Vandals have struck at a Leeds cemetry for the second time in an attack police believe to be racially motivated.
In the latest incident, more than 20 graves were damaged at Harehills Cemetery.
The incidents are believed to have taken place overnight between Friday and Saturday in an area of the cemetery predominantly used by Muslim families.
The damage includes broken name plaques and headstones.
Chief Inspector Melanie Jones of West Yorkshire Police said: "This incident has caused a great deal of distress to a number of people in the local community and an investigation into the damage has been launched.
"Over the weekend we have worked alongside community leaders to identify and contact the next of kin of those whose graves have been affected by this mindless act of vandalism.
"We have also undertaken a full forensic examination of the scene, including a number of discarded items that were found in the area, as well as analysing local CCTV.
"At this stage the incident is being treated as a racially motivated crime and we are determined to catch those responsible.
"I would ask that anybody who was in the area of the cemetery on Friday evening and witnessed anything suspicious to contact us.
"This incident undermines much of the work both ourselves and Leeds City Council have undertaken during the last year to improve security at the cemetery with increased patrols by neighbourhood wardens and police officers.
"I would like to reassure local people that everything is being done to find those responsible and bring them to justice."
Similar incidents were recorded in March and though an arrest had been made, police were unable to bring a prosecution.
Anyone with information is asked to contact 0845 6060606 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111
Yorkshire Post
Monday, 20 September 2010
Sunday, 19 September 2010
Hacker attack wreaks havoc on Sweden Democrat website
The website of the far-right Sweden Democrats was hacked on Saturday, one day before the party is expected to be voted into the Riksdag in Sweden’s September 19th general elections.
"We have had hacker attacks over the past 24 hours. We have no idea where it is coming from," Sweden Democrats spokesman Erik Almqvist told AFP, adding that the party expected to get its website running again soon.
When AFP viewed the site early Saturday afternoon, only a digitalised picture made up of numerals to look like a piece of birthday cake with a lit candle was visible.
Below the picture, a short text read: "Anyway, this cake is great. It's so delicious and moist. Look at me still talking when there's Science to do," as Ellen McLain's "Still Alive" played in the background.
"I think it is a shame. Our political opponents should take the debate with us if they disagree with us," Almqvist said, insisting the attack "doesn't do any good for democracy."
The hacker attack came on the eve of general elections, with polls hinting the Sweden Democrats for the first time will win more than the four percent needed to enter parliament.
The far-right party, which won just 2.9 percent of the vote in the 2006 elections, has been seen winning as much as 7.5 percent on Sunday, although three polls published Saturday handed it between 3.8 and 5.9 percent of voter intentions.
The surveys meanwhile showed the centre-right government's lead over the left-wing opposition shrinking slightly but still winning a narrow majority in parliament.
If neither side wins a clear majority, however, the Sweden Democrats could, even with just a handful of seats, play kingmaker and could even make it so difficult to govern that new elections would need to be called, observers say.
The Local Sweden
"We have had hacker attacks over the past 24 hours. We have no idea where it is coming from," Sweden Democrats spokesman Erik Almqvist told AFP, adding that the party expected to get its website running again soon.
When AFP viewed the site early Saturday afternoon, only a digitalised picture made up of numerals to look like a piece of birthday cake with a lit candle was visible.
Below the picture, a short text read: "Anyway, this cake is great. It's so delicious and moist. Look at me still talking when there's Science to do," as Ellen McLain's "Still Alive" played in the background.
"I think it is a shame. Our political opponents should take the debate with us if they disagree with us," Almqvist said, insisting the attack "doesn't do any good for democracy."
The hacker attack came on the eve of general elections, with polls hinting the Sweden Democrats for the first time will win more than the four percent needed to enter parliament.
The far-right party, which won just 2.9 percent of the vote in the 2006 elections, has been seen winning as much as 7.5 percent on Sunday, although three polls published Saturday handed it between 3.8 and 5.9 percent of voter intentions.
The surveys meanwhile showed the centre-right government's lead over the left-wing opposition shrinking slightly but still winning a narrow majority in parliament.
If neither side wins a clear majority, however, the Sweden Democrats could, even with just a handful of seats, play kingmaker and could even make it so difficult to govern that new elections would need to be called, observers say.
The Local Sweden
BNP leader Nick Griffin in surprise visit to Liverpool met with anger
The leader of the far-right party was in Church Street with other members calling for British troops to be brought home from Iraq and Afghanistan when they were confronted by members of the Merseyside Unite Against Fascism group.
Mr Griffin, elected to the European Parliament as a North West MEP last year, scarpered as the number of protectors swelled to more than 100, while around 20 police officers stood between the rival groups.
The protestors chanted anti-Nazi slogans through megaphones while the BNP manned their stalls and tried to shout over the chants coming from the impromptu demonstration.
Alan Brown, regional co-ordinator for Merseyside Unite Against Fascism, said there had been no forewarning that Mr Griffin would be in town. It is not known if his appearance was meant to coincide with the Liberal Democrat conference being held at the Echo Arena.
Mr Brown said: “Nick Griffin thinks that because he was elected by two pet cent of the electorate that he can come here and spread his message of hate, but I think you can see from the amount of people on the demo that we don’t want him in our city and he does not represent people in the North West.”
Demonstrators of all ages and backgrounds chanted “BNP off our streets! Nazi scum off our streets!” as the extremist party’s members tried in vain to give out their propaganda in the pouring rain.
Liverpool Echo
Stop The War blasts BNP for hijacking ‘troops out’ campaign
The British National Party has been accused of trying to hijack the anti-war movement as it launched a nationwide campaign yesterday calling for British troops to be bought home from Afghanistan.
Teams of far-right activists hit towns across Britain on Saturday for the launch of the BNP’s Bring Our Boys Home campaign.
The BNP believes it can establish itself as the voice of British military veterans. In Scotland, the party claims most of its Scottish leadership and a quarter of its supporters are ex-servicemen.
The Royal British Legion has described the BNP move as horrifying and insisted none of its members supported the far-right party.
Anti-war groups accused the BNP of opportunism and said it was trying to hijack a peaceful campaign.
BNP members will spend the next three weekends canvassing support in Scotland. Activists began yesterday with groups targeting Edinburgh, Falkirk, Livingston, Elgin and Dundee. There was also brief protest in Glasgow.
In a letter to party members, leader Nick Griffin wrote: “This campaign will help establish the BNP as the only political party that is opposed to the bloody, unwinnable, futile and illegal war in Afghanistan. This war has only produced a constant stream of British deaths and has nothing whatsoever to do with Britain.”
Letters purportedly written by Falkland veterans have also been distributed online, but Neil Griffiths, spokesman for the Royal British Legion Scotland, said few veterans if any would be swayed by the extremist party.
“Our members would be horrified by this,” he said. “I can’t think of one of our 46,000 Scottish members who would ever take the BNP seriously. I have never heard of anyone supporting the BNP or advocating it.”
He said the party’s claim that its boasted support among soldiers was “clap-trap”.
He added: “During the election, Nick Griffin was followed everywhere by a guy wearing desert fatigues who had never been in the army … They have also tried to make donations to ex-service charities in England which have always been rebuffed. If they tried to do that in Scotland, the same would happen.”
As well as the BNP, the English and Scottish Defence Leagues have also tried to court the armed forces with planned marches on the cenotaph in Glasgow.
The leader of Britain’s largest anti-war movement said he had never seen the BNP previously involved in any protest against the Afghanistan or Iraq wars.
Chris Nineham, founder of Stop The War, said: “Some 70% of the British population want an end to the war in Afghanistan – there is a huge groundswell of anti-war opinion. The idea the BNP represents that is an utter joke.”
He added: “We have seen probably every political party except the BNP on protests.”
Gary Raikes, the BNP’s Scottish leader, hopes targeting veterans will help bolster the party north of the border, where its support is slight.
He said: “We want to tell the public we are the only party still standing on bringing the troops home. We have been against it from the start. Servicemen are not daft, they have seen the world and see through all the lies about us and know we have changed as a party.”
Raikes admitted that the party had used anti-war petitions to gather names and addresses for future political campaigning.
Herald Scotland
Teams of far-right activists hit towns across Britain on Saturday for the launch of the BNP’s Bring Our Boys Home campaign.
The BNP believes it can establish itself as the voice of British military veterans. In Scotland, the party claims most of its Scottish leadership and a quarter of its supporters are ex-servicemen.
The Royal British Legion has described the BNP move as horrifying and insisted none of its members supported the far-right party.
Anti-war groups accused the BNP of opportunism and said it was trying to hijack a peaceful campaign.
BNP members will spend the next three weekends canvassing support in Scotland. Activists began yesterday with groups targeting Edinburgh, Falkirk, Livingston, Elgin and Dundee. There was also brief protest in Glasgow.
In a letter to party members, leader Nick Griffin wrote: “This campaign will help establish the BNP as the only political party that is opposed to the bloody, unwinnable, futile and illegal war in Afghanistan. This war has only produced a constant stream of British deaths and has nothing whatsoever to do with Britain.”
Letters purportedly written by Falkland veterans have also been distributed online, but Neil Griffiths, spokesman for the Royal British Legion Scotland, said few veterans if any would be swayed by the extremist party.
“Our members would be horrified by this,” he said. “I can’t think of one of our 46,000 Scottish members who would ever take the BNP seriously. I have never heard of anyone supporting the BNP or advocating it.”
He said the party’s claim that its boasted support among soldiers was “clap-trap”.
He added: “During the election, Nick Griffin was followed everywhere by a guy wearing desert fatigues who had never been in the army … They have also tried to make donations to ex-service charities in England which have always been rebuffed. If they tried to do that in Scotland, the same would happen.”
As well as the BNP, the English and Scottish Defence Leagues have also tried to court the armed forces with planned marches on the cenotaph in Glasgow.
The leader of Britain’s largest anti-war movement said he had never seen the BNP previously involved in any protest against the Afghanistan or Iraq wars.
Chris Nineham, founder of Stop The War, said: “Some 70% of the British population want an end to the war in Afghanistan – there is a huge groundswell of anti-war opinion. The idea the BNP represents that is an utter joke.”
He added: “We have seen probably every political party except the BNP on protests.”
Gary Raikes, the BNP’s Scottish leader, hopes targeting veterans will help bolster the party north of the border, where its support is slight.
He said: “We want to tell the public we are the only party still standing on bringing the troops home. We have been against it from the start. Servicemen are not daft, they have seen the world and see through all the lies about us and know we have changed as a party.”
Raikes admitted that the party had used anti-war petitions to gather names and addresses for future political campaigning.
Herald Scotland
Swastika Carving On Far-Right Pol Was Self-Inflicted: Police
“I find it very interesting that the police chose to give this certificate just before the election,” Swedish Democrat politician David von Arnold Antoni told Sydsvenskan. “There are certainly those who can benefit from it in the election.”
As previously reported, Antoni claims he was savagely attacked by two masked men on the evening of Friday, September 10. After the men forced themselves into his apartment, one held Antoni down while the other carved a swastika into his forehead.
Antoni said the men spoke Swedish accented in Arabic and called him “Svenne bastard” and “Swedish devil” during the attack, Sydsvenskan reports. Anti-racist and radical leftist graffiti was spray-painted onto Antoni’s home earlier that day.
After investigating the attack as a hate crime, police have concluded Antoni made the whole thing up and are contemplating charging him with filing a false report.
“This is a bitch, not only that resources he cost, but what he has done can’t be more shameful,” an officer with high levels of transparency in the investigation told Sydsvenskan.
Doctors who examined Antoni also have concluded his injuries are fake on a 9-out-of-10 scale. The certificate issued by the Office of Forensic in Lund, says, “Strong reasons concerning the location and appearance suggest that is self-inflicted injury.”
Antoni remained steadfast on his claim he was attacked after hearing the forensics reports.
“The Right Doctor’s certificate is not truthful,” he told Aftonbladet. “I do not accept his assessment.”
“What I said in my declaration is true. I was attacked by two men who carved a swastika in my forehead.”
The news comes as Sweden is set to vote in national elections. With neither of the two major coalitions able to break past a 50-percent majority in opinion polls, the Swedish Democrats are set to become kingmakers in the next parliament. Leader from both major coalitions have vowed to not work with the far-right nationalist group.
The Swedish Democrats had seen an increase in support after news of the swastika-carving broke. It is not yet known how the police and forensics reports will affect their standing.
Antoni, who is standing for the Swedish Democrats in local races in Malmo, has gone into hiding since the attack took place and has not been photographed. He refused to show his injuries to a reporter with Aftonbladet when asked.
