Highly respected & popular BNP councillor Alby Walker has voiced his concerns that there are still senior members of the BNP with neo-Nazi leanings and are holocaust deniers.
He reveals in this all too brief an interview why he has chosen to leave the party and stand as an independent candidate against the far-right party's deputy leader, Simon Darby, in the General Election in Stoke-on-Trent.
Please support the You Tube user and his channel BNPInfo
Who We Are
Our intention is to inform people of racist, homophobic, religious extreme hate speech perpetrators across social networking internet sites. And we also aim to be a focal point for people to access information and resources to report such perpetrators to appropriate web sites, governmental departments and law enforcement agencies around the world.
We will also post relevant news worthy items and information on Human rights issues, racism, extremist individuals and groups and far right political parties from around the world although predominantly Britain.
We will also post relevant news worthy items and information on Human rights issues, racism, extremist individuals and groups and far right political parties from around the world although predominantly Britain.
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
BNP Leader Nick Griffin failed his wife & kids - Jackie Griffin speaks out
Here’s a incite into to the Leader of the BNP’s Nick Griffin from his wife Jackie Griffin.
She states during the interview that,
'My mother thinks he could do with a damned good slap and get out there and do something. We have had four kids. I've worked all my life. I've always worked. I've had children and gone back to work. She'd have been a lot happier if he'd been able to provide.'
Nick Griffin couldn't get work with a Cambridge law degree entirely because he chose not to.
'His parents taught him that the sun rose and set in his arse'
And he dossed around for 20 years while she supported the family and went out to work and paid the bills with four kids to feed.
Until he became leader of the BNP, and his racist beliefs started paying the bills.
Yet he now fails to mention to the unemployed people that he has often labelled as scroungers and parasites and stated that they should “starve or work”, that in his past that was the furthest thing from his mind.
Pot calling the kettle black we should say or rather in Mr Griffins case “calling it white”.
Introducing Jackie Griffin the wife of the king of hypocrisy interviewed by Dominic Carman.
Please support the You Tube user and his channel dominiccarman
She states during the interview that,
'My mother thinks he could do with a damned good slap and get out there and do something. We have had four kids. I've worked all my life. I've always worked. I've had children and gone back to work. She'd have been a lot happier if he'd been able to provide.'
Nick Griffin couldn't get work with a Cambridge law degree entirely because he chose not to.
'His parents taught him that the sun rose and set in his arse'
And he dossed around for 20 years while she supported the family and went out to work and paid the bills with four kids to feed.
Until he became leader of the BNP, and his racist beliefs started paying the bills.
Yet he now fails to mention to the unemployed people that he has often labelled as scroungers and parasites and stated that they should “starve or work”, that in his past that was the furthest thing from his mind.
Pot calling the kettle black we should say or rather in Mr Griffins case “calling it white”.
Introducing Jackie Griffin the wife of the king of hypocrisy interviewed by Dominic Carman.
Please support the You Tube user and his channel dominiccarman
'Safety' fear shuts down Ann Coulter in Ottawa (Canada)
Hundreds of screaming students succeeded in what few thought possible Tuesday night – silencing incendiary right-winger Ann Coulter.
Organizers for the American's tour of Canada scrubbed her much-anticipated speech at the University of Ottawa when students crowded the entrance before her arrival.
A spokesman for the organizers said about 2,000 "threatening" students posed a security threat to the darling of the American right, and she was advised against appearing.
"It would be physically dangerous for Ann Coulter to proceed with this event," said conservative political activist Ezra Levant.
Protest organizer Mike Fancie was happy the speech was halted.
"What Ann Coulter is practising is not free speech, it's hate speech," he said. "She's targeted the Jews, she's targeted the Muslims, she's targeted Canadians, homosexuals, women, almost everybody you could imagine."
Levant's announcement was greeted with shouts of "Shame" and "We want Ann" from about 100 who had managed to get into the hall. Outside students celebrated: "Nananana, nanana, Goodbye Ann Coulter."
