Holocaust Museum in the United States Accepts Righteous Muslims Exhibition Boards

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We are pleased to announce that the Role of Righteous Muslims exhibition boards that Faith Matters put together as part of an educational drive for civil society organisations and schools, has been accepted by a Holocaust Museum in the United States.

The posters depict stories of Muslims who saved Jews in the Holocaust and the educational boards will be placed within the Holocaust Museum in the United States to ensure that people reflect on such stories and on the personal drives that led some Muslims to save the lives of Jews that they had lived, worked with or known.

We are pleased to add to the collection and exhibition of the museum in the United States and we would be happy to donate a further set to any Holocaust educational centre who thinks that they can add value to learning around the Holocaust. It is vital that all communities be exposed to learning about the greatest catastrophe to befit Jewish and other communities in modern history and how communities can be castigated and dehumanised within a short space of time.

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Categories: Educational Boards, Florida, Holocaust, Jews, Museum, News, Yad Vashem

Amazon removes third-party ‘Allah doormats’ from sale

One of the offending mats on sale, now removed after request from Amazon.com

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Amazon has removed a number of offensive products  from its American store. This includes products which demean Islam and belief in God. Twitter user @mariamkhan29 made us aware of the items.

The seller identified as ‘Dargon One’ lists “Allah Islam Symbols Doormat And Dog Mat” which ii lists as a ‘funny dog mat’.

The product has received more than 800 one star reviews calling for its removal. One review reads: “This is an act of great irresponsibilty on the part of Amazon to sell such a product. It is highly offensive and hurtful to billions of muslims around the world. The creator of such a product has no respect for the religion of Islam which deserves recognition and respect as do all other faiths.” The user pleads with others to make legitimate complaints to Amazon to have the product removed.

The page was soon removed following complaints. The ‘Dargon One’ seller lists ‘Infidel’ related products. Such imagery and rhetoric is common among far-right and anti-Muslim groups. Our complaint to Amazon has been escalated with other Amazon departments.

Amazon’s policy on offensive items is clear – if a little difficult to find online. It states that products “that promote or glorify hatred, violence, racial, sexual or religious intolerance or promote organizations with such views” are prohibited from sale. Amazon adds that it “reserves the right to determine the appropriateness of listings on its site, and remove any listing at any time.” We have reported the offending content and raised our concerns further.

A member of Amazon’s support staff confirmed to Tell MAMA that other products are under investigation. Adding, that Amazon intends to remove the other items from their website ‘as soon as possible’.

Amazon have been approached for an additional statement.

Tell MAMA will write to Amazon to further our concerns regarding this issue. We thank those who have brought this to our attention.

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Categories: Allah, Amazon, Infidel, News, Offensive Products

Bolton ‘stop the mosque’ protest shows more far-right coordination

stop-the-mosque-bolton

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A recent protest in Bolton against a proposed mosque again demonstrates the coordinated efforts of the far-right. Local press put the figure at 100 far-right protesters, against 150 counter-protesters. The Guardian reported more than 100 far-right protesters. Anti-fascist protesters stated that less than 100 far-right protesters were present.

A poster for the event had welcomed national flags. One Facebook post connected to the protest had written: “Anti mosque,pro Brexit and anti Labour and Cliff Morris banners and flags especially welcome.” Cliff Morris is the local council leader. Organiser Bryan Morgan said: “Today was about highlighting the corruption of the council, the Islamification of the town, the mosque-building programme.”

The organisers denied that this was a ‘racist’ protest. Yet photos from the event clearly showed Nazi-saluting members of the national socialist movement of National Action stood beside the Pie and Mash Squad. Also present were the North West Infidels (NWI). The NWI flag displayed at the protest depicts a masked man with a Celtic Cross logo – imagery popular with white supremacists.

The Scottish Defence League had promoted the event online.

The North West Division of the English Defence League used its social media channels to promote the event.

Others marched with a banner promoting a blog site which promises to teach individuals: “How to fight mosque planning applications.” ‘Mosque Block’ has dedicated several blogs to the proposed mosque in Bolton. One post in particular provides individuals with template responses to frame their objections. Their material also appears on the official homepage of Pegida UK. For their part, Pegida UK has used their Facebook page to direct supporters to the blog on multiple occassions.

