It's not just cyberbullets that are exchanged during firefights on the XBox Live version of "Call of Duty." Many gamers also exchange hate speech over their headsets as they stalk each other across the virtual battlefields. Players trade racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic insults so frequently that game makers are taking steps to tone down the rhetoric. The comments would shock parents who may not realize their children are constantly exposed to language that might make a sailor blush. Most parental concerns have focused on violence, not language. One gamer told an opponent he presumed to be Jewish that he wished Hitler had succeeded in his mission. Many exchanges involve talk of rape or exult over the atomic bombing of Japan. There are frequent slurs on homosexuals, Asians, Hispanics and women. Such comments can be heard on all online video gaming systems, including PlayStation Network, Blizzard Entertainment (World of Warcraft) and others. "Personally, I don't do a lot of online gaming for that reason," said Flynn DeMarco, founder of the Web site GayGamer.net, which has worked with Microsoft and other companies on steps to clean up online gaming. "I don't play with anybody I don't already know." DeMarco said hate speech has been a problem for years.
Game makers, despite some serious efforts, can only seek to limit the amount. "A lot of the problem lies within the players themselves," DeMarco said. The widespread use of the slurs is partly fueled by the same anonymity that provides cover for abuse throughout cyberspace. Players can compete with people thousands of miles away, and know them only by the fictional "gamertags" they use to identify themselves. After years of tolerating abusive players, gamers have become more diligent about noting the gametags of abusive players and reporting them to game companies. Abusive players can be punished or even banned, but the process is slow. "It's a baby steps kind of thing," DeMarco said. Microsoft, maker of the XBox 360, has taken numerous steps to clean up the language on its Live service, which is by far the biggest online gaming service with some has 23 million members. Stephen Toulouse, director of policy and enforcement for Microsoft's Xbox Live service, heads a team charged with providing a safe and enjoyable experience for customers. "There is always a subset of humanity that goes toward miscreant behavior," Toulouse said. With 1 million to 2 million players online at any one time, most of the policing falls to other users who report hate speech to the company, he said.
Those complaints are reviewed, and people who use hate speech can face punishments such as having their voice privileges suspended, making them unable to speak with other players in real time. They can also be banned temporarily or even permanently from the service, Toulouse said. Players whose conduct crosses into criminal behavior are reported to law enforcement, he said. The company has created a Web site to help parents control their children's gaming, http://www.GetGameSmart.com. Parents can learn how to limit the people their children play with, limit the time and type of games they play and find other tools, he said. Gamers always have the power to mute out any other player they find offensive, or can block an offensive player and not encounter him again, Toulouse said. But the notion of companies monitoring and cleaning up cyberspace is troubling to some. Joan Bertin, director of the National Coalition Against Censorship in New York City, said she is uncomfortable with game makers serving as "nannies." "They respond occasionally and erratically and incompletely," she said. "Some people who are doing what everyone else is doing get caught."
The coalition, which works to protect First Amendment rights, does not generally endorse actions to limit speech, she said. "The use of taboo language has a lot of different functions and they not all are evil," she said. "I don't think pulling the cover over it and hiding it makes it go away." Gamers themselves are also somewhat split on the issue. When Xbox Live banned the use of gamertags or profile information that revealed sexual orientation, in an effort to reduce taunting, some gays and lesbians were upset because they wanted to use such IDs, DeMarco said. A simple solution would be having gamers use their real names, but that presents a host of problems involving privacy and the protection of children from predators. "I don't want everybody out there knowing my name and looking me up on the Internet or Facebook," DeMarco said. Plus the fake names can be fun, DeMarco said, although they can also be offensive, making plays on ethnic slurs. Still, Toulouse said the use of real names is being studied as one possible solution. DeMarco said the best solution may just be continuing to educate people, especially parents of young gamers, about the problem. "I'd like to see parents being aware of what their kids being exposed to," he said
Star Tribune
Friday, 16 April 2010
Tory wife quits to stand for BNP
A former Conservative party member has defected to the BNP to stand in the local elections – while her husband stands for the Tories in another ward.
Sheila Spink is running for the far-right party in Heatons North, Stockport.
Her husband of 20 years, Conservative candidate Alex Raisbeck, is standing just a few miles down the road in Manor ward.
But Ms Spink said the decision had not caused tension in her marriage.
She said: “It’s absolutely no big deal. I was with the Conservative party. I have left the Conservative party.
“I don’t think they will do what is necessary to be done in this country. I don’t think they are tackling the big problem.
“My husband has not left the Conservative party and that’s his business.”
Speaking from the couple’s Heaton Mersey home, Ms Spink said she left the Tories because she felt they are not up to the job, particularly on immigration.
She said: “There’s no mention of immigration at all.
“They are just not dealing with that problem.”
The BNP has a policy of ‘firm incentives’ to force non-white people to leave Britain.
Ms Spink admits her husband, who stood for the Tories in the 2008 local elections in Heatons South, and came second, feels differently.
She said: “Alex is standing for the Conservatives in one ward and that’s his business. We are husband and wife and we have been married for 20 odd years – forever.
“There’s absolutely no animosity. It’s two professional adults. We are both in our 60s.
“We have lived a lot of life and look at things from a different angle.”
Mr Raisbeck, who has campaigned in the past with current Conservative parliamentary candidate for Stockport Stephen Holland, was not at home to comment.
A local Tory insider said the party had become aware of the situation in the last few days.
He said: “We are going to get slaughtered about this. We never realised she’d joined the BNP. He’s got some explaining to do. It’s gone past the date where we can withdraw the candidate without the candidate’s permission. In my view it’s not tenable. It’s come as a total and utter shock.”
The Conservative party did not respond to the our request for a comment.
Manchester Evening News
Sheila Spink is running for the far-right party in Heatons North, Stockport.
Her husband of 20 years, Conservative candidate Alex Raisbeck, is standing just a few miles down the road in Manor ward.
But Ms Spink said the decision had not caused tension in her marriage.
She said: “It’s absolutely no big deal. I was with the Conservative party. I have left the Conservative party.
“I don’t think they will do what is necessary to be done in this country. I don’t think they are tackling the big problem.
“My husband has not left the Conservative party and that’s his business.”
Speaking from the couple’s Heaton Mersey home, Ms Spink said she left the Tories because she felt they are not up to the job, particularly on immigration.
She said: “There’s no mention of immigration at all.
“They are just not dealing with that problem.”
The BNP has a policy of ‘firm incentives’ to force non-white people to leave Britain.
Ms Spink admits her husband, who stood for the Tories in the 2008 local elections in Heatons South, and came second, feels differently.
She said: “Alex is standing for the Conservatives in one ward and that’s his business. We are husband and wife and we have been married for 20 odd years – forever.
“There’s absolutely no animosity. It’s two professional adults. We are both in our 60s.
“We have lived a lot of life and look at things from a different angle.”
Mr Raisbeck, who has campaigned in the past with current Conservative parliamentary candidate for Stockport Stephen Holland, was not at home to comment.
A local Tory insider said the party had become aware of the situation in the last few days.
He said: “We are going to get slaughtered about this. We never realised she’d joined the BNP. He’s got some explaining to do. It’s gone past the date where we can withdraw the candidate without the candidate’s permission. In my view it’s not tenable. It’s come as a total and utter shock.”
The Conservative party did not respond to the our request for a comment.
Manchester Evening News
BNP can't count on Barking breakthrough
Nick Griffin has racialised housing issues but the area's problems aren't unique and BNP success can be rolled back.
A key contest in this election is in Barking, between the BNP's Nick Griffin and Labour's Margaret Hodge.
On the face of it, all the ingredients for an electoral breakthrough by the BNP appear to be here: rising unemployment, housing problems, deep poverty, a growing proportion of immigrants and asylum seekers, and a local Labour party that has presided over decades of impoverishment.
The decline of industry in Barking and Dagenham, accelerated by Ford Dagenham's decision to cease car production in 2002, means the proportion of local people employed in manufacturing has fallen from 40% in the early 1990s to less than half that figure today. Unemployment in the borough now stands at close to 10% and average incomes are the lowest in London. The borough has some of the lowest literacy and numeracy levels in the country and more than a third of its children are born into poverty.
Is it increasing social deprivation, then, that has led to the rise of the BNP?
While it is undoubtedly a factor, eight of London's 33 boroughs are worse off than Barking, and 20 nationally, so this alone cannot account for the BNP's emergence as a political force locally.
Barking is also affected by demographic change. Although around 80% of residents are classed as white, 50% of school pupils are from ethnic minorities, as young upwardly mobile black and Asian families move into the borough. Has an influx of immigrants produced votes for the far right? The picture is not so simple. First, most of these new arrivals are not immigrants but "internal migrants" from other parts of London. Second, the proportion of non-white residents in Barking remains below the London average.
What is specific to Barking is the pace of change. Its overall population, not just its proportion of ethnic minorities, is one of the fastest growing in the country. This population competes for scarce resources. Council housing stock has fallen from 40,000 to 18,000 as a consequence of Margaret Thatcher's right-to-buy initiative in the 1980s, and the failure of Barking and Dagenham council to build any public housing for the past quarter of a century. There are now more than 28,000 people on the local social housing waiting list.
The BNP's achievement has been to racialise this issue and turn ethnic minorities into scapegoats for a complex process of political and social disintegration in the area. Its repeated claims about Labour's alleged "Africans for Essex" scheme, whereby ethnic minority families are supposed to have been given £50,000 relocation grants to shore up electoral support for the government in areas like Barking, are a typical example. The fact that these claims are completely untrue only makes them more effective, because that's how scapegoating works.
The BNP does not care about housing – the amount of casework taken up by its Barking councillors on the issue is derisory. But scapegoating works where there is little to counter it. The BNP has been able to insinuate its way into a community in crisis. Rapid social transformation and chronic social decay have left the area with fewer resources to resist the development of a fascist current. According to government reports, Barking's social cohesiveness is weak, with less participation in the local community (sports, recreation, museums, libraries, voluntary associations) than elsewhere – although the situation is beginning to improve.
The economic and social roots of the BNP's emergence in Barking are not unique to the area. This means that there is nothing inevitable about its success here. Whatever the havoc wreaked on Barking by the vagaries of the market, the party's ability to feed off the despair produced by social inequality and deprivation remains dependent on the outcome of political decisions and battles that are yet to be resolved. Neither, then, is its success irreversible.
The Guardian
A key contest in this election is in Barking, between the BNP's Nick Griffin and Labour's Margaret Hodge.
On the face of it, all the ingredients for an electoral breakthrough by the BNP appear to be here: rising unemployment, housing problems, deep poverty, a growing proportion of immigrants and asylum seekers, and a local Labour party that has presided over decades of impoverishment.
The decline of industry in Barking and Dagenham, accelerated by Ford Dagenham's decision to cease car production in 2002, means the proportion of local people employed in manufacturing has fallen from 40% in the early 1990s to less than half that figure today. Unemployment in the borough now stands at close to 10% and average incomes are the lowest in London. The borough has some of the lowest literacy and numeracy levels in the country and more than a third of its children are born into poverty.
Is it increasing social deprivation, then, that has led to the rise of the BNP?
While it is undoubtedly a factor, eight of London's 33 boroughs are worse off than Barking, and 20 nationally, so this alone cannot account for the BNP's emergence as a political force locally.
