Tagged with Monika Evers

#ReclaimAustralia Rallies : Sunday, November 22

Briefly:

Leb and wog bashing day : Cronulla redux

Nick Folkes of the ‘Party for Freedom’ has declared that he’s obtained the approval of NSW police to hold a party in Cronulla (midday, December 12, Don Lucas Reserve) to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Cronulla riots (aka ‘Leb and wog-bashing day’).

Originally sponsored by shock-jock Alan Jones, the celebration of racist violence has now won the support of Shermon Burgess and the United Patriots Front (UPF), who will presumably be joined by a range of other thugs keen to remind ‘Lebs’ and ‘wogs’ in Sydney of their place. Note that Cooma boy Burgess (aka ‘The Great Aussie Patriot’) has previously declared that ‘Cronulla was Australia’s Muslim Holocaust’ (Eureka Brigade, ‘Border Patrol’), and was deeply thrilled to witness and to participate in the ‘White Civil Uprising’ in 2005. See : Anti-Islam ‘patriots’ set their sights on Cronulla, where it all began, Bianca Hall, The Sydney Morning Herald, October 22, 2015.

Teh Grauniad

I wrote an article for Teh Grauniad: The UPF and Reclaim Australia aren’t ‘concerned parents’ or a bad joke (October 20).

A few additional notes:

• Blair Cottrell’s “taking over” the leadership of the UPF was quickly followed by his resignation from the group and denunciation of its former leader, Burgess, as emotionally weak and greedy (Burgess fleeced his followers of several thousand dollars before returning from his all-too-brief retirement). Cottrell also denounced Burgess’s NSW comrade Ralph Cerminara (Grand Poobah of the Australian Defence League) as a “cancer” on the movement.
• The period between Burgess’s short-lived retirement and the resumption of Business As Usual by the UPF witnessed a range of bizarre postings on the UPF page, including one from Melbourne neo-Nazi and UPF leader Neil Erikson, in which he declared that he would spend the weekend getting drunk and playing with pig’s heads. Fellow neo-Nazi and UPF yoof leader Thomas Sewell declared that the whole, sordid affair was the result of a government plot. Cottrell also span a ridiculous story about a government agent (‘Jason Evans’) giving him a bugged phone.
• A few weeks ago Burgess denounced Melbourne-based neo-Nazi groupuscule Nationalist Alternative and boneheads, declaring that the UPF would attack them on sight. This obviously places him in a difficult position as the UPF leadership in Melbourne contains numerous neo-Nazis and Cottrell is closely linked to Nat.Alt. Which is presumably why the video was deleted.

• John Oliver (Patriots Defence League of Australia), featured in the Sunday TV show, established a fund earlier this year to d0x me. He also declared that I should be hunted down like a dog, have my testicles removed and then re-attached to my forehead. Many concerned Dad.
• “Catherine Brennan” is better-known as Elizabeth (Liz) Shepherd, one of several people — along with Burgess, Oliver and Monika Evers — to have formed a committee to administer RA when it formed early in 2015. Shepherd also established a bank account for the group.

Reclaim Australia

Reclaim Australia will be holding a further series of rallies across the country on Sunday, November 22. The UPF has declared that it too will be attending, and acting as the fascist vanguard of RA.

The rallies will be the subject of counter-protests.

ADELAIDE
Adelaide counter rally to Reclaim Australia – stop racists and nazis

BRISBANE
STOP ISLAMOPHOBIA! Rally against racist Reclaim Australia (United Against Islamophobia and Bigotry Brisbane)

CANBERRA
Canberra Rally Against Racism: No to Reclaim Australia, No to Islamophobia! (Canberra Anti-Racism Network)

carfmelb

MELBOURNE
No to Racism, No to Fascism: Stop Reclaim Australia (Campaign Against Racism & Fascism)
RALLY AGAINST RACISM – Stop ‘Reclaim Australia’ – Melbourne (No Room For Racism)

NEWCASTLE
RALLY AGAINST RACISM – Stop ‘Reclaim Australia’ – Newcastle (RALLY Against Racism -Community organizing space)

PERTH
Reclaim Australia – No Way! (United Against Bigotry and Racism)

carfsyd

SYDNEY
No to Racism, No to Reclaim Australia – Muslims are Welcome (No to Racism, No to Fascism, No to Islamophobia)

I’ll add other locations as I become aware of them.

