Two Muslim women have claimed they were refused a bus ride because one had her face covered by a veil.
The students, both 22 and from Slough, Berkshire, boarded a Metroline bus from Russell Square to Paddington, London.
But they said when they presented their tickets on Tuesday, the driver told them they were a "threat" to passengers and ordered them off the bus.
The firm has started an "urgent" investigation. The Muslim Council of Britain said it was "deeply concerned".
The pair, who have made a formal complaint to the bus company, have asked the BBC not to reveal their full names.
Yasmin was wearing a hijab and Atoofa was dressed in a niqab - which covers the face.
Yasmin said at first she boarded the bus by mistake when it was not in service to ask where it was going, but was told by the driver to get off.
"About 10 minutes later... the passengers started getting on. When I went forward to show my ticket he said, 'Get off the bus'. I presumed he was still angry because I got on the bus before.
"He said, 'I am not going to take you on the bus because you two are a threat.'
"I realised it wasn't due to me getting on the bus, this may be a racist attack."
She asked for his contact details but when he refused she began to film him and he covered his face.
"I said, 'It's OK for you to cover your face on my recording but it's not OK for my friend to cover her face out of choice?'
"There was no point arguing with him, we got off the bus and by then my anger turned into emotion."
BBC News
Friday, 23 July 2010
Russian neo-Nazi murder trial opens
A gang of 13 suspected neo-Nazis have gone on trial for mass murder in Russia.
The group, accused of killing 27 people, also face other charges including attempted terrorism and inciting ethnic hatred.
Authorities allege the defendants are members of the National-Socialist Society, established in 2004 with the aim of turning Russia into a Nazi state.
Operating mainly in the Moscow region, police say the skinheads targeted foreign nationals and ethnic minorities, with reports one anti-Nazi activist was stabbed 30 times by members of the gang as part of an initiation test.
Russia has seen a wave of racially motivated crimes since the collapse of the former Soviet Union. The ultra nationalist faction, banned two years ago, regularly organised combat training for members and published its own newspaper in a bid to spread its extreme ideology.
EuroNews
The group, accused of killing 27 people, also face other charges including attempted terrorism and inciting ethnic hatred.
Authorities allege the defendants are members of the National-Socialist Society, established in 2004 with the aim of turning Russia into a Nazi state.
Operating mainly in the Moscow region, police say the skinheads targeted foreign nationals and ethnic minorities, with reports one anti-Nazi activist was stabbed 30 times by members of the gang as part of an initiation test.
Russia has seen a wave of racially motivated crimes since the collapse of the former Soviet Union. The ultra nationalist faction, banned two years ago, regularly organised combat training for members and published its own newspaper in a bid to spread its extreme ideology.
EuroNews
Rage Against The Machine To Rock Against 'Racist' Arizona Immigration Bill
Los Angeles show will be the band's only concert in North America this year.So the band decided to do what it does best: bring the sound and fury.
In tandem with Sound Strike — an organization that calls on musicians to boycott the state until SB 1070 is repealed — Rage organized a benefit show set for Friday in the band's hometown of Los Angeles. Considering the heft of the situation (and the fact that the gig will be RATM's first L.A. appearance in 10 years), well, you can expect that it's going to be a pretty monumental evening.
"Sound Strike is artists united against Arizona's recently passed, racist immigration legislation," Morello told MTV News on Wednesday. "[And] Rage Against the Machine are playing our first show in 10 years in our hometown of Los Angeles to support activists within the state of Arizona who are against this legislation. We're playing with Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, and it's going to be a pretty fantastic time."
Morello said that all proceeds from the show, which is already sold out, will go to the Sound Strike Fund, which directly supports the Arizona-based organizations PUENTE Arizona and The Florence Project. And he promised that fans will be in for a fiery night. After all, the stakes are high, and the band's anger is even higher.
"Rage is playing just one show in North America this year, and the reason we're doing it is to stand up against legislation that just reminds me of the worst aspects of apartheid," Morello said. "It's a soft-core apartheid, so we're going to rock until that f---ing thing's kicked out."
MTV UK
BNP boss Nick Griffin to open office in Burnley (UK)
BNP leader Nick Griffin has set up a base in Burnley.
The highly-controversial politician officially opened his "Euro office" on Saturday in Yorke Street where he will spend time in his role as a Member of the European Parliament for the North-West.
Mr Griffin believes Burnley holds a "special place" in the party's history and it is thought he will hold surgeries at the address in the coming months.
Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle said democracy meant Mr Griffin was entitled to set up stall in the town. "The office has been there for a number of years and it has done nothing in the past. I would suggest it won't be doing much in future either.
"Nick Griffin is one of our MEPs and a pretty insignificant one at the moment ashe doesn't seem to be doing a lot. However, if he wants to come and sort the problems any Burnley people are having with the European Parliament then so be it. I hope he does hold surgeries there and helps deliver what the people of Burnley want," he said.
"The office is important as it will bring local people closer to their MEP," said Mr Griffin, who was dramatically refused entry to the Queen's Garden Party at Buckingham Palace yesterday where Mayor of Burnley Coun. Tony Lambert and his wife, Brenda, were guests.
"Burnley has a special place in the history of the British National Party as it was here we made our political breakthrough when winning three seats on Burnley Council in 2002."
Mr Griffin was elected to Brussels last year even though the BNP polled fewer votes in the region than it had in 2004 – winning a seat through the system of proportional representation used in the European elections. He promised then he would be opening an office in Burnley in the near future.
The BNP has used an office within the Yorke Street building since 2002 but recently moved to two new offices within the same complex.
Leader of the Burnley BNP party Coun. Sharon Wilkinson said: "When Nick first got elected as MEP he said he was going to set up an office in Burnley and he's kept his word. It will be funded with Nick's European funding. We will be getting some of the Euro staff here as well which means we will be able to help more local people with their problems."
Burnley Express
The highly-controversial politician officially opened his "Euro office" on Saturday in Yorke Street where he will spend time in his role as a Member of the European Parliament for the North-West.
Mr Griffin believes Burnley holds a "special place" in the party's history and it is thought he will hold surgeries at the address in the coming months.
Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle said democracy meant Mr Griffin was entitled to set up stall in the town. "The office has been there for a number of years and it has done nothing in the past. I would suggest it won't be doing much in future either.
"Nick Griffin is one of our MEPs and a pretty insignificant one at the moment ashe doesn't seem to be doing a lot. However, if he wants to come and sort the problems any Burnley people are having with the European Parliament then so be it. I hope he does hold surgeries there and helps deliver what the people of Burnley want," he said.
"The office is important as it will bring local people closer to their MEP," said Mr Griffin, who was dramatically refused entry to the Queen's Garden Party at Buckingham Palace yesterday where Mayor of Burnley Coun. Tony Lambert and his wife, Brenda, were guests.
"Burnley has a special place in the history of the British National Party as it was here we made our political breakthrough when winning three seats on Burnley Council in 2002."
Mr Griffin was elected to Brussels last year even though the BNP polled fewer votes in the region than it had in 2004 – winning a seat through the system of proportional representation used in the European elections. He promised then he would be opening an office in Burnley in the near future.
The BNP has used an office within the Yorke Street building since 2002 but recently moved to two new offices within the same complex.
Leader of the Burnley BNP party Coun. Sharon Wilkinson said: "When Nick first got elected as MEP he said he was going to set up an office in Burnley and he's kept his word. It will be funded with Nick's European funding. We will be getting some of the Euro staff here as well which means we will be able to help more local people with their problems."
Burnley Express
Peter Tatchell confronts BNP's Nick Griffin (UK)
Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has confronted BNP leader Nick Griffin, calling him a "gutless coward".
Mr. Griffin was emerging from BBC studios at Westminster when Mr. Tatchell approached him and asked him to apologise for what he called the BNP's long history of anti-semitism, homophobia and anti-islamic views.
Two of Mr. Griffin's entourage then grabbed and pushed Mr. Tatchell as the BNP leader left the building.
BBC News
Mr. Griffin was emerging from BBC studios at Westminster when Mr. Tatchell approached him and asked him to apologise for what he called the BNP's long history of anti-semitism, homophobia and anti-islamic views.
Two of Mr. Griffin's entourage then grabbed and pushed Mr. Tatchell as the BNP leader left the building.
BBC News
Right-wing group clashes with Muslims in Luton
Trouble flared after Kevin Carroll, 41, lost at appeal at Luton Crown Court to overturn a conviction for using threatening behaviour at an earlier demonstration.
Up to 80 officers had to keep a group of Carroll's supporters, chanting 'EDL', separate from opposition protesters.
During the violence objects including ashtrays and a knife were thrown.
Carroll had objected to Muslim demonstrators who had shouted abuse at British soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment, during a homecoming parade in the town in March last year.
They had shouted "British soldiers go to hell" and called them "butchers of Basra".
Carroll verbally retaliated, swearing at the protesters and singing "bin Laden's mother is a whore".
He was charged and subsequently convicted of using threatening words and behaviour likely to to cause fear harassment and alarm. He was given a conditional discharge.
Following his failed appeal, he told a crowd of supporters that people like him were being "treated like enemies of the state".
He said: "Thank you patriots and people of our great democracy for supporting me.
"God Bless our Troops, God save the Queen."
Telegraph
Up to 80 officers had to keep a group of Carroll's supporters, chanting 'EDL', separate from opposition protesters.
During the violence objects including ashtrays and a knife were thrown.
Carroll had objected to Muslim demonstrators who had shouted abuse at British soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment, during a homecoming parade in the town in March last year.
They had shouted "British soldiers go to hell" and called them "butchers of Basra".
Carroll verbally retaliated, swearing at the protesters and singing "bin Laden's mother is a whore".
He was charged and subsequently convicted of using threatening words and behaviour likely to to cause fear harassment and alarm. He was given a conditional discharge.
Following his failed appeal, he told a crowd of supporters that people like him were being "treated like enemies of the state".
He said: "Thank you patriots and people of our great democracy for supporting me.
"God Bless our Troops, God save the Queen."
Telegraph
Nick Griffin denounces decision to ban him from garden party
Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, was barred from attending a garden party at Buckingham Palace yesterday after being accused of using the event for "overtly" political purposes.
The far-right leader, had been invited to the event hosted by the Queen, in his capacity as a Member of the European Parliament and had been expected to attend with his wife and children.
But in an eleventh hour decision, announced just hours before guests began arriving, Palace officials said his invitation had been revoked.
It was claimed Mr Griffin, who represents North West England in the European Parliament, had been using his attendance at the event to promote the BNP after giving a television interview and posting a message on his party’s website describing the invitation as “highly symbolic”.
Palace officials said his actions had raised security concerns and could cause discomfort for other attendees.
A Palace spokesman said: “Nick Griffin MEP will be denied entry to today's Garden Party at Buckingham Palace due to the fact he has overtly used his personal invitation for Party political purposes through the media
“This in turn has increased the security threat and the potential discomfort to the many other guests also attending.
“Mr Griffin's personal invitation was issued to him as an elected Member of the European Parliament. The decision to deny him entry is not intended to show any disrespect to the democratic process by which the invitation was issued.
“However, we would apply the same rules to anyone who tried to blatantly politicise their attendance in this way.”
Mr Griffin condemned the decision as an “outrage” and "anti-British" and accused the Government of orchestrating the move.
The BNP leader said: “This is quite amazing news. At no time was I informed that I wasn't allowed to talk to the media about this. Other people have talked about attending. Why a double standard here?
“To say that one person in the country cannot speak to the media is an outrage.”
He added: “The move has obviously been made under pressure from the ConDem regime who are desperate for any reason to bar the BNP. I am held to a different standard to everyone else in the country – that is thoroughly anti-British.”
But his inclusion on the 8,000 strong guest list had already caused controversy with many mainstream politicians condemning the invitation.
In the Commons Tory MP Julian Lewis said Mr Griffin should have never been invited to the Palace in the first place.
He said some people did not wish to "rub shoulders with neo-Nazis" at garden parties.
Andrew Brons, the BNP’s MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, was allowed to attend the event after Palace officials said he had not sought to make political capital out of his invitation.
