MAC statement on neo-Nazi attack on MARC

Posted on October 14, 2009 by @ndy

MAC statement on neo-Nazi attack on MARC

This statement has been prepared by the ‘Melbourne Anarchist Club’ (MAC), the owners of the ‘Melbourne Anarchist Resource Centre’ (62 St Georges Road, Northcote), in response to recent threatening behaviour by local neo-Nazis.

It is intended to explain what has happened, and our response to it.

WHAT HAPPENED

On the afternoon of Monday, September 28, 2009, four neo-Nazi skinheads, believed to belong to or to be closely associated with the neo-Nazi skinhead groups ‘Blood & Honour Australia’ and the ‘Southern Cross Hammerskins’, attended the MARC. The neo-Nazis interrupted a meeting of a group which happened to be meeting at the time (a group which campaigns against sexual violence).

The neo-Nazis were highly agitated and very aggressive, confronting those present and preventing their exit by blocking the front door. They screamed and shouted, pushed over book shelves, crowded individuals, and threatened physical violence (including the use of capsicum spray or ‘mace’). The neo-Nazis demanded to know if the individuals present were ‘antifa’ (anti-fascists), and to be provided with the name and location of the blogger ’slackbastard’. After approximately 10 minutes, they left MARC with a final ‘Sieg Heil!’.

One of those present at the meeting provides the following account:

At 3pm Monday the 28th of September, several of us were sitting in the Barricade bookshop when four men entered through the front door. One of them, who was carrying a can of mace [pepper spray], yelled for us to sit down and that they had a message to deliver (he also asked who was in charge!). They proceeded to deliver a message that amounted to threatening that the MARC space would be the first point of call if there was any more antifa [anti-fascist] activity in Melbourne. They pushed over two bookshelves and swept some zines off the table as they left… Nobody was hurt, and there was no damage done to the space, just some disorganised books. We were all a bit shaken, but looked after each other.

It is understood that the most vocal neo-Nazi was a man named Justin. Justin is in his mid- to late-30s, and has tattoos on his hands and neck. He is the Victorian organiser for ‘Blood & Honour’, and is also closely associated with the Hammerskins. It is also understood that Justin works at ‘Hold Fast Body Art’ tattoo studio in Burwood (13 Burwood Highway).

During the course of their intervention at MARC, Justin informed those present that his business had been graffitied, and demanded that ‘antifa’ cease all such activity, or that there would be violent repercussions for MARC and its users. It is understood that this was a reference to an alleged incident which took place on Monday, September 14, an account of which, ‘Anti-Fascists attack neo-Nazi’s business in Burwood’, was published anonymously on the Melbourne Indymedia website.

There is no independent confirmation of this incident, but given Justin’s subsequent behaviour, we understand it to be true.

In summary: on September 14, unknown parties graffitied a tattoo shop in Burwood with ‘anti-fascist’ slogans. Two weeks later, on September 28, four neo-Nazi skinheads, including an employee at the tattoo shop in question, attended the MARC in Northcote and assaulted a meeting of a group campaigning against sexual violence, threatening further violence upon the group, MARC, and its users, unless all ‘anti-fascist’ activity in Melbourne ceased immediately.

OUR RESPONSE

The Melbourne Anarchist Club remains committed to continuing to facilitate anarchist activity in Melbourne.

Thus the Melbourne Anarchist Resource Centre will continue to remain open to the public, and to be used by a variety of groups, including those campaigning for an end to sexual violence, for workers’ rights, and for environmental preservation;
as a venue for art, music and film;
as a source of information on contemporary struggles for justice, as well as historical inquiry;
and as a continuing resource for those, like the Melbourne Anarchist Club, who want to advance the cause of revolutionary, class-struggle anarchism.

In addition to reviewing, along with the various groups which make use of MARC, our security and safety procedures, the MAC is organising an Open Day for the general public.

The Open Day will take place on Saturday, November 28, and will include free food, entertainment, and a variety of other activities.

More details will be provided in coming weeks.

All are welcome.

¡No pasarán!

===

For more information and enquiries:

    Melbourne Anarchist Club
    P.O. Box 494
    Brunswick
    VIC 3056
    AUSTRALIA
    [email protected]
    http://mac.anarchobase.com/

Posted in Anarchism, Anti-fascism, Broken Windows, Death, Media, War on Terror | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Is neo-Nazism humanist?

Posted on October 14, 2009 by @ndy

John August, the President of the NSW Humanists, has issued a statement in response to an anti-fascist protest which took place at Humanist House in Chippendale. The protest took place on October 2, during the kourse of a meeting of a neo-Nazi group kalled ‘Klub Nation’ / ‘Klub Naziya’.

In his statement — which appears to be a personal, rather than official release endorsed by the Society — John expresses concern over the fact that during the course of the protest “some protesters went about striking Humanist House”, and claims that a local resident and member of the Society was “pushed and shoved”. He congratulates the police — including, presumably, the Public Order and Riot Squad — for their “commendable professionalism” in dealing with the 50–70 protesters. Finally, John notes that “police are contemplating charges of malicious damage”.

