Prime minister Mark Rutte will answer his parliamentary critics on Wednesday during the second day of debate on the new government’s plans.
On Tuesday, opposition party leaders attacked the new minority government’s failure to introduce jobs and housing market reforms, and criticised the influence of anti-Islam campaigner Geert Wilders.
Rutte heads a minority administration with the Christian Democrats. The anti-Islam PVV has signed a deal to partner the government on some issues, particularly immigration.
Dual nationality
In particular, Rutte is expected to address the hot potato of dual nationality. A junior minister in the new cabinet holds both Dutch and Swedish nationality while a VVD MP is Dutch and British.
Wilders says the minister should give up her Swedish passport but Rutte has already said he sees no problem with the situation. According to Nos tv, Wilders will come up with a motion of no confidence in the government if the minister does not comply.
Reforms
During Tuesday´s debate, Wilders also claimed credit for persuading the new government not to overhaul the social security system. Both the VVD and CDA wanted to cut unemployment benefits and reform redundancy law.
‘We are very proud of that,’ Wilders said. The ‘fantastic’ results which the PVV delivered during the coalition talks will deliver his party even more supporters, Wilders said.
But opposition MPs accused the VVD and CDA of failing to deliver election promises on reform.
Real leaderWilders is ‘the real leader… the kidnapper,’ D66 leader Alexander Pechtold said.
And he accused the CDA of ´political hypocrisy´ for handing itself over to the PVV.
Labour leader Job Cohen warned Rutte should not assume Labour would back the government when PVV support was lacking.
‘We will not be used to plaster over the cracks in the coalition,’ Cohen said during the debate. The PVV is calling the shots in the new cabinet, the Labour leader said. ‘Wilders’ will is law.’
Disagreements
Femke Halsema, leader of the left wing greens GroenLinks, asked Wilders to say which parts of the coalition agreement he disagreed with.
Wilders refused. ‘You will have to wait for that,’ he was quoted as saying.
Dutch News
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Swedish far right not welcome at Nobel dinner
Sweden Democrats' (SD) leader Jimmie Åkesson is the only parliamentary party leader not invited to the Nobel banquet in Stockholm City Hall in December, with the Nobel Foundation citing the values expressed in Alfred Nobel's will.
"It comes across very clearly that no consideration should be made to nationality affiliation. SD's values stand in direct contravention of this," said Michael Sohlman, Executive Director of the Nobel Foundation, to the Aftonbladet daily.
The decision to exclude Åkesson from the guest list for the Nobel Banquet on December 10th was taken by a united Nobel Foundation board.
"We are a private foundation and decide ourselves who we want to come to the banquet," Sohlman said, explaining that the Sweden Democrats' policy programme indicates a view of humanity not compatible with that expressed by Alfred Nobel.
Jimmie Åkesson expressed surprise and disappointment at missing out on the festivities.
"It is regrettable, in recent years all the party leaders have been invited," he told the newspaper.
Åkesson described the decision as "controversial" and considered it strange for the committee to cite Alfred Nobel's last will and testament.
"I am surprised that they choose to take this stand and take this decision to single me out and not take a general position that they don't invite the party leaders," Åkesson told Sveriges Radio's P4 news programme on Wednesday.
"This seems to be a political decision. Michael Sohlman is after all a Social Democrat politician," he said.
The Nobel banquet is traditionally attended by the Swedish royal family, political leaders, Nobel prize winners and a host of other dignitaries. Further politicians on the list for this year's festivities include the foreign minister, finance minister, education minister and culture minister.
The Local Sweden
"It comes across very clearly that no consideration should be made to nationality affiliation. SD's values stand in direct contravention of this," said Michael Sohlman, Executive Director of the Nobel Foundation, to the Aftonbladet daily.
The decision to exclude Åkesson from the guest list for the Nobel Banquet on December 10th was taken by a united Nobel Foundation board.
"We are a private foundation and decide ourselves who we want to come to the banquet," Sohlman said, explaining that the Sweden Democrats' policy programme indicates a view of humanity not compatible with that expressed by Alfred Nobel.
Jimmie Åkesson expressed surprise and disappointment at missing out on the festivities.
"It is regrettable, in recent years all the party leaders have been invited," he told the newspaper.
Åkesson described the decision as "controversial" and considered it strange for the committee to cite Alfred Nobel's last will and testament.