Fascism, bread and circuses

Finally, a *slow clap* for Lennon Bros Circus. Informed that Shermon Burgess had destroyed some posters promoting a protest over concerns for animal welfare (Burgess also threatened that the UPF would be present to deal with the dirty-smelly-hippies assumed to be responsible), the Circus rewarded the fascist clown with free tickets to their Cooma show. See : United Patriots Front leader given circus tickets for ripping animal rights posters, Henry Belot and Michael Inman, The Sydney Morning Herald, October 23, 2015.

October 10 “Global Rally For Humanity”

bendigosea

A month or two ago, October 10 was declared by US anti-Muslim activist Jon Ritzheimer to be the date of a ‘Global Rally For Humanity’. Several small rallies were held in the US and one was organised by the English Defence League in the town of Aylesbury, but among those who quickly jumped on board the hate train was the Australian fascist groupuscule ‘United Patriots Front’ (UPF), which organised an anti-Mulsim rally in the Victorian town of Bendigo on Saturday. That rally attracted hundreds in support and was almost certainly the largest anti-Muslim rally on the day. Elsewhere in the country, very small rallies were held in Canberra and Hobart (and Brisbane and Perth), but the great majority of anti-Muslim activists traveled to Bendigo for the occasion. The national mobilisation by the UPF managed to attract perhaps as many as 500 supporters — and a slightly smaller number was organised in opposition to the UPF by the Bendigo Action Coalition.

not

See : Bendigo mosque: Anti-mosque protesters face off with counter activists, ABC, October 10, 2015 | Bendigo mosque protests: Anti-racism demonstrators face off with nationalists, Chris Vedelago, The Age, October 10, 2015 | Pro-diversity and anti-mosque protesters rally in Bendigo, The Guardian (AAP), October 10, 2015.

The bestest coverage of the Bendigo rally came by way of Paul Anderson and Andrew Jefferson (Pro- and anti-Islamic groups protest as Bendigo mosque rages, Herald Sun, October 11, 2015), in which True Australian Patriots were pitted against pirates, environmentalists, clown wigs, masked vigilantes and militant skinheads:

heraldsun

Previously, on October 9, Nick Folkes’ Party For Freedom held a very small anti-Muslim rally at Parramatta mosque. Among the very few who joined him was Australian Defence League Grand Poobah Ralph Cerminara. The previous weekend on his (since deleted) Facebook page, Cerminara called upon his followers to launch ‘lone wolf’ attacks upon mosques and imams. (Cerminara was also in Bendigo on October 10.) The callout received some attention from media but seemingly none from police.

Ralphski

See : Tiny turnout to anti-Muslim protest in Sydney’s west, ABC (AM), October 10, 2015 | Police outnumber demonstrators outside Parramatta mosque, Anne Davies and Eryk Bagshaw, The Sydney Morning Herald, October 9, 2015.

antifa notes (october 4, 2015) : #UPF /// #GD /// #43Group +

United Patriots Front /// Bendigo

Fascists, racists and various species of bigot — organised by fascist grouplet the United Patriots Front (UPF) — will once again descend on Bendigo next weekend (October 10) to put on a public display of stoopid (pissing and moaning about the construction of Bendigo’s mosque); once again there will be opposition. In this context of organised public expressions of Islamophobia and xenophobia, you can read moar about the feelings of some local Muslims in this (October 1) ABC report. The rally also comes on the heels of the successful disruption by anti-Muslim activists of a Bendigo council meeting of September 16 and the consequent cancellation of a meeting scheduled for this week.

Since their first rally (August 29) in Bendigo, the UPF — having already alienated Monika Evers (Reclaim Australia/Stop the Mosque in Bendigo) — appears to have lost the support of Bendigo local Julie Hoskin, the principal spokesperson for the anti-Muslim group ‘Rights For Bendigo Residents’. Judging by this report in The Australian (Bendigo’s anti-mosque leader fights lawyers for loan costs, Rachel Baxendale, October 1, 2015), Hoskin has enough on her plate and is a bit too busy to play second fiddle to some fascists from Melbourne. Of course, on the other hand, the shooting in Sydney on Friday will presumably inspire a few more UPF followers to take to the streets …

As for Reclaim Australia, it continues to be active online. And while it has notably won the fulsome support of maverick Queensland MP George Christensen, it remains a touchy subject for the government, as Government Spokesperson For Multicultural Affairs Declines To Criticise Reclaim Australia (Max Chalmers, New Matilda, October 2, 2015). And oh yeah : ‘In an effort to boost its coffers the anti-Islamic movement has started marketing a bizarre line of products’ (see : For The Racist Who Has Everything: Reclaim Australia Releases Clothing Line, Coffee Mugs, And Tote Bags, Max Chalmers, New Matilda, September 30, 2015). Note also : Geert Wilders’ Dutch anti-Muslim party forced to reveal US donor, The Electronic Intifada, September 29, 2015.

