March 12 Bits and Bites Part III: Kathy Shaidle Update

We were one of a number of progressive blogs to complain about Kathy Shaidle's participation on a TVO program considering the miriad of documented racist statements she has made on her blog (more on that in a moment). Soon after we and other blogs covered this story someone decided that they needed to amend Ms. Shaidle's Wikipedia page to remove the section that detailed these comments. One of the justifications given for the removal was that a claim that Ms. Shaidle is "controversial" must first be stated in the mainstream press. On that note we need to thank Randy Richmond for his article in the London Free Press:

Controversial right-wing blogger invited to speak at London event

Some members of the city's Jewish community have brought in speakers critical of anti-hate laws
Wed, March 11, 2009

By RANDY RICHMOND

She has called Muslims "pathetic, whiny losers" who practise "a sick, sick religion."

She has accused Asians of spreading disease in Toronto, disparaged natives and blacks, and suggested the poor "are no more real than Bigfoot."

Now, controversial right-wing blogger Kathy Shaidle may be coming to London to speak about human rights.

The invitation to Shaidle by some members of the city's Jewish community has alarmed anti-racism activists and provided fresh ammunition to the country's heavyweight politicos over freedom of speech.

Profile: Tomasz Winnicki

Tomasz Winnicki, born on November 17, 1975, once proudly described himself as London, Ontario’s “biggest hater.” His posts on the VNN forums were profanity-laced diatribes against immigrants, African-Canadians, First Nations peoples, women, the police, homosexuals, and his biggest target, Jews. He threatens. He bullies. He’s as close to the stereotypical, frothing at the mouth bigot that one can find in real life outside of comic books.

But really, how seriously can you take someone who at 32 years old and based on current knowledge still lives in his mother’s and father’s basement and doesn’t seem to have ever lived on his own? Well, there was the brief exception of his stay for a few months in one of Canada’s fine correctional facilities for violation of a court injunction, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

pictured left to right: Jason King, David Ruud), Tomasz
Winnicki, Tyler Chilcott, Tomas Szymanski

Winnicki is himself an immigrant who’s family emigrated to Canada from Poland in 1987. He started making waves as a bigot in 2003 when someone discovered his racist website. Though the service provider did pull the plug on Winnicki when they were made aware of the content of his website, this wasn’t the end of Winnicki’s online activities. He soon found a new home on Alex Linder’s Vanguard News Network where he first posted as Thexder_3D. When his real identity was discovered he started posting under his own name. His posts are characteristically rambling, hate-filled and barely literate (you’d think his vocabulary was limited to the phrase, “fuck you Jews” when reading his posts) screeds targeting anyone not White, male, heterosexual, or, well, almost everyone really.

Melissa Guille holding "Dirty Buggers" sign next
to Tomasz Winnicki with camera

Soon Winnicki began attending protests along side Canadian Heritage Alliance leader Melissa Guille, Jason Ouwendyk and his Northern Alliance boneheads and Paul Fromm, the acknowledged leader of the Canadian far right. He mostly attended protests of London’s Gay Pride parades where he held up charming signs such as “AIDS Cures Homosexuals” but there was one protest he had attempted to join in but was prevented from doing so. In September 2004, Winnicki was driving his car with three other men were on their way to a rally in Toronto in support of Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel. When stopped by the police Winnicki’s car was searched. In his car the police discovered throwing knives, body armour, and a bow with arrows. Instead of attending the rally, Winnicki and the three other men were arrested. He plead guilty to weapons charges on November 23, 2006 and was given a conditional discharge with 6 months probation. It was discovered that one of the men who was arrested with Winnicki was Randal Linton who posts on Stormfront and other hate sites as “Raghnall." The other two were Kevin Lovett and Jason King