Date: Wed, 01 May 2002 22:42:57 -0400
Subject: The Internet Anti-Fascist: Tue, 2 May 2002 -- 6:36 (#679)
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The Internet Anti-Fascist: Tuesday, 2 May 2002
Vol. 6, Number 36 (#679)
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Security Announcement:
01) Anti Nazi League, "ANL Mailing List Hacked," 25 Apr 02
02) Anti Nazi League, "No Security Breach at ANL," 25 Apr 02
Fascist Crime In the News
03) WRTV, "Man Pleads Guilty To Indy Hate Crime," 29 Apr 02
News On Fascism and Bias In Europe
04) AP, "German Chancellor calls for more action to thwart far right in
Europe," 30 Apr 02
05) Jon ben Asher (Planet Out), "Russians protest plan to criminalize
gays," 29 Apr 02
06) Audrey Woods (AP), "Gurkhas claim violation of rights, sue British
government," 29 Apr 02
07) Reuters, "Charges against Roma journalist accused of insulting
police officer dropped," 26 Apr 02
08) Ed Johnson, "Attorney general orders review of Damilola Taylor
case," 26 Apr 02
09) Amnesty International, "Russian Federation: Indifference to racism
must be addressed," 19 Apr 02
Real Political Correctness
10) AA News, "'Wild On' Religious Bullying In Pennsylvania: Religious
Demonstrators Riot, Threaten As Ten Commandments Plaque Covered by
Court Order," 24 Apr 02
11) AA News, "Missouri enacts 'special rights' bill for churches," 21
Apr 02
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SECURITY ANNOUNCEMENTS:
01) ANL Mailing List Hacked
Anti Nazi League
25 Apr 02
Subscribers to the ANL mailing list hosted by poptel.org will be aware the
service was hacked tonight: please disregard the hoax message below.
[BEGIN SPOOFED MESSAGE]
From: anl-AT-anti-nazileague.demon.co.uk
To: anl-AT-gryphon.poptel.org.uk
Sent: 24 April 2002 22:17
Subject: [ANL] ANL
This is just to inform our supporters that the ANL is to be abolished, more
information will be posted shortly.
[END SPOOFED MESSAGE]
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02) No Security Breach at ANL
Anti Nazi League
25 Apr 02
The hoax message received by subscribers to the ANL mailing list last night
at 22.17 was the result of a hijacking of the automated mailing list hosted
by poptel.org.uk. This mailing list is entirely separate to the ANL's
email account and internal network: at no time were any subscriber email
addresses accessible by the hoaxer, nor was the ANL's internal network at
any risk of being hacked.
The mailing list software simply forwards emails from a restricted list of
permitted senders, without any access to the list of recipients being
granted to senders.
Poptel has since increased the security on the mailing list service,
rendering any future hijacking near-impossible without the perpetrators
being traced.
The ANL would like to reassure its mailing list subscribers that the
privacy of email addresses was and remains our highest priority.
Anti Nazi League
PO Box 2566, London N4 1WJ
Phone: 020 7924 0333
Fax: 020 7924 0313
www.anl.org.uk anl-AT-anl.org.uk
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FASCIST CRIME IN THE NEWS:
03) Man Pleads Guilty To Indy Hate Crime
WRTV
29 Apr 02
INDIANAPOLIS -- A self-proclaimed neo-Nazi pleaded guilty Monday to the
attempted murder of a black teenager from Gary, authorities said.
Trevor Thompson, 21, is accused of shooting 13-year-old Ashley McNeil in
the hip as she walked with friends outside an Indianapolis convenience
store on June 21.
"It was a horrendous crime, contemptible conduct, and he's looking at 30
years in prison," Marion County Prosecutor Scott Newman said.
Investigators said that Thompson, who has tattoos of swastikas, apparently
argued with several black men about the insignias and then went on a
mission to hurt someone who was black.
McNeil recovered from her injury, but surgeons did not remove the bullet
from her body.
Sentencing for Thompson is scheduled for May 24.