If true, the case echoes that of Ashley Todd, a volunteer of the US Presidential campaign of Republican John McCain, who claimed she was assaulted and had the letter “B” carved into her face by an African-American supporter of Democrat Barack Obama. The attack was later proven to be self-inflicted by Todd, who may have been part of a discrediting campaign by the Internet group Anonymous.
The Right Perspective
Pilot could be fired over racist remark (South Africa)
A senior SAA captain is facing dismissal after using a racist remark while dealing with a ground technician.
The highly experienced pilot was sitting in the cockpit of the aircraft when he used the k-word over the interphone system with the ground, which, unbeknown to him, was live.
The ground technician, who was in communication with the flight deck, heard the remark.
SAA's head of corporate communications, Fani Zulu, confirmed yesterday that the incident had occurred in June and that a hearing had been held.
"The process is nearing completion and a decision will be taken in the next few days. Meanwhile, the pilot, who was grounded, was on full pay, which was stopped on Friday," said Zulu.
Captain John Harty, chairman of the SAA Pilots' Association (Saapa), said yesterday that although it did not condone racist remarks and that sanction was justified, it was felt that, under the circumstances, the recommendation of dismissal was too harsh.
"The captain had been flying for more than 16 hours and had had technical problems in Accra prior to departure," said Harty. "After arriving at OR Tambo Airport following a long night flight, the crew were waiting for a ground power unit to be attached to the aircraft before shutting down its power systems. Problems were experienced by ground engineers, which delayed the shutdown and offloading of passengers."
Harty said that, in his frustration, the captain, who has been with the airline for 23 years, made the remark. He immediately apologised to the engineer and later went to the management offices where he admitted the remark.
At the disciplinary hearing three weeks ago, he apologised to the technician and the men shook hands.
Nevertheless, the presiding officer recommended dismissal.
Harty said the technician was a member of the SA Transport and Applied Workers' Union, which had agreed to send a letter to SAAPA, as a joint appeal to management, against what was viewed as an overly harsh decision.
Harty said SAAPA would appeal to the CEO for clemency for the pilot. "We are also addressing numerous procedural irregularities which occurred concerning the hearing."
He added that, with over 800 pilots at SAA, this was the first incident of its kind in 16 years, which indicated that racism was not endemic in the airline.
Times Live
The highly experienced pilot was sitting in the cockpit of the aircraft when he used the k-word over the interphone system with the ground, which, unbeknown to him, was live.
The ground technician, who was in communication with the flight deck, heard the remark.
SAA's head of corporate communications, Fani Zulu, confirmed yesterday that the incident had occurred in June and that a hearing had been held.
"The process is nearing completion and a decision will be taken in the next few days. Meanwhile, the pilot, who was grounded, was on full pay, which was stopped on Friday," said Zulu.
Captain John Harty, chairman of the SAA Pilots' Association (Saapa), said yesterday that although it did not condone racist remarks and that sanction was justified, it was felt that, under the circumstances, the recommendation of dismissal was too harsh.
"The captain had been flying for more than 16 hours and had had technical problems in Accra prior to departure," said Harty. "After arriving at OR Tambo Airport following a long night flight, the crew were waiting for a ground power unit to be attached to the aircraft before shutting down its power systems. Problems were experienced by ground engineers, which delayed the shutdown and offloading of passengers."
Harty said that, in his frustration, the captain, who has been with the airline for 23 years, made the remark. He immediately apologised to the engineer and later went to the management offices where he admitted the remark.
At the disciplinary hearing three weeks ago, he apologised to the technician and the men shook hands.
Nevertheless, the presiding officer recommended dismissal.
Harty said the technician was a member of the SA Transport and Applied Workers' Union, which had agreed to send a letter to SAAPA, as a joint appeal to management, against what was viewed as an overly harsh decision.
Harty said SAAPA would appeal to the CEO for clemency for the pilot. "We are also addressing numerous procedural irregularities which occurred concerning the hearing."
He added that, with over 800 pilots at SAA, this was the first incident of its kind in 16 years, which indicated that racism was not endemic in the airline.
Times Live
Lokomotiv Moscow fans let off the hook over Peter Odemwingie racist banner
The Russian Football Union have refused to take any official action against Moscow Lokomotiv for their fans' behaviour towards West Brom striker Peter Odemwingie.
The club's supporters earned worldwide condemnation after they unfurled a sign showing a banana and the message 'Thanks, West Brom' when the Nigerian joined the Premier League club last month.
But the country's disciplinary committee did not even consider the matter, with chairman Vladimir Katkov insisting: 'My opinion on this is that we should not exaggerate the incident.'
Daily Mail
The club's supporters earned worldwide condemnation after they unfurled a sign showing a banana and the message 'Thanks, West Brom' when the Nigerian joined the Premier League club last month.
But the country's disciplinary committee did not even consider the matter, with chairman Vladimir Katkov insisting: 'My opinion on this is that we should not exaggerate the incident.'
Daily Mail
Scotland’s shame: Amnesty hits out at Roma racism
Human rights organisation Amnesty International yesterday condemned the racism that the travelling community suffers on a daily basis throughout Scotland.
The condemnation comes as the “gypsy” community in mainland Europe battles increasing levels of discrimination and after EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding compared France’s expulsion of the Roma people to the Nazis’ deportation of the Jews.
In Pitlochry yesterday travellers staged a cultural summit celebrating their traditions and calling for action by the Scottish Government to curb the racism they suffer north of the Border.
Members of the travelling community told the Sunday Herald that Scottish society still refused to tolerate their lifestyle, amid continued attempts to force them into the mainstream. The community said there could be as many as 15,000 travellers in Scotland – including some Roma. The issue has been taken up by Amnesty International Scotland.
Amnesty researched each of Scotland’s 32 local authorities’ performance on delivering basic services and wrote to the councils challenging their record and highlighting areas where there could be improvement. John Watson, programme director for Amnesty International Scotland, said: “One of our focal points during next year’s elections for the Scottish Parliament will be to ask the Scottish Government to publish an action plan to tackle discrimination.”
Yesterday’s event at Moulin Kirk in Pitlochry was organised by Jess Smith, a storyteller and author who has written five books about Scotland’s travellers. Smith, who describes herself as a tinker, said the event was designed to raise the issue of prejudice and to celebrate the travelling community’s heritage.
“We’ve never been accepted,” she said. “As a kid I was battered senseless simply because I was different. Our people have always been viewed as a thorn in the side of authority, and society does not accept us because we’re free spirits – like the white wolf.
“We’re part of Scotland’s heritage but that’s under threat through attempts to filter us into mainstream society by making our lifestyle difficult to maintain.”
Shamus McPhee, a 39-year-old linguist who grew up in Bobbin Mill, Pitlochry, would agree. Bobbin Mill is the site of a controversial social experiment to assimilate gypsies into society. McPhee regards himself as part of a distinct ethnic group who speak a language called Cant, containing Sanskrit and Hindu words.
His sister Roseanna, a Gaelic teacher, had recently visited Roma camps in Kosovo and said she found conditions there were similar to Bobbin Mill. Her brother recently began a petition urging the Scottish Government to apologise to his community for decades of discrimination.
He contacted many lawyers in Scotland to represent them in a human rights case based on their childhoods spent “as part of a racial experiment”.
“But no-one would take us,” he said. “We’ve now taken our complaint to Strasbourg and it has passed the first stage. Witnessing what is happening to the Roma in Europe is disturbing and I’ve noticed attitudes hardening recently here in the UK.”
The Bobbin Mill experiment
The Bobbin Mill Tinker Housing Experiment was set up in 1947 by the Department of Health, giving land to gypsies for 99 years.
The site was to be maintained by Perth and Kinross Council, which was to charge rent. The Department of Health said huts should be built to the lowest possible tender (£825) and normal standards need not apply.
The idea was to house people temporarily, get the children into school and their parents into council houses. More than 60 years on, however, the McPhee family is still living there without modern amenities.
Herald Scotland
The condemnation comes as the “gypsy” community in mainland Europe battles increasing levels of discrimination and after EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding compared France’s expulsion of the Roma people to the Nazis’ deportation of the Jews.
In Pitlochry yesterday travellers staged a cultural summit celebrating their traditions and calling for action by the Scottish Government to curb the racism they suffer north of the Border.
Members of the travelling community told the Sunday Herald that Scottish society still refused to tolerate their lifestyle, amid continued attempts to force them into the mainstream. The community said there could be as many as 15,000 travellers in Scotland – including some Roma. The issue has been taken up by Amnesty International Scotland.
Amnesty researched each of Scotland’s 32 local authorities’ performance on delivering basic services and wrote to the councils challenging their record and highlighting areas where there could be improvement. John Watson, programme director for Amnesty International Scotland, said: “One of our focal points during next year’s elections for the Scottish Parliament will be to ask the Scottish Government to publish an action plan to tackle discrimination.”
Yesterday’s event at Moulin Kirk in Pitlochry was organised by Jess Smith, a storyteller and author who has written five books about Scotland’s travellers. Smith, who describes herself as a tinker, said the event was designed to raise the issue of prejudice and to celebrate the travelling community’s heritage.
“We’ve never been accepted,” she said. “As a kid I was battered senseless simply because I was different. Our people have always been viewed as a thorn in the side of authority, and society does not accept us because we’re free spirits – like the white wolf.
“We’re part of Scotland’s heritage but that’s under threat through attempts to filter us into mainstream society by making our lifestyle difficult to maintain.”
Shamus McPhee, a 39-year-old linguist who grew up in Bobbin Mill, Pitlochry, would agree. Bobbin Mill is the site of a controversial social experiment to assimilate gypsies into society. McPhee regards himself as part of a distinct ethnic group who speak a language called Cant, containing Sanskrit and Hindu words.
His sister Roseanna, a Gaelic teacher, had recently visited Roma camps in Kosovo and said she found conditions there were similar to Bobbin Mill. Her brother recently began a petition urging the Scottish Government to apologise to his community for decades of discrimination.
He contacted many lawyers in Scotland to represent them in a human rights case based on their childhoods spent “as part of a racial experiment”.
“But no-one would take us,” he said. “We’ve now taken our complaint to Strasbourg and it has passed the first stage. Witnessing what is happening to the Roma in Europe is disturbing and I’ve noticed attitudes hardening recently here in the UK.”
The Bobbin Mill experiment
The Bobbin Mill Tinker Housing Experiment was set up in 1947 by the Department of Health, giving land to gypsies for 99 years.
The site was to be maintained by Perth and Kinross Council, which was to charge rent. The Department of Health said huts should be built to the lowest possible tender (£825) and normal standards need not apply.
The idea was to house people temporarily, get the children into school and their parents into council houses. More than 60 years on, however, the McPhee family is still living there without modern amenities.
Herald Scotland
Saturday, 18 September 2010
Sub-Sahara Africa leads global decline in new HIV cases
UNAids said 22 countries in the world's worst affected region had seen a drop in new cases of more than 25%.
The fall was because of greater awareness and better use of preventative measures, it said.
But UNAids also noted that cases of HIV were increasing in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and among gay men in developed countries.
Michel Sidibe, UNAids executive director, said the world was making "real progress" towards achieving the sixth Millennium Development Goal (MDG6) of halting and reversing the spread of HIV/Aids by 2015.
"For the first time change is happening at the heart of the epidemic. In places where HIV was stealing away dreams, we now have hope," he said.
UNAids says there are now 5.2 million people worldwide receiving treatment for HIV/Aids, which has helped to ensure that 200,000 fewer people died from the virus in 2008 than in 2004.
The agency said young people "are leading the prevention revolution by choosing to have sex later, having fewer multiple partners and using condoms, resulting in significantly fewer new HIV infections in many countries highly affected by Aids".
The use of male condoms has also doubled in the past five years, while the report notes that "tradition is giving space to pragmatism" in many communities as they embrace male circumcision, which research shows has the potential to reduce HIV infections among men by nearly 60%.
'Challenges remain'
China, where cases are largely concentrated within high-risk groups, was praised for its efforts to increase preventative measures for drug users.
UNAids said South Africa had also rapidly increased "efforts to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support".
But there was a warning that "challenges remain" in the global fight against HIV/Aids, including expanding epidemics in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and resurgence in new infections in wealthier nations among men who have sex with men.
The UN also called for greater investment in HIV/Aids prevention, warning that there was a $10bn (£6.4bn) shortfall in 2009.
It said those countries most severely affected by HIV/Aids could not handle the crisis with their own resources alone.
"At this turning point flat-lining or reductions in investments will set-back the Aids response and threaten the world's ability to reach MDG 6," said Mr Sidibe.
"Investing for Aids is a shared responsibility - between development partners and national governments."