Last night the Palace’s handling of the affair was under the spotlight with some suggesting it had resulted in a publicity boost for the party.
As well as the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, other members of the Royal Family attending included the Duke of York, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent.
Mr Griffin, who was eligible for a ticket as an elected MEP, was invited last year as a guest of party colleague Richard Barnbrook – a member of the London Assembly – but pulled out after a public outcry.
A Unite Against Fascism spokesman said they were delighted by the Palace's decision to bar Mr Griffin.
He added: "I think this is a fantastic decision that's been taken. the invitation in the first place was a blow for those who suffered in the Holocaust and more recently those who have suffered at the hands of racists and homophobes.
"The fact he was invited anyway is a little bit concerning. The Palace needs to understand and the establishment in general, who are giving these privileges, that the whole point of him being so excited about going is because it gives him the chance to legitimise himself."
The decision was taken by a handful of the most senior members of the Royal household, including Christopher Geidt, the Queen's private secretary, who took advice from the Metropolitan Police about the possibility of Mr Griffin's attendance causing public disorder outside the Palace.
One Royal source denied the decision - which gave Mr Griffin blanket coverage on TV news channels - had backfired, saying: "He got an awful lot of publicity before we said he wouldn't be allowed in, and we've got to look at the bigger picture. He was turning it into a party political statement.
"We had a lot of information about marches and people protesting outside the railings, and also we have to think about how it's going to affect the other people at the garden party.
"We couldn't make this decision any earlier because we had to wait and see how much mileage he was getting out of it. It wasn't a decision which was against the BNP, because we had Andrew Brons inside the garden, who didn't try to use it for publicity. If Nick Griffin had done the same he might have been enjoying tea with the family.
"A lot of people at the party said they were glad he wasn't there because they wanted their visit to be about them, not Mr Griffin."
The Telegraph
The far-right leader, had been invited to the event hosted by the Queen, in his capacity as a Member of the European Parliament and had been expected to attend with his wife and children.
But in an eleventh hour decision, announced just hours before guests began arriving, Palace officials said his invitation had been revoked.
It was claimed Mr Griffin, who represents North West England in the European Parliament, had been using his attendance at the event to promote the BNP after giving a television interview and posting a message on his party’s website describing the invitation as “highly symbolic”.
Palace officials said his actions had raised security concerns and could cause discomfort for other attendees.
A Palace spokesman said: “Nick Griffin MEP will be denied entry to today's Garden Party at Buckingham Palace due to the fact he has overtly used his personal invitation for Party political purposes through the media
“This in turn has increased the security threat and the potential discomfort to the many other guests also attending.
“Mr Griffin's personal invitation was issued to him as an elected Member of the European Parliament. The decision to deny him entry is not intended to show any disrespect to the democratic process by which the invitation was issued.
“However, we would apply the same rules to anyone who tried to blatantly politicise their attendance in this way.”
Mr Griffin condemned the decision as an “outrage” and "anti-British" and accused the Government of orchestrating the move.
The BNP leader said: “This is quite amazing news. At no time was I informed that I wasn't allowed to talk to the media about this. Other people have talked about attending. Why a double standard here?
“To say that one person in the country cannot speak to the media is an outrage.”
He added: “The move has obviously been made under pressure from the ConDem regime who are desperate for any reason to bar the BNP. I am held to a different standard to everyone else in the country – that is thoroughly anti-British.”
But his inclusion on the 8,000 strong guest list had already caused controversy with many mainstream politicians condemning the invitation.
In the Commons Tory MP Julian Lewis said Mr Griffin should have never been invited to the Palace in the first place.
He said some people did not wish to "rub shoulders with neo-Nazis" at garden parties.
Andrew Brons, the BNP’s MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, was allowed to attend the event after Palace officials said he had not sought to make political capital out of his invitation.
Last night the Palace’s handling of the affair was under the spotlight with some suggesting it had resulted in a publicity boost for the party.
As well as the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, other members of the Royal Family attending included the Duke of York, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent.
Mr Griffin, who was eligible for a ticket as an elected MEP, was invited last year as a guest of party colleague Richard Barnbrook – a member of the London Assembly – but pulled out after a public outcry.
A Unite Against Fascism spokesman said they were delighted by the Palace's decision to bar Mr Griffin.
He added: "I think this is a fantastic decision that's been taken. the invitation in the first place was a blow for those who suffered in the Holocaust and more recently those who have suffered at the hands of racists and homophobes.
"The fact he was invited anyway is a little bit concerning. The Palace needs to understand and the establishment in general, who are giving these privileges, that the whole point of him being so excited about going is because it gives him the chance to legitimise himself."
The decision was taken by a handful of the most senior members of the Royal household, including Christopher Geidt, the Queen's private secretary, who took advice from the Metropolitan Police about the possibility of Mr Griffin's attendance causing public disorder outside the Palace.
One Royal source denied the decision - which gave Mr Griffin blanket coverage on TV news channels - had backfired, saying: "He got an awful lot of publicity before we said he wouldn't be allowed in, and we've got to look at the bigger picture. He was turning it into a party political statement.
"We had a lot of information about marches and people protesting outside the railings, and also we have to think about how it's going to affect the other people at the garden party.
"We couldn't make this decision any earlier because we had to wait and see how much mileage he was getting out of it. It wasn't a decision which was against the BNP, because we had Andrew Brons inside the garden, who didn't try to use it for publicity. If Nick Griffin had done the same he might have been enjoying tea with the family.
"A lot of people at the party said they were glad he wasn't there because they wanted their visit to be about them, not Mr Griffin."
The Telegraph
Obama says sorry to Shirley Sherrod, wrongly accused of racism
SHIRLEY Sherrod has received the biggest "I'm sorry" of all from a contrite President Barack Obama, who personally appealed to the wrongly accused Agriculture Department worker to come back.
Ms Sherrod was forced to resign on Monday because of comments she made at a civil rights gathering.
Mr Obama has asked her to rejoin the federal government and transform "this misfortune" into a chance to use her life experiences to help people, said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.