Nor is the first time that such a banner has appeared at a protest in the area. A Facebook post on October 27, 2016 confirms a previous use of the banner. Again, the very promotional material used to advertise the protest features the ‘Mosque Block’ banner.

During the protest, a man was photographed lifting his clothing to reveal a crude swastika tattoo. Captured in the photo was a poppy appeal badge still pinned to his jacket. Others held up a St George flag with ‘Drain the swamp Mr Trump’ written upon it. Others showed their opposition in the small printed statements.

In opposition, were the sounds of ‘Nazi scum, off our streets!’ chants amid Unite Against Fascism placards. Representatives of Bolton and District Trade Council also attended the counter-demonstration.

Both sets of protesters had largely dispersed after 90 minutes.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police confirmed that no arrests had been made.

Cllr Nick Peel, executive member for the Environment at Bolton Council, criticised the march. He said: “One of our most enshrined values is freedom of worship to for one section of the community to protest against worship facilities for another section is very un-British.” But he defended their right to hold such a protest.

Following the protest, the ‘Bolton Says ‘NO’ To Mosques & Corrupt Bolton Councillors’ Facebook page accused the Bolton News of being in ‘collusion’ with the ‘corrupt’ council. A comment which typifies their predilection for conspiracies. A Facebook post written yesterday evening indicates that the anti-mosque protesters will focus their attention on the upcoming council meeting this Wednesday. It ends on the claim that “we will be there in numbers”.

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Categories: Bolton, Mosque Block, National Action, News, North West Infidels, protest

Knights Templar International Facebook Page & Web-Site Are Extremely Concerning

The Knights Templar International. Conspiracy Theories, Racial Superiority Dogmas & a Dose of Attracting anti-Semitic Followers

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The Knights Templar International Facebook site makes itself out to be a site that cares for the future of Europe whilst evoking images of Crusaders and in whipping up a sense of fear that things are going to get worse in Europe because of migration and migrants. In fact, ever few hours, the Facebook page posts up pictures of armour, Crusader imagery and swords.

A Facebook page that has over 400,000 Facebook likes, including from prominent ex-politicians, it’s ability to draw in anti-Semites through postings about George Soros and his ‘coup plot’ against Trump, can be seen below.

In response to a post from Knights Templar International, entitled, “Wake up! The storm is brewing“, the following sickening full-blown anti-Semitic posts can be seen:

“Pull out $oro$ gold teeth, shave his head. make him do manual labour put him in ditch blow his brains out. Make bars of soap and lampshades.”

Further investigation into the Facebook page shows that the page has been used to fundraise for material and surveillance material which has been sent to ‘Bulgarian volunteers’ supposedly defending their borders against pitiful migrants.The Facebook page no doubt invokes a Europe standing against those ‘invading’ Europe and the play on Crusader imagery and the polarised depictions of Muslims through the lens of extremism alone, provide further evidence of a Facebook page that sees Europe as an ethno and mono-cultural continent that needs ‘defending’.

How the surveillance material has been used and whether it has been used against migrants, we will not know, yet with a UK phone number for the Knights Templar International Facebook page, we are sure that the Government’s Extremism Analysis Unit would like to know more about this group and its activities within Europe.

Racial Demographics

Just when you thought that the Facebook page might not revert to race, it goes ahead and does that. On one of the posts, the term ‘Afrikaner’ emblazons a headline and demographics are brought into the discussion with the following title:

“Amerikaner Free State – demographics is destiny, so the USA is destined to break up!”

So, just in case you see an advertisement come by which plays to imagery of the Crusades and which suggests that Europe is under threat, there is a chance that it could be the Knights Templar International. We hope that it will not be, once we report this page to Facebook, but if you do come across it, just think of what is posted onto it. Would you really be comfortable your name being associated with this poisonous material?

