Teenage milkman denies possessing material useful to a terrorist while helping to run his father's Aryan Strike Force website.
A teenage milkman spent his spare time secretly preparing violent attacks against the government, a court heard today.
Nicky Davison, 19, joined his father in the creation of Aryan Strike Force, a website demonstrating an apparent obsession with Zionist domination, a jury at Newcastle crown court was told. Computers seized in a police raid on a house in Annfield Plain, County Durham, last year yielded data showing that "ops" involving bombs were in the early stage of planning.
Davison and his father, Ian, 41, were not simply "keyboard warriors", said Andrew Edis, prosecuting. "They made a distinction between people who were associated with the group they were forming – who were just supporters who might hand out leaflets – and members, who were to be of a different category, more interested in action," he said.
"They wanted to resist what they called ZOG, which stood for Zionist-occupied government. They were fighting against the government because they believed it has been taken over by Jews, so it had to be resisted by those interested in white supremacy."
Ian Davison has already pleaded guilty to preparing for acts of terrorism and producing a chemical weapon, using homemade ricin. The poison extracted from castor beans is deadly and has been at the centre of several terrorism scares.
Nicky Davison denies three charges of possessing material useful to a terrorist while helping to run the Aryan Strike Force website. The jury was told that the group had been established in January 2008 and at the time of the police raid last June was "in the early stages of becoming active".
Edis said Davison's acknowledged extreme racism was not the issue. He said: "Having white supremacist opinions is not what Mr Davison is charged with. He is charged with taking things a step further by having a document which contained information likely to be of use to a terrorist. He was associated, with other people, as part of an organisation, preparing to do ops, in other words paramilitary activity."
The website was not merely a propaganda vehicle for supporters, who also called themselves the Wolfpack and Legion 88. It showed interest in "violence in different forms to advance the aims of white supremacy in these islands".
Shortly before the raid, Nicky Davison had posted messages on the site saying he was "concerned about the risk of detection and arrest". His on-screen name, Thorburn1488, was an obscure code relating to the work of an American white supremacist and shorthand for "Heil Hitler".
Edis said: "He was clearly associated with his father who has pleaded guilty to terrorist charges."
The raid at the house that Nicky Davison shared with his mother and younger brother found online copies of manuals including the Poor Man's James Bond and The Anarchist's Cookbook.
"These tell the reader how to make letter bombs, how to make explosives, how to make detonators, how to make bombs, how to make grenades, how to make silencers and how to make poisons," Edis said. "The prosecution does not allege that this defendant committed an act of terrorism. The charges are aimed at a young man who seems to be preparing himself, reading and getting himself informed and equipped for action."
The trial continues.
The Guardian
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
Man in court over mosque attack (UK)
A MAN has admitted throwing petrol over a mosque during an attempted arson attack.
Gerald Davis targeted the Muslim place of worship on Chester Road, Sunderland.
Davis, 53, of Palmerston Road, Peterborough, was originally charged with attempting to commit arson with intent to endanger the lives of Muslims.
But at Newcastle Crown Court yesterday prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to the lesser charge of attempting to commit arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.
The court heard Davis has been examined by a psychiatrist who has recommended he be sentenced to a hospital order under the Mental Health Act.
He must be assessed by another psychiatrist before such sentence could be passed.
Mr Recorder Toby Hedworth adjourned sentence until May 28 and remanded Davis in custody in the meantime.
The Judge said: "The recommendation of one doctor is you be made subject of a hospital order under the terms of the mental health act.
"For that to be done there needs to be a second report from another appropriately qualified psychiatrist.
"I am going to adjourn your case for six weeks to allow the preparation of that report and allow arrangements to be made for your admission in due course to such hospital."
Davis had also admitted a charge of exposure relating to an incident two days before the mosque attack in the early hours of October 16 last year.
On December 9 last year, Sunderland Magistrates' Court heard that Davis had exposed himself to a woman at the George Washington Hotel, near High Usworth, Washington.
The victim said Davis had struck up conversation with her by the hotel's swimming pool, before dropping his towel to expose his genitals.
Sunderland Echo
Gerald Davis targeted the Muslim place of worship on Chester Road, Sunderland.
Davis, 53, of Palmerston Road, Peterborough, was originally charged with attempting to commit arson with intent to endanger the lives of Muslims.
But at Newcastle Crown Court yesterday prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to the lesser charge of attempting to commit arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.
The court heard Davis has been examined by a psychiatrist who has recommended he be sentenced to a hospital order under the Mental Health Act.
He must be assessed by another psychiatrist before such sentence could be passed.
Mr Recorder Toby Hedworth adjourned sentence until May 28 and remanded Davis in custody in the meantime.
The Judge said: "The recommendation of one doctor is you be made subject of a hospital order under the terms of the mental health act.
"For that to be done there needs to be a second report from another appropriately qualified psychiatrist.
"I am going to adjourn your case for six weeks to allow the preparation of that report and allow arrangements to be made for your admission in due course to such hospital."
Davis had also admitted a charge of exposure relating to an incident two days before the mosque attack in the early hours of October 16 last year.
On December 9 last year, Sunderland Magistrates' Court heard that Davis had exposed himself to a woman at the George Washington Hotel, near High Usworth, Washington.
The victim said Davis had struck up conversation with her by the hotel's swimming pool, before dropping his towel to expose his genitals.
Sunderland Echo
Facebook announces online security measures
The move means fans of the site will be able to report any unwanted or suspicious behaviour directly to child protection organisations.
Responding to mounting pressure from the Government and parents to protect its 23 million British users, it has now redesigned its abuse reporting system so users can alert the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) to any unwanted or inappropriate contact.
Managers have also agreed to establish a new 24-hour police hotline, dedicated to helping with emergencies, investigations and prosecutions.
The issue was thrust into the headlines last month following the conviction of serial rapist Peter Chapman who posed as a young boy on the site and went on to murder Darlington schoolgirl Ashleigh Hall.
The internet giant has been roundly criticised for defying calls to install a panic button on the networking site, and chiefs were yesterday urged to turn words into action following a four-hour showdown meeting in Washington DC with Jim Gamble, Britain's most senior official responsible for protecting youngsters online.
Though Mr Gamble said Facebook had not not agreed to his demands outright, he acknowledged the popular social networking destination was "one small step from doing the right thing".
Safety experts today hailed Facebook's new measures, which are designed to give individuals greater control of their online safety.
Independent child protection expert Mark Williams-Thomas termed the move "a considerable step forward in online safety" while Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute, said the site was "taking a thoughtful, proactive approach to safety on the web".
The Northern Echo
PRAGUE PUBLIC TRANSIT CO DECIDES NOT TO SACK TRAM DRIVER PROMOTING FAR RIGHT(Czech Rep.)
Prague Monitor
NEO-NAZIS SENTENCED WITHOUT POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE FOR ATTACK ON ROMANI MAN (Czech Rep.)
Romea
FRENCH FAR RIGHT LEADER LE PEN TO STEP DOWN NEXT YEAR (France)
AFP
Mixed race people are 'more attractive' and successful
Mixed-race people are 'more attractive' and more successful, results of a new study suggest.
The Cardiff University study involved rating 1,205 black, white, and mixed-race faces.
Each face was judged on its attractiveness, with mixed-race faces generally perceived as more attractive.
Author of the study, Dr Michael Lewis, also suggested mixed-race people were disproportionately successful in many professions.