About 10 Ottawa police cruisers were called to the scene, but there was no violence.
Even before the protesters arrived, there were signs the evening would not go smoothly.
A crush of bodies greeted organizers about 90 minutes before Coulter's 8:15 p.m. speaking time as about 1,000 showed up for the 400-seat hall. At about 7:30 a fire alarm was triggered.
Then hundreds of protesters arrived, mostly students carrying signs and chanting. There was no accurate head account, but one student said the protesters accounted for about several hundred while one event organizer estimated 2,000.
"Ann Coulter should go back to where she came from because we don't want her back here," shouted Ellen Ocran, a University of Ottawa student in a shouting match with a Coulter backer.
Levant blamed the bedlam on university academic vice-president Francois Houle, who wrote Coulter to warn her that Canadian laws make provisions for hate speech.
"Promoting hatred against any identifiable group would not only be considered inappropriate, but could in fact lead to criminal charges," he wrote in the letter, which Coulter leaked to the media.
The university has refused to comment since, but Levant said Houle's not-too-subtle advice to Coulter emboldened students to block her appearance.
"This is an embarrassing day for the University of Ottawa and their student body ... who chose to silence her through threats and intimidation," Levant said inside Marion Hall.
Coulter is a best-selling author and syndicated columnist who has been called one of the leaders of the angry right wing in the United States and who embraces the outrage she triggers, although she has often dismissed the ensuing controversy by suggesting she was trying to be humorous.
Coulter was in the middle of a three-city tour of Canada which began at the University of Western Ontario in London on Monday and ends in Calgary on Thursday.
The event in London went without incident, but not without controversy. When answering questions from students, Coulter told a 17-year-old Muslim student to "take a camel" instead of a the flying carpet she has previously suggested Muslims use for transportation.
And earlier on Tuesday, she protested, with a bemused smile, that she was the real victim.
"I've been a victim of a hate crime," she said in a CTV interview of Houle's letter. "I think he's accusing me of criminal proclivities."
If publicity was the goal of Coulter's Canadian tour, the trip has already been a smashing success.
She even got a mention in the House of Commons, with New Democrat MP Olivia Chow accusing the government of hypocrisy in allowing her into the country, after having given the boot to an ideological opposite.
Chow said the decision last year to bar British MP George Galloway, who has expressed pro-Palestinian views, shows the Tories have a double-standard on freedom of speech.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney defended keeping Galloway out by noting his financial help to a terrorist group, Hamas.
"Hogwash," responded Chow.
"George Galloway has no criminal record. He can travel the United States, all over the world. What the minister is doing ... people he agrees with, fine come; people he doesn't agree with, you can't come."
the Star
Organizers for the American's tour of Canada scrubbed her much-anticipated speech at the University of Ottawa when students crowded the entrance before her arrival.
A spokesman for the organizers said about 2,000 "threatening" students posed a security threat to the darling of the American right, and she was advised against appearing.
"It would be physically dangerous for Ann Coulter to proceed with this event," said conservative political activist Ezra Levant.
Protest organizer Mike Fancie was happy the speech was halted.
"What Ann Coulter is practising is not free speech, it's hate speech," he said. "She's targeted the Jews, she's targeted the Muslims, she's targeted Canadians, homosexuals, women, almost everybody you could imagine."
Levant's announcement was greeted with shouts of "Shame" and "We want Ann" from about 100 who had managed to get into the hall. Outside students celebrated: "Nananana, nanana, Goodbye Ann Coulter."
About 10 Ottawa police cruisers were called to the scene, but there was no violence.
Even before the protesters arrived, there were signs the evening would not go smoothly.
A crush of bodies greeted organizers about 90 minutes before Coulter's 8:15 p.m. speaking time as about 1,000 showed up for the 400-seat hall. At about 7:30 a fire alarm was triggered.