Knights Templar International Cite Conspiracy Theories

                    Knights Templar International Cite Conspiracy Theories

 

Classic antiSemitic responses to posts about George Soros

          Classic vile antiSemitic responses to posts about George Soros

Racial Demographics on the Knights Templar Facebook site

                Racial Demographics on the Knights Templar Facebook site

 

Conspiracy galore on the Knights Templar International Facebook page: Trump win forms the basis for a few more years before 'minority' demographic growth leads to the break up of the US

Conspiracy galore on the Knights Templar International Facebook page: Trump win forms the basis for a few more years before ‘minority’ demographic growth leads to the break up of the US

Save

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Categories: Bulgaria, Facebook page, Far Right groups, Knights Templar International, News, refugees

Austrian asylum centre hit by Molotov cocktail

Presidential election campaign posters of far right Freedom Party (FPOe) presidential candidate Norbert Hofer and Alexander Van der Bellen, who is supported by the Greens, are pictured in Vienna, Austria, November 8, 2016. Posters read "for Austria, with heart and soul. So help me God", "only together we are Austria". REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

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Unidentified attackers threw a Molotov cocktail against the wall of a refugee centre near Vienna, Austrian newswire APA reported on Sunday.

A police spokesman told APA a beer bottle filled with a flammable liquid was ignited and thrown, leaving scorch marks on the wall. Nobody was injured. The incident was being investigated by regional police and authorities in charge of handling suspected hate crimes.

Austria votes again next Sunday in a presidential election between independent Alexander Van der Bellen and far-right candidate c, who has capitalised on worries about immigration.

Van der Bellen beat Hofer narrowly in a now-annulled run-off vote in May, but nearly one-sixth of prospective voters in August said they could switch sides in the upcoming vote.

Earlier this year, attackers set fire to a new, unoccupied refugee centre in Altenfelden near Austria’s borders with the Czech Republic and Germany.

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Categories: Alexander Van der Bellen, arson, Austria, Austrian Asylum centre, Far Right groups, News, Norbert Hofer, refugees

Austrian asylum centre hit by Molotov cocktail

Presidential election campaign posters of far right Freedom Party (FPOe) presidential candidate Norbert Hofer and Alexander Van der Bellen, who is supported by the Greens, are pictured in Vienna, Austria, November 8, 2016. Posters read "for Austria, with heart and soul. So help me God", "only together we are Austria". REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

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Unidentified attackers threw a Molotov cocktail against the wall of a refugee centre near Vienna, Austrian newswire APA reported on Sunday.

A police spokesman told APA a beer bottle filled with a flammable liquid was ignited and thrown, leaving scorch marks on the wall. Nobody was injured. The incident was being investigated by regional police and authorities in charge of handling suspected hate crimes.

Austria votes again next Sunday in a presidential election between independent Alexander Van der Bellen and far-right candidate c, who has capitalised on worries about immigration.

Van der Bellen beat Hofer narrowly in a now-annulled run-off vote in May, but nearly one-sixth of prospective voters in August said they could switch sides in the upcoming vote.

Earlier this year, attackers set fire to a new, unoccupied refugee centre in Altenfelden near Austria’s borders with the Czech Republic and Germany.

The post Austrian asylum centre hit by Molotov cocktail appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: Alexander Van der Bellen, arson, Austria, Far Right groups, News, Norbert Hofer, refugees

Three California mosques receive hateful letters mentioning Trump

President Elect Trump

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Hateful letters sent anonymously to three mosques in California with a warning that President-elect Donald Trump would “cleanse” the United States of Muslims have stirred fears among congregants, a community leader said on Saturday.

Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the letters were identical and were postmarked as being sent from Santa Clarita just north of Los Angeles.

Ayloush said his group is considering asking the Federal Bureau of Investigation to look into the letters, which he believes were sent to other mosques aside from the three that received them earlier this week.

Civil rights groups have signalled alarm over attacks targeting minorities, including Muslims, since Republican Trump won the presidential election on Nov. 8. There have also been reports of harassment toward Trump supporters.

The letters were sent earlier this week to the Islamic centres of Long Beach and Claremont in Southern California and to Evergreen Islamic Center in the Northern California city of San Jose, Ayloush said.

They are signed anonymously as “Americans for a Better Way” and say that Trump would “cleanse America and make it shine again” and would carry out a genocide against Muslims.

“You Muslims would be wise to pack your bags and get out of Dodge,” the letter said.

Ayloush said he has counselled the three mosques to work with their local police departments to have the letters investigated as hate crimes.

The San Jose Police Department in a statement said that, following a report about the letter, it sent officers to Evergreen Islamic Center on Thursday and that a unit that handles hate crime investigations will conduct the probe.

