Interface Learning

Anyone who is interested in integration projects with new communities: asylum seekers, refugees and others,  Interface Learning is NOW recruiting Mentors for young people and adults, for details, or to offer other grassroots volunteering support (with language classes, homework and friendship clubs and other activities).  Please like the page and keep in touch!

Volunteering

Interface Learning volunteers bring a wide range of skills to all our integration programmes – from leading specialist arts workshops to simply having a friendly conversation over a cup of tea with a new participant. IL volunteers are of a wide range of ages, and nationalities – from Norwich’s new communities, local people, students and visitors.

We train and support all volunteers, and carry out DBS checks (essential if you are working with children and young people).

Interface Learning is a company limited by guarantee with charitable aims, based in Norwich. We set up projects that bring people together across differences in age, race, gender, cultural and social groups, to develop new skills and promote cross-cultural friendship and understanding.

IL works with organisations, communities, families, young people and individuals from 27 countries, speaking 19 different languages and provides a range of volunteer opportunities.

Our clubs and projects bring people together in an informal and friendly atmosphere to learn new skills and meet new people, through practical, creative, hands-on activities.

At our core is the belief that greater diversity makes for richer community, and that integration and empowerment are key to community cohesion.

Love Music Hate Racism Ipswich

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Museum launches request for stories for new 'Pilots of the Caribbean' exhibition

From Royal Air Force Museum news site:

In two World Wars black people from the Caribbean, Africa and from Britain volunteered to serve in the Royal Air Force. These volunteers fought, and died, for the Mother Country and for freedom, and thereby helped to preserve the values and the heritage they shared with their white comrades. The tradition of service to the Crown continues today, and the RAF is proud to welcome new generations of black volunteers into its ranks. 

In a brand new exhibition, curated in partnership with the Black Cultural Archives, the Royal Air Force Museum will tell in ‘Pilots of the Caribbean: Volunteers of African Heritage in the Royal Air Force' the inspirational story of these volunteers, commemorating and celebrating their vital contribution to the defence of Britain, her Empire and Commonwealth.

The exhibition will also highlight the RAF's success in embracing diversity and also demonstrate how the rich, cosmopolitan nature of modern Britain owes much to the black men and women who wore air force blue.

Although we have a wealth of archive materials to draw from, the Royal Air Force Museum would welcome stories and photographs from former, and serving, black RAF Service Personnel and their families. If you would like to assist in the Museum with this appeal, in the first instance, please email the Museum's Research Department atresearch@rafmuseum.org or call us on 020 8358 4873.

The exhibition will open initially in London on 1st of November 2013 and will then transfer to our sister Museum in Cosford Summer 2014.

Pictures show Flight Lieutenant Trevor Edwards in 1992 and First World War Pilot William Robinson Clarke.

Pilots Of The Caribbean

From the Voice by S. I. Martin:

RAF honours the black heroes who fought for Britain

OFFICERS AND GENTLEMEN: A group of RAF officers.
Ulric Cross, the most decorated West Indian veteran, is third from right in the front row

LIKE THE sailors at the Battle of Trafalgar or the archers at Agincourt, the figure of the World War II Royal Air Force pilot stands high in Britain’s national story. When we imagine the typical Spitfire pilot or the crewman of a Lancaster bomber we seldom picture someone of African heritage. Yet nearly 500 black men from the West Indies, Africa and Britain answered the call to serve as aircrew and thousands more worked as ground support staff.

Before the war, entry into the Royal Air Force was restricted to “men of pure European descent” except under exceptional circumstances. An exceptional circumstance arose in the early years of the war when thousands of airmen were lost or killed in action.

As a result, the call for volunteers went out across the British Empire. This call (together with the withdrawal of the colour bar to service) led to the enlistment of nearly 6,000 people from the Caribbean. Sixty black Africans volunteered with a further 5,200 serving in the West African Air Corps.

Flight Lieutenant John J Blair, DFC (Jamaica) said: 

While we were fighting we never thought about defending the Empire...Few people think about what would have happened to them in Jamaica if Germany had defeated Britain, but we certainly could have returned to slavery.

The experience of volunteers of African heritage in the RAF is the subject of a new exhibition at the Royal Air Force Museum curated in partnership with the Black Cultural Archives.

Unlike the famous Tuskegee Airmen of the United States 332nd Fighter Group, Black aircrew in the RAF were not segregated and served alongside white servicemen. A total of 103 were decorated.

Former Royal Air Force personnel featured prominently amongst those who led the Caribbean territories to independence including Errol Barrow, prime minister of Barbados and Michael Manley, prime minister of Jamaica.

Up to a third of the arrivals on the Empire Windrush in 1948 were either former airmen or those looking to join the service.

In the post-war period, ex-Royal Air Force personnel would play crucial roles in the development of the black community in Britain.

