General Synod backs ban on clergy joining the BNP (UK)

The Church of England has backed draft legislation paving the way for a ban on clergy membership of the BNP - in spite of warnings about creating ''martyrs'' to free speech. 

Members of the General Synod voted to press ahead with an amendment to discipline procedures making it ''unbecoming'' or ''inappropriate'' conduct for clergy to be members of a political party with policies and activities declared ''incompatible'' with Church teaching on race equality.

Under the proposals, Church of England bishops would make a declaration on parties or organisations deemed incompatible with Christian teaching.

Vasantha Gnanadoss, a Metropolitan Police civilian worker, and General Synod member who first won backing for the ban two years ago, welcomed the amendment and a new statement on race equality from the bishops.

This put the Church's mission to ''resist racism'' on a firm footing, she told the Synod.

''It is very important when the English Defence League and others are posing a fresh threat to the well-being of our diverse society. I hope that this statement will be used widely,'' she said.

r Philip Giddings, a General Synod member from Reading, said he ''deplored'' racism but warned that such groups could ''re-form'' to get round the ban.

''Even worse, is the ability of these kinds of proceedings to create martyrs who do more damage to the cause which we are seeking to fight, because we appear to be invading their right to free speech, a very important human right which is now well entrenched in British and European law,'' he warned.

Clive Scowen, a General Synod member from Harrow, north west London, suggested General Synod clergy and laity members should have a right to ratify decisions on political parties made by the bishops.

''We all know that this was passed to deal with membership of a particular odious party which few of us would have any difficulty in saying is so far beyond the pale that support for it is incompatible with Christian ministry,'' he said.

''But the clause as approved clearly could apply to cases which were not as clear cut as membership of that particular party.''

The Telegraph

Church debates BNP ban for clergy (UK)

The Church of England is to debate draft legislation banning clergy from joining or supporting the British National Party.

The law would make it "unbecoming" or "inappropriate" for clergy to be members of parties whose race equality policies were at odds with the Church.

The ban was backed two years ago by the General Synod, the Church's national assembly.

It was proposed by a lay synod member who works for the police.

In 2009 the Synod voted overwhelmingly in favour of the measures proposed by Vasantha Gnanadoss.

At the time she said a membership ban would send a clear message against racial prejudice to the public at large.

The Church meeting, in London, will also be addressed by the Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu and will debate new proposals for the setting of fees for weddings and funerals.

The BNP campaigns for the voluntary repatriation of immigrants but says it is not racist. It described the vote in 2009 as a "vindictive" move against a legitimate political party.

BBC News

Calls to stop the EDL coming to Birmingham next month (UK)

Police chiefs and council officials making huge budget cuts are facing a £1 million bill for an English Defence League march planned for the same day as a key Midland football derby.

With massive police and council job losses expected as the authorities try to slash spending local MPs have called for Home Secretary Theresa May to ban the march.

Taking place on March 19, the same day Wolverhampton Wanderers play Aston Villa at Villa Park, police resources are set to be stretched to the limit.

A recent EDL demonstration in Luton left police with a £800,000 bill as the force had to ship in officers from 27 other forces. And two protests by the EDL to Dudley last year cost West Midlands Police and Dudley Council £1.1 million in resources.

When the anti-Islamic group visited Birmingham in September 2009 it ended in violence and 90 arrests when the far right campaigners clashed in running battles with members of the United Against Fascism (UAF) group.

MPs say the potential for trouble on March 19 is heightened because of the Wolves Villa derby – two clubs with a history of trouble with hooligans.

Selly Oak Labour MP Steve McCabe said it was time for Theresa May to use her powers to ban the march.

“I’ve not been in favour of a blanket ban on the EDL before but on this occasion I think it should be imposed,” he said.

“You have a group of people with a track record of violence on the same day as a local derby and we know football matches are a prime recruiting ground for the EDL.”

Joining him in his call was MP Khalid Mahmood (Lab, Perry Barr) who said if the Home Secretary did not ban the march, she should provide West Midlands Police with extra officers or cash.

