Tagged with Sean Dolman

antifa notes (march 20, 2019) : From Christchurch to Canberra

[Update (March 24, 2019) : ABC’s ‘Background Briefing’ has published a report which documents the links the alleged Christchurch killer had with the Australian far right, including the fact that he described prominent neo-Nazi figurehead Blair Cottrell as his ‘Emperor’, and expressed a desire to join Cottrell, his then-group the United Patriots Front, members of the True Blue Crew, Combat 18 and Antipodean Resistance at the June 2016 racist rally in Coburg: “Communists will get what communists get, I would love to be there holding one end of the rope when you get yours traitor,” Tarrant posted. See : Christchurch shooting accused Brenton Tarrant supports Australian far-right figure Blair Cottrell, Alex Mann, Kevin Nguyen and Katherine Gregory, March 23, 2019.

In other news, following the massacre, Nathan Sykes, the notorious neo-Nazi troll, Australia First Party member, The Daily Stormer trollumnist and editor of ‘United Nationalists Australia’ blog got arrest: ‘The decision to arrest and charge Mr Sykes was made by senior NSW police just hours after The Age and Sydney Morning Herald revealed how officers had shelved an investigation’ into threats he made against freelance journalist and lawyer Luke McMahon. See : Police swoop on right-wing troll over alleged violent threats, Nick McKenzie and Richard Baker, The Sydney Morning Herald, March 22, 2019. See also : On Troll Hunting (Ginger Gorman), February 16, 2019.]

I haven’t had time to really process things inre the horrific massacre in Christchurch last week, but insofar as one of its effects has been to focus attention on the far-right in Australia & Aotearoa/New Zealand, I’ve endeavoured to share some of what I understand of the situation on Twitter. My initial reaction, in which I expressed shock but not surprise, is captured by Threadreader here; I examine some of the immediate effects of the massacre upon and provide a few details inre the far-right in Aotearoa/New Zealand here; I also took the opportunity to take a closer look at Senator Fraser ‘Final Solution’ Anning’s antics at his meeting in Moorabbin the day after the slaughter, along with ‘eggboy’, here. Finally, inre David Wroe and Max Koslowski’s article (March 19, 2019) on Australia’s right-wing extremist problem: Are we doing enough?, I provided some supplementary notes regarding the various groups they name here.

Obviously, a lot more could be said on the subject, has and will be. Some of this discussion has been useful and interesting, while other reflections have been far less so. Ghassan Hage’s White entitlement is part of the very structure of Australian society (The Guardian, March 18, 2019) provides useful context, while the ACRAWSA statement ‘For Muslim People’ of yesterday is worthwhile reading. Finally, Jason Wilson’s articles on Do the Christchurch shootings expose the murderous nature of ‘ironic’ online fascism? (March 16), Islamophobia is practically enshrined as public policy in Australia (March 17) & Eco-fascism is undergoing a revival in the fetid culture of the extreme right (March 20) are germane, as are the statements by Tame Iti and Marama Davidson.

See also : The Australian neo-fascists who swim in the same sewer as the Christchurch terrorist, Tom Coburg, The Canary, March 19, 2019.

At present, it seems likely that [T]he Christchurch killer did in fact have some interactions with other far-right figures in Australia at least, but given that investigations are ongoing, presumably those connections, if they exist, will come to light sooner rather than later. There’s also been a whole lot of other stuff going on that I’ve been unable to blog about, but a few highlights include:

• Senator Fraser ‘Final Solution’ Anning has doubled-down in the wake of the massacre, and continued to act like the compleat shitkvnt he is. Fortunately, I expect that his associations with (other) elements of the extreme-right in Australia, which are quite extensive, will also be explored in greater detail sooner rather than later.