Barking is also affected by demographic change. Although around 80% of residents are classed as white, 50% of school pupils are from ethnic minorities, as young upwardly mobile black and Asian families move into the borough. Has an influx of immigrants produced votes for the far right? The picture is not so simple. First, most of these new arrivals are not immigrants but "internal migrants" from other parts of London. Second, the proportion of non-white residents in Barking remains below the London average.
What is specific to Barking is the pace of change. Its overall population, not just its proportion of ethnic minorities, is one of the fastest growing in the country. This population competes for scarce resources. Council housing stock has fallen from 40,000 to 18,000 as a consequence of Margaret Thatcher's right-to-buy initiative in the 1980s, and the failure of Barking and Dagenham council to build any public housing for the past quarter of a century. There are now more than 28,000 people on the local social housing waiting list.
The BNP's achievement has been to racialise this issue and turn ethnic minorities into scapegoats for a complex process of political and social disintegration in the area. Its repeated claims about Labour's alleged "Africans for Essex" scheme, whereby ethnic minority families are supposed to have been given £50,000 relocation grants to shore up electoral support for the government in areas like Barking, are a typical example. The fact that these claims are completely untrue only makes them more effective, because that's how scapegoating works.
The BNP does not care about housing – the amount of casework taken up by its Barking councillors on the issue is derisory. But scapegoating works where there is little to counter it. The BNP has been able to insinuate its way into a community in crisis. Rapid social transformation and chronic social decay have left the area with fewer resources to resist the development of a fascist current. According to government reports, Barking's social cohesiveness is weak, with less participation in the local community (sports, recreation, museums, libraries, voluntary associations) than elsewhere – although the situation is beginning to improve.
The economic and social roots of the BNP's emergence in Barking are not unique to the area. This means that there is nothing inevitable about its success here. Whatever the havoc wreaked on Barking by the vagaries of the market, the party's ability to feed off the despair produced by social inequality and deprivation remains dependent on the outcome of political decisions and battles that are yet to be resolved. Neither, then, is its success irreversible.
The Guardian
Met inquiry into BNP’s ‘dirty tricks’ against Margaret Hodge
Police are investigating the British National Party for allegedly running a dirty tricks campaign against a rival candidate.
The Met confirmed it was looking into claims the far-right party had lied in literature about Margaret Hodge, the Labour hopeful in Barking.
BNP leader Nick Griffin is challenging the culture minister for the east London seat.
In a newsletter sent to residents, his party claimed Mrs Hodge had financial interests in a proposed new prison for Barking.
It also carried a cartoon suggesting she was personally behind a ‘racist’ housing allocation.
It also said a member of her staff hung up on an ex-soldier when he called her office.
Mrs Hodge said: ‘This is politics of the worst kind. Griffin creates a big lie, tells it often enough and it hopes it becomes a truth.’
Her lawyers have contacted the BNP over the claims. The BNP denies any wrong-doing.
Meanwhile, Charlotte Lewis, a BNP candidate, defended as ‘hilarious’ pictures of her wearing a burka and fishnet stockings at a party
Metro
The Met confirmed it was looking into claims the far-right party had lied in literature about Margaret Hodge, the Labour hopeful in Barking.
In a newsletter sent to residents, his party claimed Mrs Hodge had financial interests in a proposed new prison for Barking.
It also carried a cartoon suggesting she was personally behind a ‘racist’ housing allocation.
It also said a member of her staff hung up on an ex-soldier when he called her office.
Mrs Hodge said: ‘This is politics of the worst kind. Griffin creates a big lie, tells it often enough and it hopes it becomes a truth.’
Her lawyers have contacted the BNP over the claims. The BNP denies any wrong-doing.
Meanwhile, Charlotte Lewis, a BNP candidate, defended as ‘hilarious’ pictures of her wearing a burka and fishnet stockings at a party
Metro
Posthumous Award for the King Who Saved Jews (Bulgaria)
The award was given to his grandson, Toronto banker Hermann Leiningen, and Chabad organized the award ceremony. The award itself was presented by a group of Bulgarian Jews whose lives were saved when the king refused to deport them.
King Boris III previously has been honored by the Anti-Defamation League.
However, his legacy remains somewhat controversial: while he refused to hand Bulgaria's Jews over to Hitler's army, he did allow the deportation of Jews from Thrace and Macedonia, which at that time were under Bulgarian rule. In addition, some historians say the king expressed willingness to deport Jews, but was stopped by the heads of the Independent Orthodox Church.
Leiningen, the king's grandson, told the Canadian Jewish Press that King Boris III had remained firm in his insistence that Bulgaria's Jews not be deported. Whether or not the church intervened to save Jews as well, “the final decisions had to be made by [the king],” he noted.
Boris III was unable to save the Jews of Thrace and Macedonia because those territories, unlike Bulgaria, were occupied by the German army, Leiningen explained.
King Boris III died in 1943 shortly after a meeting with Hitler. His body was never found.
Leiningen noted that his own father, Prince Karl, had moved to Israel in 1969 and had spent the last two decades of his life there, on a horse ranch in the Galilee. “No one could really figure out” why his father was drawn to Israel, he said.
novinite
BNP steals anti-BNP war veteran's words
Amazingly, within hours some of his own words were lifted verbatim and put into the mouth of the BNP's own claimed war veteran Bob Head.
Compare and contrast their two letters. It's both galling and depressing:
THE ANTI-BNP APPEAL
When I enlisted in the army 66 years ago, I did it for Britain.
Now I need you to do something for me.
The BNP is trying to strangle our great nation with the same extremist and fascist agenda that Hitler's Nazis threatened us with decades ago. Today, the war isn't being fought on the battlefield - but in the ballot box.
Hope Not Hate is on the front lines of our fight. They're organising to make sure modern-day Nazis aren't elected on 6 May and to preserve the Britain for which I fought so hard. If I had my health I would be out there with them. But I can't - so I'm writing to ask you to volunteer for me.
Please join Hope Not Hate's Day of Action this weekend - the campaign has laid on transport to help you get to the areas in which you are needed the most:
http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/fightthenazis
I was barely in my twenties when I went to fight for Britain. I left home with friends - all young lads like myself - and many never returned.
Today, the BNP salute and say "Heil Hitler" - and they support the same all-white Britain. They're proud of what the Nazis did to my friends, and what they did to millions of innocent people throughout Europe.
We didn't fight with our lives on the line years ago just to be right back here today.
We need to do everything we can to stop the BNP from being elected to local councils and to Parliament. Those boys lost to the war would proudly go door-to-door with Hope Not Hate to fight against the fascist BNP today.
There are no tanks and no guns in this fight - but we still need your courage to speak out.
Kenneth Riley. Normandy Veteran - Tank Division
THE BNP APPEAL
A message from Normandy Veteran Bob Head
Dear Fellow Patriot,
When I enlisted in the army in 1942, aged 18, I did it for Britain.
Now I need you to do something for me.
The old-gang parties and their fellow cohorts in the media are dismantling and destroying the Britain we fought so hard to defend and preserve. Today, the war isn't being fought on the battlefield - but in the ballot box.
The British National Party is on the front lines of our fight. Our party and our courageous activists are working around the clock to save the country that our War Heroes fought and died for. If I had my health I would be out there with them. But I can't - so I'm writing to ask you to volunteer for me.
.....
There are no tanks and no guns in this fight - but we still need your courage to propel the British National Party to its goals. Get active, leafleting, canvassing, speaking to people, get the word out!
Could you spare £20 towards our election campaign? £20 is not much, but it could be crucial to the BNP's chances of winning
------
Admin: Please help to fight this horrendous party that makes a mockery of our war heroes and the debt we owe them.
Please sign up and donate money to the Hope Not Hate campaign and show the world that the offensively racist BNP don’t speak in your name.
Arkansas man sentenced for Obama and African-Americans death plot
An Arkansas man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday for plotting to kill dozens of blacks, including then-Sen. Barack Obama, federal authorities said.
Paul Schlesselman pleaded guilty in January and was sentenced in an Arkansas federal court Thursday.
Federal officials said Schlesselman had threatened to kill Obama on October 23, 2008, shortly before the presidential election.
He also planned to "murder dozens of people with a focus on murdering African-Americans," the Justice Department said.
Schlesselman admitted planning the killing rampage for more than a month and had started to pile up weapons, including a short-barreled shotgun, the Justice Department said.
He planned to go on a series of robberies, burglaries and murders that would have ended with the killing of Obama, the Justice Department said.
"Our nation has made great progress in advancing civil rights, but this unthinkable conspiracy is a reminder that hate-fueled violence continues to be a very real problem in so many communities," said Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division.
CNN
Paul Schlesselman pleaded guilty in January and was sentenced in an Arkansas federal court Thursday.
Federal officials said Schlesselman had threatened to kill Obama on October 23, 2008, shortly before the presidential election.
He also planned to "murder dozens of people with a focus on murdering African-Americans," the Justice Department said.
Schlesselman admitted planning the killing rampage for more than a month and had started to pile up weapons, including a short-barreled shotgun, the Justice Department said.
He planned to go on a series of robberies, burglaries and murders that would have ended with the killing of Obama, the Justice Department said.
"Our nation has made great progress in advancing civil rights, but this unthinkable conspiracy is a reminder that hate-fueled violence continues to be a very real problem in so many communities," said Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division.
CNN
UEFA MUST GET TOUGH ON RACISM WITH £1M FINES, SAYS ANDERSON (uk)
England's first black international has condemned world football's attempts to rid the game of racism. Viv Anderson, who signalled a huge culture change within the English game when he was called up by Ron Greenwood in 1978 for the first in a 30-cap career, said: "We have our house in order in the UK. Nobody is allowed to chant. It is when we go to other countries. To get rid of it, the lead has to come from Uefa. The fines have to be more stringent." Anderson, who has just launched his autobiography, First Among Unequals, won back-to-back European Cups during his days at Nottingham Forest and became one of the few men to play under both Brian Clough and Sir Alex Ferguson when he was signed by Manchester United. He believes racism in European football has been allowed to fester for long enough. "When you are talking about a £14,000 fine for abusing England players, it is a nonsense. I know it is a minority but if the fines were £1 million, that would have an impact. "People would stand up and take notice about who was coming into the stadiums and what they were doing. I don't know what the answer is but the fines are ridiculous." Anderson does not believe the game's authorities have taken seriously black players' threats to take unilateral action in the face of abuse. Samuel Eto'o was the first in a succession of high-profile players to say they would be willing to walk off a pitch if they were isolated. "There are a lot of middle-class white people running football," he said. "This is 2010. We live in a multiracial world. If you had paid £30 to watch a match and someone like Eto'o or Thierry Henry walks off because of a few idiots, how would you feel? They have to clamp down on it. Racism should have been eradicated by now."
The Independant
The Independant
ITALY'S TOP COURT REJECTS GAY MARRIAGE
AFP
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Waddon byelection: BNP candidate Charlotte Lewis's secret criminal past
admin : Well its not really that secret is it?
A candidate for the Waddon byelection sent death threats to a drugs company involved in animal testing.
Charlotte Lewis was jailed for six months in 2001 for her ongoing harassment of staff at the Huntington Life Sciences (HLS) centre in Cambridgeshire.
