Former EDL organiser announces protest march in Bristol

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Mickey Bayliss (2)A group calling themselves The Patriots are planning to hold a march in Bristol early in the New Year in the wake of a case which saw a group of Somali men jailed for sexually abusing young women in the city.

As reported in the Bristol Post 13 men were jailed for a variety of offences committed against young women in Bristol and a further nine case of sexual exploitation involving young women are being investigated.

Mickey Bayliss [pictured], who helped organise an English Defence League march through the city centre last year is one of the people behind the next year’s planned event.

Mr Bayliss said: “I would like to make it clear that I am no longer a member of the English Defence League. But we want to hold this march through the city in the New Year.

“The feeling is that not enough is being done to stop cases like this happening. There was a gang of men who were systematically abusing young women and people should be made aware of the issues surrounding these kind of cases.

“We have seen similar cases in different parts of the country and we believe that more should be done to stop these people abusing young women.”

A time and date for the planed march has still not been decided but it is expected to take place some time in January.

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Ukip Leader Nigel Farage: ‘Muslims responsible for rising anti-Semitism in UK’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Nigel Farage suggested Muslims were to blame for a disturbing increase in anti-Semitism in Britain. Speaking on LBC radio, the Ukip leader condemned anti-Jewish attacks and claimed a sharp increase was down to Muslims that oppose Israel’s right to exist.

Figures from the Mayor of London’s office this week revealed hate crime against Jews have rocketed by almost 100% over the past year.

Farage said: “I have detected quite a sharp rise in anti-Semitism in Britain and across the EU. What’s fueling it is there are many more Muslim voices and some of them are deeply critical of Israel and some of them question Israel’s right to exist. We’ve got this counter voice which is deeply critical. This is one of the challenges we face; when you’ve got more groups [to deal with].”

Political correctness may also play in a role in fueling anti-Semitism, claimed the leader of Ukip – which now has MPs following by-election victories in recent months. Farage said public figures and politicians are reluctant to condemn anti-Jewish actions for fear of offending Muslim sensibilities.

“There’s a lot of people in politics who would be nervous about speaking up about anti-Semitism. I feel we’ve not being doing enough in defending the Jewish right to have a homeland because we are worried of offending another group” he said.

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Men fined £600 for threatening to ‘torch’ and ‘blow up’ Astley Bridge mosque on Facebook

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Stop the Astley Bridge Mosque Bolton

Two men have been convicted of making Facebook threats to “torch” and “blow up” a proposed new mosque in Astley Bridge. Police arrested both men for posting offensive messages on the Stop The Astley Bridge Mosque Facebook page, which has since been taken down.

Leon Richmond, aged 18, wrote on the page that he would not be bothered if the mosque was built as he would “blow it up” himself. 23-year-old Darren Hubble posted: “Bolton people say no, Wigan says not a chance, I’ll torch the place if I get half the chance”.

The posts related to the plan to build a large new mosque building in Blackburn Road, Astley Bridge. The plans, submitted by Taiyabah Islamic Centre, include a dome, minaret tower and 19 classrooms. They have prompted protests by objectors in the lead-up to the planning meeting on July 3, and protestors shouted abuse at councillors as the proposals were approved.

Det Insp Charlotte Cadden said: “These messages were not only extremely offensive but made very serious threats to cause damage. It is becoming a regular trend for people to think they can make racially offensive comments online and get away with it – but they can’t, and these convictions show that.

“Everyone has a right to protest lawfully, but these were abusive and caused great upset to the local community. I would warn anyone that making vile comments on social media carries just as much a risk of conviction as sending an abusive letter. We will pursue anyone posting such threats and work to bring them to justice.”

Richmond, of Whalley Avenue, Bolton, and Hubble, of Orrell Hall Close, Wigan, both pleaded guilty to the charges, which related to the period between May 19 and June 19 this year. They admitted making Facebook entries to the Stop The Astley Bridge Mosque page, which were indecent or grossly offensive for the purpose of causing distress or anxiety.

