Geert Wilders trial halted as lawyer accuses judge of bias

Dutch far-right leader's advocate challenges presiding judge's comment on opening day of Wilders ' trial for inciting racial hatred.

Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Freedom party and one of Europe's leading Islam-baiters, went on trial  today charged with hate speech and inciting racism, but the case was swiftly engulfed by uncertainty after a challenge over alleged judges' bias.

The opening of the trial, expected to last a month in Amsterdam, followed a successful weekend for the maverick Dutch politician, with his influence over a new rightwing government confirmed and a campaign speech in Germany aimed at establishing a trans-national European movement against Muslim immigration.
Wilders entered the dock amid heavy security and promptly affirmed his commitment to free speech, dismissing the charges against him while not entering a plea.

He faces a hefty fine or a year in jail if found guilty on five charges of inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims and insulting their religion for likening, as he routinely does, the Qur'an to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf and describing Islam as fascist.

"I am on trial, but on trial with me is the freedom of expression of many Dutch citizens," he told the Amsterdam district court. "I can assure you, I will continue proclaiming it."

Wilders then asserted his right to remain silent for the rest of the trial, prompting a comment from the presiding judge, Jan Moors, which was challenged by Wilders's lawyer.

Moors said Wilders was known for making bold statements but avoiding discussions, adding: "It appears you're doing so again."

Bram Moszkowicz, representing Wilders, said the comment gave the appearance that Moors was biased and moved to have him substituted.

The hearing was suspended while other judges consider the complaint. They are to rule tomorrow on Wilders's challenge, meaning that a new panel of three judges could be appointed, delaying the trial by several months.

"I thought I had a right to a fair trial, including the right to remain silent," said Wilders. "It is scandalous that the judge passes comment on that. A fair trial is not possible with judges like that."

At the weekend, rather than comparing Islam to fascism, Wilders argued that Islam was the new communism, paraphrasing Karl Marx to declare that Islam is now the spectre haunting Europe.

Relishing a role as a martyr for liberty and free speech, he stated: "I am standing trial … because of my opinions on Islam … and because the Dutch establishment – most of them non-Muslims – wants to silence me. I have been dragged to court because in my country freedom can no longer be fully enjoyed.
"In Europe the national state, and increasingly the EU, prescribes how citizens – including democratically elected politicians such as myself – should think and what we are allowed to say."

The attempt to bring Wilders to trial was initially dismissed, but an appeals court ruled he should face charges after he wrote an opinion piece in a Dutch newspaper stating: "I've had enough of Islam in the Netherlands; let not one more Muslim immigrate … I've had enough of the Qur'an in the Netherlands. Forbid that fascist book."

He makes such statements on a weekly basis and was banned from entering Britain for reasons of hate speech under the Brown government. The ban was later lifted.

Two years ago, in an interview with the Guardian, he said: "Islam is something we can't afford any more in the Netherlands. I want the fascist Qur'an banned. We need to stop the Islamisation of the Netherlands. That means no more mosques, no more Islamic schools, no more imams." He added that Islam was "the ideology of a retarded culture".

"Not all Muslims are terrorists, but almost all terrorists are Muslims," said Wilders.

In Berlin at the weekend he argued that Islam was bent on dominating the west, deliberately flooding Europe with migrants.

"We must realise that Islam expands in two ways. Historically, Islam expanded either by military conquest or by using the weapon of hijra, immigration. Muhammad conquered Medina through immigration. Hijra is also what we are experiencing today. The Islamisation of Europe continues all the time. But the west has no strategy for dealing with the Islamic ideology, because our elites say that we must adapt to them rather than the other way round."

While Wilders was delivering his call in Berlin for a new "international freedom alliance" targeting Muslim immigration in Europe, Dutch Christian Democrats held their noses and committed to a new minority government with the rightwing liberal VVD party, which will depend on the backing of Wilders's 24 seats in the Dutch parliament.

In return for his support, Wilders has gained a binding agreement to ban the burqa, crack down on immigration, and pursue more Eurosceptic policies.

"This is an historic event for the Netherlands," he said. "We will be able to rebuild our country, preserve our national identity and offer our children a better future."

The new government is expected to be sworn in next month, led by Mark Rutte, the VVD leader, as prime minister.

