Former neo-Nazi becomes leftist after sex change (Germany)

Before undergoing a sex change to become a woman, Monika Strub was a member of Germany's neo-Nazi NPD party. But ten years later, she is running for Baden-Württemberg's state parliament for the socialist party The Left.

"I have completely broken with the NPD," Strub told German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung this week, referring to the right-wing extremist National Democratic Party (NPD). "I am a true socialist."

Strub was a member of the NPD from 2000 to 2002. Photos show "Horst Strub," as she was known in the years before her sex-reassignment surgery, with cropped hair, a beard and a bomber jacket.

Today, the 35-year old nurse and photographer named Monika Strub is campaigning for the socialist party The Left.

Strub told Süddeutsche Zeitung she is now a victim of far-right harassment, saying she has been threatened multiple times. On Thursday. Strub said her home was vandalised after NPD stickers were placed on her windows and doors.

Meanwhile, The Left party has not tried to bury Strub's political past.

Christoph Kröpel, spokesman for The Left party in the state of Baden-Württemberg, described Strub's history with the NPD as a "youthful transgression" and said she has "fundamentally changed."

He told the paper Strub had so clearly distanced herself from her former party "that there is absolutely no doubt as to her political bearing."

The Local Germany

EU fear of north African migrants 'overblown'

Concerned about the "massive migration movements" from Libya, EU leaders on Friday (11 March) called for extra staff and money for the bloc's border agency and offered financial assistance to north African countries in stemming potential waves of immigrants.

"We need to be very upfront on the question of migratory flows. There are 200,000 displaced persons between Libya, Egypt and Tunisia," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said during a press briefing after an EU leaders' meeting dedicated to the Libyan crisis.

"If we don't deal with them humanely then there is a huge temptation for them to come to Europe and we don't have the wherewithal to deal with them," he said. The French leader warned of a "Lampedusa times ten", in reference to the Italian island just 113 km off the Tunisian coast, which has seen a massive increase in refugee boats arriving in past weeks.

Most of the young, French-speaking Tunisians arriving in Italy are actually France-bound. Right-wing leader Marine Le Pen, a candidate for the presidency in 2012, is set to kick off her pre-campaign on Lampedusa on Monday.

German chancellor Angela Merkel also indicated Europe struck a stern note. "I don't see a future for having more and more people emigrate to Europe. Of course, there is a difference when we are having a civil war situation, but the future for these people is to rebuild their countries on the ground."

In the final conclusions, EU leaders expressed their solidarity for those member states "most directly concerned by migratory movements" and said that the bloc's border agency, Frontex, should receive more personnel and equipment from national governments and extra money from the EU budget.

"The European Union will consult with the countries of the region concerned on financial and technical support to improve the control and management of borders and measures to facilitate the return of migrants to their countries of origin," the text reads. A special plan on "development of capacities to manage migration and refugee flows" is requested from the EU commission by June.

One sweetener, introduced by the more migration-friendly countries, foresees a "comprehensive approach" to migration, including visa facilities and encouraging students and pupils exchanges between the northern and southern Mediterranean shores.

But aid workers on the ground dismiss talk of a "biblical exodus" as Italian authorities have repeatedly put it.

Out of the roughly 250,000 refugees who fled Libya to neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt, the number of people potentially heading to Europe is in the hundreds, Jumbe Omari Jumbe from the International Organisation for Migration told EUobserver from the Tunisian-Libyan border.

"I just came back from a transit camp where there are some 15,000 refugees, mostly Bangladeshi and Bengali, awaiting to be repatriated," he said.

Subsaharan refugees, less than 3,000, were also mostly keen on returning home, except for a couple of hundreds of Somali and Eritrean people who may try to cross over the Mediterranean.

"It's an overblown fear. Leaders should not take advantage of people suffering," the aid worker said. In order to attempt to cross over the sea by boat, migrants usually have to accumulate some money to pay off the middlemen and traffickers. "But most of these people have been stripped of all their belongings, they don't even know where to start," he stressed.

Instead of stirring up fears of massive immigration, the EU should help international organisations such as the UNHCR and the IOM with more money.

With only four flights a day, the 12,000 Bengalis who are awaiting to be repatriated could spend months in the refugee camp. Some have already started "mini riots," Omari Jumbe said.

"There is big support in terms of EU funds, but the problem is that it's piecemeal. One flight to Bengali and back costs 1 million US dollars," he explained.

The IOM has appealed for an extra €35 million from the international community to assist in the evacuation of up to 65,000 migrants caught up in the Libyan crisis. The EU this week upped its humanitarian assistance to €30 million.

euobserver

'Eta military chief' Arriola arrested in France

The suspected head of Spain's armed Basque separatist group Eta has been arrested in northern France.

Alejandro Zobaran Arriola and three other Eta suspects were seized by French police at a holiday cottage in a remote village near the Belgian border.

One of the other three detainees is also thought to be a senior militant.

Eta's campaign for independence for the Basque region has cost more than 800 lives since 1968 but it called a halt to armed attacks last year.

The four suspects were arrested at a cottage overlooking the tiny hamlet of Willencourt, population 140, south of the port of Dunkirk.

Police swooped on the house, local resident Mickael Catouillard told AFP news agency, adding that there had been a sudden swarm of cars and flashing lights.

