A benefit gig, organised by the Chilean Popular & Indigenous Solidarity Network, the Latin American Solidarity Network (LASNET) and the Melbourne Anarchist Club, is taking place this Saturday, April 17 @ the MUA Hall, 54 Ireland St, West Melbourne, from 7pm ’til late.
Performers include Baka People, Latin/reggae band Madre Monte, hip-hop artist Pataphysics, Us Individuals and more.
Funds raised will be used to support grass-roots and autonomous organisations in Chile: the Sinapsis collective in Santiago and Mapuche (indigenous) peoples, all of whom have been badly-affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami.
In April Spanish police officers arrested the founder of the Racial Volunteer Force (RVF), Mark Atkinson, in Benalmadena (Malaga) Spain. Atkinson’s detention followed the arrests of five men and a wom[a]n from the organisation in the UK in January in relation to material published on the RVF’s website and their magazine Stormer. Spanish police also arrested members of the Blood and Honour organisation within days of Atkinson’s arrest. The RVF is an offshoot from Combat 18 (C18) which collapsed after internal feuding in 1997-1998 that saw one of their founding members, Charlie Sargent, jailed for murder.
On C18 and its collapse — unsurprisingly, amid internecine violence — see Blood and Honour vs. Blood and Honour (April 12, 2009). Note that a local bonehead is working hard to keeping the terrormachine ticking over by sneaking about at night armed only with a knife, a spraycan and a seemingly-endless supply of stickers.
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September 2008. The RVF has a competitor, the BFF, or ‘British Freedom Fighters’. The association between the RVF/BFF and the BPP (‘British Peoples Party’), like much else on the fringes of the far right, frequently assumes tragicomic status, and produces many lulz: see : Leeds Under Threat from ’90s Rap: BPP Takes Courageous Stand (to Popular Acclaim) (October 20, 2008). The BPP’s other claim to fame is having convicted pedophile and would-be bomber Martyn Gilleard as a member.
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April 2010. The plans for world domination of a second-generation of Angry Aryans appears to have come unstuck, as the ‘Aryan Strike Force’ finds himself in trouble with the law…
A teenage milkman spent his spare time secretly preparing violent attacks against the government, a court heard today.
The case against 19-year-old Nicky Davison will be an interesting one to follow; perhaps even more interesting than that concerning the Proud Young Nazi Mark Collett and his alleged death threats aimed at BNP fuehrer Nick ‘Holocaust? More like Holohoax amirite?’ Griffin.
One of Russia’s top criminal judges has been murdered in the capital, Moscow.
Eduard Chuvashov had presided over several high-profile trials, including the sentencing of some of Russia’s most notorious neo-Nazis.
According to one of Russia’s main news agencies, a security camera recorded the moment the gunman entered the apartment building and opened fire.
The judge had just come out of his apartment.
Mr Chuvashov is reported to have died instantly after being hit in the head and chest.
The gunman, who managed to escape, is reported to have been in his 20s and of Slavic appearance.
Officials have been quoted as saying this was probably a contract killing connected to the judge’s work.
Local media said Mr Chuvashov was the judge who sentenced 12 ultra-nationalists from the Russian fascist group known as the “White Wolves” in February.
Mostly teenagers, the group were found guilty of a string of brutal murders against dark-skinned migrants from Central Asian countries, many of whom had been bludgeoned to death.
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“As I stated on the Bombshell forum Andy, you are a liar, a hypocrite and no better than the trash that you fight against.” ~ Dion, December, 2007.
The trash I fight against and in relation to which I’m no better are in trouble in Russia. (But who gives a shit about Russia?Faggots like me I guess.) Anyway, “A court in Moscow has sentenced nine members of a neo-Nazi skinhead gang to prison terms of up to 23 years” (Neo-Nazi skinheads jailed in Russia for racist killings, Artyom Liss, BBC News, February 25, 2010). In other news, the murders of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova in January 2009 have been declared to be ‘political’: “Last November, Nikolai Tikhonov, 29, and Yevgenia Khasis, 24, members of a radical neo-Nazi nationalist group, were charged with a “murder committed by previous concert by a group of individuals”. The case made headlines all over the world and once again highlighted the dangers faced by journalists and human rights activists in Russia, which has one of the poorest journalist safety records in the world.”
