{"id":1367,"date":"2008-09-27T02:09:26","date_gmt":"2008-09-26T16:09:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=1367"},"modified":"2008-09-27T04:39:20","modified_gmt":"2008-09-26T18:39:20","slug":"protect-australia-from-bloody-muslims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=1367","title":{"rendered":"(Protect Australia from) Bloody Muslims!"},"content":{"rendered":"

The APP are certainly busy little bees, and their buzzing about Islam has once again<\/a> attracted the attention of the corporate media — in this case, Jano Gibson (‘Locals oppose Muslim school’<\/a>, Sydney Morning Herald<\/em>, September 26, 2008) and The Muslim’s nefarious plan to blow-up<\/strike> build a school in Austral<\/a> (a rural area in south-west Sydney). <\/p>\n

[The APP’s] online forum, www.australianidentity.net, which openly declares that “views, ideas and contributions that are hostile to [an Anglo-Celtic-European-white heritage] are not permitted” on it, received several postings about the proposal after the development application was lodged in April. “Any chance of an APP [Australian Protectionist Party] campaign on the basis of traffic usage etc?” wrote Casapound. “Yes, indeedy,” replied Darrinh, who is believed to be<\/strike> Darrin Hodges, the NSW chairman of the Australian Protectionist Party, who recently stood<\/a> unsuccessfully<\/a> as a candidate in the Sutherland Shire elections. The Herald<\/em> was yesterday unable to contact Mr Hodges, whose campaign material stated: “I will oppose mosques, sex-shops<\/a> and any developments that undermine Australia’s traditional and family values.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What a Wally<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A few points:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

one<\/strong><\/p>\n

‘Casapound’ is the pseudonym used by local Patriotik Yoof Luke Connors (pictured above, smoking a fag at the Sydney Forum<\/a>). His handle is derived from the name of a fascist squat in Rome, Italy (est.2003) — one which, it appears, Luke is quite enamoured with (just as he is the Italian neo-fascist movement as a whole). Luke had his own brush with fame following the Cronulla pogrom in December 2005, when he was interviewed<\/a> by The Age<\/em> in his capacity as the spokesperson for the now-defunct Patriotik Yoof League.<\/p>\n

In summary, he thought the pogrom<\/a> was ace.<\/p>\n

Illuminating the meaning of the phrase ‘Don’t count your chickens before they hatch’, however, according to the article ‘…groups such as the PYL are enjoying the publicity. Mr Connors explains: “Mate, I\u2019m going to get brain cancer from having the mobile phone pressed to me ear all day and all night. Answering membership and media inquiries”.’ Assuming Luke has a brain (and it’s not cancerous), the irony is that, within the space of a few years, the PYL had dwindled down to one person: an elderly, tennis-playing Queenslander named John Drew<\/a> (vociferously denounced by his kameraden<\/em> on Stormfront Down Under<\/a> for his apparent attraction to men and masturbation<\/a>). Having, like Darrin, left both SF and the Australia First Party behind him, Luke now (like Darrin<\/a>) extols the virtues of the APP and the mutant lump known as ‘national anarchism’<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I wonder if they’ll meet the same fate as the PYL…?<\/p>\n

two<\/strong><\/p>\n

Apart from Darrin’s rather desultory performance in recent council elections, the APP has also come into the media spotlight (no doubt much to the chagrin<\/a> of rival leader Dr James Saleam of the AFP: see<\/em> Moffat, AFP, and those BLOODY FOREIGNERS!<\/a>) as a result of its plans to bring the leader of the British National Party, Nick Griffin<\/a>, to Australia in December. The announcement by the APP\/BNP of Nick’s intention to visit the colonies has been greeted with joy by racist wingnuts Down Under, while in the Mother Country Searchlight<\/em> and allied groups have launched a campaign<\/a> to stop him.<\/p>\n

Well, kinda.<\/p>\n

In truth, some have expressed the view that Nick should<\/em> go — and not come back (perhaps as the result of an unfortunate “accident” involving a blue-ringed octopus<\/a>, crocodile, jellyfish<\/a>, scorpion, shark, snake<\/a>, spider<\/a>, stonefish<\/a> or dropbear). No doubt, if he does come, a Welcoming Committee will be formed to ensure his trip is as productive as possible.<\/p>\n

three<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking of the BNP, they held a little rally in Hooked-On-Classics<\/strike> Stoke-On-Trent last weekend, ostensibly in order to protest the manslaughter<\/a> in July 2007 of (BNP activist) Keith Brown by his (Muslim) neighbour, Habib Khan. Found guilty in May and sentenced to eight years jail for the crime in August 2008, ‘Local BNP councillor, Martin Coleman, told reporters the party would start a campaign to “expose what has gone on today in court” and said he viewed the case as “insanity and madness”.’<\/p>\n

In response to the BNP rally — which attracted around 300 supporters — a number of groups organised a counter-rally. Anindya Bhattacharyya (The BNP shows its true Nazi colours in Stoke<\/a>, Socialist Worker<\/em>, September 27, 2008) writes:<\/p>\n