The Guardian

Elections Committee says public radio's modifying Jobbik ad unlawful (Hungary)

The National Elections Committee said on Sunday that Hungarian public radio MR acted unlawfully when it added comments to a political ad of radical nationalist party Jobbik. A complaint had been submitted on behalf of Jobbik stating that the radio violated the principle of equality of the political parties during an election and rules on elections procedures when it broadcasted an opinion and comment before airing a controversial Jobbik ad. MR and public television MTV had previously refused to air Jobbik ads which contained the expression "Gypsy crime" but Hungary's Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the public media were obliged to broadcast the Jobbik party's ads. As a result, MR broadcast the ad but added its own comments to it. MR explained that they had previously refused to air the ad because "some of its statements violated constitutional principles," but since the National Elections Committee and the Supreme Court ruled that they were obliged to air the ad, MR had no other choice but to respect the court decision. According to the complaint, MR broadcast this comment before and after the Jobbik ad.

 Politics Hu

Dutch anti-Islamist MP Geert Wilders goes on trial

The Dutch anti-Islamist MP Geert Wilders has gone on trial in Amsterdam on charges of inciting hatred against Muslims. 

If found guilty, Mr Wilders could face up to a year in jail or a fine of up to 7,600 euros ($10,000).
The trial comes as Mr Wilders' political influence soars - he is set to be a shadow partner of the next coalition government.

He says the case against him a test of freedom of speech.

Mr Wilders will stand trial on five charges of inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims.

His statements have included calling Islam fascist and likening the Koran to Hitler's Mein Kampf.

Prosecutors say Mr Wilders committed the offences in his 17-minute film Fitna, which has sparked protests across the Muslim world.

He campaigns for a stop to Muslim immigration to the Netherlands, a ban on the construction of new mosques, and a tax on headscarves.

Mr Wilders was refused entry to Britain last year, after being invited to show his film in the House of Lords.
Due to numerous death threats, he is always surrounded by bodyguards.

Mr Wilders says his mission to stop the Islamisation of the Netherlands.

The judgement is expected on 4 November.

BBC News

Park51 drawings prove how far 'Ground Zero mosque' claims are from truth (USA)

Plans for $120m project suggest building will be a multifaith community centre, including gym and playground.

Judging by the criticism thrown at the Muslim centre planned for downtown Manhattan, you would think developers intended to build an Islamic citadel right on top of Ground Zero with "sponsored by al-Qaida" written on its front.

In fact, the proposed scheme for the much-slated "Ground Zero mosque" is neither a mosque nor at Ground Zero – it is a multifaith community centre with an Islamic prayer area, two blocks north of the site where the twin towers once stood. Now, conceptual drawings of the building have been released, revealing a planned structure that is strikingly modern and in keeping with the spirit of New York's most cutting-edge design.
Park51, named after its location on the site of an old coat factory in Park Place, would be a sleek 15-storey tower sandwiched between older buildings.

The most vivid element of the renderings, drawn by a New York-based design studio, Soma Architects, is the building's white frontage, which is broken up into a lattice of interlocking geometric shapes. At night, it would be lit up like a glistening honeycomb.

The device is a clear allusion to the intricate arabesque motifs found in Islamic architecture, and is reminiscent of the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, which shot the architect Jean Nouvel to fame in the 1980s. But it also pays homage to other religions, with the Jewish Star of David being clearly visible among its patterns.
Contrary to the mass of bad publicity that has been heaped on it in recent weeks, the building is designed to be multifaith and also secular.

Sharif el-Gamal, the developer of the $120m (£76m) project, told Associated Press that nearly a quarter of its space would be devoted to a sports and fitness centre, which, it is hoped, would attract New York residents of any faith and ethnicity for a fee of up to $2,700 a year per family. Another floor would be given over to a playground and childcare area.

In addition, there would be a restaurant and exhibition space, and on the 12th floor a memorial and sanctuary remembering the events of 11 September 2001 that would again be multidenominational.

"I don't think that once this thing gets built, anyone will be picketing," Gamal told AP.
The most controversial aspect of the scheme – its Muslim prayer space, which would occupy two floors in the basement – will not be a mosque at all as the construction of the building does not satisfy the stringent requirements for a sanctified mosque.

Seen from the inside, the renderings show the lattice work casting intricate shadows across the white floors, another allusion to arabesque design with its emphasis on naturally lit interiors.

The drawings are only a vision of how the building might go. An official architect for the project has yet to be appointed, and ground breaking on the construction will not begin for at least three years.

By then, the developer and the charity behind the project, the Cordoba Initiative, hope that the furore will have died down.
Gamal said that he regretted the way things had gone. "I would have done things a lot differently during this process if I understood what we were up against. People have been calling this the 'Ground Zero mosque'. It's not at Ground Zero and it's not a mosque. Our identity has been stolen from us. It has been stolen by extremists."