The Black Cultural Archives will be opening the UK’s first dedicated Black Heritage Centre at Windrush Square, Brixton, in 2014.
..................................................................................

THOSE WHO FLEW

Flight Lieutenant Dudley ‘Burning Spear’ Thompson, Jamaica
An eminent Pan-Africanist, Jamaican foreign minister, international lawyer, chairman of the People’s National Party of Jamaica, Ambassador to Ghana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, Dudley Thompson QC was amongst the first Jamaicans to enlist as aircrew in the RAF.

Squadron Leader Ulric Cross DFC DSO, Trinidad
International lawyer, High Commisioner, BBC producer and diplomat. As a navigator he flew with the elite Pathfinder Force that perfected techniques for precision main force bombing. He completed 80 missions over occupied Europe, often flying at 50ft. Cross was the most decorated West Indian in the wartime RAF. He died on October 4, 2013.

Flight Lieutenant Edward Scobie, Dominica
The ‘godfather’ of Black British history and author of Black Britannia: A History of Blacks in Britain, Dr Edward Scobie was a pilot in Bomber Command during World War II. He was a founder member of the Dominica Freedom Party and went on to lecture in history and political science at Rutgers University, Princeton and New York City University.

Flight Lieutenant Cy Grant, Guyana
Writer, barrister, philosopher, actor and theatre advocate, Cy Grant was shot down on his third bombing mission in June 1943. He spent the next two years as a prisoner of war. His calypso performances on the Tonight show made him the most popular African-Caribbean performer on British television in the 1960s.

Sam King, Jamaica
Former mayor of Southwark and civil rights campaigner. Joined the RAF in 1944. Returned to Britain on the Empire Windrush in 1948.

Val McCalla, Jamaica
Founder of The Voice newspaper. He served in the RAF in the 1960s

Who is behind "missing girl" racist hoax?

From the Croydon Advertiser by Rachel Millard: 

Race hate group: 'Croydon random target for missing girl hoax'

THE race hate group behind a sick social media hoax that a girl had been abducted by an “Asian grooming gang” have admitted they targeted Croydon completely at random.

A poster, circulated to thousands of people on Facebook and other social networking sites, appealed for the safe return of a girl named Amy Hamilton, "believed to have been kidnapped by an Asian grooming gang".

It continued: "She is six years old and was last seen in the Croydon area of London, wearing a pink top and blue jeans."

But police confirmed on Wednesday no such child was missing and the message was a fake.The poster was the work of the far-right group Britons against Left-Wing Extremism (Bale).

Steven Sodholmy, editor of the Daily Bale blog, said in an e-mail the poster was "not a hoax", adding: "The poster and the 20,000 that shared it on Facebook were informed about the harsh reality of Asian grooming gangs that have been operating in the Croydon area of London now for some time."

But pressed to name any instances of "Asian grooming gangs" in the area, he admitted: 

Croydon is a very specific area we chose but it is well-known that these gangs operate all over the United Kingdom.

Raising awareness is key here and Croydon is an area that we chose at random via a map.

After the hoax was first highlighted by the Advertiser the Daily Bale deactivated its Twitter and Facebook page.

Vidhi Mohan, Croydon Council's cabinet member for communities, said he did not think the peddling of racist stereotypes would be accepted in the borough.

He said: "I think in Croydon it is recognised that our community relationships are excellent. Nobody wants to be stereotyped but at the same time I think our communities are strong and people don't fall for these things."

Supt Rob Atkin, of Croydon police, said: 

These type of hoax appeals are, at best, extremely unhelpful and distasteful and can potentially divert public attention away from genuine appeals.

We rely on the support of the public and media to help us when we release appeals to find our most vulnerable missing people.

The support we get for these appeals is fantastic, but these hoaxes can really damage the effectiveness of genuine appeals.

The poster included a phone number which led callers to an insurance company, which told the Advertiser it had no connection with the hoaxers and was taking steps to have its number removed.

A photograph said to be of Amy Hamilton on the poster appeared to have been taken from an artist's Flickr page.

Supt Atkin said: "If in doubt check with police through our website or Twitter account, or the Missing Persons charity website www.missingpeople.org to see if an appeal is genuine."

-----------------------------------------------------------

So who is this Steven Sodholmy, editor of the BALE, who is responsible for spreading such vile rumours?  

According to blogger Glenn Miller, and to Anti Fascists Online, Sodholmy is the pseudonym of Joshua Bonehill or Joshua Bonehill-Paine. 

Glenn Miller provided this photograph: 

If these allegations are true, then baby-faced racist Bonehill has some explaining to do.

Why did he take the photograph of a little girl from an artist's web page?   Why did he concoct such a miserable lie about a missing girl and blame "Asian grooming gangs"?  And why then put it on a website that is called Britons Against Left-wing Extremism?  