Firearms and documents were seized inside the house, Spanish national radio said, citing counter-terrorism sources.
'Odd kind of tourists'

Local hunter Pierre Dufour told AFP that the suspects had moved into the cottage almost two weeks ago, saying they had come to tour the Belgian coast.

"They planned to stay three weeks and they paid for it all up front," he added.

According to the Spanish daily El Pais, the owner of the cottage tipped off police about the men when he found their identity documents suspicious. They had reportedly tried to pass themselves off as students.

"I too found it weird," Mr Dufour said.

"For tourists, they hardly ever went out. One day one of them, a young man, asked me the way to a baker's. He spoke with a strong foreign accent. He was very polite, very friendly."

Mr Arriola - known as Xarla - is believed to be the sixth Eta military chief to be detained since Francisco Javier Lopez Pena was arrested in May 2008.

Eta has been coming under increasing pressure to lay down its weapons and, in January this year, announced that it would cease "offensive armed actions".

But Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero rejected the declaration, saying he wanted the group to be completely disbanded.

Spanish authorities believe their campaign against Eta has crippled its operational capacity, with dozens of arrests - including a number of top leaders - made in collaboration with forces in other countries.

BBC News

Businessman who sold 'terrorist handbooks' online jailed for three years (UK)

The man who used the 7/7 bombings as a “marketing tool” to sell a terrorist handbook was yesterday jailed for three years.

Terence Brown, 47, made £62,000 by selling CDs called the Anarchist Cookbook, which instructed how to make various explosives and enter countries illegally.

Sentencing at Winchester crown court, Mr Justice Blair accepted Brown was not a terrorist. He said: “You admit you used (July 7) as a marketing opportunity to boost sales.

“Motivated only by money, you acted in a completely irresponsible way.

“The information could have been used in further incidents in this country or abroad.”

Brown, from Portsmouth, was earlier found guilty of collecting and distributing material that could have led to attacks.

Imran Khan, defending, said: “Terrorist is a label that will be attached to this defendant for some time to come.

“He has no religious, political or ideological beliefs. This was a man who was simply motivated by making money to live.”

Daily Mirror

FAR-RIGHT NPD LEADER ACQUITTED OF INCITEMENT AGAINST SOCCER PLAYER (Germany)

A German court on Wednesday overturned the conviction of Udo Voigt, chairman of the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), for inciting racial hatred and defamation against a black German soccer player. Voigt and two other party members were first convicted of the charges in April 2009 and given suspended sentences of seven to 10 months. The men distributed flyers in the run-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup which appeared to insinuate that defender Patrick Owomoyela was not worthy of a spot on Germany's national team because he is black. The flyers showed the German white jersey with the number 25, at the time worn by Owomoyela, over the title: "White - not just a jersey color! For a real NATIONAL team!" The Berlin state court acquitted the men, saying that the association of the number 25 with Owomoyela alone was not strong enough to prove they were specifically inciting racial hatred against him.

The use of the word "white" could also be interpreted as criticism of manipulation and corruption in football, the court said. The court concluded that the flyers fell under the protection of freedom of speech, and that a xenophobic attitude is not enough to warrant punishment for incitement to racial hatred. The defamation charges were also rejected. Owomoyela and the German Football Association originally filed the charges, with Owomoyela testifying that he had never in his life felt so attacked because of his race.

The Deutsche Welle

English Defence League racist gets criminal Asbo after abusing Asian family (UK)

A far-right racist from Lincoln has been given a 10-year criminal ASBO after hurling abuse at an Asian family.

Shane Overton, 38, a member of the English Defence League (EDL), was given the Criminal Anti-Social Behaviour Order, known as a Crasbo, at Doncaster Crown Court.

It bans him from going to any public meeting organised by the far-right EDL and from travelling by train.

Overton, a self-proclaimed local leader of the EDL, pleaded guilty to a racially aggravated public order offence, which happened at Doncaster train station as he returned from an EDL rally in Newcastle on May 29 last year.

He shouted racist and Islamophobic abuse at an Asian couple and their two young children as they waited on the station platform.

It is just the second time a Crasbo has been used against members of the EDL.

Acting detective inspector Simon Bromiley, of Lincolnshire Police, said: "We are extremely pleased with this result.

"We have worked closely with our national partners on this case and we are hopeful that utilising this kind of legislation will enable us to curb Overton's offending and tackle racism and Islamophobia in our community in the future."

Chief Inspector Tom Naughton, of British Transport Police, said: "Racist abuse of any sort is unacceptable, but the nature of Overton's insults levelled at a family minding their own business sitting on the platform were despicable.

"Everyone has the right to travel without fear of abuse or threatening behaviour and when that behaviour is further exacerbated by racist undertones, our stance becomes firmer still."

Overton, of Parker Avenue, off Brant Road, Lincoln, was given a football banning order along with 10 other people in 2001 after trouble at a Lincoln City v Hull City game.

The terms of his Crasbo prevent him travelling on any train or entering a railway station, participating in, organising or controlling an EDL event or from entering in to or loitering outside any mosque, Islamic prayer room, meeting room, school, cultural centre or festival site, or any site under development for these purposes.

DC Andy Haworth, of the National Domestic Extremism Unit, a national police unit which worked alongside the transport police and Lincolnshire Police, said: "It is only the second time a Crasbo of this nature has been granted to individuals participating in EDL demonstrations.

"It is widely anticipated other police forces will follow suit and apply for Crasbos to stop violent individuals from subverting otherwise legitimate, lawful protests.

