Pub targeted with graffiti after it was venue for BNP meetings

A pub which has been the venue for recent British National Party meetings has been targeted with graffiti.

A clean-up operation is under way around the Twisted Oak pub at St John's Hill, St Thomas, after it was targeted by graffiti vandals. It is expected to cost several hundred pounds to remove and may lead to the closure of roads affected.

Slogans calling for a boycott of the popular pub were daubed in yellow and black paint on roads leading to the pub and on bridge supports. Similar messages were painted on the surface of Balls Farm Road and Little John's Cross Hill which lead to the pub.

Dawn Oliver, who runs the pub with her partner Phil Lake, said she had received a warning phone call before the incident from a woman claiming to belong to an anti-fascist group.

Ms Oliver said: "She said that if we didn't do something to stop the BNP using the pub they would do something.

"She called again asking to bring in a leaflet but I said that I was not going to stop the BNP coming.

"After that we had the graffiti and now I have received an email that is not particularly pleasant about supporting their campaign.

"I have passed that on to the police. The worry is you don't know what else might happen."

Ms Oliver said the BNP met at the pub once every couple of months, and on the last occasion their meeting coincided with a get-together for the UK Independence Party.

She said: "The BNP people are very polite and very courteous. They do not approach other customers, they meet behind curtains and are very pleasant.

"I have no interest in politics but they are nice people.

"It is a matter of democracy. They are entitled to meet and they come here and spend their money and don't bother anyone. They are not doing anything wrong.

"The sad thing is that now the ordinary taxpayer has to pay to clear up the graffiti, which isn't fair at all."

She added: "We are well known as a friendly place and we have all sorts of clubs meeting here. We are certainly not going to be a intimidated by this.

"It is very much business as usual here."

A spokesman for the city council said it would take a couple of days to clean off the graffiti.
He said: "We will begin cleaning this today but it covers quite an area — the road surface in Balls Farm Road and Little John's Cross Hill as well as the footbridge leading across to Ide.

"It will cost several hundred pounds to remove and the road may have to be closed, or at least stop and go boards used while the work is being done."

This is Exeter

Obama sues state of Arizona over 'racist' new immigration law

President Obama has filed a lawsuit against the state of Arizona over a new immigration law which it claims  will combat drug trafficking, murders and violent kidnapping.

Concerns over racial profiling and civil rights violations have been raised over the Arizona law, which is due to come into force on July 29.

It requires officers to question a person's immigration status if they have a reasonable suspicion they are in the U.S. illegally.
Suspicions include whether the person speaks poor English, is travelling an overcrowded vehicle or is stopped in an area where immigrants often congregate.

The law also makes it a state crime for legal immigrants not to carry their immigration documents.

Supporters say the crackdown is a necessary tool to keep illegal immigrants out of Arizona and to tackle criminal activities associated with them.

The White House has asked a judge to grant an injunction to block the law taking effect later this month.

It argues that immigration laws passed by Congress and enforced by a range of federal agenies must take precedence to any passed by a state legislature.

The lawsuit said: 'The nation's immigration laws reflect a careful and considered balance of national law enforcement, foreign relations and humanitarian interests.'

It adds: 'A state may not establish its own immigration policy or enforce state laws in a manner that interferes with the federal immigration laws.

'The Constitution and the federal immigration laws do not permit the development of a patchwork of state and local immigration policies throughout the country.'

Kris Kobach, the University of Missouri/Kansas City professor who helped draft the Arizona law, has said it is only prohibiting conduct already illegal under federal law.

Harvard Law School professor Gerald Neuman has said Arizona could make a compelling legal argument that it has overlapping authority to protect its residents.

But court in the past have ruled that under the Constitution, any state law that conflicts with a federal law is pre-empted.

The pre-emption tactic has been used on several occasions, including by the Bush administration to limit product liability lawsuits.

It was also used to overturn bans on military recruiters passed by some California towns.

Peter Spiro, a constitutional law professor at Temple University, said: 'Immigration has traditionally and constitutionally been the historic preserve of the federal government, and there are cases going back to the late 19th century that say as much.

'So the Obama Administration has a lot to work with in filing this claim, and the fact that the claim is filed by the administration adds credibility... and increases the chances that law will be struck down on pre-emption grounds.

'That said, it not by any means a slam dunk.'

Regardless of how the case is determined at the district court level, it will likely be appealed.

The U.S. Supreme Court is already set to hear an Arizona immigration case in the fall when it takes up a challenge to a 2007 state law punishing employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

Mr Spiro added: 'It's clearly an important case. The Arizona law is unprecedented in its aggressive posture towards illegal immigrants.

'It's an important issue federally, really, that's the way the administration is framing it. They say the states do not have this kind of role as far an immigration legislation.'

Daily Mail

Hitler images posted on Facebook were offensive and caused distress (UK)

A 26-year-old man posted pictures of Adolf Hitler on Facebook in revenge for being dumped by his girlfriend for an Asian man.

Zack Timms posted messages on the social networking site amounting to threats of violence.

He wrote: “Can’t wait to have it out with Paki man – see you soon, safe.

Then: “Can’t wait to see my Bradford man defo going to be a knockout for Ronkswood lad.”

He also changed his profile picture to Hitler giving the Nazi salute.