By this stupid hoax Bonehill became a poster boy for the extreme far right.

Prepare for poppy apoplexy

Hughton calls for "harsher penalties" against racists

From Sky Sports:

Chris Hughton: leading the fight against racists in football

Chris Hughton is "disappointed, sad and angry" that he and others still have to face up to racism in the modern game.

Norwich have vowed to ban for life any fan found guilty of racism after their manager was the target of online abuse for the second time this season.

Supporters reported an offensive comment on an unofficial Facebook page and police are investigating. A similar incident earlier this term, when a comment was left on a social networking forum, has been treated as a hate crime.

UEFA, meanwhile, has on Thursday afternoon charged CSKA Moscow with the "racist behaviour of their fans" after Manchester City's Yaya Toure complained of monkey chants against him during the Champions League match in Russia.

Hughton, the Premier League's only black manager, admitted he was uncomfortable because racism should have been stamped out.

Hughton said:

Regards my own situation I am disappointed, sad and angry, it is all of those emotions.  

It is not something that I should have to deal with, but it is something I am having to deal with.

It is in the hands of the appropriate authorities and I am quite sure the correct action will be taken.

Hughton believes stronger action is required to deter the racists, particularly within the wider European game.

The manager added:

They need to put themselves in the position of the ones who are being targeted and it is not nice, let me tell you.

I think most of the penalties these days seem to be fines. Fines are easily paid by the bigger clubs. Do we need harsher penalties? Yes, we do, absolutely.

The only way you will see an about turn and improvement is when you have harsher penalties. 

It was a big Champions League game so UEFA have a real opportunity to do something. I think the punishments have to be a lot sterner, something that hurts a little bit more.

Most Norwich City fans will not tolerate racism

From EDP24 by Martin George:

Online racist abuse of Norwich City manager Chris Hughton sparks police investigation

Norwich Manager Chris Hughton on Saturday.
Picture by Paul Chesterton/Focus Images

A police investigation was under way today after Norwich City manager Chris Hughton was the subject of vile racist abuse.

The offensive remark, which we are choosing not to repeat, was left on a Norwich City FC Fan Club Facebook page following the club’s 4-1 defeat on Saturday.

It was later removed following a storm of protest from Norwich city fans on the site. It is the second time this month the manager has been subjected to racist abuse on social media.

Following the latest incident, one fan who emailed police about the message said officers called at his house within an hour to investigate, and said they had been contacted by a number of other fans. The man, who has supported Norwich City for 55 years but asked not to be named, said that while debate on the site can get “terse”, he had not seen racist language before.

He added: 

To be quite honest, I could not believe that someone had written something like that. I found it disgusting, absolutely disgusting.

Another City fan, Matt Crowhurst, said: 

I was absolutely appalled to read a comment like that, especially considering the high profile on racial comments in football at the moment. No matter what you think of the result, or the manager himself, there is no place for any language like that.
Having three children myself I think it is important to show them that type of language isn’t acceptable.
One good thing to come out of this is the way that everyone on the Facebook group, regardless of how unhappy they were with both the result, and for some, the manager, quickly rounded on the poster telling him in no uncertain terms that what he had posted was inexcusable. Many reported him to both the police and the club.

In a comment later posted on his personal Facebook page, the person who made the original comment wrote: 

The Norwich Fan Club group members are going absolutely mental at me now, threatening to report me to the Polizei. Knee-jerk reaction much?

A spokesman for Norfolk police said: 

We can confirm that we have received reports of a racist remark posted on a Norwich City fan club site and police are investigating. The comment has since been taken down from the site.
Norfolk Constabulary takes any incident of hate crime very seriously. No incident is seen as trivial, and any report is investigated thoroughly.
Norwich City Football Club has been informed.

Earlier this month police confirmed they were investigating a separate report of racist abuse targeting the Norwich manager on a Facebook page called **OFFICIAL**!!! Ipswich-Norwich fans banter/insult/joke page, which is not officially connected to either club.

Mr Hughton said at the time he was “hurt and angry” by the personal attack, adding: 

It’s very disappointing and sad. People are working very hard to make sure this type of abuse doesn’t exist.
But it is still something that I should not have to be dealing with in this day and age.

Norwich players James Vaughan, now at Huddersfield, and Sebastien Bassong, have also been subjected to racist abuse in the past. 

The fan behind the abuse of James Vaughan was subsequently banned for life.

Race-hate vile hoax

Race-hate group's vile Facebook missing child hoax

From the Croydon Advertiser:

The poster claiming a 6-year-old girl was kidnapped in Croydon is a sick hoax

A POSTER appealing for the safe return of a “kidnapped” six-year-old girl is a sick hoax peddled by a race-hate group.

The poster, circulated to thousands of people via social media sites including Facebook, is titled ‘missing person’ and claims a girl named Amy Hamilton “is believed to have been kidnapped by an Asian grooming gang”.