BBC News
BERLUSCONI JOKES ABOUT HITLER AT YOUTH RALLY (Italy)
The impromptu speech followed a visit to Russia on Friday, where he surprised the audience at a conference on democracy with a fierce attack on Italian magistrates he claims are hounding him. He said of Vladimir Putin: "I have never had any doubts that he is anything less than democratically minded." Putin and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, Berlusconi added, were "a gift from God" to Russia. Last month, Berlusconi took time to defend Muammar Gaddafi after the Libyan leader told an invited audience of 200 women in Rome that Islam should be "Europe's religion". When the speech prompted outcry from the Vatican, Berlusconi dismissed Gaddafi's behaviour as merely "folkloric". Berlusconi, 73, has previously been criticised for calling Barack Obama "young, handsome and tanned", and last year for leaving Angela Merkel waiting to greet him at a conference while he made a call on his mobile phone. Despite the criticism today, Berlusconi claimed he was "a respected statesman who is praised at international summits for his background as a tycoon, his 16 years of political experience and the content of his proposals." He said he had learned from Margaret Thatcher not to waste time reading negative coverage of himself in newspapers. The former British prime minister, he said, had told him that her press secretary only showed her positive articles about her.
Reign of error: Berlusconi's gaffes in office
• April 2009: Shortly after an earthquake hit the city of L'Aquila, Berlusconi told the 17,000 Italians made homeless by the quake that, "they should see it like a weekend of camping"
• January 2009: Dismissed the idea that increasing the number of troops on Italian streets would help stop a surge in rape cases arguing that, "we would need as many soldiers as there are beautiful girls in Italy – which we will never manage"
• November 2008: At a news conference in Moscow with the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, Berlusconi described Barack Obama as "young, handsome, and tanned"
• April 2008: Berlusconi caused outrage after saying "Zapatero [Spain's prime minister] has formed a government that is too pink, something that we cannot do in Italy because there is a prevalence of men in politics and it isn't easy to find women who are qualified ... He will have problems leading them"
• April 2006: On welcoming the then newly elected female MP Mara Carfagna to parliament he joked: "I am obliged to remind you of a rule in the Forza Italia group, the jus primae noctis" (a Latin reference to the medieval "law of the first night" which gave the lord of an estate the right to "deflower" new brides)
• June 2005: He claimed he had "brushed up" all his "playboy skills" to persuade Finland's president, Tarja Halonen, to agree to host the European Food Safety Authority in Italy
• July 2003: Berlusconi caused uproar at the European parliament after replying to a heckling German MEP with the comment, "Mr Schulz, I know there is in Italy a man producing a film on the Nazi concentration camps. I would like to suggest you for the role of leader. You'd be perfect"
The Guardian
Have e-mail say on protest by English Defence League
People are being asked how they feel about a protest in Leicester by the controversial English Defence League.
Leicester City Council and city police have created an e-mail address for people to have their say on the protest, which is expected to take place on Saturday, October 9.
The league, which says it is opposed to Islamic extremism, has yet to declare what kind of demonstration it wants to stage – it could be a march through the city or a static protest at a fixed location.
Rival groups have said they will hold a counter-demonstration at the same time.
Critics say league protests invariably turn violent and senior officers are now planning for the event on the understanding that up to 3,000 activists and a similar number of counter-demonstrators could take part.
The Leicester Mercury understands at least 1,000 police officers – including some drafted in from up to 10 other forces – will be on duty on the day.
Sheila Lock, chief executive of the city council, said the authority was seeking the views of a broad spectrum of people.
The results of the consultation will guide the council, which has stressed it is not a vote on whether the protest will go ahead or not.
Council officials and senior police officers are also holding a series of meetings with community leaders.
Ms Lock said: "It is important that everyone has the opportunity to have their say.
"I understand some people may not want to come forward directly and we realise we won't be able to meet with everyone face-to-face.
"To ensure that we capture the views of as many people as possible, we have set up an e-mail address and would encourage people to use it."
If the group wishes to march through the city, it must formally apply for permission at least six days beforehand.
The city council and police could apply to the Home Office for permission to ban a march if there is evidence of a serious risk to public order.
Static demonstrations cannot be outlawed, but controls can be imposed.
Chief Superintendent Rob Nixon, who is in charge of policing in the city, said: "Representatives from both Leicestershire Constabulary and Leicester City Council are out and about in the community talking to people and listening to their views."
The Leicestershire Federation of Muslim Organisations, which represents mosques and other community groups, is holding meetings about the protest. Discussions will continue next week.
To take part in the consultation, e-mail: consultationedl@leicester.gov.uk, or write to Chief Executive Sheila Lock, Leicester City Council, New Walk Centre, Welford Place, Leicester, LE1 6ZG.
This is Leicester
Leicester City Council and city police have created an e-mail address for people to have their say on the protest, which is expected to take place on Saturday, October 9.
The league, which says it is opposed to Islamic extremism, has yet to declare what kind of demonstration it wants to stage – it could be a march through the city or a static protest at a fixed location.
Rival groups have said they will hold a counter-demonstration at the same time.
Critics say league protests invariably turn violent and senior officers are now planning for the event on the understanding that up to 3,000 activists and a similar number of counter-demonstrators could take part.
The Leicester Mercury understands at least 1,000 police officers – including some drafted in from up to 10 other forces – will be on duty on the day.
Sheila Lock, chief executive of the city council, said the authority was seeking the views of a broad spectrum of people.
The results of the consultation will guide the council, which has stressed it is not a vote on whether the protest will go ahead or not.
Council officials and senior police officers are also holding a series of meetings with community leaders.
Ms Lock said: "It is important that everyone has the opportunity to have their say.
"I understand some people may not want to come forward directly and we realise we won't be able to meet with everyone face-to-face.
"To ensure that we capture the views of as many people as possible, we have set up an e-mail address and would encourage people to use it."
If the group wishes to march through the city, it must formally apply for permission at least six days beforehand.
The city council and police could apply to the Home Office for permission to ban a march if there is evidence of a serious risk to public order.
Static demonstrations cannot be outlawed, but controls can be imposed.
Chief Superintendent Rob Nixon, who is in charge of policing in the city, said: "Representatives from both Leicestershire Constabulary and Leicester City Council are out and about in the community talking to people and listening to their views."
The Leicestershire Federation of Muslim Organisations, which represents mosques and other community groups, is holding meetings about the protest. Discussions will continue next week.
To take part in the consultation, e-mail: consultationedl@leicester.gov.uk, or write to Chief Executive Sheila Lock, Leicester City Council, New Walk Centre, Welford Place, Leicester, LE1 6ZG.
This is Leicester
Police chief suspended over racist e-mails (USA)
A South Florida police chief has been suspended for 30 days without pay for reportedly sending racist e-mails with his work account.
Wilton Manors city officials announced the suspension of Police Chief Richard Perez on Friday. The suspension will begin Monday.
According to a statement from the city, Perez acknowledged sending the e-mails and apologized for his actions.
City Manager Joseph Gallegos says the suspension is the most severe punishment the city can hand out, short of firing.
Miami Herald
Wilton Manors city officials announced the suspension of Police Chief Richard Perez on Friday. The suspension will begin Monday.
According to a statement from the city, Perez acknowledged sending the e-mails and apologized for his actions.
City Manager Joseph Gallegos says the suspension is the most severe punishment the city can hand out, short of firing.
Miami Herald
Provost accused of racism reported to standards watchdog (Scotland)
A council leader accused of making a racist remark is to be reported to a standards watchdog amid calls for him to quit.
Laurie Fraser, provost of Nairn, made the remark when objecting to a bid to turn Nairn County FC social club into a sports bar.
Claiming it would increase noise and would not be an asset, he told a Highland Council planning committee that some of the 150 letters sent in support were by former social club members. He then added: "One or two of them are actually Muslim."
He was immediately interrupted and told to sit down by Jimmy Gray, the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey committee chairman and provost of Inverness, although Mr Fraser later apologised.
Mr Gray said afterwards that although Mr Fraser was not a member of the committee he was allowed to comment as a local councillor but was not allowed to vote.
He said: "I asked him to sit down because he never added anything to the discussion and his comment was inappropriate. I don't know why he said it but he apologised and the committee accepted it."
Mr Fraser, an Independent councillor, has also sent a letter of apology to the council's chief executive.
He said: "I flipped and lost my temper because I wasn't given a vote as a local member."
Highland Council, which showed the meeting on its website but has since withdrawn the webcast, confirmed it had received two complaints.
John Finnie, the SNP opposition leader, has complained to Sandy Park, the council convener, and is to write to the Standards Commission calling for an investigation.
Mr Finnie, who is a former member of Grampian Racial Equality Council, said: "I was shocked Councillor Fraser, an elected representative of our multicultural Highlands, would think it appropriate to comment in the offensive way he did."
Scotsman
Laurie Fraser, provost of Nairn, made the remark when objecting to a bid to turn Nairn County FC social club into a sports bar.
Claiming it would increase noise and would not be an asset, he told a Highland Council planning committee that some of the 150 letters sent in support were by former social club members. He then added: "One or two of them are actually Muslim."
He was immediately interrupted and told to sit down by Jimmy Gray, the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey committee chairman and provost of Inverness, although Mr Fraser later apologised.
Mr Gray said afterwards that although Mr Fraser was not a member of the committee he was allowed to comment as a local councillor but was not allowed to vote.
He said: "I asked him to sit down because he never added anything to the discussion and his comment was inappropriate. I don't know why he said it but he apologised and the committee accepted it."
Mr Fraser, an Independent councillor, has also sent a letter of apology to the council's chief executive.
He said: "I flipped and lost my temper because I wasn't given a vote as a local member."
Highland Council, which showed the meeting on its website but has since withdrawn the webcast, confirmed it had received two complaints.
John Finnie, the SNP opposition leader, has complained to Sandy Park, the council convener, and is to write to the Standards Commission calling for an investigation.
Mr Finnie, who is a former member of Grampian Racial Equality Council, said: "I was shocked Councillor Fraser, an elected representative of our multicultural Highlands, would think it appropriate to comment in the offensive way he did."
Scotsman
Friday, 17 September 2010
Skinheads Charged With Hate Crimes In St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg officials have charged 25 young men belonging to an alleged skinhead group with hate crimes and attacks on people that resulted in two deaths, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.
The skinhead group, which is allegedly led by Andrei Linok, was charged with 12 attacks on non-Slavic people. Investigators said Linok -- who is among the 25 detainees -- created the group via the Internet in 2007. The group members are all Russian men between 17 and 23 years of age.
Yevgeny Vyshenkov, the deputy chairman of the Russian-based Investigative Journalism Agency, told RFE/RL that citizens of Uzbekistan, Armenia, and also Russian citizens from the republics of Tuva and Karelia were among the group's victims.
The group -- which conducted its attacks in the summer and fall of 2007 -- is also alleged to have attacked Asians and Africans. Many of the attacks were filmed by the group.
Many of the attack videos were used by police to aid in the arrest of the suspects in November 2007.
Vyshenkov said that neo-Nazis and skinheads in Russia recently stopped openly displaying symbols or wearing clothes that indicate their ties to extremist groups.
"They are not wearing such signs as the swastika, leather jackets, or [certain] hats anymore," he said. "They now wear normal civilian clothes and it has become difficult to prevent their attacks and locate them [afterwards]."
Investigators say Linok was recruiting people for his group to propagate ultranational and racist ideology.
The trial is expected to begin soon, though no date was available.
RFERL
The skinhead group, which is allegedly led by Andrei Linok, was charged with 12 attacks on non-Slavic people. Investigators said Linok -- who is among the 25 detainees -- created the group via the Internet in 2007. The group members are all Russian men between 17 and 23 years of age.
Yevgeny Vyshenkov, the deputy chairman of the Russian-based Investigative Journalism Agency, told RFE/RL that citizens of Uzbekistan, Armenia, and also Russian citizens from the republics of Tuva and Karelia were among the group's victims.
The group -- which conducted its attacks in the summer and fall of 2007 -- is also alleged to have attacked Asians and Africans. Many of the attacks were filmed by the group.
Many of the attack videos were used by police to aid in the arrest of the suspects in November 2007.
Vyshenkov said that neo-Nazis and skinheads in Russia recently stopped openly displaying symbols or wearing clothes that indicate their ties to extremist groups.
"They are not wearing such signs as the swastika, leather jackets, or [certain] hats anymore," he said. "They now wear normal civilian clothes and it has become difficult to prevent their attacks and locate them [afterwards]."
Investigators say Linok was recruiting people for his group to propagate ultranational and racist ideology.
The trial is expected to begin soon, though no date was available.
RFERL
Germany contradicts French statement on Roma camps
The issue of Roma deportations from France dominated an EU summit.
Mr Sarkozy told a news conference that Chancellor Merkel had said to him that she intended to follow France's example in dismantling Roma camps.