Statement regarding events of the 2nd October

The Humanist Society of NSW encourages a rational approach to human problems, and respect for universal human rights free from discrimination based on race, class, disability, gender, age, nationality or sexual orientation.

We try to ensure that those groups using the venue are consistent with Humanist values. As we are a volunteer run group which is run on committee process, it can be difficult for the whole committee to be aware of the associations of particular groups. In any case, we have been planning to make a review of those hiring the hall, according to our own democratic committee process, which we will be following through on.

A group was previously banned from Humanist House because of alleged racist associations, but through committee process and the desire to be fair at the time, access was again allowed. This is a consequence of committee process and the difficulty in being aware of all facts at issue.

As humanists, we believe in freedom of expression, provided it does not involve any form of racial vilification or the vilification of any other minority group. Such vilification is prohibited by the anti-discrimination Act of 1977.

We also believe in the democratic right of peaceful assembly, the right to demonstrate and protest in a non-violent manner. It seems the protest of the 2nd October 2009 went beyond the bounds of peaceful protest, something which I found very surprising.

Some protesters went about striking Humanist House, and when one of our members of long standing, a local resident with a long history of involvement in progressive causes, tried to point this out to them, she was pushed and shoved; the evening’s events caused her considerable distress.

The attack on Humanist House was stopped by police, who showed commendable professionalism. Humanist House has seen some minor damage; it could well have been a lot worse if the police had not intervened; we certainly appreciate their efforts.

Without commenting on the meeting inside, I can only imagine the experience would have been traumatic for those attending it. I endorse the right of peaceful protest, but am very disappointed at the violence which erupted.

Some protesters covered their faces, while others conducted themselves in a civilised manner. We hope that this means that not all protesters would endorse the violence that erupted.

In fact, at this stage I have no idea of the exact identity of the protesters, or any group affiliations, though what they were trying to achieve may become clearer if I have the opportunity to view videos of the event and am able to further investigate.

The building did indeed suffer minor damage, and police are contemplating charges of malicious damage. We find ourselves in a very difficult position. Nevertheless, in interests of a peaceful resolution of the problem, I invite anyone concerned to contact me and discuss the matter.

John August
President
NSW Humanists
Ph : 0419 683 353
October 10, 2009

In July 2007, Jason Rafty posted the following message on Stormfront — a site which, to the best of my knowledge, is unlikely to be described as humanist:

KLUB NATION :- June meeting

Klub Nation is the only continuous meeting place for white Nationalists in Sydney since 2003. [W]e invite those interested in attending our meetings to reply with your expression of interest by private message. We currently have a central branch and a Hills District branch with a Greater Western branch to be initiated soon.

Klub Nation is sponsored by the PIF Inc ([P]ublic [I]nformation [F]orum) and in essence is a networking and social point for Nationalists. [W]e present a range of guest and in house speakers covering the full gamut of political-economy, and other subjects of relevance to the Nationalist milieu.

The conveners of Klub Nation seek to cast an image as a survivor’s Klub.

Urban survival against the predations of the NWO–Globalist over class is less about arms caches, compounds and tin food stock, but rather having the knowledge, network and social capital to assail and prevail over everything this insidious over class throws at us. NWO tyranny and enslavement is predicated on the atomization of Anglo-Celtic people. Any brotherhood or Klan based unity is like a silver bullet[.]

Klub Nation promotes the “viable Nationalist”: – one who isn’t crest fallen, physiologically addled, impecunious or effeminate. Remaining viable is the linchpin to survival. Like hell, we’re going to become the white trash of South East Asia.

So come along to the next meeting for a bit of good cheer and company of fellow Nationalists.

Klub Nation provides generous food and beverages. It is general etiquette and protocol that entry requires a donation

JBR [Jason Rafty]

Jason Rafty operates the Klub in konjunction with Daevid Palmer.

Palmer, along with David Innes and John Drew, was profiled in Zoo magazine (Issue 75, August 6, 2007, pp.40-44) in an article titled ‘The Most Dangerous Men in Australia’:

Palmer calls himself ‘Der Führer’ and his ambition is to rid Australia of multicultural ‘mongrels’ and Jews…

“Jews and other races are destroying our nation by interbreeding. It destroys our Australian Anglo-Saxon European base culture. We call it multi-mongrelism.

The KKK appeals to people because the hoods provide anonymity to our members who are lawyers, policemen, teachers and tradesmen. We integrated KKK members with the Australian Nazi Movement, which I formed, to make the National Socialist Defence of Australian People. The NSDAP is against non-European immigration…”

In the past, the Klub also served as a meeting point for members of the ‘White Pride Coalition of Australia’ (WPCA), a coalition of the Australian Nationalists Movement (ANM), World Church of the Creator (WCOTC), Imperial Klans of Australia (IKA), New Zealand National Front (NZNF) and National Socialist Party of Australia (NSPA). Visitors to the site are greeted with the following message: “Welcome, My White Comrades, to the White Pride Coalition Australia. Heil Hitler! Hail Woden! Sieg Heil! Stay White Comrades 88”.

There is little doubt that both the NSW Humanist Society and the WPCA agreed — in both theory and practice — that the WPCA had a right to peacefully assemble in its meeting rooms. However, I suspect that there may be some slight tension between the WPCA’s commitment to neo-Nazism, on the one hand, and the Society’s commitment to nice things like the rational appreciation of human rights, on the other.