Timms said he had posted the messages after he was threatened in the street by the partner of his ex-girlfriend. Timms of Canterbury Road, Ronkswood, Worcester, was arrested after the posts made on Tuesday, June 15, came to the attention of the woman’s sister. He deleted the messages soon after posting them.
But a visit to his Facebook page on the day of his court appearence showed that his profile picture displayed a stylised knight with a Nazi swastika and his political views were listed as “anti-Muslims”.

There were also pictures of the neo-Nazi group Combat 18’s logo and an image showing a man with his fist in the air and the words “white power”.

Matt Dodson, prosecuting, said: “His ex-girlfriend’s sister told her Timms had updated his Facebook page.

“She had been in a relationship with Timms for two weeks but that ended when she got back with her former partner.”
Timms was detained initially for harassment but was charged with making offensive communications.

He admitted the charge at Worcester Magistrates Court. During a police interview Timms told officers he had been threatened in the street by three Asian men and accused his ex-girlfriend’s partner of being one of the group.

He told officers he was “angered” by the incident and posted the messages in order “to wind him up”.

Barry Newton said his client had taken the break-up “badly” and had made a “stupid” mistake posting the messages.

Roger Warrington, the chairman of the magistrates, described Timms’ actions as “offensive” and said they “caused distress”.

He was ordered to pay £75 compensation and £85 costs.

Worcester News

Dutch Establishment Rejects Election Results

Dutch Queen Beatrix does not like Member of Parliament Geert Wilders, the winner of the recent elections in the Netherlands; she is attempting to prevent the formation of a right-wing coalition that includes him.

The maneuvers to exclude Mr. Wilders have angered ordinary Dutchmen. Asked to comment on television, many voters could be heard complaining, "What is the use of going to vote when we are not listened to anyway?"
June's general elections in the Netherlands resulted in a clear victory for the right. The Dutch Constitution, however, grants the Queen the power to appoint a person (or persons) of her choice to initiate and direct negotiations for the formation of a government coalition. By appointing the Labor politician Herman Tjeenk Willink to the position of formation facilitator, the Queen has made it clear that she wants a coalition that includes the Labor Party and excludes the Freedom Party of Geert Wilders.

An opinion poll taken last week shows that the Christian-Democrats would fall to the historic low level of 17 seats, while Mr. Wilders' PVV would become the largest party in the country with 30 seats, ahead of the Liberals (28 seats) and Labor (27 seats).

Following the elections, Mr. Wilders said: "We want to be part of the new government. More security, less crime, less immigration, less Islam – that is what the Netherlands has chosen … I don't think other parties can ignore us." He seems, however, to have overlooked the power of the monarch.

For months, rumors have been circulating that the 72-year old Queen has postponed resigning in favor of her son, 43-year old Prince Willem-Alexander of Orange, until after the 2010 elections because she wants to thwart Mr. Wilders' governmental ambitions. Although unelected, the Dutch monarch plays the decisive role in the government formation, and can easily bypass the electorate. This week, Afshin Ellian, a 44-year old Dutch professor of law at Leiden University, criticized the Queen for her role in obstructing a right-wing government.

Prof. Ellian came to the Netherlands in 1989 as a political refugee from Iran. He is a human rights activist and one of the Netherlands' most outspoken critics of Islam. "Sometimes one learns more about political and constitutional realities in two weeks than other times in decades," Ellian wrote on his blog. "Queen Beatrix," he said," has lost her impartiality in the eyes of many right-wing Dutchmen, The major winners of the past elections, namely the VVD and the PVV, have not been able to play a decisive role in the formation of a new cabinet."

On June 9, 2010, the Liberal VVD became the largest party in the Netherlands. It won 31 of the 150 seats in the Dutch House of Representatives, compared to 22 in the 2006 general election. The largest winner of the election, however, was the PVV, the Freedom Party of Geert Wilders, which won 24 seats, compared to only 9 in 2006. The parties of the resigning center-left coalition of Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende suffered considerable losses. Mr. Balkenende's own Christian-Democrat CDA fell to 21 seats from 41; the Labor Party fell to 30 seats from 33; and the Christian Union (CU) fell to 5 seats from 6.

Theoretically, the electorate's major swing to the right allows VVD-leader Mark Rutte to form a government with Mr. Wilders' PVV and the Christian-Democrats. This coalition would have 76 of the 150 seats and could count on the support of the small right-wing Protestant party SGP (2 seats) and perhaps even the CU (5 seats). Such a VVD-PVV-CDA coalition is that preferred by Mr. Rutte and also by the Dutch electorate. As this coalition would, however, be critical of immigration, multiculturalism, Islam, and the centralization projects of the European Union, while also being one the most pro-Israeli governments in the world, the Dutch political establishment is dreading a Rutte-Wilders cabinet.