Trump’s name has been mentioned in some hateful graffiti markings that surfaced since his election.

A representative of Trump’s transition team could not be reached immediately for comment.

Last year, as a candidate in the Republican presidential primary, Trump called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States. Trump this year pledged to suspend immigration from countries where Islamist militants are active but did not say he still wanted to ban all Muslims.

Following his election, Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, promised to be a president for all Americans.

CAIR has tallied more than 100 incidents targeting Muslims in the United States since Trump was elected.

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Categories: CAIR, California, Claremont, Cleanse, Hate Mail, Letters, Longbeach, mosques, News, POTUS, Trump, United States

Anti-Jihadi Frog Account Linked to Racist Pokemon Stickers in London

Anti-Muslim Account Highlights Batches of Stickers to be Distributed

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We have been aware of the fact that the ‘Anti-Jihadi Frog’ account (@bad_sweary_frog) has become a nexus for far right extremists and anti-Muslim haters to congregate around and this activity has been ongoing for a significant period of time. The account has been promoting what can only be described as hatred towards Muslims for years and has also been actively involved in the distribution of anti-Halal stickers and which led to Liam Edwards pleading guilty to racially aggravated criminal damage in 2015.

Allied to this, the following information that we have should force Twitter to act on this account which is at the heart of promoting anti-Muslim views and being one of the epicentres of feeding polarised opinions against Muslims.

Pokemon Racist Stickers

The Evening Standard reported on the following ‘Pakemon’ stickers being plastered over parts of our capital city. One of the stickers highlighted the Mayor of London, under the heading of ‘Pakeman’ and with a sub-heading of ‘HamasKhan’. The sticker goes onto call the Mayor of London ‘dangerous’ with a ‘hatred of Christians and Jews’. Linking the Mayor of London to terrorism, a classic anti-Muslim trope, the card then awards points within the racist campaign.

Not only is such material inflammatory and untrue, it is meant to foment divisions within communities by promoting anti-Muslim tropes and hatred towards Muslims in general. The stickers also use racialised language and cross legal boundaries and thresholds.

Tell MAMA received information last night that the following account is responsible for the distribution of such material. We also have material that potentially highlights and identifies the individual behind this campaign of racism and anti-Muslim hatred and we will be passing on the material and the relevant name to the Metropolitan Police Service.

The following evidential photos show how the online world manifests connections with extremist anti-Muslim hating accounts and how anti-Muslim bigots use it to promote street based and real world campaigns that have impacts on communities.

Anti-Muslim Account Highlights Batches of Stickers to be Distributed

Anti-Muslim Account Highlights Batches of Stickers to be Distributed. Within the pack of stickers, the Mayor of London sticker can clearly be seen.

 

Discusion on the possible dissemination of 'Pakemon' stickers

                             Discussion on the possible dissemination of the stickers

 

Anti-Muslim Hate Account Promotes views of 'Londonistan' and Racist and anti-Muslim Stickers

Anti-Muslim Hate Account Promotes views of ‘Londonistan’ and Racist and anti-Muslim Stickers. States, “Gotta catch and deport them all. Keep your eyes open in ‘Londonistan’ for the upcoming sticker campaign.”

 

'Pakemon' campaign

“I am looking for some London/South-East based patriots to join an upcoming sticker campaign. #pakemon”

The post Anti-Jihadi Frog Account Linked to Racist Pokemon Stickers in London appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: @bad_sweary_frog, Anti-Jihadi Frog, Evening Standard, Far Right groups, mayor of London, News, Pakemon, Pokemon, Sadiq Khan, stickers

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro dies aged 90

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Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolutionary leader who built a communist state on the doorstep of the United States and for five decades defied U.S. efforts to topple him, died on Friday. He was 90.

A towering figure of the 20th century and Cold War icon, Castro stuck to his ideology beyond the collapse of Soviet communism and remained widely respected in parts of the world that struggled against colonial rule.

Castro had been in poor health since an intestinal ailment nearly killed him in 2006. He formally ceded power to his younger brother, Raul, two years later.

Wearing a green military uniform, a somber Raul Castro, 85, appeared on state television on Friday night to announce Fidel’s death, 60 years to the day since the two brothers and a few supporters left Mexico on a boat to bring revolution to Cuba.