Miss Lewis, of Thornton Heath, is now standing as the British National party (BNP) in the Waddon byelection on February 12.
She appeared at Peterborough Crown Court on January 31, 2001 where she admitted four charges of harassment.
The 36-year-old was implicated in offensive mail sent to HLS staff when saliva on the envelopes matched her DNA.
The letters began “Dear Animal Abusing Scum” or “Dear Scum” and contained threats such as “If you don’t quit HLS then your life will not be worth living. You will always have to be looking over your shoulder”.
Miss Lewis also penned, “This is a warning. Your life is in grave danger if you don’t stop working at HLS ...
“You will find yourself having a gun aimed at your stupid ugly head.”
The court heard how Miss Lewis had not intended to carry out the threats and did not have “a violent bone in her body”.
But the victims of the threats were oblivious to this, with Charles Owen, a recipient of the mail, convinced the threats would be realised.
Jennifer Howlett, who had not worked at the centre for two years, said she was left “hysterical and very scared”.
And Mark and Julie Farrance, who received some 50 letters from animal rights activists, were also the targets of a late-night animal rights demonstration outside their home, with a brick thrown through their window.
They then received Miss Lewis’s letter which said: “I was there when a brick was put through your window. If you don’t quit HLS you can expect more of the same.”
Mrs Farrance feared for her family’s safety.
Sentencing Miss Lewis, Judge Richard Pollard said the six-month jail term would have been longer if she had not pleaded guilty and shown remorse.
He also issued a restraining order against Miss Lewis, a member of Stop Animal Rights Cruelty, banning her from harassing HLS staff.
It was revealed the BNP candidate had a history of psychological problems and suffers depression. The judge said the “chilling letters” had brought “fear and anguish to people going about their peaceful and lawful business”.
Miss Lewis told the Croydon Guardian this week that her time in jail, six weeks in total, was “utterly horrible” and she never wanted to spend another day in “that awful place”.
She said she got involved in animal rights in 1999 having been a vegetarian since she was 14. She said she began to read animal rights activist magazines.
She said: “I was not really involved in an extreme level, I just decided to write these letters. Unfortunately I was caught. I regret being caught.”
Last week the Croydon Guardian revealed how Miss Lewis had also had a brush with the law in 2006 when she was questioned over possible election fraud but was released without charge.
Croydon Guardian
Charlotte Lewis was jailed for six months in 2001 for her ongoing harassment of staff at the Huntington Life Sciences (HLS) centre in Cambridgeshire.
Miss Lewis, of Thornton Heath, is now standing as the British National party (BNP) in the Waddon byelection on February 12.
She appeared at Peterborough Crown Court on January 31, 2001 where she admitted four charges of harassment.
The 36-year-old was implicated in offensive mail sent to HLS staff when saliva on the envelopes matched her DNA.
The letters began “Dear Animal Abusing Scum” or “Dear Scum” and contained threats such as “If you don’t quit HLS then your life will not be worth living. You will always have to be looking over your shoulder”.
Miss Lewis also penned, “This is a warning. Your life is in grave danger if you don’t stop working at HLS ...
“You will find yourself having a gun aimed at your stupid ugly head.”
The court heard how Miss Lewis had not intended to carry out the threats and did not have “a violent bone in her body”.
But the victims of the threats were oblivious to this, with Charles Owen, a recipient of the mail, convinced the threats would be realised.
Jennifer Howlett, who had not worked at the centre for two years, said she was left “hysterical and very scared”.
And Mark and Julie Farrance, who received some 50 letters from animal rights activists, were also the targets of a late-night animal rights demonstration outside their home, with a brick thrown through their window.
They then received Miss Lewis’s letter which said: “I was there when a brick was put through your window. If you don’t quit HLS you can expect more of the same.”
Mrs Farrance feared for her family’s safety.
Sentencing Miss Lewis, Judge Richard Pollard said the six-month jail term would have been longer if she had not pleaded guilty and shown remorse.
He also issued a restraining order against Miss Lewis, a member of Stop Animal Rights Cruelty, banning her from harassing HLS staff.
It was revealed the BNP candidate had a history of psychological problems and suffers depression. The judge said the “chilling letters” had brought “fear and anguish to people going about their peaceful and lawful business”.
Miss Lewis told the Croydon Guardian this week that her time in jail, six weeks in total, was “utterly horrible” and she never wanted to spend another day in “that awful place”.
She said she got involved in animal rights in 1999 having been a vegetarian since she was 14. She said she began to read animal rights activist magazines.
She said: “I was not really involved in an extreme level, I just decided to write these letters. Unfortunately I was caught. I regret being caught.”
Last week the Croydon Guardian revealed how Miss Lewis had also had a brush with the law in 2006 when she was questioned over possible election fraud but was released without charge.
Croydon Guardian
White supremacist group 'considered itself most racist'
A white supremacist group considered itself the most racist and extreme neo-Nazi movement in Britain, a court heard today.
Members of the Aryan Strike Force believed groups like the notorious far-right Combat 18 and Blood and Honour did "f*** all" and were more interested in raising money than fighting "scum".
The shocking revelation emerged during the trial of ex-milkman's assistant Nicky Davison, 19, who is charged with possessing terrorism manuals.
Newcastle Crown Court has already heard that the teenager was one of the founders of the Aryan Strike Force, an online far-right group set up by his father, Ian.
Ian Davison, 41, a former pub DJ, has already admitted six charges related to this case, including producing ricin, one of the world's deadliest substances.
The aim of the group was to carry out "ops" and overthrow the Government, which it believed had been taken over by the ZOG - the Zionist Occupied Government.
After studying videos, messages posted online and logs of internet chat, Dr Matthew Feldman, a lecturer at the University of Northampton, said the Aryan Strike Force considered itself the most extreme right-wing group in Britain.
"Some of these groups like Blood and Honour and Combat 18 are seen as not being 'active' enough," Dr Feldman, an expert in the ideology of post-war fascism and neo-Nazism, told the jury.
"Aryan Strike Force would regard itself as the pinnacle and the most uncompromising form of neo-Nazis groups available in the UK.
"The Aryan Strike Force regarded itself as the most active, rejectionist and unwilling to compromise on its principles.
"The other movements would be more concerned about finances rather than focusing on direct action or revolutionary tactics.
"It was an unmistakable example of neo-Nazis in Britain and this permutation is the most overtly hostile.
"Legion88, the Aryan Strike Force and WolfPack represented the most aggressive and dangerous form of neo-Nazism.
"One, moreover, which seems to be on the most extreme form of (the) neo-Nazi spectrum, and this group may be considered an exemplar of violent revolutionary neo-Nazism."
Earlier today, jurors were read messages Davison had posted on online forums and heard he was prepared to "die fighting" for his cause.
Andrew Edis QC, prosecuting, said Davison wrote: "I know my aims.
"I don't care if I am fighting a unwinnable battle.
"I would rather die fighting than let the scum of the earth walk over us."
Davison wrote of "taking control of national white countries by any means necessary and overthrow and see the downfall of the ZOG".
The court heard yesterday that in June last year police discovered copies of The Poor Man's James Bond and The Anarchist's Cookbook on computers at the home Davison shared with his mother and younger brothers and sisters in County Durham.
Davison, of Grampian Way, Annfield Plain, denies three charges of possessing a record containing information useful in committing or preparing acts of terrorism.
Last month his father, of Myrtle Grove, Burnopfield, County Durham, admitted preparing for acts of terrorism and producing a chemical weapon from June 1 to 3 last year.
He also admitted three charges of possessing a record containing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing acts of terrorism relating to electronic copies of The Anarchist's Cookbook, the Mujahideen Explosives Handbook and Kitchen Complete on June 2.
He will be sentenced at the conclusion of his son's trial.
Ricin is a toxin that is extracted from the castor bean and exposure to small quantities can be fatal.
The US Centre for Disease Control suggests as little as 500 micrograms - about half a grain of sand - of the substance can be lethal if injected or inhaled. It has no known antidote.
The Independant
Members of the Aryan Strike Force believed groups like the notorious far-right Combat 18 and Blood and Honour did "f*** all" and were more interested in raising money than fighting "scum".
The shocking revelation emerged during the trial of ex-milkman's assistant Nicky Davison, 19, who is charged with possessing terrorism manuals.
Newcastle Crown Court has already heard that the teenager was one of the founders of the Aryan Strike Force, an online far-right group set up by his father, Ian.
Ian Davison, 41, a former pub DJ, has already admitted six charges related to this case, including producing ricin, one of the world's deadliest substances.
The aim of the group was to carry out "ops" and overthrow the Government, which it believed had been taken over by the ZOG - the Zionist Occupied Government.
After studying videos, messages posted online and logs of internet chat, Dr Matthew Feldman, a lecturer at the University of Northampton, said the Aryan Strike Force considered itself the most extreme right-wing group in Britain.
"Some of these groups like Blood and Honour and Combat 18 are seen as not being 'active' enough," Dr Feldman, an expert in the ideology of post-war fascism and neo-Nazism, told the jury.
"Aryan Strike Force would regard itself as the pinnacle and the most uncompromising form of neo-Nazis groups available in the UK.
"The Aryan Strike Force regarded itself as the most active, rejectionist and unwilling to compromise on its principles.
"The other movements would be more concerned about finances rather than focusing on direct action or revolutionary tactics.
"It was an unmistakable example of neo-Nazis in Britain and this permutation is the most overtly hostile.
"Legion88, the Aryan Strike Force and WolfPack represented the most aggressive and dangerous form of neo-Nazism.
"One, moreover, which seems to be on the most extreme form of (the) neo-Nazi spectrum, and this group may be considered an exemplar of violent revolutionary neo-Nazism."
Earlier today, jurors were read messages Davison had posted on online forums and heard he was prepared to "die fighting" for his cause.
Andrew Edis QC, prosecuting, said Davison wrote: "I know my aims.
"I don't care if I am fighting a unwinnable battle.
"I would rather die fighting than let the scum of the earth walk over us."
Davison wrote of "taking control of national white countries by any means necessary and overthrow and see the downfall of the ZOG".
The court heard yesterday that in June last year police discovered copies of The Poor Man's James Bond and The Anarchist's Cookbook on computers at the home Davison shared with his mother and younger brothers and sisters in County Durham.
Davison, of Grampian Way, Annfield Plain, denies three charges of possessing a record containing information useful in committing or preparing acts of terrorism.
Last month his father, of Myrtle Grove, Burnopfield, County Durham, admitted preparing for acts of terrorism and producing a chemical weapon from June 1 to 3 last year.
He also admitted three charges of possessing a record containing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing acts of terrorism relating to electronic copies of The Anarchist's Cookbook, the Mujahideen Explosives Handbook and Kitchen Complete on June 2.
He will be sentenced at the conclusion of his son's trial.
Ricin is a toxin that is extracted from the castor bean and exposure to small quantities can be fatal.
The US Centre for Disease Control suggests as little as 500 micrograms - about half a grain of sand - of the substance can be lethal if injected or inhaled. It has no known antidote.