Speaking of firing up the troops, one tricksy patriot (I suspect someone involved in the Patriots Defence League of Australia) has produced a poster (below), with an unusual emphasis upon f*cking. The reaction to it is as could be imagined, so props, I guess, to the patriotik yoof what done it: Mission Accomplished.

weird

One of the other legacies of the August 29 rally is a $1200 fine being imposed upon an anti-fascist for burning an Australian flag. An appeal has been launched to help them pay the fine here. Finally, on a lighter note, True Australian Patriots mining racism for comedy gold (ABC Radio National, September 30, 2015).

See also : How an anti-mosque campaign in Bendigo became a battle ground, Cameron Stewart, The Australian, September 26, 2015.

“Global Rally Against Muslims”

The UPF’s Bendigo rally on October 10 is one of several (Hobart, Perth and possibly Canberra) expected to take place in Australia as part of a ‘global’ (read: Australia and the United States) movement. For further details on the US protests, see : Anti-Muslim protests—some armed—planned for at least 20 sites across the country, Kalia Abiade, Imagine2050, September 29, 2015. Jon Ritzheimer, the bloke responsible for promoting the concept, is featured in Arizona militiaman howls in rage after Oath Keepers back away from his possibly illegal plot to ‘arrest’ senator, Travis Gettys, RawStory, September 25, 2015.

Golden Dawn /// Athens

Greek neo-Nazis Golden Dawn, whom the UPF regard as political allies, are on trial in Athens at the moment and a few days ago the mother of murdered rapper Pavlos Fyssas (Killah P) gave testimony [via Damian Mac Con Uladh /// GoldenDawnWatch]:

Pavlos was not in any political party. For years had been involved in music. His music was antifascist & antiracist. [Judge:] Did that get him into conflict with anyone? [Mom:] Pavlos’s girlfriend said there was no argument in place where they’d gone to watch a football match. Near place where they watched match, 20-strong group in black sweatshirts holding weapons gathered. Motorcycle police unit nearby. Pavlos and friends could see Golden Dawn one side & police the other. Intermediary came over and said don’t worry, I’ll sort it out. Pavlos: I’m not afraid, it’s my ‘hood. The 20 Golden Dawn who were already there were then joined by the Nikea hit squad. A car pulls up and a guy asks Pavlos and friends “where’s Kefalinias St?” We later learned that he [the guy in the car] was the murderer. Pavlos answered [guy in car]: This is it [the street] and the guy turned there. Then the whole gang of them, 50 in total, started approaching Pavlos and friends. They started to run and chase them. Pavlos told his friends to run. But Pavlos didn’t run. He was surrounded by 2-3 people so killer could come and stab him. I was told that he [killer] got out of the car and stabbed Pavlos twice in the heart. During incident Pavlos’ gf went to police at corner. They said: “We cannot intervene”. Police told Pavlos’ girlfiend that “nothing will happen, after two punches they’ll leave”. When two cops finally came over, it was already too late.

See also : Mother of Golden Dawn Murder Victim: ‘This Organization Trains Murderers’, Katerina Papathanasiou, Greek Reporter, October 2, 2015 | Slain rapper’s mother gives testimony at Golden Dawn trial, ekathimerini, October 2, 2015.

Swastikas

Some bloke in Ballarat was selling swastika merch at a market. In Melbourne, Ek Militaria in Essendon is a top place for Nazi memorabilia. As for Hitler, he liked to take drugs. Lots of them.

Finally, a new TV show is being produced based on the exciting anti-fascist adventures of The 43 Group, established in post-WWII E-E-England “with the unvarnished intent of, quite literally, beating British anti-semitic activists into submission. Among these soldiers, sailors and airmen would be a teenage former British Army private who was serving an apprenticeship as a hairdresser and went by the name of Vidal Sassoon.”