Consequently, the CDA, which, as one of the Netherlands' traditional government parties closely linked to the Dutch establishment, was reluctant to start negotiations with VVD and PVV. Some in the CDA, moreover, argue that the CDA, as the greatest loser of the elections, should go into opposition. By appointing Herman Tjeenk Willink as her informer and representative in the coalition talks, the Queen has made it clear that she wants Labor to be part of the coalition. Before the elections, Labor explicitly stated that it would not form a government with the PVV. With the Labor politician Tjeenk Willink in the key role, it is obvious that the Queen is directing the Netherlands towards her own preference: a centrist coalition of Liberals, Laborites and Christian-Democrats. Such a coalition would have 82 seats. If the CDA preferred to join the opposition, a leftist coalition -- of Liberals, Laborites, and the left-liberals of D66 and the Green Left Party -- would be another possibility (81 seats). Another alternative, in case Mr. Rutte refuses to go along with the Queen's schemes, would be a leftist coalition of Laborites, Christian-Democrats, D66, the Greens and the CU (76 seats).

"The elite of the Left and the regents absolutely want to avoid the risk of a cabinet with Wilders," writes Prof. Ellian. "Wilders has been preliminarily excluded without the elite even considering negotiations with him." Ellian further points out that this is not just an injustice to Mr. Wilders, but also to his 1.5 million voters "who have been excluded from an important political process without as much as one relevant argument."

Mr. Tjeenk Willink, says Prof. Ellian, is now the Dutch "Viceroy," who has to neutralize both Messrs. Wilders and Rutte. The former because his outspokenness on issues such as Islam has made him unacceptable to the Dutch ruling establishment and the international elite; the latter because he has stated that his political priorities include an economic austerity program and a reduction of immigration levels.

Consequently, Queen Beatrix and her advisor Tjeenk Willink must maneuver very carefully. If they fail to put together a government without the PVV, there might be new elections, resulting in such a strong position for Mr. Wilders that one will not be able to exclude him

Hudson NY

Man in degrading assault by teenage girls in Arbroath, Scotland

Two teenage girls carried out a prolonged "degrading" assault on a vulnerable young man, Arbroath Sheriff Court has heard.

Paige Sharp, 16, and Danielle Sinclair, 17, admitted assaulting the 21-year-old man, who suffered from learning difficulties.

The victim suffered 16 separate injuries during the incident in Arbroath in March.
Both girls were remanded in custody and sentencing was deferred until Thursday.

One of the lawyers in the case said it was a "sordid and squalid" tale.

The public benches were cleared as a video recording taken on a mobile phone during the assault by an unnamed witness was shown to the court.

It showed the 21-year-old man being beaten and sworn at.

He was then sexually assaulted with a vacuum cleaner and was heard to shout and scream.

The court heard Sharp, who was only 15 at the time, and Sinclair launched their attack because they believed their victim had sexually assaulted Sinclair.

It also heard drink and drugs had been taken, including mephedrone, but apparently not by Sinclair.

The victim himself told police he was "wasted" on "Bubbles" - the street name for mephedrone - and on cannabis at the time of the assault.

Lawyers for both girls told Arbroath Sheriff Court they were deeply ashamed of what they had done and had pleaded guilty to the assault.

Sheriff Kevin Veal told the girls they had subjected their victim to "degrading" and "demeaning" actions.

BBC News

Boasting far right BNP chief says centre is in profit (UK)

BNP chief Nick Griffin is boasting that its call centre in Belfast has made a profit of nearly a quarter of a  million pounds.

Griffin revealed details of the party’s funds in an email sent to the media this week charting his party’s success.

And he says it’s all down to the success of the east Belfast-based call centre which is run by his sidekick Jim Dowson and where Griffin’s daughter Jennifer also works.

“The Belfast call centre is very popular with many ordinary people (especially the elderly or those living a long way from an active branch) who find it helps them keep in touch with the party,” says Griffin.

“The friendly personal touch was particularly noted during last winter’s bitter cold, when our call centre staff telephoned every single pensioner member to ask if they were alright or if they needed any help from a local party official.

“What is less well known is just how much ‘Belfast’ contributes financially to the well being of the British National Party.

“With BNP’s 2009 accounts now effectively complete we can reveal exclusively that the call centre has brought into the party an amazing £359,000 in first 15 months of operation.

“With big peaks during the European and General Elections, the average monthly income has been £26,330 at an average monthly running cost (including all set up costs, wages, line rentals, etc) of £8,000.

“The Belfast call centre has already made the BNP a direct profit of £223,000.”

And he praises his Belfast boss Jim Dowson who told porkies to the Press Complaints Commission that he was not a member of the BNP even though we had footage of him delivering a right wing speech to a BNP gathering two months ago.

“So well done to Jim Dowson for guiding us through the immensely complicated task of sourcing the right technology and setting up the whole operation, and to all the staff who have worked so hard to make the call centre such a success,” he says.

Griffin’s praise for the call centre is in stark contrast to May when the Belfast staff were blamed for a “cock up” at the General Election where the party fielded 339 candidates

They were accused of printing millions of leaflets which had an old text number printed on it.

The Sunday World was first to reveal that the BNP had secretly set up a call centre in Dundonald, east Belfast.

Jim Dowson denied any involvement even though we had clear evidence and sent a letter to the PCC press watchdog.

“They allege that I am a BNP life member when I have never been a member of the party ever in my life!” he wrote.

However, the Sunday World was sent a video by Searchlight magazine showing Jim praising the racist party and urging people to join up. And he’s even captioned ‘North West Fundraiser’.