The attack has been led by Christian evangelical and rightwing political groups, who say Park51 is a "victory mosque", revelling in the glory of 9/11. In the most extreme case, this September, Pastor Terry Jones threatened to burn 200 Qur'ans in protest at the centre.

Could a building be less militantly Islamic? 
First illustrations of the 15-storey Park51 development planned to house the Islamic centre reveal a decidedly upbeat and glamorous building, more festive than threatening. These preliminary renderings by Soma, however, should be thought of as what might be rather than what definitely will. An architect has yet to be officially appointed.
Even so, the interiors – a honeycomb structure awash with daylight – look as if they could be uplifting and special. But then, you would expect something glamorous and fresh from Soma, a New York firm founded by the Lebanese-born Michel Abboud, who has recently completed the enjoyably hip Tartinery Nolita brasserie in SoHo.

Equally, at least four floors of Park51 are to be given over to a gym and spa, and only two basement floors to a Muslim prayer hall. With a restaurant, artists' studios and a childcare centre, this $140m building clad in an abstract play of Islamic patterns could hardly be less militantly hardcore. As one young man attending the nearby Sufi al-Farah mosque in lower Manhattan told the New York Times: "Because this is a new country, it revolutionises everything. Food, industry, philosophy and even religion." He might have added: "Islamic architecture, too."

The Guardian 

Family Claims Noose Found In Front Yard (USA)

A family is afraid to let its children play outside after finding what they believe to be a noose in the front yard of their home.

Jerry and Tawanna Youree said they discovered the rope hanging from a tree Thursday, 6News' Tanya Spencer reported. "Yesterday, when I came home, I noticed it hanging from the tree," Jerry Youree said. "That sounds like a racial hate crime, and if that's true, I've got little ones."

The Youree family moved into the home about three weeks ago and said Friday's discovery wasn't the first sign that they aren't welcomed by some. Tawanna Youree said people who are driving by the home have yelled racial slurs at her and her children and that the children were called names at a park nearby. "They yell, 'White power,' calling them (n-word) and monkeys and things like that, and it's scary. You know, it's real scary," she said. "My son, right now he's scared to go walk the dog, because he's getting racial slurs and people running up to him talking about white power, you need to move out of the neighborhood. It's really sad, grown men." Though new to the neighborhood, the Yourees have lived in Noblesville for four years. Their children are involved in sports, and they want to stay in the community. "They shouldn't be able to run me out of Noblesville. I love it here. We have rights," Tawanna Youree said. "This is a good place to raise kids, and this is where I want to stay." The Yourees said they called Noblesville police Friday, but that an officer didn't take a report, saying that it was clear to him that the rope was part of an old swing that may have recently blown down.

The Indy Channel

Document shows ex-French leader's anti-Semitism

A famed Holocaust historian says a recently uncovered 1940 document provides written proof of the personal involvement by the wartime leader of Nazi-occupied France in persecuting Jews.

Serge Klarsfeld told The Associated Press on Sunday that the document was given a few days ago to France's Holocaust Memorial museum by a donor who wanted to remain anonymous.

Klarsfeld says the document includes personal notes by the leader of the collaborationist Vichy regime, Philippe Petain, describing how authorities should target Jews, notably by keeping them out of public office and bar them from working in schools.

Klarsfeld says the document is "important" because it confirms Petain's personal role in determining the status of Jews at the time.

Associated press

Swiss far-right behind anti-Roma poster

The far-right Swiss People’s Party has admitted it is behind an advertising campaign that likens Roma migrants and Italians to rats.
Some sixty posters went up in the southern canton of Tessin, which borders Italy.

They show a Roma thief, an Italian worker and Italy’s Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti as rats nibbling at Swiss cheese.

The Swiss People’s Party or SVP is the largest single political party in parliament and part of Switzerland’s ruling coalition government.

Party official Pierre Rusconi said he had commissioned the campaign but said they reflected the real concerns of local people.

The adverts first appeared on Monday, but for days nobody claimed responsibility.

Italian MP Franco Narducci said he would be ask authorities to shut down all Internet sites and Facebook pages which published the poster.

The SVP has a reputation for provocative political campaigns.

It initiated a referendum on banning minarets last year, publishing pictures of burka-clad Muslim women with rockets strapped to their backs.
 
Euro-News

Police hunting racist thug who abused and threatened 62-year-old Chilean man changing tyre (UK)

Police are hunting a racist thug who verbally abused and threatened a 62-year-old Chilean man while the victim was changing his car's flat tyre.