Mr Obama had stayed out of the public brouhaha that followed Ms Sherrod's ouster from the Agriculture Department after a conservative blogger posted a truncated clip of the black woman's comments and portrayed her as racist.
Once it became clear that the speech was advocating racial reconciliation, not racism, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack apologised to her and offered her a new job on Wednesday.
Mr Gibbs also apologised publicly "for the entire administration".
On Thursday morning, Mr Obama spoke by phone with Ms Sherrod and said he hoped she would accept Agriculture's offer of a new position, Mr Gibbs said. He added that Mr Obama thought Ms Sherrod was "very gracious".
Ms Sherrod said she had not decided whether to return, but she did accept the apologies.
In an excerpt of an ABC News interview broadcast on Thursday, Mr Obama said Mr Vilsack had been too quick to seek Ms Sherrod's dismissal.
"He jumped the gun, partly because we now live in this media culture where something goes up on YouTube or a blog and everybody scrambles," Mr Obama said.
The president said he had instructed "my team" to make sure "that we're focusing on doing the right thing instead of what looks to be politically necessary at that very moment. We have to take our time and think these issues through."
As top government officials begged for her forgiveness, Ms Sherrod did not shy away from telling her story on television. She hopped from network to network, even chatting with the ladies of ABC's The View and letting CNN film part of her call with Mr Obama as she travelled the streets of New York City in a car.
Even the president of the United States had a hard time getting to Ms Sherrod while she did interviews.
Mr Obama had tried to reach her twice Wednesday night but could not, said a White House official. She was on a plane travelling from Atlanta to New York, where she appeared on several morning shows.
Ms Sherrod was forced to resign as director of rural development in the southern state of Georgia after the clip appeared on a blog of her speech to a local meeting of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She was talking of her initial reluctance 24 years ago to help a poor white farmer seeking government assistance. She worked for a non-government organisation at the time.
The full clip made clear that the vignette was setting the scene for her main point, that race must play no part in helping others.
The NAACP, which had at first condemned her remarks, then later apologised, posted the full 43-minute video showing the entire speech. The farmer in question also did interviews and said Ms Sherrod had helped him save his farm.
Conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart said he had posted a portion of Ms Sherrod's remarks to illustrate that racism exists in the NAACP, an argument he was using to counter allegations by the civil rights organisation of racism in a conservative movement called the tea parties.
"He was willing to destroy me ... in order to try to destroy the NAACP," Ms Sherrod said. She said she might consider suing Mr Breitbart for defamation.
Mr Vilsack, offering his remorse on Wednesday, told reporters: "This is a good woman. She's been through hell. ... I could have done and should have done a better job."
Herald Sun
Ms Sherrod was forced to resign on Monday because of comments she made at a civil rights gathering.
Mr Obama has asked her to rejoin the federal government and transform "this misfortune" into a chance to use her life experiences to help people, said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.
Mr Obama had stayed out of the public brouhaha that followed Ms Sherrod's ouster from the Agriculture Department after a conservative blogger posted a truncated clip of the black woman's comments and portrayed her as racist.
Once it became clear that the speech was advocating racial reconciliation, not racism, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack apologised to her and offered her a new job on Wednesday.
Mr Gibbs also apologised publicly "for the entire administration".
On Thursday morning, Mr Obama spoke by phone with Ms Sherrod and said he hoped she would accept Agriculture's offer of a new position, Mr Gibbs said. He added that Mr Obama thought Ms Sherrod was "very gracious".
Ms Sherrod said she had not decided whether to return, but she did accept the apologies.
In an excerpt of an ABC News interview broadcast on Thursday, Mr Obama said Mr Vilsack had been too quick to seek Ms Sherrod's dismissal.
"He jumped the gun, partly because we now live in this media culture where something goes up on YouTube or a blog and everybody scrambles," Mr Obama said.
The president said he had instructed "my team" to make sure "that we're focusing on doing the right thing instead of what looks to be politically necessary at that very moment. We have to take our time and think these issues through."
As top government officials begged for her forgiveness, Ms Sherrod did not shy away from telling her story on television. She hopped from network to network, even chatting with the ladies of ABC's The View and letting CNN film part of her call with Mr Obama as she travelled the streets of New York City in a car.
Even the president of the United States had a hard time getting to Ms Sherrod while she did interviews.
Mr Obama had tried to reach her twice Wednesday night but could not, said a White House official. She was on a plane travelling from Atlanta to New York, where she appeared on several morning shows.
Ms Sherrod was forced to resign as director of rural development in the southern state of Georgia after the clip appeared on a blog of her speech to a local meeting of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She was talking of her initial reluctance 24 years ago to help a poor white farmer seeking government assistance. She worked for a non-government organisation at the time.
The full clip made clear that the vignette was setting the scene for her main point, that race must play no part in helping others.
The NAACP, which had at first condemned her remarks, then later apologised, posted the full 43-minute video showing the entire speech. The farmer in question also did interviews and said Ms Sherrod had helped him save his farm.
Conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart said he had posted a portion of Ms Sherrod's remarks to illustrate that racism exists in the NAACP, an argument he was using to counter allegations by the civil rights organisation of racism in a conservative movement called the tea parties.
"He was willing to destroy me ... in order to try to destroy the NAACP," Ms Sherrod said. She said she might consider suing Mr Breitbart for defamation.
Mr Vilsack, offering his remorse on Wednesday, told reporters: "This is a good woman. She's been through hell. ... I could have done and should have done a better job."
Herald Sun
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Nick Griffin denied entry to Buckingham Palace garden party
The far right leader, who is a Member of the European Parliament, had been invited along with 8,000 other guests to the event which is being hosted by the Queen and attended by the Duke of Edinburgh.
But officials withdrew the invitation after warning his attendance could increase the security threat and cause discomfort for others attending.
A Palace spokesman said: “Nick Griffin MEP will be denied entry to today's Garden Party at Buckingham Palace due to the fact he has overtly used his personal invitation for Party political purposes through the media
“This in turn has increased the security threat and the potential discomfort to the many other guests also attending.