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NEWS ON FASCISM AND BIAS IN EUROPE
04) German Chancellor calls for more action to thwart far right in Europe
AP
30 Apr 02
BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Union needs to do more to stem the growth
of far-right and extremist political movements within Europe, German
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said late Monday.
Schroeder pointed to the rise of ultra-right presidential candidate Jean-
Marie Le Pen in France as an example of what EU governments and its
institutions should be trying to prevent.
The German leader, on an evening visit with European Commission (news - web
sites) President Romano Prodi said a closer dialogue was needed between
governments and citizens.
"I have made clear that we need to have this discussion," Schroeder said
after his working dinner with EU officials.
Schroeder, who himself faces an election this September, has been working
to outlaw the National Democratic Party, which is accused of stirring up
skinhead violence and neo-Nazi ideology in Germany.
Le Pen will face President Jacques Chirac in the final round of
presidential elections this Sunday.
Schroeder was in Brussels to meet with Prodi and several other
commissioners to discuss industrial policy, an area where the EU's head
office has clashed with Europe's largest economy in the past.
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05) Russians protest plan to criminalize gays
Jon ben Asher (Planet Out)
29 Apr 02
MOSCOW -- Russian gays wearing concentration camp uniforms with pink
triangles demonstrated in Moscow on Friday, to protest against legislation
that would make gay sex punishable by jail terms.
The People's Deputy Party on Tuesday introduced a bill in the Duma that
would amend the criminal code by making sex between two men or two women a
criminal offense punishable by up to five years in prison.
Homosexual sex was decriminalized after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Proposing the reinstatement of the law, the head of the Deputy Party's
parliamentary group, Gennady Raikov, said homosexuality was "an
abnormality, and abnormality should be punishable by law."
The measure is reportedly backed by Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Duma's
international relations committee, but a wide range of politicians have
angrily condemned it.
The concentration camp uniforms were aimed at making explicit the
comparison with Nazi Germany, which forced Jews in countries under its
control to wear yellow stars, and gays to wear pink triangles. More than
six million Jews, gays, Gypsies, and Communists were executed by the Nazis.
"The penalization of homosexuality existed during the authoritarian regimes
of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany," said the head of the liberal Radical
Party, Nikolai Kramov, one of the rally's organizers.
"It's only left now … to demand the re-establishment of the death penalty
for homosexuals to be completely in line with Hitler's ideas," he added.
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06) Gurkhas claim violation of rights, sue British government
Audrey Woods (AP)
29 Apr 02
LONDON - A group of former Gurkhas, the famous Nepalese soldiers of the
British Army, will sue the government for discrimination and violation of
their human rights, their lawyer said Monday.
Representing the Gurkhas at the High Court will be barrister Cherie Booth,
who is a leading lawyer and the wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair (news -
web sites).
The Gurkhas claim their human rights have been breached by discrimination
in pay and pensions, less access to their families, and being required to
carry out tasks humiliating for their rank, lawyer Phil Shiner said.
"This is an appalling form of colonial racism," Shiner said Monday,
announcing that he would lodge the test case against the Ministry of
Defense with the High Court on May 8.
Booth, as a senior barrister or Queen's Counsel, argues the case in court.
She made her reputation in employment law, and took her husband's
government to court in May 2000 over the issue of job leave for parents of
young children. The case has been referred to the European Court.
Booth has since joined a firm that specializes in human rights.
"The Gurkhas have been loyal servants of the British for 196 years, and
have lost between 50,000 and 60,000 lives," ex-Gurkha Padam Gurung was
quoted Monday as saying.
"All we ask is not to be treated as inferior human beings," he was quoted
as saying in a news release issued by Shiner.
Gurkhas began serving the British Crown in 1815 in India, and with Indian
independence in 1947 became part of the British Army. Nearly 3,600 serve
now, and in recent years they have taken part in British operations in
Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan (news - web sites) and Sierra Leone.
Shiner said serving Gurkhas had been paid substantially less than other
British soldiers and that over 30,000 had retired from service in the
British Army without any pension or without any adequate pension, "retiring
to a life of dire poverty."