“At 10:29 at night, the chief commander of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, died,” he said, without giving a cause of death.

“Ever onward, to victory,” he said, using the slogan of the Cuban revolution.

Tributes came in from around the world.

“History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him,” U.S. President Barack Obama said, extending “a hand of friendship” to Cuba.

Venezuela’s leftist President Nicolas Maduro urged “revolutionaries of the world” to follow Castro’s legacy, while Pope Francis said he was grieving and praying for the repose of the professed atheist, whom he met in Cuba last year.

China’s president, Xi Jinping, said “the Chinese people have lost a close comrade and a sincere friend”. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Twitter: “Fidel Castro is dead!,” without elaborating.

People are seen through a poster with a picture of Cuba's former leader Fidel Castro and late Argentine revolution leader Che Guevara (L) during the May Day parade in Havana's Revolution Square in this May 1, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan/File Photo

People are seen through a poster with a picture of Cuba’s former leader Fidel Castro and late Argentine revolution leader Che Guevara (L) during the May Day parade in Havana’s Revolution Square in this May 1, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan/File Photo

DECADES OF HOSTILITY

Raul Castro, who glorified his older brother, has changed Cuba since taking over by introducing market-style economic reforms and agreeing with the United States in December 2014 to re-establish diplomatic ties and end decades of hostility.

It remained unclear whether Trump would continue efforts to normalize relations with Cuba or fulfill a campaign promise to close the U.S. embassy in Havana once again.

Fidel Castro himself offered only lukewarm support for the 2014 deal with Washington, raising questions about whether he approved of ending hostilities with his longtime enemy.

He did not meet Barack Obama when he visited Havana earlier this year, the first time an American president had stepped foot on Cuban soil since 1928.

Days later, Castro wrote a scathing newspaper column condemning Obama’s “honey-coated” words and reminding Cubans of the U.S. efforts to overthrow and weaken the Communist government.

News of Castro’s death spread slowly among Friday night revelers on the streets of Havana. One famous club that was still open when word came in quickly closed.

Some residents reacted with sadness to the news.

“I’m very upset. Whatever you want to say, he is a public figure that the whole world respected and loved,” said Havana student Sariel Valdespino.

But in Miami, where many exiles from Castro’s government live, a large crowd waving Cuban flags cheered, danced and banged on pots and pans.

Castro’s body will be cremated, according to his wishes.

Cuba declared nine days of mourning, during which time the ashes will be taken to different parts of the country. A burial ceremony will be held on Dec. 4.

The bearded Fidel took power in a 1959 revolution and ruled Cuba for 49 years with a mix of charisma and iron will, creating a one-party state and becoming a central figure in the Cold War.

He was demonized by the United States and its allies but admired by many leftists around the world, especially socialist revolutionaries in Latin America and Africa.

Nelson Mandela, once freed from prison in 1990, repeatedly thanked Castro for his efforts in helping to weaken apartheid.

In April, in a rare public appearance at the Communist Party conference, Fidel Castro shocked party apparatchiks by referring to his own imminent mortality.

“Soon I will be like all the rest. Our turn comes to all of us, but the ideas of the Cuban communists will remain,” he said.

Castro was last seen by ordinary Cubans in photos showing him talking to Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang this month.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela (L) hugs Cuba's President Fidel Castro during a visit to Mandela's home in Houghton, Johannesburg in this September 2, 2001 file photo.  REUTERS/Chris Kotze/File Photo

Former South African President Nelson Mandela (L) hugs Cuba’s President Fidel Castro during a visit to Mandela’s home in Houghton, Johannesburg in this September 2, 2001 file photo. REUTERS/Chris Kotze/File Photo

MILITARY FATIGUES, CIGARS

Transforming Cuba from a playground for rich Americans into a symbol of resistance to Washington, Castro crossed swords with 10 U.S. presidents while in power, and outlasted nine of them.

He fended off a CIA-backed invasion at the Bay of Pigs in 1961 as well as countless assassination attempts.

His alliance with Moscow helped trigger the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, a 13-day showdown with the United States that brought the world the closest it has been to nuclear war.

Wearing green military fatigues and chomping on cigars for many of his years in power, Castro was famous for long, fist-pounding speeches filled with blistering rhetoric, often aimed at the United States.