The Independant
MACEDONIA ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW CRITICISED
Macedonia has failed to adopt an anti-discrimination law that is completely harmonised with European norms and standards, with explicit protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation a crucial missing element, local human rights experts commented after the country’s parliament adopted its first law on the subject. Instead of promoting equality and justice, the law promotes homophobia and discrimination, Zarko Trajanovski, a human rights expert, told local media. “Generally speaking, the law does not meet the EU recommendations where the premise of different sexual orientation is mentioned as one of the six key bases for discrimination,” he told A1 TV. Macedonia’s controversial anti-discrimination law passed last week with the backing of the main ruling centre-right VMRO DPMNE party. The opposition left the session in protest after the majority remained deaf to the recommendations to include provisions barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Margarita Caca Nikolovska, a former judge at the European Court of Human Rights and founder of the Macedonian NGO Institute for Democracy, argued that the country might find itself under scrutiny from the EU for ignoring its recommendations. "A serious state must have this in mind and have a legal explanation for everything it does. Are our arguments going to be that people with different sexual orientation are sick, like some from the ruling party try to portray!?" Slavco Dimitrov from the NGO Macedonia without Discrimination told local media that this will most certainly be a “black stain” in the next European Commission report for Macedonia, which is due to be published in autumn. He said that the law will have to be changed “sooner or later”.
One day before the passing of the law the EU ambassador to the country, Erwan Fouere, urged legislators once again to gather strength and openly add this type of discrimination in the law. Many local NGOs and human rights movements share the same thoughts. "I appeal once again to the government and the parliament to use the chance on Thursday and vote for a comprehensive anti-discrimination law, harmonized with European norms and criteria," Fouere said. Trajanovski argued that the ruling conservative VMRO DPMNE party used the adoption of the law for its own political interests. “The fact that we witnessed a constant anti homosexual campaign prior to the passing of the law shows that in practice the party in power abused the law to boost its own popularity among its voters,” he said. Several VMRO DPMNE deputies were active in the past months in explaining to the public that they would not let a provision on sexual orientation be included in the law. “This provision would mean the first phase towards introducing homosexual marriages and letting homosexual couples adopt children,” VMRO DPMNE party legislator Vlatko Gjorcev said in late February during one of the open debates on the topic held in the parliament. The government has boasted that the law is one of the most comprehensive in Europe, and that failure to mention sexual orientation does not mean that homosexuals and other marginalized sexual groups will be left without protection as they are listed in the section “others”. Human Rights Watch sent an open letter to the Macedonian prime minister in February this year to push for the inclusion of sexual orientation in the anti-discrimination law. "Silence equals inequality," said Boris O. Dittrich, advocacy director in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender program of Human Rights Watch. "Vague references to ‘other grounds' simply aren't good enough."
Balkan Insight
One day before the passing of the law the EU ambassador to the country, Erwan Fouere, urged legislators once again to gather strength and openly add this type of discrimination in the law. Many local NGOs and human rights movements share the same thoughts. "I appeal once again to the government and the parliament to use the chance on Thursday and vote for a comprehensive anti-discrimination law, harmonized with European norms and criteria," Fouere said. Trajanovski argued that the ruling conservative VMRO DPMNE party used the adoption of the law for its own political interests. “The fact that we witnessed a constant anti homosexual campaign prior to the passing of the law shows that in practice the party in power abused the law to boost its own popularity among its voters,” he said. Several VMRO DPMNE deputies were active in the past months in explaining to the public that they would not let a provision on sexual orientation be included in the law. “This provision would mean the first phase towards introducing homosexual marriages and letting homosexual couples adopt children,” VMRO DPMNE party legislator Vlatko Gjorcev said in late February during one of the open debates on the topic held in the parliament. The government has boasted that the law is one of the most comprehensive in Europe, and that failure to mention sexual orientation does not mean that homosexuals and other marginalized sexual groups will be left without protection as they are listed in the section “others”. Human Rights Watch sent an open letter to the Macedonian prime minister in February this year to push for the inclusion of sexual orientation in the anti-discrimination law. "Silence equals inequality," said Boris O. Dittrich, advocacy director in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender program of Human Rights Watch. "Vague references to ‘other grounds' simply aren't good enough."
Balkan Insight
Scuffle breaks out at BNP candidates meeting
A scuffle erupted on the streets of Croydon today as the British National Party presented some of its candidates for the forthcoming local and Westminster elections.
One anti-fascist protester broke through a police cordon and tried to punch a BNP member before being tackled to the ground and taken away by police officers.
The BNP was presenting its candidates outside the headquarters of the UK Border Agency, in south London.
Anti-fascist protesters were waiting for the BNP outside Lunar House where the event was taking place.
They shouted "Nazi scum. Off our streets" and "Smash the BNP".
BNP London organiser Robert Bailey, who is standing as a parliamentary candidate in Romford, Essex, had earlier told a group of around 40 BNP candidates that they were there to put immigration on the election agenda.
He said: "The leaders of the main political parties will be holding a meeting tonight at the TV studios to discuss the future of Britain.
"Up until this moment, nobody has mentioned immigration. The reason why the British National Party is here today is to draw the public's attention and the world's attention to the immigration crisis that is facing ordinary British citizens."
Mr Bailey, who is also a local councillor in Barking and Dagenham, said immigration was the second-biggest issue after the war in Afghanistan for politicians and the Government to face up to.
"We are here today to break the silence," he said.
The BNP plans to field around 350 parliamentary candidates for the forthcoming General Election on May 6.
After the scuffle, Mr Bailey said that the BNP had the right to protest and anti-fascist campaigners had a right to counter-protest.
He said: "Unfortunately some of them have decided to cause a scene."
Party leader Nick Griffin was not present at today's gathering.
Asked where Mr Griffin was, Mr Bailey replied: "You will have to ask him."
This is London
One anti-fascist protester broke through a police cordon and tried to punch a BNP member before being tackled to the ground and taken away by police officers.
The BNP was presenting its candidates outside the headquarters of the UK Border Agency, in south London.
Anti-fascist protesters were waiting for the BNP outside Lunar House where the event was taking place.
They shouted "Nazi scum. Off our streets" and "Smash the BNP".
BNP London organiser Robert Bailey, who is standing as a parliamentary candidate in Romford, Essex, had earlier told a group of around 40 BNP candidates that they were there to put immigration on the election agenda.
He said: "The leaders of the main political parties will be holding a meeting tonight at the TV studios to discuss the future of Britain.
"Up until this moment, nobody has mentioned immigration. The reason why the British National Party is here today is to draw the public's attention and the world's attention to the immigration crisis that is facing ordinary British citizens."
Mr Bailey, who is also a local councillor in Barking and Dagenham, said immigration was the second-biggest issue after the war in Afghanistan for politicians and the Government to face up to.
"We are here today to break the silence," he said.
The BNP plans to field around 350 parliamentary candidates for the forthcoming General Election on May 6.
After the scuffle, Mr Bailey said that the BNP had the right to protest and anti-fascist campaigners had a right to counter-protest.
He said: "Unfortunately some of them have decided to cause a scene."
Party leader Nick Griffin was not present at today's gathering.
Asked where Mr Griffin was, Mr Bailey replied: "You will have to ask him."
This is London
Visits dont turn into Votes. The truth about the BNP’s website popularity claims.
The BNP claim they have one of the most popular political sites in the UK.
A report published by UKOM reveals that the sites traffic is most active when the party comes under public scrutiny and not a constant flow as they would like to claim.
The Conservative website received the most traffic of political party sites last month, according to figures from the UK Online Measurement Company.
The figures reveal conservatives.com attracted 150,000 unique visitors in March, followed by libdems.org.uk (115,000) and labour.org.uk (114,000).
The Conservative site had the greatest proportion of women visitors, with 44%, compared with Labour (43%) and the Liberal Democrats (31%). Its audience is also more widely spread in terms of social classes, with 58% of visitors being ABC1, while Labour’s website was made up of 71% ABC1 and the Liberal Democrats’ 75%.
The British National Party site has seen dramatic increases in visits over the past year, but according to UKOM the spikes come during times of public scrutiny. The party’s traffic grew to 152,000 unique users in October 2009 when party leader Nick Griffin appeared on Question Time, and reached 192,000 last June during local elections.
James Smythe, UKOM general manager, said the data reflected how dynamic the race for voters’ attention had become. “Over the past 12 months the parties have taken turns to peak and dip in popularity, but it has become more important to deliver their party message as we get closer to the General Election. Our research suggests the Tories are attracting online interest from a bigger and broader section of society than the other parties. But as the BNP data shows us, visits don’t necessarily turn into votes.”
nma
A report published by UKOM reveals that the sites traffic is most active when the party comes under public scrutiny and not a constant flow as they would like to claim.
The Conservative website received the most traffic of political party sites last month, according to figures from the UK Online Measurement Company.
The Conservative site had the greatest proportion of women visitors, with 44%, compared with Labour (43%) and the Liberal Democrats (31%). Its audience is also more widely spread in terms of social classes, with 58% of visitors being ABC1, while Labour’s website was made up of 71% ABC1 and the Liberal Democrats’ 75%.
The British National Party site has seen dramatic increases in visits over the past year, but according to UKOM the spikes come during times of public scrutiny. The party’s traffic grew to 152,000 unique users in October 2009 when party leader Nick Griffin appeared on Question Time, and reached 192,000 last June during local elections.
James Smythe, UKOM general manager, said the data reflected how dynamic the race for voters’ attention had become. “Over the past 12 months the parties have taken turns to peak and dip in popularity, but it has become more important to deliver their party message as we get closer to the General Election. Our research suggests the Tories are attracting online interest from a bigger and broader section of society than the other parties. But as the BNP data shows us, visits don’t necessarily turn into votes.”
nma
BNP candidate revels in Burqa shame (UK)
As she swigs from a bottle of alcopops at a Halloween party, burqa clad BNP parliamentary hopeful Miss Lewis reveals her contempt for Muslims.
The right wing activist is pictured smoking and drinking and revealing her underwear while on the night out dressed as a Muslim.
And these exclusive pictures of the woman standing as a candidate for Carshalton and Wallington, and a Croydon Council nominee, are just the start of her bigoted views.
Miss Lewis, 37, has been using her Facebook page to openly call for violence and post hate-filled racist rants about “pakis”.
Lewis has previous convictions for sending death threats to staff of Huntingdon Life Sciences and served a six month sentence in 2001 after she pleaded guilty to four charges of harassment.
Lewis joined a Facebook group dedicated to tracking down the home address of a teen convicted of harming a cat, declaring; “I hope people turn up in the middle of the night & throw bricks through her windows - frighten the life out of her!
“The internet is great! There was no such thing as the internet when I was a kid. Now we can share information about scum.”
She went on to say: “Her brain needs to be re-programmed. She's sub-human, & not fit to breathe the same air as the rest of us. I hope she gets cancer.”
Lewis’s Facebook profile features repeated calls for foreign “paki” criminals to be executed.
In one racist rant she declares that “The Pakis that murdered Kriss Donald should be put on it (the electric chair)”.
“They were born in Glasgow I think, but their parents were from Pakistan - so they are Pakis.”
The hate-filled MP-hopeful has also targeted the head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Trevor Philips, whose recent court proceedings forced the BNP to open their membership up to non-whites.
Lewis declared: “If that w***** Trevor Phillips died then I would open a bottle of champagne and party.”
In February 2009 Lewis lost the Croydon by-election and the BNP cash deposit when her violent animal rights background was revealed.
In 2006 she was questioned by police over possible election fraud after standing for election in Waddon.