The victim was on the city-bound lane of Exeter Street, in a safe parking spot near HSS Tool Hire at around 11am on September 25.

Police say that without any provocation he was approached by a man who became extremely racially abusive towards him, first telling the victim he could not park there before repeatedly hurling obscenities and racially abusing him.

The tirade continued for some time, with the suspect shouting obscenities at the top of his voice.

When the terrified victim pulled out his mobile phone to contact police the thug ran forward and kicked the phone out of the victim's hand.

It was only when a female member of the public stepped in between the victim and the attacker that he finally broke off his tirade, but not before threatening the woman.

Investigators say there were several people in the area at the time of the offence who undoubtedly heard the loud shouts and saw the attacker.

The suspect finally walked off in the direction of Cattedown.

Anyone with information about the incident is being asked to call police on 08452 777444 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 quoting crime reference number EC/10/9966.

This is Plymouth

Dutch politician Wilders draws protests in Berlin

Far-right Dutch populist politician Geert Wilders warned against the "Islamisation" of Europe and criticised  German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a speech in Berlin on Saturday that sparked public protests.

More than 500 people gathered to hear Wilders speak at the Hotel Berlin. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Berlin's police said over 100 people gathered for a protest against the anti-Islam politician's visit.

The demonstration, which was organised by the Social Democrats and an association opposed to extreme-right politics, passed off peacefully.

Protestors, outnumbered by around 250 police, brandished photos of the shock-blond Wilders that portrayed him with a moustache similar to that worn by Adolf Hitler.

In his speech at the Hotel Berlin, Wilders claimed Germany's national identity, democracy and prosperity were threatened by Islamic political ideology. "A Germany full of mosques and full of veiled women is no longer the Germany of Schiller and Heine, Bach and Mendelssohn," he said.

The 47-year-old politician also took aim at Chancellor Merkel and Germany's established parties, accusing them of accepting the "Islamisation" of Germany.

Wilders was invited to speak in Berlin by ousted former conservative politician René Stadtkewitz, who recently announced he was forming a new "Freedom" party in Germany.

In an interview with the Sonntag Aktuell newspaper, Green party parliamentary group leader Jürgen Trittin said Wilders' visit was an "affront to Berlin's cosmopolitan tradition," in a city that is home to hundreds of thousands of Muslims. "We must stop all attempts by smug right-wing populists and Islamophobic bigots to marginalise and vilify these fellow citizens," he said.

Wilders' anti-immigration Freedom Party (PVV) won record support in the June election in the Netherlands, giving it the third highest vote and an unprecedented bargaining position.

At a special party congress in the Dutch city of Arnhem on Saturday, members of the Dutch Christian Democrats (CDA) agreed to a power deal with the Liberal party (VVD), which would rely on support from Wilders' PVV.

In the run-up to the decision, German politicians expressed concern over the pact.

Wilders is due to stand trial in Amsterdam on Monday on five charges of giving religious offence to Muslims and inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims and people of non-western immigrant origin, particularly Moroccans.

The target of death threats, Wilders enjoys 24-hour state-sponsored protection while pursuing his mission to "stop the Islamisation of the Netherlands."

The Local Germany

Veterans Against Jihad Takes on ‘Threat’ of Sharia Law (USA)

The latest fairy tale to emerge from the paranoid right is the idea that the United States legal system is haunted by the specter of Sharia law. Although strict Islamic legal codes are the rare exception even among Muslim-majority nations, anti-Muslim groups and individuals — including well-known politicians like Newt Gingrich — are now warning with straight faces that mullahs could soon be caning American schoolchildren if they get caught chewing gum.

Among the groups decrying this make-believe threat, a relatively new organization called Veterans Against Jihad (VAJ) seems particularly well positioned to benefit from the current Sharia hysteria. Founded last spring by two retired Marine Corps veterans, the goal of VAJ is to “to encourage Veterans to more actively respond to challenges threatening our Constitution [and] awaken American Citizens to Islam’s Jihadist religious mandate, which dictates the teaching of Shari’ah law, and how Shari’ah Law will impact our way of life.”

Toward this end, the group is asking all veterans to “renew and retake The Oath of Enlistment, reaffirming their loyalty to our Constitution, our Country and it’s [sic] citizens.” But the VAJ’s understanding of that loyalty is an unusual one; its manifesto specifies the kinds of orders its members can respect as well as what sort of authority it deems legitimate. The VAJ code promises only to cooperate with those officials “legally enforcing, and/or preserving our nation’s security.” Judging from the VAJ site, it is clear the group does not consider that the current Democratic White House fits the bill.

