jimenez, a representative of a group of travellers in the area.
'Disappointment'
Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux dismissed Saturday's protests, describing the turnout as a "disappointment" for the organisers.
"Today's so-called 'defence of human rights' demonstrations only managed to bring out, in total, across the whole of the territory, a few tens of thousands of people," he said.
France began a high-profile campaign of clearing large numbers of illegal Roma camps last month, as part of a security crackdown announced by Mr Sarkozy.
The move was announced after a number of incidents of violence targeting the police, including involving travellers in the Loire Valley town of Saint Aignan in July.
The mass expulsions have drawn criticism from the Vatican and the UN, and President Sarkozy has also faced dissent from within his own cabinet.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon hinted that he disliked the crude links being made between foreigners and crime, while Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he considered resigning over the issue.
Earlier this week, the European Commission criticised France over its expulsions of Roma, saying it did not put enough emphasis on the individual circumstances of those facing expulsion.
Under EU rules, the state can expel people who have been in the country for at least three months without a job or are a social burden. They can also be expelled within three months of their arrival if they are deemed to be a threat to public security.
BBC News
FRENCH DOCTORS' GROUP DENOUNCES ROMA POLICY
A French aid organisation has accused the government of 'declaring war' on Roma migrants saying the destruction of illegal camps was forcing many in the minority to sleep rough. 'This summer, there has been a veritable declaration of war which has manifested itself in the systematic destruction of the places in which they live,' said Dr Philippe Rodier of Medecins du Monde (Doctors of the World). Dr Rodier was speaking ahead of a demonstration against the crackdown in the southern city of Marseille. According to the organisation, nine of the 14 main Roma camps in the city have been destroyed, with hundreds of people forced to live in the streets. 'Our teams have heard that things are very hard for (Roma) families, who have been gravely insulted,' said Dr Rodier. French authorities have linked the Roma to crime and expelled nearly 1,000 to Romania and Bulgaria since announcing a high-profile crackdown in July, sparking international criticism. More than 8,000 have been deported since the beginning of the year, with 9,875 expelled throughout last year. Elsewhere, unions have launched a week of protests with a Paris rally that could provide an early measure of resistance to pension reforms on which President Nicolas Sarkozy has staked his political reputation. Unions and human rights groups gathered to protest against security measures, including the repatriation of the Roma. Critics see that action as part of a drive by Sarkozy to revive his popularity before 2012 elections and divert attention from painful pension reforms and spending cuts. Mr Sarkozy faces a bigger test on Tuesday when workers hold a nationwide strike and protests over the pension reforms he says are essential to cut the country's budgetary deficit. He said yesterday that he was determined to stand by the reforms, which among other things will raise the retirement age to 62 from 60. Unions say everything from schools and public transport to telecommunications will be disrupted. The National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, begins debating the pension reforms that day.
RTE
RTE
Arrested white supremacist behind alleged identity theft scheme (USA)
An alleged identity theft scheme by a white supremacist who federal prosecutors describe as a "perpetual criminal" was dismantled this week across the Spokane area.
Wayde Lynn Kurt, 52, is in the Spokane County Jail awaiting a decision from U.S. Magistrate Cynthia Imbrogno on whether he can be released pending trial on a federal weapons charge.
The judge is expected to rule by noon today after a hearing Thursday in which prosecutors called Kurt a dangerous criminal who flees police and is skilled at counterfeiting identification materials.
"No matter what you tell this defendant, he is not going to comply with court orders," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl Hicks. "He has never complied with court orders."
Kurt's lawyer, Pete Schweda, pointed out that Kurt successfully completed three years of federal probation with just one reprimand.
Kurt was arrested Monday on a warrant charging him with unlawfully possessing two assault rifles and a handgun. He also recently used fake identification to open a post office box in north Spokane, then used the identity to place an order with a gun and ammo store in Kentucky over the Internet, Hicks said in court Thursday. Authorities have not said what Kurt purchased.
An FBI agent testified in court Thursday that because of Kurt's criminal history and penchant for guns, he didn't give the suspect chance to surrender.