“Mr Griffin's personal invitation was issued to him as an elected Member of the European Parliament. The decision to deny him entry is not intended to show any disrespect to the democratic process by which the invitation was issued.
“However, we would apply the same rules to anyone who tried to blatantly politicise their attendance in this way.”
Other members of the Royal Family who were due to attend the event included the Duke of York, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent.
Mr Griffin described the decision as "an outrage" and "thoroughly anti-British".
The BNP leader said: "This is quite amazing news. At no time was I informed that I wasn't allowed to talk to the media about this. Other people have talked about attending. Why a double standard here?
"To say that one person in the country cannot speak to the media is an outrage."
Asked if he still intended to go to the palace, Mr Griffin initially said: "I don't know."
But he then added: "I'm not about to try and gatecrash the party, that is for sure."
Mr Griffin said he did not "blame the Queen" and claimed Buckingham Palace was under "enormous pressure from the Lib Con coalition" to withdraw his invite.
He maintained he had a mandate from a million British people and had a right to attend.
The BNP leader added: "I am held to a different standard to everyone else in the country - that is thoroughly anti-British."
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said later that BNP MEP Andrew Brons's invitation to today's garden party had not been revoked as he had not "exploited" it for political ends.
But Mr Griffin's guests - thought to be his wife and children - could not attend as he had been barred.
The Telegraph
Thirteen alleged neo-Nazis on trial in Moscow
A group of alleged Neo-Nazis is on trial in Moscow accused of killing dozens of people in ethnically-motivated crimes. Other charges they face include attempted terrorism and inciting ethnic dissension.
During the trial the prosecutors will state the indictment, while the accused will respond with their plea.
Possible sentences should the accused be found guilty range from years in jail to a life sentence.
Investigators claim the gang was part of the National-Socialist Society and wants to turn Russia into a Nazi state.
The society was subsequently banned for being extremist.
More information
Slowly getting better
Veronica Koroleva is a self-professed, deeply religious woman who is full of hate for those who are different. She despises immigrants and accuses them of occupying, disrespecting and contaminating her nation.
Russians she insists are fighting a race war motivated by love.
“Love for our homeland and our nation, love for our god. Pure families where people don't just date and then break up; but, rather, they get married in church; they don't practice abortions; they don't support inter-ethnic marriages,” Koroleva said.
“I believe everyone should live in their own homeland where they belong,” she reacted when seeing RT’s Staci Bivens.
Armed with this belief and inspired by racist bloggings, her husband Nikolay Korolev and two fellow students bombed Moscow’s Cherkizovsky market in 2006. They targeted it because of the number of traders that come from Central Asia and China. The blast killed 14.
Veronica’s husband is serving a life sentence for actions neither of them regrets and for a cause they both support.
Attacks against non-Slavic looking people are often brutal and, in cases like in Cherkizovsky market, they are deadly.
The deeds of angry mobs pummeling outnumbered victims are recorded by racists and then posted on nationalist websites.
Activists call the situation out of control, but Galina Kozhevnikova from SOVA Center for Information Analysis – a local, non-profit crime watchdog – does acknowledge it is slowly getting better.
“They started seizing the most odious groups that had been involved in systematic violence and terrorism. During the last two years, the largest formations in Moscow were dispelled, and the key activists and murderers were detained,” Kozhevnikova said.
She says 19 people have been killed due to hate crimes in 2010, which is down from 50 for the same time period last year.
However, that math does little to satisfy migrants, who feel self reliance is better than police protection.
“They won’t any longer walk alone, they will walk in crowds. People take care of their own safety. Law enforcement comes into action after a crime is committed, not before,” migrant labor rights activist Karomat Sharipov said.
RT News
During the trial the prosecutors will state the indictment, while the accused will respond with their plea.
Possible sentences should the accused be found guilty range from years in jail to a life sentence.
Investigators claim the gang was part of the National-Socialist Society and wants to turn Russia into a Nazi state.
The society was subsequently banned for being extremist.
More information
Slowly getting better
Veronica Koroleva is a self-professed, deeply religious woman who is full of hate for those who are different. She despises immigrants and accuses them of occupying, disrespecting and contaminating her nation.
Russians she insists are fighting a race war motivated by love.
“Love for our homeland and our nation, love for our god. Pure families where people don't just date and then break up; but, rather, they get married in church; they don't practice abortions; they don't support inter-ethnic marriages,” Koroleva said.
“I believe everyone should live in their own homeland where they belong,” she reacted when seeing RT’s Staci Bivens.
Armed with this belief and inspired by racist bloggings, her husband Nikolay Korolev and two fellow students bombed Moscow’s Cherkizovsky market in 2006. They targeted it because of the number of traders that come from Central Asia and China. The blast killed 14.
Veronica’s husband is serving a life sentence for actions neither of them regrets and for a cause they both support.
Attacks against non-Slavic looking people are often brutal and, in cases like in Cherkizovsky market, they are deadly.
The deeds of angry mobs pummeling outnumbered victims are recorded by racists and then posted on nationalist websites.
Activists call the situation out of control, but Galina Kozhevnikova from SOVA Center for Information Analysis – a local, non-profit crime watchdog – does acknowledge it is slowly getting better.
“They started seizing the most odious groups that had been involved in systematic violence and terrorism. During the last two years, the largest formations in Moscow were dispelled, and the key activists and murderers were detained,” Kozhevnikova said.
She says 19 people have been killed due to hate crimes in 2010, which is down from 50 for the same time period last year.
However, that math does little to satisfy migrants, who feel self reliance is better than police protection.
“They won’t any longer walk alone, they will walk in crowds. People take care of their own safety. Law enforcement comes into action after a crime is committed, not before,” migrant labor rights activist Karomat Sharipov said.
RT News
Hate crime website tackles five-per cent reporting statistic
Local support scheme Open Out – a third party reporting scheme that offers support, advice and information to the victims and witnesses of hate crime – launched openoutcambs.org in 2001 following the death of Stephen Lawrence, allowing members of the public to report incidents quickly and confidentially in order to access support.
But now they are reminding the public that it can also be used for gay hate crime.
