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UK govt. in uproar over exposure given white supremacist British National Party

CougarKing

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Right or Left. Too much of anything is bad. Here is a good example:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091020/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_far_right

LONDON – To the outrage of many Britons, a white-supremacist fringe party riding a wave of electoral success has been invited to participate in a BBC prime-time TV show on politics.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour Party government says it is appalled that the far right British National Party will get such high-profile exposure to millions of viewers. The BBC, however, says as a publicly funded broadcaster it must cover all political parties that have a national presence.


"It's not for the BBC to make decisions about what parties it does and doesn't like," a BBC spokesman said Tuesday on condition of anonymity in line the company policy. "That, quite rightly, is a decision for the electorate."

The BNP, which opposes immigration and says it fights for "indigenous" Britons, wants to become a force in British politics. Although it is not represented in the national Parliament, it serves on several city councils and made an electoral breakthrough in June, when it took about 6 percent of the British vote in European elections, winning two EU parliament seats.

On Thursday, BNP leader Nick Griffin is scheduled to appear on the BBC's flagship political debate show "Question Time" — a highly valued imprimatur of political respectability. A senior Cabinet minister, Justice Secretary Jack Straw, is supposed to be on the same program, where panelists are questioned on current affairs by a studio audience.

The far right party is so pleased with the invite that it is counting down the seconds until the broadcast on its Web site.

The government and anti-racist groups say the invitation to Griffin legitimizes fascist views, and protesters have vowed to picket Thursday's taping at the BBC's West London studios.

Welsh Secretary Peter Hain — a former anti-apartheid activist — has called on the BBC to drop Griffin from the program, saying the party is "an unlawful body" because historically it has not allowed nonwhite people to be members.
Last week the BNP agreed to change its constitution to accept nonwhite members after it was taken to court by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The BBC says it is bound by its public-service mandate to give the party a platform. In a letter to Hain, BBC director-general Mark Thompson said "it remains the BBC's obligation to scrutinize and hold to account all elected representatives and to do so with due impartiality."

The BNP has benefited from a deepening cynicism toward mainstream politics in Britain. The party made its biggest electoral gains in working-class Labour strongholds, among voters angry at rising unemployment and a scandal over lawmakers' expenses.

All the mainstream parties were tarnished when data leaked to a newspaper earlier this year showed that legislators had submitted substantial claims on the public purse for everything from pornography to chandeliers and moat-cleaning.

The BNP has tried to capitalize on its outsider, underdog image, linking itself to Britain's wartime "Blitz spirit" and the armed forces, which have suffered hundreds of deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan and are held in high regard by most Britons.

The party has used military symbols such as wartime leader Winston Churchill and a Spitfire fighter plane — under the slogan "Battle for Britain" — in its campaign literature.

On Tuesday a group of retired military commanders accused the party of hijacking military symbols for "dubious ends."

Four retired generals, including former army chiefs Gen. Mike Jackson and Gen. Richard Dannatt, signed a letter saying extremists and racists "are fundamentally at odds with the values of the modern British military." They called on "all those who seek to hijack the good name of Britain's military for their own advantage to cease and desist."

The generals' letter is part of a campaign against the BNP by military veterans under the slogan "There's Nothing British about the BNP." The campaign, whose supporters include thriller writer Andy McNab, has links to the opposition Conservative Party.

On the campaign's Web site, McNab — the pseudonym of a Gulf War veteran of Britain's special forces — has accused the BNP of racism and of "taking advantage of what our troops are doing" in both Iraq and Afghanistan.


Griffin insists the party is popular among rank-and-file soldiers, claiming soldiers had told him that "almost everyone ... fighting in Afghanistan vote for the British National Party."

____

Associated Press writer David Stringer contributed to this report
 
Unfortunately these idiots have a huge following in the UK, which many ascribe to irresponsibly prolific and lax, immigration policies implemented since Thatcher.

The military neo-Nazi thing was a big deal way back in the 80s too. The RMP broke up a few neo-Nazi
groups in regiments like the Guards. "I hate Berkshire Nazis...."
 
I think the question WHY is a good one.Living in a country where Islam is fed down your throat by tmhe governent(I.E commercials and speeches about Ramadan,what the protestant Briton should do around muslims)Shara law being accepted,protests with banners saying europe will fall next,muslim clerics calling for attacks IN britain,Oh and bombings.