Mrs Merkel's spokesman denied she had discussed the issue with Mr Sarkozy.
Fresh from a blazing row with the president of the European Commission, President Sarkozy has managed to fall out with his closest ally in Europe, says the BBC's Oana Lungescu, who was at the summit in Brussels.
Heated exchange
Mr Sarkozy told reporters at the summit that Chancellor Merkel had said she intended to dismantle Roma camps in the coming weeks.
He then said: "We'll see how calm German politics will become then".
But promptly after landing in Berlin, the chancellor's spokesman firmly denied that Mrs Merkel had discussed any so-called Roma camps with the French president during the summit or on the margins, let alone their evacuation.
During the summit, Mr Sarkozy clashed with the European Commission over the matter of Roma deportations.
Since August, France has dismantled about 200 Roma settlements and deported about 1,000 of their inhabitants to Romania and Bulgaria. It has also evicted French nationals from illegal traveller settlements.
Earlier this week the EU Justice Commissioner, Viviane Reding, had appeared to compare France's actions to persecutions in Nazi-occupied France.
"The disgusting and shameful words that were used - World War II, the evocation of the Jews - was something that shocked us deeply," Mr Sarkozy said.
He then went on to have a heated exchange with the EU Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso.
This is an unprecedented row between Brussels and Paris, our correspondent says. But despite all the sound and fury little has changed in practice, as France will continue dismantling illegal camps, she adds.
Mr Barroso recognised that some excessive comments had been made, but insisted that discrimination against ethnic minorities was unacceptable.
"It is true that in the past few weeks, some things have been said that are out of order," Mr Barroso admitted. "But I think we need to leave that on one side now."
Ms Reding, the EU commissioner from Luxembourg, said on Tuesday: "This is a situation I had thought Europe would not have to witness again after the Second World War."
She also urged the European Commission to take legal action against France over the deportations.
Ms Reding later said she regretted interpretations of her statement.
Although France has deported thousands of Romanian and Bulgarian Roma over the past few years, it began accelerating the process last month, as part of a high-profile crackdown on illegal camps in the country.
On Monday, Euro MPs accused the commission of failing to protect the Roma deported from France.
In all, Mr Sarkozy said around 500 camps were dismantled in August, of which 199 were Roma settlements.
About 5,400 people were evicted from the Roma camps, but the majority of those living in the camps were French nationals, the president said.
The president's assertions appeared to contradict a leaked memo from the French interior ministry which surfaced on Monday.
It showed the authorities had been instructed to target Roma camps, rather than deal with migrants on a case-by-case basis, as the French migration minister and the minister for Europe had assured the European Commission.
BBC News
Police detect fewer than half of race-hate criminals in their area (UK)
Fewer than half the people who commit racially or religiously aggravated crimes in the Humberside Police area are being brought to justice, in spite of the launch of a new initiative three months ago.
Sanction detection rates for these offences – where someone is charged, summonsed, receives a caution or other formal sanction – are at 46.4 per cent, latest figures show.
The statistics, which cover sanction detection rates between April and August.
They also mean the force is failing to meet its target of 49.3 per cent. In spite of the findings, Humberside is still out-performing its group of seven similar forces in England and Wales when it comes to tackling racially and religiously aggravated crime.
The force launched a campaign in June pledging to crackdown on hate crime and encouraging more victims to report offences.
A spokeswoman said: "There have been some slight changes to the recording of racially and religiously recorded offences and now some lower level harassment offences are counted – these being by their very nature more difficult to detect. Furthermore, the detection rate was exceptionally high last year, which means it was always going to be difficult to maintain that level.
"It should be pointed out that almost half of the offences are detected and when compared to other most similar forces, Humberside has still got the best detection rate for racially and aggravated crime."
The worst performing area was C Division in the East Riding, which saw a fall of more than 20 per cent to a rate of 29.6 per cent.
In North East Lincolnshire (A Division), there was a fall of more than 14 per cent to 28.6 per cent, while in North Lincolnshire (B Division) the rate fell 6.4 per cent to 28.6 per cent.
Police in Hull (D Division) bucked the trend, however, and succeeded in seeing nearly three-quarters of those who committed these types of offences brought to justice.
Sanction detection rates for racially or religiously aggravated crime in the city rose more than 10 per cent, to a rate of 73.6 per cent – a performance way above the division's target of 61.7 per cent.
The figures show that sanction detection rates for the majority of serious acquisitive crimes also fell and are below target.
The biggest fall, of more than 11 per cent, concerned vehicle theft, and rates also fell by between three and five per cent for domestic burglary and theft from a vehicle, although the rates for robbery improved by nearly nine per cent.
Gun crime shot up by nearly 52 per cent over the period, with 41 recorded gun crimes between April and August this year, compared with 27 over the same period in 2009.
Gun crime was most prevalent in Hull, where there were 16 recorded offences, followed by the East Riding (10), North East Lincolnshire (8), and North Lincolnshire (7).
In spite of the statistical rise, Humberside does not suffer from the type of gun crimes associated with other parts of Britain.
The spokeswoman said: "The area covered by Humber-side Police does not have a large scale problem with gun crime and thankfully incidents involving live firearms are rare in the area.
"A large proportion of those offences recorded as gun crimes involve imitation weapons and their use in public places."
The figures are contained in a report by Chief Constable Tim Hollis, which will go before force watchdog the Humberside Police Authority on Tuesday.
Yorkshire Post
Sanction detection rates for these offences – where someone is charged, summonsed, receives a caution or other formal sanction – are at 46.4 per cent, latest figures show.
The statistics, which cover sanction detection rates between April and August.
They also mean the force is failing to meet its target of 49.3 per cent. In spite of the findings, Humberside is still out-performing its group of seven similar forces in England and Wales when it comes to tackling racially and religiously aggravated crime.
The force launched a campaign in June pledging to crackdown on hate crime and encouraging more victims to report offences.
A spokeswoman said: "There have been some slight changes to the recording of racially and religiously recorded offences and now some lower level harassment offences are counted – these being by their very nature more difficult to detect. Furthermore, the detection rate was exceptionally high last year, which means it was always going to be difficult to maintain that level.
"It should be pointed out that almost half of the offences are detected and when compared to other most similar forces, Humberside has still got the best detection rate for racially and aggravated crime."
The worst performing area was C Division in the East Riding, which saw a fall of more than 20 per cent to a rate of 29.6 per cent.
In North East Lincolnshire (A Division), there was a fall of more than 14 per cent to 28.6 per cent, while in North Lincolnshire (B Division) the rate fell 6.4 per cent to 28.6 per cent.
Police in Hull (D Division) bucked the trend, however, and succeeded in seeing nearly three-quarters of those who committed these types of offences brought to justice.
Sanction detection rates for racially or religiously aggravated crime in the city rose more than 10 per cent, to a rate of 73.6 per cent – a performance way above the division's target of 61.7 per cent.
The figures show that sanction detection rates for the majority of serious acquisitive crimes also fell and are below target.
The biggest fall, of more than 11 per cent, concerned vehicle theft, and rates also fell by between three and five per cent for domestic burglary and theft from a vehicle, although the rates for robbery improved by nearly nine per cent.
Gun crime shot up by nearly 52 per cent over the period, with 41 recorded gun crimes between April and August this year, compared with 27 over the same period in 2009.
Gun crime was most prevalent in Hull, where there were 16 recorded offences, followed by the East Riding (10), North East Lincolnshire (8), and North Lincolnshire (7).
In spite of the statistical rise, Humberside does not suffer from the type of gun crimes associated with other parts of Britain.
The spokeswoman said: "The area covered by Humber-side Police does not have a large scale problem with gun crime and thankfully incidents involving live firearms are rare in the area.
"A large proportion of those offences recorded as gun crimes involve imitation weapons and their use in public places."
The figures are contained in a report by Chief Constable Tim Hollis, which will go before force watchdog the Humberside Police Authority on Tuesday.
Yorkshire Post
Islamophobia and the Media (USA)
Islamophobia — an irrational fear and hatred of Muslims — is spreading throughout the American body politic. Churchgoers threaten to burn the Koran, citizens condemn plans for a Muslim community center in lower Manhattan, and pundits malign President Obama as a closet Muslim.
Is our president a Muslim? Of course not. Neither is the Koran an evil document, or Park51 a rebuke to the memory of those who died on 9/11. Journalists, whose job it is to inform the public in service of the democratic process, ought to make these facts clear. But rather than state the obvious, and help dispel the irrationality that runs rampant at a time of economic difficulty and social upheaval, too many mainstream news outlets are feeding the maelstrom of misinformation with stories that play up irresponsible allegations.
Instead, journalists need to focus on two questions — one to guide their coverage, and another to inform their professionalism. Their first task is to investigate why Islamophobia is on the rise. This entails exploring the social, cultural, economic and political conditions that inculcate fear, hatred and scapegoating. It also means asking who benefits from spurring widespread paranoia. For example, in Europe and the United States, a network of online Web sites provides a locus and rationale for anti-Muslim activity. But there’s been little examination of who funds and directs Stop Islamisation of Europe or Stop Islamization of America.
Second, journalists need to ask themselves what they’re about: why they became reporters, and what their mission is. Having worked in newsrooms and taught the next generation, I know that most reporters are motivated by the desire to inform, enlighten and find a really great story. They don’t set out to sensationalize the news, but the industry’s current logic of hits, clicks and eyeballs can bend coverage to what news managers believe is popular with the public.
Islamophobia is on the rise because it serves someone’s political agenda. Rather than write around the question — adding to the whirlwind of anger, panic and mistrust, our news media need to start asking the right questions.
Diane Winston Politics and Society
Is our president a Muslim? Of course not. Neither is the Koran an evil document, or Park51 a rebuke to the memory of those who died on 9/11. Journalists, whose job it is to inform the public in service of the democratic process, ought to make these facts clear. But rather than state the obvious, and help dispel the irrationality that runs rampant at a time of economic difficulty and social upheaval, too many mainstream news outlets are feeding the maelstrom of misinformation with stories that play up irresponsible allegations.
Instead, journalists need to focus on two questions — one to guide their coverage, and another to inform their professionalism. Their first task is to investigate why Islamophobia is on the rise. This entails exploring the social, cultural, economic and political conditions that inculcate fear, hatred and scapegoating. It also means asking who benefits from spurring widespread paranoia. For example, in Europe and the United States, a network of online Web sites provides a locus and rationale for anti-Muslim activity. But there’s been little examination of who funds and directs Stop Islamisation of Europe or Stop Islamization of America.
Second, journalists need to ask themselves what they’re about: why they became reporters, and what their mission is. Having worked in newsrooms and taught the next generation, I know that most reporters are motivated by the desire to inform, enlighten and find a really great story. They don’t set out to sensationalize the news, but the industry’s current logic of hits, clicks and eyeballs can bend coverage to what news managers believe is popular with the public.
Islamophobia is on the rise because it serves someone’s political agenda. Rather than write around the question — adding to the whirlwind of anger, panic and mistrust, our news media need to start asking the right questions.
Diane Winston Politics and Society
Rabbi warns: 'don't exaggerate antisemitism'
West London Synagogue senior rabbi Mark Winer warned against exaggerating the threat of antisemitism in the UK in his final Rosh Hashanah address to his congregation.
Although antisemitism was widespread, "we need to acknowledge that antisemitism does not really pose that much of a threat to Jews on a day-to-day basis," he said.
In general, he believed that "we Jews overestimate the threat of antisemitism as a part of our historically justified paranoia. But we run a serious risk of obsessive focus on it."
Rabbi Winer, 67, is returning to the United States after Succot after nearly 13 years but will retain links with West London as its senior scholar.
In the first of his "swan song" High Holy Day sermons, he said that the best response to antisemitism was "being the most knowledgeable and observant, the most appropriately self-assertive, confident, even exuberant Jews".
Emphasising the need to be "100 per cent British even as we are 100 per cent Jewish", Rabbi Winer added: "Only a 'glatt Yank' like me could teach the essentiality of being a 'glatt Brit'."
The Jewish Chronicle
Although antisemitism was widespread, "we need to acknowledge that antisemitism does not really pose that much of a threat to Jews on a day-to-day basis," he said.
In general, he believed that "we Jews overestimate the threat of antisemitism as a part of our historically justified paranoia. But we run a serious risk of obsessive focus on it."
Rabbi Winer, 67, is returning to the United States after Succot after nearly 13 years but will retain links with West London as its senior scholar.
In the first of his "swan song" High Holy Day sermons, he said that the best response to antisemitism was "being the most knowledgeable and observant, the most appropriately self-assertive, confident, even exuberant Jews".
Emphasising the need to be "100 per cent British even as we are 100 per cent Jewish", Rabbi Winer added: "Only a 'glatt Yank' like me could teach the essentiality of being a 'glatt Brit'."
