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Indymedia being manipulated by Searchlight - Troll Alert

Durruti02 | 28.01.2010 11:44 | Indymedia | Repression | Social Struggles | Liverpool

Indymedia is being maniplulated by Searchlight - since when did anarchists demand the state bans political activity, however reactionary, as we know it impacts more on us than the far right -

Indymedia it would seem has for some time now been being manipulated by Searchlight via one individual who use's multiple tags - Mista Journalist/Lozza/Trolldestroya/Harpic/Robesphere/Demmy God/Troll Deflator /Dangermoose etc etc and most recently Demestos (see  http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/01/445235.html) This may well be Nick Lowles or may well just be some daft or dangerous hanger on

On the excellent Pits and Pots  http://pitsnpots.co.uk/news/2009/12/english-defence-league-march-stoke ( scroll down to 21/12 15.10 ) this individual uses the tag of Searchlight Fan and claims " Searchlight are a trusted source of information on the British fascist scene, and Lancaster Unity are also great! "

Almost half of all posts on EDL are from this character and they post on almost every other thread, and regularly try to shut down discussion from anyone who has a different POV by shouting TROLL and posting pictures of Trolls

Most active anti-fascists know that Searchlight has both connections with the state ( See Larry O'Hara's work to expose them  http://www.searchlight.org.uk/o-hara/index.html ) or speak to any leeds anti fascists who were screwed by Searchlight chief organiser Nick Lowles over the World In Action affair.

But sometimes their politics is ignored. Searchlight are utterly within Stalinist ideology that states that fascism is an aberation (and not as anarchist would argue a varient of capitalism) and a response to fascism is to defend 'democracy' and that means uniting with anyone, the Tories, New Labour and the state and the police against fascists.

So it was Searchlight who called for the ban on EDL in Luton and the state responded with a ban on ALL public demonstrations, that if Vauxhalls workers had needed to demonstrate then, would have banned them too.

And the multi-named Searchlight plant on Indymedia is also playing a game - a game that will backfire on anarchists more than the EDL

the argument s/he uses is that
- the EDL are violent , racist, hooligan, law-breakers, and now 'use terror tactics' i.e. are terrorists

Now, take out racist, and the rest of the accusations are exactly what the politicians use against anarchists/activists

And so what does Demestos/Harpic/TrollDestroya want?

Well apart from attacking anyone with a different POV on fighting fascism they argue for

- More police on the street and state bans!!!

It seems just as Choudary and EDL are part of a game to increase state powers so is Troll Destroya/Demestos and all his or her multi personalities

As i have argued in
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/01/445118.html
and  http://ianbone.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/knee-jerk-anti-fascism-and-the-edl/

these tactics do not work in destroying fascism, are not revolutionary and are indeed simply dangerously and deeply reactionary

They have no place on Indymedia or what Indymedia ought to be ;)

Durruti02

Comments

Hide the following 9 comments

yes...

28.01.2010 13:04

that troll destroyer person is utterly demented. Even if he/ she is not a plant, he/ she has got completely the wrong idea. I saw the comments in question on pit and pots and was really embarrassed by the way he/ she was aiming to shut down debate like that. It's so easy when plonkers like that are running around for people to accuse the left of being 'the real fascists' etc...

a shadowy charcter, who is either bi-polar on some sort of maniac episode, or just a plant.

methinks this particular troll doth protest too much....

dave


I agree [sort of ]

28.01.2010 14:16

I agree the troll destroyer hasnt got a clue, as to him being Nick Lowles that is massive conjecture , no way of being proved.......don't fall into the same trap as troll destroyer of accusing anyone who's opinion differs as Fash/state/troll [ delete as applicable]...I think he/she is pathetic and don't know why someone with such an obvious amount of alias sign in gets published on indymedia while accusing all and sundry of being Fascist trolls......regards COG

Concerned of gipton [ the real one]


@COG .. fair comment

28.01.2010 14:27

.. i did say "This may well be Nick Lowles or may well just be some daft or dangerous hanger on .." but that is maybe too strong .. It should more accurately say " there is a small possibility this is Nick Lowles of Searchlight though a distinct possibility this is someone they or he is encouraging"

re should this person be 'banned' yes that is a dilemma. while in someways his her motivation may be fine in others it could be dangerous. This is the problem with open source ( and democracy!) On teh one hand they ( if genuine and not dodgy) have a right to their opinions but equally imho they are pumping out too much disinfo and dodgy stuff .. for my liking and trust

D02


i think

28.01.2010 16:20

no matter how many calls one person makes on indymedia for the EDL to have their protests banned very few people are going to change their mind and see the state and police as their friends.

However racists and facist the EDL are (and i think it would be fair to say *some* of the EDL are facist and *most* are racist) their racism has had nowhere near the same effects as the racist actions of the police or the border agency or the uk government and their decisions on who to bomb.

I want to see the EDL off the streets but I want this to be because of:
1) their support being undermined, those who are angry and get caught up in it or those that do not understand the motives of the EDL or are just mis informed about the issued (by the mainstream media and the EDL).