The study based its hypothesis on Darwin's notion of heterosis, the biological phenomenon that predicts that cross-breeding leads to offspring that are genetically fitter than their parents.
Dr Lewis said the phenomenon was mirrored in the results of his study.
"The results appear to confirm that people whose genetic backgrounds are more diverse are, on average, perceived as more attractive," Dr Lewis said.
Yet there is reason to believe that mixed-race people may not just be more attractive, but more successful.
Dr Lewis said: "There is evidence, albeit anecdotal, that the impact of heterosis goes beyond just attractiveness.
"This comes from the observation that, although mixed-race people make up a small proportion of the population, they are over-represented at the top level of a number of meritocratic professions like acting with Halle Berry, Formula 1 racing with Lewis Hamilton - and, of course, politics with Barack Obama."
Dr Lewis will present his findings to the British Psychological Society's annual meeting on Wednesday.
BBC News
The Cardiff University study involved rating 1,205 black, white, and mixed-race faces.
Each face was judged on its attractiveness, with mixed-race faces generally perceived as more attractive.
Author of the study, Dr Michael Lewis, also suggested mixed-race people were disproportionately successful in many professions.
The study based its hypothesis on Darwin's notion of heterosis, the biological phenomenon that predicts that cross-breeding leads to offspring that are genetically fitter than their parents.
Dr Lewis said the phenomenon was mirrored in the results of his study.
"The results appear to confirm that people whose genetic backgrounds are more diverse are, on average, perceived as more attractive," Dr Lewis said.
Yet there is reason to believe that mixed-race people may not just be more attractive, but more successful.
Dr Lewis said: "There is evidence, albeit anecdotal, that the impact of heterosis goes beyond just attractiveness.
"This comes from the observation that, although mixed-race people make up a small proportion of the population, they are over-represented at the top level of a number of meritocratic professions like acting with Halle Berry, Formula 1 racing with Lewis Hamilton - and, of course, politics with Barack Obama."
Dr Lewis will present his findings to the British Psychological Society's annual meeting on Wednesday.
BBC News
Brown: voters too sensible for BNP (UK)
Gordon Brown said he believed voters were too "sensible" to fall for the BNP.
The Prime Minister hit out at the far-right party as "not British", accusing it of trying to exploit people's concerns on immigration and housing.
In an interview with the BBC Asian Network radio station, Mr Brown was asked about the rise of the BNP in areas such as Barking, east London, where its leader, Nick Griffin, will fight for a Westminster seat.
Mr Brown said: "I think you'll find the British people are far more sensible about the future; I think they see through an ideology based on race."
He added: "I think it's the job of decent people from every party to expose the BNP for what they really are.
"They're trying to exploit people's concerns about immigration and housing, they use them to push their own ideology, which is based on race.
"That ideology of the BNP is totally wrong and it's got to be exposed; it's also not British because our fathers and our grandfathers fought together in a world war to defeat ideology based on race."
North Wales Weekly
The Prime Minister hit out at the far-right party as "not British", accusing it of trying to exploit people's concerns on immigration and housing.
In an interview with the BBC Asian Network radio station, Mr Brown was asked about the rise of the BNP in areas such as Barking, east London, where its leader, Nick Griffin, will fight for a Westminster seat.
Mr Brown said: "I think you'll find the British people are far more sensible about the future; I think they see through an ideology based on race."
He added: "I think it's the job of decent people from every party to expose the BNP for what they really are.
"They're trying to exploit people's concerns about immigration and housing, they use them to push their own ideology, which is based on race.
"That ideology of the BNP is totally wrong and it's got to be exposed; it's also not British because our fathers and our grandfathers fought together in a world war to defeat ideology based on race."
North Wales Weekly
Vatican comment on paedophiles draws gay groups' anger
Gay rights activists have criticised a Vatican official who sought to link homosexuality to paedophilia when commenting on child sex abuse scandals.
The UK's Stonewall group said it was astonishing gay people should still be dealing with "such an offensive myth".
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone had said homosexuality, not celibacy, lay behind the child sex abuse scandals.
The cardinal, the Vatican's foreign minister, was speaking in Chile, where his comments were also condemned.
Cardinal Bertone was attempting to defuse the scandals currently afflicting the Catholic Church, which are largely cases of priests molesting children, mainly boys, the BBC's David Willey reports from Rome.
He added that some "surprising" initiatives regarding the sex abuse scandal would soon be revealed but did not elaborate.
'I have the documents'
Visiting the Chilean capital Santiago on Monday, Cardinal Bertone told a news conference: "Many psychologists, many psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relationship between celibacy and paedophilia but many others have demonstrated, I was told recently, that there is a relationship between homosexuality and paedophilia.
"That is true. I have the documents of the psychologists. That is the problem."
Patricio Walker, a Chilean senator who helped draft anti-paedophile laws, said he would like to see what scientific studies the cardinal was referring to because he thought he was wrong.
A Chilean communist MP, Hugo Gutierrez, told AFP news agency: "Celibacy does more damage to a human being than homosexuality, which is a freely made choice.
"I'm shocked by these words from a senior dignitary of the Church."
In Rome, the head of Italian gay rights group Gaylib, Enrico Oliari, said it was "worrying that the foreign minister of a state that occupies the heart of the Italian capital would use arguments that are considered passe even in the Third World".
Aurelio Mancuso, former president of a Italian gay rights association Arcigay, said: "The truth is that Bertone is clumsily trying to shift attention to homosexuality and away from the focus on new crimes against children that emerge every day."
The Pope's spokesman has indicated that Benedict may have a discreet private meeting with victims of clerical sexual abuse in Malta during his visit there this coming weekend.
The Pope should not feel he is under the pressure of the glare of the media if such a meeting takes place, Fr Federico Lombardi said, so that he can listen and communicate with them.
In Malta, 10 men have taken three Catholic priests to court for alleged child abuse in their youth and have asked to meet the Pope. There has been a high incidence of reported cases on the small Mediterranean island, whose inhabitants are mainly Catholic, our Rome correspondent notes.
BBC News
The UK's Stonewall group said it was astonishing gay people should still be dealing with "such an offensive myth".
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone had said homosexuality, not celibacy, lay behind the child sex abuse scandals.
The cardinal, the Vatican's foreign minister, was speaking in Chile, where his comments were also condemned.
Cardinal Bertone was attempting to defuse the scandals currently afflicting the Catholic Church, which are largely cases of priests molesting children, mainly boys, the BBC's David Willey reports from Rome.
He added that some "surprising" initiatives regarding the sex abuse scandal would soon be revealed but did not elaborate.
'I have the documents'
Visiting the Chilean capital Santiago on Monday, Cardinal Bertone told a news conference: "Many psychologists, many psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relationship between celibacy and paedophilia but many others have demonstrated, I was told recently, that there is a relationship between homosexuality and paedophilia.
"That is true. I have the documents of the psychologists. That is the problem."
Patricio Walker, a Chilean senator who helped draft anti-paedophile laws, said he would like to see what scientific studies the cardinal was referring to because he thought he was wrong.
A Chilean communist MP, Hugo Gutierrez, told AFP news agency: "Celibacy does more damage to a human being than homosexuality, which is a freely made choice.
"I'm shocked by these words from a senior dignitary of the Church."
In Rome, the head of Italian gay rights group Gaylib, Enrico Oliari, said it was "worrying that the foreign minister of a state that occupies the heart of the Italian capital would use arguments that are considered passe even in the Third World".