Despite the frustrations of being blocked from directly confronting the Nazis<\/a>, local people on the anti-fascist demonstration were pleased with the turnout and determined to build a mass movement on the ground against the BNP. Speakers at the anti-fascist demonstration included local Labour MP Joan Walley, Vince Simpson from North Staffordshire Race Equality Council, Jason Hill from Norscarf and a variety of councillors and trade unionists from the city and surrounding area… Martin Smith from [Socialist Workers Party front group Love Music Hate Racism] spoke of how the BNP was aiming to use the current economic crisis to build an organisation of racist thugs. \u201cThey have no right to march on our streets \u2013 they shall not pass,\u201d he said. Martin also argued against the idea that anti-fascists should restrict themselves to peaceful methods, pointing out that key turning points in previous struggles \u2013 Cable Street in 1936, Lewisham in 1977 \u2013 had involved physical confrontation with the Nazis.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Uh-huh…<\/p>\n

four<\/strong><\/p>\n

Presumably, this is an indication that the SWP will be reviving the nth<\/em> version of the Anti-Nazi League<\/a> (now known as ‘Unite Against Fascism’<\/a>), and hope to be able to claim title to headlines such as ‘Fascists routed in Cologne’<\/a> — only in, say, Coventry<\/a>. That a Labour Party politician is able to share an anti-fascist platform ‘against the BNP’ — when disillusionment with the endless ‘betrayals’ by Labour of working class people is one important reason for the BNP’s modest success — is indicative of the, er — witlessness? — of the SWP’s approach to ‘fighting fascism’ and the ‘Nazi’ BNP<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Still, the tough-talking is perhaps justified in the sense that, when it comes to the electoral process, the SWP are simply no match for the BNP. Dramatic illustration of this fact was given in May, when the SWP — using the moniker ‘Left List’<\/a>, since dropped for the more alluring title of ‘Left Alternative’<\/a> — did exceedingly badly in local council elections<\/a>. Thus the BNP’s Richard Barnbrook — who happened to pay a spectacularly unsuccessful visit to Cologne recently — was elected to the London Assembly<\/a> (and gave a great, drunken acceptance speech). Barnbrook received 69,710 votes for Mayor, while the SWP candidate, Lindsey German, got a mere 16,796. (As the Respect candidate in 2004, German got 61,731 votes.)<\/p>\n

Note that the fortunes of the SWP in the UK are in some ways mirrored by those of the Democratic Socialist Perspective<\/a> (DSP) in Australia. Both parties are major forces on the Leninist left, and both parties decided, in their wisdom, to try and hitch their wagons to the ‘anti-capitalist’ movement in the early noughties by way of joining\/forming an electoral alliance. In the case of the SWP this meant, first, joining\/forming the Socialist Alliance (1999–2003), then Respect (2003–2007), then Respect Coalition (2007–2008), then the Left List (2008), and now the Left Alternative. In the case of the DSP, they comprised one of the founding members of the Socialist Alliance (2001) and — while every single other member of the ‘alliance’ has since departed — have remained there. This has come at a cost to the DSP, with the recent departure of a large minority<\/a> to form the Revolutionary Socialist Party<\/a>. (The electoral performance of the SA has also been quite dismal.) The SWP, on the other hand, has witnessed a declining membership and, most recently, the ejection (scapegoating) of two of the leading proponents of the electoral turn, John Rees and Lindsey German<\/a>, from the commanding heights of the ‘Left Alternative’…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Remember the Left Alternative? Okay, maybe not. The Left Alternative, in case you haven\u2019t been paying attention, is the current incarnation of the post-split Reespect\/Left List\/Left Party that did so well in the May elections. You remember, when Lindsey German came so close to winning a seat on the GLA? No? Still drawing a blank?<\/p>\n

This puts you in the good company of many Socialist Workers Party members, who have been asking themselves \u201cWhatever happened to the Left Alternative?\u201d<\/p>\n

…So the LA is going to be a parked front, much like Globalise Resistance<\/a>, kept just about ticking over in case there\u2019s a need to dust it off again. This makes sense. Since the election debacle, practically all the SWP\u2019s allies \u2013 who weren\u2019t too numerous to begin with \u2013 have flaked off. The four Tower Hamlets councillors have gone, three to New Labour and one to the Tories. Kumar Murshid has gone. The very able Sait Akgul seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. And the SWP itself doesn\u2019t have the membership or the money to keep a halfway serious electoral intervention going under its own steam…<\/p>\n

My first reaction to this is, about fucking time. The period of Rees\u2019 ascendancy has been one long lurch from disaster to disaster, with occasional flashes of potential in between. In this tragic-comic situation, the tragic part is that, in fact, it\u2019s been John and Lindsey who\u2019ve been associated with attempts to break out of the old sectist rut and turn towards some type of united front politics. Unfortunately, they\u2019ve been congenitally unable to make that work. The trouble with united front or coalition politics is that, in the nature of things, you\u2019re going to be working with people to your right, and that creates liquidationist or opportunist pressures. Those pressures are an inevitable overhead, and it\u2019s a matter of taste as to whether you think them a price worth paying for the sake of a possible, but far from inevitable, future as the revolutionary wing of a much bigger movement. Hence the pressures from those who preferred the certainties of the old-style SWP politics, and hence John and Lindsey making openings to other forces, and then ruining it all by the most crass manipulation, or by seeking to square the circle by promising enormous gains right around the corner. You know the phrase, hoist by your own petard? This is a good illustration of what it means.<\/p>\n

~ Trouble at the top: The SWP\u2019s palace coup<\/a>, Splintered Sunrise, September 11, 2008<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Anyway, while John and Lindsey have presumably moved on to bigger and better things, and Splintered Sunshine provides hours of fun for trainspotters<\/a>, if the pair play their cards right, they’ll be back on the front pages soon enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The APP are certainly busy little bees, and their buzzing about Islam has once again attracted the attention of the corporate media — in this case, Jano Gibson (‘Locals oppose Muslim school’, Sydney Morning Herald, September 26, 2008) and The … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,9,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anti-fascism","category-state","category-trot-guide"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6AyE-m3","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1367\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}