Then hundreds of protesters arrived, mostly students carrying signs and chanting. There was no accurate head account, but one student said the protesters accounted for about several hundred while one event organizer estimated 2,000.
"Ann Coulter should go back to where she came from because we don't want her back here," shouted Ellen Ocran, a University of Ottawa student in a shouting match with a Coulter backer.
Levant blamed the bedlam on university academic vice-president Francois Houle, who wrote Coulter to warn her that Canadian laws make provisions for hate speech.
"Promoting hatred against any identifiable group would not only be considered inappropriate, but could in fact lead to criminal charges," he wrote in the letter, which Coulter leaked to the media.
The university has refused to comment since, but Levant said Houle's not-too-subtle advice to Coulter emboldened students to block her appearance.
"This is an embarrassing day for the University of Ottawa and their student body ... who chose to silence her through threats and intimidation," Levant said inside Marion Hall.
Coulter is a best-selling author and syndicated columnist who has been called one of the leaders of the angry right wing in the United States and who embraces the outrage she triggers, although she has often dismissed the ensuing controversy by suggesting she was trying to be humorous.
Coulter was in the middle of a three-city tour of Canada which began at the University of Western Ontario in London on Monday and ends in Calgary on Thursday.
The event in London went without incident, but not without controversy. When answering questions from students, Coulter told a 17-year-old Muslim student to "take a camel" instead of a the flying carpet she has previously suggested Muslims use for transportation.
And earlier on Tuesday, she protested, with a bemused smile, that she was the real victim.
"I've been a victim of a hate crime," she said in a CTV interview of Houle's letter. "I think he's accusing me of criminal proclivities."
If publicity was the goal of Coulter's Canadian tour, the trip has already been a smashing success.
She even got a mention in the House of Commons, with New Democrat MP Olivia Chow accusing the government of hypocrisy in allowing her into the country, after having given the boot to an ideological opposite.
Chow said the decision last year to bar British MP George Galloway, who has expressed pro-Palestinian views, shows the Tories have a double-standard on freedom of speech.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney defended keeping Galloway out by noting his financial help to a terrorist group, Hamas.
"Hogwash," responded Chow.
"George Galloway has no criminal record. He can travel the United States, all over the world. What the minister is doing ... people he agrees with, fine come; people he doesn't agree with, you can't come."
the Star
PRIME MINISTER DISPUTES CONTROVERSIAL STUDY (Estonia)
Is Estonia becoming more socially stratified and xenophobic? That’s what the controversial Estonian Human Development Report 2009, published by the Estonian Cooperation Assembly, says. The report shows that the intolerance against minorities is growing among Estonians, the salaries of ethnic Russians are 10-15 percent less than Estonians, and the country is subject to increasing poverty and social stratification. The report raised eyebrows when it was presented at the National Library of Estonia on Monday. Estonia’s Prime Minister Andrus Ansip was in attendance, and he began disputing the results in front of attendees, saying that the report’s finding that Estonia has the most unequal income distribution in the European Union is “a lie” and that there are no statistics indicating that. “On the contrary,” Ansip said. “As the poverty issue is quite real in the EU, then a statistical fact repeatedly stressed … is that over the past ten years, the unevenness of income distribution in the EU declined the most rapidly in Estonia.” According to Statistics Estonia from 2000 to 2007 differences in incomes decreased in Estonia, but during the same period the relative poverty rate increased, primarily among those above age 50.
Xenophobia ignored
As has occurred in other European countries, the economic crisis has increased ethnic tensions in Estonia. The report shows that since 1999 intolerance has grown towards people of different race by 9 percent to 24 percent, toward Jews by 11 percent to 22 percent, toward immigrants by 10 percent to 31 percent and Muslims by 11 percent to 33 percent. Ansip did not dispute these figures, and his conservative administration has done little to address race/ethnicity issues in Estonia, focusing instead on streamlining the budget for eurozone entry and dealing with the economic crisis. The report puts a lot of responsibility on the media for increasing negative attitude towards those groups. “During the past few years, in the opinion of many people, there has been too much discussion on topics related to the Holocaust, which has increased repelling attitudes instead of understanding,” the report noted. The events of 9/11 gave Muslims a lot of negative attention, and the Bronze Soldier incident strained tensions between ethnic Russians and ethnic Estonians.