Aurelio Mancuso, former president of a Italian gay rights association Arcigay, said: "The truth is that Bertone is clumsily trying to shift attention to homosexuality and away from the focus on new crimes against children that emerge every day."
The Pope's spokesman has indicated that Benedict may have a discreet private meeting with victims of clerical sexual abuse in Malta during his visit there this coming weekend.
The Pope should not feel he is under the pressure of the glare of the media if such a meeting takes place, Fr Federico Lombardi said, so that he can listen and communicate with them.
In Malta, 10 men have taken three Catholic priests to court for alleged child abuse in their youth and have asked to meet the Pope. There has been a high incidence of reported cases on the small Mediterranean island, whose inhabitants are mainly Catholic, our Rome correspondent notes.
BBC News
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Tony Avery, who teaches English to foreigners to stand for "fascist" BNP
A MAN who teaches English as a foreign language is to stand as a Parliamentary candidate for the British National Party.
Tony Avery, who teaches English as a foreign language, is expected to stand as prospective parliamentary candidate for Enfield North and as councillor for Turkey Street.
According to the BNP website, Mr Avery has worked as a garage manager and "spent several years in Mayfair, looking after 300 company accounts, including many of London’s foreign embassies."
He says he has worked for 12 years for councils in London, although does not explain what his role was.
He said: "I trained as an ESOL teacher in 2005, but found it difficult to find community organisations willing to accept me. They preferred their own nationalities.
"I believe that today’s fashionable left-wing view of equality reeks of hypocrisy: treating certain ethnic groups
preferentially is a flawed philosophy, and can be divisive in itself."
He has also edited several videos for BNP TV.
The BNP, which restricted its membership to people of "Caucasian origin" until 2009, originally formed as a splinter group from the National Front.
It’s leader, Nick Griffin, appeared on BBC’s Question Time last year, when he insisted he was not a Nazi.
He defended being pictured with David Duke, the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, which has carried out racist attacks across parts of America.
When asked why he had previously played down the Holocaust, he said: “I do not have a conviction for Holocaust denial.”
Tony Thake, of the Enfield Island Village Residents’ Association, which was built on the site of a former munitions factory, said: “I have no doubt that people believe the BNP is a racist organisation.
“This is a former industrial area where there have traditionally been a lot of working class. There are some generations whose fathers had good industrial jobs. You can convince people sometimes the reason they aren’t getting a house or job is all the fault of immigrants.
"About a quarter of people here are in social housing so they are much more likely to be targeted by the BNP. Some residents feel they have been in queues for long periods of time.
"But a lot of ethnic minorities have been here for many generations, so we’ve really moved on from dividing people – they are as British as anybody else.”
A snap poll of residents in Turkey Street, conducted by the Enfield Independent, showed that two were sympathetic to the idea of a cap on immigration and said they would therefore consider voting BNP, while six others were against to varying degrees.
Nick Lowles, editor of anti-fascist magazine Searchlight, who is also a Chase Side resident, said: “Certainly the BNP are picking up a protest vote because people are fed up with the mainstream political parties. But it is a dangerous protest. The presentable face of the BNP is not the true face of the BNP. You just have to look at the leader Nick Griffin, who is a hardline fascist. What he says now about the Holocaust is that he can’t talk about it. Well you either believe the Holocaust happened or you don’t.
“The BNP divides communities, it is no answer to the problems people face.”
In response to the news, Unite Against Fascism North London is planning to hold stalls and leafleting campaigns in Enfield, with a public meeting on April 18 at an as yet undecided venue.
The final list of Parliamentary candidates will be announced on April 20.
Mr Avery could not be reached for comment.
Endfield Independant
Tony Avery, who teaches English as a foreign language, is expected to stand as prospective parliamentary candidate for Enfield North and as councillor for Turkey Street.
According to the BNP website, Mr Avery has worked as a garage manager and "spent several years in Mayfair, looking after 300 company accounts, including many of London’s foreign embassies."
He says he has worked for 12 years for councils in London, although does not explain what his role was.
He said: "I trained as an ESOL teacher in 2005, but found it difficult to find community organisations willing to accept me. They preferred their own nationalities.
"I believe that today’s fashionable left-wing view of equality reeks of hypocrisy: treating certain ethnic groups
preferentially is a flawed philosophy, and can be divisive in itself."
He has also edited several videos for BNP TV.
The BNP, which restricted its membership to people of "Caucasian origin" until 2009, originally formed as a splinter group from the National Front.
It’s leader, Nick Griffin, appeared on BBC’s Question Time last year, when he insisted he was not a Nazi.
He defended being pictured with David Duke, the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, which has carried out racist attacks across parts of America.
When asked why he had previously played down the Holocaust, he said: “I do not have a conviction for Holocaust denial.”
Tony Thake, of the Enfield Island Village Residents’ Association, which was built on the site of a former munitions factory, said: “I have no doubt that people believe the BNP is a racist organisation.
“This is a former industrial area where there have traditionally been a lot of working class. There are some generations whose fathers had good industrial jobs. You can convince people sometimes the reason they aren’t getting a house or job is all the fault of immigrants.
"About a quarter of people here are in social housing so they are much more likely to be targeted by the BNP. Some residents feel they have been in queues for long periods of time.
"But a lot of ethnic minorities have been here for many generations, so we’ve really moved on from dividing people – they are as British as anybody else.”
A snap poll of residents in Turkey Street, conducted by the Enfield Independent, showed that two were sympathetic to the idea of a cap on immigration and said they would therefore consider voting BNP, while six others were against to varying degrees.
Nick Lowles, editor of anti-fascist magazine Searchlight, who is also a Chase Side resident, said: “Certainly the BNP are picking up a protest vote because people are fed up with the mainstream political parties. But it is a dangerous protest. The presentable face of the BNP is not the true face of the BNP. You just have to look at the leader Nick Griffin, who is a hardline fascist. What he says now about the Holocaust is that he can’t talk about it. Well you either believe the Holocaust happened or you don’t.
“The BNP divides communities, it is no answer to the problems people face.”
In response to the news, Unite Against Fascism North London is planning to hold stalls and leafleting campaigns in Enfield, with a public meeting on April 18 at an as yet undecided venue.
The final list of Parliamentary candidates will be announced on April 20.
Mr Avery could not be reached for comment.
Endfield Independant
New Leader Assails Far-Right Party’s Rise (Hungary)
The incoming prime minister, Viktor Orban, vowed Monday to defend Hungary from the ascent of a far-right party and its black-clad paramilitary branch, which have railed against the Roma community and called the capital “Jewdapest.” Mr. Orban, 46, the leader of Fidezs, the party that defeated the incumbent Socialists in first-round parliamentary elections on Sunday, said he was unhappy over the rise of the far-right party, Jobbik, which won 16.7 percent of the vote. “No radical party will be allowed to get rid of law and order in this country,” he said. “Democracy in this country is strong enough to defend itself.”
NY Times
NY Times
Extremists cancel march commemorating Allied bombing
Czech rightist extremists have decided to cancel their planned march through the centre of Usti nad Labem to commemorate the April 1945 Allied bombing of the town, according to the information published at the webpage of Autonomous Nationalists.
They cancelled the march as the town centre was blocked by the group We Don't Want Neo-Nazis in Usti.
Usti police spokeswoman Veronika Hysplerova told CTK yesterday that rightist extremists' activities would be monitored and if they prepared any event, the police would be ready.
The far-right radicals organised a march through Usti last April.