She had placed on her nomination form an address in Lind Road, Sutton, as her home residence, which was later exposed as false.
Miss Lewis said: “I think it’s completely acceptable to dress that way. I thought it was hilarious and so did everyone at the party.
“Anyone who does not find it funny needs to develop a sense of humour.
"You can print the pictures if you want and give your readers a bit of a laugh.”
Croydon Guardian
KYRGYZSTAN'S JEWISH COMMUNITY ALARMED AFTER RIOTS
Arieh Reichman, Kyrgyzstan's chief rabbi, shook his head as he presented a vodka bottle filled with flammable liquid that was thrown at the Muslim country's sole synagogue during violent riots last week. He said it was the first act of violence against the country's tiny Jewish community, apparently triggered by the chaos and violence that ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev on April 7. "It's the first time in the history of our community here that we see such clear signs of anti-Semitism," he told Reuters outside the synagogue, a simple one-story building in Bishkek. "Kyrgyzstan has always been hospitable. During Soviet times and under its later leaders, it has always been tolerant. So what is happening right now is very alarming." Reichman said attackers tried to set the synagogue on fire and pelted it with molotov cocktails. Holding up one that did not explode, he could not say who he thought the attackers were.
There have been few cases of anti-Semitism in Kyrgyzstan's post-Soviet history and the country's 1,500-strong Jewish community has coexisted peacefully in the capital Bishkek with its predominantly Muslim population. Bishkek residents have themselves been puzzled and linked the sudden acts of anti-Semitism to some people's aversion to the business partners of Bakiyev's son, Maxim. At least one of them is Jewish. Anti-Semitic posters have sprung up around the capital, they said. One poster that appeared outside the presidential White House after the night of fighting stated: "Dirty Jews and all those like Maxim Bakiyev have no place in Kyrgyzstan." Reichman said the community had appealed for protection to the self-proclaimed government led by Roza Otunbayeva. But not all Bishkek residents agreed violence was an issue.
"This is wrong," said Yerlan, a Kyrgyz man who lives near the synagogue. "We have never seen ... any attacks on the synagogue or any negative feelings toward the Jewish community." Mark Levin, executive director of the National Conference of Soviet Jewry (NCSJ) in Washington, said he was concerned. "There have been isolated incidents of violence against Jews in Bishkek, and while there does not appear to be an organized effort to undermine the Jewish community there, the locals will be very concerned until there is a formal government," he told Reuters by telephone.
Reuters
There have been few cases of anti-Semitism in Kyrgyzstan's post-Soviet history and the country's 1,500-strong Jewish community has coexisted peacefully in the capital Bishkek with its predominantly Muslim population. Bishkek residents have themselves been puzzled and linked the sudden acts of anti-Semitism to some people's aversion to the business partners of Bakiyev's son, Maxim. At least one of them is Jewish. Anti-Semitic posters have sprung up around the capital, they said. One poster that appeared outside the presidential White House after the night of fighting stated: "Dirty Jews and all those like Maxim Bakiyev have no place in Kyrgyzstan." Reichman said the community had appealed for protection to the self-proclaimed government led by Roza Otunbayeva. But not all Bishkek residents agreed violence was an issue.
"This is wrong," said Yerlan, a Kyrgyz man who lives near the synagogue. "We have never seen ... any attacks on the synagogue or any negative feelings toward the Jewish community." Mark Levin, executive director of the National Conference of Soviet Jewry (NCSJ) in Washington, said he was concerned. "There have been isolated incidents of violence against Jews in Bishkek, and while there does not appear to be an organized effort to undermine the Jewish community there, the locals will be very concerned until there is a formal government," he told Reuters by telephone.
Reuters
Housing boss says sorry for Nazi photos (UK)
A housing boss has apologised for ‘the profound hurt and upset’ caused after photos of him dressed as a Nazi as part of a sex game were published in a Sunday newspaper.
In an exclusive interview, Gareth Mead, who has since been sacked as assistant director of housing options at Hammersmith & Fulham Council, said text messages containing highly offensive racist language, published by the Sunday Mirror, were sent as part of ‘fantasy role-play’.
The 44-year-old insists that he is not a Nazi or a racist and gave a public apology for ‘the profound hurt and upset I’ve caused through the reporting of the comments attributed to me in the press’. He also gave details about his childhood which he thinks led to his involvement in an ‘extreme sexual fetish scene’.
Although Mr Mead insisted that his private life never impacted upon his work, he said he is not going to take action against his former employer for unfair dismissal.
However, he has lodged a complaint with the Press Complaints Commission against The Sunday Mirror newspaper because the story it published on its website described him as a ‘secret Nazi’.
"There’s a big difference between fantasy role-playing and a silly sex game, and real life,’ added Mr Mead.
Inside Housing
In an exclusive interview, Gareth Mead, who has since been sacked as assistant director of housing options at Hammersmith & Fulham Council, said text messages containing highly offensive racist language, published by the Sunday Mirror, were sent as part of ‘fantasy role-play’.
The 44-year-old insists that he is not a Nazi or a racist and gave a public apology for ‘the profound hurt and upset I’ve caused through the reporting of the comments attributed to me in the press’. He also gave details about his childhood which he thinks led to his involvement in an ‘extreme sexual fetish scene’.
Although Mr Mead insisted that his private life never impacted upon his work, he said he is not going to take action against his former employer for unfair dismissal.
However, he has lodged a complaint with the Press Complaints Commission against The Sunday Mirror newspaper because the story it published on its website described him as a ‘secret Nazi’.
"There’s a big difference between fantasy role-playing and a silly sex game, and real life,’ added Mr Mead.
Inside Housing
Neo-Nazi is handed 2 and a half years for threats (USA)
"I personally don't have anything to say," White said when asked by Judge James Turk if he had any remarks before hearing his punishment for using the Internet, e-mail and the telephone to threaten strangers who didn't share his racist views.
It was an uncharacteristic finale for a prolific and venomous commentator who once bragged that millions read him on overthrow.com, the now-defunct Web site that was the mouthpiece of his Roanoke-based white supremacy organization.
The prison term locks away White, 32, for a period at the upper end of federal sentencing guidelines. Turk said he rarely imposes such a term but said he did so because of the fear White instilled in many of his victims.
Turk told White that when he gets out of prison, "You can have any thoughts that you want to have, but you ought to keep them to yourself. ... I hope this will teach you a lesson, I really do."
An expert on hate groups said White's downfall marks the end of the American National Socialist Workers Party, the group he formed after moving to Roanoke in 2004 to become a landlord in the predominantly black West End neighborhood.
At the height of his tenure in the white supremacy movement, White was "possibly the loudest and most obnoxious neo-Nazi leader in America," the Southern Poverty Law Center said.
White's followers -- who numbered no more than 200 -- quickly scattered after his arrest in October 2008, said Mark Potok, director of the law center's Intelligence Project. By then, he said, they had already become disillusioned by White's self-aggrandizing ways.
"Bill White was never a real leader," Potok said. "He was just a loud-mouthed propagandist."
Wednesday's sentencing in U.S. District Court in Roanoke followed an eight-day trial in December in which White was convicted of threatening people in Missouri, Delaware and Virginia Beach.
White's victims -- strangers to him and to one another -- unwittingly said or did something to anger the neo-Nazi, who then used his Web site, e-mail and the telephone to harass and threaten them.
For Citibank employee Jennifer Petsche, it was the way White's credit card account was handled. For Tasha Reddick and Tiese Mitchell, it was the housing discrimination lawsuit they filed against their Virginia Beach landlord. For University of Delaware administrator Kathleen Kerr, it was a diversity awareness program at the school.
According to earlier testimony, White called a secretary in Kerr's office and told her he was the leader of a neo-Nazi group, that people who think the way she does about race should be shot and that he would hunt her down.
Kerr and other victims testified about the terror they felt when they realized their home addresses and telephone numbers -- along with White's inflammatory rhetoric -- were posted on a Web site read by racists.
As part of his sentence, White will be on probation for three years after his release from prison. The judge prohibited him from using the Internet for any business or hobby, including posting blog messages, during that time.
White claimed his words were protected by the First Amendment -- a defense that proved successful with five of the eight charges filed against him in Roanoke and in Chicago, where he was charged with using his Web site to encourage violence.
"Our analysis of it is that it's a win," said defense attorney David Damico, who represented White along with lawyer Ray Ferris.
Among the charges rejected by the Roanoke jury was an allegation that White threatened nationally syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts. Enraged by a column Pitts wrote about black-on-white crime, White published his home address online and then said he wouldn't shed a tear if "some looney" killed the black columnist.
While acknowledging that White crossed the line in some cases, Damico called the acquittals "a reaffirmation that we still accept and believe in free speech in this county, even when it's obnoxious speech."
White has already served 18 months in jail awaiting the resolution of his case. He will receive some credit for time served and could be eligible for a 15 percent reduction of his remaining sentence for good behavior.
U.S. Attorney Tim Heaphy said that while prison-time calculations are complicated, White could be released in about a year. White was more optimistic, saying at a hearing on a lawsuit that followed his sentencing that his community release date is June 6. In some cases, inmates are sent to a halfway house when they have six months left to serve.
Whatever the exact term, it wasn't enough for many black leaders, who have felt White's wrath for years, said Brenda Hale, president of the Roanoke branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
"We always have the threat looming over us that he's going to return to the community within a short period of time," Hale said. And while Turk hoped that White has learned his lesson, Hale has her doubts.
"If he had the slightest ounce of remorse, he would have said something in court when the judge gave him the opportunity," said Hale, who attended the hearing with about a half-dozen other NAACP members.
At a news conference after the sentencing, Heaphy said the work of civil rights prosecutors John Richmond and Cindy Chung, who traveled from Washington, D.C., to prosecute White, is a prelude to a renewed emphasis by his office on such cases.
"While the First Amendment protects everyone's right to free expression, it does not protect hate-mongers like Bill White," Heaphy said. "The White case demonstrates our commitment to vigorously prosecuting anyone who commits a hate crime in this district."
Although legal scholars have said the case broke little new ground in the arena of Internet threats, Potok described White's conviction as an important blow against white supremacists who in recent years have tested the limits of cyberspace.
"I think it's a real milestone," Potok said. "In some ways, this had been a real gray area of the law, especially because of the Internet. But there are limits, and Bill White seems to have defined them for us."
roanoke
Watchdog begins BNP accounts probe
The commission, which is the independent party finance watchdog, said it had began the probe into the party's 2008 statement of accounts.
This follows concerns raised about its "adequacy" by the independent auditor's report that accompanied it.
But the fact that an investigation had been launched did not mean there should be assumptions made over any alleged breaches, the commission stressed.
In January this year the commission began a review following the concerns raised, and this has now developed into the investigation announced today.
It follows comments by the registered auditors, Silver & Co, that the financial statements submitted did not "give a true and fair view of the state of the party's affairs at December 31, 2008".
The auditors went on: "In our opinion it cannot be said that the accounts comply with the requirements of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, as adequate records have not been made available."
A statement released by the commission said: "In January 2010 the Electoral Commission, the independent party finance watchdog, began a case review following concerns raised in the independent auditor's opinion about the adequacy of the 2008 statement of accounts of the British National Party.
"The case has now become an investigation.