Note that, an IHEU Board meeting in 1993 issued a statement condemning ‘Any kind of racism and nazism’, claiming that “Humanists wish to take part in an active, public and social-ethical combat against racism and neo-nazism in our societies”. I’m inclined to think that, as part of this effort, the IHEU did not mean to suggest that humanists should combat racism and neo-Nazism by hiring out their meeting rooms to neo-Nazis and racists — but I could be wrong.

Presumably the question will be subjected to a thorough committee process.

Posted in !nataS, Anti-fascism, Broken Windows, State / Politics | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Move over One Nation, here comes Australia First!

Posted on October 13, 2009 by @ndy

According to a sauce at the ‘Australian Broadcasting Corporation’, (Pauline Hanson’s) ‘One Nation Party’ (ONP) looks set to disappear, 12 years after it burst into national (and international) prominence (One Nation: from a bang to a whimper, Nicole Butler, ‎October 11, 2009‎). “The Electoral Commission is again threatening to de-register the party, arguing it does not have the minimum 500 members or a serving representative in Parliament.” The current incarnation of ONP — which has undergone various combinations and permutations since its founding — was registered on June 2, 2004. (‘One Nation Queensland Division’ was deregistered on December 27, 2006; ‘One Nation Western Australia’ on December 27, 2006, and again on June 17, 2009. ‘Pauline Hanson’s One Nation’ was deregistered on February 8, 2005.)

This is good news for the ‘Australia First Party’ (AF), whose founder, Graeme Campbell, had the misfortune to launch it just as Pauline Hanson, David Ettridge and David Oldfield gave birth to the little party that could (and now can’t). Following his expulsion from the ALP, Campbell contested the seat of Kalgoorlie at the October 1998 Federal election as a member of Australia First: he came third, gaining 15,585 votes (22.79%). The seat was won by Liberal Party member Barry Haase (who remains the sitting member). In November 2001, Campbell stood for a seat in the Senate, on this occasion as a member of One Nation and as No.1 on their ticket. ONP gained a total of 77,757 votes (7.03%), but no seats.

The reasons for ONP’s demise are generally understood to revolve around the absorption by the HoWARd Government of some of its major policies; the absence of a coherent ideology; poor leadership; its outsider status as a new, minor political party; and political sabotage by the major parties.

Pauline Hanson

In her (in)famous maiden speech to the Federal Parliament, delivered on September 10, 1996 as the newly-elected Independent for the seat of Oxley in Queensland, Pauline Hanson presented herself as an ‘ordinary’ Australian, a member of a silent (or silenced) majority, whose needs and desires were being ignored by the political establishment.

Hanson voiced her opposition to ‘political correctness’; the ‘Aboriginal industry’ and the privileged status of Aborigines in Australian society; immigration (“I believe we are in danger of being swamped by Asians”); multiculturalism and the Family Law Act, and expressed concern over high levels of unemployment, a declining standard of living, and foreign ownership of Australian industry. She called for the abolition of ATSIC, foreign aid (“The government should cease all foreign aid immediately and apply the savings to generate employment here at home”) and multiculturalism (“Abolishing the policy of multiculturalism will save billions of dollars and allow those from ethnic backgrounds to join mainstream Australia, paving the way to a strong, united country”). On immigration, she stated that it “must be halted in the short-term so that our dole queues are not added to by, in many cases, unskilled migrants not fluent in the English language”, and also advocated the introduction of national service (military conscription for young adults).

ONP’s support peaked in 1998, when it received one million votes. Since then, it has been on a long, slow decline, punctuated by various schisms and minor scandals.

“We must have one people, one nation, one flag.”

The response of the HoWARd Government to ‘Hansonism’ was two-pronged. On the one hand, it sought to downplay its significance, while doing what it could to undermine Hanson’s support base — largely confined to rural and regional Queensland, and some urban centres, principally Brisbane (the state’s capital). On the other hand, while it engaged in some muted criticism of her policies, its own rhetoric reflected Hanson’s concerns, and the Government even adopted — directly, or indirectly — some of her key policies, notably the abolition of ATSIC, and the strengthening of Australia’s borders. In this respect, HoWARd was simply reinforcing ALP policy. In addition to ‘The Pacific Solution’ (excising territories and constructing prisons on outlying islands), it expanded the use of concentration camps for asylum seekers, camps introduced by the previous ALP Government in 1992, under then Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (turned corporate lobbyist), Gerry Hand:

I believe it is crucial that all persons who come to Australia without prior authorisation not be released into the community. Their release would undermine the Government’s strategy for determining their refugee claims or entry claims. Indeed, I believe it is vital to Australia that this be prevented as far as possible. The Government is determined that a clear signal be sent that migration to Australia may not be achieved by simply arriving in this country and expecting to be allowed into the community.

Thus, Hanson’s remark in September 1996 — “Of course, I will be called racist but, if I can invite whom I want into my home, then I should have the right to have a say in who comes into my country” — was echoed by HoWARd five years later, seeking to capitalise on public fears of being swamped by non-White refugees. “We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come” was his boast in October 2001.