At least 512 people died and hundreds of buildings were destroyed or damaged in the bombing of Usti, an industrial centre of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, by the U.S. airforce on April 17 and 19, 1945.
Extremists' opponents stressed that the march was to be held briefly before the anniversary of birthday of Adolf Hitler on April 20.
Last year the march of some 200 extremists was guarded by the police. They intervened against the leftist activists trying to thwart the march, which was also attended by neo-Nazis from Germany.
This time, the extremists' webpage only publishes an appeal that candles should be lit instead of the march.
A mass, commemorative meetings and cultural events will be held, and church bells are to ring on April 17 and 19, in the hours when bombs hit the town 65 years ago.
Prague Monitor
They cancelled the march as the town centre was blocked by the group We Don't Want Neo-Nazis in Usti.
Usti police spokeswoman Veronika Hysplerova told CTK yesterday that rightist extremists' activities would be monitored and if they prepared any event, the police would be ready.
The far-right radicals organised a march through Usti last April.
At least 512 people died and hundreds of buildings were destroyed or damaged in the bombing of Usti, an industrial centre of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, by the U.S. airforce on April 17 and 19, 1945.
Extremists' opponents stressed that the march was to be held briefly before the anniversary of birthday of Adolf Hitler on April 20.
Last year the march of some 200 extremists was guarded by the police. They intervened against the leftist activists trying to thwart the march, which was also attended by neo-Nazis from Germany.
This time, the extremists' webpage only publishes an appeal that candles should be lit instead of the march.
A mass, commemorative meetings and cultural events will be held, and church bells are to ring on April 17 and 19, in the hours when bombs hit the town 65 years ago.
Prague Monitor
JUDGE RULES ON GOOGLE BULLY VIDEO (Italy)
Milan judge Oscar Magi said in his ruling he believed Google executives bore responsibility because the company intended to make a profit by selling advertising on the site where the footage was posted.
"In simple words, it is not the writing on the wall that constitutes a crime for the owner of the wall, but its commercial exploitation can," judge Magi wrote in the 111-page document, obtained by the Associated Press.
The three employees were given six-month suspended sentences in a criminal verdict that drew swift condemnation from defenders of internet freedom.
Google said it was studying the decision, "but as we said when the verdict was announced, this conviction attacks the very principles of freedom on which the internet is built", it added.
"If these principles are swept aside, then the web as we know it will cease to exist and many of the economic, social, political and technological benefits it brings could disappear. These are important points of principle, which is why we and our employees will vigorously appeal this decision."
Judge Magi said his decision should be interpreted as a requirement that internet service providers must screen the enormous amount of video that passed through their sites.
"But on the other hand, there also is no such thing as the endless prairie of the internet where everything is allowed and nothing can be banned," he wrote.
The trial, he said, should be read as an "important signal" that a danger zone is being reached for criminal responsibility for web masters.
"There is no doubt that the overwhelming speed of technical progress will allow, sooner or later, ever more stringent controls on uploaded data on the part of website managers," he said.
Daily Express
Jewish group praises Germany for its prosecution of Nazis
In its annual report on the international community's efforts to bring ex-Nazis to justice, the Simon Wiesenthal Center has awarded Germany the highest possible grade. This is the first time Berlin has earned an "A."
The Simon Wiesenthal Center, which describes itself as a Jewish human rights group, has recognized Germany's increased effort to prosecute former Nazis by awarding it top marks in its annual report on the international effort to bring World War Two war criminals to justice.
"There's been a monumental and highly significant change in German prosecution policy," the center's head, Efraim Zuroff, told Deutsche Welle.
"German authorities and judges are taking a more proactive stance to investigating and prosecuting Nazi war criminals, and for this reason we are proud to award Berlin our highest mark," he said.
Zuroff singled out Germany's willingness to "prosecute non-Germans as well as Volksdeutsche - ethnic Germans - which for many decades was not the case." He also lauded Berlin's willingness to put non-officers on trial too.
Zuroff highlighted two examples that illustrate the change in German policy: the ongoing proceedings against John Demjankjuk - an 89-year-old Ukrainian national accused of being accessory to thousands of murders while a guard at the infamous Sobibor death camp in occupied Poland - and the conviction of Heinrich Boere, an SS officer sentenced last month to life in prison for murdering three Dutch citizens during World War Two.
'Complete failure'
Germany and the United States were the only countries to earn the top "A" grade from the Wiesenthal Center, while a number of countries were criticized in the report.
The center listed Estonia, Lithuania and Ukraine along with Australia, Canada and Hungary as countries "whose efforts (or lack thereof) have resulted in complete failure during the period under review."
Zuroff said that no legal obstacles to the prosecution of suspected Nazi war criminals existed in those countries, but that there was a general "lack of political will" to carry out the process of bringing elderly suspects to justice.
The report said the most disappointing case was that of Sandor Kepiro, who was convicted by Hungary of helping to organize the murder of at least 1,200 civilians in Serbia in 1942. Kepiro has never been punished for his crime, although the Wiesenthal Center has located him in Budapest.
DU World
The Simon Wiesenthal Center, which describes itself as a Jewish human rights group, has recognized Germany's increased effort to prosecute former Nazis by awarding it top marks in its annual report on the international effort to bring World War Two war criminals to justice.
"There's been a monumental and highly significant change in German prosecution policy," the center's head, Efraim Zuroff, told Deutsche Welle.
"German authorities and judges are taking a more proactive stance to investigating and prosecuting Nazi war criminals, and for this reason we are proud to award Berlin our highest mark," he said.
Zuroff singled out Germany's willingness to "prosecute non-Germans as well as Volksdeutsche - ethnic Germans - which for many decades was not the case." He also lauded Berlin's willingness to put non-officers on trial too.
Zuroff highlighted two examples that illustrate the change in German policy: the ongoing proceedings against John Demjankjuk - an 89-year-old Ukrainian national accused of being accessory to thousands of murders while a guard at the infamous Sobibor death camp in occupied Poland - and the conviction of Heinrich Boere, an SS officer sentenced last month to life in prison for murdering three Dutch citizens during World War Two.
'Complete failure'
Germany and the United States were the only countries to earn the top "A" grade from the Wiesenthal Center, while a number of countries were criticized in the report.
The center listed Estonia, Lithuania and Ukraine along with Australia, Canada and Hungary as countries "whose efforts (or lack thereof) have resulted in complete failure during the period under review."
Zuroff said that no legal obstacles to the prosecution of suspected Nazi war criminals existed in those countries, but that there was a general "lack of political will" to carry out the process of bringing elderly suspects to justice.
The report said the most disappointing case was that of Sandor Kepiro, who was convicted by Hungary of helping to organize the murder of at least 1,200 civilians in Serbia in 1942. Kepiro has never been punished for his crime, although the Wiesenthal Center has located him in Budapest.
DU World
SA police investigate sex link to Terreblanche killing (South Africa)
A lawyer for one of the two accused men said Terreblanche tried to have sex with at least one of the defendants.
Mr Terreblanche's body was found on a bed with his trousers pulled down.
Police had initially said the killing was over a wage dispute, but are now exploring the possibility that the killing was an act of self-defence.
"We are not going to focus on one thing," said Musa Zondi of the Hawks, South Africa's elite criminal investigation unit, which has taken over the investigation.
"We will investigate all pertinent facts that have a bearing on the matter."