"While the Defence Leagues is entitled to protest, violence has been a persistent feature of their demonstrations.

"On this occasion, an offence was committed while travelling from a demonstration."

Yvette Levy, the local CPS Criminal ASBO lead, said: "No one should be made to feel fear or concern for their safety purely because of the language they speak or the colour of their skin.

"Overton's victims were subjected to racially offensive language while patiently waiting for their train.

"The extreme views expressed by Overton caused two children to cling to their parents in fear."

Simon Cressy, of the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight, said: "Once again, we see the racist side of the EDL rearing its ugly head.

"Searchlight will be watching closely to make sure Overton stays away from future EDL events."

This is Lincolnshire

As King Targets Muslims, There Have Been Almost Twice As Many Plots Since 9/11 From Non-Muslim Terrorists (USA)

Tomorrow, Rep. Peter King (R-NY), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, will hold hearings singling out the Muslim American community for supposedly aiding and abetting domestic radicalization and terrorism.

When asked why he is singling out the Muslim American community and refusing to investigate other forms of terrorism, King has responded by saying that “it makes no sense to talk about other types of extremism, when the main threat to the United States today is talking about al Qaida.”

Yet as a January 2011 terrorism statistics report — compiled using publicly available data from the FBI and other crime agencies — from the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) shows, terrorism by Muslim Americans has only accounted for a minority of terror plots since 9/11. Since the attacks on the Twin Towers and Pentagon, Muslims have been involved in 45 domestic terrorist plots. Meanwhile, non-Muslims have been involved in 80 terrorist plots.

In fact, right-wing extremist and white supremacist attacks plots alone outnumber plots by Muslims, with both groups being involved in 63 terror plots, 18 more plots than Muslim Americans have been involved in. Here is a breakdown of attacks by group, along with a few examples of plots by some of these groups:

Anti-Government/Anti-Tax Extremists: There have been 36 plots by right-wing extremists since 9/11. These attacks include Joseph Stack’s suicide attack on a Texas IRS building and Joshua Cartwright, who became enraged after the election of Barack Obama and “believed that the US Government was conspiring against him.”

KKK/NeoNazi/White Supremacist: There have been 27 plots by white supremacists since 9/11. These attacks include a 2004 letter bombing of the Arizona Office of Diversity and Dialogue that injured three employees.

Unknown/Miscellaneous: There were five attacks that federal crime officials did not categorize.

Christian Extremists/Anti-Abortion: There were three attacks by anti-abortion extremists and Christian extremists. The killing of abortion provider George Tiller is the most prominent of these attacks.

Black Supremacist Cults: There were two plots by black supremacist cults.

Jewish Extremists: There were two plots by Jewish extremists. The most prominent of these was a plot by Robert Goldstein to attack a local Islamic center with home made C4 and other explosives.

Extreme Anti-Immigrant: There were two plots by anti-immigrant extremists. One of these was the attack by Shawn Forde, who murdered a Queens deli clerk and was motivated by racist and anti-immigrant feelings.

Anti-Jewish: There was one plot by an anti-Semitic extremist. Norman Leboon made anti-Semitic threats against Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA).

Anarchist: There was a single plot by an anarchist. Joseph D. Konopka “wreaked havoc in 13 counties by setting fires, disrupting radio and television broadcasts, disabling an air traffic control system, selling counterfeit software, and damaging the computer system of an Internet service provider.”

Given the fact that non-Muslim terrorists account for almost twice as many plots as Muslim terrorists in the United States since 9/11, King’s justification that he is targeting Muslims because they represent the primary threat seems hollow. Additionally, King’s hearings come at a time when Muslim American terrorism and involvement in extremism has actually plummeted in the past couple years, according to a Duke University study put out last month. Moreover, nearly 4 in 10 Al-Qaida related plots in the United States have been broken up thanks to intelligence provided by the Muslim community themselves and 70 percent of recent terror plots in the United States have been foiled by help from Muslim Americans.


Think Progress

Racist shadow rises in Australian politics

The specter of racism has returned to Australian politics with former One Nation MP Pauline Hanson announcing her intention to run for the NSW upper house.

The former One Nation leader is attempting a political comeback, standing as an independent in the run up to the March 26 election.

The controversial Hanson launched her surprise bid for the NSW seat Tuesday night, with the nomination accepted by the NSW Electoral Commission.

Running as part of a group of 16 independents, the divisive Ms Hanson last stood for election to the NSW Parliament in 2003 where her anti-immigration rhetoric and arch-conservative policies angered ethnic communities and failed to gain traction.

Speaking to Xinhua from his office in NSW parliament, NSW Greens MP Ian Cohen said on Wednesday the former One Nation Party leader's return into the national eye was a serious step backwards in Australia's fight against racism.

"Pauline Hanson's election will be a huge threat to our multi- cultural community. It appears there will be a grand conservative coalition in the upper house of parliament which will change the political culture in NSW to a very worrying degree."

News of Hanson's candidacy casts a long conservative shadow over the nations most populous state where a labor government is almost certainly coming to the end of a 16 year run in office.

Fears are growing that a large Liberal-National party Coalition victory could deliver a working majority in the Legislative Council with the support of Christian and Shooters and Fishers party MPs.

Labor says a decision by the Greens not to preference Labor has increased the likelihood of a conservative controlled upper house.

Embattled NSW Premier Kristina Keneally was quick to condemn Hanson's candidacy.