"Families are now affected by a wide range of social and economic problems,
including a lack of education for their children, as their education was
not paid for by the U.K, contrary to the situation for other British
soldiers," Shiner said.
He gave the example of one World War II veteran receiving a pension of 25
pounds a month (dlrs 37). The cost of living in Nepal is much lower, but
the ex-servicemen argue that the pension is still far too low.
In 1997, the army announced that Gurkha pay had been increased and that
with allowances and grants it would equal pay for British soldiers.
Gurkha pensions are roughly equivalent to a third of the pensions for
British soldiers, the Ministry of Defense said Monday. A department
spokeswoman said a pension equal to the British one would provide "a
phenomenal standard of living in Nepal."
The ministry said it had received no notification of the Gurkha suit and
could not comment on it.
The Gurkhas are seeking damages and costs.
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07) Charges against Roma journalist accused of insulting police officer
dropped
Reuters
26 Apr 02
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- Criminal charges against a Roma journalist accused
of insulting a police officer have been dropped, the public prosecution
office said Friday.
Denisa Havrlova, a journalist for a Roma monthly, had been charged with
insulting a public officer for allegedly calling a police officer a
"racist," something she denied.
The public prosecution said it dropped the charges because they were
"unlawful," giving no details.
Havrlova was accused of making the remark after the police officer had
refused to shake her hand. The incident, which took place in February at
the police station in Jarovnice, an eastern Slovak village with a large
population of Roma, or Gypsy, was widely covered by Slovak media.
In Slovakia, insulting or slandering public officers is a crime punishable
by up to one year in prison.
Roma are among Slovakia's poorest ethnic groups. Many are unemployed and
live in poor conditions.
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08) Attorney general orders review of Damilola Taylor case
Ed Johnson
26 Apr 02
LONDON -- The attorney general on Friday ordered a review of the way
prosecutors handled the trial of four teen-age youths accused of murdering
Damilola Taylor — a case that riveted the nation and prompted national
soul-searching about deprivation in Britain's inner cities.
Lord Goldsmith said in a statement he had asked the Director of Public
Prosecutions, David Calvert-Smith, to find out if there were any lessons to
be learned from the way the case.
Damilola's parents, politicians and the British media have criticized
Scotland Yard's investigation of the killing and prosecutors for taking the
case to trial with insufficient evidence.
A jury acquitted two teen-age brothers Thursday of murdering the 10-year-
old Nigerian boy in a London housing project. Two other male defendants
were acquitted earlier in the three-month trial at London's Old Bailey
criminal court.
Goldsmith said the innocent verdicts did not necessarily mean there was a
failure in the criminal justice system.
"However, it is important now that we take time to learn any lessons," he
said. "I would like to express my deep sympathy for the Taylor family, who
still have many questions left unanswered, despite an intensive police
investigation and a lengthy trial."
Scotland Yard's commissioner, Sir John Stevens, said he had invited the
bishop of Stepney, John Sentamu, to chair a panel that will review the
investigation and prosecution.
Damilola, who came to Britain from Nigeria with his black family so his
sister could be treated for epilepsy, was attacked as he walked home from a
computer class in November 2000. He bled to death in a stairwell near his
home.
Prosecutors said four boys slashed Damilola's thigh with a broken bottle,
severing an artery, and jammed a marble down his throat. The boys allegedly
left him bleeding and crying for help.
The prosecution's case rested largely on its star witness, a 14-year-old
girl known only by the code-name Bromley.
Justice Anthony Hooper ruled her evidence was unreliable. Although he did
not directly criticize detectives, the judge said there had been
"inducements" during questioning of Bromley and "the danger she was
persuaded to tell untruths is very real."
Police had offered a 50,000 pound (dlrs 71,500) reward for information
leading to a conviction, and Bromley ran up a 4,000 pound (dlrs 5,720)
hotel bill while being questioned by police.