At home, he swept away capitalism and won support for bringing schools and hospitals to the poor. But he also created legions of enemies and critics, concentrated among the exiles in Miami who saw him as a ruthless tyrant.

“With Castro’s passing, some of the heat may go out of the antagonism between Cuba and the United States, and between Cuba and Miami, which would be good for everyone,” said William M. LeoGrande, co-author of a book on U.S.-Cuba relations.

Castro’s death – which would once have thrown a question mark over Cuba’s future – seems unlikely to trigger a crisis as Raul Castro is firmly ensconced in power.

Fidel Castro latterly no longer held leadership posts. He wrote newspaper commentaries on world affairs and occasionally met foreign leaders, but lived in semi-seclusion.

Still, the passing of the man known to most Cubans as “El Comandante” – the commander – or simply “Fidel” leaves a huge void in the country he dominated for so long. It also underlines the generational change in Cuba’s communist leadership.

Raul Castro vows to step down when his term ends in 2018 and the Communist Party has elevated younger leaders to its Politburo, including 56-year-old Miguel Diaz-Canel, who is first vice president and the heir apparent.

Fidel Castro and PLO leader Yasser Arafat stand together at the airport in Havana during Arafat's first visit to Cuba November 14, 1974. REUTERS/Prensa Latina

Fidel Castro and PLO leader Yasser Arafat stand together at the airport in Havana during Arafat’s first visit to Cuba November 14, 1974. REUTERS/Prensa Latina

REVOLUTIONARY ICON

A Jesuit-educated lawyer, Fidel Castro led the revolution that ousted U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista on Jan 1, 1959. Aged 32, he quickly took control of Cuba and sought to transform it into an egalitarian society.

His government improved the living conditions of the very poor, achieved health and literacy levels on a par with rich countries and rid Cuba of a powerful Mafia presence.

But he also tolerated little dissent, jailed opponents, seized private businesses and monopolized the media.

Hundreds of thousands of Castro’s opponents fled the island.

“The dictator Fidel Castro has died, the cause of many deaths in Cuba, Latin American and Africa,” Jose Daniel Ferrer, leader of the island’s largest dissident group, the Patriotic Union of Cuba, said on Twitter.

Many dissidents settled in Florida, influencing U.S. policy toward Cuba and plotting Castro’s demise. Some even trained in the Florida swamps for the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion.

But they could never dislodge him.

Castro claimed he survived or evaded hundreds of assassination attempts, including some conjured up by the CIA.

In 1962, the United States imposed a damaging trade embargo that Castro blamed for most of Cuba’s ills, using it to his advantage to rally patriotic fury.

Over the years, he expanded his influence by sending Cuban troops into faraway wars, including 350,000 to fight in Africa. They provided critical support to a left-wing government in Angola and contributed to the independence of Namibia in a war that helped end apartheid in South Africa.

He also won friends by sending tens of thousands of Cuban doctors abroad to treat the poor and bringing young people from developing countries to train them as physicians.

‘HISTORY WILL ABSOLVE ME’

Born on August 13, 1926, in Biran in eastern Cuba, Castro was the son of a Spanish immigrant who became a wealthy landowner.

Angry at social conditions and Batista’s dictatorship, Castro launched his revolution on July 26, 1953, with a failed assault on the Moncada barracks in the eastern city of Santiago.

“History will absolve me,” he declared during his trial.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison but was released in 1955 after a pardon that would come back to haunt Batista.

Castro went into exile in Mexico and prepared a small rebel army to fight Batista. It included Argentine revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara, who became his comrade in arms.

On Nov. 25, 1956, Castro and a ragtag band of 81 followers set sail from the Mexican port of Tuxpan aboard an overloaded yacht called “Granma,” reaching Cuba in early December.

Only 12, including Fidel, Raul and Guevara, escaped a government ambush when they landed in eastern Cuba.

Taking refuge in the rugged Sierra Maestra mountains, they built a guerrilla force of several thousand fighters who, along with urban rebel groups, defeated Batista’s military in just over two years.

Early on, at the height of the Cold War, Castro allied Cuba to the Soviet Union, which protected the Caribbean island and was its principal benefactor for three decades.