"I tackled him, rolled him over, and placed him in the vehicle," said FBI agent Joseph Cleary. "I did not want him to get in his vehicle and drive away."
Kurt has fled law enforcement many times and once rammed a police vehicle, then tried escaping federal custody by removing screws from a jail cell window, Hicks said. He's also one of the few people with a federal conviction for failing to appear in court in the Eastern District of Washington.
The arrest is the latest for a convicted currency counterfeiter whose experience with the criminal justice system dates back to at least 1988, when he was acquitted of murder in Snohomish County.
He was under investigation for counterfeiting when he removed a government tracking device from his car in 2004, then hid it in a storage unit he'd rented under a fake identification, Hicks said.
Kurt was sentenced to 18 months for theft of government property and completed three years probation. His only probation violation came in April 2009 when he contacted a jailed white supremacist leader and convicted felon. He'd been prohibited from contacting felons.
"This defendant has been a perpetual, persistent criminal who had endangered the public," Hicks said. "When he was not in prison he was out committing new crimes."
Authorities have not released details about the investigation but say they searched at least two locations Tuesday in connection with Kurt's case, including Lance Pounder Excavation, 2611 E. Lincoln Road, where Kurt has lived.
He was charged with possession of guns on Aug. 21, but the investigation is ongoing. Hicks submitted photographs of counterfeit driver's licenses, Social Security cards and an application to receive mail that Kurt completed using a false name.
When federal agents searched his home in 2004, they recovered at least 24 counterfeit Social Security cards, 24 counterfeit driver's licenses and 21 counterfeit employment cards, said John Neirninckx, a former Secret Service agent who investigated the case.
Each license had Kurt's photo but a different name, Neirninckx said.
The News Tribune
Wayde Lynn Kurt, 52, is in the Spokane County Jail awaiting a decision from U.S. Magistrate Cynthia Imbrogno on whether he can be released pending trial on a federal weapons charge.
The judge is expected to rule by noon today after a hearing Thursday in which prosecutors called Kurt a dangerous criminal who flees police and is skilled at counterfeiting identification materials.
"No matter what you tell this defendant, he is not going to comply with court orders," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl Hicks. "He has never complied with court orders."
Kurt's lawyer, Pete Schweda, pointed out that Kurt successfully completed three years of federal probation with just one reprimand.
Kurt was arrested Monday on a warrant charging him with unlawfully possessing two assault rifles and a handgun. He also recently used fake identification to open a post office box in north Spokane, then used the identity to place an order with a gun and ammo store in Kentucky over the Internet, Hicks said in court Thursday. Authorities have not said what Kurt purchased.
An FBI agent testified in court Thursday that because of Kurt's criminal history and penchant for guns, he didn't give the suspect chance to surrender.
"I tackled him, rolled him over, and placed him in the vehicle," said FBI agent Joseph Cleary. "I did not want him to get in his vehicle and drive away."
Kurt has fled law enforcement many times and once rammed a police vehicle, then tried escaping federal custody by removing screws from a jail cell window, Hicks said. He's also one of the few people with a federal conviction for failing to appear in court in the Eastern District of Washington.
The arrest is the latest for a convicted currency counterfeiter whose experience with the criminal justice system dates back to at least 1988, when he was acquitted of murder in Snohomish County.
He was under investigation for counterfeiting when he removed a government tracking device from his car in 2004, then hid it in a storage unit he'd rented under a fake identification, Hicks said.
Kurt was sentenced to 18 months for theft of government property and completed three years probation. His only probation violation came in April 2009 when he contacted a jailed white supremacist leader and convicted felon. He'd been prohibited from contacting felons.
"This defendant has been a perpetual, persistent criminal who had endangered the public," Hicks said. "When he was not in prison he was out committing new crimes."
Authorities have not released details about the investigation but say they searched at least two locations Tuesday in connection with Kurt's case, including Lance Pounder Excavation, 2611 E. Lincoln Road, where Kurt has lived.
He was charged with possession of guns on Aug. 21, but the investigation is ongoing. Hicks submitted photographs of counterfeit driver's licenses, Social Security cards and an application to receive mail that Kurt completed using a false name.