The message continues: “She’s 6 years old and was last seen in the Croydon area of London, wearing a pink top and blue jeans.”

However, no child named Amy Hamilton is missing from the London region or anywhere else in the UK.

The photograph on the poster is actually a painting, taken from an artist's Flickr page.

The hoax is the work of "Britons against Left-wing Extremism", a far-right group which publishes material via a blog called the Daily Bale.

The perpatrators have also bragged on their Twitter account, about how many timed the vile post has been shared.

A tweet posted on Monday read: "An amazing 5000 people shared our Amy Hamilton, Missing poster on Facebook. Lets hope they catch the Asians responsible for taking her."

-----------------------------------------------------------

As if there isn't enough misery from real cases of missing and exploited children.  

Let's hope they catch the racist idiots responsible for manufacturing such a hateful and irresponsible lie.

Blowing his own trumpet

From Searchlight by Sonia Gable: 

“… while I’m not one to ‘blow my own trumpet’, the reason that we can win is because I do have a huge personal recognition and respect”. So said Nick Griffin, leader of the British National Party, in an appeal yesterday for donations of £10 a time to support his campaign for re-election to the European Parliament next May.

He may be right about the personal recognition. Respect is an entirely different matter. And as for blowing his own trumpet, he barely does much else.

On Friday Griffin appealed to English Defence League activists to join the BNP following the very public departure of their leader Tommy Robinson, whom Griffin accused of being pro-Zionist, the worst possible crime in Griffin’s book clearly.

“The days of division are over!” wrote Griffin, hoping that everyone will forget that he is himself the cause of many of the divisions on the far right. “Now we stand together side-by-side as a much stronger force on the political scene,” he continued. In other words, the BNP has lost a lot of its activists over the past three years or so and Griffin is desperate for some new troops.

Especially attractive for Griffin is the fact that most EDL activists are not interested in real political activity and issues so are unlikely to present any challenge to his leadership. “The BNP is the perfect home for nationalists: we operate a clear distinction between politics and street-level activism,” writes Griffin – a very revealing statement.

The EDL was already wracked by division before Robinson and Carroll made their move. Many activists had decamped into splinter groups such as the Infidels, or moved into longer established violent extremist organisations such as the National Front. Although the EDL demonstration in Bradford last Saturday attracted a relatively large number of participants – around 700 according to the police – that was probably an attempt by the remnants of the EDL to show the organisation is not dead and by the various other groups on that scene to recruit.

Who exactly has taken over the leadership of the EDL is unclear and it would not be surprising if a power struggle is going on. One report says Tim Ablitt is the new leader. This is the man who runs the EDL’s merchandising operation and processes donations to the EDL through the company NRNLS Ltd, registered at his address in Poole. The company faces strike-off for its failure to submit its annual return to Companies House. Another man who has staked his claim to the leadership is Elliot Fountain, a former English Democrat councillor in Boston.

Meanwhile Robinson’s departure from the EDL and link-up with the Quilliam Foundation has attracted disproportionate media attention. Many commentators purport to know what is going on in his mind and much of what has been written is pure speculation. These writers mostly come from a very different background from Robinson. The common theme is scepticism about how genuine his change of heart is. That appears to be based on the fact that he has not adopted a political position that meets with the full approval of the various politicos and academics who have “analysed” his recent statements and interviews.

For what it’s worth, I think it is far too early to tell. Robinson has started on a journey of political and self awareness and no one, including Robinson himself, knows where it will end. I can believe that his spell in prison helped him to examine his actions and his conscience. My advice to him now would be to retreat from the limelight that he so clearly enjoys, spend time with his family, including his cousin and former co-leader of the EDL Kev Carroll, and close friends (those outside the EDL that is) and devote some time to prayer, meditation or other form of reflection to discern the guidance he needs to continue his personal journey. 

NO to hate

Please spread the word:

Join us for the 5th "No to Hate" Vigil to remember victims of hate crime everywhere. There will be short, inspirational speeches; songs from the Pride choir; 2 minutes silence at 8pm and the park will be decorated in candle-light. Please bring candles of your own and handle with care.

The Vigil will coincides with ones in Trafalgar Square and across the country. The first Candle-lit Vigil Against Hate Crime was organised in 2009 when Ian Baynham was murdered in a homophobic attack in Trafalgar Square. Our thoughts are with Ian's family and friends.

This year there will be also be a special focus on victims of hate crime in Russia and the 76 countries where homosexuality is illegal.

More information on our website: www.norwichnotohatevigil.org.uk

No To Hate Vigil 2013

The 2013 "No To Hate" Vigil will take place at the bandstand in Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich on Saturday 19th Oct from 7:30 to 8:30 pm. The Vigil will include speakers from the Norwich community, music by the Sing With Pride Choir and a 2 minute silence at 8 pm.