"We absolutely condemn the sorts of racist and discriminatory policies which come from Ms Hanson and parties like One Nation," Keneally said.

The NSW Liberal Party has also said it would offer no preferences to Hanson.

But Hanson shot back on local radio: "I'm not racist."

"I have ... as an Australian ... a right to question immigration and multiculturalism, which I don't believe is helping our country. I don't think there's anything wrong with that," she added.

The right-wing One Nation Party's populist and xenophobic slogans include anti-immigration policies, anti-globalization, demands for renewed tariff protection and bitter attacks on the establishment, governments and politicians while seeking to appeal to "ordinary Australians".

Ian Cohen fears the tone of debate that Hanson's return will engender.

"It will have a massive impact on social issues in this country.. I'm extremely worried," he said.

People Daily

Suspect arrested in case of bomb at MLK day parade (USA)

A federal law enforcement official says a man has been arrested in the case of a bomb placed at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Spokane in January.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that federal agents arrested the man Wednesday and are preparing to search a location tied to the man.

The official requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case ahead of an official announcement planned later in the day.

KHQ-TV of Spokane reported that federal and local law enforcement officers had surrounded a home near Colville, Wash., about 80 miles northwest of Spokane. Two T-shirts found inside the bomb were tied to that rural area.

Additional details were not immediately available.

The FBI has said nothing about possible suspects, but public opinion from the beginning focused on some of the white supremacist groups that have brought notoriety to the region in the past three decades. The area once served as headquarters for Richard Butler's Aryan Nations, whose members were lured by the small number of minorities.

Officials for the FBI in Spokane, which is leading the search, declined to comment on the developments Wednesday.

The bomb was found inside a backpack by city workers before the parade started on Jan. 17. The parade was rerouted and the bomb was defused without incident.

Officials for the FBI described the bomb as sophisticated and designed to produce mass casualties.

The bomb was sent to an FBI lab in Quantico, Va., and the agency offered a $20,000 reward for information from the public.

The two T-shirts found with the bomb were tied to Stevens County. One of the shirts was distributed last year at the "Relay for Life" race in Colville. The second shirt — which had the words "Treasure Island Spring 2009" on the front — was from a local theater production in 2009 in the town of Chewelah.




Associated Press

JEWISH RADIO CANCELS FRENCH FAR-RIGHT INTERVIEW (France)

A Jewish radio station Wednesday cancelled an interview with French far-right leader Marine Le Pen after complaints by Jewish groups that her party was anti-Semitic. Radio J had justified inviting her to come on air Sunday on the grounds that polls appear to show her anti-immigrant National Front has moved beyond marginal status and she could win a first-round presidential vote. But its top political editor Frederic Haziza told AFP on Wednesday that the station had cancelled the interview since it was "impossible to ensure that it would take place in good conditions." It would have been a first for Radio J, which always declined to interview Jean-Marie Le Pen, Marine's father and predecessor as leader of the Front, because of his public comments about Jews that caused outrage. Among complaints from several groups, the Jewish students' union UEJF said the radio invitation was "dangerous and inappropriate," branding the National Front "structurally anti-Semitic and racist." The interview "could give rise to a kind of complacency among the Jewish community and its institutions concerning Marine Le Pen and risks giving her even more exposure," the group said. The deputy leader of the Front, Louis Aliot, said the party planned to sue the UEJF and the anti-Semitism watchdog BNCVA for defamation based on their complaints.

AFP

Racism conviction for neo-Nazis (Belgium )

A court in the western town of Veurne has convicted three members of the extreme right wing Blood & Honour organisation on charges connected with the staging of several neo-Nazi concerts.

This is the first time that members of Blood & Honour have been convicted on the basis on anti-racism legislation.

One of the concerts took place during a ceremony honouring the Nazi's paramilitary organisation, the SS.

One of the concerts was also covertly filmed by VRT News.

One of those convicted also attended a memorial concert in honour of Ian Stuart Donaldson, the English founder of Blood & Honour.

The court ruled that it was established that the three defendants were involved in the organisation of a neo-Nazi ceremony of remembrance and that during the concerts inflammatory and racist language was openly used.

Two of the three defendants received a three month suspended gaol sentence. Given his record the third will have to serve his three month custodial sentence.

Belgium's anti-racism centre CGKR is upbeat. Jozef De Witte (photo): "We're pleased that there is a conviction. It's an important precedent. At last a court has acted and taken account of the spirit of the law."

Flanders News

Nationalist party stages "pro-Hungarian" demo (Hungary)

Some 1,000 supporters of the radical nationalist Jobbik party staged a demonstration in Gyongyospata, a small town in northern Hungary, on Sunday, saying that crime had increased in the area.

Jobbik leader Gabor Vona insisted that the protest was not "anti-Gypsy" but "pro-Hungarian".

"We want peace and calm," he added.

Vona said that the government and the national police had failed to ensure public order since the general elections last April, and called on Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Interior Minister Sandor Pinter and police leaders to resign.

Deputy leader of Jobbik Tamas Sneider said his party was against crime in general, but "ethnic crime" was especially unacceptable. He suggested that criminals consituted "ethnically homogeneous groups", which he said could trigger unrest and (anti-Roma) pogroms in the country.

Some 200 police officers were present to secure the demonstration, an unnamed source from the site told MTI.

