Taxpayers face an eyewatering bill of more than half-a-million pounds after the latest English Defence League (EDL) protest in Dudley.
The return of the controversial EDL, on Saturday July 17, cost Dudley Council £150,000 to fund additional staff plus facilities including toilets and fencing as well as preparation work in the protest zone.
West Midlands Police are also counting the cost of the rally, 900 officers from around the UK were involved in Operation Belvedere to contain an estimated 500 EDL members on Stafford Street car park and prevent confrontation with anti-fascist activists at a counter demonstration in Tower Street.
The force believes the operation will set the public back by £400,000.
Councillor Anne Millward, leader of Dudley Council, said: “Dudley Council does not have the powers to ban this protest but we have made it clear from the outset that we are opposed to the EDL and have worked closely with the police to do all we could to protect, reassure and support local people.”
Town traders were left paying a hefty price in lost business after many premises, including the market, closed amid fears the demonstration would become violent.
Cllr Millward said: “Honest, hard working people who run local shops and businesses have again been hit as hard as anyone by the EDL’s pointless protest.
“While we were encouraged to see some open for business, many were again forced to close.”
Trouble flared during the protest when a group of EDL supporters attempted to break through police lines and, later in the day, officers in riot gear clashed with protestors throwing cans, bottles and bricks.
There were also incidents away from the official protest site during the day.
A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: “Around 20 offences have been recorded to date, of criminal damage caused to cars and premises.
“Amongst the premises attacked were residential homes around Alexandra Street, cars parked in roads surrounding Stafford Street, restaurants on Wolverhampton Street and the Hindu Temple.
“Many of these locations saw windows smashed, and damage caused to fencing. A couple of vehicles were damaged as they were targeted whilst being driven through the town.”
A total of 21 people were arrested during the protest for alleged offences including 17 for violent disorder, two for affray, one for a public order offence and one for possessing an offensive weapon.
Cllr Millward said: “Yet again this group of outside extremists have shown they are incapable of demonstrating peacefully and have brought public disorder and violence to our town.”
Stourbridge News
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
FIRST MIGRANTS LAND IN ALMOST A YEAR (Malta)
Times of Malta
Germany remembers Stauffenberg on execution anniversary (Germany)
 |
| Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg |
July 20 marks the 66th anniversary of the execution of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, the German army officer and leader of a resistance movement that very nearly assassinated Adolf Hitler in 1944.
The large number of politicians, senior military officers, reporters, and representatives of various memorial organizations present at Tuesday's ceremony are a testament to the importance Germany still attaches to the resistance movement that crystallized around Stauffenberg during World War Two.
The resistance hero was executed along with four of his co-conspirators in the courtyard of the Bendlerblock building, and the first commemoration took place here in 1952, under the supervision of Ernst Reuter, Berlin's first post-war mayor.
Reuter's central message that day – that the failure of Stauffenberg's plot did not mar its moral importance for Germans after the war – was taken up by the current mayor, Klaus Wowereit, as his own guiding theme.
'Their work was not in vain' - Ernst Reuter's sentence has become the motto of this commemoration in the past 58 years," Wowereit said in his speech. "By their actions, the women and men of the resistance set ethical benchmarks, and so became role models."
German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg echoed the mayor's sentiments, and spoke of the emotional intensity with which the resistance movement's actions still resonate directly today. "They show us living today that even in the darkest days of dictatorship, there was another, a better Germany," he said.
The mutiny that defined the German army
But the most impressive speech was delivered by the venerable US historian Fritz Stern, who spoke of the vital legacy that the resistance bequeathed to the German army. "The idea of a citizen in uniform is the role model of the German army," he said. "The warning that even a soldier must follow his conscience – to the point of disobedience – is the legacy of the resistance."
Drawing comparisons with the French resistance, Stern also spoke of the new, wider perspective with which the German resistance movement is being regarded in Europe, and quoted former French Europe Minister Noelle Lenoir, who honored one of Stauffenberg's surviving co-conspirators - Philipp von Boeselager - in 2004 with generous words. "With their blood, they wrote one of the most heroic and horrifying pages of German history," Lenoir had said, "Their sacrifice did not spare Germany, but it saved Germany's honor." Stern called this, "A striking tribute!"