Old Skool Stylee

In many respects, ONP was an historical throwback, a return to old skool labourism and the policies progressively abandoned by Labor in its post-1960s incarnation, in particular those emerging from the party’s commitment to white nationalism: support for Australian industry, especially industrial manufacturing, combined with immigration restrictions on non-Whites. (On labourism, see : Transforming Labourism, Eurhythmania, September 26, 2009.) It was also a response, in part, to the ascendancy of ‘neo-liberalism’, enthusiastically embraced by the ALP under first Hawke and then Keating (1983–1996). Damien Cahill notes that “…it is unlikely that the rise of Hansonism as a political force — at the end of the survey period — would have been possible had it not been for the effects that neo-liberal restructuring was having upon many rural and working class communities. Interestingly, it was new class discourse that Hanson turned against the architects of neo-liberalism in order to mobilise opinion against ‘elites’.” (‘The radical neo-liberal movement as a hegemonic force in Australia, 1976-1996’, Damien C. Cahill, University of Wollongong, 2004 [PDF].)

Dr James Saleam and Australia First

In July 2009, AF declared that it had a sufficient number of members (525) to register with the Australian Electoral Commission as a political party. Three months later, on October 3, it declared that the relevant documents have been submitted to the AEC to allow it to initiate the formal process enabling its registration. (‘Australia First Party’ was deregistered on August 13, 2004.)

The leader of AF, Dr James Saleam, is not especially ‘charismatic’ and, unlike Hanson when she first reared her head as a Tory, Saleam’s political history is located on the extreme right, from openly neo-Nazi to merely fascist. He is also a convicted criminal, having been found guilty of fraud and violent crime. Thus in 1989… “he provided a shotgun to two boneheads who fired into the home of Eddie Funde, the African National Congress representative in Australia. Funde and his wife were inside and shotgun pellets narrowly missed their sleeping baby. Saleam was sentenced to 3½ years’ jail for his involvement”; he was also involved in an “insurance scam in which he falsely claimed [his] house had been robbed. He was jailed for two years for fraud” (see : Dr James Saleam & ‘The Audacity of Hate’ (‘The Audacity of Hate’, Greg Bearup, Good Weekend, September 26/27, 2009), September 26, 2009).

As an electoral candidate then, Saleam makes an unlikely vote-winner. That said, there are certainly a range of others able and willing to enter into a popularity contest with Labour, Tory and other parties, among them George Atkinson, Greg Bailey, Kevin Baldwin, Nathan Clarke, Terry Cooksley, Richard Hedditch, Ian McBryde, Alex Parker, Tony Pettitt, Jim Smith and Darrell Wallbridge, all of whom have stood in NSW. In Queensland, Peregrine John Beverley Jewell and Peter Schuback have also thrown their hats into the ring on behalf of AF.

Kameradschaft Down Under

On the one hand, AF has experienced little success in the electoral arena thus far, and even as a registered party, is unlikely to at any point in the near future. On the other hand, Saleam’s conception of the role of AF is to act as a catalyst for the formation of a genuine social movement, one capable of engaging in the forms of political and social action that has seen the German neo-Nazi ‘National Democratic Party’ (NPD) carve out a niche in various territories, especially economically-depressed parts of the former East Germany (see: The NPD in Germany (and Australia), August 27, 2009; Huzzah for the NPD! Huzzah for the Sydney Forum!, August 25, 2009). Thus: “The Australia First Party shall take advantage of the benefits of Federal registration and will certainly offer an electoral alternative and intervene in that process. However, the party became aware long ago that if it relied on electoral means alone, it would ultimately fail to build a mass movement and in the shorter term fail to defend Australian workers, farmers, small business and other working people directly against the globalist economic and political order. It was Australia First that advanced the idea of a broad approach, the “three tier method”: electoral activity, community action and cultural defence” (Statement: Australia First Has Applied For Registration As A Federal Party, October 3).

Welf Herfurth, a former member of the NPD who has resided in Sydney for the last 20 years — see : Who’s who in the “national anarchist” zoo? — is one of the key conduits for the transmission of the lessons to be drawn from the German experience to Australia. His analysis finds its most sustained expression in his writings and speechifying on the subject of Kameradschaft: see : www.newrightausnz.com/?p=27 and video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7734684144311567576. Note that Herfurth’s speech was presented at the 2007 Inverell Forum — an event Hanson was scheduled to speak at but cancelled on the basis that Herfurth and another Holocaust denialist, Richard Krege, were also scheduled to speak.

Posted in Anti-fascism, History, State / Politics | Tagged , , , | 28 Comments

Adelaide : City of Churches (And White Power)

Posted on October 13, 2009 by @ndy

In late September, it was reported that there was a violent incident in northern Adelaide, when a group of (white) men invaded the home of an Aboriginal family. Apparently, a woman and her children were threatened with murder and their father was badly assaulted. Those responsible shouted racist slogans and referred to themselves as a ‘white power crew’, and supposedly boasted of the assault after they had left.

The story aired on ‘National Indigenous Television’, Sky TV, and local Adelaide media. I am unaware if anyone has been arrested for the assault.