When federal agents searched his home in 2004, they recovered at least 24 counterfeit Social Security cards, 24 counterfeit driver's licenses and 21 counterfeit employment cards, said John Neirninckx, a former Secret Service agent who investigated the case.
Each license had Kurt's photo but a different name, Neirninckx said.
The News Tribune
Saturday, 4 September 2010
Africans have 'child rape gene': Sweden Democrat
A blog post by a local Sweden Democrat politician, Per T K Wahlberg, in which he claims that black Africans are genetically programmed to rape children, has raised questions about the party's attempts to distance itself from open racism.
Wahlberg occupies 26th place on the Sweden Democrats list for municipal elections in Landskrona in southern Sweden and he currently sits on the culture committee and election commission. The party claimed 11 seats in Landskrona municipality at the last election in 2006.
On his blog "Landskronabackspegel" (Literally: Landskrona rearview mirror) Wahlberg, a 76-year-old retiree and one of the party's more experienced members, published a post on the genetic characteristics of black Africans:
"For many thousands of years, the Negro could chill out in the heat, eat some bananas, rape some passing woman or child, fight with other negro males and eat them up, play the drums a little, run around a bit, catch an antelope, eat a few bananas, fuck a bit, get drunk on fermented fruits or herbs, and so on. This has been going on for millennia without any evolutionary pressure in the form of environmental factors forcing the negro to develop in another direction."
Wahlberg told The Local on Friday that the quotes are all taken from the provocative Swedish political and media discussion forum Flashback, and are written "ironically".
Nevertheless, he declined to distance himself from the broad content of the post.
"You could say that some parts have some truth to them. But generally speaking it is written with irony," he said.
In a prior recent interview with the local Helsingborgs Dagblad (HD) daily, Wahlberg was more forthright over his personal views.
"I think that it was quite an accurate description. If we look at history, then humanity began in Africa once upon a time, and then there were some who emigrated to Europe and Asia. But at what level are they now? Not much has happened over these thousands of years," he told the newspaper.
Wahlberg's blog furthermore includes several recent posts critical of Islam and Muslims.
Despite the nature of his blog, Wahlberg told The Local late Friday morning that he has not received any internal criticism from the party hierarchy.
However, in the wake of the attention given to Wahlberg's blog by Sweden's mainstream media, he has since left the party.
Sweden Democrat party secretary Björn Söder told Sveriges Radio (SR) that very few people in the party knew of the blog, despite it having existed since 2007.
"It's quite remarkable that we have a candidate who expresses himself in that way," Söder told SR.
Wahlberg, saying that he had a "peripheral role" with the Sweden Democrats, later told HD that he stepped down because he didn't want to "hurt the party".
While he has now removed the quote from his blog, Wahlberg told HD he did not regret publishing the post.
The Sweden Democrats was founded in 1988 and has its roots in Nazi organisations and groups such as Keep Sweden Swedish (Bevara Sverige Svenskt). Since the mid-1990s the party has worked to become more respectable, along the lines of other European nationalist parties, such as the French National Front.
These attempts to move away from the political fringes have at times included purging the party of more extremist members and distancing itself from discussions that address issues such as race biology.
The Local's attempts to contact the Sweden Democrats on Friday for comment were unsuccessful.
The Local Sweden
Wahlberg occupies 26th place on the Sweden Democrats list for municipal elections in Landskrona in southern Sweden and he currently sits on the culture committee and election commission. The party claimed 11 seats in Landskrona municipality at the last election in 2006.
On his blog "Landskronabackspegel" (Literally: Landskrona rearview mirror) Wahlberg, a 76-year-old retiree and one of the party's more experienced members, published a post on the genetic characteristics of black Africans:
"For many thousands of years, the Negro could chill out in the heat, eat some bananas, rape some passing woman or child, fight with other negro males and eat them up, play the drums a little, run around a bit, catch an antelope, eat a few bananas, fuck a bit, get drunk on fermented fruits or herbs, and so on. This has been going on for millennia without any evolutionary pressure in the form of environmental factors forcing the negro to develop in another direction."