Polotics.Hu

BILL ON PENALIZING GENOCIDE DENIAL: HANDLING IN DUTCH PARLIAMENT RESUMED

The replies of Christian Union faction, published in a document of 23 pages, to the questions of various factions in the Dutch parliament take the bill to penalise public and deliberate denial of genocide, one step further. The bill which was introduced in 2006 by the Christian Union faction in Dutch parliament (The Dutch House of Representatives), could so far not count on a majority support. This was evident from many critical questions of the factions in the parliament during the written preparation. One of the issues raised was whether such a bill is necessary, assuming that the articles on discrimination and insulting of a group already present in Dutch Penal Law sufficiently cover the criminalisation of genocide denial. Also restrictions on freedom of expression in present Dutch public debate are weighing seriously. There are also many questions about the scope and definition of the term genocide.

The Christian Union party has recently held a roundtable discussion in which several groups have commented on the bill and some like the Centre for Information and Documentation Israel (CIDI) and the Federation of Armenian Organisations in the Netherlands (FAON) have brought forward arguments to move to the explicit criminalisation of genocide denial. The Christian Union faction, as the author of the bill, has in a memorandum of reply among others emphasised the need for explicit criminalisation of genocide denial based on the text and the objectives of the EU Framework Decision of 28 November 2008 on “Combating certain forms and manifestations of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law”. This decision explicitly assumes the criminalisation of the genocide denial by the Member States. The author of the bill also considers that clarity of legislation is needed, which can not be inferred from the existing case law. In this case law, for example, the fact that the denial of the Holocaust was offensive to surviving Holocaust victims and their immediate families played a role. It is not clear what a judge would decide if there are no longer (Holocaust) survivors or their next of kin.

With regard to freedom of expression, it is among others argued that its protection for example in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is not intended for such serious offences of a group. Regarding the concept of genocide, in any case, as examples of genocide are mentioned the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide, as well as the genocides in Rwanda and Srebrenica. Criteria such as recognition and "general consensus" in this context are also discussed. The coming period will show if, in the current political situation in Holland regarding the election results to Dutch parliament in 2010, a majority in the Dutch parliament will support the bill. It can be expected that later this year the plenary debate will take place on the bill in the Dutch parliament.

Panorama

Skinhead Murder Prompts PETA "KKK" Ad (USA)

A T.V. ad produced by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is raising eyebrows among dog owners in the Sacramento area. It is linked to the death of white supremacist David Lynch, who was murdered last week in Citrus Heights. The ad shows a meeting of the American Kennel Club that is attended by a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

When asked if he was at the wrong meeting, he says he fits right in because the organization believes in purity of bloodlines and selective breeding.  The ad is designed to get people to adopt mixed breed dogs as opposed to purebreds.

“Whenever somebody buys a dog from a breeder or a pet store a dog from local animal shelter loses that chance for a good home,” said Ashley Byrne, Senior Campaigner for P.E.T.A.

Byrne said Lynch’s murder was an opportunity to make something good of an topical story.

“The death of white Supremacist David Lynch has rekindled the dialogue about those who believe in the purity of the races and bloodlines,” said Byrne.

But dog owner Meribeth Bean, who owns two mixed breed dogs, said P.E.T.A. was “going to the extreme.”  She said  purebred dog owners love their animals too and that the finger-pointing should go to people who don’t spay or neuter their dogs.  In addition, she said she lived in the South with a black family when the Klan was active.

“I felt the vibes of the KKK and what they were trying to do and I was it was hurtful to them,” said Bean.

Dog owner Jennifer Dossman was also taken aback when she viewed the dad, but reacted with nervous laughter.  She and others at a Sacramento dog park thought the ad was clever as well as controversial.  She acknowledged that some people might be offended, but said  “I never really thought about it like that.  I see the similarities between the KKK and the AKC).  I understand what P.E.T.A. is doing.”

That is of course P.E.T.A.’s goal.  But the controversy also means some T.V. stations won’t run the ad.  However, P.E.T.A. gets free media coverage as a result of that controversy as well.

 

Fox 40

MUSLIMS, JEWS WARN EUROPE: MAINSTREAMING OF FAR-RIGHT PARTIES IS UNACCEPTABLE

In Paris, European Muslim and Jewish leaders agree on joint action against extremists

Prominent Muslim and Jewish leaders from across Europe gathered in Paris have pledged to stand together against the rise of far-right xenophobic and racist parties that represent an escalating peril to ethnic and religious minorities across Europe, including Jews and Muslims. Members of the Coordinating Committee of European Muslim and Jewish Leaders, including top communal leaders from  Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the US, announced plans for a series of public events in European capitals, on 9 May (Europe Day). The leaders expressed deep concern about the emergence into the political mainstream of extremist parties in many  European countries and declared that it was “totally unacceptable” that several of these parties had been accepted by governing coalitions as tacit partners where they are allowed to help shape the agenda.

Contending that “Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, xenophobia and racism must never be allowed to become respectable,” the leaders expressed disquiet over recent pronouncements by European statesmen including President Sarkozy of France, Chancellor Merkel of Germany and Prime Minister Cameron of Britain, characterizing multiculturalism as a failure; comments that have been cited by far-right parties as evidence that they are winning the battle for public opinion in Europe. Promising to press European decision-makers not to co-operate in any way with extremist parties, the Jewish and Muslim leaders vowed: “We will not allow ourselves to be separated, but will stand together to fight bigotry against Muslims, Jews and other minorities. An attack on any of us is an attack on all of us.” Citing studies which show that anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are both growing rapidly in countries across Europe, the communal leaders affirmed that “Jews and Muslims are equal stakeholders in Europe, not expendable guests, and must therefore enjoy the same rights as everybody else. Appeasing those that sow the seeds of hatred and division is not only morally wrong, but will have disastrous consequences for Europe if allowed to continue.”