The Jewish Chronicle
Row after Pope's remarks on atheism and Nazis
However, the Catholic Church has moved to play down the controversy, saying the Pope knew "rather well what the Nazi ideology is about".
Humanists have said the comments were a "terrible libel" against non-believers
In his address, the Pope spoke of "a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society".
He went on to urge the UK to guard against "aggressive forms of secularism".
The Pope made his remarks in his opening address to the Queen at Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
He said: "Even in our own lifetimes we can recall how Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live.
"As we reflect on the sobering lessons of atheist extremism of the 20th century, let us never forget how the exclusion of God, religion and virtue from public life leads ultimately to a truncated vision of man and of society and thus a reductive vision of a person and his destiny."
'Highly political'
A statement from the British Humanist Association said the Pope's remarks were "surreal".
It said: "The notion that it was the atheism of Nazis that led to their extremist and hateful views or that it somehow fuels intolerance in Britain today is a terrible libel against those who do not believe in God.
"The notion that it is non-religious people in the UK today who want to force their views on others, coming from a man whose organisation exerts itself internationally to impose its narrow and exclusive form of morality and undermine the human rights of women, children, gay people and many others, is surreal."
The German-born Pope has previously spoken of his time growing up under the "monster" of Nazism.
He joined the Hitler Youth at 14, as was required of young Germans at the time.
Late on in WWII he was drafted into an anti-aircraft unit in Munich.
He deserted the German army towards the end of the war and was briefly held as a prisoner-of-war by the Allies in 1945.
The Pope's conservative, traditionalist views were intensified when teaching at the University of Bonn in the 1960s he was said to be appalled at the prevalence of Marxism among his students.
In his view, religion was being subordinated to a political ideology that he considered "tyrannical, brutal and cruel".
He would later be a leading campaigner against liberation theology, the movement to involve the Church in social activism, which for him was too close to Marxism.
BBC News
Thursday, 16 September 2010
OSCE media freedom representative, Council of Europe hold forum on preserving freedom of Internet while countering hate speech
VILNIUS, 15 September 2010 - The international community must work to identify effective ways to address hate speech on the Internet without endangering freedom of expression, said the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatovic, and Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, today at the Joint OSCE-Council of Europe Open Forum on Hate Speech vs. Freedom of Expression in Vilnius.
The meeting focused on possible alternatives to relying solely on governmental or legislative approaches to address the problem of hate speech without infringing on freedom of expression and silencing legitimate criticism.
"We have to identify effective ways to address hate speech on the Internet without endangering freedom of expression. I am confident that this impressive group of leading international experts gathered under the umbrella of the OSCE and the Council of Europe will help the international community advance in this field," said Mijatovic.
De Boer-Buquicchio said: "Hate speech is a direct attack on the right to be and to think differently. It might not stop at rhetoric, as it has the potential to shape the minds and attitudes of individuals who will believe they have the right to undermine other people's rights. A democratic society cannot afford the freedom to oppress. Instead, we have to identify how to strike the adequate balance between rights and freedoms."
The event was held as part of the Internet Governance Forum, a global platform, and was jointly organized by the Representative's Office and the Council of Europe. This was the first initiative of this scale implemented by the two international bodies promoting free expression.
The forum was facilitated by leading experts representing academia, international bodies and the private sector involved with Internet policies
OCSE
The meeting focused on possible alternatives to relying solely on governmental or legislative approaches to address the problem of hate speech without infringing on freedom of expression and silencing legitimate criticism.
"We have to identify effective ways to address hate speech on the Internet without endangering freedom of expression. I am confident that this impressive group of leading international experts gathered under the umbrella of the OSCE and the Council of Europe will help the international community advance in this field," said Mijatovic.
De Boer-Buquicchio said: "Hate speech is a direct attack on the right to be and to think differently. It might not stop at rhetoric, as it has the potential to shape the minds and attitudes of individuals who will believe they have the right to undermine other people's rights. A democratic society cannot afford the freedom to oppress. Instead, we have to identify how to strike the adequate balance between rights and freedoms."
The event was held as part of the Internet Governance Forum, a global platform, and was jointly organized by the Representative's Office and the Council of Europe. This was the first initiative of this scale implemented by the two international bodies promoting free expression.
The forum was facilitated by leading experts representing academia, international bodies and the private sector involved with Internet policies
OCSE
Racism and the Vatican
It may seem as if the Vatican has no moral authority left to lose but with his description of Britain as a "third world country", Cardinal Walter Kasper has done his best.
In an interview with the German news magazine Focus, Kasper declared
"Britain is a secular and pluralist country. Sometimes, when you land at Heathrow, you think you have entered a third world country."
Some bloggers have interpreted Kasper's comments as an attack on the quality of Heathrow airport. But they, along with much of the mainstream media, have obviously missed the "clarification" issued by the Vatican.
According to the Pope's spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, Kasper's comments actually referred to Britain's multi-ethnic composition. Is Kasper really suggesting that ethnic minorities have no place in a developed country like Britain? Apparently so. One can only assume that the multi-ethnic nature of travellers (and staff) at Heathrow offended the Cardinal's separatist sensibilities.Kasper, who has withdrawn from the Papal visit, has already come under pressure to apologise. Cardinal O'Brien, the leader of the Roman Catholic church in Scotland, said:
"That was unfortunate and each and every person's aides sometimes do make awkward, difficult remarks. Sometimes we make awkward, difficult remarks ourselves. And simply, if we do that sort of thing we apologise for it, and I'm sure Cardinal Kasper will apologise for any intemperate remarks which he made some time ago."
But these weasel words are inadequate to the scale of Kasper's offence. If the Vatican, many of whose followers live in the "third world", wishes to salvage some dignity it could begin by ordering Kasper to apologise for his slur on the UK and its population.
Populism on the rise in the Nordic region
A populist and hard-right wave is washing up over the Nordic countries, and with it, anti-immigration rhetoric and policies that were unthinkable just few years ago, with political consequences for traditional politics in the region.
Despite their rapid rise, most extreme right-wing parties in the Nordic countries still lack significant voter-support on election day, with Sunday's (19 September) Swedish election result to be the next test.
Just a year ago, the far-right anti-immigration party – Swedish Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna) – was a small and unknown outfit. But its provocative anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim statements have given it significant support especially in areas with high unemployment.
Opinion polls suggest that the Swedish Democrats may exceed the four percent threshold needed to win seats in the Riksdagen and possibly hold the balance of power between the left alliance led by the Social Democrats and the governing centre-right coalition.
In Finland, the tone of the immigration debate has changed dramatically over the last year. The topic has moved from being a marginal discussion to become one of the central debates in Finnish politics.
As much as 60 percent of Finns are now against an increase in the number of immigrants arriving in the country – a number that has increased considerably compared to previous years, according to a survey by Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat.
Public support for the opposition hard-right True Finns party led by MEP Timo Soini, who is a member of the European Parliament, has lately risen past 10 per cent, according to a survey in September commissioned by the same paper.
In Norway however, the far-right wave seems to have ebbed considerably. Following the polemic with the caricature drawings of the Prophet Mohammed a few years back some political parties were accused of being soft on Muslim fundamentalists for supporting a dialogue with the Muslim immigrant community. Consequently, the parties took on a stricter tone in the immigration debates, stealing the far-right's thunder.
However, in one of the debates, talk of introducing a ban on burqas and niqabs in public places, was ultimately seen as a breach of human rights and the measure was discarded by all parties except the extreme right-wing Fremskrittspartiet.
In Denmark, on the other hand, critics say that the far-right party, the Dansk Folkeparti, has won the anti-immigration debate. Danish politics has changed dramatically over the last decade and supporters of the change argue that it was needed while critics say the change has been an embrace of populism.
The rise of far-right parties
The ground the anti-immigrant parties have gained in the Nordic region over the last few years could be linked to a number of facts, according to Nordic reports.
Firstly, the number of asylum requests have increased in most Nordic countries during the 1990s. Immigrants have arrived mainly in the Scandinavian countries while Finland has received somewhat fewer and Iceland only very little immigration from non-European Union states, according to numbers from Nordic statistics.
Secondly, the power vacuum left by political infighting and internal splits in the traditional political parties has also boosted the rise of populist anti-immigration parties.
Thirdly, although many of the right-wing parties have been around for a long time, they have previously been marginal due to their links with Nazism and other extreme political views. However, in the past few years they have had a clean-out of their ranks.
In Sweden, for example, the Swedish Democrats ejected former criminals and Nazi members and has now become more accepted among the mainstream population.
Fourth, the current global economic crisis has also played its part in the increase of xenophobic attitudes among the Nordic people. In Finland, there is a growing discontent with not only immigration but also with the European Union (EU) and the euro – another topic widely deployed by populist parties to gain support.
Also in Iceland there has been a rise in the population's mistrust of the EU as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is closely co-operating with the Icelandic authorities on the country's economic recovery.
Voting for a laugh
Compared to the rest of the Nordic countries, the picture is somewhat different in Iceland when it comes to populist politicians. On the north Atlantic island, the people have become so disillusioned with their traditional politicians following the country's economic collapse, that the Icelandic people turned to a popular comedian when they went to the ballot boxes in May.
Jon Gnarr and his semi-serious political group named 'The Best Party' was the big winner in Iceland's latest local elections. Following a recent hard-hitting report about the facts behind Iceland's economic crash and the political links to the banks, local elections were held in an atmosphere of much distrust of mainstream parties, politicians, incumbents and bank directors.
The Best Party's general message is anti-politician and Mr Gnarr notably promised a cocaine-free parliament by 2020, free towels at swimming polls and a new polar bear for the zoo in Reykjavík during his election rally. Experts argue though that the Icelandic people did not really vote for Mr Gnarr but rather against the traditional political parties as a punishment for their failure to prevent the financial collapse in Iceland.
Language is cruder
All across the Nordic countries, the language in immigration debates has become ever more coarse. Previously unthinkable political statements are now used on a regular basis.
In Sweden, the Swedish Democrats at one point wrote in an opinion piece: "The Muslims are our greatest threat – as a Swedish Democrat, I see this as our greatest foreign threat since the Second World War and I promise to do all within my power to turn this trend when we go to elections," party leader Jimmie Akesson wrote in a debate article in Sweden's biggest daily Aftonbladet on 19 October 2009.
In Denmark, Peter Skaarup from the far-right Danish People's Party (Dansk Folkeparti) wrote in a press release on 29 May this year: "if non-western immigrants and descendents worked to the same extent as the Danes, then the economic situation would immediately be 24 million Kroners [€3.2 million] better, the sustainability problem would be solved and growth in the Danish economy would take off."
He added that his party would continue a "socially balanced policy that will press more immigrants to find a job, take up education or maybe go home if it does not work out for them staying here in the country."
Few politicians in power dare to stand up against this kind of wording from the extreme right parties. Many politicians have even altered their statements to align themselves with the latest polls, which often suggest xenophobic and anti-immigration tendencies in public opinion.
In Norway, for example, traditional political parties have tightened asylum policies and become less tolerant in their integration policies.
In other cases, mainstream politicians need the support of the anti-immigration parties. In Denmark, the centre-right government depend on the parliamentary support of the Danish People's Party to push through legislation.
This has also led to the fact that the recently introduced Danish economic recovery plan is focussed on cuts in areas that hit immigrants hardest, critics argue. Child allowances, for example, have been cut to families with more than two children, and so has funding for translation services used, for example, in hospitals.
Recently, former member of the European Parliament and current Finnish foreign minister Alexander Stubb in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat in March this year protested against the change of tone in the language used in Finland over the last few years.
"Lately, I have seen far too few people saying that immigration is something good for Finland", Mr Stubb said, adding that he found the prevailing immigration debate for repulsive.
A change of politics
The rise of the populist politics is a sign of how politics have changed in the Nordic region, as with many nations in Europe where populist and demagogic rhetoric has gained ground during election time. The consequent change in toward hard-right language and policies now being adopted by traditional mainstream parties have led to a change in the way immigration policies are conducted.
But there are also tendencies of people pushing in the other direction as in Sweden, for example, where recent polls show that the acceptance among the Swedes towards immigrants and immigration is increasing. Also in Norway there is a wind of change as the authorities have chosen to remain in close dialogue with the Norwegian Muslim communities to stamp out potential cultural clashes.
Despite this, Nordic countries are sending a clear message to the world, saying that immigrants can no longer easily enter the Nordic countries.
And the message they are sending is having an effect. In Denmark, for example, the number of asylum requests has dropped more than 85 percent between 2000 and 2008 – a period in which the centre-right government, with the parliamentary support of the Danish People's Party, has been in power.