“It is vital that anyone who hasbeen affected by this type of crime can get the help they need. We hope that this new website will make it easier for people to talk about what’s happened and access our service,” says Molly Blackburn, Open Out Co-ordinator.
If you or someone you know may have been affected by Hate Crime visit Open Out’s website: openoutcambs.orgor call: 01223 823553.
Pink News
OSCE rights office, Holocaust education task force formalize co-operation on combating anti-Semitism
The Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, today formalized the office's partnership with the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research (ITF) by signing, together with ITF chair Dan Tichon, a memorandum of understanding aimed at intensifying joint efforts to combat anti-Semitism.
At the signing ceremony in Jerusalem, Lenarcic stressed that ODIHR and the ITF, currently chaired by Israel, can build on several years of fruitful co-operation: "With the signing of this memorandum, we want to open a new chapter in our common work to promote Holocaust education."
Earlier this year, ODIHR published an overview of government activities on Holocaust memorial days across the OSCE region, which was developed in co-operation with the ITF. In November 2008, ODIHR and the ITF jointly hosted a meeting with international organizations in Vienna marking the 70th anniversary of the November pogroms in 1938.
ODIHR is tasked by OSCE participating States to advise them in their efforts to combat anti-Semitism. Participating States have repeatedly stressed the importance of education on anti-Semitism and committed themselves to encourage educational programmes in that field.
OSCE.org
At the signing ceremony in Jerusalem, Lenarcic stressed that ODIHR and the ITF, currently chaired by Israel, can build on several years of fruitful co-operation: "With the signing of this memorandum, we want to open a new chapter in our common work to promote Holocaust education."
Earlier this year, ODIHR published an overview of government activities on Holocaust memorial days across the OSCE region, which was developed in co-operation with the ITF. In November 2008, ODIHR and the ITF jointly hosted a meeting with international organizations in Vienna marking the 70th anniversary of the November pogroms in 1938.
ODIHR is tasked by OSCE participating States to advise them in their efforts to combat anti-Semitism. Participating States have repeatedly stressed the importance of education on anti-Semitism and committed themselves to encourage educational programmes in that field.
OSCE.org
With an eye toward cooperation, recalling the Holocaust heroism of Muslims
Shortly after, when Josef Kavilio thought the family could be moved to safety, the Kavilios relocated to Mostar, an area under Italian control, but Josef stayed behind. He was arrested by the Nazis and held captive in chains in the freezing snow.
Hardaga's wife, Zejneba, found Kavilio and smuggled him food until she could help him escape to safety, where he stayed with the Hardaga family again. Kavilio later rejoined his family, but their relative security did not last. When the area fell under German control, the Kavilios again sought refuge with the Hardagas.
Decades later the Kavilios, by now living in Israel, petitioned the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem to recognize the Hardagas’ bravery and name them Righteous Gentiles.
Later, when Yugoslavia broke up and the region descended into war in the 1990s, the Hardaga family was rescued from Sarajevo and brought to Israel in 1994.
The story of the two families is among eight told in a new booklet produced by a British interfaith dialogue group and called “The Role of Righteous Muslims.” The 30-page booklet, produced by Faith Matters, focuses on stories of Muslims helping Jews during the Holocaust and is being distributed to educators, synagogues and mosques as a model for positive Muslim-Jewish interaction.
“We wanted to try to look at something that could bring greater understanding in both communities in the UK,” the director of Faith Matters, Fiyaz Mughal, told JTA. “We’re looking for bridging points, and we thought this fits the perspective of mutual understanding and shared history.”
Mughal said his organization detected a rift between the Jewish and Muslim communities in Europe and saw this booklet, which took the better part of a year to produce, as an opportunity to address it.
Jews see Muslims as inclined toward violence and uninterested in engagement, discussion of the Holocaust or mutual understanding, Mughal said. And, according to Mughal, Muslims believe that Jews don’t want Muslims to be heard. Muslims, he said, “feel that there is an overwhelming desire to protect the Middle East, and that the Jews don’t want to discuss anything else.”
By chronicling World War II stories in which Muslims went out of their way to help Jews -- 70 Muslims are named by Yad Vashem as “Righteous Among the Nations” for aiding Jews in North Africa, Turkey and Albania during the Nazi era -- the booklet aims to change those perceptions.
Aside from physically saving people, the Muslims whose stories are retold in the booklet helped preserve Jewish life and culture, helping Jews obtain kosher meat before the Saabbath or saving the famed Sarajevo Haggadah.
Mughal said he hopes the booklet will demonstrate to Muslims and Jews that “life is not black and white, straight and narrow.”
“The histories are different but are intertwined," he said. "Our shared histories can overcome feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.”
Faith Matters, which has posted the booklet on its website, is working with partner organizations in both communities to distribute the booklet and have it used in community settings by educators and by individual readers.
“It is short and was written in an easygoing style, so that it can be read in 20 minutes,” Mughal said. “We want people to absorb it without having to revisit it.”
JTA
Religious offence earns ban (UK)
A 51 YEAR-old Brockmoor man has been handed a suspended prison sentence by Dudley Magistrates Court for religiously aggravated harassment.
Appearing on July 9, Kevin Peter Smith, of Leys Road, was jailed for eight weeks suspended for 12 months and ordered to pay £100 court costs, for intentionally displaying a sign, which caused religiously aggravated harassment towards the Muslim community.
The defendant was also handed an exclusion requirement, banning him from entering Castle Hill in Dudley for 12 months.
Dudley News
Appearing on July 9, Kevin Peter Smith, of Leys Road, was jailed for eight weeks suspended for 12 months and ordered to pay £100 court costs, for intentionally displaying a sign, which caused religiously aggravated harassment towards the Muslim community.
The defendant was also handed an exclusion requirement, banning him from entering Castle Hill in Dudley for 12 months.
Dudley News
Neo-Nazi clothing label case doomed from the start (germany)
Thor Steinar’s manufacturer, Media Tex, vowed nonetheless to press on with its case, which is due to be settled August 11.
The satirical version, featuring a stork with a silly Hitler-style moustache and haircut, is the work of the Social Democratic activist organisation Endstation Rechts, which aims to fight right-wing extremism in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Its shirts, which have sold well since being launched in 2008, also bear mocking anti-fascist slogans such as “Der Führer had only one egg.”