"However, it is important to note - particularly during an election period - that no conclusion has been reached and therefore no assumption should be made as to whether a breach of the rules has occurred."
The Independant
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
White supremacist father and son plotted terror attacks, court hears
Teenage milkman denies possessing material useful to a terrorist while helping to run his father's Aryan Strike Force website.
A teenage milkman spent his spare time secretly preparing violent attacks against the government, a court heard today.
Nicky Davison, 19, joined his father in the creation of Aryan Strike Force, a website demonstrating an apparent obsession with Zionist domination, a jury at Newcastle crown court was told. Computers seized in a police raid on a house in Annfield Plain, County Durham, last year yielded data showing that "ops" involving bombs were in the early stage of planning.
Davison and his father, Ian, 41, were not simply "keyboard warriors", said Andrew Edis, prosecuting. "They made a distinction between people who were associated with the group they were forming – who were just supporters who might hand out leaflets – and members, who were to be of a different category, more interested in action," he said.
"They wanted to resist what they called ZOG, which stood for Zionist-occupied government. They were fighting against the government because they believed it has been taken over by Jews, so it had to be resisted by those interested in white supremacy."
Ian Davison has already pleaded guilty to preparing for acts of terrorism and producing a chemical weapon, using homemade ricin. The poison extracted from castor beans is deadly and has been at the centre of several terrorism scares.
Nicky Davison denies three charges of possessing material useful to a terrorist while helping to run the Aryan Strike Force website. The jury was told that the group had been established in January 2008 and at the time of the police raid last June was "in the early stages of becoming active".
Edis said Davison's acknowledged extreme racism was not the issue. He said: "Having white supremacist opinions is not what Mr Davison is charged with. He is charged with taking things a step further by having a document which contained information likely to be of use to a terrorist. He was associated, with other people, as part of an organisation, preparing to do ops, in other words paramilitary activity."
The website was not merely a propaganda vehicle for supporters, who also called themselves the Wolfpack and Legion 88. It showed interest in "violence in different forms to advance the aims of white supremacy in these islands".
Shortly before the raid, Nicky Davison had posted messages on the site saying he was "concerned about the risk of detection and arrest". His on-screen name, Thorburn1488, was an obscure code relating to the work of an American white supremacist and shorthand for "Heil Hitler".
Edis said: "He was clearly associated with his father who has pleaded guilty to terrorist charges."
The raid at the house that Nicky Davison shared with his mother and younger brother found online copies of manuals including the Poor Man's James Bond and The Anarchist's Cookbook.
"These tell the reader how to make letter bombs, how to make explosives, how to make detonators, how to make bombs, how to make grenades, how to make silencers and how to make poisons," Edis said. "The prosecution does not allege that this defendant committed an act of terrorism. The charges are aimed at a young man who seems to be preparing himself, reading and getting himself informed and equipped for action."
The trial continues.
The Guardian
A teenage milkman spent his spare time secretly preparing violent attacks against the government, a court heard today.
Nicky Davison, 19, joined his father in the creation of Aryan Strike Force, a website demonstrating an apparent obsession with Zionist domination, a jury at Newcastle crown court was told. Computers seized in a police raid on a house in Annfield Plain, County Durham, last year yielded data showing that "ops" involving bombs were in the early stage of planning.
Davison and his father, Ian, 41, were not simply "keyboard warriors", said Andrew Edis, prosecuting. "They made a distinction between people who were associated with the group they were forming – who were just supporters who might hand out leaflets – and members, who were to be of a different category, more interested in action," he said.
"They wanted to resist what they called ZOG, which stood for Zionist-occupied government. They were fighting against the government because they believed it has been taken over by Jews, so it had to be resisted by those interested in white supremacy."
Ian Davison has already pleaded guilty to preparing for acts of terrorism and producing a chemical weapon, using homemade ricin. The poison extracted from castor beans is deadly and has been at the centre of several terrorism scares.
Nicky Davison denies three charges of possessing material useful to a terrorist while helping to run the Aryan Strike Force website. The jury was told that the group had been established in January 2008 and at the time of the police raid last June was "in the early stages of becoming active".
Edis said Davison's acknowledged extreme racism was not the issue. He said: "Having white supremacist opinions is not what Mr Davison is charged with. He is charged with taking things a step further by having a document which contained information likely to be of use to a terrorist. He was associated, with other people, as part of an organisation, preparing to do ops, in other words paramilitary activity."
The website was not merely a propaganda vehicle for supporters, who also called themselves the Wolfpack and Legion 88. It showed interest in "violence in different forms to advance the aims of white supremacy in these islands".
Shortly before the raid, Nicky Davison had posted messages on the site saying he was "concerned about the risk of detection and arrest". His on-screen name, Thorburn1488, was an obscure code relating to the work of an American white supremacist and shorthand for "Heil Hitler".
Edis said: "He was clearly associated with his father who has pleaded guilty to terrorist charges."
The raid at the house that Nicky Davison shared with his mother and younger brother found online copies of manuals including the Poor Man's James Bond and The Anarchist's Cookbook.
"These tell the reader how to make letter bombs, how to make explosives, how to make detonators, how to make bombs, how to make grenades, how to make silencers and how to make poisons," Edis said. "The prosecution does not allege that this defendant committed an act of terrorism. The charges are aimed at a young man who seems to be preparing himself, reading and getting himself informed and equipped for action."
The trial continues.
The Guardian
Man in court over mosque attack (UK)
A MAN has admitted throwing petrol over a mosque during an attempted arson attack.
Gerald Davis targeted the Muslim place of worship on Chester Road, Sunderland.
Davis, 53, of Palmerston Road, Peterborough, was originally charged with attempting to commit arson with intent to endanger the lives of Muslims.
But at Newcastle Crown Court yesterday prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to the lesser charge of attempting to commit arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.
The court heard Davis has been examined by a psychiatrist who has recommended he be sentenced to a hospital order under the Mental Health Act.
He must be assessed by another psychiatrist before such sentence could be passed.
Mr Recorder Toby Hedworth adjourned sentence until May 28 and remanded Davis in custody in the meantime.
The Judge said: "The recommendation of one doctor is you be made subject of a hospital order under the terms of the mental health act.
"For that to be done there needs to be a second report from another appropriately qualified psychiatrist.
"I am going to adjourn your case for six weeks to allow the preparation of that report and allow arrangements to be made for your admission in due course to such hospital."
Davis had also admitted a charge of exposure relating to an incident two days before the mosque attack in the early hours of October 16 last year.
On December 9 last year, Sunderland Magistrates' Court heard that Davis had exposed himself to a woman at the George Washington Hotel, near High Usworth, Washington.
The victim said Davis had struck up conversation with her by the hotel's swimming pool, before dropping his towel to expose his genitals.
Sunderland Echo
Gerald Davis targeted the Muslim place of worship on Chester Road, Sunderland.
Davis, 53, of Palmerston Road, Peterborough, was originally charged with attempting to commit arson with intent to endanger the lives of Muslims.
But at Newcastle Crown Court yesterday prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to the lesser charge of attempting to commit arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.
The court heard Davis has been examined by a psychiatrist who has recommended he be sentenced to a hospital order under the Mental Health Act.
He must be assessed by another psychiatrist before such sentence could be passed.
Mr Recorder Toby Hedworth adjourned sentence until May 28 and remanded Davis in custody in the meantime.
The Judge said: "The recommendation of one doctor is you be made subject of a hospital order under the terms of the mental health act.
"For that to be done there needs to be a second report from another appropriately qualified psychiatrist.
"I am going to adjourn your case for six weeks to allow the preparation of that report and allow arrangements to be made for your admission in due course to such hospital."
Davis had also admitted a charge of exposure relating to an incident two days before the mosque attack in the early hours of October 16 last year.
On December 9 last year, Sunderland Magistrates' Court heard that Davis had exposed himself to a woman at the George Washington Hotel, near High Usworth, Washington.
The victim said Davis had struck up conversation with her by the hotel's swimming pool, before dropping his towel to expose his genitals.
Sunderland Echo
Facebook announces online security measures
The move means fans of the site will be able to report any unwanted or suspicious behaviour directly to child protection organisations.
Responding to mounting pressure from the Government and parents to protect its 23 million British users, it has now redesigned its abuse reporting system so users can alert the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) to any unwanted or inappropriate contact.
Managers have also agreed to establish a new 24-hour police hotline, dedicated to helping with emergencies, investigations and prosecutions.
The issue was thrust into the headlines last month following the conviction of serial rapist Peter Chapman who posed as a young boy on the site and went on to murder Darlington schoolgirl Ashleigh Hall.
The internet giant has been roundly criticised for defying calls to install a panic button on the networking site, and chiefs were yesterday urged to turn words into action following a four-hour showdown meeting in Washington DC with Jim Gamble, Britain's most senior official responsible for protecting youngsters online.
Though Mr Gamble said Facebook had not not agreed to his demands outright, he acknowledged the popular social networking destination was "one small step from doing the right thing".
Safety experts today hailed Facebook's new measures, which are designed to give individuals greater control of their online safety.
Independent child protection expert Mark Williams-Thomas termed the move "a considerable step forward in online safety" while Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute, said the site was "taking a thoughtful, proactive approach to safety on the web".
The Northern Echo
PRAGUE PUBLIC TRANSIT CO DECIDES NOT TO SACK TRAM DRIVER PROMOTING FAR RIGHT(Czech Rep.)
Prague Monitor
NEO-NAZIS SENTENCED WITHOUT POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE FOR ATTACK ON ROMANI MAN (Czech Rep.)
Romea
FRENCH FAR RIGHT LEADER LE PEN TO STEP DOWN NEXT YEAR (France)
AFP
Mixed race people are 'more attractive' and successful
Mixed-race people are 'more attractive' and more successful, results of a new study suggest.
The Cardiff University study involved rating 1,205 black, white, and mixed-race faces.
Each face was judged on its attractiveness, with mixed-race faces generally perceived as more attractive.
Author of the study, Dr Michael Lewis, also suggested mixed-race people were disproportionately successful in many professions.
The study based its hypothesis on Darwin's notion of heterosis, the biological phenomenon that predicts that cross-breeding leads to offspring that are genetically fitter than their parents.
Dr Lewis said the phenomenon was mirrored in the results of his study.
"The results appear to confirm that people whose genetic backgrounds are more diverse are, on average, perceived as more attractive," Dr Lewis said.
Yet there is reason to believe that mixed-race people may not just be more attractive, but more successful.
Dr Lewis said: "There is evidence, albeit anecdotal, that the impact of heterosis goes beyond just attractiveness.
"This comes from the observation that, although mixed-race people make up a small proportion of the population, they are over-represented at the top level of a number of meritocratic professions like acting with Halle Berry, Formula 1 racing with Lewis Hamilton - and, of course, politics with Barack Obama."
Dr Lewis will present his findings to the British Psychological Society's annual meeting on Wednesday.
BBC News
The Cardiff University study involved rating 1,205 black, white, and mixed-race faces.
Each face was judged on its attractiveness, with mixed-race faces generally perceived as more attractive.
Author of the study, Dr Michael Lewis, also suggested mixed-race people were disproportionately successful in many professions.
The study based its hypothesis on Darwin's notion of heterosis, the biological phenomenon that predicts that cross-breeding leads to offspring that are genetically fitter than their parents.