The alliance brought in $4 billion worth of aid annually, including everything from oil to guns, but also provoked the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis when the United States discovered Soviet missiles on the island.

Convinced that the United States was about to invade Cuba, Castro urged the Soviets to launch a nuclear attack.

Cooler heads prevailed. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and U.S. President John F. Kennedy agreed the Soviets would withdraw the missiles in return for a U.S. promise never to invade Cuba. The United States also secretly agreed to remove its nuclear missiles from Turkey.

‘SPECIAL PERIOD’

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, an isolated Cuba fell into an economic crisis that lasted for years known as the “special period.” Food, transport and basics such as soap were scarce and energy shortages led to frequent and long blackouts.

Castro undertook a series of tentative economic reforms to get through the crisis, including opening up to foreign tourism.

The economy improved when Venezuela’s late socialist leader, Hugo Chavez, who looked up to Castro as a hero, came to the rescue with cheap oil. Aid from communist-run China also helped, but Venezuelan support has eased since Chavez’s death in 2013.

Plagued by chronic economic problems, Cuba’s population of 11 million has endured years of hardship, although not the deep poverty, violent crime and government neglect of many other developing countries.

Cubans earn on average the equivalent of $20 a month and struggle to make ends meet even in an economy where education and health care are free and many basic goods and services are heavily subsidized.

For most Cubans, Castro has been the ubiquitous figure of their lives.

Many love him and share his faith in communism, and even some who abandoned their political belief still respect him.

“For everyone in Cuba and outside his death is very sad,” said Havana resident Luis Martinez. “It is very painful news.”

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Categories: Bay of Pigs, Cuba, death, Fidel Castro, Fulgencio Batista, President Kennedy, Revolutionary, United States

How the latest Britain First propaganda targets the ‘local English homeless’

Credit: YouTube

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Following some recent leadership turmoil, the far-right street defence organisation and political party Britain First, have tried a new form of ‘outreach’.

A small number of party members, led by interim leader Jayda Fransen, who was convicted of wearing a uniform for a political purpose and a religiously aggravated charge earlier this month, spent time in the Margate area of Kent. Their task? To feed the ‘English homeless’. In reality, the video is 6 minutes and 41 seconds of party broadcast. Fransen’s hat, carries the party logo throughout.

The video focuses on one homeless man who was given food and gloves. During the video, Fransen opines that: “They are quite quick to look after everyone else that comes into the country. But we’ve got people who are British-born and-bred sleeping rough.” The homeless man responds: “Every homeless person in Kent. Well, Margate mainly, is English. Sorry to say, I’m not racist or anything”.  He adds that you do not see homeless individuals from Czech or Polish communities as “they’ve all got houses”. He laments that ‘they’ do nothing for ‘British people like him’. Jayda Fransen, for her part, shakes her head and continues her interview. Like with any propaganda, she re-affirms the stated position of grievance and the idea that ‘they’ want to ‘put everyone before the British people’.

Fransen then states: ‘If we the taxpayers had any say, we would say, the likes of you, should be looked after before anyone else coming into our country”. The conversation shifts onto homeless veterans. Britain First propaganda is reinforced with a still image of party campaign material.

A serious and often complex issue is reduced to binaries of ‘us’ and ‘them’.

The video has now received thousands of views and hundreds of shares on Facebook. Over on YouTube, it’s gained almost 3,000 views.

By omission, Britain First ignores the work of local charities. This includes Porchlight – which helps vulnerable and homeless people access housing and other support services. Opening soon is the Thanet Winter Shelter. From December, it will offer individuals overnight accommodation during the coldest winter months. Its other aim concerns more long-term support solutions – helping invidiuals to find permanent accommodation.

The council also has emergency protocols for periods of prolonged cold. The Severe Weather Emergency protocol (SWEP) is triggered when evening temperatures are predicted to hit zero degrees celsius or below for three consecutive nights.

On September 5, 2015, the Britain First website had posted footage of their West Midlands members assisting a homeless person in Nottingham. This story, however, did not generate the same level of publicity.

Nor is Britain First the only far-right group to have used this tactic recently. Members of the national socialist National Action group have done similar outreach in Glasgow and parts of Yorkshire.

The post How the latest Britain First propaganda targets the ‘local English homeless’ appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: Britain First, Jayda Fransen, News