Elsewhere, a comrade reports that a local school sent an email to parents and teachers informing them that neo-Nazis have been invading houses belonging to Aboriginal families in the northern suburbs, and assaulting the residents. Some families have allegedly been told to leave the area, or face the consequences. The attacks have extended over several weeks.

Earlier, in Alice Springs…

Memorial cross burnt in Alice Springs
Larine Statham
WA Today
September 28, 2009

Community leaders have been urged to promote harmony in Alice Springs after a cross constructed in memory of a young indigenous man was burnt.

Donny Ryder, also known by his traditional name Kwementyaye Ryder, was bashed to death in July.

The 33-year-old trainee ranger’s body was discovered near Schwartz Crescent, near the Todd River, with a wound to the back of the head.

Five white men, aged 19 to 24, have each been charged with eight counts of reckless endangerment and one count of murder.

Central Land Council chairman Lindsay Bookie, who is related to the Ryder family, said he was shocked that vandals had at the weekend burnt the cross erected at the site of Mr Ryder’s murder.

While some believe the attack on the cross was not racially motivated others claim the act has shaken the central Australian community.

Mr Bookie said it was disturbing people in the town could show such disrespect to the grieving Ryder family, who had promoted calm since the death.

“It’s not right what they did,” Mr Bookie said in a statement released on Monday.

“They should go back and put a new one there with flowers.”

Mr Bookie called on community leaders to actively promote harmony in Alice Springs.

“Too many people have stayed quiet at this time,” he said.

“Aldermen, politicians, community organisations – they all need to come out strong and say this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.

“We’ve all got to get along, show respect to one another.”

The five youths charged with Mr Ryder’s murder have been remanded in custody and will reappear before the court in December.

See also : The Tale of Denis Donohue… and Donny Ryder (September 11, 2009) | MAC statement on neo-Nazi attack on MARC.

Friday, 16 October 2009, 10am
March Against Racism
MAYSAR Sport and Recreation Centre
184-186 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy (Melbourne)

Posted in Anti-fascism, Broken Windows | 1 Comment

I don’t like Mondays, but I do like The King Blues

Posted on October 12, 2009 by @ndy

Despite the fact that anarchy is a fag, and that The King Blues are dirty filthy (ex-)squatters, fuckwits, bums, lowlifes, liars, hypocrites and no better than the forces that they rail against… they write a great sing-a-long-a!


LET’S HANG THE LANDLORD by THE KING BLUES

The King Blues|MySpace Music Videos

(They’re also terrorists who think that the streets are ours and not the property of cars, commerce and governments. Scum!)

We stood in front of tanks at Tiananmen Square,
From Berlin to Chiapas we are everywhere,
And over the sirens of the police cars,
You can hear us shout “The streets are ours!”

’69 Chicago ushered in a new age,
We brought the war home with the days of rage,
And over the sirens of the police cars,
You can hear us shout “The streets are ours!”

In Seattle we chased out the World Trade Organisation,
On Mayday we gave Winston Churchill a mohican,
Kept the water for the people in Cochabamba,
Demanded autonomy on the dawn of NAFTA,
So send in the clowns, someone send in the clowns,
The black bloc, the antifa and the undergrounds,
A big, pink, marching samba band,
And we’ll take our own route that ain’t pre-planned,
From the social centres and the Brighton Schnews,
From Indymedia reporting our own news,
Over the sirens of the police cars,
You can hear us shout “The streets are ours!”

We threw the bomb at Haymarket Square,
We fly the black flag everywhere,
And over the sirens of the police cars,
You can hear us shout “The streets are ours!”

Speaking of which…

Friday, 16 October 2009, 10am
March Against Racism
MAYSAR Sport and Recreation Centre
184-186 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy

Also!

Friday, 16 October 2009, 6pm
Public Meeting
Melbourne Youth Sport and Recreation Centre (MAYSAR)
184-186 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy

‘Resistance to Invasion: the Aboriginal walk-off and protest against the Northern Territory Intervention’.

Speakers include: Richard Downs, Harry Nelson and leading Melbourne Aboriginal activist Robbie Thorpe. Contact: Marisol 0413 597 315 or Joe 0434 127 661.

AND!

Posted in Music | Tagged | Leave a comment

Shadow Security Minister Baroness Neville-Jones ~versus~ Blood & Honour

Posted on October 12, 2009 by @ndy

Huh…

Tory calls for government to blacklist neo-Nazi group
Leon Symons
Jewish Chronicle
October 8, 2009

Shadow Security Minister Baroness Neville-Jones has called on Home Secretary Alan Johnson to proscribe the extreme right-wing group Blood & Honour.

Last week the group was reported to the police for distributing racially offensive CDs which spread hatred against Jews, Asians and blacks. The Home Office confirmed that its status would be re-assessed.

Baroness Neville-Jones said: “This is a flagrant example of the kind of hate speech that should be dealt with. There is a danger that this is growing in extent and goes unchecked.

“This government has taken such a strong stand on hate crime but if it goes unchecked groups like this will think they have tacit approval to act on what they are saying.

“The government should have been onto this group by now.”