Our Sponsors

A big thank you to our sponsors who help to make this event happen. We'd especially like to thank Hate Free Norfolk for sponsoring this year's leaflets and insurance. Hate Free Norfolk supports people in Norfolk who have experienced crime caused by prejudice or hate.

Click on the highlighted text for links to more information.

The myth of the academic "anti-fascist industry"

From the New Statesman by Matthew Goodwin:

Contrary to Daniel Hannan, the study of why some people continue to support the far-right is not driven by a leftist conspiratorial agenda.

English Defence League supporters march down Whitehall
towards Downing Street on May 27, 2013.
Photograph: Getty Images.

It’s been an interesting week for those who share an interest in the British far-right. The resignation of the two most prominent leaders of the English Defence League, Stephen Lennon and Kevin Carroll, has once again thrown the movement into flux. A group that enjoyed a second wind following the murder of Lee Rigby, when the EDL’s Facebook following increased ten-fold to over 120,000, is now fighting to survive, and seems destined to be replaced by a collection of small offshoots and provide recruits to the British National Party, which last week appealed [2] to the EDL’s disillusioned foot soldiers to help with its campaign next May to save at least one of its two seats in the European Parliament.

Yet the most striking aspect of these events was not Lennon’s resignation, which had clearly been on the cards for some time, but the involvement of the Quilliam Foundation, a counter-extremism think tank which brokered the move and wants to take the partnership further. For reasons outlined in the Guardian [3], I found the event uncomfortable viewing. It wasn’t really clear what we were watching: the conversion of a man who clearly held the same views; a think-tank which was avoiding tough but fair questions; or a public relations campaign that was only interested in promoting the new alliance. But then things became even stranger.

First, Quilliam began hurling insults at those who wanted to know more about the process. Despite openly conceding he had first met Lennon on the morning of the press conference, this did not stop Quilliam’s Head of Outreach taking to social media to brand those asking questions as "trendy wine bar types [4]" and "armchair warriors" who "don’t live in the real world". Between pushing his book, Quilliam’s Chairman, Maajid Nawaz, also spent much of last week dismissing "regressive leftists". This was an odd response from a man who is standing for a centre-left party at the next general election, but also from the head of a self-defined research institute that would like the world to take it seriously. In the world of research we expect to be asked tough questions and to have to defend our projects in front of our peers, not through insults but by showing openly what we have done, with what data, and how we got from A to B to C. Some (but not all) think tanks simply don't bother to uphold these standards.

Then, Quilliam were joined by Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan, who also attacked a left-wing "anti-fascist industry [5]", which he contends is full of people like me: who apparently have a vested interest in inflating the "far right threat", are forced to "throw their definition wider and wider" (presumably to include the EDL which is not far-right?), and "predictably complained that Robinson’s conversion is not genuine". Hannan’s response is unsurprising. This is the man who thought a British Tea Party would be a good idea [6], and who views the BNP as a far-left group [7]. The latter is a common mistake by right-wingers who overlook the fact that while far right groups often advocate left-wing economic policies, they only do so to protect the native racial group, not a social class. Race and ancestry are paramount; everything else is secondary.

But it is also a deliberate ploy by some on the centre-right to distance themselves from their more extreme ideological cousins who live two doors down, on the same street. In this respect, Hannan follows the likes of Charles Moore who claimed [8] the EDL is non-violent, and Andrew Gilligan who, after Woolwich, tried to dismiss [9] a documented rise in attacks against Muslims following the attack. Both were proved wrong. Moore’s view of the EDL as "the instinctive reaction of elements of an indigenous working class" now sits uneasily alongside its founder’s admission [10] this week that – as we suspected all along - his creation is overrun by neo-Nazis and extremists, while both police and academic reports confirm that there was a significant spike in anti-Muslim attacks. The beliefs that underpin these right-wing commentaries on the EDL and Islamophobia are unsavoury – but they are also bankrupt.

Yet these responses also reflect a deeper view of research on extremism, which is troubling. The likes of Hannan, Quilliam and far-right extremists who troll my Twitter share a view of a world where there is a global conspiracy at hand; an army of Marx-loving professors who only live to scare people about the far right so as to silence their criticisms of immigration and multicultural society, or raise difficult questions about their research. This is all nonsense, of course. My own entry [11] in the far-right’s equivalent of Wikipedia states that I am "a globalist cultural Marxist political agitator". Some days I wish my life really was that exciting, but the reality is quite different. The ivory towers are far more boring these days. I’ve also never even joined an anti-fascist group, or even Labour for that matter. Moreover, fanatical anti-fascists would find it difficult if not impossible to survive in higher education, where our papers and grant applications are routinely reviewed by other academics and research councils, all of whom have little time for anything other than objective, independent and rigorous research. In short, if I were a raving anti-fascist who penned dubious studies about threatening groups that were actually not all that important, I would be out of a job very quickly. Indeed, I sent Hannan a list of my own peer-reviewed publications and asked which ones he would like to discuss. I received no response.