Dr Lewis said the phenomenon was mirrored in the results of his study.
"The results appear to confirm that people whose genetic backgrounds are more diverse are, on average, perceived as more attractive," Dr Lewis said.
Yet there is reason to believe that mixed-race people may not just be more attractive, but more successful.
Dr Lewis said: "There is evidence, albeit anecdotal, that the impact of heterosis goes beyond just attractiveness.
"This comes from the observation that, although mixed-race people make up a small proportion of the population, they are over-represented at the top level of a number of meritocratic professions like acting with Halle Berry, Formula 1 racing with Lewis Hamilton - and, of course, politics with Barack Obama."
Dr Lewis will present his findings to the British Psychological Society's annual meeting on Wednesday.
BBC News
Brown: voters too sensible for BNP (UK)
Gordon Brown said he believed voters were too "sensible" to fall for the BNP.
The Prime Minister hit out at the far-right party as "not British", accusing it of trying to exploit people's concerns on immigration and housing.
In an interview with the BBC Asian Network radio station, Mr Brown was asked about the rise of the BNP in areas such as Barking, east London, where its leader, Nick Griffin, will fight for a Westminster seat.
Mr Brown said: "I think you'll find the British people are far more sensible about the future; I think they see through an ideology based on race."
He added: "I think it's the job of decent people from every party to expose the BNP for what they really are.
"They're trying to exploit people's concerns about immigration and housing, they use them to push their own ideology, which is based on race.
"That ideology of the BNP is totally wrong and it's got to be exposed; it's also not British because our fathers and our grandfathers fought together in a world war to defeat ideology based on race."
North Wales Weekly
The Prime Minister hit out at the far-right party as "not British", accusing it of trying to exploit people's concerns on immigration and housing.
In an interview with the BBC Asian Network radio station, Mr Brown was asked about the rise of the BNP in areas such as Barking, east London, where its leader, Nick Griffin, will fight for a Westminster seat.
Mr Brown said: "I think you'll find the British people are far more sensible about the future; I think they see through an ideology based on race."
He added: "I think it's the job of decent people from every party to expose the BNP for what they really are.
"They're trying to exploit people's concerns about immigration and housing, they use them to push their own ideology, which is based on race.
"That ideology of the BNP is totally wrong and it's got to be exposed; it's also not British because our fathers and our grandfathers fought together in a world war to defeat ideology based on race."
North Wales Weekly
Vatican comment on paedophiles draws gay groups' anger
Gay rights activists have criticised a Vatican official who sought to link homosexuality to paedophilia when commenting on child sex abuse scandals.
The UK's Stonewall group said it was astonishing gay people should still be dealing with "such an offensive myth".
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone had said homosexuality, not celibacy, lay behind the child sex abuse scandals.
The cardinal, the Vatican's foreign minister, was speaking in Chile, where his comments were also condemned.
Cardinal Bertone was attempting to defuse the scandals currently afflicting the Catholic Church, which are largely cases of priests molesting children, mainly boys, the BBC's David Willey reports from Rome.
He added that some "surprising" initiatives regarding the sex abuse scandal would soon be revealed but did not elaborate.
'I have the documents'
Visiting the Chilean capital Santiago on Monday, Cardinal Bertone told a news conference: "Many psychologists, many psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relationship between celibacy and paedophilia but many others have demonstrated, I was told recently, that there is a relationship between homosexuality and paedophilia.
"That is true. I have the documents of the psychologists. That is the problem."
Patricio Walker, a Chilean senator who helped draft anti-paedophile laws, said he would like to see what scientific studies the cardinal was referring to because he thought he was wrong.
A Chilean communist MP, Hugo Gutierrez, told AFP news agency: "Celibacy does more damage to a human being than homosexuality, which is a freely made choice.
"I'm shocked by these words from a senior dignitary of the Church."
In Rome, the head of Italian gay rights group Gaylib, Enrico Oliari, said it was "worrying that the foreign minister of a state that occupies the heart of the Italian capital would use arguments that are considered passe even in the Third World".
Aurelio Mancuso, former president of a Italian gay rights association Arcigay, said: "The truth is that Bertone is clumsily trying to shift attention to homosexuality and away from the focus on new crimes against children that emerge every day."
The Pope's spokesman has indicated that Benedict may have a discreet private meeting with victims of clerical sexual abuse in Malta during his visit there this coming weekend.
The Pope should not feel he is under the pressure of the glare of the media if such a meeting takes place, Fr Federico Lombardi said, so that he can listen and communicate with them.
In Malta, 10 men have taken three Catholic priests to court for alleged child abuse in their youth and have asked to meet the Pope. There has been a high incidence of reported cases on the small Mediterranean island, whose inhabitants are mainly Catholic, our Rome correspondent notes.
BBC News
The UK's Stonewall group said it was astonishing gay people should still be dealing with "such an offensive myth".
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone had said homosexuality, not celibacy, lay behind the child sex abuse scandals.
The cardinal, the Vatican's foreign minister, was speaking in Chile, where his comments were also condemned.
Cardinal Bertone was attempting to defuse the scandals currently afflicting the Catholic Church, which are largely cases of priests molesting children, mainly boys, the BBC's David Willey reports from Rome.
He added that some "surprising" initiatives regarding the sex abuse scandal would soon be revealed but did not elaborate.
'I have the documents'
Visiting the Chilean capital Santiago on Monday, Cardinal Bertone told a news conference: "Many psychologists, many psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relationship between celibacy and paedophilia but many others have demonstrated, I was told recently, that there is a relationship between homosexuality and paedophilia.
"That is true. I have the documents of the psychologists. That is the problem."
Patricio Walker, a Chilean senator who helped draft anti-paedophile laws, said he would like to see what scientific studies the cardinal was referring to because he thought he was wrong.
A Chilean communist MP, Hugo Gutierrez, told AFP news agency: "Celibacy does more damage to a human being than homosexuality, which is a freely made choice.
"I'm shocked by these words from a senior dignitary of the Church."
In Rome, the head of Italian gay rights group Gaylib, Enrico Oliari, said it was "worrying that the foreign minister of a state that occupies the heart of the Italian capital would use arguments that are considered passe even in the Third World".
Aurelio Mancuso, former president of a Italian gay rights association Arcigay, said: "The truth is that Bertone is clumsily trying to shift attention to homosexuality and away from the focus on new crimes against children that emerge every day."
The Pope's spokesman has indicated that Benedict may have a discreet private meeting with victims of clerical sexual abuse in Malta during his visit there this coming weekend.
The Pope should not feel he is under the pressure of the glare of the media if such a meeting takes place, Fr Federico Lombardi said, so that he can listen and communicate with them.
In Malta, 10 men have taken three Catholic priests to court for alleged child abuse in their youth and have asked to meet the Pope. There has been a high incidence of reported cases on the small Mediterranean island, whose inhabitants are mainly Catholic, our Rome correspondent notes.
BBC News
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Tony Avery, who teaches English to foreigners to stand for "fascist" BNP
A MAN who teaches English as a foreign language is to stand as a Parliamentary candidate for the British National Party.
Tony Avery, who teaches English as a foreign language, is expected to stand as prospective parliamentary candidate for Enfield North and as councillor for Turkey Street.
According to the BNP website, Mr Avery has worked as a garage manager and "spent several years in Mayfair, looking after 300 company accounts, including many of London’s foreign embassies."
He says he has worked for 12 years for councils in London, although does not explain what his role was.
He said: "I trained as an ESOL teacher in 2005, but found it difficult to find community organisations willing to accept me. They preferred their own nationalities.
"I believe that today’s fashionable left-wing view of equality reeks of hypocrisy: treating certain ethnic groups
preferentially is a flawed philosophy, and can be divisive in itself."
He has also edited several videos for BNP TV.
The BNP, which restricted its membership to people of "Caucasian origin" until 2009, originally formed as a splinter group from the National Front.
It’s leader, Nick Griffin, appeared on BBC’s Question Time last year, when he insisted he was not a Nazi.
He defended being pictured with David Duke, the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, which has carried out racist attacks across parts of America.
When asked why he had previously played down the Holocaust, he said: “I do not have a conviction for Holocaust denial.”
Tony Thake, of the Enfield Island Village Residents’ Association, which was built on the site of a former munitions factory, said: “I have no doubt that people believe the BNP is a racist organisation.
“This is a former industrial area where there have traditionally been a lot of working class. There are some generations whose fathers had good industrial jobs. You can convince people sometimes the reason they aren’t getting a house or job is all the fault of immigrants.
"About a quarter of people here are in social housing so they are much more likely to be targeted by the BNP. Some residents feel they have been in queues for long periods of time.
"But a lot of ethnic minorities have been here for many generations, so we’ve really moved on from dividing people – they are as British as anybody else.”
A snap poll of residents in Turkey Street, conducted by the Enfield Independent, showed that two were sympathetic to the idea of a cap on immigration and said they would therefore consider voting BNP, while six others were against to varying degrees.
Nick Lowles, editor of anti-fascist magazine Searchlight, who is also a Chase Side resident, said: “Certainly the BNP are picking up a protest vote because people are fed up with the mainstream political parties. But it is a dangerous protest. The presentable face of the BNP is not the true face of the BNP. You just have to look at the leader Nick Griffin, who is a hardline fascist. What he says now about the Holocaust is that he can’t talk about it. Well you either believe the Holocaust happened or you don’t.
“The BNP divides communities, it is no answer to the problems people face.”
In response to the news, Unite Against Fascism North London is planning to hold stalls and leafleting campaigns in Enfield, with a public meeting on April 18 at an as yet undecided venue.
The final list of Parliamentary candidates will be announced on April 20.
Mr Avery could not be reached for comment.
Endfield Independant
Tony Avery, who teaches English as a foreign language, is expected to stand as prospective parliamentary candidate for Enfield North and as councillor for Turkey Street.
According to the BNP website, Mr Avery has worked as a garage manager and "spent several years in Mayfair, looking after 300 company accounts, including many of London’s foreign embassies."
He says he has worked for 12 years for councils in London, although does not explain what his role was.
He said: "I trained as an ESOL teacher in 2005, but found it difficult to find community organisations willing to accept me. They preferred their own nationalities.
"I believe that today’s fashionable left-wing view of equality reeks of hypocrisy: treating certain ethnic groups
preferentially is a flawed philosophy, and can be divisive in itself."
He has also edited several videos for BNP TV.
The BNP, which restricted its membership to people of "Caucasian origin" until 2009, originally formed as a splinter group from the National Front.
It’s leader, Nick Griffin, appeared on BBC’s Question Time last year, when he insisted he was not a Nazi.
He defended being pictured with David Duke, the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, which has carried out racist attacks across parts of America.
When asked why he had previously played down the Holocaust, he said: “I do not have a conviction for Holocaust denial.”
Tony Thake, of the Enfield Island Village Residents’ Association, which was built on the site of a former munitions factory, said: “I have no doubt that people believe the BNP is a racist organisation.
“This is a former industrial area where there have traditionally been a lot of working class. There are some generations whose fathers had good industrial jobs. You can convince people sometimes the reason they aren’t getting a house or job is all the fault of immigrants.
"About a quarter of people here are in social housing so they are much more likely to be targeted by the BNP. Some residents feel they have been in queues for long periods of time.