The baroness has written to Mr Johnson complaining that as well as distributing the CDs, the group has a “field manual” which refers to “die-hard Nazis” who “still have an option through leaderless resistance and direct action … to stalk the worst enemies of our race. They expect no support and assistance but they deserve acknowledgement and understanding.”

Baroness Neville-Jones has asked the Home Secretary for his assessment of the group’s activities. She said she believed Blood & Honour was breaking the Public Order Act of 1986 and the Terrorism Acts of 2000 and 2006, which specify that “the encouragement of terrorism and the dissemination of terrorist publications are offences.

“On the face of it, there appears to be a very strong case for the proscription of Blood & Honour.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Proscription is a tough but necessary power to tackle terrorism. Decisions on proscription must be proportionate and based on evidence that a group is concerned in terrorism as defined in the Terrorism Act 2000.

“Organisations which cause us concern, including those which might change their name to avoid the consequences of proscription, are kept under constant review.

“As and when new material comes to light it is considered and the organisation re-assessed as part of that process.”

B&H is a proscribed organisation in Germany (2000) and Spain (2005); in Belgium and Holland, there has been public and parliamentary debate concerning its legality.

    UK/SPAIN: R[V]F and B&H organisers arrested

    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.

    See also : ‘Right-wing extremist groups’, Willem Wagenaar and Jaap van Donselaar, Chapter 3, Racism & Extremism Monitor 2008, www.annefrank.org [PDF], on B&H in the Netherlands.

In Australia, B&H, in conjunction with another neo-Nazi skinhead network called the (Southern Cross) Hammerskins, organises an annual gig in Melbourne, and occasionally organises other gigs. Their next event is scheduled to take place on April 17 on the Gold Coast in Queensland — three days prior to Hitler’s birthday.

    Authorities in Spain and Portugal have recently launched a crackdown against the Hammerskins. See : Hammerskins? ¡Ay, ay, ay, no me gusta! (August 12, 2009): “For the first time in Portugal, a collective of judges has handed down prison sentences for racial discrimination and inciting racial hatred. On Friday, the court at Monsanto in Lisbon found 31 out of 36 defendants – all boneheads – guilty of racism and crimes of a racist nature. Of these, six were handed down prison sentences, five were absolved, while the others received suspended prison sentences, were awarded fines or given community service orders. The longest prison sentence was awarded to Paulo Maia, who was given six years, while Mário Machado and Vasco Leitão – both linked to the extreme right party Partido Nacional Renovador (PNR) – were given four years. Paulo Maia was found guilty of racial discrimination, kidnapping, aggravated incitement, actual bodily harm and holding illegal arms. It was Maia who, two years ago in Amadora, shot and injured two men for racial reasons. Judge João Felgar also handed down a five-year prison sentence to defendant Pedro Isaque…”

B&H and the Hammerskins are very sensitive to criticism. On Monday, September 28, four boneheads paid an impromptu visit to the Melbourne Anarchist Resource Centre (MARC) in Northcote. The boneheads, one of whom was armed with mace, knocked over some shelving, threw some pamphlets on to the floor, threatened the handful of people in the space, and stated that if there was any more anti-fascist activity in Melbourne they would be back to kick some heads in. In the subsequent period, the front of the space has been repeatedly daubed with swastikas.

In addition to organising gigs and attacks upon community spaces, B&H (and the SCHS) also distributes “racially offensive CDs which spread hatred against Jews, Asians and blacks”; principally by way of the 9percent productions website. The website is the responsibility of Jesse *******, a Hammerskin from Melbourne. In addition to muzak, the site also sells merch (B&H, SCHS, Nazi pins and the like) and propaganda (The Turner Diaries by “Andrew MacDonald” (dead US nutzi William Pierce) and The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, among others).

Bonus!

Anti-fascist demonstration, Chippendale
youthagainstfascism
October 9, 2009

Last Friday (October 1) a crowd of over 70 people made it clear to a far-right gathering in Sydney that fascists are not welcome and that they will not be able to meet undisturbed.

A very successful community demonstration was held against KN (Klub National / Klub Nastiya) [aka Klub Nation / Klub Naziya], a monthly social gathering/drinking club for assorted neo-nazis, nationalists, racists and fascists. KN were holding their meeting at the Humanist Society Hall, on [10] Shepherd St, Chippendale. There were 5 or 6 fascists present when the crowd of over 50 people came around the corner carrying signs saying “All You Fascists Bound to Lose” and “No Racist Meeting in Our Neighbourhood”. They locked themselves in the building while demonstrators outside yelled “Nazis out” and banged on the door and windows. The protesters outside were quickly joined by dozens more people who came out of nearby houses and the café on the corner, who were outraged to find out that fascists were meeting in their neighbourhood and joined in showing their disapproval.

The police came quickly but did not attempt to move the demonstrators on, though they kept people away from the building. After about an hour, the Public Order and Riot Squad blocked off a side street and pushed protesters back in order to allow a couple of nazi skinheads to enter the side door of the building. It was only the large police presence that allowed the fascists to have their get together.

If KN try to hold another meeting next month (November 6) at the Humanist Hall – and if the Humanist Society let them meet there – there will be a far bigger demonstration. If they get the message that they are not welcome in Chippendale and move somewhere else, we will follow them.