Gen Jan Mabula, head of the Hawks in North West province confirmed to South Africa's City Press newspaper that the suspects' clothes had been sent for forensic examinations.
Terreblanche was discovered at his farm in Ventersdorp on 3 April after having been beaten to death.
Two black farm workers have been charged with his murder.
Puna Moroko, the lawyer representing one of the accused men - 28-year-old Chris Mahlangu - told South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper the attack was triggered by a sexual assault.
"My instructions from my client are that there was some sodomy going on and it sparked the murder of Mr Terreblanche," he said.
The lawyer representing the other defendant - a 15-year-old boy who cannot be named - made no comment on the sodomy allegations.
Mr Moroko claimed the accused men were given large quantities of alcohol before Terreblanche allegedly tried to have sex with "one or both of them".
Terreblanche was leader of the Afrikaner Resistance Movement (AWB), a white supremacist group, and believed firmly that whites and blacks should be kept apart.
AWB spokesperson Andre Visagie strongly dismissed the sexual assault allegations.
"The media must choose now whether they want to regard Terreblanche as a racist or as the rapist of a black youth," the City press newspaper quoted him as saying.
BBC News
BNP short of candidates to take Barking and Dagenham
The far-Right party holds 12 seats and would need 14 more to take the council, but eight of the wards it is contesting are Labour strongholds. Until a few days ago it was confident it would have candidates standing in all 51 wards.
There are questions over several BNP hopefuls after it was reported they registered at “front addresses” to get round rules that candidates must live in the area.
Dagenham Labour MP Jon Cruddas said: “It's clear on the doorstep that local residents are turning away from the extreme politics of the BNP.
"The fact that they have really struggled to get local candidates to stand in the council elections, suggests the chances of them creating the political earthquake they said they would in the borough, are diminishing by the day.”
This is London
Monday, 12 April 2010
As loathsome as ever: Nick Griffin's BNP is STILL the party of racist lies, violent thuggery and vicious anti-semitism
Gradually, since then, and probably before, he says, the street he still lives in, the area he grew up in, and the country he was once so proud of has changed 'beyond all recognition' and no one - certainly not anyone from the Labour or Conservative parties - bothered to knock on his door and ask him what he thought about it, or the effect it might be having on his life.
Clive Neal used to vote Tory, but now he informs me, though not in a belligerent way, that 'I will be voting BNP', adding: 'We're losing our sense of what it is to be British and this upsets and frustrates me.'
Does that make him a racist? Mr Neal, a quietly spoken, almost shy man, who lives in the same house on the vast Becontree Estate that he used to share with his parents, insists not.
Farther up the road, single mother Karen Woodward, 39, says she will also be voting BNP. As will the woman, in her late 50s, at the pebble-dash terrace at No50, and the 34-year-old former builder, now registered disabled, at No52 ('I've never voted BNP before, but I'm going to because the country is in a mess').
The grandmother a few doors up? BNP. The middle-aged man at the house with a dodgy extension; BNP. His next-door neighbour; BNP. Two pensioners, behind the blue and brown doors, across the street; both BNP. A third pensioner, male, walking along the pavement. 'Yes,' he would be voting BNP, too.
The underlying electoral statistics confirm the anecdotal evidence.
The BNP is the official opposition on Barking and Dagenham Council after winning 12 of 13 seats it contested in the 2006 local elections, polling more than 40 per cent of the popular vote in six wards. In reality, this means that on every street in Barking (pop: 166,000), there are at least 38 people who in the recent past have voted BNP.
BNP stickers in windows and the Cross of St George, like the one in Clive Neal's garden, have become an intrinsic part of the urban landscape. No longer, it seems, is allegiance to the BNP something to be ashamed of; not here, anyway
This is why Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, is standing for Parliament in Barking. Griffin versus Labour's big hitter Margaret Hodge is one of the key sub-plots of the General Election. It is also a litmus test for our political system, with the MPs' expenses scandal and continued fears over immigration at the very top of the political agenda.
Figures last week revealed that virtually every extra job created under Labour - an extraordinary 98.5 per cent of 1.67 million new posts - has gone to a foreign worker.
It's a gift for Griffin and the British National Party, which is fielding more than 300 candidates nationally; but especially so in Barking. The Ford car factory once employed 50,000. Now it's 2,000. Unemployment is running at about 8 per cent. Decent jobs - any jobs - are scarce
BNP posters promising 'British jobs for British workers' already mock Gordon Brown's use of the same phrase more than two years ago. 'When we say it, we mean it,' the poster declares. Even the BNP, however, couldn't have imagined the chasm between Brown's 'jobs pledge' and Brown's record.
The BNP slogans have been backed up by effective community campaigning: clearing graffiti, picking up litter from parks and streets, even taking old folk to the bingo.
The tactics have convinced many of the white working-class who do not see themselves as racists that the new BNP, epitomised by Cambridge graduate Griffin, has evolved from the football terraces and shed the Third Reich nostalgia of the old National Front from which it emerged in the early Eighties.
These are the uncomfortable facts about the BNP and Barking, as well as other party strongholds like Burnley and Stoke. Behind them lies a story which tells us everything we need to know, if we didn't already, about Nick Griffin's 'reformed' BNP.
Let's begin with immigration, an issue which the major parties - particularly Labour - have singularly failed to address, and which the BNP has ruthlessly and shamelessly exploited in Barking.
Barking, overall, has fewer people from ethnic minority backgrounds than the London average. Around 75 per cent of the 167,000 population are white British, according to an Audit Commission report published in January.
The majority of the non-white community, however, is concentrated on the vast Becontree Estate, where Clive Neal lives.
Over the past ten years, half the council's housing stock - 20,000 properties - were sold under the 'right-to-buy' scheme. These new owner-occupiers subsequently moved out of Barking to places like Basildon, Billericay, and Southend in what became known as the 'white flight'. Many of those who took their place in Becontree were Afro-Caribbeans, mostly from other parts of the capital or other parts of the country.
The transformation of Becontree resulted in a notorious BNP leaflet called 'Africans for Essex'.
The leaflet has been dropping through letter boxes in Becontree over the past few weeks. The leaflet claims that the Government has paid African immigrants up to £50,000 to move to Barking to ensure 'safe Labour majorities in the future'.
In fact, the cash incentive scheme - residents in London boroughs are eligible for grants to buy their own homes to ease the pressure on council waiting lists - is open to everyone, not just immigrants or specifically African immigrants.
Guess how many took advantage of the scheme to move to Barking? Just 39 in the past six years. Of these, six were white, 15 were Asian, 13 were black (African and Caribbean) and five did not have their ethnicity recorded.
Just 39, then, in a total population of 167,000.
Yet many residents in Barking are utterly convinced that the 'Africans for Essex' conspiracy exists. Perhaps this is as much an indictment of the Labour Party, which has encouraged mass immigration to Britain while crushing any honest debate on the subject, as it is of the BNP.
The same might be said of other BNP propaganda portraying Margaret Hodge as a witch-like figure handing out the keys of the few remaining council homes to a queue of stereotyped foreigners in burkhas and turbans carrying suitcases. 'Enjoy Your New Home', Hodge is telling them. Behind her an angry white mob screaming: 'What About Us?'
It's a grotesque caricature, of course. But like all caricatures there is an element of truth in the xenophobic rhetoric. At present, those considered to have the greatest need are automatically able to jump housing lists, meaning new immigrants with children sometimes leapfrog people with longer-standing links to the community who may have been waiting longer.