"I am surprised that they choose to take this stand and take this decision to single me out and not take a general position that they don't invite the party leaders," Åkesson told Sveriges Radio's P4 news programme on Wednesday.
"This seems to be a political decision. Michael Sohlman is after all a Social Democrat politician," he said.
The Nobel banquet is traditionally attended by the Swedish royal family, political leaders, Nobel prize winners and a host of other dignitaries. Further politicians on the list for this year's festivities include the foreign minister, finance minister, education minister and culture minister.
The Local Sweden
Drunk jailed for racist attack on Seven Sisters passenger (UK)
A drunkard who unleashed a foul-mouthed racist rant after being woken up by a Seven Sisters employee has been jailed.
IT worker Noel Anthony Walker, of Camden, was found drunk and semi-conscious at the Victoria Line station by the member of staff on August 25.
But when he tried to help Walker, he was racially abused Walker pleaded guilty at Haringey Magistrates Court earlier this month for racially aggravated harassment and causing alarm and distress to a Tube worker. He was sentenced to eight weeks in jail, suspended for 12 months, plus a nine-month supervision order and must enrol on a nine-month alcohol treatment programme.
A passenger who overheard the remarks challenged Walker over his racist rant and the pair ended up in a tussle. The British Transport Police were called and Walker was arrested and later charged.
Aidan Harris, manager of London Underground's workplace violence unit, said: "There was no need for Walker's offensive rant, especially as our member of staff was trying to help him when he was clearly too intoxicated to look after himself.
"This supervision order and nine months alcohol treatment will hopefully make Walker reconsider his actions in the future."
British Transport Police Inspector Kate Shaw said: "The member of staff was merely trying to help Walker but was racially abused for his trouble.
"Behaviour such as this will not be tolerated and I hope the victim feels that justice has been done with the sentence handed to Walker."
Haringey Independant
IT worker Noel Anthony Walker, of Camden, was found drunk and semi-conscious at the Victoria Line station by the member of staff on August 25.
But when he tried to help Walker, he was racially abused Walker pleaded guilty at Haringey Magistrates Court earlier this month for racially aggravated harassment and causing alarm and distress to a Tube worker. He was sentenced to eight weeks in jail, suspended for 12 months, plus a nine-month supervision order and must enrol on a nine-month alcohol treatment programme.
A passenger who overheard the remarks challenged Walker over his racist rant and the pair ended up in a tussle. The British Transport Police were called and Walker was arrested and later charged.
Aidan Harris, manager of London Underground's workplace violence unit, said: "There was no need for Walker's offensive rant, especially as our member of staff was trying to help him when he was clearly too intoxicated to look after himself.
"This supervision order and nine months alcohol treatment will hopefully make Walker reconsider his actions in the future."
British Transport Police Inspector Kate Shaw said: "The member of staff was merely trying to help Walker but was racially abused for his trouble.
"Behaviour such as this will not be tolerated and I hope the victim feels that justice has been done with the sentence handed to Walker."
Haringey Independant
SUSPENDED SENTENCE FOR CZECH AUTHOR OF "THE FINAL SOLUTION TO THE GYPSY QUESTION" (Czech Rep.)
Today the District Court in Písek, Czech Republic sentenced Jiøí Gaudin, the author of a study entitled "The Final Solution to the Gypsy Question", to a 14-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. Gaudin had faced up to three years in prison for inciting racial hatred. Until this year, Gaudin had been a member of the leadership of the ultra-nationalist National Party. The release of his study on "The Final Solution to the Gypsy Question" was celebrated last April by 20 members and promoters of the National Party at Lety, the site of a Nazi concentration camp for Roma during the Second World War. The publication, which court experts said refers in its title to the Nazi plan to murder European Jews, was adopted as official National Party material last year. At the time, Gaudin said his study was a solid piece of work: "This is not a provocation, it's a serious scholarly work including contributions from experts who are currently publishing." The other experts' names are not listed in the publication; Gaudin said this was because they did not want to encounter problems in their other work as a result of their participation in the project. The extreme-right National Party entered the Czech political scene in 2002, agitating against the European Union and immigrants for several years before falling apart last autumn.