MediaTex, however, believes its brand is being damaged and its products ridiculed, and is therefore suing Endstation Rechts in Nuremberg.
But at the very beginning of the hearing, judge Horst Rottmann said there was not sufficient similarity between the stork and the Thor Steinar logo, which was therefore not being damaged.
The same went for the names: “Stork” and “Thor” aroused completely different associations, Rottmann said.
Rottmann also gave the Storch Heinar label latitude on artistic freedom grounds, pointing out that the intent of founder Mathias Brodkorb, an MP for the centre-left Social Democrats in the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was satire, not to make a profit.
The Local Germany
Griffin set to attend royal garden party (UK)
The far-right politician intends to take three members of his family to the event in his capacity as an MEP for the North West.
Last year Mr Griffin withdrew from attending a similar event out of fear of embarrassing the Queen.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman confirmed that as an MEP Mr Griffin was eligible to nominate himself to attend a garden party, as part of the allocation of tickets to the European Parliament.
In 2009 Mr Griffin was invited to attend a Buckingham Palace garden party by his BNP colleague Richard Barnbrook who, as a London Assembly member, was nominated for two tickets by the Greater London Authority (GLA).
He bowed out of the event following a wave of public protest.
ITN News
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
EDL protest bill tops half-a-million pounds (UK)
Taxpayers face an eyewatering bill of more than half-a-million pounds after the latest English Defence League (EDL) protest in Dudley.
The return of the controversial EDL, on Saturday July 17, cost Dudley Council £150,000 to fund additional staff plus facilities including toilets and fencing as well as preparation work in the protest zone.
West Midlands Police are also counting the cost of the rally, 900 officers from around the UK were involved in Operation Belvedere to contain an estimated 500 EDL members on Stafford Street car park and prevent confrontation with anti-fascist activists at a counter demonstration in Tower Street.
The force believes the operation will set the public back by £400,000.
Councillor Anne Millward, leader of Dudley Council, said: “Dudley Council does not have the powers to ban this protest but we have made it clear from the outset that we are opposed to the EDL and have worked closely with the police to do all we could to protect, reassure and support local people.”
Town traders were left paying a hefty price in lost business after many premises, including the market, closed amid fears the demonstration would become violent.
Cllr Millward said: “Honest, hard working people who run local shops and businesses have again been hit as hard as anyone by the EDL’s pointless protest.
“While we were encouraged to see some open for business, many were again forced to close.”
Trouble flared during the protest when a group of EDL supporters attempted to break through police lines and, later in the day, officers in riot gear clashed with protestors throwing cans, bottles and bricks.
There were also incidents away from the official protest site during the day.
A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: “Around 20 offences have been recorded to date, of criminal damage caused to cars and premises.
“Amongst the premises attacked were residential homes around Alexandra Street, cars parked in roads surrounding Stafford Street, restaurants on Wolverhampton Street and the Hindu Temple.
“Many of these locations saw windows smashed, and damage caused to fencing. A couple of vehicles were damaged as they were targeted whilst being driven through the town.”
A total of 21 people were arrested during the protest for alleged offences including 17 for violent disorder, two for affray, one for a public order offence and one for possessing an offensive weapon.
Cllr Millward said: “Yet again this group of outside extremists have shown they are incapable of demonstrating peacefully and have brought public disorder and violence to our town.”
Stourbridge News
The return of the controversial EDL, on Saturday July 17, cost Dudley Council £150,000 to fund additional staff plus facilities including toilets and fencing as well as preparation work in the protest zone.
West Midlands Police are also counting the cost of the rally, 900 officers from around the UK were involved in Operation Belvedere to contain an estimated 500 EDL members on Stafford Street car park and prevent confrontation with anti-fascist activists at a counter demonstration in Tower Street.
The force believes the operation will set the public back by £400,000.
Councillor Anne Millward, leader of Dudley Council, said: “Dudley Council does not have the powers to ban this protest but we have made it clear from the outset that we are opposed to the EDL and have worked closely with the police to do all we could to protect, reassure and support local people.”
Town traders were left paying a hefty price in lost business after many premises, including the market, closed amid fears the demonstration would become violent.
Cllr Millward said: “Honest, hard working people who run local shops and businesses have again been hit as hard as anyone by the EDL’s pointless protest.
“While we were encouraged to see some open for business, many were again forced to close.”
Trouble flared during the protest when a group of EDL supporters attempted to break through police lines and, later in the day, officers in riot gear clashed with protestors throwing cans, bottles and bricks.
There were also incidents away from the official protest site during the day.
A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: “Around 20 offences have been recorded to date, of criminal damage caused to cars and premises.
“Amongst the premises attacked were residential homes around Alexandra Street, cars parked in roads surrounding Stafford Street, restaurants on Wolverhampton Street and the Hindu Temple.
“Many of these locations saw windows smashed, and damage caused to fencing. A couple of vehicles were damaged as they were targeted whilst being driven through the town.”
A total of 21 people were arrested during the protest for alleged offences including 17 for violent disorder, two for affray, one for a public order offence and one for possessing an offensive weapon.
Cllr Millward said: “Yet again this group of outside extremists have shown they are incapable of demonstrating peacefully and have brought public disorder and violence to our town.”
Stourbridge News
FIRST MIGRANTS LAND IN ALMOST A YEAR (Malta)
Times of Malta
Germany remembers Stauffenberg on execution anniversary (Germany)
 |
| Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg |
July 20 marks the 66th anniversary of the execution of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, the German army officer and leader of a resistance movement that very nearly assassinated Adolf Hitler in 1944.
The large number of politicians, senior military officers, reporters, and representatives of various memorial organizations present at Tuesday's ceremony are a testament to the importance Germany still attaches to the resistance movement that crystallized around Stauffenberg during World War Two.
The resistance hero was executed along with four of his co-conspirators in the courtyard of the Bendlerblock building, and the first commemoration took place here in 1952, under the supervision of Ernst Reuter, Berlin's first post-war mayor.