"But a lot of ethnic minorities have been here for many generations, so we’ve really moved on from dividing people – they are as British as anybody else.”
A snap poll of residents in Turkey Street, conducted by the Enfield Independent, showed that two were sympathetic to the idea of a cap on immigration and said they would therefore consider voting BNP, while six others were against to varying degrees.
Nick Lowles, editor of anti-fascist magazine Searchlight, who is also a Chase Side resident, said: “Certainly the BNP are picking up a protest vote because people are fed up with the mainstream political parties. But it is a dangerous protest. The presentable face of the BNP is not the true face of the BNP. You just have to look at the leader Nick Griffin, who is a hardline fascist. What he says now about the Holocaust is that he can’t talk about it. Well you either believe the Holocaust happened or you don’t.
“The BNP divides communities, it is no answer to the problems people face.”
In response to the news, Unite Against Fascism North London is planning to hold stalls and leafleting campaigns in Enfield, with a public meeting on April 18 at an as yet undecided venue.
The final list of Parliamentary candidates will be announced on April 20.
Mr Avery could not be reached for comment.
Endfield Independant
New Leader Assails Far-Right Party’s Rise (Hungary)
The incoming prime minister, Viktor Orban, vowed Monday to defend Hungary from the ascent of a far-right party and its black-clad paramilitary branch, which have railed against the Roma community and called the capital “Jewdapest.” Mr. Orban, 46, the leader of Fidezs, the party that defeated the incumbent Socialists in first-round parliamentary elections on Sunday, said he was unhappy over the rise of the far-right party, Jobbik, which won 16.7 percent of the vote. “No radical party will be allowed to get rid of law and order in this country,” he said. “Democracy in this country is strong enough to defend itself.”
NY Times
NY Times
Extremists cancel march commemorating Allied bombing
Czech rightist extremists have decided to cancel their planned march through the centre of Usti nad Labem to commemorate the April 1945 Allied bombing of the town, according to the information published at the webpage of Autonomous Nationalists.
They cancelled the march as the town centre was blocked by the group We Don't Want Neo-Nazis in Usti.
Usti police spokeswoman Veronika Hysplerova told CTK yesterday that rightist extremists' activities would be monitored and if they prepared any event, the police would be ready.
The far-right radicals organised a march through Usti last April.
At least 512 people died and hundreds of buildings were destroyed or damaged in the bombing of Usti, an industrial centre of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, by the U.S. airforce on April 17 and 19, 1945.
Extremists' opponents stressed that the march was to be held briefly before the anniversary of birthday of Adolf Hitler on April 20.
Last year the march of some 200 extremists was guarded by the police. They intervened against the leftist activists trying to thwart the march, which was also attended by neo-Nazis from Germany.
This time, the extremists' webpage only publishes an appeal that candles should be lit instead of the march.
A mass, commemorative meetings and cultural events will be held, and church bells are to ring on April 17 and 19, in the hours when bombs hit the town 65 years ago.
Prague Monitor
They cancelled the march as the town centre was blocked by the group We Don't Want Neo-Nazis in Usti.
Usti police spokeswoman Veronika Hysplerova told CTK yesterday that rightist extremists' activities would be monitored and if they prepared any event, the police would be ready.
The far-right radicals organised a march through Usti last April.
At least 512 people died and hundreds of buildings were destroyed or damaged in the bombing of Usti, an industrial centre of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, by the U.S. airforce on April 17 and 19, 1945.
Extremists' opponents stressed that the march was to be held briefly before the anniversary of birthday of Adolf Hitler on April 20.
Last year the march of some 200 extremists was guarded by the police. They intervened against the leftist activists trying to thwart the march, which was also attended by neo-Nazis from Germany.
This time, the extremists' webpage only publishes an appeal that candles should be lit instead of the march.
A mass, commemorative meetings and cultural events will be held, and church bells are to ring on April 17 and 19, in the hours when bombs hit the town 65 years ago.
Prague Monitor
JUDGE RULES ON GOOGLE BULLY VIDEO (Italy)
Milan judge Oscar Magi said in his ruling he believed Google executives bore responsibility because the company intended to make a profit by selling advertising on the site where the footage was posted.
"In simple words, it is not the writing on the wall that constitutes a crime for the owner of the wall, but its commercial exploitation can," judge Magi wrote in the 111-page document, obtained by the Associated Press.
The three employees were given six-month suspended sentences in a criminal verdict that drew swift condemnation from defenders of internet freedom.
Google said it was studying the decision, "but as we said when the verdict was announced, this conviction attacks the very principles of freedom on which the internet is built", it added.
"If these principles are swept aside, then the web as we know it will cease to exist and many of the economic, social, political and technological benefits it brings could disappear. These are important points of principle, which is why we and our employees will vigorously appeal this decision."
Judge Magi said his decision should be interpreted as a requirement that internet service providers must screen the enormous amount of video that passed through their sites.
"But on the other hand, there also is no such thing as the endless prairie of the internet where everything is allowed and nothing can be banned," he wrote.
The trial, he said, should be read as an "important signal" that a danger zone is being reached for criminal responsibility for web masters.
"There is no doubt that the overwhelming speed of technical progress will allow, sooner or later, ever more stringent controls on uploaded data on the part of website managers," he said.
Daily Express
Jewish group praises Germany for its prosecution of Nazis
In its annual report on the international community's efforts to bring ex-Nazis to justice, the Simon Wiesenthal Center has awarded Germany the highest possible grade. This is the first time Berlin has earned an "A."
The Simon Wiesenthal Center, which describes itself as a Jewish human rights group, has recognized Germany's increased effort to prosecute former Nazis by awarding it top marks in its annual report on the international effort to bring World War Two war criminals to justice.
"There's been a monumental and highly significant change in German prosecution policy," the center's head, Efraim Zuroff, told Deutsche Welle.
"German authorities and judges are taking a more proactive stance to investigating and prosecuting Nazi war criminals, and for this reason we are proud to award Berlin our highest mark," he said.
Zuroff singled out Germany's willingness to "prosecute non-Germans as well as Volksdeutsche - ethnic Germans - which for many decades was not the case." He also lauded Berlin's willingness to put non-officers on trial too.
Zuroff highlighted two examples that illustrate the change in German policy: the ongoing proceedings against John Demjankjuk - an 89-year-old Ukrainian national accused of being accessory to thousands of murders while a guard at the infamous Sobibor death camp in occupied Poland - and the conviction of Heinrich Boere, an SS officer sentenced last month to life in prison for murdering three Dutch citizens during World War Two.
'Complete failure'
Germany and the United States were the only countries to earn the top "A" grade from the Wiesenthal Center, while a number of countries were criticized in the report.
The center listed Estonia, Lithuania and Ukraine along with Australia, Canada and Hungary as countries "whose efforts (or lack thereof) have resulted in complete failure during the period under review."
Zuroff said that no legal obstacles to the prosecution of suspected Nazi war criminals existed in those countries, but that there was a general "lack of political will" to carry out the process of bringing elderly suspects to justice.
The report said the most disappointing case was that of Sandor Kepiro, who was convicted by Hungary of helping to organize the murder of at least 1,200 civilians in Serbia in 1942. Kepiro has never been punished for his crime, although the Wiesenthal Center has located him in Budapest.
DU World
The Simon Wiesenthal Center, which describes itself as a Jewish human rights group, has recognized Germany's increased effort to prosecute former Nazis by awarding it top marks in its annual report on the international effort to bring World War Two war criminals to justice.
"There's been a monumental and highly significant change in German prosecution policy," the center's head, Efraim Zuroff, told Deutsche Welle.
"German authorities and judges are taking a more proactive stance to investigating and prosecuting Nazi war criminals, and for this reason we are proud to award Berlin our highest mark," he said.
Zuroff singled out Germany's willingness to "prosecute non-Germans as well as Volksdeutsche - ethnic Germans - which for many decades was not the case." He also lauded Berlin's willingness to put non-officers on trial too.
Zuroff highlighted two examples that illustrate the change in German policy: the ongoing proceedings against John Demjankjuk - an 89-year-old Ukrainian national accused of being accessory to thousands of murders while a guard at the infamous Sobibor death camp in occupied Poland - and the conviction of Heinrich Boere, an SS officer sentenced last month to life in prison for murdering three Dutch citizens during World War Two.
'Complete failure'
Germany and the United States were the only countries to earn the top "A" grade from the Wiesenthal Center, while a number of countries were criticized in the report.
The center listed Estonia, Lithuania and Ukraine along with Australia, Canada and Hungary as countries "whose efforts (or lack thereof) have resulted in complete failure during the period under review."
Zuroff said that no legal obstacles to the prosecution of suspected Nazi war criminals existed in those countries, but that there was a general "lack of political will" to carry out the process of bringing elderly suspects to justice.
The report said the most disappointing case was that of Sandor Kepiro, who was convicted by Hungary of helping to organize the murder of at least 1,200 civilians in Serbia in 1942. Kepiro has never been punished for his crime, although the Wiesenthal Center has located him in Budapest.
DU World
SA police investigate sex link to Terreblanche killing (South Africa)
A lawyer for one of the two accused men said Terreblanche tried to have sex with at least one of the defendants.
Mr Terreblanche's body was found on a bed with his trousers pulled down.
Police had initially said the killing was over a wage dispute, but are now exploring the possibility that the killing was an act of self-defence.
"We are not going to focus on one thing," said Musa Zondi of the Hawks, South Africa's elite criminal investigation unit, which has taken over the investigation.
"We will investigate all pertinent facts that have a bearing on the matter."
Gen Jan Mabula, head of the Hawks in North West province confirmed to South Africa's City Press newspaper that the suspects' clothes had been sent for forensic examinations.
Terreblanche was discovered at his farm in Ventersdorp on 3 April after having been beaten to death.
Two black farm workers have been charged with his murder.
Puna Moroko, the lawyer representing one of the accused men - 28-year-old Chris Mahlangu - told South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper the attack was triggered by a sexual assault.
"My instructions from my client are that there was some sodomy going on and it sparked the murder of Mr Terreblanche," he said.
The lawyer representing the other defendant - a 15-year-old boy who cannot be named - made no comment on the sodomy allegations.
Mr Moroko claimed the accused men were given large quantities of alcohol before Terreblanche allegedly tried to have sex with "one or both of them".
Terreblanche was leader of the Afrikaner Resistance Movement (AWB), a white supremacist group, and believed firmly that whites and blacks should be kept apart.
AWB spokesperson Andre Visagie strongly dismissed the sexual assault allegations.
"The media must choose now whether they want to regard Terreblanche as a racist or as the rapist of a black youth," the City press newspaper quoted him as saying.
BBC News
BNP short of candidates to take Barking and Dagenham
The far-Right party holds 12 seats and would need 14 more to take the council, but eight of the wards it is contesting are Labour strongholds. Until a few days ago it was confident it would have candidates standing in all 51 wards.
There are questions over several BNP hopefuls after it was reported they registered at “front addresses” to get round rules that candidates must live in the area.
Dagenham Labour MP Jon Cruddas said: “It's clear on the doorstep that local residents are turning away from the extreme politics of the BNP.
"The fact that they have really struggled to get local candidates to stand in the council elections, suggests the chances of them creating the political earthquake they said they would in the borough, are diminishing by the day.”
This is London
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