See also : The Darkness Before the Right, Park MacDougald, The Awl, September 28, 2015: “A right-wing politics for the coming century is taking shape. And it’s not slowing down.” | Mouthbreathing Machiavellis Dream of a Silicon Reich, Corey Pein, The Baffler, May 19, 2014.

#UnitedPatriotsFront ~versus~ Bendigo Mosque

Fascist groupuscule the ‘United Patriots Front’ (UPF) has declared that they’ll be rallying in Bendigo on Saturday, August 29 in order to protest the construction of a mosque. The mosque was the subject of an unsuccessful legal challenge a few weeks ago (see : Bendigo mosque survives legal challenge, gets green light for planning permit, Rania Spooner, The Age, August 6, 2015) but may be subject to further challenge in the courts.

Bendigo is of course home to ‘Reclaim Australia’ (RA) level boss Monika Evers (of ‘Stop the Mosque in Bendigo’). Evers has previously been denounced by the UPF as a liar, a thief and a traitor. Her sidekick, Julie Kendall, was present at the July 18 joint RA/UPF rally and allegedly came to the defence of Glenn Anderson (Androvski) — a local bonehead — when he was told by other ‘patriots’ to leave. Kendall & Co were also allegedly very close to members of the ‘Patriots Defence League of Australia’ (PDLA) on the day, which is interesting given that: a) the UPF is working with Ralph Cerminara’s ‘Australian Defence League’ (ADL) to organise a ‘global’ rally against Islam on October 10 and; b) the PDLA and ADL are more often than not at odds with one another (see : Authorities brace for ugly scenes as Australian ‘patriots’ plan mosque protests, Bianca Hall, The Age, August 13, 2015).

upfbendigo2
Above : Rights For Bendigo Residents thank convicted anti-Semite Neil Erikson and the UPF for their support.

Whatever position Evers/’Stop the Mosque in Bendigo’ group take with regards the UPF rally, ‘Rights For Bendigo Residents’ (RBR: see : Bendigo mosque protester claims other mosque objectors face death threats, intimidation, Andrew Jefferson, Herald Sun, December 3, 2014) has welcomed the support of the UPF. By the same token, the UPF is happy to promote the funding of RBR via the ‘Robert Balzola and Associates Law Practice Trust Account’: Balzola has been actively law-talking on the part of anti-Muslim activists for some years (see : Nile party behind anti-Muslim school rally, Wendy Frew, The Sydney Morning Herald, December 22, 2007).

Such expressions of solidarity are somewhat unusual, but by no means unique. Pastor Danny Nalliah of Catch the Fire Ministries/Rise Up Australia Party has happily worked alongside neo-Nazis and fascists for many months now — hatred of Jews, Holocaust denial and Hitler worship are evidently all things good Christians can support if it suits their purposes. Of course, not all Christians are happy to jump into bed with neo-Nazis and fascists. Indeed, St Paul’s Anglican Church in Bendigo has objected to its use in a propaganda video produced by Melbourne neo-Nazi and UPF leader Blair Cottrell:

stpaul

St Paul’s Cathedral is being used (without permission) in a video to promote an anti Islam protest in Bendigo later this month. I am not sure what to think about this person filming outside our church. He thinks our posters are politically far left; I reckon they are Christian.

We do not endorse his message. We will stick with the Christian Gospel. And just to be clear that means God’s love for everyone including those of other faiths, welcoming the outsider and caring for the neglected, including refugees.

Presumably, this means that the Anglican Church is now a hotbed of Communism. Which means I should probably update Trot Guide sometime soon …

antifa notes (july 11, 2015) : #UnitedPatriotsFront + guns + knives + moar!

UPDATE : Far-right anti-Islam group to rally at Victorian Parliament House, Patrick Hatch, The Age, July 12, 2015. The Age article makes reference to something I wrote about below: “Police are investigating messages sent on social media that appear to show discussion about members “packing” (slang for bringing a weapon) at Saturday’s rally.” I republished the screenshot on my Facebook page along with some commentary. A few hours later, Facebook deleted the image, presumably as a result of it being reported: I’ve included it in the post below.

heidelberg

It’s now one week until hatriots rally in Adelaide and Melbourne (on July 18) and in Brisbane, Canberra, Cairns (QLD), Esperance (WA), Gold Coast, Hobart,* Mackay (QLD), Newcastle, Perth, Rockhampton (QLD), Sydney, Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba (QLD) on July 19.

