World Anti-racism Newswire Archive

Having flicked on the TV over breakfast this morning, I was subjected to the somewhat absurd spectacle of BBC 1 controller Jay Hunt debating the meaning of the word "golliwog", and whether or not it's racist, with the morning news presenters.T he reason for this, of course, was the row over Carol Thatcher's sacking from The One Show for using the word to describe a black tennis player off-air. Hunt pulled out the dictionary definition, which was similar to this definition I just found online – "A doll fashioned in grotesque caricature of a Black male", so any argument for it not being racist was quickly put to bed (and if you want any further evidence, the fourth Google result for "golliwog" involves the BNP trying to argue that banning golliwog dolls is political correctness gone mad).

Immigrants awaiting deportation who are being held in a private jail run by the GEO Group began a protest last Saturday, January 31. The protest began after a group of immigrant prisoners attempted to meet with the detention facility’s authorities, demanding that a gravely ill detainee be released from solitary confinement and be taken immediately to a hospital. The prison authorities refused to listen and did not take action. The detainees responded by protesting after being ignored.

On Saturday 31st January, 100,000 people marched past the Houses of Parliament in protest at Sri Lanka's war against it's own Tamil minority. A breakaway group of around 80 left the prescribed route and sat down on Westminster bridge, the police were able to quickly drag them back onto the pavement. But when a far larger group pushed through police lines to join them, the police were overwhelmed. Having only allowed for a march of 5,000, they were unable to move the protesters on until sufficient backup units arrived hours later.

For the first time in history, black Americans have willingly become accessories to their government's criminal activity and willingly developed amnesia about that history. Gone are the days when black Americans could be counted on to oppose wars of aggression abroad and wars against people here at home. Now that the president looks like them, he has carte blanche to do whatever he likes and he can expect nearly unanimous approval of any action he takes.

The BNP have been joining wildcat strikers according to news reports, the bnp will use any chance to spread their message of hate.

Dialect Radio is a Bristol (UK) internet broadcasting Co-operative run by volunteers. Our main activity is our weekly current affairs and arts magazine programme Dialect, which is recorded at our Queen's Square studios and posted for download every weekend. Want to volunteer? Volunteering Bristol, Royal Oak House, Royal Oak Avenue, Bristol. BS1 4GB Tel: 0117 989 7733. Listen on air: 93.2 FM (BCFM), Tuesdays 9:00 PM.  http://www.bcfm.org.uk/

ALERT: Annapolis a Charade: Israel Plotting Massive Aggression
12/11/2007
 http://scotland.indymedia.org/node/3773

The Gaza Bombshell

With confidential documents, corroborated by outraged former and current U.S. officials, the author reveals how President Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and Deputy National-Security Adviser Elliott Abrams backed an armed force under Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan, touching off a bloody civil war in Gaza and leaving Hamas stronger than ever.

 http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/04/gaza200804

‘I Like This Violence’
Censoring the U.S. role in Gaza’s civil war
 http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3184

26/01/09: Ravage following the mortal gunshots in Schönfließ
26/01/09: Again cars torched
22/01/09: Arson attack on cars of the German Railway Service (Deutsche Bahn)
21/01/09: Car of a delivering service company (DHL) torched
19/01/09: External fence property of the police damaged
19/01/09: DHL heavy good vehicle burned
18/01/09: Pfullinger Neonazi tattostudio smashed
15/01/09: Arson attack against the social court
14/01/09: Arson attack against a jobcenter (dole office) in Charlottenburg
14/01/09: Three upperclass cars burned
10/01/09: Two cars and a moto burned down
09/01/09: Unknown persons set construction machines in flames
08/01/09: Neonazi structures attacked

The Video that the BBC (Israel) Does Not Want You To See

Demonstration by refugees attacked by riot police in Tuscany.
16 women on hungerstrike in Lampedusa.
In Rome attacks of Eastern European by fascists.

Kennedy was an imperialist and a Cold Warrior. Obama is the 21st century equivalent of Kennedy – a smart Hawk whose basic commitment is to the existence and furtherance of capitalist imperialism. Kennedy sent the young and hopeful he’d inspired to die and carry out imperial genocide in Viet Nam.
Obama will do the same in Afghanistan, and, perhaps, Iran.

Most immigrants have gone back to the 'reception' centre - where else can they go? but they are now free to come and go as they please.

This inauguration is lauded as the realization of Dr. King's dream. To betray the dream, to profit from the sacrifice is to insult the legacy.

Obama stands silent as his country aids in the genocide of the Palestinians. He will forge peace by sending 30,000 American troops to Afghanistan to intensify the massacre that has left nearly 800,000 of his brothers and sisters dead. He stands silent on the more than 700,000 of his brothers and sisters who have been murdered in Iraq. He threatens War against Iran, Syria and already destroyed Lebanon. He remains silent on the murder of his brother Oscar Grant III by police officer Johannes Mehserle in California.

I left the religion in the backburner for several years. Not that my views about religion had changed or I didn't consider myself religious any more. I just had so much to do that expending time on religion had become scarce. I simply lived the way I thought I was supposed to live according to my understanding of how a good Muslim should be. Meanwhile I learned more about democracy, human rights and other values like equality of rights between men and women and I liked what I learned.

Following is an extremely urgent letter from Leonard Peltier's sister.

Please consider doing anything you can to help stop Leonard Peltier's murder in prison.

The merciless Israeli bombardment of Gaza has stopped -- for now -- but the death toll keeps rising as more bodies are pulled from carpet- bombed neighborhoods.

What Israel perpetrated in Gaza, starting at 11:30am on 27 December 2008, will remain forever engraved in history and memory. Tel al-Hawa, Hayy al-Zeitoun, Khuzaa and other sites of Israeli massacres will join a long mournful list that includes Deir Yasin, Qibya, Kufr Qasim, Sabra and Shatila, Qana, and Jenin.

The following images and text were posted on Professor Norman Finkelstein's web site -- however at the moment his ISP appears to have suspended his site. An interview with him published today contains his justification to publishing these images:

turkishny.com: On your Web site, there is an argument that the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors are doing to the Palestinians exactly what was done to them by the Nazis. Do you agree with that?

Norman Finkelstein: I think Israel, as a number of commentators pointed out, is becoming an insane state. And we have to be honest about that. While the rest of the world wants peace, Europe wants peace, the US wants peace, but this state wants war, war and war. In the first week of the massacres, there were reports in the Israeli press that Israel did not want to put all its ground forces in Gaza because it was preparing attacks on Iran. Then there were reports it was planning attacks on Lebanon. It is a lunatic state.

turkishny.com: But do you agree with the characterization?

Norman Finkelstein: Look at the pictures and decide for yourself. I am not going to tell people what they should think about it. But what I say is they should look at the pictures and decide for themselves. (For the pictures go to:  http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/article.php?pg=11&ar=2510 )

Today "Molodaya Gvardiya Edinoy Rossii" (Young Guard of United Russia - one of the several, competing pro-Kremlin youth organizations) attempted to organize an action "Our money to our people". Concept was to meet a train from Central Asia 2:10 PM in Kazan railway station of Moscow with anti-migrant placates, with text such as "Work legally!", "Illegal = thief!" and "Want to work? Pay taxes!". Action was protected by a plenty of OMON riot police and own security of Young Guard.

Audio from the January 11th London leg of a 21 date national tour to mark seven years of unlawful detention, abuse and torture

Here are 8 photos from the demo outside Lloyds TSB in Edinburgh on Saturday 17th January 2009. There are links to reports of protests around the country.