Margaret Hodge, to her credit, raised this issue in 2007. The response of senior Cabinet members, among them Alan Johnson, now Home Secretary, was that Hodge's legitimate concerns were simply 'grist to the mill of the BNP'.
Three years on, the government has now effectively conceded that Margaret Hodge was right all along. Communities Secretary John Denham has just announced that local authorities should favour the children of long-standing residents when allocating council houses.
Indeed, Margaret Hodge, who became MP for Barking in 1994 and is now Minister at the Department for Media, Culture and Sport, has been the target of what can only be described as an ugly, vicious and highly personal campaign by the BNP.
On the doorstep, the BNP likes to use her maiden name Oppenheimer. Born in Egypt, she came to Britain with her Jewish parents, who were refugees from Nazi-occupied Austria.
Bob Bailey, 44, a former Royal Marine, and leader of the BNP on the local council, denied this when I contacted him this week.
'No, that's not true,' he insisted. 'We don't talk about the Labour Party on the doorstep, everyone knows they are rubbish. We want to talk about what we are doing, not what those clowns are doing.' What about his own description of Hodge as 'Margaret (the Egyptian) Hodge'.
'I don't think so,' he replied, then added: 'but that is where she was born, isn't it?'
In fact, 'The Egyptian' reference is on a BNP website called London Patriot. It was posted on March 3 - by Bob Bailey.
'I've been the subject of criticism and attacks in the Press all my career,' Hodge reveals back at her Whitehall office, off Trafalgar Square.
'But I'm in my 60s now and I have never met any anti-semitism before. My parents were subjected to it. I remember this incident when we were kids, when we had a car accident. My father got out the car to apologise to the other driver, but this man looked at my father and said: "You bloody Jew."
'It stuck in my memory. That is probably the only time I have experienced anti-semitism, until now.'
Margaret Hodge was also accused by Nick Griffin of having a personal financial interest in plans - since cancelled - to build a new prison in the borough. Griffin was later forced to apologise for the lie, which appeared in BNP literature. I learnt of another incident - involving Cllr Bailey - during my inquiries in Barking which is also worth reporting.
It concerned a young black student nurse who was conducting an exit poll for the Labour Party in the 2006 local elections. She should have said 'I'm from Labour', before approaching voters outside, but she forgot. It was an honest mistake.
But Bailey overheard her. He is said to have then told her: 'I know who you are. I've got your phone number.'
The girl burst in to tears. Not long afterwards, a car drove past the polling station with four thugs inside. 'Go home you n*****, one of them shouted at the student.
'Oh, dear, burst into tears,' Cllr Bailey replied sarcastically when the allegation was put to him this week. Did he know about the car-load of racist yobs? 'Don't think so, don't think so. Ask another question. Ask another question.'
Well, there was one. 'Is he a racist pig?' Not my words, but those of an opposition councillor who attacked Bob Bailey in the council chamber for his tirade against Nigerian churches in Barking. (Cllr Bailey is now facing suspension as a councillor.) 'I have been called so many names,' he said, 'It's water off a duck's back.'
Cllr Bailey, who works in security, is part of Nick Griffin's campaign team. The two have been out, side by side, canvassing on the Becontree Estate.
They are, of course, hoping desperately that they can increase the 0.7 per cent of the popular vote gained in the last general election in 2005. While the BNP has become the most successful fascist party in Britain since the Thirties, we should remember that its percentage of the popular vote was minuscule.
But their presence as a rising political force in Barking certainly cannot be denied. Apart from anything, they stand a chance of taking the local council. Those elections are also being held on May 6. Remember, they won 12 out of the 13 seats they contested last time.
This time round they are fielding many more candidates. What if they won? The BNP controlling a £600million budget - it's a sobering thought.
'I think Barking would become a no-go area,' says Hodge. 'People wouldn't buy houses in the borough, and businesses wouldn't want to come and invest here.'
But she adds ominously: 'If we don't really expose them for what they are over the coming weeks and if we don't convince people that Labour can actually respond to people's frustrations and aspirations, we're in danger of the BNP winning.'
Griffin, according to the antifascist organisation Searchlight, is already fighting a losing battle, against the (even) more extreme elements in the BNP.
'The reality is that too many in his party are wedded to the BNP's old street-fighting roots,' said a Searchlight spokesman.
Evidence, if any were needed, is here in the the list of the BNP's prospective parliamentarians. Among them are Martin Wingfield (Workington), jailed after failing to pay a fine imposed for inciting racial hated back in the Eighties; Ian Mellor (North West Leicestershire), fined £400 for carrying an offensive weapon; and Julian Leppert (Chingford and Woodford Green), who drives a car with a number plate that looks like 'Nazi' (NA51).
Not forgetting Mark Collett, 29, who was the BNP's publicity director - until he was arrested a few days ago on suspicion of threatening to kill Griffin.
Griffin is the BNP's Dr Jekyll. But be assured that Mr Hyde is still there behind the scenes - both in his colleagues and in his own poisonous mind.
There is no 'new' BNP. There is only the old one, and it's as loathsome as ever, as those who have been on the receiving end of the party's tactics in Barking know only too well.
Daily Mail
BNP's Mark Walker repeats claims that dismissal was a “hatchet job”
A JUDGE has described the behaviour of a BNP parliamentary candidate sacked from his job as a teacher as “scandalous”.
But Mark Walker hit back last night, repeating his claim that the dismissal was a “hatchet job” and branded the leak of a report into the case as “gutter politics” aimed at scuppering his chances of victory on May 6.
A tribunal report leaked to The Northern Echo reveals that Sedgefield candidate Mr Walker would have been sacked by Sunnydale Community College, in Shildon, County Durham, last year regardless of his sickness record.
He was suspended as technology teacher in 2007 amid claims he sent inappropriate emails to a 16-year-old former pupil and watched pornography on his laptop at work. No illegal content was found on Mr Walker’s laptop.
The report said: “In October 2007, the headteacher met with the child protection officer of Durham County Council and reported her concerns in relation to the claimant’s conduct and in particular the email correspondence.
“Durham County Council asked the NSPCC as an independent child protection agency to make inquiries.”
Following a lengthy dispute, he was dismissed because of his sickness record after he became ill following the allegations. He appealed against the decision, saying he had been victimised because of his allegiance to the BNP.
His case was thrown out in January after a tribunal hearing in Newcastle, but the details were not made public.
In the report, employment judge Andrew Buchanan said Mr Walker’s illness was triggered by his own actions.
He said: “If he had not acted in the way that he did towards that former pupil, he would not have had reason to be stressed and anxious and he would not have become ill.”
He said Mr Walker’s “culpable and blameworthy conduct contributed to his dismissal to the extent of 100 per cent” and that “he was the author of his own unfortunate illness”.
He said that joining a demonstration staged outside the school to support him made him eligible for dismissal.
Speaking about the demonstration, held on an induction day for new pupils, Judge Buchanan said: “The claimant’s conduct during the time of his suspension was, frankly, scandalous.
“For a teacher to be associated with a rowdy demonstration at the school gates on a day when pupils new to the school were being inducted demonstrates a failure to observe professional standards which this tribunal finds breathtaking.”
The tribunal also said failure to agree to a health report in February 2008 amounted to unreasonable conduct.
Judge Buchanan said Mr Walker’s membership of the BNP was “of no relevance”, but said: “The tribunal does not accept that the headteacher herself was motivated by antipathy to the BNP, but recognises that that party does provoke antipathy in many people.”