Both men were fined £600 when they appeared before magistrates in Bolton on Wednesday, as well as being ordered to pay £145 costs.

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German city braces for large far‑right protest

Posted on by Bob Pitt

PEGIDA demonstration in Dresden
PEGIDA demonstration in Dresden on 1 December

The eastern German city of Dresden is bracing itself for one of the biggest far-right marches the country has seen in years. City officials said Friday that organizers have told them 8,000 people will take part in the protest, which is billed as a march against Islamic extremism.

Monday’s protest is organized by a group called PEGIDA, a German acronym for ‘Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West.’ Experts say the group has managed to attract people who wouldn’t normally associate with the far right, by banning any neo-Nazi symbols or slogans and trying to present themselves as a mainstream movement. But past protests have drawn praise and support from neo-Nazi groups and far-right parties, including the National Democratic Party.

Over the past two months PEGIDA has organized seven protests in Dresden, growing from 200 at the first march to 7,500 people at the start of this week. Speakers at those events have focused on the rising number of asylum seekers and the threat posed by radical Islam, even though the state of Saxony, where Dresden is located, has comparatively few Muslims.

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Drunk who slapped Asda security guard and called him a ‘f****** Muslim’ claims he isn’t racist

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Adrian WestA man who slapped a security guard across the face at Asda and called him a “f****** Muslim” insists he is not racist.

Adrian West was banned from the supermarket in Pegler Way, West Green, in April for shoplifting but returned when he was drunk on September 15. The security guard who had detained him in April recognised West and asked him to leave, at which point West became verbally abusive.

He called Adriano Brito a “mother f*****” and told him: “You shouldn’t be allowed in this country. F*** off to your own country.”

West, 50, from Ditchling Hill, Southgate, appeared at Crawley Magistrates’ Court for sentencing last Thursday, having pleaded guilty to racially aggravated assault at a previous hearing on November 19.

The court heard that, after verbally abusing Mr Brito, West left through one exit but made his way around to the other exit, by McDonald’s, where the guard again confronted him and told him to leave.

West then called him a “f****** Muslim” and again shouted: “F*** off to your own country” before slapping him across the face.

When interviewed by police he said he had no recollection of the incident but accepted it had happened when he was shown CCTV footage from the supermarket. He told police he may have made racist comments but was not racist.

A report from the Probation Service stated that the only possible reason West could think of for making such comments was the amount of alcohol he had drunk coupled with “negative reports in the media” about Muslims, which he claimed may have influenced his thoughts subconsciously.

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Ukip will take no action against candidate who claimed multiculturalism is responsible for ‘Islamic terror’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Martyn FordNo further action has been taken by Ukip against one of its Welsh parliamentary candidates who condemned diversity and the notion of a multicultural society.

In October the party said that Martyn Ford, who will stand in Swansea West at next May’s general election, would be reported to its national executive committee. But now Ukip says there was no need to do that because he had already been given a “final warning” before we raised the contents of a leaflet distributed in the constituency.

The leaflet stated: “Islamic terror. Abuse of our children. The consequence of multiculturalism.” It went on to quote critical remarks made by Mr Ford about Muslims, immigration and the “political elite”.

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Teacher accused of anti-Muslim remarks to resign, get 3 months’ pay

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Angela BoxA third-grade HISD teacher accused of making profane and anti-Muslim remarks on a public access television show will resign immediately and receive three months’ pay under a deal approved by the school board Thursday.

Angela Box, a teacher at Daily Elementary in west Houston, had remained in the classroom since controversy over her comments surfaced in mid-November. Her annual salary is $50,100.

Box has taught in HISD since July 2013 and previously taught in Spring Branch ISD. She was a regular guest on the conservative political show “Tommy’s Garage.”

Trustees of the Houston Independent School District did not discuss the settlement publicly before their 6-0 vote to approve the deal.

In a statement Thursday, Box said she would miss her students and treasure the time she spent with them. She said “character assassination” by community activist Quanell X, who had accused Box of using a racial slur, made it impossible for her to remain in her job.