The VAJ’s distaste for religiously flavored law, however, is selective. Among the far-right groups and individuals linked to on its site is Reclaim America for Christ, which is on a mission to “educate our pastors, legislators, educators, students and all citizens as to the truth about America’s Christian Heritage and the role of fundamental, Biblical Christianity in the establishment and function of our legal, legislative and educational systems.”

While the VAJ works to protect America from Allah and reclaim it for Christ, it sees the menace of Sharia everywhere, including law firms that offer consultations on the (private) intricacies of Islamic estate planning. But as this article in the New Jersey Jewish News notes (referenced in this Eugene Robinson column), there has in the entire history of the republic been only one instance of an actual crime (domestic abuse) being forgiven by a U.S. judge on grounds of “Islamic practices” — and this ruling was swiftly overturned by another judge.

“Talk of Sharia law taking root in our country is just a way of stirring up nativist fears,” said Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center. “It would require throwing out the entire Constitution, including the Bill of Rights. Obviously, no such effort would have the remotest chance of success.”

SPLC Centre

Two men charged over 'homophobic attack' in Edinburgh (UK)

Two men are due to appear at court in Edinburgh in connection with a homophobic assault in the city.

The charges come after a 27-year-old man was attacked in Lady Lawson Street as he walked home from a nightclub on Sunday 19 September.

Lothian and Borders Police said a 27-year-old man would appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court later.
A 21-year-old man, accused of a homophobic breach of the peace, will also appear.

BBC News

Aide to Barack Obama was on white supremacist's hit list (USA)

President Obama's top White House political advisor was on the hit-list of a white supremacist who shot dead a security guard at the US Holocaust Memorial museum in Washington, it has emerged. 

James von Brunn chose David Axelrod as a target because he believed that Mr Obama was "too hard to reach" and the political consultant was at the centre of the president's inner circle, Time magazine reported.

"Obama was created by Jews," von Brunn wrote in a notebook. "Obama does what his Jew owners tell him to do." Mr Axelrod, who helped mastermind Mr Obama's 2008 election success, is Jewish.

Von Brunn, 89, killed an African American guard at the Holocaust museum last year but died in prison before his murder case reached trial.

"The episode sent a jolt through the FBI and [The Department of Homeland Security]," Time reported. "Von Brunn had demonstrated motive, means and intent to kill one of the President's closest aides. The Secret Service assigned Axelrod a protection detail and took other, undisclosed steps to broaden its coverage."

Officials such as Mr Axelrod would not receive protection unless authorised by the Department of Homeland Security and approved by the White House. He is now seen with Secret Service bodyguards when he was back in his home city of Chicago on routine visits to sports events and restaurants.

Von Brunn was wounded in the head during the museum attack at the museum and later died in jail while undergoing mental health evaluation. Prosecutors said that he wanted to send a message to the Jewish community that the Holocaust was a hoax.

 The Telegraph

Anti-fascist move by the SDLP (Northern Ireland)

SDLP Youth members have launched an anti-fascist petition against the National Front at the University of Ulster, Coleraine Fresher's Day.

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It follows a recent National Front party meeting which took place in Coleraine earlier this month. East Derry Youth Leader Liam McNulty said the groups presence within East Londonderry was "greatly resented".
Liam said:

"The fact that hundreds of people from right across the political divide have supported our petition sends out a clear message that there is no place for racism or fascism in our community.

"Students have in the past been at the forefront of anti-fascism activity in this area and they have demonstrated willingness for an inclusive, pluralist and equal society once again.

They are horrified that this motley group met in a Coleraine bar recently after deceiving the bar staff about their purpose and motives. Their presence is greatly resented and they will have great difficulty finding a venue in the future unless they rely on their ago old practice of deception.

He continued: "Those who divide our community along racial or national lines have no solutions for the pressing problems of unemployment, deprivation and inequality. Only by uniting together can we move forward into a shared future. Coleraine needs the National Front like a hole in the head.

The SDLP Youth Organisation has been congratulated on their initiative by East Derry SDLP Assembly Member John Dallat, a veteran campaigner against the National Front. He said: "Many years ago when this unholy group of hate mongers last tried to organise in Coleraine students from all over Ireland organised one of the biggest counter NF marches ever to be held on this island. From the four provinces they outnumbered the NF hate mongers by 10 to 1 to ensure that the facists never got putting down their vile roots in this community. I am glad that students today are no less caring about racism and hate-mongering."