True, most academics are guided by only a few core research questions, which means that we tend to remain within the same areas for years at a time. One question that guides some of my research is why, despite European history, do some people continue to support the far-right, which is particularly puzzling in Britain where citizens often list opposition to fascism as a defining characteristic of their national identity. This was sparked not by some ideological influence but my grandfather’s accounts of watching Mosley’s Blackshirts in the east end, then my experience of witnessing the curious rise of the BNP and a sense that, despite attracting considerable interest, we still lacked an adequate explanation of why millions of citizens in Europe continue to support openly racist or anti-Muslim groups. None of this is dependent on whether or not these things are in the news, and nor is it driven by some leftist conspiratorial agenda, however hard that may be for some to believe.

Matthew Goodwin is Associate Professor at the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham, and Associate Fellow at Chatham House. 

He tweets @GoodwinMJ [12]

The Legacy of Tommy Robinson & the English Defence League

From Tell Mama: 

The recent overnight conversion of Tommy ‘New Era’ Robinson has left many bemused and questioning whether someone who has been at the centre of agitation over the last 4 years can suddenly change. Or take the fact that Tommy’s financial assets have been frozen as reported in the Guardian yesterday. Or take the fact that this article in the Guardian highlights some questions around the sustainability of an Organisation on the back of the Damascene conversion of Robinson. 

Whatever the reality, there is one thing that cannot be disputed and that is the legacy of hate that Tommy Robinson has promoted over the last 4 years towards Muslim communities. Now, he may argue that he was against ‘Islamist extremism,’ though on-line and street based statements by him included threats and abuse against Muslims.

We have listed a word cloud which represents words that have a higher frequency in on-line cases, as being larger in size and the word cloud really is self-explanatory. This is the legacy of Tommy’s agitation in the last 4 years and one of our colleagues went through all of the on-line cases of anti-Muslim prejudice recorded in TELL MAMA and mapped the terms according to their frequency. So Tommy, here is your legacy over the last 4 years

As can be seen, many cases include references to the EDL or English Defence League. Much of the language includes negative responses such as ‘kill’, ‘war’, ‘muzzrat’ and ‘hate’, as well as racist terminology that is also mixed in with the anti-Muslim statements. ‘Paki’ for example comes up on numerous occasions which also brings us back to the fact that police forces need to be able to distinguish cases that have both a racial and religiously aggravated basis.

Finally, if this is the legacy that Tommy Robinson wants to leave behind, then there is one word to say – rehabilitation. He needs to payback to communities before he is rehabilitated. We have listed the first step here and continue to wait to see whether this is a real shift in mentality and a rejection of Far Right ideology or a cynical manipulation of the public so that he can continue to lead some form of a life.

Low EDL turnout looking for trouble

From Andy Gill‏@MerseyHack:

EDL members have moved toward one of the police lines.

From Bradistan Tales‏@Bradistan_tales:

#edl have started to confront the police, approx 150 edl on loose in

From @EDLNewsXtra:

#EDL turnout in Bradford is looking a little thin...

At least one EDL member is not happy:

Shane Morgan‏@shane_morgan21

EDL where are ya. This is bradford for fuck sake. pic.twitter.com/Oo3am0YMtu

From Bradistan Tales‏@Bradistan_tales:

Burka wearing #EDL scum trying to provoke Police and passers by:

From EDL News by Gary Hasting:

EDL drags it's twitching corpse to Bradford

There was nothing much else on everyone's minds in the Queens pub in Bradford this afternoon. 

The main conversation of the day was Tommy Robinson's defection to an anti extremist group...

Many assumed he had converted to Islam whilst in prison for immigration offences, others assumed that he was paid off by the establishment, many were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until they woke up to a cold and wet morning which brought them the news that Tommy was intending to work with the police to rid the EDL of violent extremists.

The EDLers we spoke to were angry, shattered, dismayed, let down and ripped off. One member told us he has had trouble sleeping with all this going on.

Various threats were made towards Robinson by the very cult he started.

What is left of the EDL, was seen in Bradford this afternoon and barely 400 turned up to drag the rotting corpse of the far right organisation two hundred yards from the Queens to their demo point.

They got off to a bad start in failing to ingratiate themselves with the people of Bradford by forcing Bradford City FC to move their home game to last night due to the estimated 1,300 police officers required to police them.

Then this morning EDL's new uncharismatic leader, Tim Ablitt, posted to his Facebook account that he was on his way to a 'hell hole', a sure fire way of attracting local support which was only in it's tens to start with as most had to be shipped in from elsewhere.