The British media have suggested that Scotland Yard was under enormous
pressure to convict Damilola's attackers, particularly after a public
inquiry into the bungled investigation of the 1993 killing of black teen-
ager Stephen Lawrence found London's police institutionally racist.
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09) Russian Federation: Indifference to racism must be addressed
Amnesty International
19 Apr 02
A vigorous response from the Russian authorities to racism is needed to
stem the growing tide of attacks against ethnic minorities, Amnesty
International said today.
In the past, racist attacks on ethnic and racial minorities across Russia
have increased markedly as the anniversary of Adolf Hitler's birth on 20
April approaches. The victims of racist attacks are often persons from
Africa, Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, including ethnic Chechens, and
refugees and asylum-seekers.
"Fear of racist attacks among Russia's minority population is not confined
to fear of 'skinheads'; they have almost as much to fear from officials,"
the organisation stated.
Police and other law enforcement officials routinely subject racial and
ethnic minorities to harassment and intimidation and often respond with
indifference to racist attacks. Victims of racist attacks frequently
complain that law enforcement officials are reluctant to register attacks
as racist or fail to understand the serious implications of racially-
motivated violence. Police often advise the victims to report the attack as
'hooliganism'.
"Until the authorities address racist attitudes within law enforcement
agencies, they will continue to be part of the problem, rather than the
solution," Amnesty International stated.
When Adefers Dessu, an Ethiopian refugee, and his wife Sarah were beaten by
20-year-olds armed with chains in Moscow in February 2001, the medical
report stated that their injuries were the result of a "fall", while the
attackers were registered by the police officer on duty as being minors.
Similarly, in October 2001 when a crowd of 300 youths brandishing iron bars
attacked a Moscow market staffed by ethnic minorities and left an Armenian,
an Indian and a Tajik dead, initial police statements referred to the
perpetrators as 'football hooligans'. In the Siberian city of Tiumen, a
series of seven attacks on a synagogue last year were termed 'young
people's hooliganism'. Authorities have done nothing in response to racist
statements by public figures in Russia's regions and anti-Semitic
publications are openly on sale even in the capital, Moscow.
Members of racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately targeted for
document checks on the street that commonly lead to extortion and can
result in detention, torture and ill-treatment. In two well publicised
cases last year, members of the Moscow city and Moscow district organised
crime force (RUBOP) were implicated in the torture, ill-treatment,
extortion and fabrication of evidence against Tajik migrant workers. Their
actions were accompanied by racist insults and stereotyping of Tajiks as
Islamic fundamentalist fighters and drug dealers. Authorities blocked
attempts by the victims formally to complain.
Federal authorities allow city and regional authorities to ignore federal
laws governing freedom of movement that discriminate against ethnic and
racial minorities. Krasnodar authorities refuse to grant residence permits
to some 13,000 Meskhetian Turks resident in Krasnodar Territory, rendering
them "stateless" and unable legally to work or to own land. On 1 April,
Krasnodar authorities announced the setting up of deportation centres,
staffed by paramilitiary units, to deport these 'illegal migrants'.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin has recently condemned racist attacks by
'skinheads' in Moscow'. If he is serious about condemning racism, he must
now condemn and vigorously address manifestations of racism in the day to
day actions and policies of the police and other authorities," stated
Amnesty International.
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REAL POLITICAL CORRECTNESS:
It's from the rightwing authoritarians and always has been
10) "Wild On" Religious Bullying In Pennsylvania: Religious Demonstrators
Riot, Threaten As Ten Commandments Plaque Covered by Court Order
AA News
24 Apr 02
Police in Chester County, Pennsylvania had to intervene Monday as religious
demonstrators attempted to prevent workers from covering a bronze plaque of
the Ten Commandments.
The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper described the crowd of about 300
protesters as "Singing and praying, gasping and shrieking." The spiritual
warriors were expressing opposition to a decision by U.S. District Judge
Stewart Dalzell which found that the presence of the 30-by-59-inch plaque
of the Commandments on the front of a county courthouse was
unconstitutional and violated the separation of church and state. Dalzell
stopped short of requiring immediate removal of the display, though, and
instead ordered it covered with an aluminum barrier pending an appeal
before the U.S. Third Circuit Court.