Reuter's central message that day – that the failure of Stauffenberg's plot did not mar its moral importance for Germans after the war – was taken up by the current mayor, Klaus Wowereit, as his own guiding theme.
'Their work was not in vain' - Ernst Reuter's sentence has become the motto of this commemoration in the past 58 years," Wowereit said in his speech. "By their actions, the women and men of the resistance set ethical benchmarks, and so became role models."
German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg echoed the mayor's sentiments, and spoke of the emotional intensity with which the resistance movement's actions still resonate directly today. "They show us living today that even in the darkest days of dictatorship, there was another, a better Germany," he said.
The mutiny that defined the German army
But the most impressive speech was delivered by the venerable US historian Fritz Stern, who spoke of the vital legacy that the resistance bequeathed to the German army. "The idea of a citizen in uniform is the role model of the German army," he said. "The warning that even a soldier must follow his conscience – to the point of disobedience – is the legacy of the resistance."
Drawing comparisons with the French resistance, Stern also spoke of the new, wider perspective with which the German resistance movement is being regarded in Europe, and quoted former French Europe Minister Noelle Lenoir, who honored one of Stauffenberg's surviving co-conspirators - Philipp von Boeselager - in 2004 with generous words. "With their blood, they wrote one of the most heroic and horrifying pages of German history," Lenoir had said, "Their sacrifice did not spare Germany, but it saved Germany's honor." Stern called this, "A striking tribute!"
After his speech, the military band and the laying of wreaths, Stern warned that the commemoration of resistance fighters should not be reinterpreted for modern political purposes.
"It should never be, as the saying goes, instrumentalized," he told Deutsche Welle. "It shouldn't be manipulated. People should know about it, recognize it and honor it. Period."
DW-World
Anger over right-wing call for ban on burka (UK)
Calls to ban burkas by the Exeter chairman of a far right- wing movement have sparked an angry reaction in the city.
As reported in the Echo there are fears that the English Defence League is growing in popularity, with several meetings now held in the city and hundreds signed up to a Facebook group in support.
The group, which claims to be non-racially or politically motivated, has seen violence at many of its demonstrations around the country, with the latest in Dudley at the weekend resulting in scores of arrests.
It was formed just over a year ago to fight "Islamic fundamentalists" but it is feared the more followers it attracts in Exeter the more chance of a repeat of the shocking attack on a Muslim woman on the Exe Bridges recently.
The chairman of its Exeter division, Jim Myers, a door supervisor in the city, has sparked further controversy by saying Britain needed to follow the French lead and ban the burka.
He said: "If the British wear the EDL hoodie it is classed as anti-social but the burka can be worn and they class it as religion. If you go into a bar or a shop wearing a crash helmet you have to take it off for security reasons, so what is the difference? The French are banning the burka, and I think we should as well."
A ban on women covering their faces with the burka in public is going through the French parliament and a Private Member's Bill has been tabled in the Commons calling for Britain to follow suit.
But Immigration Minister Damian Green told the Echo a ban would be unlikely in the UK, because it would be at odds with the UK's "tolerant and mutually respectful society".
He said: "Telling people what they can and can't wear, if they're just walking down the street, is a rather un-British thing to do. We're a tolerant and mutually respectful society."
His views were echoed by Lizi Allnatt, of the Exeter branch of Unite Against Fascism, who voiced concerns that the EDL was exploiting the issue to promote an anti-Muslim agenda.
She said: "I really don't think the public are that concerned by the issue of the burka. I just get very concerned when the EDL starts talking about the Muslim community, as we know how anti-Muslim they are.
"When the ordinary person on the street has a problem with it, it might be the time to look at the issue. But this is just part and parcel of the way they use an anti-Islamic agenda to whip feelings up.
"The EDL's merchandise page includes a face mask and burka-style hoodie. Muslims who do wear the burka would argue that they are doing so as part of their culture or religion, whereas the only reason the EDL wear it is so that they won't so easily be identified by the police on their violent protests."
No one from the Exeter Islamic Centre was available to comment on the issue.
This is Exeter
As reported in the Echo there are fears that the English Defence League is growing in popularity, with several meetings now held in the city and hundreds signed up to a Facebook group in support.
The group, which claims to be non-racially or politically motivated, has seen violence at many of its demonstrations around the country, with the latest in Dudley at the weekend resulting in scores of arrests.
It was formed just over a year ago to fight "Islamic fundamentalists" but it is feared the more followers it attracts in Exeter the more chance of a repeat of the shocking attack on a Muslim woman on the Exe Bridges recently.
The chairman of its Exeter division, Jim Myers, a door supervisor in the city, has sparked further controversy by saying Britain needed to follow the French lead and ban the burka.
He said: "If the British wear the EDL hoodie it is classed as anti-social but the burka can be worn and they class it as religion. If you go into a bar or a shop wearing a crash helmet you have to take it off for security reasons, so what is the difference? The French are banning the burka, and I think we should as well."
A ban on women covering their faces with the burka in public is going through the French parliament and a Private Member's Bill has been tabled in the Commons calling for Britain to follow suit.
But Immigration Minister Damian Green told the Echo a ban would be unlikely in the UK, because it would be at odds with the UK's "tolerant and mutually respectful society".
He said: "Telling people what they can and can't wear, if they're just walking down the street, is a rather un-British thing to do. We're a tolerant and mutually respectful society."
His views were echoed by Lizi Allnatt, of the Exeter branch of Unite Against Fascism, who voiced concerns that the EDL was exploiting the issue to promote an anti-Muslim agenda.
She said: "I really don't think the public are that concerned by the issue of the burka. I just get very concerned when the EDL starts talking about the Muslim community, as we know how anti-Muslim they are.
"When the ordinary person on the street has a problem with it, it might be the time to look at the issue. But this is just part and parcel of the way they use an anti-Islamic agenda to whip feelings up.
"The EDL's merchandise page includes a face mask and burka-style hoodie. Muslims who do wear the burka would argue that they are doing so as part of their culture or religion, whereas the only reason the EDL wear it is so that they won't so easily be identified by the police on their violent protests."
No one from the Exeter Islamic Centre was available to comment on the issue.
This is Exeter
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