Their morning had got off to a bad start, when their coaches and minibuses were stopped by police and searched before they even entered the city. Upon arrival they were forced to wait in a long queue to be searched before they were allowed in the pub. West Yorkshire police had this one tightly locked down.

Things kicked off early and two EDLers got arrested after fighting each other which set the benchmark for the rest of a gloomy and cold day in the North.

So few were there, the march started half an hour early and they shuffled the whole 200 yards within minutes only to stand in the rain and listen to some dull and uninspiring speeches.

Their superstar main attraction was not there for he had turned on them and accused them of being Nazis and extremists. This was a bitter pill to swallow, and many were not interested in anything that those that made speeches had to say. It was the same blah blah they hear at every demo. There was however an audible boo when Robinson's name was mentioned.

Robinson earlier stated that street demonstrations had become pointless and this particular demonstration proved his point.

Attendance figures were down by hundreds on the estimated numbers, before Robinson defected. Many turn up at demos to see him speak, many turned up at this demo as they had already paid for their transport and they feared that this would be their last big day out with like minded booze hounds, hooligans and racists.

Their fears may well have become true.

As one of our Twitter followers put it, "The EDL normally get outnumbered by police, today they were outnumbered by police horses."

EDL gathering in Bradford

Preparations begin for first EDL rally under new leadership, and I'm gathering reports from around the web (attributed where possible):

EDL Head To Bradford For First Rally Since Resignation Of Tommy Robinson

From Huffington Post. by Charlotte Meredith:

The leaderless English Defence League will today hold its first demonstration since the resignation of Tommy Robinson this week.

The rally in the centre of Bradford will be the first by the EDL since the departure of Robinson, who said he left the anti-Islamic group because "far-right extremism" had "ruined everything".

Among the groups expected to attend the demonstration are the National Front, Casuals United, March for England and the North-West Infidels.

The EDL are due to arrive on coaches and buses in Bradford's Interchange station from about 11am and will be kettled in an area on adjacent Bridge Street.

Gary Hastings, who runs the anti-EDL website EDL News said he expected a strong turnout in Bradford - if only because so many EDL activists had already paid for their coach and train tickets before they learned Robinson had quit.

The protest will lead to road closures and other disruption in the city centre, while the policing of the event could cost up to £800,000, the Mirror reported.

But, so far, things seem quiet.

From Richard Edwards @reporterich

From Maya Harris:

From Richard Edwards‏@reporterich

About 250 at #UAF counter demo

From HOPE not hate:

2 #EDL arrrested after coming to blows with each other!

More to follow:

EDL suckers - where did your money go?

EDL members were warned by EDL News long ago and yet still they donated, bought the merchandise and subsidised the crooks.

From EDL News by Gary Fiennes-Hastings, 02 July 2012:

How the English Defence League are using a front organisation to receive donations via PayPal

Last June it was revealed that the EBay and PayPal accounts of the English Defence League (EDL) had been frozen. This was the expected response by both EBay and PayPal for a breach of their User Agreements by an organisation that actively promotes anti-Muslim, xenophobic, and racist sentiments (and one that has generated a lot of criminals to boot too). The EDL denied the reasons for this closure of their accounts at the time of course, promising its supporters that the EDL Hoodies and branded Face Masks would arrive as promised.

Whether they ever actually got the items that they paid for, is anyone's guess, but what is certain is that it wasn't too long before the EDL again started to collect financial donations through PayPal. Convenient for an organisation that receives donations from as far as North America and Europe (there is a reason after all why its leaders regularly appear on fringe Canadian television programs and use fake online accounts to promote the EDL). However, there is a slight twist to the story, as it seems that PayPal might not be aware that the EDL is again using its services. The reason being – money 'donated towards the EDL' doesn't go directly to the EDL at all, but first goes into the account of a registered clothing business.

For those who don't know, the English Defence League is not only a political organisation, but it also involves at least three businesses registered with Companies House. A quick search brings up 'EDL English Defence League Ltd' with the sadistic Kahanist Roberta Moore listed as the director. Another search brings up 'The English Defence League Angels (EDL) Ltd', and the 'The English & Jewish Defence League (EDL) Limited'; both of which are directed by Helen 'Hel' Gower – the personal assistant to EDL leaders Stephen Lennon and Kevin Carroll.

So it should come to no surprise that the English Defence League has connections with other registered businesses. And here we arrive at 'NRNLS Ltd' – a clothing business registered to an address in Poole and directed by a Mr Timothy 'Tim' Ablitt. Tim Ablitt only happens to be an EDL activist and an official Regional Organiser for the Far-Right 'British Freedom Party'.

So what's the connection between NRNLS Ltd and the EDL? Well, twofold. The first is that NRNLS Ltd is the company that supplies the EDL with its clothing range, which the EDL in turn, then sells on their website. Nothing illegal here of course. After all, an organisation that requires a product requires a supplier. A small, independent business owned by a Far-Right activist comes in handy when large businesses may have their image tarnished through striking deals with groups such as the EDL.