Norwegian Prime Minister centre-left Jens Stoltenberg has succeeded in his ambition of curbing the growth in the number of asylum seekers in the last few years, embracing the anti-immigrant discourse.
The change in traditional politics towards increasing demands of integration for immigrants in some of the Nordic countries has had an effect on the extreme right-wing parties: Despite the fast rise and considerable media attention devoted to these parties, as well as a growing interest from the electorate, they still only have limited support when Nordic voters go to the polls.
Euobserver
Despite their rapid rise, most extreme right-wing parties in the Nordic countries still lack significant voter-support on election day, with Sunday's (19 September) Swedish election result to be the next test.
Just a year ago, the far-right anti-immigration party – Swedish Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna) – was a small and unknown outfit. But its provocative anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim statements have given it significant support especially in areas with high unemployment.
Opinion polls suggest that the Swedish Democrats may exceed the four percent threshold needed to win seats in the Riksdagen and possibly hold the balance of power between the left alliance led by the Social Democrats and the governing centre-right coalition.
In Finland, the tone of the immigration debate has changed dramatically over the last year. The topic has moved from being a marginal discussion to become one of the central debates in Finnish politics.
As much as 60 percent of Finns are now against an increase in the number of immigrants arriving in the country – a number that has increased considerably compared to previous years, according to a survey by Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat.
Public support for the opposition hard-right True Finns party led by MEP Timo Soini, who is a member of the European Parliament, has lately risen past 10 per cent, according to a survey in September commissioned by the same paper.
In Norway however, the far-right wave seems to have ebbed considerably. Following the polemic with the caricature drawings of the Prophet Mohammed a few years back some political parties were accused of being soft on Muslim fundamentalists for supporting a dialogue with the Muslim immigrant community. Consequently, the parties took on a stricter tone in the immigration debates, stealing the far-right's thunder.
However, in one of the debates, talk of introducing a ban on burqas and niqabs in public places, was ultimately seen as a breach of human rights and the measure was discarded by all parties except the extreme right-wing Fremskrittspartiet.
In Denmark, on the other hand, critics say that the far-right party, the Dansk Folkeparti, has won the anti-immigration debate. Danish politics has changed dramatically over the last decade and supporters of the change argue that it was needed while critics say the change has been an embrace of populism.
The rise of far-right parties
The ground the anti-immigrant parties have gained in the Nordic region over the last few years could be linked to a number of facts, according to Nordic reports.
Firstly, the number of asylum requests have increased in most Nordic countries during the 1990s. Immigrants have arrived mainly in the Scandinavian countries while Finland has received somewhat fewer and Iceland only very little immigration from non-European Union states, according to numbers from Nordic statistics.
Secondly, the power vacuum left by political infighting and internal splits in the traditional political parties has also boosted the rise of populist anti-immigration parties.
Thirdly, although many of the right-wing parties have been around for a long time, they have previously been marginal due to their links with Nazism and other extreme political views. However, in the past few years they have had a clean-out of their ranks.
In Sweden, for example, the Swedish Democrats ejected former criminals and Nazi members and has now become more accepted among the mainstream population.
Fourth, the current global economic crisis has also played its part in the increase of xenophobic attitudes among the Nordic people. In Finland, there is a growing discontent with not only immigration but also with the European Union (EU) and the euro – another topic widely deployed by populist parties to gain support.
Also in Iceland there has been a rise in the population's mistrust of the EU as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is closely co-operating with the Icelandic authorities on the country's economic recovery.
Voting for a laugh
Compared to the rest of the Nordic countries, the picture is somewhat different in Iceland when it comes to populist politicians. On the north Atlantic island, the people have become so disillusioned with their traditional politicians following the country's economic collapse, that the Icelandic people turned to a popular comedian when they went to the ballot boxes in May.
Jon Gnarr and his semi-serious political group named 'The Best Party' was the big winner in Iceland's latest local elections. Following a recent hard-hitting report about the facts behind Iceland's economic crash and the political links to the banks, local elections were held in an atmosphere of much distrust of mainstream parties, politicians, incumbents and bank directors.
The Best Party's general message is anti-politician and Mr Gnarr notably promised a cocaine-free parliament by 2020, free towels at swimming polls and a new polar bear for the zoo in Reykjavík during his election rally. Experts argue though that the Icelandic people did not really vote for Mr Gnarr but rather against the traditional political parties as a punishment for their failure to prevent the financial collapse in Iceland.
Language is cruder
All across the Nordic countries, the language in immigration debates has become ever more coarse. Previously unthinkable political statements are now used on a regular basis.
In Sweden, the Swedish Democrats at one point wrote in an opinion piece: "The Muslims are our greatest threat – as a Swedish Democrat, I see this as our greatest foreign threat since the Second World War and I promise to do all within my power to turn this trend when we go to elections," party leader Jimmie Akesson wrote in a debate article in Sweden's biggest daily Aftonbladet on 19 October 2009.
In Denmark, Peter Skaarup from the far-right Danish People's Party (Dansk Folkeparti) wrote in a press release on 29 May this year: "if non-western immigrants and descendents worked to the same extent as the Danes, then the economic situation would immediately be 24 million Kroners [€3.2 million] better, the sustainability problem would be solved and growth in the Danish economy would take off."
He added that his party would continue a "socially balanced policy that will press more immigrants to find a job, take up education or maybe go home if it does not work out for them staying here in the country."
Few politicians in power dare to stand up against this kind of wording from the extreme right parties. Many politicians have even altered their statements to align themselves with the latest polls, which often suggest xenophobic and anti-immigration tendencies in public opinion.
In Norway, for example, traditional political parties have tightened asylum policies and become less tolerant in their integration policies.
In other cases, mainstream politicians need the support of the anti-immigration parties. In Denmark, the centre-right government depend on the parliamentary support of the Danish People's Party to push through legislation.
This has also led to the fact that the recently introduced Danish economic recovery plan is focussed on cuts in areas that hit immigrants hardest, critics argue. Child allowances, for example, have been cut to families with more than two children, and so has funding for translation services used, for example, in hospitals.
Recently, former member of the European Parliament and current Finnish foreign minister Alexander Stubb in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat in March this year protested against the change of tone in the language used in Finland over the last few years.
"Lately, I have seen far too few people saying that immigration is something good for Finland", Mr Stubb said, adding that he found the prevailing immigration debate for repulsive.
A change of politics
The rise of the populist politics is a sign of how politics have changed in the Nordic region, as with many nations in Europe where populist and demagogic rhetoric has gained ground during election time. The consequent change in toward hard-right language and policies now being adopted by traditional mainstream parties have led to a change in the way immigration policies are conducted.
But there are also tendencies of people pushing in the other direction as in Sweden, for example, where recent polls show that the acceptance among the Swedes towards immigrants and immigration is increasing. Also in Norway there is a wind of change as the authorities have chosen to remain in close dialogue with the Norwegian Muslim communities to stamp out potential cultural clashes.
Despite this, Nordic countries are sending a clear message to the world, saying that immigrants can no longer easily enter the Nordic countries.
And the message they are sending is having an effect. In Denmark, for example, the number of asylum requests has dropped more than 85 percent between 2000 and 2008 – a period in which the centre-right government, with the parliamentary support of the Danish People's Party, has been in power.
Norwegian Prime Minister centre-left Jens Stoltenberg has succeeded in his ambition of curbing the growth in the number of asylum seekers in the last few years, embracing the anti-immigrant discourse.
The change in traditional politics towards increasing demands of integration for immigrants in some of the Nordic countries has had an effect on the extreme right-wing parties: Despite the fast rise and considerable media attention devoted to these parties, as well as a growing interest from the electorate, they still only have limited support when Nordic voters go to the polls.
Euobserver
Swastikas painted on Moldova synagogue
Worshippers who arrived at the Great Synagogue in Kishinev Tuesday were stunned to discover swastikas and anti-Semitic slurs spray-painted on its walls.
"This is an especially disturbing incident, as Moldova is not known as an anti-Semitic country," local Chief Rabbi Zalman Abelsky told Ynet.
The incident stirred great interest in the local media, with numerous public figures expressing their shock over the anti-Semitic display. Israel's consul general in Moldova, Stav Nezhinsky, and other Jewish community leaders arrived at the synagogue Tuesday and agreed to invest the utmost effort to eliminate such incidents.
"We wish to eliminate this phenomenon, which is the work of marginal organizations that refer to themselves as 'neo-Nazis," Rabby Abelsky said. He added that in his 20 years in Moldova he had not seen "a humiliating act like the one at the entrance to the synagogue."
Meanwhile, one of the local Jewish community leaders, Simcha Weinberg, asked top police and government officials to act immediately in order to eliminate anti-Semitism. He urged authorities to undertake immense efforts in order to capture the perpetrators of the act and boost security at the Great Synagogue and other Jewish institutions ahead of the upcoming Yom Kippur prayers.
This isn't the first time anti-Semitism rears its ugly head in Moldova. In Hanukkah last year, dozens of protestors led by an Orthodox minister used hammers and metal rods to shatter a Menorah placed in Kishinev over the holiday. The demonstrators chanted anti-Semitic slurs and said they "will not allow the Jews to rule Moldova," removing the Menorah and posting a cross in its place.
Ynet News
Housing award shortlist for tackling hate crime (UK)
A project aimed at stamping out hate crime in the Kensington area of Liverpool has been shortlisted for a UK Housing Award.
Stop the Hate - a six month campaign to raise awareness of different cultures and tackle anti-social behaviour - was chosen from 250 entries nationally as a finalist in the Creating Safer Communities category.
Organised by the As One partnership and funded by housing association Riverside and Citysafe, Stop the Hate saw young people from Edge Hill Youth Club, Kensington Fields Community Association, Kensington Youth Inclusion Project and Central Youth Club come together to celebrate diversity.
The youngsters took part in activities such as drama workshops to explore cultural similarities and differences, and interviewed shopkeepers about their experiences of racial abuse. They also visited cultural buildings and places of worship, participated in religious celebrations, dressed in national costumes and tasted foreign foods.
The project culminated in a colourful celebration of multi-culturalism at the Hindu Cultural Association at which over 120 young people showcased their experiences through drama, poetry, artwork and dance.
Riverside Group Director, John Wood said: “I am delighted that our work to encourage tolerance and understanding of other cultures has been recognised yet again. Celebrating diversity in our communities helps to stamp out anti-social behaviour and reduce crime, which has an impact on improving the quality of life for all our residents.”
The winners of the UK Housing Awards, which are organised by Inside Housing magazine and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), will be revealed at an awards ceremony at London’s Hilton Hotel on 10 November hosted by BBC Radio Scotland’s Fred MacAulay.
CIH Chief Executive, Sarah Webb, said: “It is fantastic that we have had so many excellent entries this year, and this is evident from the high standard of the shortlisted finalists. I want to congratulate all the organisations who have reached the finals, their work is a true inspiration to all of us.”
Inside Housing’s Events Director Ted Stevens said: “All the finalists have done brilliantly in getting this far. Well done to Riverside for getting shortlisted. The competition was really fierce.”
The awards are sponsored by Hays, PH Jones, United House, EMA, Sanctuary Group, Capita Resourcing, Devonshires Solicitors and supported by The Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland’s Department for Social Development. Last year nearly 800 people attended.
Earlier this year, Stop the Hate won a Merseyside Police Authority Community Award. The Police Authority awarded winners from the six policing areas of Merseyside with £3,000 each to continue the important work they are doing. Stop the Hate won the North Liverpool award and was awarded a further £2,000 for being crowned the Winner of Winners.
Click Liverpool
Stop the Hate - a six month campaign to raise awareness of different cultures and tackle anti-social behaviour - was chosen from 250 entries nationally as a finalist in the Creating Safer Communities category.
Organised by the As One partnership and funded by housing association Riverside and Citysafe, Stop the Hate saw young people from Edge Hill Youth Club, Kensington Fields Community Association, Kensington Youth Inclusion Project and Central Youth Club come together to celebrate diversity.
The youngsters took part in activities such as drama workshops to explore cultural similarities and differences, and interviewed shopkeepers about their experiences of racial abuse. They also visited cultural buildings and places of worship, participated in religious celebrations, dressed in national costumes and tasted foreign foods.
The project culminated in a colourful celebration of multi-culturalism at the Hindu Cultural Association at which over 120 young people showcased their experiences through drama, poetry, artwork and dance.
Riverside Group Director, John Wood said: “I am delighted that our work to encourage tolerance and understanding of other cultures has been recognised yet again. Celebrating diversity in our communities helps to stamp out anti-social behaviour and reduce crime, which has an impact on improving the quality of life for all our residents.”