Judge Buchanan added that Mr Walker’s brother, Adam, a BNP candidate for Bishop Auckland, became embroiled in the dispute.
He wrote a letter to 80 Sunnydale staff saying attempts were under way to “destroy his brother’s life”.
Judge Buchanan said: “The claimant clearly was also cognisant of and supportive of the attempts of his brother and others to write to the staff and to seek to undermine the authority of the headteacher.”
Mr Walker said last night that the report was full of unfounded allegations for which dates, times and venues were missing.
He rubbished claims he was involved with the former pupil and said emails described in the report as extremely worrying were innocent.
He said: “All I was doing was responding out of politeness.
“Lots of teachers stay in touch with former pupils. I never taught her, she was never in my care.
“The email was to say ‘hello, how are you doing?’.”
He also said he was being persecuted for being a BNP member and said he planned to take further action against his former employer, Durham County Council.
He said: “Any fair-minded person can see there is no substance to support any of those bogus allegations.
“It is obvious that this is a smear campaign against me and I hope that the public can see through it.”
The Northern Echo
But Mark Walker hit back last night, repeating his claim that the dismissal was a “hatchet job” and branded the leak of a report into the case as “gutter politics” aimed at scuppering his chances of victory on May 6.
A tribunal report leaked to The Northern Echo reveals that Sedgefield candidate Mr Walker would have been sacked by Sunnydale Community College, in Shildon, County Durham, last year regardless of his sickness record.
He was suspended as technology teacher in 2007 amid claims he sent inappropriate emails to a 16-year-old former pupil and watched pornography on his laptop at work. No illegal content was found on Mr Walker’s laptop.
The report said: “In October 2007, the headteacher met with the child protection officer of Durham County Council and reported her concerns in relation to the claimant’s conduct and in particular the email correspondence.
“Durham County Council asked the NSPCC as an independent child protection agency to make inquiries.”
Following a lengthy dispute, he was dismissed because of his sickness record after he became ill following the allegations. He appealed against the decision, saying he had been victimised because of his allegiance to the BNP.
His case was thrown out in January after a tribunal hearing in Newcastle, but the details were not made public.
In the report, employment judge Andrew Buchanan said Mr Walker’s illness was triggered by his own actions.
He said: “If he had not acted in the way that he did towards that former pupil, he would not have had reason to be stressed and anxious and he would not have become ill.”
He said Mr Walker’s “culpable and blameworthy conduct contributed to his dismissal to the extent of 100 per cent” and that “he was the author of his own unfortunate illness”.
He said that joining a demonstration staged outside the school to support him made him eligible for dismissal.
Speaking about the demonstration, held on an induction day for new pupils, Judge Buchanan said: “The claimant’s conduct during the time of his suspension was, frankly, scandalous.
“For a teacher to be associated with a rowdy demonstration at the school gates on a day when pupils new to the school were being inducted demonstrates a failure to observe professional standards which this tribunal finds breathtaking.”
The tribunal also said failure to agree to a health report in February 2008 amounted to unreasonable conduct.
Judge Buchanan said Mr Walker’s membership of the BNP was “of no relevance”, but said: “The tribunal does not accept that the headteacher herself was motivated by antipathy to the BNP, but recognises that that party does provoke antipathy in many people.”
Judge Buchanan added that Mr Walker’s brother, Adam, a BNP candidate for Bishop Auckland, became embroiled in the dispute.
He wrote a letter to 80 Sunnydale staff saying attempts were under way to “destroy his brother’s life”.
Judge Buchanan said: “The claimant clearly was also cognisant of and supportive of the attempts of his brother and others to write to the staff and to seek to undermine the authority of the headteacher.”
Mr Walker said last night that the report was full of unfounded allegations for which dates, times and venues were missing.
He rubbished claims he was involved with the former pupil and said emails described in the report as extremely worrying were innocent.
He said: “All I was doing was responding out of politeness.
“Lots of teachers stay in touch with former pupils. I never taught her, she was never in my care.
“The email was to say ‘hello, how are you doing?’.”
He also said he was being persecuted for being a BNP member and said he planned to take further action against his former employer, Durham County Council.
He said: “Any fair-minded person can see there is no substance to support any of those bogus allegations.
“It is obvious that this is a smear campaign against me and I hope that the public can see through it.”
The Northern Echo
Across Europe, support for populist parties is on the rise (Germany)
In recent months, extreme right-wing and populist parties have won significant gains in regional and parliamentary elections in Europe. For them, times of crisis are a boon.
As Europe grows together, expanding its visa-free zone toward Iceland and the Ukrainian border, many citizens are beginning to see themselves firstly as Europeans rather than as citizens of their individual countries.
But not everyone supports the breaking down of national barriers. In recent months, xenophobic and right-wing parties have made spectacular political gains across Europe.
In Hungary on Sunday, the far-right Jobbik party won well over 16 percent of votes in parliamentary elections, marking the first entry of an openly right-wing extremist party into parliament. With the country hard-hit by recession, Jobbik capitalized on rising nationalism and a resurgence of anti-Semitism and anti-Gypsy sentiment to win votes.
Jobbik's rise echoes that of France's right-wing Front National party, Italy's xenophobic Northern League and the Netherland's conservative Party for Freedom, which all saw dramatic gains in recent elections.
Although right-wing ideology takes different forms across Europe, it shares a common strategy: exploiting the fears of voters in times of crisis. Right-wing populists focus on their followers' discontent, says Wolfgang Kapust of German public broadcaster WDR.
"They offer easy answers to complicated problems: the economic situation, unemployment or social insecurity," said Kapust. "Above all, they want to get rid of, deport or 'send home' foreigners and 'the others.' "
Parliamentary problems
But because right-wing movements define themselves through separation from that which is "alien," it is difficult for them to pool forces beyond their nation states. That's reflected in the European Union.
"Right-wing extremists and populists are opposed to a supra-national political institution like the European Union," says Kapust. "They want a Europe made of nativist countries. They want to maintain the identity of their own countries."
In the European Parliament, right-wing attempts to merge into one group have been unsuccessful.
"The differences are too large between the national movements," says Kapust. Right-wing parties remain protest parties, incapable of joining coalitions.
French nationalism
However, exclusion from coalitions does not mean that far-right parties are without influence. Often, nationalist parties succeed in exerting pressure on the conservative parties of the center, which fear they could lose potential voters to the far right.
This was seen in regional elections in France in February. The right-wing Front National, whose 81-year-old leader, Jean-Marie le Pen, has advocated sending African immigrants back to the continent, registered strong gains at the expense of French President Nicholas Sarkozy's conservative UMP.
The regional elections offered conservative voters a chance to show Sarkozy that they didn't approve of his policies since taking office, says Elisabeth Cadot, French expert at Deutsche Welle.
"Many who were disappointed by Sarkozy's national politics voted Front National again," said Cadot.
Immune to scandal
While non-established and extremist smaller protest parties often disappear quickly from view, the more moderate right-wing populist parties tend to survive. Many observers were surprised when the results of Italian regional elections in March showed that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had survived his numerous public scandals, including a corruption trial.
Berlusconi managed to stay in power due mainly to his skilful coalition building with other right-wing populists, said Stefan Koeppl, an expert on Italy at the Academy for Political Education in Tutzing. He pointed out that Berlusconi's own party came in rather weak.
"The winners are not his political opponents, but his allies, such as the far-right Northern League," said Koeppl.