balticreports
Xenophobia ignored
As has occurred in other European countries, the economic crisis has increased ethnic tensions in Estonia. The report shows that since 1999 intolerance has grown towards people of different race by 9 percent to 24 percent, toward Jews by 11 percent to 22 percent, toward immigrants by 10 percent to 31 percent and Muslims by 11 percent to 33 percent. Ansip did not dispute these figures, and his conservative administration has done little to address race/ethnicity issues in Estonia, focusing instead on streamlining the budget for eurozone entry and dealing with the economic crisis. The report puts a lot of responsibility on the media for increasing negative attitude towards those groups. “During the past few years, in the opinion of many people, there has been too much discussion on topics related to the Holocaust, which has increased repelling attitudes instead of understanding,” the report noted. The events of 9/11 gave Muslims a lot of negative attention, and the Bronze Soldier incident strained tensions between ethnic Russians and ethnic Estonians.
balticreports
FAR-RIGHT PARADE LAMBASTED (Lithuania)
Latvia isn’t the only Baltic state with a controversial parade this month. More than a week after far-right organizations held a parade to mark Lithuania’s independence March 11, foreign officials have begun speaking out against it. The parade features skinheads and those on the far-right of the political spectrum. Participants chant songs and mantras about “Lithuania for Lithuanians” and similar themes. Police monitor the event, but no political or police action has ever been taken to ban the march, which is offensive to many, especially now that the country is part of the European Union. Steinar Gil, the Norwegian ambassador to Lithuania, was first to speak out about the parade. “These people were shouting – ‘Lithuania for Lithuanians.’ Two years ago they were shouting ‘Juden raus’ (Jews out). We know the history of Lithuania during the World War II … my question is, how many parliamentarians have spoken up against this kind of demonstration? How many officials in Lithuania have spoken up against this kind of manifestation?” Gil asked parliamentarians during a session in the Seimas. Gil was particularly damning in his comparison between the tolerance for the March 11 parade and the lengthy efforts some parliamentarians are going to to ban the Baltic Pride gay parade. “All foreigners in Lithuania noticed this, we’re aware of this and I must say we are quite shocked. The gay parade is not about likes or dislikes, it is not about tolerance, it is about respect and it is about rights. Whether we like it or not, we have to respect human rights,” Gil said. Although the U.S. praised Vilnius for allowing the Baltic Pride parade this year, it has not issued a statement on the far-right parade.
Rise of far-right?
Efraim Zuroff, head of the Jerusalem-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, also spoke out against the parade. “Such neo-Nazi demonstrations have no place in European society, which has experienced unprecedented losses to the Nazis and their local collaborators’ hands. The fact that no public figure dared to speak out against the lack of tolerance is characterized by a demonstration that clearly shows the weak foundations of Lithuanian democracy. Ambassador Gil’s criticism should serve as a horrible warning Lithuanian society,” Zuroff told the press. Indeed, some Western European political analysts are wary about the potential for a far-right political movement to take power in the Baltic states, especially given the economic crisis. David Stevenson, a professor of international history at the London School of Economics and Political Science, told The Guardian newspaper that he is worried about the Baltic states. “Even more worrying, though, is what will happen in other parts of Europe … areas of concern are Hungary and the Baltic states,” Stevenson said. The interview was for an article about the election of the whites-only British National Party to the European Parliament. However, unlike in the U.K. while the right-wing has usually done well in the post-Soviet Baltic state democracies, the far-right has not seen electoral success.