Romea
Romea
UK BARS MINISTER FROM ISLAMIC MEET
British prime minister David Cameron barred the country's first ever and only Muslim cabinet minister, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, from attending a conference dominated by Islamic fundamentalists on Sunday. The move has sparked wrangling within the Conservative Party to which both belong and the country's coalition government over how the government should handle extremism. Cameron reportedly asked Warsi, who is of Pakistani origin, not to attend the G lobal Peace and Unity meet on the grounds that hardliners, "who have justified suicide missions and supported al-Qaida, homophobia and terrorism were participating in it.`` Warsi is said to be of the view that confronting extremists publicly was an effective way of dealing with militancy.
The United Kingdom`s Sunday Times newspaper quoted a government source as saying, "She had hoped to attend, but there is a conflict of opinion on how extremists should be dealt with and the prime minister, supported by Theresa May (the home minister), were adamant that no Tories (Conservatives) should attend." Liberal Democrats, however, are of the belief that extremists should be publicly confronted. Their communities minister, Andrew Stunell, stressed in a speech at the event that the British government will not tolerate extremism, hatred, and intolerance in any form. Sadiq Khan, also of Pakistani descent, who was a minister of state in Gordon Brown`s government and new Labour leader Ed Miliband`s campaign director, also spoke at the gathering British television channel, Islam Channel, had organised the meet.
A Muslim think-tank, the Quilliam Foundation, had earlier this year accused the channel of promoting extremist groups.
Times of India
The United Kingdom`s Sunday Times newspaper quoted a government source as saying, "She had hoped to attend, but there is a conflict of opinion on how extremists should be dealt with and the prime minister, supported by Theresa May (the home minister), were adamant that no Tories (Conservatives) should attend." Liberal Democrats, however, are of the belief that extremists should be publicly confronted. Their communities minister, Andrew Stunell, stressed in a speech at the event that the British government will not tolerate extremism, hatred, and intolerance in any form. Sadiq Khan, also of Pakistani descent, who was a minister of state in Gordon Brown`s government and new Labour leader Ed Miliband`s campaign director, also spoke at the gathering British television channel, Islam Channel, had organised the meet.
A Muslim think-tank, the Quilliam Foundation, had earlier this year accused the channel of promoting extremist groups.
Times of India
UKRAINE CALLING: WEEK AGAINST RACISM
A series of anti-racism events has been organized in Ukraine during the Football against Racism in Europe Action Week from 16 through 26 October 2010 - as the country prepares to co-host UEFA EURO 2012.
Some serious racist incidents occurred in Ukrainian football earlier this year. For example, FC Karpaty Lviv fans displayed a banner 'Turkish pigs get out of Europe!' during a Europa League game against Galatasaray Istanbul on 26 August. On 7 September, the extreme-right party Svoboda, together with racist fan groups, conducted a 1000-strong 'March for Ukrainian Football' before the international friendly Ukraine-Chile in Kiev, demanding a purge of foreign players from the Ukrainian clubs. A recent report by the Football against Prejudices group and the East Europe Monitoring Centre documents the wide-spread use of racist and far-right symbols on Ukrainian stadiums. Against this backdrop, anti-racist activities took place across the large country, from Donetsk in the east to Lviv in the west. FARE events were organized in Kiev, Vinnitsa, Odessa, Kharkiv, Mukachevo (Trans-Carpathian region), and other places, too. They included special banners unfurled at league games, grass-roots multi-ethnic football tournaments involving migrants and refugees, and high-profile round table discussions prepared by FARE partners: the Eastern European Development Institute, the African Centre, NEEKA Foundation, Arsenal Kiev fans, and other groups. Several activities were launched and supported directly by the 'NEVER AGAIN' Association which coordinates the FARE East European Development Project.
'Both Poland and Ukraine have their problems with xenophobia, but there are reasons for optimism, too. We need to monitor hate crime and hate speech closely and develop further cooperation with the brave Ukrainian anti-racists, ethnic minorities as well as policy-makers and opinion-leaders' - said Dr Rafal Pankowski, the coordinator of the FARE Eastern European Development Project and the Warsaw-based East Europe Monitoring Centre, who attended the meetings in Lviv and Kiev. 'Ukraine is a country full of diversity. It is important to reflect itin its preparations towards EURO 2012. There are many nationalities, ethnic groups, cuisine, folk styles in this vast country and more than 45 thousand foreign students studying here. EURO 2012 is an occasion to celebrate the diversity' - said Dr Mridula Ghosh, the chair of the FARE partner organization Eastern European Development Institute (EEDI), who co-organized recent round tables on football and tolerance in Donetsk and Lviv, with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation office In Ukraine and the State Committee for Nationalities and Religions of Ukraine.
'There is a long way to go, but racism cannot go unchallenged' - adds Charles Asante-Yeboa, president of the FARE partner African Centre, who organized a series of anti-racism matches during the FARE Action Week in numerous cities across Ukraine.
Never Again Association
Some serious racist incidents occurred in Ukrainian football earlier this year. For example, FC Karpaty Lviv fans displayed a banner 'Turkish pigs get out of Europe!' during a Europa League game against Galatasaray Istanbul on 26 August. On 7 September, the extreme-right party Svoboda, together with racist fan groups, conducted a 1000-strong 'March for Ukrainian Football' before the international friendly Ukraine-Chile in Kiev, demanding a purge of foreign players from the Ukrainian clubs. A recent report by the Football against Prejudices group and the East Europe Monitoring Centre documents the wide-spread use of racist and far-right symbols on Ukrainian stadiums. Against this backdrop, anti-racist activities took place across the large country, from Donetsk in the east to Lviv in the west. FARE events were organized in Kiev, Vinnitsa, Odessa, Kharkiv, Mukachevo (Trans-Carpathian region), and other places, too. They included special banners unfurled at league games, grass-roots multi-ethnic football tournaments involving migrants and refugees, and high-profile round table discussions prepared by FARE partners: the Eastern European Development Institute, the African Centre, NEEKA Foundation, Arsenal Kiev fans, and other groups. Several activities were launched and supported directly by the 'NEVER AGAIN' Association which coordinates the FARE East European Development Project.
'Both Poland and Ukraine have their problems with xenophobia, but there are reasons for optimism, too. We need to monitor hate crime and hate speech closely and develop further cooperation with the brave Ukrainian anti-racists, ethnic minorities as well as policy-makers and opinion-leaders' - said Dr Rafal Pankowski, the coordinator of the FARE Eastern European Development Project and the Warsaw-based East Europe Monitoring Centre, who attended the meetings in Lviv and Kiev. 'Ukraine is a country full of diversity. It is important to reflect itin its preparations towards EURO 2012. There are many nationalities, ethnic groups, cuisine, folk styles in this vast country and more than 45 thousand foreign students studying here. EURO 2012 is an occasion to celebrate the diversity' - said Dr Mridula Ghosh, the chair of the FARE partner organization Eastern European Development Institute (EEDI), who co-organized recent round tables on football and tolerance in Donetsk and Lviv, with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation office In Ukraine and the State Committee for Nationalities and Religions of Ukraine.
'There is a long way to go, but racism cannot go unchallenged' - adds Charles Asante-Yeboa, president of the FARE partner African Centre, who organized a series of anti-racism matches during the FARE Action Week in numerous cities across Ukraine.
Never Again Association
EDL Demo fears
Police expect up to 1,000 members of the English Defence League (EDL) to converge on the Flag Market on November 27, although organisers say 2,000 have signed up to the protest.
But the number of people taking to the streets could be swelled further by counter action from Unite Against Fascism (UAF), which plans to demonstrate against the EDL on the same day “in equal or greater numbers”.
The EDL has notified police and Preston Council of its plans to “peacefully protest in Preston”. It would involve a short walk along Church Street, from the minster to the public square.
The proposals have attracted widespread opposition from religious leaders, trade unionists and councillors, who have signed up to a “unity statement”, while Muslim leaders have appealed to their congregations to ignore the protests.
Meanwhile, EDL organisers remained defiant that the demo would go ahead.
Salim Mulla, chairman of the Lancashire Council of Mosques said: “We’ve appealed to the Muslim community across Lancashire not to get involved in any demonstrations against the EDL and we don’t give it any prominence whatsoever.”
“Rather than promote these people, it’s better to ignore these people.”
And Elyas Desai, prayer leader at the Mahad mosque in Deepdale Road, said: “I don’t think we need a silly group like this to come to Preston to spoil the great harmony we have.”