Other groups not so far flung as the BNP such as EDL (black and white unite) are however against the BNP,but sick and tired of living in a country where this sort of crap is happening.


So here are two groups on opposite sides of the racist spectrum,but both sick and tired of the muslim extremist problem.
Question is what is the government going to do about it?Chances are lean towards the Muslims.As doing anything else would be racist.
 
I suspect that the BNP isnt as racist as the multiculturist media portrays them. In the US we see anyone who opposes Obama is called a racist. Anyone who wants to close the borders and is against illegal immigration is called a racist. When every religion but Christianity is embraced I can easily see a backlash against multiculturalism/liberalism and the BNP is a way for people to do what the other parties wont do.
 
The BNP may or may not be racist, but they certainly have some odd views. The following is reproduced under the Fair Comment provisions of the Copyright Act:

BNP: British generals should be hanged for war crimes
Some of Britain’s most respected military commanders have been drawn into an extraordinary public row with the British National Party after the party's leader compared them to Nazi generals hanged for war crimes.

By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent
Published: 5:50PM BST 20 Oct 2009


Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, accused General Sir Richard Dannatt and General Sir Mike Jackson, two former chiefs of the general staff, of complicity in “illegal” wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the MPs’ expenses scandal.

Mr Griffin’s attack came after the generals added their names to a new campaign against the BNP's attempts to “steal the valour” of the Armed Forces by using wartime images and slogans.


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BBC tightens security for Nick Griffin's appearance on Question Time The party routinely uses images of Spitfires in its campaign material, and has also invoked the memory of Sir Winston Churchill.

In an ITV News interview, Mr Griffin claimed that Sir Winston would backed his party if he were alive today. "His only place would be in the British National Party," he said.

Promising to counter such propaganda, the Nothing British campaign launched on Tuesday with a report warning: “The forces of extremism and racism are hijacking the good name of Britain's military.”

The campaign, organised by Conservative activists, is backed by retired senior service personnel including the generals, who signed an open letter on the issue.

“We call on all those who seek to hijack the good name of Britain's military for their own advantage to cease and desist,” they wrote. “The values of these extremists – many of whom are essentially racist – are fundamentally at odds with the values of the modern British military, such as tolerance and fairness.”

Mr Griffin responded with a lengthy tirade on the BNP’s website, likening the generals to Nazi military chiefs.

He said: “Those Tory generals who today attacked the British National Party should remember that at the Nuremberg Trials, the politicians and generals accused of waging illegal aggressive wars were all charged — and hanged — together.

He added: “Sir Richard and Sir Mike fall squarely into this bracket, and they must not think that they will escape culpability for pursuing the illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Mr Griffin singled out Sir Richard, who stepped down as CGS in August and has agreed to become an adviser on defence to the Conservatives.

Mr Griffin said: “Sir Richard said nothing about the fact that low-paid British soldiers have to buy their own kit because the Government has deliberately underfunded the army, despite sending our soldiers to foreign conflicts which have nothing to do with us.”

Sir Mike declined to respond to Mr Griffin’s comments. In an earlier BBC interview, he insisted that the military remains apolitical and his support for the Nothing British campaign was not partisan.

He said: "This is not in any sense party political. It is an issue about the reputation and good name and the tolerance of the British armed forces.”

In a separate interview, Mr Griffin said that his party has widespread support among serving service personnel.

“I'm the one who talks to the families of young squaddies and large numbers of ex-servicemen and they all say that almost everyone at the coalface, fighting in Afghanistan, vote for the British National Party," he said.

Last year, a leaked BNP membership list contained the names of 16 people who were described as servicemen including a Royal Marines Commando.

Among the 68 members listed as former servicemen were one Chelsea Pensioner, three Paras, three Guards and two Royal Marines.
 
I agree that the present BNP leadership leaves alot to be desired. However a makeover of the BNP which would stress conservative values may well make them more palatable to the public at large. The Tories seem to me to be Labor-lite and not a real change from the present government.
 
tomahawk6 said:
I suspect that the BNP isnt as racist as the multiculturist media portrays them. In the US we see anyone who opposes Obama is called a racist. Anyone who wants to close the borders and is against illegal immigration is called a racist. When every religion but Christianity is embraced I can easily see a backlash against multiculturalism/liberalism and the BNP is a way for people to do what the other parties wont do.