The first meeting of the Coordinating Committee was initiated by the New York-based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU), the World Council for Muslim Inter-Faith Relations (WCMIR), and the World Jewish Congress (WJC), and is a follow up to the first annual Gathering of European Muslim and Jewish leaders, which was launched in Brussels last December - see www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/events/10. At the time, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy received the group and endorsed its aims.

WCMIR’s European chair, British Imam Abduljalil Sajid, declared: “Islamophobia and anti-Semitism represent the sharp end of racism in Europe, so Jews and Muslims must fight them together, and prevent anyone from turning us into scapegoats. At the same time, Europeans of all backgrounds should come together to defend basic European and universal values of democracy, pluralism and mutual acceptance.”

FFEU President and WJC Vice President Rabbi Marc Schneier, who successfully initiated similar activities between Muslims and Jews in America together with the Islamic Society of North America, declared: “Although much of the venom of extremist and populist parties is directed these days against Muslims, it should not be forgotten that several of the far-right parties, including the National Front in France, have histories replete with anti-Semitism. On 9 May, we will gather in Paris and elsewhere to say that the rise of such parties across Europe is menacing to both of our communities, as well as to basic democratic values of pluralism and tolerance. If Europe wants to remain true to its ethical and spiritual foundations, it must embrace people from different cultures, religions and ways of life. If not, it will not only fail as a concept, it will lose its soul.”

World Jewsih Congress

Nick Griffin and the Nazi flag dilemma. It's BNP Facepalm time again! (UK)

Yesterday on this blog we posted an item about Nick Griffin meeting with Welsh Neo-Nazi Bryan Powell in Swansea on Saturday the 5th of March.

Really un-surprisingly the reality avoidance “We Adore Griffin” denial chumps aka the Nationalist PRATriots have claimed that the photo below of Brian at home in front of the Nazi flag is fake because (get this) the flag is the wrong way round.

Now this is coming from people that “KNOW” which way the Nazi flag should be hung so we should really respect their opinion.

Um, no we don't respect their opinion, basically on anything. 

The image in question has been on-line for ages, and it is very, VERY well known that the Welsh Defence League (WDL) members in Swansea were Neo-Nazis. 

Sorry I should say “Are Neo-Nazi’s”, as the Welsh Defence League has disbanded due to (don’t’ laugh) racist infiltration. This huge post could be a hint as to what inazifiltration could be responsible for that.

Anyway here’s another image of Brian doing his Nazi grove thang. No it’s not fake.

Nor are they doing a white supremacist version of the Saturday Night Fever dance.

And here’s a video with a number of images of Brian and some of his Neo-Nazi chums doing their Nuzi best to be proud PRATriots. He's is quite easy to spot.

Finally a documentary made by BBC Wales that exposes the Neo-nazi’s in the WDL that Brian was a part of. (Although the fash will claim that its probably a iluminati lefty conspiracy  made up thingy with actors and Pixar animation.)

I would like to post that this is guaranteed to clear up the ludicrous claims that it’s all fake and lies and does prove that Nick Griffin did spend Saturday night in the company of a Neo-Nazi.

But I doubt it.

It’s much easier for them dance merrily off into fantasy land of ignorance and delusions than except that this is true.

Ex-Aryan Nations lawyer's trial to begin in Idaho (USA)

An attorney known for representing white supremacists goes on trial in federal court on Monday, charged with hiring a hit man to kill his wife and mother-in-law.

Edgar J. Steele's wife insists her husband is innocent and has been set up by the government because of his anti-Semitic, white supremacist views and for representing clients such as Aryan Nations.

"My husband is innocent, and the only reason the (FBI) put him in jail is to silence him," Cyndi Steele said after his June 11 arrest.

Federal prosecutors say they have plenty of evidence against Steele, 65, including tape recordings of him talking with the hit man about killing his wife. Prosecutors have said Steele was after insurance money and also wanted to pursue a woman in Ukraine.

Court documents contend Steele, for some time, had been building a relationship with a woman in Ukraine and sent her a letter even after his arrest. Cyndi Steele said the Ukrainian woman was involved in a "Russian-bride" scam and that her husband had been hired by the victim to bring down the human trafficking ring.

Steele is a Coast Guard veteran and UCLA law graduate who practised for years in Sandpoint.

He is well-known in anti-Semitic and white supremacist circles as the lawyer who defended Aryan Nations leader Richard Butler in a 2000 lawsuit brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center, on behalf of two people who were attacked by the group's security guards. Steele lost the case, and Aryan Nations was bankrupted after being ordered to pay $6.3 million to the victims.

But he became popular in the white supremacist community and went on to represent other controversial figures, make speeches at white supremacist events and launch the website ConspiracyPenPal.com, where he published his views. He also wrote a book, "Defensive Racism: An Unapologetic Examination of Racial Differences."

"I have defended and provide legal advice to probably more of the politically incorrect than has any other attorney in America today," Steele said in a 2009 essay available on his website. "Always, I have required that they be fundamentally decent people and always they must be innocent, regardless of how things might eventually turn out in court."