“As I have said before, opposing President Obama and sounding the alarm about radical Islam does not make me a racist,” the statement said, adding that she did not utter the racial epithets Quanell X had attributed to her.

“I am considering all my legal options regarding the conduct from Mr. X and others. I expect to have an announcement as early as next Monday regarding my future steps.”

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Damage found at Islamic faith centers in St. Cloud

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Central Minnesota Islamic Center vandalismIslamic leaders in St. Cloud are speaking out after saying their faith centers and worshipers’ property were targets of vandalism.

The latest case was discovered Wednesday morning by an imam, a religious leader, making his way into the Central Minnesota Islamic Center. The building is located just north of St. Cloud State University on Fourth Avenue South. Ten starburst cracks pepper a window about the size of a door frame.

Spokesperson for the center, Mohamoud Mohamed, said this is the third time the building has been vandalized over the last few weeks. Each case involved a damaged window. “At the beginning we were thinking it was isolated – a student or drunk person. But it isn’t,” he said. “It is some person or persons who are causing damage and targeting our faith facilities.”

It’s not just their building being targeted. Mohamed says vehicle windows are also being smashed as people attend morning prayer. This week, several worshipers reported damage done to vehicles outside the Islamic Center of St. Cloud, the mosque on Fifth Avenue South.

“(The vandals) know we pray before the sun rises and it is still dark,” he said. “They are coming to those parked cars and then disappearing,” he said.

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‘Anti-fascist’ and ‘anti-immigration’ groups face off in Dresden

Posted on by Bob Pitt

PEGIDA

For the past seven weeks, activists protesting Germany’s immigration policy and the spread of Islam in the West have been marching each Monday in Dresden, a city in eastern Germany. In response, counter-protests have been organised to denounce rampant xenophobia. As tensions between the two groups increase, the situation is quickly heading towards a face-off. Read more…

Only about a hundred participants came to the first protest organised seven weeks ago by the group calling itself “European Patriots against the Islamisation of the West” (or PEGIDA). Since then, the movement has quickly gained momentum, with an estimated 7,000 people attending the protest held on Monday. However, the opposition to these far right gatherings has also been gaining in numbers. On the same day, 1,200 people, most of them left-wing activists, joined a counter-protest.

In the past year, there have been numerous protests against the influence of Islam on German society. On October 26, about 4000 “hooligans” and far -right activists joined a protest called “Hooligans against Salafists,” which was organised in Cologne by an Islamophobic group.

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Coalition formed in Portsmouth to fight against the rise of Ukip

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Portsmouth anti-UKIP coalitionYou’re not welcome here – that was is the message to Ukip from a newly-formed coalition. Last night, around 40 members of various political parties and concerned residents met to discuss ways they could fight what they describe as a ‘racist’ party. Three police officers manned the doors of the meeting in Southsea.

In May, Ukip won six seats on Portsmouth City Council, including that of the long-standing Fratton councillor Mike Hancock. And its leader Nigel Farage said in The News his party was hoping to clinch the Portsmouth South seat at next year’s general election.

Issues including recession, austerity, a lack of social housing and poverty were given as potential reasons for the rise in support for the party. Speakers said they believe Ukip and its members across the country are blaming people’s concerns around issues such as strains on the NHS, housing and schools on immigrants.

Jon Woods, chairman of Portsmouth Trades’ Council, was one of the speakers. He said: “People can unite around the need to stand up to Ukip. Farage is a con artist. We’re legitimising them through parties working with them on Portsmouth City Council.”

Zuber Hatia, a prominent figure in Portsmouth’s Muslim community and a community activist, said he and mosques in the city had been targeted by racists in the past. “We’ve seen the mosques targeted by the English Defence League, the British National Party and Britain First,” he said.

“What Ukip try to project to ordinary people is they are not racist. Ukip are liars. We need people to come together who have an anti-Ukip voice and challenge them. We will carry this momentum over the coming weeks and months and hopefully we can develop a coalition to stand up against them.”

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