Latvia criticized, too
Zuroff has been a vocal critic of the annual Latvian Legion march in Riga, too, and is irked that the Latvian foreign ministry is dismissive of his criticism. “It is countries like Latvia, which attempt to cover up the complicity of their nationals in the crimes of the Holocaust, which are seeking to rewrite European history by creating false symmetries between communist and Nazi crimes,” Zuroff said in a statement to the press Monday. “The time has come for Latvia and its Baltic neighbors to stop trying to deflect and/or minimize local participation in the mass murder of the Jews during World War II.”
balticreport
Rise of far-right?
Efraim Zuroff, head of the Jerusalem-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, also spoke out against the parade. “Such neo-Nazi demonstrations have no place in European society, which has experienced unprecedented losses to the Nazis and their local collaborators’ hands. The fact that no public figure dared to speak out against the lack of tolerance is characterized by a demonstration that clearly shows the weak foundations of Lithuanian democracy. Ambassador Gil’s criticism should serve as a horrible warning Lithuanian society,” Zuroff told the press. Indeed, some Western European political analysts are wary about the potential for a far-right political movement to take power in the Baltic states, especially given the economic crisis. David Stevenson, a professor of international history at the London School of Economics and Political Science, told The Guardian newspaper that he is worried about the Baltic states. “Even more worrying, though, is what will happen in other parts of Europe … areas of concern are Hungary and the Baltic states,” Stevenson said. The interview was for an article about the election of the whites-only British National Party to the European Parliament. However, unlike in the U.K. while the right-wing has usually done well in the post-Soviet Baltic state democracies, the far-right has not seen electoral success.
Latvia criticized, too
Zuroff has been a vocal critic of the annual Latvian Legion march in Riga, too, and is irked that the Latvian foreign ministry is dismissive of his criticism. “It is countries like Latvia, which attempt to cover up the complicity of their nationals in the crimes of the Holocaust, which are seeking to rewrite European history by creating false symmetries between communist and Nazi crimes,” Zuroff said in a statement to the press Monday. “The time has come for Latvia and its Baltic neighbors to stop trying to deflect and/or minimize local participation in the mass murder of the Jews during World War II.”
balticreport
IMMIGRANT SCHOOL CHILDREN FEAR WILDERS COULD DEPORT THEM (Netherlands)
A boy with short cropped brown hair raised his hand to ask teacher Mohammed Kaaouass a question about the anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders. "Sir, why is Wilders only taking on Moroccans. Why aren’t French people being kicked out of the country?" The student was a member of a class of 10 to 12-year-old boys at the Islamic primary school Al-Iman discussing the populist politician on a recent Friday morning, little over a week after Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) had become the biggest party in the municipal government in their city, Almere. The headscarf-clad girls in the class had just left for physical education, which is taught separately to boys and girls. Geert Wilders' PVV won 20 percent of the votes in this city of 188,000. As in the upcoming national elections, the PVV ran on an anti-immigration platform and has announced it wants to tax or ban headscarfs and deport criminal youths who hold passports from other countries. Wilders is currently being prosecuted in the Netherlands for hate speech and inciting discrimination after he compared the Koran to Hitler's Mein Kampf and made a controversial video that juxtaposed Koranic verses with images of Islamic terrorism. Kaaouass teaches religion, but after the local election he decided to talk to his students about politics. "That Wilders has become big," Kaaouass said, "has to do with us."