“We’re talking about community safety here. Every time the EDL go to a town there is violence and trouble,” he said.

“If the demonstration does go ahead, then extra resources should be made available to the police.

“It is the duty of Birmingham City Council to apply for a ban to ensure its citizens going about their business that day are not put at risk.”

A spokeswoman for the Home Office said: “The Home Secretary will consider an application to ban the EDL demonstration only if she has an application to do so by West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council.”

The EDL announced its intention to visit Birmingham on its Facebook page – despite vowing never to return to the city following its 2009 clash because the city was “too violent” for them.

The EDL could not be contacted for comment.

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: “We have not received any formal notification from the EDL that they intend to hold a demonstration so we cannot comment.

“But we continue to work with partner agencies to monitor these and have adequate resources should such a protest take place.”

Birmingham

CZECH MAYOR ASKS EXTREMIST PARTY NOT TO MARCH IN HIS TOWN, THEY REFUSE

A dreaded public meeting of promoters of the ultra-right, scheduled for this Saturday in a Czech town which has been living in an atmosphere of heightened tensions for the past few months due to friction between majority-society residents and some local members of the Roma minority, will probably take place. DSSS party chair Tomáš Vandas has refused Mayor Pavel Louda's request that the party not hold its event in Nový Bydžov. The town is concerned that the event will cause complications, but Louda says it does not have the option of banning the meeting. "The announcement filed by the DSSS meets all the criteria, the organizers report they predict 100-200 people will participate and they promise to provide organization. Right now the town does not have any way to ban the gathering," Louda said. The mayor believes there is a risk that the event could be attended by extremists, which could cause problems. "No one living in this town is interested in extremist demonstrations or in an escalation of the current situation, which is why I called on the DSSS leadership not to hold their public meeting here," Louda said. Mayor Louda called on the DSSS to call off its political meeting in a letter published on the town's web page. "The announced meeting has prompted concerns among citizens of the town who are demanding guarantees from the leadership that security will be preserved," it says.

The town's letter also claims the town is aware of a communication from the Autonomous Nationalists saying they want to support the march and that the Roma community also wants to respond to the DSSS presence. "We are doing our best, with all the forces available to us, to take measures that will contribute toward calming this currently complicated situation, but the participation of your party, other radical groups and groups of Roma could ratchet up the currently tense situation even more," the letter reads. The DSSS, which announced its event last Friday, wants to hold it despite the mayor's disagreement. "I must first say that we will not back down on holding this event. We have received many requests to come and hold a meeting to familiarize ourselves with the issue on the scene," Vandas said. He claims concerns over any eventual complications are unnecessary. The situation in the town of 7 000 came to a head last November after several muggings and the rape of a young woman. A petition demanding the provision of security was signed by 3 257 people. The mayor subsequently issued a declaration sharply criticizing all Roma and announced a series of measures that would be taken against problematic residents. The town has called in a private security agency and increased the number of police on patrol from four to six.

Romea

WILDERS' INCITING HATRED TRIAL RESUMES (Netherlands)

 The trial of anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders on discrimination and inciting hatred charges resumed in Amsterdam on Monday with both defence and prosecution saying the entire case should be heard again. Last October the trial was abandoned after senior court officials ruled several irregularities in the proceedings could be deemed prejudicial. New judges have now been appointed. During Monday's procedural hearings, Wilders' lawyer Bram Moszkowicz said he wanted to start the whole process from scratch. The public prosecution department said it is not in favour of going right back to the beginning but would agree to the defence's wishes.

Charges
The leader of the anti-Islam PVV party faces several charges of inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims, Moroccans and non-Western immigrants. At his first trial, the MP wanted to call at least 17 witnesses including criminal law professor Theo Roos, several radical imams and Mohammed Bouyeri - the man who murdered film maker Theo van Gogh. Wilders has described Bouyeri as 'living proof' that Islam inspires people to violence. Moszkowicz said on Monday he would again press for all the witnesses to be heard. At the first trial, only a handful were approved. Wilders took the stand at the end of Monday's hearing and said the trial is about a 'much bigger' issue than him alone. 'Freedom is being sacrificed because a totalitarian ideology wants to turn it into a sin,' Wilders said. 'It is the duty of free people to resist this.' Judges last week rejected calls by the plaintiffs for new prosecutors to be appointed. Several of the groups which have pressed for legal action against Wilders are angry that the prosecution department had also called for not guilty verdicts on all charges during the first trial.