Steele has drawn support from numerous far-right groups.

A press release sent this week by supporters of Steele who operate a website called Free Edgar Steele contended the government's case is fabricated, including a fake voice on the recordings.

"The FBI and US Attorney's Office in Idaho are seeking to bring down another innocent person, Edgar Steele, and send him to prison, because he is an advocate for the US Constitution and individual rights," the release said. "Our own freedom is at stake."

Steele was arrested by FBI agents at his home last June and faces four felony counts, including use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire.

Court records said an informant, Larry Fairfax, told the FBI that Steele offered to pay him up to $125,000 to kill his wife and her mother in a car crash meant to look like an accident.

While Fairfax told federal agents about the plot, he failed to inform them he'd already placed a pipe bomb under Cyndi Steele's vehicle, which did not explode while she drove to Oregon and back. The bomb was found by startled workers after she took her vehicle for an oil change. A bomb squad robot removed the explosive without incident.

Cyndi Steele has said in court documents that she believes Fairfax stole more than $45,000 in valuables from her home when he worked as a handyman there, and planted the bomb to cover his crimes.

Fairfax admitted to placing the bomb, but told agents he manipulated the fuse to malfunction, according to court documents. His attorneys contend Fairfax planned to take Steele's money but not go through with the killing.

Fairfax reached a deal to plead guilty to one count of possession of an unregistered firearm and one count of making a firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act.

The plea agreement document said Fairfax and Steele had several conversations between November 2009 and June 2010 in which they discussed killing Cyndi Steele and her mother.

The document said Steele also asked Fairfax to put a pipe bomb under Steele's own vehicle. Edgar Steele planned to ignite it after his wife's death "to provide an alibi or evidence that both he and his wife had been targeted for murder."

Steele also told Fairfax "to make sure that they were dead after the accident because Edgar Steele did not want to take care of a paraplegic," according to an FBI affidavit.

After his arrest, the government contends Steele immediately started pleading with his wife to discredit the case.

According to phone conversations recorded from jail, Steele told his wife that prosecutors have taped recordings that were doctored to sound as if he was hiring a hit man to kill her. Steele pleaded with her to deny the voice on the tapes belonged to him.

"This is going to be a 'Mission: Impossible' world-class-level production," Steele told his wife during a conversation recorded June 13. "I love you dearly. I would never be so stupid as to hire somebody else to kill anybody, for Christ sake, least of all you. You've gotta do this."

The Steeles, who married in 1985, have three grown children. They have endured marital troubles in the past.

Cyndi Steele, who operates a horse farm on the couple's property, had filed for divorce in June 2000, alleging her husband "misrepresented his marital status and eligibility" in online dating profiles "with the sole intention of meeting women."

The case was dismissed two months later.

Seattle Pi

COLLEAGUES MOURN DEATH OF RUSSIAN ANTIRACISM CAMPAIGNER GALINA KOZHEVNIKOVA

In a country with few prominent voices speaking out against racism, Galina Kozhevnikova was a determined exception. Kozhevnikova was the deputy director of SOVA, a Moscow-based group founded in 2002 that has proven one of the few reliable sources of information on xenophobia and racist attacks in post-Soviet Russia. She died on March 5 from an unspecified illness at the age of 36. Historian Vyacheslav Likhachev, a specialist on nationalist movements, told RFE/RL's Russian Service that Kozhevnikova was "an honest, professional, and very good person."  "It was clear that this was work, but for her it was also very personal. It was more a matter of antifascist activism than plain professional motivation," Likhachev says. "It's known that she was received serious personal threats from neo-Nazis. But she understood the kind of sphere she was working in. She understood the ways in which it could be dangerous. And for her it was a conscious choice. It was her struggle, so to speak." Russia has been plagued by growing racism in the years since the Soviet collapse, as social and economic uncertainty have fed both labor migration and a rising resentment of non-Slavic newcomers.

Outspoken Critic
A number of patriotic, nationalist, and neo-Nazi groups have sprung up in recent years, the most extreme of which have sought to intimidate non-Slav residents and labor migrants, including many Central Asians and other former Soviet nationals. Hundreds of migrants and other non-Russian residents are beaten and killed each year in Russia. SOVA was one of the few organizations to publish statistics on such attacks and to offer counsel to their victims. Kozhevnikova was an outspoken critic of ultranationalist trends in Russia. In an interview with RFE/RL following the January 2010 contract killing of human rights lawyer Sergei Markelov and a young journalist, Anastasia Baburova, Kozhevnikova said the rising power of the far right threatened the security of the entire country. "The ultra-right has openly turned to antistate terror and direct terror and have set themselves the aim of destabilizing the situation in the country, creating an all-out panic with which they then aim to start a military coup," she said. Tatyana Lokshina, the deputy director of the Moscow office of the watchdog group Human Rights Watch, told Interfax that Kozhevnikova the "No. 1 expert" on radical nationalism. Kozhevnikova's death is being mourned by many members of Russia's diaspora community, who saw in her a valuable ally and defender of migrants' rights.