Nafysa Patel, race hate manager at the Preston and Western Lancashire Racial Equality Council, said the organisation had signed the unity statement and said: “Preston has enjoyed good community relations for many years and, on the whole, the city enjoys the vibrancy and cohesiveness of the diverse society it contains.
“This statement provides us with the opportunity to peacefully voice our opposition to any disruption caused through the EDL presence in our city of Preston.”
Riot police arrested 13 men at a similar protest in Leicester earlier this month involving around 3,000 EDL protesters and 600 from UAF. Several fireworks, bottles and coins were thrown.
Darren Johnson from the Preston Casuals, a division of Casuals United, which he described as the “backbone of the EDL” said recent protests in London and Blackpool had been peaceful.
He said: “It depends how it is on the day but we’re peacefully protesting.
“This demonstration will be going ahead because we’re allowed to do a static demonstration - it’s our democratic right.”
He said the planned new mosque in Watling Street Road was a “symbol of domination”.
Drew Gale, a Labour councillor who represents the town centre ward, said he would be joining the UAF counter-protest and said: “I’ll be standing shoulder to shoulder with the UAF in opposition. I think it’s the duty of right-minded individuals to oppose such things.”
Chief Supt Tim Jacques from Preston Police said officers had the power to impose certain conditions when granting permission but could not ban the groups from demonstrating.
He said: “All we want to do is make sure there’s no crime or disorder as a result of whatever happens.
“If it’s lawful, you have a right to express your opinion as long as public order is maintained.
“At this stage, nothing has been agreed, approved or granted. We’re still in negotiations and we will work with both groups.
“It’s really important to make sure the community is involved in relation to the planning (of the policing) and I’m really confident that is and will continue to happen in Preston.”
He said the fact the demonstration was planned for the same day as Preston North End’s home game with Millwall, who have a notorious hooligan following, would not cause any resourcing problems.
The demo had been planned for November 20 but clashed with Preston’s Christmas lights switch-on, also on the Flag Market.
Lorraine Norris, chief executive of Preston Council, said: “The police, councils and other agencies are fully prepared and are working together closely to manage any static protest to ensure that they are peaceful as Preston respects the right for people to protest peacefully.
“Preston will be open as usual and people should continue to go about their normal business as the police, councils and other agencies will work to minimise disruption to the city centre whilst balancing that against the rights of protesters.”
Lancaster Evening Post
NEW SHOOTINGS REPORTED IN MALMÖ (Sweden)
Malmö police received a further report on what could be another of the wave of shootings suspected to be directed against people of immigrant descent in the city, while residents came out in force to demonstrate against the violence.
Police received a report from a man on Östra Farmvägen in the Kartrinelund area of the city who thought that he had been the target of a shooting. "He said that he had heard some form of bang or a crack and we went over to speak to the man and search for any clues," said Charley Nilsson at Skåne police. Just prior to that several people got in touch regrading a shooting by a local store on Ramels väg. "We we got there we found four empty cases and deemed that they came from a start pistol and not a live weapon," said Nilsson. He continued to point out that it remains serious if someone has let off a shot with a start pistol, not only because someone could get hurt, but also considering that it could contribute to the level of fear and concern regarding the wave of unsolved shootings. "Furthermore it uses up time which we could otherwise use for something else and perhaps more important work," Nilsson said.
On Monday evening police seized a car after the driver heard a bang and then the rear windscreen exploded. "We was about to drive out of a garage on Ramels väg when he heard the noise," Nilsson said. Police do not believe that anyone has shot directly at the car or the driver, however. "But we want to be certain and rule it out." Elsewhere on Monday evening, several hundred people gathered in a new demonstration against violence and social marginalization, in response to the shootings in the city. "Together we are bulletproof," read one of the banners. At a press conference earlier in the day it was concluded that 19 of the 50 or so shootings which have occurred since October last year have been consigned the file marked unexplained which are now the focus of investigations. "The profiling group have now gone through all the cases and come to the conclusion that there are good grounds to believe that it concerns the same perpetrator, but we can not get stuck on the idea," said detective inspector Börje Sjöholm at Skåne county police.
