Soldiers of Odin: Terrorist Organization Supporters?

On Sunday, I reported on the April 1 anti-Muslim protests that occurred in both Toronto and Calgary. At the protest in Toronto was this fella:

Zaza Vili, pictured here with Sandra Soloman, has attended at least two of the anti-Muslim protests in Toronto with Canadian Jewish Defence League leader Meir Weinstein. Vili himself serves as the Canadian JDL's Head of Security:

This blog has written about JDL violence in the past and the reason why it is considered a terrorist group in the United States. If anyone is interested, that article can be found here.

Vili also recently attended AIPAC in Washington D.C. where fellow Canadian JDL member Yosef Steynovitz assaulted a Palestinian-American college instructor (and because she's drawn to anything the is even vaguely anti-Muslim like a moth is drawn to a flame, Sandra Soloman was also in attendance).

Also at the three Toronto anti-Muslim events, the last two in some force and acting far more aggressively, were the Soldiers of Odin, an organization founded by a Finnish neo-Nazi and which is Canada has become increasingly strident in their targeting of Muslims and refugees.

And the SoO loves them their JDL:

I'd suggest those are faces only a mother would love, but (a) I've been admonished already about being mean when writing about fascists and (b) I'm not entirely convinced that the sentiment is actually true.

In any case, the mutual love-in sort of presents a bit of a problem for the SoO in that one of their key claims is that refugees from Muslim countries, and really Muslims in general, are a Trojan Horse and that by their very nature Muslims either are terrorists or support terrorist organizations, with Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood acting as the key boogeymen.

Here is Zaza Vili while in Israel visiting the grave of Meir Kahane, founder of the original JDL as well as the Israeli political party Kach.

Actually, to be more precise, here is Zaza Vili while in Israel visiting the grave of Meir Kahane, founder of the original JDL as well as the banned Israeli political terrorist organization Kach.

March 19 Anti-Muslim Rallies: Some Victories, Some Hard Lessons

By this point ARC readers know that any time we mention Kevin "The Chairman" Goudreau on the blog, it is probably because he did something profoundly stupid or embarrassing but isn't self aware enough to realize that this is the case:

Yep, the Goudreau held a rally in Peterborough while wearing an ill-fitted suit because he now wants to project gravitas.

Though really, to refer to what the Goudreau held as a rally is sort of like polishing a turd and calling it a diamond:

Still, despite holding his "rally" (word is they were there for less than 5 minutes) in what looks to my uneducated eye as a relatively empty street with few people to witness it, and what few people who did witness the event simply mocked him and his merry band of short bus passengers, the Goudreau appears to see it as a massive success and his first step towards his inevitable rise as der Kanadisch Führer:

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At least one person however, seemed to imply that the Goudreau was sort of gilding the lily:

That's right folks. There were more anti-Muslim rallies in select Canadian towns and cities this past week.

Kevin's explanation for the pathetic nature of his rally is flimsy at best, but it is telling in that he really believes (and is likely correct) that some of the kind of people who would attend a "White Pride" march would also be attracted to an anti-Muslim protest. It's sort of a Venn Diagram, but of hatred. For example, Goudreau has some prominent anti-Muslim activists amongst his own friends:

Brad Salzberg, the leader of the Cultural Action Party of Canada, isn't just anti-Muslim but is also anti-immigrant in general. He held a very small anti-Muslim protest in Vancouver this past Sunday. And Sara Smith is better known as Sandra Solomon, an especially vocal and virulent anti-Muslim protester associates with Eric Brazeau and Ron Banerjee; she was a key speaker at the anti-Muslim event that took place Sunday in Toronto.

When analyzing the anti-Muslim protests that took place this past Sunday, I think it is important to look not only at the victories scored by those who opposed the xenophobes and Islamophobes, but it is equally important to recognize that there were some setbacks.

Rise Canada and Other Islamophobes Celebrate Their Islamophobia At Toronto Mosque

On February 17, Ron Banerjee, Eric Brazeau, Sandra Solomon, and other Islamophobes protested in front of a mosque in Toronto. As of Saturday the Toronto Police Service claimed to be investigating the protest as a possible hate crime.

And since Banerjee was kind enough to provide video of the event, this writer decided to provide our readers with the pertinent excerpts interspersed with Banerjee's tweets and screen shots from the Facebook profiles of some to the other participants.

Yep, this writer made a video:

Yeah, it isn't great; poor production value, editing, and all that (including a rather unfortunate lapse in memory regarding the year that we are currently residing, as the first text page has the date that the rally took place as 2016 rather than 2017 UPDATE: fixed). It's my first time so cut me a little slack. But we think it provides our readers with the general tone of the protest as well as the bigotry of at least some of those involved in the protest:

Meir Weinstein and Ezra Levant, unsurprisingly, thought the protest was supper kool:

Though they wouldn't have needed the excuse be hateful towards Muslims, Banerjee and co. were reacting to M-103, a private members motion condemning Islamophobia.

Actually, lets, post the full text of the motion:

That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) recognize the need to quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear; (b) condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination and take note of House of Commons’ petition e-411 and the issues raised by it; and (c) request that the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage undertake a study on how the government could (i) develop a whole-of-government approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination including Islamophobia, in Canada, while ensuring a community-centered focus with a holistic response through evidence-based policy-making, (ii) collect data to contextualize hate crime reports and to conduct needs assessments for impacted communities, and that the Committee should present its findings and recommendations to the House no later than 240 calendar days from the adoption of this motion, provided that in its report, the Committee should make recommendations that the government may use to better reflect the enshrined rights and freedoms in the Constitution Acts, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

That's it. And it is similar to the wording of another Liberal motion condemning the rise in antisemitism around the world:

a) there has been, in the words of the Joint Statement issued following the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on January 22, 2015, “an alarming increase in Antisemitism worldwide,” including the firebombing of synagogues and community centres, the vandalizing of Jewish memorials and cemeteries, incendiary calls for the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people, and anti-Jewish terror; 

b) this global anti-Semitism constitutes not only a threat to Jews but an assault on our shared democratic values and our common humanity; 

Therefore the House: 

a) declares its categorical condemnation of anti-Semitism; 

b) reaffirms the importance of the Ottawa Protocol on Combating anti-Semitism as a model for domestic and international implementation; 

c) reaffirms, in the words of the Ottawa Protocol, that, “Criticism of Israel is not antisemitic, and saying so is wrong. But singling Israel out for selective condemnation and opprobrium – let alone denying its right to exist or seeking its destruction – is discriminatory and hateful, and not saying so is dishonest;” 

And the House further calls upon the government to: 

a) continue advancing the combating of anti-Semitism as a domestic and international priority; 

b) expand engagement with civil society, community groups, educators, and other levels of government to combat anti-Semitism and to promote respect, tolerance, and mutual understanding.

That motion condemning antisemitism was, rightfully, adopted unanimously.

So it would make sense that M-103 would be similarly accepted. I mean, given that this motion will be voted on in the aftermath of what appears to be a likely Islamophobic mass shooting resulting in the death of six men as well as numerous assaults on Muslims and vandalism of their places of worship, who could possibly have a problem this this non-binding motion?

Right?

Nope. People are losing their shit. Or to be more specific, demagogues such as Kelly Leitch and some other Conservative Party leadership candidates as well as Ezra Levant and his merry band at "The Rebel" are ginning up fear that this, I once again stress, non-binding motion will take away people's free speech, become an anti-blasphemy law, and impose sharia on Canadians:

Except this happened in 2015.

And despite the efforts of reasonable Conservative such as Michael Chong and rather valiant efforts by some media outlets such as the CBC, "Globe and Mail," "The National Post," and Global to inform the Canadian public as to what M-103 is and what it is not, the folks who are inclined to believe Muslims are hiding under their beds and in their closets ready to jump out one day to dress their women up in niqabs and force feed them kabobs are having none of this rational discussion and have fully embraced the crazy:

In the meantime, Liberal MP Iqra Khalid who tabled the motion spoke about the death threats she has received ("The Star" also covers these threats and sexually demeaning insults) as a result of her motion as a reason why she would not remove the word "Islamophobia" from the motion as requested by the Conservative Party. She has since been offered police protection.

You know, threats (as well as other lovely comments) like these posted yesterday:

March 2016 Bits and Bites: PEGIDA/JDL Protest Bust, Your Ward News in Warman's Cross-hairs, and Free Dominion News

We'll be posting an article detailing Canadians United 4 Canada's links to racist boneheads and an article to be published soon, but in the meantime we thought we would provide our readers a little bit of irony today:

But we do digress.

When we reported that the JDL was holding an event featuring PEGIDA UK speaker Paul Weston, we noted that there were plans to protest outside the location where the presentation was taking place.

Ron Banerjee, noticing that we had provided details about the counterprotest, claimed that his one man organization Canadian Hindu Advocacy and his mostly one man organization Rise Canada would discuss providing security for the event.

The JDL's Meir Weinstein, a man who has helped to promote Banerjee in the past and who has also both justified and refused to condemn Banerjee's racist, misogynistic, anti-Sikh, Islamophobic, and now Christophobic rhetoric.... well.... he seemed rather unamused:

The event did take place though and Banerjee did attend, as did it seems at least a few members of PEGIDA Canada:

Three Canadian Racists Supporting Donald Trump: Sort of Funny

This past Saturday Republican primaries were held in Kentucky, Maine, Kansas, and Louisiana. Donald Trump managed to win both Kentucky and Louisiana by fairly comfortable margins. It was amusing then when we listened to the talking heads on MSNBC pontificate on whether or not the endorsement by David Duke would hurt Trump in Louisiana, a state where the former Klan leader was once elected to the state legislature and where he was the Republican nominee for governor.

Of course it wouldn't hurt Trump.

David Duke is only the most prominent American racist to come out in favor of Trump. Others include Jared Taylor of American Renaissance and  Matthew Heimbach who recently was caught on video assaulting a protester at a Trump rally. But Trump is also getting some love internationally from the far right including xenophobes in the UK, France, the Netherlands, and elsewhere.

Here in Canada, the folks with PEGIDA Canada and posters on the anti-Muslim/refugee/government sites we've started monitoring have come out strongly for Trump. So too have members of our racist movement including Paulie. From last month's London Forum where he was a featured speaker:

And a recent post:

On that note, we thought we would profile three other Canadians who support Donald Trump's race to the White House, though it could be easily argued that there influence in the Canadian movement, already on the fringes of society, is minimal to nonexistent.

We sometimes like to amuse ourselves.

Protest Organized in Response to JDL's PEGIDA UK Event in Toronto

On Saturday we posted an article which included information regarding a PEGIDA UK event organized by the JDL. At this event the leader of PEGIDA UK, Paul Weston, would be speaking.

Looks like there's another welcome committee being formed, though one decidedly not sanctioned by the JDL and unlikely to be particularly welcoming to Mr. Weston:

No fascists in Toronto. Shut down Paul Weston of anti-immigrant Pegida (UK)
Thursday, March 10 at 6 PM in EST
788 Marlee Avenue (one block west of Lawrence West subway station, just south of Lawrence)

On Thursday March 10, the extremist Jewish Defence League will be hosting British fascist Paul Weston at a meeting at 788 Marlee Avenue - around the corner from Lawrence West subway station. Weston will be attacking Syrian refugees as a "threat" and opposing immigration generally. Weston is a notorious fascist, and conspiracy theorist whose articles mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik cited in his manifesto. Weston is the former chairman of the British Freedom Party, a splinter group founded by former member of the neofascist British National Party and is active with the racist English Defence League.

Come out to protest this meeting and make it clear that fascists are not welcome in Toronto. Bring banners, signs, noisemakers, and friends. 788 Marlee Avenue is the Toronto Zionist Centre and is around the corner from Lawrence West subway station - when leaving the subway go one block west on Lawrence and then turn left on to Marlee.

The Goat-Blood Drinking Senate Candidate and the PEGIDA UK Leader Who Was Too Much Even For UKIP

Sometimes we learn about some particularly odd characters when receiving information from our readers:

Meet Augustus Sol Invictus, a Libertarian candidate for the senate seat being vacated by Marco Rubio.

Aside from changing his name to a Latin phrase which is loosely translated as "Majestic Invincible Sun" and, thus, indicating that he has an ego that Donald Trump might envy, Augie here is an interesting cat for other reasons:

Meet Augustus Invictus, the Florida Libertarian Who Loves Paganism, Civil War, and Goat Sacrifice

A few relevant points:

There are a few reasons why Wyllie finds Invictus such a distasteful character. "Mr. Invictus has repeatedly vowed that it is his destiny to start a second civil war in America," Wyllie wrote in a Facebook post announcing his resignation. He continued, "He has described himself as an American Fascist... He has expressed support for a eugenics program... Many of his supporters are known members of Neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups."

While the Florida Libertarian Party didn't out-and-out eject Invictus from its ranks, it did issue a press release Monday condemning the Senate candidate's views. "The LPF has not endorsed Augustus Invictus and has not provided him with any support," the party's new chair said in the statement. But, the party added, "Under the law, we cannot prevent him from running as a Libertarian and he is not required to enter our certification process."

The impetus for all this was apparently a post on Invictus' Senate campaign website titled "A Declaration of the Failings of the US Government." In it, the candidate does display some pretty racist views, like accusing the federal government of abandoning "its eugenics programs & elitist mindset in favor of a decadent ideology that rejects the beauty of strength and demands the exponential growth of the weakest, the least intelligent, and the most diseased."

Still, weird name and racist views aside, Invictus might have gone unnoticed by the public at large if it weren't for Wyllie's assertion that, "Mr. Invictus was ejected from Ordo Templi Orientis for brutally and sadistically dismembering a goat in a ritualistic sacrifice." Naturally, this got people's attention, piquing the interest of the national news media....

Now we generally don't write a lot about the American nutters unless there is a direct link to Canada, so you all know where this is going:

Ron Banerjee, André Drouin, and Rise Canada

We had mentioned in our previous article that we were working on a new story. In fact, it's a story that sort of fell into our laps, though initially we didn't quite realize how significant it would turn out to be:

Before being sent the above unsolicited link we had been aware of Rise Canada though we didn't pay it a lot of attention as it was yet another Islamaphobic project of Ron Banerjee:

Ron Banerjee holding pamphlet

We've discussed Banerjee on the blog in the past. He styles himself as the director and spokesman of Canadian Hindu Advocacy, a virulently Islamaphobic "group" which is, for all intents and purposes a one man show. Banerjee attended last summer's Ford Fest where he was heard shouting homophobic slurs at protesters, one of whom he appears to have physically assaulted. And he is occasionally found in the company of the Jewish Defence League. 

While he has been able to snooker some into believing CHA is actually a legitimate interest group representing Canadian Hindus before his behavior gives him away as a fraud, most people who know of Banerjee know him as a self-promoter with limited influence. 

So with this in mind we generally ignored Rise Canada since it seemed simply to be just another one of Banerjee's delusions of grandeur. We didn't even bother looking at the website which we assumed would be as devoid of content as that of CHA.

However one of our members did eventually decide to take a look, again assuming there wouldn't be much there. 

That assumption turned out to be incorrect. What we did find took us on a rather interesting ride.

Winnicki Donates to Free Dominion's Warman Appeal: Part III

Well, talk about trying to have your cake and eat it too.

The past two articles posted too the blog have looked at the efforts of the owners of Free Dominion to crowd source their efforts in appealing the Warman judgement. More specifically, our focus was on one particular benefactor:

In our first article we wondered if the fine folks at Free Dominion were aware of who Tomasz Winnicki was and, if made aware, if they would keep the money of a virulent and unapologetic racist and anti-Semite. The second article which dealt with Winnicki's response appeared to have answered these questions, at least in part:

Now there was a possibility that, despite our helpful hint sent through twitter, that the Fourniers were still not aware of who Winnicki was after thanking him for his generous donation (if one were to believe it was Connie who had sent him thanks). It seems though now that they are aware of who Winnicki is and have made a change on the GoFundMe page.

Oh, they haven't returned the money if that, dear reader, is what you're thinking. They've just decided to hide this rather embarrassing fact. Here again is how Tommie's donation appeared on the page before....

.... and here is how it appeared earlier today:

More Ford Fest Fallout: Ron Banerjee Focus Of Criminal Complaint

Late last month we posted an article on an apparent assault during Ford Fest. Ron Banerjee, who has been featured on this blog as a result of his virulent Islamaphobia, is seen in a video with his hands around the throat of a protester at the event. Prior to this incident, Banerjee was caught on camera shouting at a group of LBGTQ protesters:

Go home faggots! Go fuck your…. Go suck a dick faggots!

Banergee can be heard saying the above homophobic slur in this video at 5:17.

Given the language used and the fact the protester Banerjee physically accosted was wearing a rainbow flag as a cape (though he himself was not gay), the incident could be reasonably viewed as being motivated by hatred towards LBGTQ people.

Terry Long Comes Out Of Seclusion; Supports Topham

Arthur Topham had an arraignment hearing Tuesday where he pleaded not guilty. He is enjoined from contacting Richard Warman and Harry Abrams but otherwise has no restrictions on his use of the Internet. For now at least. A few interesting points that critics of sec. 13 (human rights code) might consider:

1. A sec. 319 (criminal code) charge appears to compel the respondent to attend quite a few hearings, likely more than anything resulting from a sec. 13 complaint.

2. Failure to appear at one of these hearings may very well result in an arrest warrant, unlike a sec. 13 complaint.

Sec. 13 doesn't look so bad after all, eh?  We suppose this is yet another case where one should be careful what one wishes for.

Paulie has been dutifully updating everyone about the status of Topham, including re-posting Topham's most recent update on Radical Press. We won't include that part since it's really just echoing what he always writes, however Paulie does include a "forward" which really is a blast from the past:

Answering Free Dominion: Part II

The way you deal with Nazis is to, “break their heads.”

The JDL fundraiser for Free Dominion took place about a week ago and was attended a who's who of the Canadian right-wing blogosphere as well as some of the more active members of Free Dominion. Prior to this, Connie responded to our last article:

Well, we really don't have to paint the JDL as violent, Connie, since your own membership seem to agree:

Now, our Free Dominion friend here couches the violence of the JDL in more respectable terms; they represent the "warrior race" that is befitting of the Jewish people. Our Free Dominion friend also goes on to claim that the reason why we or anyone else would be concerned about the JDL is because we are closet anti-Semites who want Jews to be powerless in the face of those who would harm them.

It's a ridiculous accusation (especially directed at us) but this is sort of Free Dominion's schtick.

It  might be instructive, however, to learn how the JDL earned the honor of being referred to as warriors since the Canadian branch of the JDL has engaged in the very activities that Free Dominion has accused (and condemned) us at ARC of engaging in.

But we begin at the beginning.

Answering Free Dominion: Part I

When we write an article in which Free Dominion is mentioned, it is often the case that they respond in some way. Usually with nasty names with what we could only assume to be spittle flying forth from their mouths in something approaching, though not quite reaching, apoplectic rage.

They don't seem to like us all that much.

Usually we ignore what they write about us, but after reading some of the responses to our article regarding the JDL fundraiser for Free Dominion on the thread, "Anti-Racist Canada member joins FreeDominion - Breaking !!" we felt that it might be useful to address some of what they have said about us. In fact the nature of the responses might necessitate a few different posts on our part.

Free Dominion and Strange Bedfellows. Again.....

Back on June 14, we briefly mentioned that Dr. Dawg had won his appeal and that the case would now go to trial.

We don't want to argue the merit of the arguments involved, but we can't help but notice the odd assortment of characters who have lined up over the past year to support the Fourniers in this case.

When Dawg first filed his suit, Paulie chimed in with his support for the Fourniers:

In another more recent post, Paulie called on his followers to support the Fourniers and Free Dominion after Dawg won his appeal.

Today, we learned that the Fourniers will be supported by another group:

Talk About the Company They Keep: July 2011 Edition

So, we might be a little late to the party here, but we thought we'd simply ask some EDL defenders their thoughts.


Mark and Connie Fournier, would you care to comment on this?

And Mr. Weinstein, perhaps a word from you on this bit of information?

Ya'll might have been better served had you just listened to us.

That is all.

Strange Bedfellows: Canadian Hindu Advocacy's Relationship with Social Conservative Christians, the JDL and the EDL

When were were reading other blogs, and writing our own article, concerning the JDL/EDL meet and greet that occurred last week, we came across another group touted by the Jewish Defence League (JDL) as also supporting the efforts of the English Defence League (EDL). The group, Canadian Hindu Advocacy (CHA), appears to be very small though it's chairman and spokesperson has claimed it is the only organization in Canada lobbying for Hindu concerns. In a CBC interview a few years ago, Ron Banerjee (who then lead the equally small and now apparently defunct Hindu Conference of Canada) affirmed his commitment to a tolerant and multicultural Canada:

Incorporating Hinduism into my adult life as a Canadian has been painless and natural. Hindus consider it to be a sin to impose our faith on others, so tolerance and acceptance of others in a multicultural society came naturally. Hinduism, with its numerous female deities, also promotes gender equality.

We would agree with this sentiment, and we can point to numerous examples of Hindu tolerance throughout history, however we are left wondering if Banerjee believes his own rhetoric based upon his own and other's statements concerning Muslims, Sikhs and Christians.

The JDL and Free Dominion: Strange Bedfellows

We sometimes find it remarkable how much attention the folks at Free Dominion pay towards our little home on the Internet (and now that we mentioned their name, FD user Ogopogo will no doubt dutifully report that we are writing about them now). Objectively, we shouldn't matter to Free Dominion. On a good day we may get a little over 400 hits on our blog in a 24 hour period (we usually average in the 200 to 300 range, with a record of around 800 hits back in March 2009), but we suspect that the Free Dominion forums likely receive closer to 400 an hour. We're realistic enough about ourselves to admit that compared to Free Dominion, or even our friends and fellow bloggers BCL and Dr. Dawg, we're pretty small potatoes.

And yet, they have devoted entire discussion about ARC, often involving elaborate conspiracy theories, nefarious plots, sinister criminal exploits, and government honeypot programs, none of which bare anything close to an objective reality. Mark Fournier even claimed here that ARC, though we believe he actually meant the ARA which they conflate with ARC, was responsible for most of the political violence in Canada during the past 20 years (considering our oldest writer was about 12 at the beginning of this time frame and living on a farm in Balgonie, Saskatchewan which isn't exactly a hotbed of political intrigue, this claim may seem a bit far fetched). We appear to have become a Dr. Moriarty or Keyser Söze caricature to them, a shadowing figure who's tentacle's reach into almost every aspect of the underworld.

Suffice it to say we find it all a bit funny, though their leaps of logic still often leave us scratching our heads.

We have most recently been mentioned in a thread that dealt with the EDL/JDL meet and greet that took place in Toronto last week, however we're a little more interested in the beginning of the thread than where we were specifically mentioned by name:

JDL Hearts EDL

The Jewish Defense League, an extremist organization whose members have been linked to acts and threats of terrorism (including, but not limited to, here, here, here, here, here, and here) and as such has been labeled a terrorist organization in the United States and Israeli experts, is organizing a rally in support of the English Defense League, an anti-Islamic extremist group whose members have been linked to neo-Nazi movements in the UK and to violence:

Controversial anti-Islamic group plans rally in Toronto

Stewart Bell, National Post · Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011

TORONTO—A British right-wing group responsible for a wave of violent anti-Islamist street protests in the United Kingdom will attempt to spread its message to Canadians at a rally in Toronto next week.

A “support rally” for the controversial English Defence League is scheduled to take place at the Toronto Zionist Centre on Tuesday night. The event is being organized by the Jewish Defence League of Canada.

Tommy Robinson, the EDL leader, will speak at the rally through an on-line hookup. It is believed to be the first Canadian rally for the EDL, repeatedly linked to violence since it formed in 2009 to counter Islamist militancy in Britain.