The winners of the UK Housing Awards, which are organised by Inside Housing magazine and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), will be revealed at an awards ceremony at London’s Hilton Hotel on 10 November hosted by BBC Radio Scotland’s Fred MacAulay.
CIH Chief Executive, Sarah Webb, said: “It is fantastic that we have had so many excellent entries this year, and this is evident from the high standard of the shortlisted finalists. I want to congratulate all the organisations who have reached the finals, their work is a true inspiration to all of us.”
Inside Housing’s Events Director Ted Stevens said: “All the finalists have done brilliantly in getting this far. Well done to Riverside for getting shortlisted. The competition was really fierce.”
The awards are sponsored by Hays, PH Jones, United House, EMA, Sanctuary Group, Capita Resourcing, Devonshires Solicitors and supported by The Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland’s Department for Social Development. Last year nearly 800 people attended.
Earlier this year, Stop the Hate won a Merseyside Police Authority Community Award. The Police Authority awarded winners from the six policing areas of Merseyside with £3,000 each to continue the important work they are doing. Stop the Hate won the North Liverpool award and was awarded a further £2,000 for being crowned the Winner of Winners.
Click Liverpool
Far-right puts Sweden at the crossroads
Victory for Fredrik Reinfeldt, prime minister, would mark the first time a centre-right government has won re-election after a full term of office in a country long dominated by the centre-left Social Democrats
Triumph for Mona Sahlin, leader of the opposition Red-Green coalition, would give Sweden its first woman prime minister.
Yet, much of the focus has been on a 31-year-old politician seeking a breakthrough of a different kind. Jimmie Akesson, leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats, has brought his party to the brink of parliamentary representation by tapping into public unease over the changing face of Swedish society after decades of immigration.
Should he succeed – opinion polls have consistently shown the party just above the 4 per cent support needed to win seats – Sweden would join the growing list of European countries where anti-immigrant politicians have made headway.
While the Sweden Democrats remain smaller than counterparts in Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria, a far-right breakthrough in Sweden would strike a blow against the country’s image as a standard-bearer for tolerance and liberalism.
It would come at a moment when Europe is convulsed by debate on immigration after France’s decision to expel Roma gypsies and controversial comments by Thilo Sarrazin, an outgoing board member of the German central bank, that immigrants were making Germany “dumber”.
Government and opposition leaders have stepped up attacks against the Sweden Democrats this week in a last-ditch effort to keep the party out, with Mr Reinfeldt warning that a vote for the far-right would “gamble with stability”.
Opinion polls suggest that the Sweden Democrats could end up holding the balance of power in parliament if the election result is close, resulting in a weak minority government if the other parties stick to their promises not to co-operate with Mr Akesson’s group.
Sven-Olof Sallstrom, spokesman for the Sweden Democrats, says hostility from mainstream politicians will only increase his party’s popularity: “They are sending a message that they don’t recognise the things that voters see are wrong with Swedish society.”
One of the party’s television advertisements showed a white pensioner being beaten in a race for benefit payments by a group of burka-clad mothers. The decision by a leading broadcaster to censor the commercial only drew more attention to it online.
About 10 per cent of Sweden’s 9.3m population was born outside western Europe, many in Muslim countries such as Iraq and Somalia. Mr Akesson, whose party has roots in the neo-Nazi movement, describes Islam as the biggest threat to Sweden since the second world war.
The immigration issue has fed broader debate on Sweden’s cradle-to-grave welfare system as increasing multiculturalism and other changes strain social cohesion. “The ideas of solidarity and collectivism that used to be very strong in Sweden are losing their grip,” says Jenny Medestam, a political scientist at Stockholm University.
This shift towards greater individualism helps explain the decline of the Social Democratic party, which built the welfare system during decades of almost uninterrupted power in the 20th century. Support fell to a record low in 2006, when Mr Reinfeldt won power, and polls predict further decline on Sunday.
Soren Eriksson, a 55-year-old supply chain manager at Ericsson, is typical of the middle-class voters who once backed the Social Democrats but now support Mr Reinfeldt’s coalition. “They have won the trust of voters to govern,” he says.
Social Democrats say another four years of centre-right cuts to taxes and benefits would irreparably harm Sweden’s social-economic model. But many voters seem persuaded by the government’s argument that only by increasing incentives to work – particularly for immigrants – can Sweden maintain a strong welfare net. “The system has encouraged dependency on welfare and then immigrants are criticised by parts of Swedish society for not working,” says Mr Reinfeldt.
Recent polls have shown the ruling four-party Alliance set to win the biggest number of seats, aided by an accelerating economic recovery. But it remains unclear whether the government will keep the outright majority that would allow it to pass legislation without support from the Sweden Democrats.
Folke Johansson, political scientist at the University of Gothenburg, says Sweden is becoming a more “normal” democracy, with a less exceptional welfare system and greater political competition. In Europe, increasingly, that political norm includes an electorally viable far-right.
FT.com
Hamas condemns France's decision to ban Islamic veil
Hamas has condemned a law passed by the French parliament that bars Muslim women in the country from wearing Islamic veils.
Ahmed Bahar, deputy speaker of the Hamas-dominated parliament in Gaza, said in a statement Wednesday that the decision taken Tuesday was 'unfair, racist and hurts Muslims' feelings', Xinhua reported.
'Such a law is a threat to both international security and peace,' said Bahar, calling on the French parliament to annul the law as soon as possible.
He also called on the EU's court for human rights to condemn the decision of the French parliament 'for passing such a racist law which violates the law of the European agreement for human rights'.
Sify
Ahmed Bahar, deputy speaker of the Hamas-dominated parliament in Gaza, said in a statement Wednesday that the decision taken Tuesday was 'unfair, racist and hurts Muslims' feelings', Xinhua reported.
'Such a law is a threat to both international security and peace,' said Bahar, calling on the French parliament to annul the law as soon as possible.
He also called on the EU's court for human rights to condemn the decision of the French parliament 'for passing such a racist law which violates the law of the European agreement for human rights'.
Sify
SWEDISH PM CANDIDATES TO KEEP FAR-RIGHT AT BAY
"We won't touch them (the Sweden Democrats) with pliers," Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt vowed on behalf of his four-party centre-right coalition during a long and heated debate broadcast live on Swedish public television. Mona Sahlin, who is vying for his job at the front of the so-called red-green opposition coalition made up of her Social Democrats, the Greens and the formerly communist Left Party, agreed. "The Sweden Democrats ... always make the immigrants the culprits, either for taking jobs or for not taking jobs. Such a party can only be met with a crystal clear message: that we will not touch them, not cooperate with them," she said. There comments came as a Novus Opinion tally of five different polls published Sunday by Swedish public radio handed 4.6 percent of voter intentions to the far-right anti-immigrant party, which would be enough to secure them a place in parliament for the first time. Observers have pointed out that if neither of the main political blocs, which been neck-and-neck in polls for months, manage to secure more than 50 percent of the vote on September 19, the Sweden Democrats could easily become the kingmaker in the parliament.
Reinfeldt's Moderate Party and its coalition members, the Liberal, Centre and Christian Democrat parties, have in recent polls taken a lead and in Sunday's tally scored 50 percent of voter intention, compared to 43.6 percent for the leftwing opposition. The prime minister has in recent weeks met criticism for saying he plans to hold onto his job if his coalition wins most votes, even if it means creating a minority government, with critics saying he then could be open to pressure from the far-right. On Sunday however, he stressed that if his bloc does not secure a majority, it will need to seek "a broader parliamentary solution," most likely looking to the Green Party for support. Sahlin meanwhile reiterated in Sunday's debate that she will not create a minority government which could be open to influence by the Sweden Democrats, insisting that "Sweden needs a majority government." She has in recent weeks said she may try to woo over the Centre and Liberal parties if the opposition wins most votes but not a clear majority, but both of those parties have said they would decline such an offer.
AFP
Reinfeldt's Moderate Party and its coalition members, the Liberal, Centre and Christian Democrat parties, have in recent polls taken a lead and in Sunday's tally scored 50 percent of voter intention, compared to 43.6 percent for the leftwing opposition. The prime minister has in recent weeks met criticism for saying he plans to hold onto his job if his coalition wins most votes, even if it means creating a minority government, with critics saying he then could be open to pressure from the far-right. On Sunday however, he stressed that if his bloc does not secure a majority, it will need to seek "a broader parliamentary solution," most likely looking to the Green Party for support. Sahlin meanwhile reiterated in Sunday's debate that she will not create a minority government which could be open to influence by the Sweden Democrats, insisting that "Sweden needs a majority government." She has in recent weeks said she may try to woo over the Centre and Liberal parties if the opposition wins most votes but not a clear majority, but both of those parties have said they would decline such an offer.
AFP
Irving should be banned from Poland, say anti-racists
The Nigdy Więcej (Never Again) anti-racist organisation have called for ‘Holocaust denier’ British historian David Irving to be banned from entering Poland later this month.
Starting September 27, Irving is leading a tour party, with tickets costing around 1,500 euros each, taking in sites including the Treblinka death camp, Warsaw Ghetto and Hitler’s Bunker in the Masurian lake district.
Never Again, in a joint statement with the UK based Searchlight magazine, have called for Irving and his tour party - which he claims is sold out - not to be let into Poland.
“We urge Polish and British authorities to react strongly and not allow this shameful visit which offends the memory of victims of the war and the Holocaust," says the Never Again statement.
“The group will mainly consist of Holocaust deniers and neo-Nazis from the UK and other Western Europe countries and the United States,” the statement adds.
Protest
No protests against the visit have yet come to the notice of the police. “We have not yet received any information about demonstrations and assembly connected with Irving's visit,” said Warsaw police spokesman Mariusz Sokolowski .
“We have also not receive any information from Mr Irving that he felt threatened,” Sokolowski told the PAP news agency, noting that police have no responsibility for the security of private visits.
Irving has dismissed protests against his visit. He told the Daily Mail (UK) that his tour party was for “real history buffs”, and that it was the Polish authorities who had turned the Auschwitz Nazi death camp site into a “Disney-style” tourist trap and a “money making machine”.
He also accused Poland of erecting watch towers in Auschwitz that were not there during WW II, to make the place feel more authentic. “I have been a historian for 40 years. I know a fake when I see one. When you look at old photos of Auschwitz, those towers aren’t in the photographs,” he said.
Irving was arrested and imprisoned in 2006 when he visited Austria, where Holocaust denial is a crime.
Andrzej Arseniuk, spokesman for Poland’s National Remembrance Institute - which investigates and prosecutes Nazi and communist-era crimes - said that they would take appropriate action if Irving publicly denies Nazi crimes. If incidents come to the attention of the law then “the prosecutor has the authority to deal with it,” Arseniuk said. (pg)
The News Pl
Starting September 27, Irving is leading a tour party, with tickets costing around 1,500 euros each, taking in sites including the Treblinka death camp, Warsaw Ghetto and Hitler’s Bunker in the Masurian lake district.
Never Again, in a joint statement with the UK based Searchlight magazine, have called for Irving and his tour party - which he claims is sold out - not to be let into Poland.
“We urge Polish and British authorities to react strongly and not allow this shameful visit which offends the memory of victims of the war and the Holocaust," says the Never Again statement.
“The group will mainly consist of Holocaust deniers and neo-Nazis from the UK and other Western Europe countries and the United States,” the statement adds.
Protest
No protests against the visit have yet come to the notice of the police. “We have not yet received any information about demonstrations and assembly connected with Irving's visit,” said Warsaw police spokesman Mariusz Sokolowski .
“We have also not receive any information from Mr Irving that he felt threatened,” Sokolowski told the PAP news agency, noting that police have no responsibility for the security of private visits.
Irving has dismissed protests against his visit. He told the Daily Mail (UK) that his tour party was for “real history buffs”, and that it was the Polish authorities who had turned the Auschwitz Nazi death camp site into a “Disney-style” tourist trap and a “money making machine”.
He also accused Poland of erecting watch towers in Auschwitz that were not there during WW II, to make the place feel more authentic. “I have been a historian for 40 years. I know a fake when I see one. When you look at old photos of Auschwitz, those towers aren’t in the photographs,” he said.
Irving was arrested and imprisoned in 2006 when he visited Austria, where Holocaust denial is a crime.
Andrzej Arseniuk, spokesman for Poland’s National Remembrance Institute - which investigates and prosecutes Nazi and communist-era crimes - said that they would take appropriate action if Irving publicly denies Nazi crimes. If incidents come to the attention of the law then “the prosecutor has the authority to deal with it,” Arseniuk said. (pg)
The News Pl
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
Immigrant entrepreneurs to create 150,000 jobs in 2010 (Germany)
Entrepreneurs with foreign roots will likely create 150,000 jobs in Germany this year, according to the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK).