Hope Not Hate

90-year-old Nazi suspect Adolf Storms dies (Germany)

A 90-year-old former SS sergeant who was No. 4 on the Simon Wiesenthal Center's list of most-wanted  Nazi war crimes suspects has died before he could be brought to trial, German authorities said Tuesday.

Adolf Storms died at his home in the western city of Duisburg on June 28, Dortmund prosecutor Andreas Brendel said. He said he did not know the exact cause of death.

Brendel's office charged Storms in November with 58 counts of murder for his alleged involvement in a massacre of Jewish forced laborers in a forest near the Austrian village of Deutsch Schuetzen.

Storms and other unidentified accomplices were accused of forcing at least 57 of the Jewish laborers to hand over their valuables and kneel by a grave before fatally shooting them from behind.

A day after the March 29, 1945 massacre, Storms was alleged to have shot another Jew who could no longer walk during a forced march in Austria from Deutsch Schuetzen to the village of Hartberg.

Several former members of the Hitler Youth who were helping the SS guard the prisoners on the march provided witness statements, and Brendel said he thought he had strong evidence against Storms.

"I would have liked to have tried the case," he said.

Efraim Zuroff, the top Nazi hunter at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said Storms' death before a trial could begin was a "classic example" of the challenges his office and prosecutors face today in continuing to pursue suspects more than six decades after the end of World War II.

"At least he was under investigation and faced indictment," Zuroff said in a telephone interview from Jerusalem.

Storms worked unnoticed for decades as a train station manager until a University of Vienna student doing undergraduate research uncovered his alleged involvement in the wartime massacre.

The student and his professor, Walter Manoschek, tracked him down and Manoschek then visited Storms several times. The professor conducted about 12 hours of interviews in which Storms repeatedly said that he does not remember the killings.

Yahoo News

Running Short, Running Scared?

The BNP has spent the past few days bussing in their big guns from all over the country in an attempt to get Richard Barnbrook elected back on to Barking and Dagenham Council in this Thursday's Goresbrook Ward By-election.

Recently elevated "Returns Officer" Clive Jefferson, has travelled all the way down from Cumbria to stay with Barnbrook and oversee the campaign, this is despite the fact that the renegade Eddy Butler is supposed to be Barnbrook's election agent.

Former Deputy Leader Simon Darby has also arrived, blogging separate desperate interviews with both the candidate and Jefferson making appeals for more members to come to B&D and help get the BNP vote out. They're trying to be upbeat and talking up their chances, but it's quite clear that the BNP in Barking and Dagenham has been decimated by not only the internal split but also their total wipe out in May's elections, Barnbrook would appear to be the only former Councillor shameless enough to show his face in the borough again.

Despite leadership candidate Butler cancelling a meeting on the weekend supposedly to campaign instead for Barnbrook, he was nowhere to be seen on Saturday when the BNP leader Nick Griffin, his arch enemy, made a brief appearance in the borough. The BNP may have been able to deliver more leaflets for the hapless Barnbrook if no less than seven security staff dressed in black suits and sun glasses were not watching Griffin's back and actually delivered some leaflets instead.

The Party continues to obsess about Searchlight's campaigning and while Griffin and his private army of minders played cat and mouse over whether they would actually have to come face to face with Butler and his followers, twenty Hope Not Hate activists leafleted the ward with a reminder of Barnbrook's previous record on the council.

We also managed to dig up the picture above taken of Barnbrook's house the last time he had the stress of an election campaign. They may be stressed about Thursday's election, but history dictates that at least they'll be well refreshed.

Hope Not Hate

French parliament to debate Islamic veil ban

The French parliament is due to begin a debate on plans to ban the wearing of full Islamic veils in public.

The legislation in front of the lower house will make it illegal to wear the niqab or burka anywhere in public.

It envisages fines of about 150 euros (£119) for women who break the law, with tougher penalties for men found to be pressuring their wife or sister.

A vote on the proposed legislation will be taken next week before a full senate vote in September.

The veil ban, which has the backing of President Nicolas Sarkozy, is also winning support in other parts of Europe.
Belgium's lower house has approved a similar measure and Spain's senate recently narrowly voted to impose a ban too.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon set the tenor of this debate last week at the opening of a new mosque in the suburbs of Paris, the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from the French capital.

Muslims who wore the full veil were "hijacking Islam" he said, providing a "dark sectarian image" of the religion.

There are only about 2,000 women who wear the full veil in France, and most of these wear the niqab rather than the burka.

Critics of the new legislation point to studies by the interior ministry that show many women do not fit the stereotype of marginalised, oppressed women, since a large number have taken the veil of their own volition.


The police unions have already expressed concerns over how such a law will be enforced and the idea of pressuring women to remove the veil.

There are also human rights considerations, and legal experts warn the broad scope of the law banning the veil in all public places as opposed to state institutions could be overturned by the constitutional court.

BBC News

Spanish Court Sentences 14 Members of Neo-Nazi Group Blood & Honour

A Spanish court on Monday ordered the dissolution of the neo-Nazi group Blood & Honor in a verdict that sentenced to prison terms 14 of the 18 members of the group who were on trial for illicit association and weapons possession

According to the sentences handed down on Monday, the main accused – Roberto L. U. and Francisco Jose L. P., each sentenced to between three and four years, were the founders of Blood & Honor Spain, and held leadership posts within the group.