Durch News

Questions about Spokane after MLK Day (USA)

Why has there been such little coverage of the attempted bombing along the MLK Parade route in Spokane, Washington, January 17, 2011? Is it because of the Eastern Washington and close-by Idaho hot beds of White supremacists, Aryan Nation types, survivalists, and other American fringe White groups? Is it another negative outgrowth of the terrorist shooting in Tucson? How can journalists justify not reporting the news?

Spokane papers and news outlets immediately reported the incident and covered the frightening discussions of what happened on MLK Day: the discovery by city workers of a suspicious knapsack left on a metal bench on the northeast corner of Washington Street and Main Avenue in downtown Spokane. Their alertness led to a re-routing of the parade as bomb squads investigated and found a powerful bomb with substances, still being analyzed, that have added a bio-chemical dimension to the bomb’s analysis.

Some may object to the use of the word terrorist in connection with Whites, seeing terrorists as non-Whites. But the Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force (made up of the FBI and other local law-enforcement agencies) investigates Whites too. And African Americans know all too well the centuries of White terrorism (slavery, Jim Crow, inner cities).

Bombs left to kill people are acts of terror, regardless of who leaves them. What is disturbing to me is that with the exception of Spokane’s major paper, The Spokesman-Review, the national media both Black and White seem to have been pressured into silence (for others it could be they deem bombings of MLK Day marchers as inconsequential).

Even more terrifying about this explosive device, according to the FBI, is that it had substances being analyzed for biological and chemical capabilities. I encourage my readers to go online and read the daily Spokane paper, The Spokesman Review. If not for the alertness of three city workers, we would not be talking about what could have happened but of a devastating terrorist attack inside the United States. We would be talking about the first reuse by White supremacists of methods of mass destruction since Oklahoma City.

It has been reported that the epicenter of the planning and manufacturing and testing of the explosive device is Sand Point, Idaho, and the areas along the Priest River and Priest Lake about 50 miles West of Sand Point, Idaho. It appears that the device was transported down Highway 2 through Newport, Washington into the Spokane metropolitan area.

This would not be the first time that White supremacists in the Spokane area have launched terrorist actions. Again, review the stories in the local Spokane paper, The Spokesman-Review, going back 30 years, long before 9/11. And as this column reported last week, White America is still having a problem discussing, analyzing and investigating misconduct based on race, religion and politics. It is clear that the fourth estate is terrified of retaliation by White supremacist groups in the United States, and in particular, in the Northwest, which includes Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.

It certainly provides a significant discomfort to what is left of the Black press and media. We are on extremely shaky grounds. I imagine it is different for members of the Black fourth estate to call attention to a very dangerous pattern and practice of terrorism inside the United States, which cannot be identified with people of color.

As local print and broadcast stories there in Spokane show, the authorities have known about the activities in the so-called panhandle section of Idaho for over 30 years. But one of the discussions that is taking place among White extremists is that the intelligence services of the U.S. have neither the energy, resources, or interest to watch as closely as they did in the days immediately following Oklahoma.

White extremist groups are taking full advantage of the downsizing of intelligence gathering against their planning and plotting. An explosion killing hundreds on January 17, 2011 would have been a disaster carried out by a device with bio-chemical components that could have torn this country apart in terms of racial backlash.

Let us hope that the master planners and designers of this device are brought to justice quickly. This nation is at a delicate and crucial crossroads in which all who plot and plan against democracy must be placed under equal scrutiny.

As Justice Louis D. Brandeis said, “The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.”

So help us God. And God save the United States of America.

Spokesman Recorder