Police in Latvia were investigating Monday after a second incident of anti-Semitic vandalism in less than a week. A memorial to Zanis Lipke, a Latvian credited with saving more than 50 Jews from death during World War II, was daubed with paint in the early hours of Monday morning, police said. The memorial was quickly cleaned up by municipal authorities.
The incident came just days after 89 tombstones in the Jewish Cemetery in Riga were daubed with swastikas by vandals. Latvian Foreign Minister Girts Valdis Kristovskis was quick to condemn the latest incident, saying 'recurrent acts of vandalism' were unacceptable. Lipke, who died in 1987, was awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations by the Holocaust memorial organization Yad Vashem. Nearly all of Riga's Jews were murdered during World War II by occupying Nazi forces assisted by local volunteers. Several Jewish organizations, including the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, have warned about high levels of anti-Semitism in the Baltic states.
The issue is put into sharp focus every year in Latvia on March 16, when an unofficial parade takes place in the Latvian capital commemorating members of the Latvian Waffen-SS. Of around 60,000 Jews in Latvia at the start of WWII, only 3,500 survived.
DPA
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
BNP leader Nick Griffin to stand in Oldham East byelection (UK)
Far-right figurehead is latest candidate to confirm bid for seat left empty following Phil Woolas court case.
Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National party, will contest the Oldham East and Saddleworth byelection, the far-right party confirmed today.
Griffin, who currently serves as MEP for the North West, is the latest candidate to confirm his bid to enter the race for the seat left empty by Labour's Phil Woolas.
Judges ordered a rerun of the constituency election after ruling last month at a specially convened court that Woolas had lied to win his seat in May by 103 votes, exploiting racial tensions in order to defeat Liberal Democrat Elwyn Watkins.
Watkins took Woolas to court under the rarely used section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983, claiming that the outcome was influenced by Labour leaflets making false allegations in an effort to sway the white vote in the constituency by wrongly accusing Watkins of wooing Islamist extremists and of not condemning threats of violence.
Woolas was stripped of his seat and banned from standing for election for three years, in the first such judgment for 99 years. He was subsequently expelled by the Labour party and earlier this month failed in an appeal at the high court against the decision.
The Labour party is expected to move a writ in the new year confirming the byelection date. Oldham East is a three-way marginal and the election will see the Lib Dems and Conservatives fighting against each other at the polls for the first time since going into coalition together in May.
The Conservatives today announced that Kashif Ali, who came third in the constituency at the May 2010 election, will stand again.
At the weekend Labour selected Debbie Abrahams, while Watkins will stand again for the Lib Dems.
Griffin's decision to stand comes after a humiliating showing for his party at the general election, when the BNP failed to win a single parliamentary seat at the general election, despite fielding more than 300 candidates.
The BNP leader stood in Barking, where he came third after polling just 4,916 votes despite a sustained campaign in the constituency.
BNP candidate Alwyn Stott came fourth in Oldham East at the general election, with 5.7% of the vote.
The decision by the BNP to field its leader in the race comes on the day that the party came under the spotlight for breaking electoral law in 2008 by "failing to keep accounting records sufficient to explain, with reasonable accuracy, the financial position of the party at the time".
The Electoral Commission said the party was guilty of a "clear failure" to keep accurate financial records for 2008, adding that it was "frustrating" that it could not impose a penalty on the party because the law at the time did not allow it.
The Guardian
Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National party, will contest the Oldham East and Saddleworth byelection, the far-right party confirmed today.
Griffin, who currently serves as MEP for the North West, is the latest candidate to confirm his bid to enter the race for the seat left empty by Labour's Phil Woolas.
Judges ordered a rerun of the constituency election after ruling last month at a specially convened court that Woolas had lied to win his seat in May by 103 votes, exploiting racial tensions in order to defeat Liberal Democrat Elwyn Watkins.
Watkins took Woolas to court under the rarely used section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983, claiming that the outcome was influenced by Labour leaflets making false allegations in an effort to sway the white vote in the constituency by wrongly accusing Watkins of wooing Islamist extremists and of not condemning threats of violence.
Woolas was stripped of his seat and banned from standing for election for three years, in the first such judgment for 99 years. He was subsequently expelled by the Labour party and earlier this month failed in an appeal at the high court against the decision.
The Labour party is expected to move a writ in the new year confirming the byelection date. Oldham East is a three-way marginal and the election will see the Lib Dems and Conservatives fighting against each other at the polls for the first time since going into coalition together in May.
The Conservatives today announced that Kashif Ali, who came third in the constituency at the May 2010 election, will stand again.
At the weekend Labour selected Debbie Abrahams, while Watkins will stand again for the Lib Dems.
Griffin's decision to stand comes after a humiliating showing for his party at the general election, when the BNP failed to win a single parliamentary seat at the general election, despite fielding more than 300 candidates.
The BNP leader stood in Barking, where he came third after polling just 4,916 votes despite a sustained campaign in the constituency.
BNP candidate Alwyn Stott came fourth in Oldham East at the general election, with 5.7% of the vote.
The decision by the BNP to field its leader in the race comes on the day that the party came under the spotlight for breaking electoral law in 2008 by "failing to keep accounting records sufficient to explain, with reasonable accuracy, the financial position of the party at the time".
The Electoral Commission said the party was guilty of a "clear failure" to keep accurate financial records for 2008, adding that it was "frustrating" that it could not impose a penalty on the party because the law at the time did not allow it.
The Guardian
Street attack racist yob jailed (UK)
Adam Moran, 22, was jailed for 23 months for the attack on his 41-year old victim after she went to look at the abuse – including a death threat – he'd sprayed on her garage door and wheelie bin.
Moran then turned violent on another neighbour after she came out to try and stop the attack.
Alisha Kaye, prosecuting, told Leeds Crown Court the victim had reported problems with youths in the period leading up to the incident in Pontefract on August 8.
Moran wrote messages on her property which read "Tell us to get off again and I will kill you" as well as racist insults before signing his nickname 'Jackass'.
The woman, originally from Zambia, came out of her home.
As she went to take photographs of the damage Moran then hurled vile insults at her including: "You are my slave. You used to shine my shoes. Why don't you go back to your own country?!"
He then grabbed her by the hair before punching, kicking and kneeing her while constantly shouting abuse, the court was told.
A neighbour saw what was happening and ran over to try to help but Moran then swung a punch at her.
His first victim spent two days in hospital with head, back and leg injuries.
Moran later told police his nickname was Jackass but denied the damage.
He claimed he attacked the woman after she dug her nails into him when he went to confront her.
Moran, of Thomas Hill House, Horsefair, Pontefract, pleaded guilty to racially aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and two offences of racially aggravated damage.
He has previous convictions including burglary, robbery and assaulting a police officer.
Richard Canning, mitigating, said: "He acknowledges that his behaviour was quite frankly appalling and he is very ashamed of it."
Jailing him, Recorder David Hatton said: "These were serious offences, fully motivated by your approach to this woman's background and race."
Yorkshire Evening Post
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