After his speech, the military band and the laying of wreaths, Stern warned that the commemoration of resistance fighters should not be reinterpreted for modern political purposes.
"It should never be, as the saying goes, instrumentalized," he told Deutsche Welle. "It shouldn't be manipulated. People should know about it, recognize it and honor it. Period."
DW-World
Anger over right-wing call for ban on burka (UK)
Calls to ban burkas by the Exeter chairman of a far right- wing movement have sparked an angry reaction in the city.
As reported in the Echo there are fears that the English Defence League is growing in popularity, with several meetings now held in the city and hundreds signed up to a Facebook group in support.
The group, which claims to be non-racially or politically motivated, has seen violence at many of its demonstrations around the country, with the latest in Dudley at the weekend resulting in scores of arrests.
It was formed just over a year ago to fight "Islamic fundamentalists" but it is feared the more followers it attracts in Exeter the more chance of a repeat of the shocking attack on a Muslim woman on the Exe Bridges recently.
The chairman of its Exeter division, Jim Myers, a door supervisor in the city, has sparked further controversy by saying Britain needed to follow the French lead and ban the burka.
He said: "If the British wear the EDL hoodie it is classed as anti-social but the burka can be worn and they class it as religion. If you go into a bar or a shop wearing a crash helmet you have to take it off for security reasons, so what is the difference? The French are banning the burka, and I think we should as well."
A ban on women covering their faces with the burka in public is going through the French parliament and a Private Member's Bill has been tabled in the Commons calling for Britain to follow suit.
But Immigration Minister Damian Green told the Echo a ban would be unlikely in the UK, because it would be at odds with the UK's "tolerant and mutually respectful society".
He said: "Telling people what they can and can't wear, if they're just walking down the street, is a rather un-British thing to do. We're a tolerant and mutually respectful society."
His views were echoed by Lizi Allnatt, of the Exeter branch of Unite Against Fascism, who voiced concerns that the EDL was exploiting the issue to promote an anti-Muslim agenda.
She said: "I really don't think the public are that concerned by the issue of the burka. I just get very concerned when the EDL starts talking about the Muslim community, as we know how anti-Muslim they are.
"When the ordinary person on the street has a problem with it, it might be the time to look at the issue. But this is just part and parcel of the way they use an anti-Islamic agenda to whip feelings up.
"The EDL's merchandise page includes a face mask and burka-style hoodie. Muslims who do wear the burka would argue that they are doing so as part of their culture or religion, whereas the only reason the EDL wear it is so that they won't so easily be identified by the police on their violent protests."
No one from the Exeter Islamic Centre was available to comment on the issue.
This is Exeter
As reported in the Echo there are fears that the English Defence League is growing in popularity, with several meetings now held in the city and hundreds signed up to a Facebook group in support.
The group, which claims to be non-racially or politically motivated, has seen violence at many of its demonstrations around the country, with the latest in Dudley at the weekend resulting in scores of arrests.
It was formed just over a year ago to fight "Islamic fundamentalists" but it is feared the more followers it attracts in Exeter the more chance of a repeat of the shocking attack on a Muslim woman on the Exe Bridges recently.
The chairman of its Exeter division, Jim Myers, a door supervisor in the city, has sparked further controversy by saying Britain needed to follow the French lead and ban the burka.
He said: "If the British wear the EDL hoodie it is classed as anti-social but the burka can be worn and they class it as religion. If you go into a bar or a shop wearing a crash helmet you have to take it off for security reasons, so what is the difference? The French are banning the burka, and I think we should as well."
A ban on women covering their faces with the burka in public is going through the French parliament and a Private Member's Bill has been tabled in the Commons calling for Britain to follow suit.
But Immigration Minister Damian Green told the Echo a ban would be unlikely in the UK, because it would be at odds with the UK's "tolerant and mutually respectful society".
He said: "Telling people what they can and can't wear, if they're just walking down the street, is a rather un-British thing to do. We're a tolerant and mutually respectful society."
His views were echoed by Lizi Allnatt, of the Exeter branch of Unite Against Fascism, who voiced concerns that the EDL was exploiting the issue to promote an anti-Muslim agenda.