• Predictably, the massacre has caused many on the local far-right to do one of two things: do an Anning, or run for cover. Of the former, Anning fanboy Neil Erikson has described the massacre as ‘karma’; others, chiefly (but not always) anonymously, have celebrated it. Among those choosing the second option are those gathered around ‘The Dingoes’ podcast, whose online presence has in the last day or two been scrubbed. This is presumably on the basis that one of the few concrete linkages between the killer and the local AltRight — in particular its resonance with various elements of their online culture — has been through way of the Aussie Shitposter meme, which The Dingoes helped to popularise and which the killer subsequently adopted, both on his Twitter account and on 8chan. See : Alleged mosque shooter’s meme popular with Australian far-right group, Patrick Begley, The Sydney Morning Herald, March 15, 2019. Begley writes that: ‘The Dingoes, who do not reveal their identities, run a podcast called The Convict Report that has in previous years hosted former Labor leader turned One Nation candidate Mark Latham as well as Nationals MP George Christensen.’ But while they may not reveal their identities, their identities have been revealed. See : TheDingoes.xyz /// The Convict Report /// DingoCon (July 8, 2017). And while The Dingoes have attempted to develop a more determined AltRight vernacular for Australian shitposters in particular, it’s also worth recognising their participation in a broader network centred on the US neo-Nazi website and podcast network ‘The Right Stuff’.

See also : Cabinet’s National Security Committee to receive briefing on right-wing extremist risk, SBS (AAP), March 18, 2019 | Only NSW Gov. program preventing far-right extremism had funding cut in 2014, Avani Dias, JJJ’s Hack (ABC), March 20, 2019.

• Another effect of the massacre has been to cause some mild embarrassment to the Australian government. Hence for the last nine months or more, various attempts have been made by local racists to import Milo Yiannopoulos to the country for a speaking tour. Currently, responsibility for the tour has been assumed by Damien Costas and Penthouse Australia. While the Minister, David Coleman, denied a visa to another speaker, Gavin McInnes, late last year, prior to the massacre, against the advice of his Department but following a campaign by Pauline Hanson and Newscorpse, he was happy to issue one to Yiannopoulos. After the massacre, that decision was reversed, and it appears as though the tour, after numerous other delays, will now be cancelled. See : Milo Yiannopoulos promoter Damien Costas on thin ice, Myriam Robin, Australian Financial Review, March 17, 2019 | Sydney porn king bankrupted over unpaid debts, Andrew Hornery, The Sydney Morning Herald, March 20, 2019.

• Finally, last week veteran anti-Muslim agitator Ralph Cerminara (‘Australian Defence League’ / ‘Left Wing Bigots & Extremists Exposed’) was sentenced to a spell in prison for assaulting his neighbour. See : Former leader of far-right movement jailed for foul-mouthed attack on neighbour, Sally Rawsthorne, The Sydney Morning Herald, March 14, 2019.

Notes

The massacre has generated a vast commentary. The following are just some of the items which have caught my eye and which I think are interesting. I may add to the list over time.

hero

After New Zealand Shooting, Far-right, Racists Claim Victimhood, Hail Killer as Hero, Brett Barrouquere, Southern Poverty Law Centre, March 15, 2019
How a Spanish neo-Nazi became an international ‘hero’ of the far right, Juan Diego Quesada & Fernando Peinado, El País, March 26, 2019 (‘Josué Estébanez is considered a cult figure by extremists, including the New Zealand mosque shooter, for killing a left-wing activist on the Madrid subway in 2007.’)

kiwi far right

Along with the New Zealand National Front, another smol neo-Nazi group that has come under some scrutiny in the wake of the Christchurch massacre is the ‘Identitarian’ ‘Dominion Movement’. Its leader is a bloke called Jarrad Randell-Walsh. See also : Austrian far-right activist raided over possible donation from New Zealand shooting suspect, ABC, March 27, 2019.

Spotting the signs of white supremacy in New Zealand, Mava Enoka, Noted, February 21, 2018
The story of White Supremacy, William Ray, Radio New Zealand, March 26, 2019 (‘Since the attack in Christchurch, many people have called for New Zealand to examine its history of white supremacy. In this special episode of Black Sheep, William Ray looks at the origins of this ideology, how it warped and changed over time, and how people have fought against it.’)
The ‘growing’ white nationalist group with a ‘harmful and violent’ ideology, Thomas Manch, stuff, March 26, 2019