In the homes of both, examples of the statutes of the association and other documents were found, along with magazines linked to the neo-Nazi ideology, anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, as well as items praising Adolf Hitler and Rudolf Hess.

Among the rest of the accused, one received a prison term of two years and 11 were sentenced to a year in prison each, all of them for illicit association. The court absolved four of the accused for lack of evidence.

In addition, the court ordered that Blood & Honor be dissolved in accord with the Penal Code, which deems to be illegal groups that promote discrimination, hate or violence against people or associations on the basis of their ideology, religion, race, nationality, sex or sexual orientation.

LAHT

Nazi Executioner Strolls in Park

A NAZI executioner wanted for mass murder and concentration camp atrocities strolls through the park in a picture which shames Germany.

Evil Klaas Faber, 88, looked like an ordinary OAP when The Sun went to confront him about his war crimes.

But his white hair and glasses hide a shocking past as a bloodthirsty killer who volunteered for Adolf Hitler's notorious SS and a roving Gestapo death squad.

Faber was sentenced to death after being convicted of war crimes in 1947. But his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, and in 1952 he escaped from prison in Breda, Holland, and fled to sanctuary in Germany.

Demands by Britain and other nations to hand over Faber - listed as the fifth most-wanted Nazi fugitive - have since been rejected by Germany.

Incredibly, officials still protect the Dutch-born killer and insist he is immune from extradition after Hitler granted him German citizenship as an SS volunteer.

Local privacy laws mean that Germans cannot be told Faber is a war criminal, or see photos of him enjoying his freedom.

But The Sun found Faber in the medieval town of Ingolstadt, where he lives with frail wife Jacoba. The name K. Faber marks the doorbell on his modern flat.
After years as an anonymous office worker at Audi, Faber now enjoys a cosy retirement relaxing in local parks and going on shopping trips in his VW Golf.

Neighbours say the dad of three is quiet, but friendly and polite.

The Sun confronted him and asked if he felt any remorse for his crimes or compassion for his victims and their relatives.

Faber's smile immediately vanished, replaced by an icy stare and grim silence.

His trial heard he was an enthusiastic Nazi who volunteered to join the SS in 1940, then travelled around northern Holland ruthlessly slaughtering Jews and Dutch resistance fighters.

He rose to become an officer with the notorious SD secret police and worked for the Gestapo as an executioner at Westerbork concentration camp, where teenage diarist Anne Frank was held.
He was convicted of murdering at least 22 victims, but the court heard he personally carried out mass shootings and experts believe the real toll was much higher.

Faber was then one of seven Nazi officers who escaped from Breda prison on Boxing Day 1952.

They fled to Germany, where they were welcomed at the border and given coffee and cakes by sympathetic customs officials.

The gang were given token fines for illegally crossing the border, then set free. German authorities still honour the special privileges granted by Hitler himself to his most hardcore followers.

Faber became a German in 1943 under the "Fuhrer's Law" - a personal decree granting German citizenship to foreign Nazi volunteers.

It is the only one of Hitler's laws never to have been revoked, and Germany still uses it to deny repeated attempts to return Faber to prison in the Netherlands.

Outraged Holocaust campaigners last night urged Germany to stop protecting Faber and hand him over to serve his sentence.

Simon Wiesenthal Centre director Dr Efraim Zuroff said: "He is one of the most evil men alive. For Germany to continue shielding him is a shocking stain on the nation's reputation.

"We are talking about someone who volunteered for the SS so he could help Hitler's regime turn his vile beliefs into reality. He didn't just support the Holocaust, he actively helped those behind it.

"The families of those he killed deserve justice, and it's time for Germany to stop hiding behind a law that Hitler brought in."
Sickened Arnold Karstens, of the charity War Crimes Investigations, said: "It is beyond belief that this man is free. Germany should hang its head in shame.

"Faber's crimes are so extreme he should die in prison. What makes it even worse is he has never shown remorse. It is sickening to see him enjoying freedom."

German authorities last night confirmed that Faber was immune from prosecution and extradition, despite repeated requests by the Netherlands to hand him over. State prosecutors decided in 2006 to classify Faber's crimes as manslaughter. So a time limit on trying him in Germany - which does not apply to murder - has now expired. A spokesman added: "Klaas Faber is a German citizen and cannot be extradited for this."

Th Sun

Ministers to meet in Dudley to discuss English Defence League demos

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

Vigilantes patrol area known for drug traffic, human smuggling USA

The signs are ominous: “Danger,” “Travel Not Recommended,” and “Smuggling.” But these are not enough  to dissuade J.T. Ready and his fellow vigilantes.

Ready and other members of his group are armed with shotguns, rifles and other semi-automatic weapons. They have spent the past three weekends canvassing the area known as Vekol Valley in response to a surge of violence.

“I have lived here for 18 years, and the majority of them have been very peaceful,” said Harry Hughes, who lives in the area and has begun patrolling with Ready. However, he said over the past 12 to 18 months the violence in the area has escalated, with multiple home invasions, burglaries, shootings and other violence in his neighborhood.

It is a problem he attributes to the coyotes smuggling humans, drugs and other illegal items through the area. Coyotes are human smugglers paid to bring illegal immigrants into the United States.