Londonderry Sentinel

UTCH PARTY GIVES NOD TO COALITION DEAL WITH WILDERS

A pact to allow Dutch centre-right parties to form a government with the support of anti-Islamist populist Geert Wilders has cleared another hurdle. The Christian Democrats (CDA) ratified the deal at a meeting on Saturday by 68% in favour, with 32% opposed. As part of its programme, the government will ban the full Islamic veil in the Netherlands, parties say. However, two CDA lawmakers remain opposed and could yet derail the deal when MPs vote on it later this week. The agreement, which ends months of deadlock, includes plans for budget cuts of 18bn euros ($24bn; £15bn) by 2015; curbs on immigration; and an increase in the number of police officers. The Liberals (VVD) and CDA, which hold 52 seats in the 150-member parliament, would rely on Mr Wilders' 24 Freedom Party (PVV) MPs to get legislation passed. "We want to give the country back to the working Dutch citizen," said Liberal leader and Prime Minister-designate Mark Rutte on Friday.

The pact calls for budget cuts
CDA leader Maxime Verhagen described it as a "very good governing agreement". "I am convinced that it is an agreement that every Christian Democrat will be able to identify with," he said. The deal has angered some CDA MPs who do not want to work with Mr Wilders. He goes on trial in Amsterdam on Monday on charges of inciting hatred with his film Fitna (division). The film juxtaposes the Muslim holy book, the Koran, with the 9/11 attacks in which nearly 3,000 people in the US were killed in 2001. The Netherlands has been run by a caretaker government since February when a coalition led by the CDA's former leader, Jan Peter Balkenende, collapsed after a row over military involvement in Afghanistan. June's general election delivered a surge of support for the Freedom Party, which won the third biggest share of the seats. The CDA went from 40 seats to 21.

BBC News

Police investigate racist attack by gang of youths (UK)

Police in Glasgow are treating an attack on a Somali man by a gang of youths as racially motivated.

The 20-year-old was standing at a bus stop near a Tesco supermarket on Springburn Road at 2330 BST on Friday when he was attacked by the group.

He was treated in Glasgow Royal Infirmary for a head injury.

The suspects, one female and three males, are believed to be aged between 16 and 19 years old. Police appealed for any witnesses to come forward.

One of the male suspects was wearing a blue hooded top and another was wearing a yellow hooded top.
Det Sgt John Semple, from Strathclyde Police, said: "We believe that the attack on this young man was racially motivated.

"Officers have been scouring local CCTV in a bid to identify those involved and it is thought that they may have entered Tesco supermarket following the attack. I would therefore appeal to any shoppers or staff who were in the supermarket shortly after 11.30pm and may have seen the suspects to come forward to police.
"Springburn Road is an extremely busy thoroughfare and I would also ask any motorists, taxi drivers, bus drivers or pedestrians to get in touch with police if they witnessed the disturbance or saw a group of youths running off afterwards."

BBCNews

Israeli Arab MK: Racism in Israel has reached frightening levels

Some 6,000 Israeli Arabs march in memory of 13 youths who were killed by Israel Police officers in October 2000 riots; Israeli Arabs call for suspects to be tried, declare general strike.

Some 6,000 Israeli Arabs marched Friday from the Galilee town of Kfar Kanna in a procession that marked the commemoration of the October 2000 riots, in which 13 Israeli Arab youths were killed by Israel Police officers.

Israeli Arab MK Ahmed Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al) urged Israeli officials to try the police officers allegedly responsible.

"Failure to put the criminals on trial is like making sure the victims are really dead," Tibi said on Friday. He also said that since the events of October 2000, the level of racism in Israel increased and has reached "frightening levels."

"I call on the new Attorney General [Yehuda] Weinstein to reopen the case and indict the suspected police officers," Tibi urged. "Otherwise, the state will be sending a message that it disregards the lives of its Arab-Israeli citizens and belittles their value because they are Arabs."

"These past 10 years have been filled with anger and pain for the victims' families, and for the general Arab public. They represent a black mark on the history of the State of Israel," he went on to say.

The procession included the families of the victims, members of the Arab Higher Monitoring Committee, Knesset members, and Jewish peace activists. The demonstrators marched and held up pictures of the victims along with signs calling on the state to put the police officers on trial.

Earlier Friday, the Arab Higher Monitoring Committee declared a general strike on Friday in commemoration of the 13 Israeli Arab youth killed by Israel Police officers in October 2000.