The second connection between NRNLS Ltd and the EDL relates back to PayPal. If the EDL have been denied the use of PayPal's services, then the question has to be asked: how does the EDL continue to use the company's services? Why is it that the EDL website has two links to what is advertised as their PayPal account - one banner pleading for potential donators to 'Buy us a Pint' – which the EDL regularly advertises on its Facebook pages (as the EDL predominantly exists online as a loose and sprawling collection of Facebook groups).

Well, the simple answer is that the PayPal account does not belong to the EDL – despite being advertised as such - but belongs to NRNLS Ltd. Whether the EDL actually receives any of the money or not is unknown, but what is certain is that the EDL are using NRNLS Ltd as a front organisation through which to by-pass PayPal's denial of service, and that money 'donated to the EDL' is actually being donated into the account of a NRNLS Ltd – a private limited company.

This should not only alarm those who have unknowingly given money to NRNLS Ltd, or PayPal for being kept in the dark (the latter have now been contacted). It also shows that there is money in hate, and that the EDL and NRNLS Ltd both have a financial incentive to keep doing what they do, to the detriment of everyone else. The money collected may go back into the EDL's coffers, but that's not known. Nor is it known what controls the EDL or NRNLS Ltd have in place, to ensure that the money collected goes to where it is meant to go. If an organisation - especially one like the EDL - is willing to employ a front-organisation to raise funds, then what else it that organisation willing to do?

PS:
EDL announce Tim Ablitt as new Chairman
10 October, 2013
Category: EDL News  Written by Gary Hasting

After the departure of Tommy Robinson and Kevin Carroll earlier this week, the English Defence League has announced Tim Ablitt will the new chairman of the far right organisation.

A meeting was held last night which Robinson and Carroll were supposed to attend to answer questions via Skype but neither of them showed up.

The meeting decided that they would retain regional organisers and have a chairman in overall control.

Tim with Tommy

-----------------------------------------------------------

Yes, you read it aright, the same EDL clothing merchant Tim Ablitt mentioned in the article published in July 2012 (above) is to take over the EDL, according to the EDL News article quoted.

The question is - how does Mr Ablitt separate "donations" from naive EDL supporters that go to his company through PayPal, from payments for his EDL merchandise?

And then how are those donations used?

Bradford

As the decapitated EDL prepare for another useless, expensive and disruptive march this weekend, so Bradford Council and the West Yorkshire Police work together to help the EDL with clear and defined instructions:

Decapitation - East Anglian EDL responds

The nation's betrayed EDL supporters mourn the loss of EDL leadership on EDL boards and fora all over the country with posts like this:




East Anglia's own racists do not mince words:

East Anglian Patriots shared Northampton's Elite Patriots'sphoto.

14 hours ago

Nfse 5words. (3)

• Top Comments

  6 people like this.
• 

  Neil Lewis He hasn't surrendered, he's accepted that muslims are a lot more dedicated to their cause than us. All the EDL have now are a few violent racists an a bunch of twats who sit at home and winge about stuff. I don't blame him.

  Like · Reply · 38 minutes ago
• 

  Richard Jesse Owen FRITT do you think ?

  Like · Reply · 56 minutes ago
• 

  John McQuillan Another 'Leader' who can't lead. Just like a tory!!

  Like · Reply · 1 · about an hour ago
• 

  John McQuillan Obviously can't take the flak

  Like · Reply · 54 minutes ago

East Anglian Patriots try to rally the ranks but there is cynicism: 

East Anglian Patriots

14 hours ago

PATRIOTS DON'T NEED LEADERS JUST LOYAL MEMBERS OUR FIGHT GOES ON AGAINST THE CULT THAT'S ISLAM NS

• 

  Kyle Pooley So basically he has Left EDL To join the Foreigners?

  Like · Reply · 12 hours ago via mobile

Boudicca Elizabeth McDonald Sold out whats new

A supporter feels kicked in the teeth whilst simultaneously stabbed in the back:

But then East Anglian Patriots ask the most interesting question:

• 

  East Anglian Patriots 
  
  Wanted to leave in feb ? Why ask for donations for last 3 months then ??

  Like · Reply · 10 hours ago via mobile
  
  

  
  

And then it's back to nasty business as usual for our shameless local racists:

East Anglian Patriots

14 hours ago

Would you sell your car to a muzrat ??? ....myself NO !!! unless the brakes or steering were playing up pmsl/aint joking lol ...nfse

Like ·  · Share

• 6 people like this.
• 

  Frederick Davis if they were to fly back to the third world shit hole they originate from i would sell them parachutes no string attatched nfse

  Like · Reply · 1 · 14 hours ago via mobile