memes & manifestos

Shitposting, Inspirational Terrorism, and the Christchurch Mosque Massacre, Robert Evans, bellingcat, March 15, 2019
New Zealand Terrorist Manifesto Influenced by Far-Right Online Ecosystem, Hatewatch Finds, Michael Edison Hayden, SPLC, March 15, 2019
Decoding the racist memes the New Zealand shooter used to communicate, Tess Owen, Vice, March 16, 2019
White supremacism in Australia, long a virulent strain, is amplified by the Internet, Robyn Dixon, The Los Angeles Times, March 17, 2019
‘Replacement Theory,’ a Racist, Sexist Doctrine, Spreads in Far-Right Circles, Nellie Bowles, The New York Times, March 18, 2019
Nazis Have Always Been Trolls, Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, March 21, 2019 (‘They rely on murderous insincerity and the unwillingness of liberal societies to see them for what they are.’)

policing

No mention of right-wing extremist threats in 10 years of GCSB and SIS public docs, Jane Patterson, Radio New Zealand, March 20, 2019
A single police officer in the Bias Crime Unit tasked with monitoring hate crime across NSW, Hagar Cohen and ABC Investigations, ABC’s Background Briefing, March 22, 2019
Social media giants face regulation as publishers, not just postmen, Max Mason, Australian Financial Review, March 22, 2019
Christchurch mosque attack prompts Home Affairs boss to threaten greater scrutiny on white supremacists, Andrew Greene, ABC, March 22, 2019

reflections

Today, we mourn. Tomorrow, we organise., Faisal Al-Asaad, Overland, March 17, 2019
Christchurch attacks are a stark warning of toxic political environment that allows hate to flourish, Greg Barton, ABC, March 17, 2019
In Australia, the terrorist’s homeland, anti-Muslim hatred is rife, Nasya Bahfen, The Spinoff, March 18, 2019
After Christchurch, the political class must stop positioning racism as a democratic demand, Aaron Winter & Aurelien Mondon, Open Democracy, March 20, 2019
Spencer Sunshine on the Implications of the Christchurch Massacre, It’s Going Down, March 20, 2019
Hi everyone, please stop doing some or all of the following things, Ketan Joshi, March 20, 2019
Christchurch terror: How did this happen?, Byron Clark, Daphne Lawless, Tyler West, and Ani White, Fightback, March 21, 2019
White Supremacy in Australia Set the Stage for the Christchurch Massacre, Antony Loewenstein, The Nation, March 21, 2019
Things I’ve Learned About Homegrown Terrorism by Following the Alt-Right, Royce Kurmelovs, Vice, March 22, 2019
Political Correctness — From The Other Side, Bashi Hazard, Meanjin, March 26, 2019

terrorisms

A history of recent attacks linked to white supremacy, Lois Beckett, The Guardian, March 16, 2019
Christchurch: True Blue Aussie Terrorism, Paul Gregoire, Sydney Criminal Lawyers, March 19, 2019
Radical White Terrorism, Intercepted [podcast], March 20, 2019

Statement From The Australian Muslim Community on Christchurch and Islamophobia

See the website (March 25, 2019):

As a community, we are shattered by the recent act of terror in Christchurch.

For years, we have warned against the use of racist and discriminatory language in media and politics. We warned that this creates a culture of fear and hysteria that would inevitably result in exactly this type of attack.

We also acknowledge our brothers and sisters in the Indigenous community who have resisted white supremacist violence on this continent for over two centuries.

We owe it to the victims of this massacre to bear witness to the truth of why they died. Their deaths cannot be used to whitewash the reality of how this occurred.

While our political leaders have expressed sympathy over the deaths of our brothers and sisters, there has been little responsibility taken for their own role in creating a political climate that has demonised the Muslim community for decades.

Sadly, we remember the numerous times the Coalition have used the Muslim community as targets in vicious debates around immigration, multiculturalism and national security.

We remember when Liberal Party Senators lined up to kiss, hug and shake hands with Pauline Hanson – a woman who has referred to Islam as a ‘disease’ – following her openly Islamophobic return speech to Parliament.

We remember when Liberal Party Senators openly congratulated Fraser Anning after his explicit reference to a ‘final solution’ when discussing Muslim immigration.

We remember when Peter Dutton suggested that sections of our community should never have been allowed into this country in the first place.