The events of October 2000 have become a contentious issue for Israeli Arabs, many of whom say Israel has failed to properly investigate the circumstances of the riot and take action against the police officers who killed the youths.

Israeli Arabs have expressed anger over the issue by holding demonstrations and strikes during the month of October in the years since the incident.

Demonstrators gathered last week in small groups in Nazareth and Haifa and at 12 major intersections across Israel, in solidarity with Palestinians marking the outbreak of the Intifada. They waved Palestinian flags and held pictures of those killed in the riots.

Families of the 13 killed still stand firm on their demand that a new investigation into the incident be opened and the police who killed the rioters be brought to justice. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz decided not to indict the police officers involved in the deaths.

In many ways, the incident marks an unraveling of the Israeli Arabs' connection with the government and reflects how alienated they are from the state.

Ramiz Jaraisy, mayor of Nazareth and the acting head of the Higher Monitoring Committee, described the day as one in which "the Arab population are still fighting the government of Israel for justice."


The sector is feeling an increasing sense of discrimination, he said, particularly from elements within the government.

Approximately 45 percent of the general Israeli Arab population lives in poverty – a figure even higher among the sector's children, at 57 percent.

Only some 20 percent of Israeli Arab women are employed. While the figure for Israeli Arab men is higher – 60 percent – most of those jobs are in physical labor and many are laid of between the ages of 40 and 45.
Nearly 8 percent of Israeli Arab youths drop out of high school – a figure nearly three times the national average.

Public transportation is either completely lacking or insufficient about 80 percent of Israeli Arab towns and villages, and overcrowded housing in these communities is 70 percent higher than in Jewish communities.

 Haaretz

BNP member guilty of racial abuse on Asian woman (UK)

A British National Party organiser has narrowly escaped jail for racially abusing an Asian woman in a supermarket.

Peter King told stunned Sajida Islam "go back to your own country" when he saw her in the aisles of Hartlepool's Tesco Extra store, in Burn Road.

He followed with a tirade of racist abuse.

In another unrelated incident he threatened a student with a medieval weapon in another outburst.

John Gillette, prosecuting at Teesside Crown Court, said: "He just passed an Asian lady in an aisle in the store and said 'get home to your own country'.

"It was just abuse out of nowhere, and left the victim upset.

"She contacted store security who in turn brought in police.

"Although the incident was not caught on CCTV he was seen leaving the store and was identified from that."

The incident happened on October 14 last year.
King, who the BNP's own website describes as regional organiser, was arrested again on Christmas Eve.

Police were called following a row with his neighbour, 20-year-old student Nicholas Thompson, who he confronted with an ornamental mace for revving his mini-moto bike.

Mr Gillette said: "There had been an argument over some noise from a vehicle exhaust being revved and he went and got what is described as an ornamental medieval mace.

"The weapon had a wooden handle with a chain and a couple of metal balls."

King, 38, was at risk of going to jail after he admitted racially aggravated harassment and possessing an offensive weapon.

However, he walked out of court after he was given a suspended prison term.

Nigel Herrmann, mitigating, said King, of Bluebell Way, Hartlepool, had experienced personal problems in the last year. He added there had been no further incidents since.

Judge Peter Bowers sentenced King to 10 months prison suspended for 18 months with supervision.

He warned King to curb his temper in future.
King was accompanied at court by Cheryl Dunn, who unsuccessfully ran for the BNP in the Hartlepool mayoral election and also in the Easington parliamentary election.

Hartlepool Mail

Four US teens have killed themselves after anti-gay bullying, this month

A total of four US teenagers have now taken their own lives after being bullied over their sexuality, this month.

Last week, Tyler Clementi, 18, killed himself after his roommate allegedly recorded him having sex with another man. He is presumed dead after jumping off the George Washington Bridge.

Since then, Dharun Ravi, 18, and Molly Wei, 18, who are alleged to have hidden a camera inside Clemente’s bedroom and streamed his sex session live over the internet, have been arrested and charged with two counts each of invasion of privacy.

But this is only the latest in a spate of suicides. During the last month, three other teenagers have killed themselves following bullying from their peers.

On 23 September, Asher Brown, from Houston, Texas, shot himself in the head after reportedly being bullied, the Daily Mail report.

In Indiana on 9 September, Billy Lucas hanged himself at his grandmother’s home.

And in Minnesota, 13-year-old Seth Walsh died nine days after hanging himself from a tree in his garden.

No charges are to be pressed against the pupils though after the police said their actions did not constitute a crime.