Police have confirmed that one person has died and eight people have been injured as a result of the attacks which have been compared to the "Laserman" spate of shootings which occurred in the early 1990s. Laserman was the nickname given to John Ausonius, who shot 11 people of immigrant origin, killing one, in and around Stockholm from August 1991 to January 1992. Ausonius, who in many of the attacks used a rifle equipped with a laser sight, was sentenced to life behind bars in 1994 and remains in prison. Just as with the Laserman case, the recent shootings in Malmö come at a time when an openly anti-immigration party has just entered the Swedish parliament. This year, the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats won 20 seats in parliament in the September 19th election with an especially strong showing in the south of Sweden.
The Local Sweden
Police received a report from a man on Östra Farmvägen in the Kartrinelund area of the city who thought that he had been the target of a shooting. "He said that he had heard some form of bang or a crack and we went over to speak to the man and search for any clues," said Charley Nilsson at Skåne police. Just prior to that several people got in touch regrading a shooting by a local store on Ramels väg. "We we got there we found four empty cases and deemed that they came from a start pistol and not a live weapon," said Nilsson. He continued to point out that it remains serious if someone has let off a shot with a start pistol, not only because someone could get hurt, but also considering that it could contribute to the level of fear and concern regarding the wave of unsolved shootings. "Furthermore it uses up time which we could otherwise use for something else and perhaps more important work," Nilsson said.
On Monday evening police seized a car after the driver heard a bang and then the rear windscreen exploded. "We was about to drive out of a garage on Ramels väg when he heard the noise," Nilsson said. Police do not believe that anyone has shot directly at the car or the driver, however. "But we want to be certain and rule it out." Elsewhere on Monday evening, several hundred people gathered in a new demonstration against violence and social marginalization, in response to the shootings in the city. "Together we are bulletproof," read one of the banners. At a press conference earlier in the day it was concluded that 19 of the 50 or so shootings which have occurred since October last year have been consigned the file marked unexplained which are now the focus of investigations. "The profiling group have now gone through all the cases and come to the conclusion that there are good grounds to believe that it concerns the same perpetrator, but we can not get stuck on the idea," said detective inspector Börje Sjöholm at Skåne county police.
Police have confirmed that one person has died and eight people have been injured as a result of the attacks which have been compared to the "Laserman" spate of shootings which occurred in the early 1990s. Laserman was the nickname given to John Ausonius, who shot 11 people of immigrant origin, killing one, in and around Stockholm from August 1991 to January 1992. Ausonius, who in many of the attacks used a rifle equipped with a laser sight, was sentenced to life behind bars in 1994 and remains in prison. Just as with the Laserman case, the recent shootings in Malmö come at a time when an openly anti-immigration party has just entered the Swedish parliament. This year, the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats won 20 seats in parliament in the September 19th election with an especially strong showing in the south of Sweden.
The Local Sweden
White supremacy groups still thriving in SETX (USA)
The presence of the Aryan Brotherhood and other white supremacy groups is a concern for law enforcement. The Tyler County Sheriff is trying to determine if three suspects accused of firing shots into a home near Spurger are part of such a group.
Deputies arrested Cory William Barker, John Brian Simank and Brandon Allen Gray after shots were fired into homes along Highway 92 last Saturday night.
"That’s not something we are going to tolerate here and we are going to do everything we can to keep them out of this county,” says Tyler County Sheriff David Hennigan.
Sheriff Hennigan is worried. Worried for the people who live in Tyler County on remote, winding roads near wooded areas, and who deal with what he calls "these kinds of gangs."
"Keeping an eye on these groups," said Hennigan. "Letting them know, 'hey, we are watching you. We see you.'"
Seeing and watching for increased violence like house fires and shootings his office has investigated off and on for several months. A sure sign, he says, white supremacy groups are back.
"It's one of those things you put two and two together," said Hennigan. "The tattoos that identify them with a gang or group."
The sheriff is trying to find out if the three men arrested are part of such a gang or group. He said whatever group they might belong to was not a factor in the violence they're accused of.
Sheriff Hennigan said the men were driving on Highway 92 near Spurger and were involved in a domestic dispute that ended with the trio firing shots at several homes in the area.
"The individuals that were arrested, they were threatening the officers themselves," said Sheriff Hennigan. "Threatening their families.”
Sheriff Hennigan says he'll use whatever resources it takes, including the FBI and DPS, to keep those kinds of people out of his county.
"Have that gang mentality," said Hennigan. "They have a sense of family with these gangs. It makes them bold to do certain things that they wouldn't do otherwise unless they had the gang support."