An estimated 15 or so (I maintain that there were precisely 13, for reasons which will become obvious) members and supporters of the ‘Australian Protectionist Party’ assembled outside of Villawood Detention Centre on Sunday, ostensibly in order to protest the er, “dismantling of Australia’s borders” — a development which, while causing shock among the general public, will certainly cause panic at Channel 7 (especially to the foreign-born Grant Bowler). In response, somewhere between 120 and 200 others gathered at a separate entrance to the Centre to stage a counter-rally (Activists’ showdown at Villawood’s gates, Bellinda Kontominas, The Sydney Morning Herald, April 12, 2010). The twain never met, thanks to the thankless efforts of the NSW police.
Now, until recently, I’d be loathe to exaggerate the importance or effects of such a rally, but given Kerry Bolton’s own repeated demonstrations of !cinataS powers — over first the University of Waikato, then Radio New Zealand, and most recently the New Zealand Press Council — I really can’t be sure that Chairman KRudd’s recent announcement that the Federal Government would suspend processing new refugee claims by Sri Lankans and Afghanis (for three and six months respectively) was not the result of the exercise of supernatural powers by members of the APP. Or perhaps KRudd’s decision was prompted by The Mad Monk’s quip that ‘Jesus didn’t say yes to everyone’, so why should he? In any case, the ungrateful wretches known as Asylum seekers on hunger strike over Kevin Rudd’s tough stance (AAP, April 12, 2010).
Fair shake of the sauce battle Afghani and Sri Lankan asylum seekers!
Despite much wailing and gnashing of teeth online, when it came down to it, local fascists proved to be rather unreliable when it came time to taking their cause to the streets of Melbourne yesterday afternoon, with their main contribution to the cause of White supremacy being the drunken sieg heiling of a neo-Nazi skinhead belonging to the local Hammerskins chapter.
Speaking of Hammerskins, next Saturday on the Gold Coast they and their comrades in Blood & Honour will be celebrating the many achievements of the Master Race (including, presumably, Adolf Hitler‘s success in blowing his brains out while hiding in a bunker, Ian Stuart Donaldson‘s driving skills and Nicky Crane‘s love of a bunch of dicks and sticks). In celebration of the roaring success that will be Hammered, word on the street is that Victorian B&H organiser Justin O’Brien will be offering a 50% discount on all swastika tattoos (and labia piercings) THIS WEEK ONLY, so run don’t jackboot down to Hold Fast Body Art in Burwood.
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Somebody put chewy on Collingwood’s boots prior to the game against St Kilda, meaning that come the final siren, the boys managed to kick four goals and seventeen behinds, not one of them belonging to St Kilda.
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On a brighter note, some funny (ha-ha funny not Hitler-was-right funny) people compromised Switzerland’s political neutrality last night as they attempted to draw further attention to AK Press founder Ramsay Kanaan’s band Political Asylum.
Or something like that.
Anyway, Jon Brooks, Toby Halligan, Courteney Hocking, Nazeem Hussain, Mathew Kenneally, Ben McKenzie, Rod Quantock and Aamer Rahman were joined on stage by an international guest comedian / Arj Barker impersonator aka Jamie Kilstein, whose mimicry of Barker’s unique comedy stylings left me feeling somewhat unconvinced. Besides that, MC Kenneally made some brief though humorously disparaging remarks regarding Vindaloo Against Violence, while Nazeem Hussain also made reference to the failed attempt by white supemacists to march on Parliament earlier in the day.
The Age has video of the bonehead referred to below, as well as another inebriated woman who was ejected from the rally by police (I’m not sure what herstory was). The Melbourne Leader has photos here and Shane has moar here.
Update : Well, that was that. Several hundred people attended the UAR rally, which as announced began at midday, featured a dozen or more speakers, and ended a little after 2pm with a stroll up Swanston Street. As for the racists, the handful of meatheads who were silly enough to attend were forced to huddle together at Y&J’s, the steps of Flinders Street station being fully occupied by their opponents. One inebriated bonehead — a Hammerskin, apparently — did try to convince police that he be allowed to cross the street, but the silly bugger was told that this was not possible, so had to content himself with moaning to his handful of mates.
That’s the short version — the long version will come later.
In the meantime, one of the fascist groupuscles supporting the Melbourne rally — from the safe distance of Sydney — was the ‘Australian Protectionist Party’. The APP is staging a mini Nuremberg Rally outside of Villawood Detention Centre this Sunday. Comrades in Sydney are urged to consider attending the counter-rally which has been organised to oppose the APP…
As noted, tomorrow (Friday April 9) there’s a rally against racism in the city, one called, appropriately enough:
The rally was triggered by the announcement of a MASS RALLY AGAINST IMMIGRANTS AND ISLAM on Facebook (where else?) on March 17, 2010 by a group calling itself MELBOURNE ACTION AGAINST IMMIGRATION AND ISLAM (established at the same time).
Late this afternoon, the rally had attracted 40+ “confirmed guests” (perhaps only half of whom appear to be genuine in intent).
By way of contrast, well over 500 Facebook users have indicated that they will attend the counter-rally.
Given these facts, it’s highly likely that the bigots who’ve organised the “MASS” rally will be outnumbered by a very wide margin, and may even be outnumbered by police. Beyond this, the miniscule ‘Australian Protectionist Party’ has loudly proclaimed its support for the rally, as have the racist teenyboppers belonging to the ‘Southern Cross Soldiers’, and a handful moar racists, fascists and neo-Nazis.
Sadly for them, this is Melbourne, not Cronulla.
Immigration rallies spark fears of violence
Saeed Saed Melbourne Leader
April 8, 2010
AN ESTIMATED 400 pro- and anti-immigration supporters will square off in the CBD tomorrow amid fears of violence.
The anti-immigration rally, organised by the Melbourne Action against Immigration and Islam, will begin tomorrow at 1.30pm at Flinders St Station and finish with a march to Parliament House.
A Unite against Racism Rally counter-rally will be held at the same time and location.
Unite against Racism organiser Jacob Grech said [he] had been told police would be out in force during the rallies, with officers patrolling on horseback.
Mr Grech said more than 300 people would attend the rally, including the Greens’ candidate for the state seat of Melbourne, Adam Bandt.
“The message of our rally is to celebrate Melbourne’s diversity and letting the racists know that we don’t want their racist violence in Melbourne’s streets,” he said.
“Their rally is the same kind of public displays that were taking place in Sydney a couple of months before the Cronulla riots.”
As of today, 52 people had registered interest in attending the anti-immigration rally on the event’s Facebook page. Site administrator Mark Hill was not available for comment.
Islamic Council of Victoria vice president Sherene Hassan urged Muslims not to attend the rally because of fears over potential violence.
“ICV is of the view that there is potential for violence if the two groups come in proximity to each other,” she said.
Victoria Police spokeswoman Sen-Constable Mia Paterson would not provide details on police operations at tomorrow’s rally.
But she said police were aware of the event and would be monitoring it.
MELBOURNE ACTION AGAINST IMMIGRATION AND ISLAM
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=417983343708
MASS RALLY AGAINST IMMIGRANTS AND ISLAM
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=375780000955
Australian Protectionist Party
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=180693512669
Southern Cross Soldiers Melbourne Chapter
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Melbourne-Australia/Southern-Cross-Soldiers-Melbourne-Chapter/167642605338
Two Greek anarchists are making molotov cocktails. One says to the other: "So who will we throw these at then?" The other replies: "What are you, some kind of fucking intellectual?"