Moreover, added Koeppl, Berlusconi's brushes with the law were nothing new - he has been known for his affairs, scandals and slip-ups since he came to power.
"Anyone who has forgiven him for the past 15 years is not likely to be put off by recent allegations," said Koeppl.
A special case
Dutch politician Geert Wilders, whose Party for Freedom made major gains during municipal elections in March, has sought to distance himself from traditional far-right platforms such as anti-Semitism.
Instead, Wilders has taken pains to present himself as a defender of democracy, while sharply criticizing the growth of Islam in Europe. Wilders has called the Koran a "fascist book" and argued that "there is no such thing as a 'moderate Islam.' "
Still, Kapust sees parallels between Wilder's party and other movements that show less fear of contact with the far right end of the political spectrum: "The development in the Netherlands is clearly connected to the minaret ban in Switzerland and the 'pro' movements in Germany," he said.
Swiss voters decided in November to amend the country's constitution to ban the construction of minarets. That step was lauded by pro-Koeln and pro-NRW movements in Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia. The linked groups, which hold seats on local councils, campaign on an anti-Muslim platform, decrying what they describe as the "Islamicization" of society.
Political scientists label the activities of such groups "anti-Islamic racism."
DU World
As Europe grows together, expanding its visa-free zone toward Iceland and the Ukrainian border, many citizens are beginning to see themselves firstly as Europeans rather than as citizens of their individual countries.
But not everyone supports the breaking down of national barriers. In recent months, xenophobic and right-wing parties have made spectacular political gains across Europe.
In Hungary on Sunday, the far-right Jobbik party won well over 16 percent of votes in parliamentary elections, marking the first entry of an openly right-wing extremist party into parliament. With the country hard-hit by recession, Jobbik capitalized on rising nationalism and a resurgence of anti-Semitism and anti-Gypsy sentiment to win votes.
Jobbik's rise echoes that of France's right-wing Front National party, Italy's xenophobic Northern League and the Netherland's conservative Party for Freedom, which all saw dramatic gains in recent elections.
Although right-wing ideology takes different forms across Europe, it shares a common strategy: exploiting the fears of voters in times of crisis. Right-wing populists focus on their followers' discontent, says Wolfgang Kapust of German public broadcaster WDR.
"They offer easy answers to complicated problems: the economic situation, unemployment or social insecurity," said Kapust. "Above all, they want to get rid of, deport or 'send home' foreigners and 'the others.' "
Parliamentary problems
But because right-wing movements define themselves through separation from that which is "alien," it is difficult for them to pool forces beyond their nation states. That's reflected in the European Union.
"Right-wing extremists and populists are opposed to a supra-national political institution like the European Union," says Kapust. "They want a Europe made of nativist countries. They want to maintain the identity of their own countries."
In the European Parliament, right-wing attempts to merge into one group have been unsuccessful.
"The differences are too large between the national movements," says Kapust. Right-wing parties remain protest parties, incapable of joining coalitions.
French nationalism
However, exclusion from coalitions does not mean that far-right parties are without influence. Often, nationalist parties succeed in exerting pressure on the conservative parties of the center, which fear they could lose potential voters to the far right.
This was seen in regional elections in France in February. The right-wing Front National, whose 81-year-old leader, Jean-Marie le Pen, has advocated sending African immigrants back to the continent, registered strong gains at the expense of French President Nicholas Sarkozy's conservative UMP.
The regional elections offered conservative voters a chance to show Sarkozy that they didn't approve of his policies since taking office, says Elisabeth Cadot, French expert at Deutsche Welle.
"Many who were disappointed by Sarkozy's national politics voted Front National again," said Cadot.
Immune to scandal
While non-established and extremist smaller protest parties often disappear quickly from view, the more moderate right-wing populist parties tend to survive. Many observers were surprised when the results of Italian regional elections in March showed that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had survived his numerous public scandals, including a corruption trial.
Berlusconi managed to stay in power due mainly to his skilful coalition building with other right-wing populists, said Stefan Koeppl, an expert on Italy at the Academy for Political Education in Tutzing. He pointed out that Berlusconi's own party came in rather weak.
"The winners are not his political opponents, but his allies, such as the far-right Northern League," said Koeppl.
Moreover, added Koeppl, Berlusconi's brushes with the law were nothing new - he has been known for his affairs, scandals and slip-ups since he came to power.
"Anyone who has forgiven him for the past 15 years is not likely to be put off by recent allegations," said Koeppl.
A special case
Dutch politician Geert Wilders, whose Party for Freedom made major gains during municipal elections in March, has sought to distance himself from traditional far-right platforms such as anti-Semitism.
Instead, Wilders has taken pains to present himself as a defender of democracy, while sharply criticizing the growth of Islam in Europe. Wilders has called the Koran a "fascist book" and argued that "there is no such thing as a 'moderate Islam.' "
Still, Kapust sees parallels between Wilder's party and other movements that show less fear of contact with the far right end of the political spectrum: "The development in the Netherlands is clearly connected to the minaret ban in Switzerland and the 'pro' movements in Germany," he said.
Swiss voters decided in November to amend the country's constitution to ban the construction of minarets. That step was lauded by pro-Koeln and pro-NRW movements in Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia. The linked groups, which hold seats on local councils, campaign on an anti-Muslim platform, decrying what they describe as the "Islamicization" of society.
Political scientists label the activities of such groups "anti-Islamic racism."
DU World
Police Urge Calm at Neo-Nazi Mosque Demo (Sweden)
Police in Gothenburg sought to ward off clashes on Sunday as neo-Nazi demonstrators opposed to the construction of a new mosque met with resistance from counter-demonstrators.
Police formed a human barrier as the demonstrators shouted slogans at each other from a distance of 100 metres at lunchtime on Sunday.
"Our aim is to keep the two groups apart," police spokesman Niklas Eriksson told news agency TT.
A heavy police presence prevented attempts from both sides to cross the lines just days before construction is scheduled to start on a new mosque at Keillers Park on the island of Hisingen.
Police said the anti-mosque demonstration, headed by known local neo-Nazis affiliated with the Nordisk Ungdom ('Nordic Youth') group, consisted of around 100 people. Some 300 people joined the counter-demonstration led by Nätverket Mot Rasism ('Network Against Racism'), an anti-fascist umbrella group that has come in for stiff criticism for its tolerance of extreme elements.
Police said anti-mosque demonstrators had secured a permit for their rally, which started at midday. Their intention was to march to Lindholmen and the premises of a construction firm set to begin work on the new mosque this Tuesday.
The Local Sweden
Police formed a human barrier as the demonstrators shouted slogans at each other from a distance of 100 metres at lunchtime on Sunday.
"Our aim is to keep the two groups apart," police spokesman Niklas Eriksson told news agency TT.
A heavy police presence prevented attempts from both sides to cross the lines just days before construction is scheduled to start on a new mosque at Keillers Park on the island of Hisingen.
Police said the anti-mosque demonstration, headed by known local neo-Nazis affiliated with the Nordisk Ungdom ('Nordic Youth') group, consisted of around 100 people. Some 300 people joined the counter-demonstration led by Nätverket Mot Rasism ('Network Against Racism'), an anti-fascist umbrella group that has come in for stiff criticism for its tolerance of extreme elements.
Police said anti-mosque demonstrators had secured a permit for their rally, which started at midday. Their intention was to march to Lindholmen and the premises of a construction firm set to begin work on the new mosque this Tuesday.
The Local Sweden
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