Set an example
The teacher went on to tell them about society in 1985, when he moved to the Dutch town of Zeist. "If the milkman came by and people were not home, he would leave the milk at the door. Then we, Moroccan boys, would come to deliver newspapers and we saw that milk by the door," Kaaouass said as he acted out walking up to a house and seeing something at the front door. "Hey, something to drink," he said with amazement and picked up the imaginary bottle. The boys laughed. "So what do you think?" the teacher asked. "Is the news in the papers about loitering youth and robberies true?" In a high school nearby, teacher Joël de Bruijne talked to his class of 20 about a similar subject. De Bruijne usually teaches PE at Echnaton high school, but also holds sessions twice a week to discuss topics such topics as manners, choices, and respect as well as current issues like Wilders' anti-Islam video Fitna, a possible headscarf ban and the local elections. During Monday's class, he explained how the Labour party had replaced its leader Wouter Bos by Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen and that Wilders has accused Cohen of being too soft on immigrants. "He calls him a 'multi-cultural bleeding heart' because he drinks tea with people of all cultures," De Bruijne said. The rise of Wilders is an issue for children of all creeds at different schools in Almere. Their teachers are busy clarifying and comforting. But how can they explain that Wilders is allowed to say things that would not be tolerated in school? De Bruijne recalled his own classes at the teachers' training college to explain how hard it is for teachers to deal with the turbulent political situation in the Netherlands. "We learnt that we could disapprove of behaviour, but never of an individual," he said. While De Bruijne believes politicians especially should set an example. "Wilders stigmatises whole groups of the population".
Freedom of speech
On the day of the elections he bumped into two boys in the corridor. They had been expelled from their class after they had said "Moroccan scum" should leave the country. They felt they had every right to say this, as Wilders does the same, De Bruijne said. He was struck by the incident, because the boys are right: they should be allowed to quote a politician. But Wilders' remarks go against school rules. Having respect for one another is something the school, with children from all parts of the world, holds high. Moroccan scum, and other derogatory terms used by Wilders, are not in line with that policy, according to De Bruijne. "Fortunately, I can tell them that Wilders has yet to account for his remarks, because the case against him is in court." Children at the Al-Imam school were playing a game of tag with the boys chasing the girls during recess, supervised by Harry van der Bijl. In his ten years at the Islamic school he had seen the response to 9/11, the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a Muslim radical and, recently, the rise of the PVV. "As a teacher, I try not to take sides," he said. He has attempted to explain to his students that it is a good thing that Wilders can say what he does, as this proves the existence of freedom of speech. And why it is a good thing he was able to establish a political party that people can vote for. All this means there is a democracy in the Netherlands, he has told them. "But the way he attacks Muslims is something I can't defend to the class," Van der Bijl said. Fellow teacher Fatiha Bousandrous added she can't explain to her class why their mothers may be forbidden to wear a veil. "I am their teacher, but I do not understand it either," she said. Bousandrous wears a headscarf herself.
Do the math
Her students were upset the day after the election, she said. She gave them a day to calm down and then took the time to tell them they need not be afraid: we live in a democratic country. If Wilders calls for something to happen, that won't make it a reality, she told her class. A headscarf ban can only happen if other parties want it as well. The PVV may be the biggest party in Almere, but not a single other party in the local council has been willing to support its proposed headscarf ban. Fatma Batuk, who was dropping her 10-year-old son off at the school, said she had been telling him similar things. Recently her son weighed the pros and cons of emigrating to either Turkey or Belgium, as he was sure his family would be forced to leave, she said. Some of the students at Echnaton were also convinced the dark-skinned students would disappear, teacher De Bruijne said. He started his first tutoring class after the election with a bit of math. The election in Almere had a turnout of 60 percent and 20 percent of those people voted for the PVV. How big a part of the city is that, he asked. Only 12 percent. Did his students consider that a lot, he asked them. He then showed them videos of people explaining why they voted for the PVV. They said it was because of immigrants, but also said toughness on crime, a lack of faith in established parties and bankers' bonuses as reasons to support Wilders. "I try to put the outcome in perspective," De Bruijne said. In Mohammed Kaaouass' class at Al-Imam primary school, a boy with braces raised his hand to answer the question whether there was any truth to the negative news about Moroccan boys. "Sir, I kind of disagree with you. There are Moroccans who do well, aren't there?"