We remember when elected Liberal Party representatives campaigned to remove Section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act under the guise of protecting ‘free speech.’

We remember when Liberal Party Senators joined One Nation to vote in favour of the white nationalist slogan ‘It’s OK to be white.’

This climate of hostility breeds discrimination, harassment and ultimately violence.

A truly safe society is one where no community should fear that they will be made scapegoats or demonised for the sake of cheap political point-scoring.

If our leaders are truly committed to building a society where our community can live in safety, they must make real assurances that they will not resort to this language of racism and division.

Damien Costas Presents : Gavin McInnes & Tommy Robinson Live in Australia (December 2018)

Update (November 30, 2018) : McInnes has been denied a visa. See : Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes denied visa to tour Australia, Matthew Doran, ABC, November 30, 2018. In other news, Costas has added Milo Yiannopoulos to the bill.

Update (November 29, 2018) : Damien Costas has elected to delay the tour until February 2019.

Update (November 22, 2018) : The shepherd has abandoned his flock. See : Proud Boys Founder Gavin McInnes Claims He’s Quitting Far-Right Group, Will Sommer, The Daily Beast, November 22, 2018 | Proud Boys Founder Gavin McInnes Quits Group A Day After FBI Calls It ‘Extremist’, David Moye, The Huffington Post, November 22, 2018 (“I’m told by my legal team and law enforcement that this gesture could help alleviate their sentencing” McInnes said in a 36-minute YouTube video.) | Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes ‘reluctantly’ quits the group in the wake of news that FBI considers them ‘extremists’, Noor Al-Sibai, Raw Story, November 21, 2018.

In the meantime, professional Pommy whinger Stephen Yaxley-Lennon has announced that he’ll be attending a pro-Brexit rally in London on December 9, slap-bang in the middle of his tour of The Colonies …

    ************************************************************************

“We will kill you. That’s the Proud Boys in a nutshell.” “Can you call for violence generally? ‘Cause I am. Fighting solves everything. We need more violence from the Trump people. Get a fuckin’ gun. Get ready to blow someone’s fuckin’ head off.” ~ Gavin McInnes


img via Aussie Anarchist Meme Squat c/o Aussie Violent Leftie Memes for Authoritarian Terrorist Teens

Mouthy little Pommy gobshite Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson AKA Andrew McMaster AKA Paul Harris) and Proud Boys founder Gavin ‘Chinless’ McInnes are touring The Colonies next month. The tour kicks off in Adelaide in two weeks time, with the Melbourne leg a week later. While venues will not be announced until 24 hours prior to the two racist meatheads taking to the stage, previous venues are shown (below):

• ADELAIDE : WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 5 (Festival Functions in Findon)
• PERTH : FRIDAY DECEMBER 7 (Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre)
• MELBOURNE : TUESDAY DECEMBER 11 (Melbourne Pavilion in Flemington/La Mirage in Somerton)
• GOLD COAST : THURSDAY DECEMBER 13 (Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre)
• SYDNEY : SUNDAY DECEMBER 16 (Le Montage/International Convention Centre Sydney)

The tour is being organised by Damien Costas under the umbrella of Penthouse Australia.

Costas is a savvy profiteer, having instructed Victoria Police to go fuck themselves when presented with an invoice for services rendered following the MILO tour of December 2017, and presumably his legal battle with publicist Max Markson is going well, even if:

… the “bromance” is over amid wild accusations on both sides and a trail of debt, with Mr Markson claiming Mr Costas owes him $90,000.

Mr Markson and Mr Costas are also at war over hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid bills from the tour, with money owed to everyone from venue operators to security guards, Yiannopoulos and the family of one of Australia’s biggest drug smugglers.

Mr Costas confirmed Yiannopoulos was still owed money from the tour, but he wasn’t the one owing it. Mr Markson said Yiannopoulos, who agreed to do the tour in return for a $250,000 fee, was still owed several thousand dollars, but denied he was responsible.

On Thursday Mr Markson called Mr Costas a “lying conman”. Mr Costas, the publisher of Penthouse Australia and owning a company alongside one of Australia’s biggest drug dealers, convicted ice importer Sean Dolman, retaliated by calling Mr Markson “a very naughty boy” who “had his finger in the till”.