Wahlberg told The Local on Friday that the quotes are all taken from the provocative Swedish political and media discussion forum Flashback, and are written "ironically".
Nevertheless, he declined to distance himself from the broad content of the post.
"You could say that some parts have some truth to them. But generally speaking it is written with irony," he said.
In a prior recent interview with the local Helsingborgs Dagblad (HD) daily, Wahlberg was more forthright over his personal views.
"I think that it was quite an accurate description. If we look at history, then humanity began in Africa once upon a time, and then there were some who emigrated to Europe and Asia. But at what level are they now? Not much has happened over these thousands of years," he told the newspaper.
Wahlberg's blog furthermore includes several recent posts critical of Islam and Muslims.
Despite the nature of his blog, Wahlberg told The Local late Friday morning that he has not received any internal criticism from the party hierarchy.
However, in the wake of the attention given to Wahlberg's blog by Sweden's mainstream media, he has since left the party.
Sweden Democrat party secretary Björn Söder told Sveriges Radio (SR) that very few people in the party knew of the blog, despite it having existed since 2007.
"It's quite remarkable that we have a candidate who expresses himself in that way," Söder told SR.
Wahlberg, saying that he had a "peripheral role" with the Sweden Democrats, later told HD that he stepped down because he didn't want to "hurt the party".
While he has now removed the quote from his blog, Wahlberg told HD he did not regret publishing the post.
The Sweden Democrats was founded in 1988 and has its roots in Nazi organisations and groups such as Keep Sweden Swedish (Bevara Sverige Svenskt). Since the mid-1990s the party has worked to become more respectable, along the lines of other European nationalist parties, such as the French National Front.
These attempts to move away from the political fringes have at times included purging the party of more extremist members and distancing itself from discussions that address issues such as race biology.
The Local's attempts to contact the Sweden Democrats on Friday for comment were unsuccessful.
The Local Sweden
France to see demonstrations against Roma expulsions
Demonstrations are planned across France in protest at the government's policy of deporting Roma people.
Anti-racism groups opposed to the moves say that more than 30,000 people may rally in Paris alone.
There has been strong international criticism of the deportations, which saw 1,000 Roma (Gypsies) returned to Romania and Bulgaria last month.
However, opinion polls suggest more than half of French people back the government on the issue.
According to official figures, 11,000 Roma were expelled from France last year.
The League of Human Rights, which called for the demonstrations, said it wanted to counteract government "xenophobia" and what it described as the systematic abuse of Roma in France.
At least 138 demonstrations are planned, including a march through the capital due to start at 1400 (1200 GMT).
The rallies are being backed by the opposition Socialist Party and the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), France's second largest trade union confederation.
'Respecting the law'
France began a high-profile campaign of clearing large numbers of illegal Roma camps last month, as part of a security crackdown announced by President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The move was announced after a number of incidents of violence targeting the police.
In mid-July, riots erupted in Grenoble after police shot an alleged armed robber during a shootout.
The next day, dozens of French Roma attacked a police station in the small Loire Valley town of Saint Aignan, after police shot dead a French Roma man who had allegedly not stopped at a police checkpoint.
The mass expulsions have drawn criticism from the Vatican and the UN and President Sarkozy has also faced dissent from within his own cabinet.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon hinted that he disliked the crude links being made between foreigners and crime, while Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he considered resigning over the issue.
Earlier this week, the European Commission criticised France over its expulsions of Roma, saying it did not put enough emphasis on the individual circumstances of those facing expulsion.
Under EU rules, the state can expel people who have been in the country for at least three months without a job or are a social burden. They can also be expelled within three months of their arrival if they are deemed to be a threat to public security.
France said it has been "scrupulously respecting European law", and that most of the repatriations were voluntary.
BBC News
Anti-racism groups opposed to the moves say that more than 30,000 people may rally in Paris alone.
There has been strong international criticism of the deportations, which saw 1,000 Roma (Gypsies) returned to Romania and Bulgaria last month.
However, opinion polls suggest more than half of French people back the government on the issue.