Support for groups that started decades ago and continues to thrive, finding a home not only in Tyler County but other parts of Southeast Texas.
The suspects are charged with organized criminal activity and they face other charges as well.
KFDM
Deputies arrested Cory William Barker, John Brian Simank and Brandon Allen Gray after shots were fired into homes along Highway 92 last Saturday night.
"That’s not something we are going to tolerate here and we are going to do everything we can to keep them out of this county,” says Tyler County Sheriff David Hennigan.
Sheriff Hennigan is worried. Worried for the people who live in Tyler County on remote, winding roads near wooded areas, and who deal with what he calls "these kinds of gangs."
"Keeping an eye on these groups," said Hennigan. "Letting them know, 'hey, we are watching you. We see you.'"
Seeing and watching for increased violence like house fires and shootings his office has investigated off and on for several months. A sure sign, he says, white supremacy groups are back.
"It's one of those things you put two and two together," said Hennigan. "The tattoos that identify them with a gang or group."
The sheriff is trying to find out if the three men arrested are part of such a gang or group. He said whatever group they might belong to was not a factor in the violence they're accused of.
Sheriff Hennigan said the men were driving on Highway 92 near Spurger and were involved in a domestic dispute that ended with the trio firing shots at several homes in the area.
"The individuals that were arrested, they were threatening the officers themselves," said Sheriff Hennigan. "Threatening their families.”
Sheriff Hennigan says he'll use whatever resources it takes, including the FBI and DPS, to keep those kinds of people out of his county.
"Have that gang mentality," said Hennigan. "They have a sense of family with these gangs. It makes them bold to do certain things that they wouldn't do otherwise unless they had the gang support."
Support for groups that started decades ago and continues to thrive, finding a home not only in Tyler County but other parts of Southeast Texas.
The suspects are charged with organized criminal activity and they face other charges as well.
KFDM
PACE concerned over rise of far right in Europe
The Turkish head of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) expressed concerns on Monday over the rise of far-right parties in Europe, saying he hoped the surge in support for those parties was just a temporary issue stemming from the global financial crisis.
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said racist parties were on the rise across Europe, a trend that was worrying for the Council of Europe. The 47-member organization is working to inhibit the trend by promoting inter-cultural and inter-faith dialogue. “I am hoping that this is limited to the financial crisis in Europe and in the world. Otherwise it might lead to serious complications and problems,” he said.
Throughout much of Europe, parties denouncing multiculturalism and immigration have been gaining support. In liberal Sweden, the far-right Sweden Democrats, a party with a neo-Nazi history, won 20 seats in the Sept. 19 parliamentary vote, which was enough support to leave the leading center-right coalition without a governing majority. In the Netherlands, the country’s new center-right minority government depends on support from anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom.
Çavuşoğlu said despite the rise in the extreme right, other parties are still acting with common sense and supporting Turkey’s accession to the European Union, something to which Wilders is adamantly opposed. In Denmark, Hungary and Switzerland, far-right populist parties have similarly gained support and are advocating anti-immigration platforms that often focus on Muslims and tougher stances on law and order. Their steady rise comes as much of Europe is mired by the recession and the deep cuts in social programs made by governments.
Todays Zaman
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said racist parties were on the rise across Europe, a trend that was worrying for the Council of Europe. The 47-member organization is working to inhibit the trend by promoting inter-cultural and inter-faith dialogue. “I am hoping that this is limited to the financial crisis in Europe and in the world. Otherwise it might lead to serious complications and problems,” he said.
Throughout much of Europe, parties denouncing multiculturalism and immigration have been gaining support. In liberal Sweden, the far-right Sweden Democrats, a party with a neo-Nazi history, won 20 seats in the Sept. 19 parliamentary vote, which was enough support to leave the leading center-right coalition without a governing majority. In the Netherlands, the country’s new center-right minority government depends on support from anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom.
Çavuşoğlu said despite the rise in the extreme right, other parties are still acting with common sense and supporting Turkey’s accession to the European Union, something to which Wilders is adamantly opposed. In Denmark, Hungary and Switzerland, far-right populist parties have similarly gained support and are advocating anti-immigration platforms that often focus on Muslims and tougher stances on law and order. Their steady rise comes as much of Europe is mired by the recession and the deep cuts in social programs made by governments.
Todays Zaman
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