“The federal and local government continues to ignore the problem in this area, hoping they will go away, but that is not going to work,” Hughes said. “We have decided to do something about it.”

That something is patrolling the area on the weekends from now until the end of the summer, looking for illegal immigrants participating in criminal activities. Since they started their patrols, Hughes said his group has turned several illegals into the United States Border Patrol and found a body, which is yet to be identified.

“Typically, when we find someone, they are happy to see us; we offer them some water and then turn them over to the authorities,” he said.
involved in the group, but multiple reports have stated more than 10 people were at the first two gatherings.

Ready, who could not be reached for comment, was at one time the leader of the Mesa Chapter of the National Socialist Movement, believed to be the largest neo-Nazi group in the United States. Yet, Hughes said the group has nothing to do with race, and any person is welcome to join them in their patrols.

“We are not part of the National Socialist Movement; we are just a group of concerned citizens,” he said. He added that the National Socialist Movement was not a Neo-Nazi group, but an organization that focused on civil rights for Caucasians. “They get a rep worse than communists.”

The group informed the Pinal County Sheriff’s Department of their plans to patrol the area during the summer, but Tim Gaffney, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said the law enforcement agency does not condone the militia effort.

"We currently have operations that are ongoing and advise all citizens not to take law enforcement matters into their own hands," Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said in an issued statement. "Hate groups and other militia-type groups have also made arrangements to patrol, not at our request. This is not helpful, and, personally and professionally, I do not endorse, nor do I tolerate hate speech, discrimination or bigotry of any kind. These groups should stay out of Pinal County."

By Michael K. Rich at inmaricopa

Over 70 detained at "new Gárda" event (Hungary)

Hungarian National Gárda Police detained over 70 people as a group calling itself Hungarian National Gárda commemorated on Sunday the outlawed militia the Magyar Gárda, which was dissolved a year ago. Some 1,000 people were present at the event in downtown Erzsébet tér yesterday afternoon.
Police secured the area with a huge presence and no disturbances were reported. Before the ceremony, police targeted those wearing khaki trousers and black T-shirts who threw bottles, and insults, at police officers.
Several Jobbik MPs spoke at the function and called the legality of the police action into doubt. Jobbik MP Sándor Pörzse, Tamás Gaudi Nagy and Calvinist pastor Lóránt Hegedűs Jr. criticised the legislative practice of the Fidesz-Christian Democrat government, claiming that the spirit of governing of the past eight years is continuing.
Jobbik chairman Gábor Vona said the cabinet has not honoured its promises to hold accountable the former ruling politicians.

Those detained were in possession of air guns and imitation weapons, Budapest Police announced on Sunday afternoon.

Politics.hu

BURQA BANS SPREAD ACROSS CATALONIA (Spain)

There are no burqas on the streets of Tarrés. In fact, there are no Muslims at all in this village of 108 inhabitants in north-east Spain. But that will not stop the parish council debating whether to ban burqas and face-covering niqabs from parts of the village next week. "It is true that there are no Muslims living in the village now, but this would be a preventive measure in case they come," said parish councillor Daniel Rivera, from the tiny and openly xenophobic Partit per Catalunya. Rivera's motion to ban burqas has outraged many. Other councillors plan to vote against it, but whatever the result, the motion is symptomatic of wider moves in the Catalonia region to ban Islamic veils from public buildings. Today the nearby provincial capital, Lleida, formally passed a ban that was first announced in May. Women found wearing burqas in public buildings will first be given a warning, but any repeat will lead to a fine of between €300 and €600 (£250-£500).

From Barcelona to Tarragona, bans are being slapped into place across the region. "At this rate we will end up with more bans than burqas," said the immigration minister, Celestino Corbacho, himself a former town mayor in Catalonia. The Lleida ban was not passed by the anti-immigrant parties but, as in Barcelona, by a socialist-led council. "This is about equality between men and women," Mayor Ángel Ros said. "The burqa and the niqab are symbols of the political use of a religious dogmatism that had begun to appear in Lleida. "This is not Islamophobia. When the right does this it is guided by xenophobia, but we are guided by equality. The debate was already out there on the street. It is our job to listen." Ros would have liked an outright ban on burqas in public, but was advised that the town hall's powers did not stretch that far. "This is an example of integration, in which they respect the values of our society. Some cultural behaviour is a direct attack on our values."

Conservative opposition parties – including the Convergence and Union coalition, which looks set to win regional elections in the autumn – had been pushing for an even stricter ban. After Lleida's announcement, Spain's senate called on the government to prevent women from wearing burqas and niqabs anywhere in public. The motion was phrased to avoid the ban applying to the tens of thousands of Christian nazarenos who don hooded robes and parade through Spanish cities every Easter. The socialist government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, has responded by indicating that it will legislate against the burqa in a religious freedom law. Ros said the ban was a warning to some local imams who he says are driving people towards fundamentalism. On Nord street in Lleida, where halal butchers service the needs of the 29,000 immigrants who make up 21% of the city's population, there was dismay. "Catalan elections are coming up," said Abderrahim Boussira, at the Western Union store. "Election time is when they go after the foreigners and the Muslims. I've been here 20 years and I have never seen a woman in a burqa."

At middaytoday, more than 1,000 men packed into a makeshift mosque for Friday prayers. Imam Abdelwahad Houzi is the man Ros blames for radicalising local Muslims. "All we do is follow the Qur'an and the Sunna. We are not a sect or a political party and we have been here for years," he said. "We feel offended. This is an attack on the freedom of women." Houzi blames the local Segre newspaper for whipping up anger. The newspaper said it started covering the story only after conservative politicians complained about them, though its editorials also called for a ban. "Islam, which barely distinguishes politics from religion, still marginalises the female sex," its deputy editor, Anna Goméz, wrote. It is thought that barely half a dozen women in Lleida wear niqabs. "Some are Spaniards," said Khadija Rabhi, at her general store, which sells everything from haberdashery to hair oil to Muslim women. "I don't think they are forced to wear them by their husbands, though. How could they be? I don't wear one, but I cannot see why they should stop someone who does."

Like most women in the mainly Moroccan and Algerian immigrant community, Rabhi – who has lived in Lleida since she was seven – wears a hijab headscarf and a loose-fitting robe. "The Qur'an says we should dress modestly. But people have different interpretations. I wear a headscarf, and if I was not allowed to wear it, I would prefer to move to Morocco – even though Lleida has always been my home." Ros claims some Muslim groups support the ban, but a town hall list turned up no backers. Mourad el-Boudouhi, of the local Averroes Association, said his group had lodged a complaint claiming the measure contradicted Spain's constitution. There has been a second complaint against the senate motion, with the aim of taking it through to Spain's constitutional court. "No one has the right to decide for a woman what she must wear," he said. "They are adults and can decide for themselves. We will defend them if they decide to wear it and if they decide not to. This creates hatred. People come here to work, to get by, or to live in democracy – not in dictatorship."

Abdelraffie Ettalydy, head of the Maghrebia immigrants' association and a critic of Imam Houzi, said that the few women in Lleida who wear niqabs – which are slowly disappearing from his native Morocco – were rarely seen. "It is not as if everyone in Lleida was worried about this," he said. "In five years, I have only bumped into one of these women once." He blames the imam for failing to talk with a town hall that has offered land for a new and bigger mosque. "I can't call them fundamentalists, but they are not open-minded," he said. "They are simple people who say: 'We are Muslims, so we are better than them'. That is why the mosque has become a problem for the city, and now for Catalonia and Spain as well." Racist parties are crowing. "Measures we proposed three or four years ago that were greeted with cries of 'racism' are now being passed by town halls," said Joan Terré, a town councillor for Partit per Catalunya in Cervera.

Back in Tarrés, waiter Arnau Galí said the bans made little sense. "Not so long ago all the old women in Tarrés wore headscarves too, but they have disappeared without anyone banning them," he said. "The problem here has always been emigration, not immigration." In the meantime, niqab wearers in Lleida and elsewhere must change or they will be unable to get crucial paperwork done at the town hall – a building they are banned from entering. "If she cannot go out like this then she will change," the husband of the only niqab-wearer in the Catalan town of Cunit, 26-year-old Moroccan Fatima Bumlaqi, told El País newspaper. "Will they fine her if she wears a hat and sunglasses?"

The burqa in Europe

In Belgium a new bill outlawing the wearing of face veils in public is awaiting senate approval. If passed, offenders will be fined or face a week in jail.

France is trying to ban the wearing of full-face Islamic veils in public. President Nicolas Sarkozy has said they oppress women and are "not welcome". An estimated 2,000 women in France wear full veils.

The UK does not ban any form of Islamic dress. Schools are permitted to devise their own uniform policy.

The Netherlands debated banning burqas four years ago and may yet outlaw them.

In Italy, several regions have introduced rules to deter public use of the Islamic veil. Some mayors from the anti-immigrant Northern League have also banned the use of Islamic swimsuits.

The Guardian

Anti-Semitc Hate Site Founder Arrested For Child Pornography

We have just been informed that Frank Werner the owner and creator of an anti-Semitic website “JewWatch” has been arrested for being in possession of child pornography and may face up to ten years in  Jail.


As the item has been posted on friends blog here’s the link to the full story.

The Shofar Call

THOUSANDS PROTEST EXPULSION OF KOSOVO MIGRANT FAMILY IN VIENNA (Austria)

At least 7,000 Austrians gathered in central Vienna Thursday evening to protest the imminent expulsion of a Kosovan family of asylum seekers and to call for more humane immigration policies. The fate of the well-integrated Zogaj family has become a symbol of the Interior Ministry's hard-line asylum policy. The family has lived in Austria since 2002. Protesters said the Zogajs and others like them should be allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds, even if they have been denied refugee status. 'We don't need mercy or clemency, but justice and reason,' former science minister Rudolf Scholten told a crowd that organizers estimated at up to 20,000 people. Police counted 7,000. Other speakers criticized Interior Minister Maria Fekter for painting asylum seekers in a criminal light. Thursday's event was the culmination of recent smaller initiatives and protests. In May, demonstrators blocked one of Vienna's main traffic routes in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the deportation of two Nigerian asylum seekers.


DPA

RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE 'THE NEW RACISM'

Religious intolerance is "the new racism" and one of the main causes of persecution of minorities across the world, according to the annual Minority Rights Group International report published today.


In an overview of government policies, global trends and personal accounts, the campaign group argues that counter-terrorism efforts and economic marginalisation are increasingly being associated with religion, not ethnicity. "Religious intolerance is the new racism," said Mark Lattimer, director of Minority Rights Group International. "Many communities that have faced racial discrimination for decades are now being targeted because of their religion." The report notes that Muslims have been increasingly targeted by authorities in Europe and the United States as part of counter-terrorism measures. This is evident from police stop-and-searches to the US restrictions introduced after a Nigerian Muslim was accused of trying to bomb an airliner on Christmas Day 2009. The restrictions applied to citizens from 14 countries - 13 of them predominantly Muslim, the report notes. It also highlighted how religious groups can be the focus of nationalist campaigns, such as in Switzerland, where voters chose in a referendum to ban the construction of new minarets after a campaign by a far-right party.


Meanwhile in Iraq and Pakistan, which are on the frontline of the so-called "war on terror", attacks against religious minorities have also escalated in recent years, the report said. It notes religious groups in Iraq such as the Christians, Mandaeans, Baha'i and Yezidis have become targets of violence since the US-led invasion in 2003. And in Pakistan, the Taliban have targeted Christians for attack through killings, torture, forcible conversions and burning of churches, it says. Other discrimination occurs through government registration schemes for religious groups, a practice used in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan since 2001. In Egypt, all identification papers must list religious affiliation - but the choice is restricted to Islam, Christianity and Judaism. This means the Baha'i cannot get ID papers, and therefore cannot work or access healthcare.

AFP

DISCO ATTACK ON JEWS APPARENTLY SPURRED BY ANTI-SEMITISM (Germany)

German national security police are investigating an attack, apparently motivated by anti-Semitism, on two Israeli tourists at a Berlin disco club. A man who identified himself as a Palestinian began choking and punching a 22-year-old Israeli after asking where he came from, according to reports. The victim's 18-year-old friend also was beaten in the overnight Monday incident. Before fleeing, the attacker also reportedly threw a glass at the younger Israeli man but missed. According to police, a 43-year-old employee of the disco escorted the victims to the door and then reportedly sprayed mace at the Israelis, who managed to get in a taxi. The victims called the police from their hotel. The Israelis were treated for their injuries at a local hospital and released.

Recent statistics on anti-Semitic attacks in Germany have shown a rise in incidents -- violent and verbal -- during periods of turmoil in the Middle East. The number of such attacks rose during Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip during the winter of 2008-09. The disco attack follows on the heels of Israel's May 31 interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla that left nine passengers dead. Following a recent stone-throwing attack on a Jewish dance troupe in Hanover, Juliane Wetzel, a member of the new expert panel on anti-Semitism for the German Parliament and a scholar at the Center for Research on Anti-Semitism in Berlin, told the Welt online newspaper that the problem of anti-Semitism among young Muslims in Germany had not been thoroughly examined.

JTA

Griffin accused of subverting BNP constitution (UK)

The national organiser of the British National Party is trying to stop any leadership election from taking place  by rewriting the party’s constitution, according to Eddy Butler, the leadership challenger.

In the latest BNP “e-organisers’ bulletin”, Clive Jefferson, who acts as the BNP leader’s tame poodle, states that signatures in support of a leadership contender must be submitted on an “official form”, which he will not make available until 13 July. Challengers have until 10 August to gather the support of 20% of the 4,200 party members with two years’ continuous membership and 20% of the elite “voting members”, of whom there are only 278 nationally.

Butler says (correctly) there is no provision in the constitution for an “official” form or for a nomination period in which signatures have to be collected, only a set period (20 July to 10 August) in which they can be delivered. He believes Jefferson’s “totally unconstitutional move” is intended to prevent any potential candidate from having time to obtain all the required signatures.

Jefferson has also ordered people to send their nominations individually to the party. “The collection of these nomination papers by a third party acting on behalf of a potential nominee is not allowed and will invalidate that nomination paper,” he declares.

Butler says he will ignore Jefferson’s instructions. He and his supporters are already gathering signatures on a form that he has devised himself and intend to hand the nominations in together.

Jefferson goes on to “caution any member from making unsubstantiated defamatory allegations, just because a member attempts to gain the nominations to start a leadership challenge”. Butler asks: “Is he having attacks of remorse for the fake brothel film [a film that Jefferson shot that purports to show Butler in a Belgian brothel]? Is he going to expel himself?”

Butler has no doubt who is responsible for all the dirty tricks, the so-called attack blogs and “the little acts of petty spite, snide digs or other acts of outright political gangsterism”. Nick Griffin gave himself dictatorial power in the constitution he foisted on the party, so “when ‘things’ happen in support of his failing regime the buck stops with him, Butler asserts.

Griffin is also responsible for the letter distributed to neighbours of Simon Bennett, the BNP’s former webmaster, accusing him of theft, drug abuse, forgery, blackmail, etc, says Butler, describing it as “an indescribably filthy and scummy act”.

The attempts by Griffin and Jefferson to do whatever it takes to stop Butler are likely to end up in court, with the beneficial result that party members’ donations will be wasted on yet more huge legal bills.

Hope Not Hate