The Commandments plaque, which had been placed on the courthouse by a
religious group in 1920, was challenged by Sally Flynn and the Freethought
Society of Greater Philadelphia. Since the decision in March, the front of
the building has become the site of demonstrations, mostly by religious
schools and churches. Monday's gathering was particularly passionate,
with some demonstrators vowing that they would be arrested if necessary and
try to prevent the Commandments from being covered. Police had to move in
and clear angry protesters from the area in front of the Decalogue, and
protect a four-person crew of county employees who quickly affixed the
cover over the Commandments plaque.
One of those removed was William T. Devlin, president of the
interfaith Urban Family Council.
The four were asked to move by police, and were cheered on by the crowd as
they were dragged off by their ankles and shoulders into the courthouse.
District Attorney Joseph Carrol said that the men would not be charged with
any crime. Onlookers jeered and booed as the Commandments were covered.
Protester Shirley Reese said that she was "outraged" by the court
order, and would camp out at the site until the plaque was uncovered.
"In Jesus' name, in Jesus name, in Jesus name!" shouted another.
Signs peppered the demonstration. One declared, "There is a Higher
Authority than Judge Dalzell," while another read "Say No to
Unconstitutional Judicial Decisions."
Prior to the confrontation with police, the crowd heard from a series of
speakers. One compared the covering of the plaque to the removal and
destruction of cultural artifacts by the Nazis. Another entertained
participants with a guitar ditty he titled "You Can't Cover Up The Truth."
"Conspicuously absent," noted the Inquirer, were Chester County
Commissioners who voted to defend the plaque in court using taxpayer money.
State Rep. Elinor Taylor was on the scene, however, and in solidarity with
the Commandment boosters placed a lily plant at the foot of the plaque.
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11) Missouri enacts "special rights" bill for churches
AA News
21 Apr 02
The Missouri legislature has become the latest to approve a "special
rights" bill for religious groups. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act
cleared the state Senate on Wednesday in a 31-0 vote. The measure requires
that local and state governments employ a "compelling interest" test when
dealing with churches, mosques or other sectarian organizations. The
proposed statute also mandates that government agencies, if imposing any
"burden" on religion, must do so by least restrictive means possible.
Proponents of the legislation say that it is necessary to protect religious
freedom from incursions by governments. A federal RFRA was enacted by
Congress in 1993, but struck down four years later by the U.S. Supreme
Court in the historic BOERNE v. FLORES decision. The case involved an
effort by the Roman Catholic Church to demolish most of a decades-old
building in order to erect a new structure. The town of Boerne, Texas
refused to issue a permit for the work, though, saying that the project
fell under the purview of local historic zoning ordinances. The case
reached the high court, and justices ruled 6-3 that the Act was an
impermissible extension of congressional authority. Justice John Paul
Stevens opined that RFRA provided religious groups with special rights, a
legal instrument which "no atheist" could ever obtain.
Since BOERNE, the squabble over municipal and state regulations versus
religious practice has led to a slew of "mini-RFRAs" being proposed in over
a dozen states, and another attempt to pass the measure in Washington known
as the Religious Liberty Protection Act. Federal lawmakers settled on a
compromise bill, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act
of 2001. It requires the same "compelling interest/least restrictive
means" test in matters involving land use -- church construction, expansion
or building of parking lots, for instance. It also immunizes prisoners
from many regulations that may inhibit their right of religious practice
behind bars.
Critics say that RLUIPA and the more robust RFRA laws create dangerous
"religious exemptions" for churches, mosques, temples and other houses of
worship. States and local communities -- especially those on small budgets
-- may avoid costly legal confrontations when they try to enforce zoning,
environmental or other municipal statutes.
* * * * *
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and
educational purposes only.
__________________________________________________________________________
FASCISM:
We have no ethical right to forgive, no historical right to forget.
(No permission required for noncommercial reproduction)
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