The NRC
Set an example
The teacher went on to tell them about society in 1985, when he moved to the Dutch town of Zeist. "If the milkman came by and people were not home, he would leave the milk at the door. Then we, Moroccan boys, would come to deliver newspapers and we saw that milk by the door," Kaaouass said as he acted out walking up to a house and seeing something at the front door. "Hey, something to drink," he said with amazement and picked up the imaginary bottle. The boys laughed. "So what do you think?" the teacher asked. "Is the news in the papers about loitering youth and robberies true?" In a high school nearby, teacher Joël de Bruijne talked to his class of 20 about a similar subject. De Bruijne usually teaches PE at Echnaton high school, but also holds sessions twice a week to discuss topics such topics as manners, choices, and respect as well as current issues like Wilders' anti-Islam video Fitna, a possible headscarf ban and the local elections. During Monday's class, he explained how the Labour party had replaced its leader Wouter Bos by Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen and that Wilders has accused Cohen of being too soft on immigrants. "He calls him a 'multi-cultural bleeding heart' because he drinks tea with people of all cultures," De Bruijne said. The rise of Wilders is an issue for children of all creeds at different schools in Almere. Their teachers are busy clarifying and comforting. But how can they explain that Wilders is allowed to say things that would not be tolerated in school? De Bruijne recalled his own classes at the teachers' training college to explain how hard it is for teachers to deal with the turbulent political situation in the Netherlands. "We learnt that we could disapprove of behaviour, but never of an individual," he said. While De Bruijne believes politicians especially should set an example. "Wilders stigmatises whole groups of the population".
Freedom of speech
On the day of the elections he bumped into two boys in the corridor. They had been expelled from their class after they had said "Moroccan scum" should leave the country. They felt they had every right to say this, as Wilders does the same, De Bruijne said. He was struck by the incident, because the boys are right: they should be allowed to quote a politician. But Wilders' remarks go against school rules. Having respect for one another is something the school, with children from all parts of the world, holds high. Moroccan scum, and other derogatory terms used by Wilders, are not in line with that policy, according to De Bruijne. "Fortunately, I can tell them that Wilders has yet to account for his remarks, because the case against him is in court." Children at the Al-Imam school were playing a game of tag with the boys chasing the girls during recess, supervised by Harry van der Bijl. In his ten years at the Islamic school he had seen the response to 9/11, the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a Muslim radical and, recently, the rise of the PVV. "As a teacher, I try not to take sides," he said. He has attempted to explain to his students that it is a good thing that Wilders can say what he does, as this proves the existence of freedom of speech. And why it is a good thing he was able to establish a political party that people can vote for. All this means there is a democracy in the Netherlands, he has told them. "But the way he attacks Muslims is something I can't defend to the class," Van der Bijl said. Fellow teacher Fatiha Bousandrous added she can't explain to her class why their mothers may be forbidden to wear a veil. "I am their teacher, but I do not understand it either," she said. Bousandrous wears a headscarf herself.
Do the math
Her students were upset the day after the election, she said. She gave them a day to calm down and then took the time to tell them they need not be afraid: we live in a democratic country. If Wilders calls for something to happen, that won't make it a reality, she told her class. A headscarf ban can only happen if other parties want it as well. The PVV may be the biggest party in Almere, but not a single other party in the local council has been willing to support its proposed headscarf ban. Fatma Batuk, who was dropping her 10-year-old son off at the school, said she had been telling him similar things. Recently her son weighed the pros and cons of emigrating to either Turkey or Belgium, as he was sure his family would be forced to leave, she said. Some of the students at Echnaton were also convinced the dark-skinned students would disappear, teacher De Bruijne said. He started his first tutoring class after the election with a bit of math. The election in Almere had a turnout of 60 percent and 20 percent of those people voted for the PVV. How big a part of the city is that, he asked. Only 12 percent. Did his students consider that a lot, he asked them. He then showed them videos of people explaining why they voted for the PVV. They said it was because of immigrants, but also said toughness on crime, a lack of faith in established parties and bankers' bonuses as reasons to support Wilders. "I try to put the outcome in perspective," De Bruijne said. In Mohammed Kaaouass' class at Al-Imam primary school, a boy with braces raised his hand to answer the question whether there was any truth to the negative news about Moroccan boys. "Sir, I kind of disagree with you. There are Moroccans who do well, aren't there?"
The NRC
LEFTIST EXTREMISTS CLAIM GREECE ATTACKS
A Greek extremist group on Monday claimed responsibility for three bomb attacks last weekend that caused damage to the offices of a neo-Nazi movement, the home of a Pakistani and migration offices. The group, the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, said in a message posted on the left-leaning Indymedia website the attacks were a contribution to the ongoing debate in the country on immigration. It said Greece, which has become a major entry point for clandestine migrants, was an "off-putting example" of exploitation and lack of assistance. While denouncing widespread "racism", Conspiracy also said the Pakistani targeted was cooperating with Greek authorities. In the latest blast to rock the Greek capital a home-made bomb exploded outside a building housing immigration offices Saturday causing some damage but no one was hurt. Earlier Saturday, a bomb exploded outside the home of the Pakistani, the chairman of the Greek-Pakistan friendship association according to media reports, without injuring anyone. The Pakistani community in Greece numbers several thousand members, most of whom live in the greater Athens area. Early Friday the headquarters of neo-Nazi group Chryssy Avghi had been targeted. Chryssi Avghi members, who have held a number of rallies in central Athens for the last months, have been denounced by the left for attacking immigrants and anti-racist militants. Muslim migrants in Greece have faced increasing hostility from far-right militants, and the Pakistani community has frequently denounced attacks on its members by Greek youths. Last month a gang of mostly teenagers set fire to a house in Sparta, southern Greece as a group of Bangladeshi migrants slept inside. In May last year, five Bangladeshi migrants were injured after unknown assailants tried to burn down a makeshift mosque in Athens. Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire last claimed responsibility for a bomb attack outside the Greek parliament on January 9. Seven Conspiracy members have been arrested since police uncovered a cache used by the group in an Athens suburb in September last year. The group is suspected of having carried out a string of bomb and firebomb attacks in Athens and the northern city of Thessaloniki since 2008, but no life was lost.
sify
sify
PRO-ISRAEL GROUP BARRED FROM DISPLAYING FLAGS (Germany)
The German city of Kassel barred a pro-Israel group from displaying Israeli flags at an information stand, allegedly because it might upset passersby. A member of the interfaith group Bündnis gegen Antisemitismus, the Association Against Anti-Semitism, told the Nordhessische.de news service that when she applied for official permission at the Public Order office to set up the stand over the weekend, she was asked for further details. The member, whose name was given as Dorothee H., told the officer that the group would be distributing flyers and might display flags. She was then told that Israeli flags would not be permitted, as passersby could "feel threatened." In January 2009, people displaying Israeli flags in several German cities, including Kassel, were attacked by anti-Israel demonstrators during Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza. "I told him that I could not understand this, and that we were not at all dangerous," Dorothee H. said, according to the report. The officer then "made clear to me that my application would only be accepted if we adhered to this requirement." Jonas Dörge, a spokesperson for the pro-Israel group, said he could not understand how the display of an Israeli flag could be seen as a disturbance of the peace. Hans-Jürgen Schweinsberg, a spokesperson for the city of Kassel, told the news agency that if someone in the office of Public Order said the flag could be threatening, this was a personal opinion and bore no legal weight. Flags are routinely barred from information stands but allowed at gatherings, he said. Critics had noted that demonstrators for the Iranian pro-democracy movement had no trouble displaying a large Iranian flag recently in Kassel. Last year, the police chief in the city of Duisburg apologized for removing Israeli flags from an apartment window overlooking a massive anti-Israel demonstration. In his statement, Rolf Cebin said he "deeply regret[ted] that feelings were hurt, particularly those of our Jewish fellow citizens." Efraim Zuroff, Israel director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, called the police act "a clear violation of free expression" and a potential encouragement to "aggressive and violent behavior by those opposing Israeli policies."
JTA
JTA
at
07:54
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)