Etc..

Note that in April, Queensland businessman Dan Spiller (AKA Future Now Australia AKA AE Media) announced that he’d be bringing McInnes Down Under. That effort immediately collapsed in a heap. Undeterred, a few months later Spiller announced that he’d mos def be bringing paedophile apologist Milo Yiannopoulos and wealthy blabbermouth Ann Coulter to Australia. That too quickly boarded the failboat, with gormless ticket-holders being told to go see McInnes and Yaxley-Lennon instead.

At this stage, it’s unclear if either McInnes or Yaxley-Lennon will be able to obtain a visa to enter Australia, the possibility of them doing so entirely dependent upon the whim of the Immigration Minister, David Coleman. Still, Melbourne lawyer Nyadol Nyuon has created a petition, calling upon the Minister to refuse the pair visas, a petition which has won the support of the Federation of Community Legal Centres and to date has been signed by over 53,000 people. For his part, the Shadow Immigration Minister, Shayne Neumann, has also written Coleman, requesting that McInnes be denied entry.

By the same token, a petition by ‘Tiny’ Avi Yemini — the Australian Liberty Alliance candidate for Southern Metropolitan Region at the upcoming Victorian state election — has attracted over 21,000 signatures, while another by Luke Chandler (AKA Luke Izaak) has garnered a mere 600.

As for the Piss Boys, today it was reported that the FBI now classifies far-right Proud Boys as ‘extremist group’, documents say (Jason Wilson, The Guardian, November 20, 2018):

The FBI now classifies the far-right Proud Boys as an “extremist group with ties to white nationalism”, according to a document produced by Washington state law enforcement.

The FBI’s 2018 designation of the self-confessed “western chauvinist group” as extremist has not been previously made public …

The document also says: “The FBI has warned local law enforcement agencies that the Proud Boys are actively recruiting in the Pacific north-west”, and: “Proud Boys members have contributed to the recent escalation of violence at political rallies held on college campuses, and in cities like Charlottesville, Virginia, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington.”

Of course, what impact this has on the Immigration Minister David Coleman is anybody’s guess.

In any case, on Saturday in Philadelphia, over a thousand anti-racists rallied against a small far-right rally of a few Proud Boys, 3% militia supporters, and others (Anti-Racist Crowd Overwhelms Small Far-Right Rally in Philly, Unicorn Riot, November 17, 2018). See also : The Gritty City Antifascist Committee, Michael Nolan, Splinter News, November 18, 2018 | WATCH: Right-wing Proud Boys forced to walk home from Philadelphia rally after taxi drivers refuse them, Bob Brigham, Raw Story, November 17, 2018. On the same date in Portland:

In other sad news, Comcast fires employee for alleged membership in the Proud Boys hate group (Elise Solé, Yahoo Lifestyle, November 17, 2018), while in New York, some other Proud Boys have gotten themselves into all sorts of legal difficulties. As noted previously, on October 12 McInnes was invited by the Metropolitan Republican Club to celebrate the anniversary of the assassination of Japanese socialist Inejiro Asanuma by a fascist teenybopper on that date in 1960; following the fuehrer’s blah, some of his meatheaded supporters attacked some folks in the streets. As a result:

The Proud Boys finally used up their copious spare lives after a brutal gang beatdown was caught on camera after a GOP-sponsored event in Manhattan. The Proud Boys’ leader and founder, Gavin McInnes, has gone on record saying explicitly that the Proud Boys are ‘a gang.’ It beggars belief that the Proud Boys are suddenly confused about facing gang assault charges. This is the latest in a sequence of nationwide violent incidents, and the Proud Boys might be pissing themselves (without even drinking it).

Those so far listed by First Vigil as facing charges are: David E Kuriakose; Douglas Lennan; Geoffrey B Young; Irvin Antillon; John W Kinsman and; Maxwell Hare.

Another sometime Proud Boy, Jeffrey Rafael Clark, Jr., is also experiencing some legal problems. First Vigil again:

Jeffrey Clark is the brother of the late Edward Clark, who allegedly killed himself hours after his Gab contact, Robert Bowers, allegedly murdered eleven people in a synagogue in Pittsburgh. Both Clark brothers were active in the DC alt-right scene, attended Unite the Right in Charlottesville, and were apparently close with organizer Jason Kessler. Jeffrey was charged with weapons charges after his family members contacted the FBI concerned about his social media posts.