'Big Loss'
Abdullo Davlatov, who heads the Tajiks in Russia association, the largest Tajik-diaspora group in Russia, told RFE/RL's Tajik Service that his community had lost a powerful protector. "Her death is a big loss. She was a strong defender of all the foreign migrants and nonmigrants, including Tajiks, who were victims of racial attacks," Davlatov says. "Diaspora groups always claim that we are the ones defending our migrants, but I believe that Tajik migrants got more support from Galina than from all of us." In a statement, SOVA said Kozhevnikova "kept working until the last moment," despite suffering from what they described as a "grave disease." Her latest report, on racism and xenophobia in Russia in 2010, is expected to be published soon. Natalya Taubina, who heads the Public Verdict rights foundation, told RFE/RL's Russian Service that she was a rigorous researcher who was deeply committed to fighting racism in her country. "Galya was probably one of the very few experts in our country who understood this problem really well and could speak about it in a very professional and thoughtful way, without hysterics, and very convincingly," Taubina says. "I'm sure that she could prevail in a dispute with any opponent on issues related to xenophobia and ethnic hatred. "It's actually pretty difficult to imagine how we're going to live without Galya," she adds.

rferl.org

POLL PUTS FAR RIGHT AHEAD IN FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL RACE (France)

The leader of France's far-right National Front party, Marine Le Pen, would come out ahead of incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in the first round of voting if a presidential election were held now instead of in the spring of 2012, according to the surprise result of a latest political-opinion poll published Sunday. The poll, published in the daily newspaper Le Parisien, gives Le Pen 23% of voting intentions, ahead of Sarkozy and Socialist Party leader Martine Aubry. The poll was carried out among a sample group of 1,618 people by the Louis Harris Interactive organization. In five previous polls between March and November last year, Le Pen scored voting intentions of between 11% and 13%.

Le Pen recently took over leadership of her party from her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who, in the first round of the 2002 election, came in second to conservative Jacques Chirac, beating Socialist candidate Lionel Jospin, who subsequently retired from politics. French voters then closed ranks behind Chirac in the runoff round to keep Le Pen out. Sarkozy's popularity has sagged in recent months amid a series of ministerial scandals that culminated in a cabinet shake-up at the end of February. His political foes say he is paying the price for what they see as an uncompromising and fear-mongering stance on immigration and stirring up anti-Muslim sentiment. The recent civil unrest in North Africa since December is another factor that has worried public opinion in France, which has a large North African immigrant population.

Political commentators have cautioned that the margin of error for such on-line polls is large, of more than 2%. And they point out that the those polled weren't asked to give their opinion on Dominique Strauss-Kahn, currently head of the International Monetary Fund. Strauss-Kahn, a Socialist, hasn't declared his intention to run for the presidency in 2012, although he benefits from much more favorable popularity ratings than Martine Aubry. Le Pen is drawing her support from Sarkozy's camp according to the poll results. More than 20% of those who said they would vote for her in the first round said they had voted for Sarkozy in the 2007 presidential election. Sarkozy has yet to declare his candidacy to seek a second term in 2012. Jean-Francois Cope, Secretary-General of Sarkozy's UMP party, said it would be a mistake to read too much into the poll result so far ahead of the election, saying that the poll "is just one among many" and called on the party's members to "keep a cool head." He acknowledged that moderate conservatives will suffer attacks from both the left and the far right in the lead-up to the election in 14 months' time.

Wall Street Journal

Protesters outnumber supporters as BNP leader speaks at a Swansea pub (Wales, UK)

BNP leader Nick Griffin has warned of a "hideous, unholy alliance" of big business, left wing supporters and European bureaucrats who are intent on destroying Britain.

Addressing the party faithful in a Swansea pub, he said that a revolution was coming, and that it was the party's role to "lead our people to the light".

The presence of the controversial politician in Swansea led to a noisy demonstration in the street outside the Landore inn, with protesters outnumbering supporters.

The Evening Post was the only media organisation to attend Saturday night's meeting at The Globe, which attracted around 65 activists from as far afield as London and Liverpool.

In a room above the bar, the party leader began by saying that mass immigration was destroying Britain and was "grotesquely unfair" to working people.

He said that unless migrants spoke English or Welsh they should not get access to benefits or schooling, and he called for a ban on building mosques — adding that the Koran was a fundamentalist book "about conquering other people".

But most of the MEP's speech was about the state of the economy, and how "they" — the political elites in charge — were intent on destroying the country.

He said: "The bankers crash has scarcely started — it is going to be truly horrible, and the Tory party cuts are not going to help, they are going to make it worse." He warned of a coming 1930s-style depression.

He went on to say that institutions such as the family, schools, the health service, council housing, and the Post Office were being deliberately undermined and privatised by a combination of hard-left activists and multinational business.

He also said Britain had been deliberately "de- industrialised".

He concluded by telling supporters that the party was on the "hard road" that would eventually lead to revolution and power.

He said: "The night is always darkest just before the dawn, but the dawn will come, and we will lead our people to the light."

He urged members to work to become community leaders ahead of the revolution.

While the leader talked, a group of around 80 anti- fascist protestors gathered near the pub.

Police blocked both ends of Mysydd Road and kept the protestors — some of whom wore masks — at one end of the street.

Among the crowd was David Phillips, leader of the Labour group on Swansea Council. He said: "Nick Griffin and the BNP are not welcome here — the people of Swansea do not support them and do want them here."

Chief superintendent Mark Mathias said he was happy with the policing arrangements.

He said: "Everybody has the right to express themselves peacefully, and the police presence was purely to ensure that the peace was kept."

He also thanked the people of Mysydd Road for their patience during the operation.

This is South Wales