The Berliner Zeitung reported on Monday that the DIHK was seeing a growing number of people from immigrant families willing to start their own business in recent years.
The DIHK last year advised some 11,000 such entrepreneurs – up from 8,300 only two years earlier – meaning 18 percent of those prepared to create a new business had foreign roots.
DIHK President Hans Heinrich Driftmann told the paper immigrants were "making an important entrepreneurial contribution to Germany."
“We will need even more of this sort of economic impulse to overcome the demographic challenges of the future,” he said.
The paper reported that if Germany’s population continues to shrink, the country will have 700,000 fewer self-employed by 2050.
Though immigrants were particularly well-represented in retail and gastronomy, the DIHK said they were starting new enterprises in all important sectors of the German economy.
The Local Germany
The Berliner Zeitung reported on Monday that the DIHK was seeing a growing number of people from immigrant families willing to start their own business in recent years.
The DIHK last year advised some 11,000 such entrepreneurs – up from 8,300 only two years earlier – meaning 18 percent of those prepared to create a new business had foreign roots.
DIHK President Hans Heinrich Driftmann told the paper immigrants were "making an important entrepreneurial contribution to Germany."
“We will need even more of this sort of economic impulse to overcome the demographic challenges of the future,” he said.
The paper reported that if Germany’s population continues to shrink, the country will have 700,000 fewer self-employed by 2050.
Though immigrants were particularly well-represented in retail and gastronomy, the DIHK said they were starting new enterprises in all important sectors of the German economy.
The Local Germany
Jobbik MPs want prison for people who deny existence of certain crimes (Hungary)
Deputies of the radical nationalist Jobbik party are calling for people who deny the existence of certain crimes to be imprisoned, national daily Nepszabadsag said on Wednesday.
The paper said that the initiative of the three Jobbik deputies is clearly targeted at Gypsies.
The Jobbik initiative makes use of a term - "Gypsy crime" - which has caused outrage in some sections of the mainstream.
"Public discourse has for several decades prevented the solution of some pressing social problems, the exposition of well-known but officially non-recognised forms of crime, for instance Gypsy crime, and research into its roots," the document says.
It goes on to call for prison terms for anyone who denies that such crimes exists.
"Anyone who publicly denies, doubts or presents as insignificant any generally known fact concerning a criminally relevant social relationship, especially the state of public safety, forms of crime and scope of criminals, shall be punishable by up to three years in prison."
The Jobbik deputies demand five-year prison terms for public officials who do the same.
The three MPs accuse a "narrow but all the more violent" minority of imposing its "off-reality position" on the "silent majority".
Addressing Parliament on Monday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said "we reject the politics and ways of thinking that denies reality". But he also made it clear that he protested against the idea of someone being identified as a potential criminal on the basis of their ethnic origin.
A poll conducted by Nezopont Institute two years ago and widely criticised showed that over 90 percent of respondents, irrespective of their political affiliation, considered "Gypsy crime" an existing phenomenon, and 77 percent said that the Roma had a greater tendency towards crime than the mainstream.
politics hu
The paper said that the initiative of the three Jobbik deputies is clearly targeted at Gypsies.
The Jobbik initiative makes use of a term - "Gypsy crime" - which has caused outrage in some sections of the mainstream.
"Public discourse has for several decades prevented the solution of some pressing social problems, the exposition of well-known but officially non-recognised forms of crime, for instance Gypsy crime, and research into its roots," the document says.
It goes on to call for prison terms for anyone who denies that such crimes exists.
"Anyone who publicly denies, doubts or presents as insignificant any generally known fact concerning a criminally relevant social relationship, especially the state of public safety, forms of crime and scope of criminals, shall be punishable by up to three years in prison."
The Jobbik deputies demand five-year prison terms for public officials who do the same.
The three MPs accuse a "narrow but all the more violent" minority of imposing its "off-reality position" on the "silent majority".
Addressing Parliament on Monday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said "we reject the politics and ways of thinking that denies reality". But he also made it clear that he protested against the idea of someone being identified as a potential criminal on the basis of their ethnic origin.
A poll conducted by Nezopont Institute two years ago and widely criticised showed that over 90 percent of respondents, irrespective of their political affiliation, considered "Gypsy crime" an existing phenomenon, and 77 percent said that the Roma had a greater tendency towards crime than the mainstream.
politics hu
BNP move into Stroud District (UK)
THE British National Party is setting up a new national communications and publicity department at Salmon Springs Trading Estate between Stroud and Painswick, the SNJ has learned.
Writing in an email sent to supporters, which is also available on the BNP's website, party leader Nick Griffin said that several of the party's top officers met earlier this year to discuss a reorganisation of its press operation.
He writes: "The communications department will soon be based at our new operations centre in Stroud.
"From here, the national team will coordinate our media efforts all under one roof."
It is understood that the operations centre, which will encompass media and communications, the BNP website and publicity and design, will be based at Unit 13 on the trading estate.
According to the email, the department will be run by Paul Golding, a close ally of Mr Griffin.
It is thought that three rooms were rented in the unit in spring 2009, which were originally to be used as a training centre but remained empty.
According to Mr Griffin, the BNP receives a 'huge number' of inquiries from the media.
"In the past the party only operated through two mobile phone lines to handle media inquiries but the new communications department utilises a dedicated 'media inquiries ticketing system'," he writes.
"All media interest in the party is funnelled into this system and inquiries from leftwing, hostile or freelance media sources are filtered out."
Stroud's independent mayor Andy Read said he was puzzled as to why the BNP would want to be based in Stroud.
"Whenever the BNP has put up candidates locally, it has had no support whatsoever," he said.
"However, history shows that censorship only plays into the hands of such groups.
"The best approach is to bring the BNP and their policies out into the open.
"I know many Stroud people feel strongly about the BNP and will relish this opportunity to expose and challenge its policies."
Stroud News Journal
Writing in an email sent to supporters, which is also available on the BNP's website, party leader Nick Griffin said that several of the party's top officers met earlier this year to discuss a reorganisation of its press operation.
He writes: "The communications department will soon be based at our new operations centre in Stroud.
"From here, the national team will coordinate our media efforts all under one roof."
It is understood that the operations centre, which will encompass media and communications, the BNP website and publicity and design, will be based at Unit 13 on the trading estate.
According to the email, the department will be run by Paul Golding, a close ally of Mr Griffin.
It is thought that three rooms were rented in the unit in spring 2009, which were originally to be used as a training centre but remained empty.
According to Mr Griffin, the BNP receives a 'huge number' of inquiries from the media.
"In the past the party only operated through two mobile phone lines to handle media inquiries but the new communications department utilises a dedicated 'media inquiries ticketing system'," he writes.
"All media interest in the party is funnelled into this system and inquiries from leftwing, hostile or freelance media sources are filtered out."
Stroud's independent mayor Andy Read said he was puzzled as to why the BNP would want to be based in Stroud.
"Whenever the BNP has put up candidates locally, it has had no support whatsoever," he said.
"However, history shows that censorship only plays into the hands of such groups.
"The best approach is to bring the BNP and their policies out into the open.
"I know many Stroud people feel strongly about the BNP and will relish this opportunity to expose and challenge its policies."
Stroud News Journal
Cuba's Fidel Castro says Nicolas Sarkozy going crazy
Mr Castro also suggested Mr Sarkozy could not be trusted with his finger on the nuclear trigger.
In the article, Mr Castro denounces Mr Sarkozy for the expulsion of more than 1,000 Roma (Gypsy) migrants, over which France has been widely condemned.
At the weekend, Mr Castro accused Paris of carrying out a "racial holocaust".
In a comment piece published in La Jornada newspaper on Monday, the 84-year-old former leader points out that France is the world's third biggest nuclear power and says Mr Sarkozy carries around a briefcase with the launch codes for an arsenal of more than 300 atomic weapons.
"Suppose that Sarkozy suddenly goes crazy, as appears to be happening. What would the UN Security Council do in that case with Sarkozy and his briefcase?" he says.
In the tirade, entitled The Endless Hypocrisy of the West, Mr Castro adds: "What will happen if the far right forces Sarkozy to hold a racist policy in contradiction with the norms of the European Community?"
He also says: "Does it make any moral or ethical sense to launch an attack on Iran, which is condemned for its supposed intention to make bombs of this type? Where is the sense and logic of this policy?"
"Would the UN Security Council answer those two questions?" he added.
France said the holocaust comments over its expulsion of members of the Roma community were unacceptable and showed Mr Castro's ignorance of history.
On Tuesday, EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding urged the European Commission to take legal action against France over the deportations.
BBC News
Russian football is blighted by systematic racism, says FARE network
Russian domestic football is blighted by "systematic" racism that will take several years to root out if it is to host the 2018 World Cup, according to a leading European anti-racism campaign group.
Russia's World Cup bid has been dented by recent incidents including the unveiling of a banner featuring a banana with the words "Thanks West Brom" aimed at West Bromwich Albion striker Peter Odemwingie by fans of his former club Lokomotiv Moscow.
Russia 2018 chief executive Alexei Sorokin initially denied that the incident was racist, claiming that the phrase "to get a banana" meant to fail a test in Russian slang. "There was nothing racial in it," Sorokin said.
Sorokin's view has been challenged however by the FARE (Football Against Racism in Europe) Network, a coalition of football anti-racism campaigners that has run campaigns with Fifa and Uefa.
Piara Powar, executive director of FARE, said the banner was clearly racist in intention, and indicated that the Russian game faced wider problems.
"The context in which the banner was used was clearly racist in context, and to suggest otherwise is a nonsense," he told Telegraph Sport.
"Russian domestic football has a problem with racism that is quite systematic and insidious, it is linked to the activities of far-right groups that emerged after the collapse of the eastern bloc and have used football as a vehicle.
"Compared to the work that has been done in England, Russian football is on a different planet, and if it were to stage the World Cup in four years there is no chance racism would have been dealt with.
"But if it were to win the right to host the 2018 tournament there would be time to address the problem and I'm sure that they would do so.
"We are trying to get in touch with the Russian bid to start a dialogue about this."
The Telegraph
Russia's World Cup bid has been dented by recent incidents including the unveiling of a banner featuring a banana with the words "Thanks West Brom" aimed at West Bromwich Albion striker Peter Odemwingie by fans of his former club Lokomotiv Moscow.
Russia 2018 chief executive Alexei Sorokin initially denied that the incident was racist, claiming that the phrase "to get a banana" meant to fail a test in Russian slang. "There was nothing racial in it," Sorokin said.
Sorokin's view has been challenged however by the FARE (Football Against Racism in Europe) Network, a coalition of football anti-racism campaigners that has run campaigns with Fifa and Uefa.
Piara Powar, executive director of FARE, said the banner was clearly racist in intention, and indicated that the Russian game faced wider problems.
"The context in which the banner was used was clearly racist in context, and to suggest otherwise is a nonsense," he told Telegraph Sport.
"Russian domestic football has a problem with racism that is quite systematic and insidious, it is linked to the activities of far-right groups that emerged after the collapse of the eastern bloc and have used football as a vehicle.
"Compared to the work that has been done in England, Russian football is on a different planet, and if it were to stage the World Cup in four years there is no chance racism would have been dealt with.
"But if it were to win the right to host the 2018 tournament there would be time to address the problem and I'm sure that they would do so.
"We are trying to get in touch with the Russian bid to start a dialogue about this."
The Telegraph
French Senate votes to ban Islamic full veil in public
The proposed measure was already backed by the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, in July.
The ban will come into force in six months' time if it is not overturned by constitutional judges.
The ban has strong public support, but critics point out that only a tiny minority of French Muslims wear the full veil.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has backed the ban as part of a wider debate on French identity but opponents say the government is pandering to far-right voters.
Spain and Belgium are debating similar legislation, and with such large-scale immigration in the past 20 or 30 years, identity has become a popular theme across Europe, correspondents say.
Council's warning
On Tuesday, the Senate voted 246 to 1 in favour of the bill.
It will be now sent immediately to France's Constitutional Council watchdog, which has a month to confirm its legality.
Another challenge is possible at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, where decisions are binding.
There are estimated to be only about 2,000 women wearing the full veil in France.
The bill makes it illegal to wear garments such as the niqab or burka, which incorporate a full-face veil, anywhere in public.
It envisages fines of 150 euros (£119) for women who break the law and 30,000 euros and a one-year jail term for men who force their wives to wear the burka.
The niqab and burka are widely seen in France as threats to women's rights and the secular nature of the state.
The bill is also seen as a touchstone for the Mr Sarkozy administration's policy of integration. It is grappling with disaffected immigrant communities as it seeks to prevent a repeat of the mass unrest of 2005 on run-down French housing estates.
In March, the Council of State, France's highest administrative body, warned that the law could be found unconstitutional
BBC News
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