TV talk-show host Ellen Degeneres called for America to "wake up" to the problem.

"I am devastated over the death of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi," DeGeneres said. "He was outed as being gay on the Internet and he killed himself." "Something must be done. This needs to be a wake-up call to everyone that teenage bullying and teasing is an epidemic in this country, and the death rate is climbing.
"We have an obligation to change this."

Pink News

New equality rights in workplace come into force (UK)

New rules aimed at banning discrimination by employers, covering areas such as age, disability and pay, have come into force across Britain.

The Equality Act covers many workplace areas and draws nine separate pieces of legislation into a single Act.
Equalities Minister Theresa May says it will now be easier for firms to comply with anti-discrimination rules.
However, some business groups argued the new legislation will impose a heavy burden on employers.
The new law applies in England, Wales and Scotland.

'Challenging times'

The new law restricts the circumstances in which employers can ask job applicants questions about disability or health prior to offering them a position, making it more difficult for disabled people to be unfairly screened out.
"In these challenging economic times it's more important than ever for employers to make the most of all the talent available," said Ms May.

There are also new powers for employment tribunals.

The Act will also stop employers using pay secrecy clauses to prevent employees discussing their own pay, which means men and women can compare pay.
But the Act will not make employers reveal how much they pay men compared with women, as had been planned by the Labour government.

Some campaigners argued that this revision undermined the new legislation.

"Rowing back on the requirement for big business to publish and take action on any differences in pay between men and women employees is tantamount to endorsing the shocking gender pay gap," said Ceri Goddard, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, which campaigns for gender equality.

Business cost
The Equality and Human Rights Commission said: "Everyone is protected by the new law.
"It [the Act] covers age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex (meaning gender) and sexual orientation.

"Under the act people are not allowed to discriminate, harass or victimise another person because they belong to a group that the Act protects, they are thought to belong to one of those groups or are associated with someone who does."

But some business groups argued that the new rules place an extra burden on companies at a time when they are still trying to recover from the recession.

"Businesses are really concerned," Abigail Morris from the British Chambers of Commerce told the BBC.
"The government's own impact assessment shows that this is going to cost £190m just for businesses to understand the legislation, and this at a time when we really need them to be concentrating on creating private sector jobs and driving economic recovery."

During the summer there were some concerns about the new rules expressed by shipping companies.
Some claimed the laws could force them to quit the UK because they would have to pay UK rates to foreign-based seafarers who do not have the burden of British living costs.

BBC News

Anti-Semitism charge mars debate in run-up to Italy confidence vote (Italy)

An ally of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi drew criticism Thursday for an apparent anti-Semitic insult he directed at dissident members of the premier's party during a parliamentary debate.

Speaking ahead of a confidence vote on a set of government proposals presented by Berlusconi, Senator Giuseppe Ciarrapico accused the dissidents and their leader, Gianfranco Fini, of being 'traitors.'
'Has Fini's grouping already ordered the kippah?' Ciarrapico asked, sarcastically referring to the traditional Jewish skullcap.

'He who has betrayed once always betrays,' Ciarrapico added.

Members of the centre-left opposition condemned the remarks.

The Democratic Party's Senate leader, Anna Finocchiaro, called on Berlusconi 'to dissociate himself in an official and clear way from the unacceptable anti-Semitic remarks made by Senator Ciarrapico in the Senate chamber.'

The Senate leader from Berlusconi's People of Freedom party, Maurizio Gasparri, described Ciarrapico's remarks as 'unpleasant.'

'Is this enough to expel him (Ciarrapico) from the PdL (People of Freedom)? Ask the party,' Gasparri was quoted as saying by the ANSA news agency.

Fini, a former neo-fascist who over the last two decades has shifted towards more traditional right-wing views, is accused by former comrades of selling out.

In particular, neo-fascists cite a 2003 visit by Fini to Israel during which he denounced Nazi and Fascist crimes from World War II and visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.

Posters subsequently appeared in Rome showing a photograph of Fini wearing the kippah at Yad Vashem and branding him a traitor.

A 2008 co-founder of the People of Freedom with Berlusconi, Fini was effectively expelled from the party in July after repeated disagreements, including over proposed legislation to limit the use of wiretapping in investigations.

However, on Wednesday, some 35 parliamentarians loyal to Fini supported the government in a lower-house Chamber of Deputies confidence vote on the same set of proposals presented by Berlusconi to the Senate on Thursday.

The confidence vote in the Senate is scheduled for later Thursday.

Monsters and Critics