2)them being physically opposed on the street by a mirriad of people, from blacked up life time antifacists to locals of all backgrounds who would not even see themselves as political but want to protect their communities from the physical presence of the EDL and the stink of their ideas aswell.

You'd be hard pressed to get indymedia support for any new powers, or any use of existing powers, that enable the government to outlaw protest and silence dissent. A lot of people didn't exactly welcome the banning of I4UK despite hating everything they stood for.

Anonarchist


@ Durutti

28.01.2010 16:55

Dear D02, I believe you are yet to answer my 2 questions from the previous thread:

Q1. Do you think that the EDL's +Zionism+ makes them +not racist+?

Q2 .Do you think this article is relevant?
Street politics in Hamburg, 1932-3
 http://libcom.org/history/street-politics-hamburg-1932-3
"For the Nazis it was a matter of exploiting class antagonism in the Altstadt in order to reach their objective; before they could take formal hold of power they had first to make sure that at the base, the political, social and cultural and territorial possessions of the working class in their neighbourhoods had been wrested from their control and had been reallocated to themselves as the force most capable of protecting the interests of bourgeois society."

(A)
- Homepage: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/01/445118.html?c=on#c241398


@D02 - more info please

28.01.2010 17:50

Hi D02,

You say "speak to any leeds anti fascists who were screwed by Searchlight chief organiser Nick Lowles over the World In Action affair".

What is this about? What is the World in Action affair?

Thanks

new to this


Question

28.01.2010 17:53

This is interesting but I don't understand what your evidence is for saying that all these different aliases are the same person? What makes you think that? Have you been looking at the notorious non-existant Indymedia IP logs or do you have some other evidence? Because without that, your argument just seems paranoid.

Questionner


re World in Action and @ questionner

28.01.2010 19:58

"You say "speak to any leeds anti fascists who were screwed by Searchlight chief organiser Nick Lowles over the World In Action affair". What is this about? What is the World in Action affair?"

A WIA was being made on Welling and Lowles ( working for WIA) secretly filmed anti-fascists in a Leeds AFA meeting talking about using violence, which was then on TV. Why would he do that?

ok i've mentioned Larry O'Hara above as a credible source of info on Searchlight. e.g.  http://www.searchlight.org.uk/o-hara/tricks.html
 http://libcom.org/library/searchlight-for-beginners-larry-o-hara

You can also try Red Action e.g.  http://www.redaction.org/anti-fascism/secrets.html.

Searchlight has been previously exposed by veteran investigative journalist Duncan Campbell in the New Statesman and by Lobster magazine, extensively

or this Searchlight: A Well-Oiled Disinformation Machine ( from the old 'Anarchy' magazine but the link is a fascist one h ttp://w ww.ar yanu nity.co m/redw atcho nline//slie sexp.html )

some interesting links ( amid a load of nationalist cobblers) .. broken link
ht tp://dsp ace.dia l.pip ex.com/finalconflict/a20-2.html.

and by the way a warning; it is important to note that Larry O'Hara, while having done some interesting research (and in terms of Searchlight supported by many other journos and groups) is also famous for making, imho, assumptions based upon circumstantial evidence so e.g. note this ;  http://libcom.org/forums/anti-fascism/putting-the-record-straight

and this Lib Com's warning on  http://libcom.org/library/searchlight-for-beginners-larry-o-hara
" While the text contains some useful information, it also contains unproved assertions and wild speculation. So while agreeing with the thrust of the text, we would advise readers to approach it with a large pinch of salt."


and @ Questionner

the tags all use the same langauge, same spelling, argue the same position and almost always include the name 'KKKelway' ( with that spelling) when refering to a EDL 'leader' Trevor Kelway. There is a possibility this diferrent people in the same office/group are this person but it is seems pretty clear it is one person and indeed already others above accept this

P.s. tbh i am not a big fan of the secret state stuff conspiracy stuff. I suspect a lot of it is true and much of it is not. You and i will never prove it either way.

It is the politics it comes from that is important. IF you are a typical 'anti-fascist' it is logical that you will want to use the state to attack the fascists as you will see the fascists as worse than the state. And you will attack anarchists and others revolutionaries as they are attacking the state when the state needs support against fascists. It is Searchlights political position that is the issue not whether how much they co-operate with the state, though that is undeniable.

Fascism is part of and comes form capitalism. You can not defend capitalism and unite with the Tories ( see Stoke UAF) or regularly appeal to the state as do Hope Not Hate/Searchlight. All that does is increase the support for fascism by the disempowered and angry. And maybe ( with my tin hat on) that is what the suits want all along!

Conspiracies aside, for us on the ground who are arguing against and trying to fight not just fascism but to empower people, where we live and work, Searchlight and characters like Troll Destroya, Nick Lowles or not, are a distraction at best and a threat and danger to us, at worst.

D02


@anonarchist

28.01.2010 19:59

spot on mate :)

D02