According to official figures, 11,000 Roma were expelled from France last year.
The League of Human Rights, which called for the demonstrations, said it wanted to counteract government "xenophobia" and what it described as the systematic abuse of Roma in France.
At least 138 demonstrations are planned, including a march through the capital due to start at 1400 (1200 GMT).
The rallies are being backed by the opposition Socialist Party and the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), France's second largest trade union confederation.
'Respecting the law'
France began a high-profile campaign of clearing large numbers of illegal Roma camps last month, as part of a security crackdown announced by President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The move was announced after a number of incidents of violence targeting the police.
In mid-July, riots erupted in Grenoble after police shot an alleged armed robber during a shootout.
The next day, dozens of French Roma attacked a police station in the small Loire Valley town of Saint Aignan, after police shot dead a French Roma man who had allegedly not stopped at a police checkpoint.
The mass expulsions have drawn criticism from the Vatican and the UN and President Sarkozy has also faced dissent from within his own cabinet.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon hinted that he disliked the crude links being made between foreigners and crime, while Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he considered resigning over the issue.
Earlier this week, the European Commission criticised France over its expulsions of Roma, saying it did not put enough emphasis on the individual circumstances of those facing expulsion.
Under EU rules, the state can expel people who have been in the country for at least three months without a job or are a social burden. They can also be expelled within three months of their arrival if they are deemed to be a threat to public security.
France said it has been "scrupulously respecting European law", and that most of the repatriations were voluntary.
BBC News
AUSTRIA FAR-RIGHT SAYS ANTI-MOSQUE WEB GAME BANNED
The "Bye Bye Mosque" game, which has had over 200,000 visitors since it was launched on Monday, has drawn sharp criticism from Austria's Social Democrats and Green Party, as well as the Islamic and Roman Catholic communities. Set up by the provincial branch of the far-right Freedom Party ahead of an election in Styria later this month, the game encouraged players to collect points by putting a target over mosques and minarets emerging from the countryside and clicking a "Stop" sign. They also had the chance to eliminate a bearded muezzin calling Muslims to prayer. "Due to the political pressure from our opponents this game has been banned by Austrian justice authorities," a statement on the party's website said. The local prosecutors' office, which was not immediately available for comment, said earlier this week it was investigating the Freedom Party for incitement over the game. The party has said it wanted to start a debate about mosque-building. The Austrian dispute is symptomatic of a wider trend in the United States and in Europe where Islam is becoming a more prominent political issue. Geert Wilder's anti-Islam party doubled its seats in the Dutch parliament in June elections and Swiss voters backed a ban on building minarets in a referendum last November. The debate in Austria reignited last month after the head of its Islamic community said it would be normal to see a mosque with a visible minaret in each of the country's nine provinces. There are four such buildings in Austria and none of them is in Styria, where 1.6 percent of the population is Muslim according to the Austria Press Agency. There are around half a million Muslims in Austria, a predominantly Catholic country of 8 million people ruled by a centrist coalition. At a national level, the Freedom Party has been calling for a special vote on banning mosques with minarets and Islamic face veils before another provincial election in Vienna. With its catchy slogans and youthful leader, the anti-immigrant party enjoys strong support especially from young people in Austria, winning 17.5 percent of the vote at a national level in 2008.
Reuters
Reuters
Hate crime conviction a first for Calgary (Canada)
It comes after a teenager pleaded guilty to covering several sites, including the Holocaust memorial, with anti-Semitic graffiti.
"I think it sends a strong message to people who are biased, or prejudiced, in any way that this sort of activity and those sort of actions won't be tolerated in Calgary," says Chief Rick Hanson, from the Calgary Police Service.
The conviction is a relief for Calgary's Jewish community. "It sends a message that communities within Canada – like the Jewish community and other minority communities – are Canadians and attacks on us are attacks on Canadians," says Adam Singer from the Calgary Jewish Community Council.
Because the convicted man committed crimes when he was 17, the Youth Criminal Justice Act prevents the release of his name.
His sentencing is scheduled to take place on October 15th
CTV
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