The hate rallies in the major cities are being opposed and you can find out more infos by visiting the following Facebook pages:

ADELAIDE : Adelaide rally against racism – COUNTER-RALLY to Reclaim Australia!
BRISBANE : STOP BIGOTRY! Rally against Islamophobic Reclaim Australia! /// BRISBANE ANTIFASCIST ACTION: Uniting against Islamophobia and bigotry – Smash the neonazis and their supporters!
CANBERRA : Canberra Rally Against Racism
MELBOURNE : RALLY AGAINST RACISM – Stop ‘Reclaim Australia’ – Melbourne /// Melbourne Counter-Rally Against racism, Islamophobia and the far right
NEWCASTLE : Newcastle for All – Rally against Racism
PERTH : Rally Against Racism (Perth) – Say No to Reclaim Australia
SYDNEY : COUNTER-RALLY: No to Racism, No to Fascism, No to Islamophobia

*The rally in Hobart is being organised by the UPF.

In other, related news …

• Gerald Keaney and Scout Finch have published a zine titled Reclaim Reason. It critiques the various demands made by RA and you can download a PDF version here.

• The Rock Against Racism benefit gig on Thursday @ The Evelyn done good: mAAAd props to all who organised + attended + for more antifa goodness in Melbourne, be sure and like the Melbourne Antifascist Info Facebook page (+ check out the blog too). A zine + some other other agitprop was produced for the occasion — I’ll upload when I’m able.

• Semi-pro Islamophobe Ralph Cerminara (Australian Defence League) will be joining fanboy Shermon Burgess (‘The Great Aussie Patriot’) on board a busload of bigots travelling from Sydney to Melbourne in order to reinforce the UPF’s puny ranks for July 18.

• The past week has seen relations between ‘Reclaim Australia Melbourne’ (aka Bendigo businesswoman Monika Evers) and the ‘United Patriots Front’ (Shermon Burgess, Blair Cottrell, Neil Erikson & Co) break down completely after RA announced that they would be rallying @ Parliament House @ 11am rather than @ 1pm as the UPF had earlier announced. Following this, Burgess denounced Monika Evers as a traitor, alleged she had stolen money from patriots and even (allegedly) threatened to attack her should he see her on July 18.

• As RA has attempted to place some distance between it and the UPF, the UPF has been increasingly open (or increasingly batshit, depending on your perspective) about its commitment to right-wing ultra-nationalism (fascism) and White nationalism. So too, its commitment to employing violence against any who dare to challenge the UPF’s Little Nuremberg rally in Melbourne. To this end, convicted anti-Semite and neo-Nazi Neil Erikson posted a video online in which he celebrated the stabbing murder of 16yo Carlos Javier Palomino in Madrid in November 2007 by a neo-Nazi named Josué Estébanez de la Hija. “This is bloody awesome … this is gold guys, gold. We have the power … Bring on July 18, Melbourne, Parliament House, 1pm.”

Further to this, a page titled ‘United Patriots Front Exposed’ has published a screenshot of a conversation between UPF member Linden Watson and an unknown other. (You may remember Linden from such videos as the one in which, posing in a CFMEU top, he denounces a fellow unionist for not supporting the UPF.) In this conversation, Watson reveals that the UPF are intending to arm themselves for the July 18 rally.

Unknown: what else are you bringing? lefty repellent haha
Watson: you could say that ..
Unknown: what do you mean?
Watson: lets just say that these lefties wont fuck with us again
Unknown: [smile emoticon] ?
Watson: well dont bring a camera on the day ok
Unknown: why?
Watson: neil and blair are gonna be packing
Unknown: mate dont!! they will get caught
Watson: no they shouldnt be. on may 31 we tested how well the police search. they dont do a good job so it is fine. only small ones anyway
just in case one uses it in a big crowd we dont want people to see so dont film the crowd if a fight breaks out ok?
neil is filming and filming when its safe to do so
Unknown: you guys need to rethink that! what is that going to accomplish??
Watson: dont fuck with UPF traitors

In summary, fascists appear to be planning to use as much violence as they can in order to ‘smash the left’ in Melbourne on July 18.

upfnaughty

• Finally, for the lulz: