Will The British Government's new anti terror measures protect people from ALL forms of hate?

Today, British Home Secretary, Charles Clarke wrote the following:

'This week I will be publishing and then acting upon new ways of dealing with preachers of intolerance and hatred and 
extremists who try to exploit the openness of our society to oppress others.'

Is he referring to all preachers of hate? This is an opportunity for the British government to protect all its citizens from all
forms of hate. I wrote about this last week. I have re-posted these thoughts (below).


On Friday, August 5, British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced that he intended to carry out a series of new anti terror
measures, which included:

‘…deporting foreign nationals who justify the use of "violence to further a person's beliefs"; authorizing the
denaturalization of British citizens who engage in "extremism"; and legislating a new "offense of condoning
or glorifying terrorism." 

Now, terrorism isn’t a new phenomenon in Britain. In fact, in 1974, the British government defined Terrorism as:

"…the use of violence for political ends, and includes any use of violence for the purpose of putting the public,
or any section of the public, in fear." 

By this definition, there are many acts of terror that have been perpetuated on British citizens, by British citizens. Looking
at cases that are less obvious to people outside of the UK, members of the racist British National Party have terrorized
British citizens of colour for years. In April 1999, David Copeland subjected London to nail bomb attacks that
killed three people and injured over 100. Copeland, who described himself as a Nazi, said that he wanted to cause “murder,
mayhem, chaos and damage” and “set off a racial war”. Let’s not forget that he didn’t just want to target communities
of colour. The three people he killed were frequenting a gay bar in Leicester Square.

His actions scared the city of London (and other cities across the country into a near state of paralysis. People didn’t want
to do anything or go anywhere. No one knew who would be next or what was happening. Everyone just knew that anything
could happen at any time. And when the third and final bomb exploded in Leicester Square (I remember, I was nearby in
Tottenham Court Road when it happened), everyone went into shock. We all knew it was coming, but when it hit, we didn’t
know what to do. Copeland’s motivation was clearly political – and he most certainly  ‘put sections of the public in fear’.

He was given six life sentences (25 years) in jail.

More recently, two men have been arrested for the violent murder of Anthony Walker the 18 year-old man who was bludgeoned
to death with an axe in July. He was a British born Black man, with a bright future ahead of him (he wanted to study Law - and on
August 18, it was reported that he received top grades in all of his AS level exams). The police have established that his murder
was motivated by extreme hatred fueled by racism. His murder has scared communities of colour and their supporters across the
country. Meanwhile, following the London Bombings, the Guardian reported that 'racially motivated attacks in London nearly
doubled to 60 a day immediately after the July 7 and July 21 attacks. And the Socialist Worker reported that while anti fascist groups
held two public vigils in Liverpool for Mr. Walker's family, the BNP was organizing a meeting in the same area to promote it’s agenda.  

Of course we all understand that 9/11 has increased our sense of fear. We all want to be safe from political violence, but terror
isn’t something that is exclusive to Muslims. So how will this new anti terror legislation help protect all British people? Will
these new laws apply to Mr. Walker’s killers or others who want to eliminate people whose existence they don’t approve of?
Will these measures apply to all terrorists – including those of Anglo Saxon heritage? How will these measures protect those
British born individuals who are scared of being attacked by political terrorists, yet are increasingly under suspicion of being 
terrorists?


Next on the Global Blend, Alice Wu, the director and producer of the Film Saving Face

UK Govt to crack down on 'preachers of intolerance and hatred'

From the BBC today:

Home Secretary Charles Clarke says he will unveil new plans to crack down on "preachers of intolerance and hatred".

The measures are expected to include the power to shut mosques where clerics are thought to back terrorism and the deportation of suicide bomb advocates.

Writing in the Evening Standard, he said the powers will be revealed and acted on in the next few days.

He said the moves, referred to soon after the 7 July attacks, were needed as "the rules of the game" had changed….

…Inciting terrorism directly is already illegal. The new law would attempt to cover indirect incitement.

In his Evening Standard article, Mr Clarke said: "This week I will be publishing and then acting upon new ways of dealing with preachers of intolerance and hatred and extremists who try to exploit the openness of our society to oppress others.

"We must protect the traditions of tolerance that we have established in this country through centuries of struggle and that means cracking down on those who preach intolerance and abuse free speech to justify terrorism, advocate violence or foster hatred."

I asked this question last week, and I will ask it again: Will these measures protect all British Citizens from all forms of hate speech and terrorism?

Calling all Hip Hop lovers - NYC event in NuBlu

From serious politics to serious Hip Hop. If you are in New York City on Friday, August 19, check out the 'African Underground: African Hip-hop Throwdown', hosted by Toni Blackman and featuring my countryman (kinda) TY from Nigeria and the UK and my other 'countrymen', The Ambassadoz, from Ghana and much much more. The event is at Nublu and entry is FREE betfore 10PM. Here is some info on both of these acts:

TY released his debut album "Awkward" (on Big Dada/Ninja Tune) to critical acclaim, he has grown from underground mc to an artist who is developing an international reputation. He allows his complexities and contradictions to shine through, allows us to see him as a multifaceted, awkward, non-boxable individual. It’s an approach backed up by a fierce some technique, one which makes the complex look simple.

With more than 7 years experience of ripping shows, the Ambassadoz create hip-hop music that is hard to lock into a specific genre or category. The bands distinctive hybrid of Afro Funk and Hip Hop has the ability to dazzle spectators with their 'switching spit' lingo (rapping in different languages and accents) while commanding the credibility from the hip-hop elite. They bridge the gap between all the different forms of hip-hop vernacular on stage through their ability to rhyme in English, French, Twi and Pidgin.

Click here for more details

What is the real story behind the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes?

This week the British broadcast news organisation ITV, published a report that revealed the real story behind the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian man who was shot in the head by the British police in July. This is what the report found, according to The Guardian:

'...Menezes was trailed by officers for more than a half-hour before the shooting, and no attempts were made to stop him. The surveillance officer who called in reports about Menezes described him as wearing a denim jacket and carrying nothing.

The Brazilian calmly entered the Stockwell tube station, paused to pick up a free newspaper and used his travel card to pass through the barriers.

After descending the escalator and running to catch his train, Menezes was pointed out to armed police by one of at least three surveillance offices who had followed him onto the train.'

Menezes was shot seven times in the head.

So what was going on? The earlier reports suggested that he was carrying a rucksack, as I remember. These reports also painted a much different description of events (and note how the press jumped on his immigration status - like that has anything to do with his shooting...):

It is believed that Mr de Menezes...may have been working illegally in Britain for up to four years. He is thought to have panicked when confronted by armed men as he was about to buy a Tube ticket at about 10am. Witnesses said that he hurdled the ticket barrier, ran down the escalator and stumbled into a carriage.

Three armed officers who pounced on him, might have thought his padded jacket contained explosives. One of them shot five bullets from a handgun into his head in front of horrified passengers...

One senior source said last night: "We were led to an address in Stockwell by documents found in the abandoned rucksacks and by our intelligence. This house, which now appears to be a multi-occupancy address, was put under surveillance."

Yet, this is what an eyewitness said about the events leading up to the shooting of Menezes:

'[the police officer] held it down to the guy and unloaded five shots into him....He [the suspect] had a baseball cap on and quite a sort of thickish coat - it was a coat you'd wear in winter, sort of like a padded jacket... it looked sort of out of place with the sort of weather we've been having, the sort of hot humid weather....I didn't see any guns or anything like that - I didn't see him carrying anything. I didn't even see a bag to be quite honest.'

Did we all miss something in the panic?? What is going on...?

When is a terrorist not a terrorist?

On Friday, August 5, British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced that he intended to carry out a series of new anti terror
measures, which included:

‘…deporting foreign nationals who justify the use of "violence to further a person's beliefs"; authorizing the
denaturalization of British citizens who engage in "extremism"; and legislating a new "offense of condoning
or glorifying terrorism." 

Now, terrorism isn’t a new phenomenon in Britain. In fact, in 1974, the British government defined Terrorism as:

"…the use of violence for political ends, and includes any use of violence for the purpose of putting the public,
or any section of the public, in fear." 

By this definition, there are many acts of terror that have been perpetuated on British citizens, by British citizens. Looking
at cases that are less obvious to people outside of the UK, members of the racist British National Party have terrorized
British citizens of colour for years. In April 1999, David Copeland subjected London to nail bomb attacks that
killed three people and injured over 100. Copeland, who described himself as a Nazi, said that he wanted to cause “murder,
mayhem, chaos and damage” and “set off a racial war”. Let’s not forget that he didn’t just want to target communities
of colour. The three people he killed were frequenting a gay bar in Leicester Square.

His actions scared the city of London (and other cities across the country into a near state of paralysis. People didn’t want
to do anything or go anywhere. No one knew who would be next or what was happening. Everyone just knew that anything
could happen at any time. And when the third and final bomb exploded in Leicester Square (I remember, I was nearby in
Tottenham Court Road when it happened), everyone went into shock. We all knew it was coming, but when it hit, we didn’t
know what to do. Copeland’s motivation was clearly political – and he most certainly  ‘put sections of the public in fear’.

He was given six life sentences (25 years) in jail.

More recently, two men have been arrested for the violent murder of Anthony Walker the 18 year-old man who was bludgeoned
to death with an axe in July. He was a British born Black man. The police have established that his murder was motivated by
extreme hatred fueled by racism. His murder has scared communities of colour and their supporters across the country.
Meanwhile, following the London Bombings, the Guardian reported that 'racially motivated attacks in London nearly doubled
to 60 a day immediately after the July 7 and July 21 attacks. And the Socialist Worker reported that while anti fascist groups
held two public vigils in Liverpool for Mr. Walker's family, the BNP was organizing a meeting in the same area to promote it’s agenda.  

Of course we all understand that 9/11 has increased our sense of fear. We all want to be safe from political violence, but terror
isn’t something that is exclusive to Muslims. So how will this new anti terror legislation help protect all British people? Will
these new laws apply to Mr. Walker’s killers or others who want to eliminate people whose existence they don’t approve of?
Will these measures apply to all terrorists – including those of Anglo Saxon heritage? How will these measures protect those
British born individuals who are scared of being attacked by political terrorists, yet are increasingly under suspicion of being 
terrorists?