In Melbourne, in response to the tour, both the Campaign Against Racism & Fascism (CARF) and new-ish project Stand Together Against Racism (STAR) have organised events. Thus on Friday, November 30 STAR has organised a rally, Nazis not Welcome – No Visas for Robinson & McInnes, outside the Immigration Department in the city. For its part, CARF have organised an action on December 11 (Protest British fascist Tommy Robinson + Proud Boy Gavin McInnes).

See also : The Proud Boys, the bizarre far-right street fighters behind violence in New York, explained, Jane Coaston, Vox, October 15, 2018 (‘They hate Muslims and refuse to masturbate: Meet the shock troops of the weirdo right’) | North America: violence comes from the right, Joel Bergman, marxism dot com, November 16, 2018.

Bonus Tommy!

With the prospect of being sent to jail (again) in temporary abeyance, last week ex-British National Party stooge Yaxley-Lennon was denied a visa to the United States, where he was expected to address Republican lawmakers at an anti-Muslim event in Washington organised by Daniel Pipes. (Pipes came to Australia earlier this year to talk the same shit as a guest of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) — see : The Pipes They Are A-Blowing: An Extremist Tour Down Under, Michael Brull, New Matilda, March 10, 2018.) On Sunday, the little shit and some hired goons made the mistake of attending a Luton Town match. For what happened next, see : When ‘Tommy’ came back to Luton Town, Football Lads and Lasses Against Fascism, November 20, 2018.

¡¡¡Alerta Antifascista!!! : Solidarity with Flemington estate arrestees

As previously noted, a number of people have been charged with various offences arising from the Milo Yiannopoulos counter-protest outside Melbourne Pavilion in the Melbourne suburb of Kensington in December last year. While tour organisers and venue owners (Damien Costas/Penthouse and Melbourne Pavilion/B.A. Glen Investments) can continue to enjoy the phat profits generated by having the hate merchant perform LIVE! ON-STAGE!, the local community at Flemington estate are not so fortunate: at least three young African-Australian residents are facing charges for protesting the fascist intrusion. As a result, a legal fund has been established by Solidarity & Defence in order to assist these residents:

For hours after the Milo Yiannopoulos event on December 4 last year, police protected a group of fascists yelling racial abuse at the mainly black and Muslim residents at the estate. Residents responded by joining in protests against the far-right event occurring across the road from their home.

Serious concerns exist about police conduct on the night. Police attacked protesters, before going on a rampage through the Flemington flats, chasing young people, trying to force their way into homes and attacking residents indiscriminately with batons and pepper spray late into the night. This police aggression has been widely reported and was investigated formally. It comes on the back of years of racial profiling by police in the Flemington area.

Two of these young people now face charges for participating in the protest. The third was charged for an incident a few days after the protest — he went [to] Flemington police station to complain about police conduct on the night, was stopped outside the police station, and subsequently arrested with Police alleging an assault took place.

…:::PLEASE DONATE TO THE FUND IF YOU ARE ABLE AND SHARE THE APPEAL AMONG YOUR NETWORKS:::…

notes

• Costas & Penthouse are organising another tour by Nigel Farage in September;
• Costas’ former business partner, Sean Dolman, ‘last month pleaded guilty to importing a commercial quantity of methamphetamine at Geraldton, Western Australia, on December 21’ (Private Sydney: Porn king ‘shocked’ by friend’s drug arrest, Andrew Hornery, The Sydney Morning Herald, june 8, 2018);
• Costas has recently been joined by a handful of other chancers and spivs seeking to profit from the troll circuit. See : Dave Pellowe & Axiomatic Events ~versus~ Daniel Spiller & Future Now +++ (June 6, 2018).

See also : Australian Jewish Democratic Society : Statement against fascism and Milo Yiannopoulos in Kensington (December 10, 2017) /// Monday night in Flemington, Vashti Kenway, overland, December 6, 2017.