She said: "I really don't think the public are that concerned by the issue of the burka. I just get very concerned when the EDL starts talking about the Muslim community, as we know how anti-Muslim they are.
"When the ordinary person on the street has a problem with it, it might be the time to look at the issue. But this is just part and parcel of the way they use an anti-Islamic agenda to whip feelings up.
"The EDL's merchandise page includes a face mask and burka-style hoodie. Muslims who do wear the burka would argue that they are doing so as part of their culture or religion, whereas the only reason the EDL wear it is so that they won't so easily be identified by the police on their violent protests."
No one from the Exeter Islamic Centre was available to comment on the issue.
This is Exeter
Payout after racist note put on English firefighter's locker in Republic of Ireland
An English firefighter is to be paid £4,200 in compensation for discrimination by an Irish city council.
The Equality Tribunal heard that Martin Mannering, form Cappamore, Co Limerick was told to leave his job because he was no longer "in Middlesbrough".
It made the award against Limerick City Council after an anonymous note was left in Mr Mannering's locker warning him to follow the example of a former colleague, who transferred from Limerick to Dublin fire service.
The note read: "This is Limerick, Ireland, not Middlesbrough, England. Take (a named former employee's) advice."
Mr Mannering, originally from Middlesbrough, previously appeared in the Irish Independent after designing the first electric bike manufactured in the country.
He has worked with the fire service in Limerick since 2001 and claimed a number of incidents took place at work and during a training course, in which he was treated less favourably than co-workers due to his nationality.
At a hearing last May, he argued that the racist note he received in September 2006, could only have come from within the fire station.
Mr Mannering said he reported the note to a member of the Human Resources staff, who said they were "shocked and disgusted", and then met the chief fire officer with his union representative.
However, he claimed his employer failed to protect him from harassment.
Limerick City Council denied discriminating against Mr Mannering and said it employed two other English firefighters, all of whom it treated equally.
It accepted that the incident regarding the locker note did take place but claimed Mr Mannering and his union representative frustrated an internal investigation.
But in a decision just published, Equality Officer Stephen Bonnlander said the anonymous writer or writers of the note were suggesting that he should leave his job, and had linked this to his nationality.
He said the chief fire officer had allowed Mr Mannering to transfer within the fire service, but had not followed up on his harassment claim.
It said the transfer "cannot be considered to be an adequate response to his complaint".
"I find that the chief fire officer's failure to insist on an investigation, in contravention of the very clear obligations which the respondent's anti-harassment policy places on staff members of his level of seniority, amounts to a failure to take steps as are reasonably practicable to prevent the complainant's harassment," he said.
He said the council discriminated against the firefighter.
When contacted by the Irish Independent last night, Mr Mannering declines to comment on his case.
Belfast Telegraph
The Equality Tribunal heard that Martin Mannering, form Cappamore, Co Limerick was told to leave his job because he was no longer "in Middlesbrough".
It made the award against Limerick City Council after an anonymous note was left in Mr Mannering's locker warning him to follow the example of a former colleague, who transferred from Limerick to Dublin fire service.
The note read: "This is Limerick, Ireland, not Middlesbrough, England. Take (a named former employee's) advice."
Mr Mannering, originally from Middlesbrough, previously appeared in the Irish Independent after designing the first electric bike manufactured in the country.
He has worked with the fire service in Limerick since 2001 and claimed a number of incidents took place at work and during a training course, in which he was treated less favourably than co-workers due to his nationality.
At a hearing last May, he argued that the racist note he received in September 2006, could only have come from within the fire station.
Mr Mannering said he reported the note to a member of the Human Resources staff, who said they were "shocked and disgusted", and then met the chief fire officer with his union representative.
However, he claimed his employer failed to protect him from harassment.
Limerick City Council denied discriminating against Mr Mannering and said it employed two other English firefighters, all of whom it treated equally.
It accepted that the incident regarding the locker note did take place but claimed Mr Mannering and his union representative frustrated an internal investigation.
But in a decision just published, Equality Officer Stephen Bonnlander said the anonymous writer or writers of the note were suggesting that he should leave his job, and had linked this to his nationality.
He said the chief fire officer had allowed Mr Mannering to transfer within the fire service, but had not followed up on his harassment claim.
It said the transfer "cannot be considered to be an adequate response to his complaint".
"I find that the chief fire officer's failure to insist on an investigation, in contravention of the very clear obligations which the respondent's anti-harassment policy places on staff members of his level of seniority, amounts to a failure to take steps as are reasonably practicable to prevent the complainant's harassment," he said.
He said the council discriminated against the firefighter.
When contacted by the Irish Independent last night, Mr Mannering declines to comment on his case.
Belfast Telegraph
Victims of hate crime given chance to speak (UK)
Victims of hate crime in Preston will be able to report incidents without visiting a police station from tomorrow.
The new system means people will be able to speak to a number of agencies including disability groups, charities and registered social landlords as an alternative to the police.
Among those taking part are Disability Equality NW, Moor Lane Resource Centre, PUKAR (from October), Centre for Independent Living, Community Gateway, Integrate and Help Direct.
Staff have been trained to help people complete a form which is then forwarded to the police.
PC Stuart Rutlidge, from the diversity unit, said: “It is essential that victims of hate crime or incidents report them so that we can build up a clear picture of what is happening in our local communities.
“If this type of independent reporting assists people to come forward, then that can only be a good thing.”
Incidents can also be reported in confidence by downloading the form directly from the Lancashire Police website.
Visit www.lancashire.police.uk/need-to-know/how-to-report-a-crime/hate-crimes-and-incidents
Lancaster Evening Post
The new system means people will be able to speak to a number of agencies including disability groups, charities and registered social landlords as an alternative to the police.
Among those taking part are Disability Equality NW, Moor Lane Resource Centre, PUKAR (from October), Centre for Independent Living, Community Gateway, Integrate and Help Direct.
Staff have been trained to help people complete a form which is then forwarded to the police.
PC Stuart Rutlidge, from the diversity unit, said: “It is essential that victims of hate crime or incidents report them so that we can build up a clear picture of what is happening in our local communities.
“If this type of independent reporting assists people to come forward, then that can only be a good thing.”
Incidents can also be reported in confidence by downloading the form directly from the Lancashire Police website.
Visit www.lancashire.police.uk/need-to-know/how-to-report-a-crime/hate-crimes-and-incidents
Lancaster Evening Post
Federal charges possible in swastika branding case (USA)
The U.S. Attorney’s Office sent defense attorney Cosme Ripol a letter dated June 29 that said 26-year-old Paul Beebe can be charged with a hate crime if a federal grand jury finds Beebe assaulted the man because of his race and/or disability.
Beebe, 24-year-old Jess Sanford and 28-year-old William Hatch are accused of kidnapping and branding a swastika onto the young man on April 30.
The San Juan County District Attorney’s Office has it said plans to seek hate crime charges against the three suspects.
Beebe remains locked up at San Juan Adult Detention Center.
KOB
Below is one of the original news report of this item.
POLL: CZECHS MOST PREJUDICED AGAINST ROMA
Czechs keep the largest distance from Romanies out of all ethnic minorities, with less than 10 percent of them saying they could imagine a Romany their partner, friend, neighbour or colleague at work, a poll by Focus agency has shown. About one-fifth of people are willing to accept Romanies as Czech citizens. However, 43 percent would not let Romanies enter the Czech Republic or they would expel them from the country, the poll showed. The second least tolerated ethnicity are the Vietnamese. One-quarter of the respondents said they would not mind a Vietnamese being their partner, friend, neighbour or colleague at work. Fifteen percent said they would accept an Ukrainian in this connection. About one-third of those polled said they would accept the Vietnamese and Ukrainians only as visitors to the Czech Republic. The Czechs show a more accommodating stand to Poles and Germans. Five and 6 percent of Czechs can imagine a Pole or a German as their life partners, respectively.
Sixty percent of Czechs would not mind Poles as friends, neighbours and colleagues. One-fifth would accept them only as visitors to the Czech Republic. Germans would be accepted as friends, neighbours and colleagues by 39 percent of Czechs. One-third of Czechs consider them acceptable only as visitors, the poll showed. Over two-thirds of the respondents said they can imagine a resident of Bohemia as their partner, and a half said they can imagine a Moravian. One-fourth of the respondents said they would accept a Slovak as their partner. Of all ethnicities, Slovaks were most frequently named as acceptable friends. A total of 35 percent of the respondents said they could imagine a Slovak as their friend. The poll showed that residents of Bohemia keep a larger distance from Moravians than vice versa. Out of the respondents from Bohemia, 81 percent said they could imagine a resident of Bohemia as their life partner, but only 37 percent said they can imagine a Moravian. On the other hand, 68 percent of Moravian residents would accept a Moravian as their partner, and 53 percent would accept a Bohemian, the poll showed. The Focus agency conducted the poll on April 10-23 on 1018 Czech citizens aged over 15.
Prague Monitor
Sixty percent of Czechs would not mind Poles as friends, neighbours and colleagues. One-fifth would accept them only as visitors to the Czech Republic. Germans would be accepted as friends, neighbours and colleagues by 39 percent of Czechs. One-third of Czechs consider them acceptable only as visitors, the poll showed. Over two-thirds of the respondents said they can imagine a resident of Bohemia as their partner, and a half said they can imagine a Moravian. One-fourth of the respondents said they would accept a Slovak as their partner. Of all ethnicities, Slovaks were most frequently named as acceptable friends. A total of 35 percent of the respondents said they could imagine a Slovak as their friend. The poll showed that residents of Bohemia keep a larger distance from Moravians than vice versa. Out of the respondents from Bohemia, 81 percent said they could imagine a resident of Bohemia as their life partner, but only 37 percent said they can imagine a Moravian. On the other hand, 68 percent of Moravian residents would accept a Moravian as their partner, and 53 percent would accept a Bohemian, the poll showed. The Focus agency conducted the poll on April 10-23 on 1018 Czech citizens aged over 15.
Prague Monitor
CASE OF CZECH SOLDIER WITH NAZI SYMBOL SHELVED
A state attorney definitively shelved the case of Czech soldier Jan Cermak who wore Nazi symbols on his helmet while serving in the Afghan mission, public Czech Television (CT) reported today. The attorney concluded that no further punishment was needed after Cermak was dismissed from the military, demoted and lost the right to severance pay and bonuses. Cermak wore the symbol of the SS Dirlewanger Brigade, which was one of the most infamous SS combat units of World War Two. His former colleague, Hynek Matonoha, was also dismissed from the military last year for the use of Nazi insignia on his helmet. After the case surfaced last November, Czech politicians and military heads declared that troops should be severely punished for any demonstration of extremism.
Prague Monitor
Prague Monitor
GAY-LESBIAN GROUP OVERCOMES OPPOSITION AT U.N.
The United Nations on Monday accredited a major gay and lesbian organization that Egypt, Russia and others had tried to keep out as a group permitted to lobby at the world body. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, a U.S.-based advocacy group, had applied for "consultative status" at the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) three years ago. Last month, a U.N. committee that accredits nongovernmental groups rejected the application after "no" votes from countries including Egypt, Russia and China. Western diplomats vowed at the time to override the committee vote. The United States, Britain and other Western delegations urged the full 54-nation ECOSOC to vote on the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission's application, which it did on Monday. It was approved with 23 "yes" votes, 13 "no" votes and 13 abstentions. Among those who voted "no" were once again Egypt, China and Russia, along with Niger, Morocco, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Those voting in favor included the United States, Britain, Canada, Germany, Brazil and Japan. U.S. President Barack Obama hailed the outcome. "I welcome this important step forward for human rights," Obama said in a statement. "Today, with the more full inclusion of the International Lesbian and Gay Human Rights Commission, the United Nations is closer to the ideals on which it was founded, and to values of inclusion and equality to which the United States is deeply committed." British Deputy Ambassador Philip Parham told ECOSOC that the group's presence at the world body "will add an important voice to our discussions at the U.N." Cary Alan Johnson, the group's director, said the decision was "an affirmation that the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people have a place at the United Nations as part of a vital civil society community." "The clear message here is that these voices should not be silenced and that human rights cannot be denied on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity," Johnson said.
http://www.reuters.com/
http://www.reuters.com/
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