NB. KN — for which the two principal organisers are ‘The Space Wizard’ (Daevid Palmer) and Jason Rafty — claim to have been meeting regularly in Sydney since 2003. Rafty posts as ‘KlubNation’ on SF, while Palmer posted as ‘daevid88’.

Dorothy Buckland Fuller and Robyn Williams of the ABC’s The Science Show are the Patrons of the Humanist Society of New South Wales Inc.. (Buckland Fuller is described as being “a sociologist and social activist of some longstanding, with a distinguished career in ethnic and multicultural politics, particularly as they impact upon women of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds… a peace activist, an environmentalist, a feminist and committed to the cause of reconciliation with indigenous Australia.”) John August is President (Tel: (61 2) (02) 9888 2629; Mob: 0419 683 353), while Ann Young (Tel: 9211 1303) and Waratah Gillespie (Tel: 4274 0999; Mob: 0422 802 018) are its Vice Presidents. Affie Adagio is Secretary (Mob: 0421 101 163 or use message service 9214 7529) and Victor Bien Treasurer (Tel: (61 2 or 02) 9597 3218; Fax 9556 2327; Mob: (04) 27 816 373).

In 2007, the ‘Anglo-Australian National Community Council’ — aka Darrin Hodges — met at the House.

David Duffy is the humanist responsible for bookings.

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Hey Hey It’s Samstag! (c.1939)

Posted on October 12, 2009 by @ndy

In Berlin over the weekend, hundreds of neo-Nazis jackbooted through the streets, accompanied by an Honour Guard of over 1,000 German police.

Skirmishes as 750 neo-Nazis demonstrate in Berlin
October 10, 2009

Berlin, Oct 10 (DPA) Around 750 neo-Nazis took part in a rally in central Berlin Saturday, leading to minor skirmishes and 17 arrests, police reported.

The demonstrators gathered at Berlin’s Alexanderplatz, dressed in black and bearing flags and banners inscribed with right-wing paroles.

The rally, accompanied by anti-riot police, drew a large number of opponents who booed and whistled at the neo-Nazi crowd.

“We took part in the demonstrations against the East German regime in 1989, but this is not what we wanted,” one woman told DPA, after spitting at a right-wing demonstrator.

After a series of minor skirmishes involving police, neo-Nazis and left-wing activists, officers arrested 15 left-wing agitators and two right-wing demonstrators. A total of 1,000 police officers were on duty during the rally.

The demonstration was prompted by an arson attack on a pub frequented by right-wing extremists last Saturday. The incident was initially thought to be racially motivated, but has since been classed as a personally motivated revenge.

Law enforcers arrested seven men Saturday in connection with the attack. The men had been injured during a punch-up in the pub in September.

A Nazi March Near My Home
Victor Grossman
MR Zine

Today, close to my Berlin home, I saw a frightening march of Nazis, calling themselves the Nationale Sozialistische Partei Deutschlands — leaving out only the word Arbeiter (Worker) from the name Hitler used. Several thousands [?] of them, almost all in black, many boneheads but also many all too normal-looking youngsters (and a smattering of very blonde girls), with the loudest loudspeaker I’ve heard in years blaring out their propaganda, agitating against democracy, denouncing the Bundestag representatives, even the cops, spreading hatred against all foreigners, but above all against the Left and the leftists. At least one big banner contained a warning threat: “Make sure you know where the nearest Antifascist club is located.”

…

Grossman notes — in what he apparently finds a surprisingly new development on the far right — that the neo-Nazis, in their fashion and ‘paroles’, bore a striking resemblance to their opponents: “One man who was standing next to me watching the meeting noted that the anti-Nazis, mostly the same age as the Nazis, were also often wearing black jackets — the color in fashion these days, I guess. He seemed to lump both Nazis and anti-Nazis together, a worrisome development. I don’t know how many others also thought that way. Most of the crowd were decidedly antifascist.”

A few points.

The drawing of an equivalence between ‘Nazis’ and ‘anti-Nazis’ is fairly commonplace. One trivial example is local Melbourne yuppie Dion who, on the basis of my advocacy of a boycott of a (formerly) neo-Nazi venue (The Birmingham Hotel in Fitzroy) wrote on a 100% Two Fingers In The Air Punk Rawk forum: “As I stated on the Bombshell forum Andy, you are a liar, a hypocrite and no better than the trash that you fight against.” More generally, ‘militant’ anti-fascism — in addition to being subject to sometimes harsh repression by the state — is frequently derided as being simply another form of ‘fascism’: ‘worrisome’ not because the criticism is frequently advanced by fascists (‘We’re not fascists; you’re fascists!” is the juvenile refrain) but because it serves as a justification for repression by the state of ‘antifa’.

The adoption of black garb and mimicry of the symbology of the anarchist and far left is recent, but not new. So too, some elements of its organisational framework (most obviously in the form of ‘black blocs’). In Australia, there is an attempt, albeit somewhat shambolic, to imitate the German far right in this respect; the key advocate of such an approach being former NPD member Welf Herfurth.

In historical terms, the colour black was adopted by the OG Fascists in the 1920s — again in (semi-)conscious mimicry of anarchism.

Bonus Stiglitz!

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Hey Hey It’s Not Racism!

Posted on October 11, 2009 by @ndy

THE men behind the masks at the centre of the Hey Hey It’s Saturday race furore have hired a crisis public relations firm to manage the global fallout from the controversy.

The six Sydney doctors, who painted their faces black and donned Afro wigs in the “Jackson Jive” skit have gone into hiding since the show was slammed as racist by guest judge Harry Connick Jr, who was openly offended by the antics watched by a TV audience of 2.3 million.

Plastic surgeon Anand Kumaradeva, who painted his face white to play Michael Jackson, left the country with his family on Friday for a holiday, The Sunday Telegraph reports.

The Sydney University graduate swiftly hired crisis PR manager Matthew Horan on a pro-bono basis to protect them from the global backlash, which included criticism from Michael Jackson’s family.

Mr Horan, from the firm Cato Counsel, also represented embattled Pacific Brands when it decided to sack 1200 manufacturing workers, virtually ending local production.

Michael Jackson’s brothers Marlon, Tito and Jackie have since thanked Harry Connick Jr.

Marlon told reporters the family understood the men weren’t deliberately being disrespectful.

“Man, if they turned up looking like that in the United States …” he said.

“We thank Harry for speaking out, but we also understand that they weren’t trying to be disrespectful to us.”

The other members of the singing group include [radiologist] Suresh [de] Silva, paediatrician Joseph Macdessi, anaesthetist Harry Koumoukelis, [cardiologist] Mark Sader and [urologist] David Jefferson.

Dr Sader refused to comment when contacted by The Sunday Telegraph.

“We’ve said what we wanted to,” he said. “We have already given detailed responses, no takers for more.”

Earlier this week, Dr da Silva said the same skit was met with great acclaim 20 years ago when they were first on Hey Hey, and even a few months ago when they performed at the University of Sydney Medical Revue.

See also : Hey Hey It’s Saturday (c. October 7, 1979) (October 9, 2009).

Posted in !nataS, Music, State / Politics, Television | Tagged | 10 Comments

War Really IS Peace

Posted on October 11, 2009 by @ndy

And Barack HUSSEIN O’Bama has been awarded — by Thorbjørn Jagland, Kaci Kullmann Five, Sissel Rønbeck, Inger-Marie Ytterhorn and Ågot Valle — The Nobel Peace Prize 2009 “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”.

Bonus!

Added Bonus!

Extra Added Bonus!

Let’s rise against the war crimes of US and its fundamentalist lackeys!

RAWA Statement on Massacre of over 150 civilians in Bala Baluk of Farah Province by the U.S.

As the US occupiers continue killing our innocent and sorrowed people without regret, this time they committed yet another horrible crime in Bala Baluk village of Farah Province. On 5th May 2009, the US airstrikes targeted people’s homes, killing more than 150, mostly women and children. This is another war crime but Pentagon shamelessly includes Taliban as the perpetrators too and announces the civilian deaths being only 12!

The so-called ‘new’ strategy of Obama’s administration and the surge of troops in Afghanistan have already dragged our ill-fated people in the danger zone and his 100-day old government proved itself as much more war-mongering than Bush and his only gifts to our people is hiking killings and ever-horrifying oppression. This administration is bombarding our country and tearing our women and children into pieces and from the other side, is lending a friendly hand towards the terrorist Gulbuddinis and Taliban — the dirty, bloody enemies of our people– and holding secret negotiations and talks with such brutal groups.

While our grieved people are burying the torn bodies of their loved ones in mass graves; the traitor lackey Said Tayeb Jawad, in his comfort in the USA, tries to dim the war crimes of his masters and about the killings of civilians, shamelessly salts people’s wounds saying, “this is a price we have to pay if we want security and stability in Afghanistan, the region and the world.”!

If his or other ignoble spies like him would lose their children and dear ones like the people of Bala Baluk, would they still become so stone-hearted and remain silent in the face of US/NATO war crimes in Afghanistan?

The only way our people can escape the occupant forces and their obedient servants is to rise against them under the slogans of: “Neither the occupiers! Nor the bestial Taliban and the criminal Northern Alliance; long live a free and democratic Afghanistan!”

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The Crucifucks : ‘Artificial Competition’

Posted on October 11, 2009 by @ndy

I couldn’t help but smile
When you finally asked for my help.
You thought you could change the time
On that clock by the door all yourselves.

I’ve seen you march in circles
At some feeble command
Then you all chant something silly
For the mini-cam.
What activists for all the world to see
But did you lift a finger
When they came after me?

I want you all to know
That when you talked behind my back
I was above you
And not even a change of heart
Could make me love you.

You were quite the laugh on
The way to the ballot box.
What an impact you must
Have made on all our lives.

You must believe all the swill
That you hear on the news
And I’ll bet Santa Claus bought
Your last pair of shoes.
Sam and Bear both profit when
They make you afraid
And just where do you think your money
Goes after you get paid?

I want you all to know
That when you follow down my path
I’m still above you,
And not even a change of heart
Could make me love you.

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