Nick Griffin and the BNP still denied the Holocaust, the very same thing that is denied by ....Surprise! Surprise! Iranian Pres. Ahmadinejad:  ::)

From another forum:

Originally posted by BritishAlly:
Nick Griffin is a nasty piece of work - and a Holocaust denier, referring to it as a "Holohoax", and having written the following:

"I am well aware that the orthodox opinion is that 6 million Jews were gassed and cremated and turned into lampshades. Orthodox opinion also also once held that the Earth was flat... I have reached the conclusion that the "extermination" tale is a mixture of Allied wartime propaganda, extremely profitable lie, and latter witch-hysteria."

However, Peter Hain is, in essence, expecting the BBC to do the Government's dirty work for it: the Government refuses (probably correctly) to ban the BNP, but then expects the BBC, which is subject to a legal requirement to allow representation from all legally elected parties (according to a complicated formula), to refuse to give them airtime.

We can just hope that Griffin shows his true colours when on this program, so that the electorate can see what an obnoxious little worm he is.

Comparing the Holocaust to the old misconception that the world was flat...riiiiiiight. ::)
 
We can just hope that Griffin shows his true colours when on this program, so that the electorate can see what an obnoxious little worm he is.
THIS is exactly why he should be on that show.  Don't suppress his right to free speech, embrace it and enhance it!  Let EVERYONE see him for the idiot that he is.  If people vote for him, then that's democracy.  I mean, heck, I would never vote NDP, but I'll defend any idiot who wants to vote for them.
 
Technoviking said:
THIS is exactly why he should be on that show.  Don't suppress his right to free speech, embrace it and enhance it!  Let EVERYONE see him for the idiot that he is. 
And he certainly isn't going to be getting any kind of free ride from the BBC interviewers, so folks will get to hear him pressed on the controversial stuff.

Better to hear it out loud (and have people realize exactly what it is) than give it the allure of forbidden fruit by banning or controlling it.
 
milnews.ca said:
Better to hear it out loud (and have people realize exactly what it is) than give it the allure of forbidden fruit by banning or controlling it.
Exactly.  And to clarify my previous statement, I also hope that in our version of democracy, that members of the NDP would defend idiots such as me to spew forth my points of view, along with other idiots who vote Conservative/Liberal/Other. 
 
One of the most popular causes is immigration - and it does not matter what colour you are, everyone, once established, will complain about it.
Just look at what it has done to the Americas...
1492 is a year that will live in infamy!

;D
disclaimer: I am mostly Irish with some south-western European, German, English and some Native American.

cheers,
Frank
 
Technoviking said:
I also hope that in our version of democracy, that members of the NDP would defend idiots such as me to spew forth my points of view, along with other idiots who vote Conservative/Liberal/Other.
Zackly right!
 
I don't think that parties change a whole lot of minds through their rhetoric.  I think that people are likely to vote for a party that best shares their views.  A vote for the National Party may have more value in waking up the mainstream parties than having any hope of forming the government.  In Canada the NDP, while never forming a government, has shaped a lot of policy.
 
Old Sweat said:
BNP: British generals should be hanged for war crimes
Some of Britain’s most respected military commanders have been drawn into an extraordinary public row with the British National Party after the party's leader compared them to Nazi generals hanged for war crimes.

Mr Griffin responded with a lengthy tirade on the BNP’s website, likening the generals to Nazi military chiefs.

He said: “Those Tory generals who today attacked the British National Party should remember that at the Nuremberg Trials, the politicians and generals accused of waging illegal aggressive wars were all charged — and hanged — together.


Should Griffin, and his argument, not automatically be discounted at this point for invoking Godwin’s Law?  ;D There is a tradition in many newsgroups and other Internet discussion forums that once such a comparison is made, the thread is finished and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically "lost" whatever debate was in progress.


 
Anti-Fascist Protestors breach security at the BBC station before the upcoming talk show debate:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091022/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_far_right

LONDON – Anti-fascist protesters broke into the BBC's west London headquarters on Thursday ahead of a far-right party leader's appearance on a leading political debate show.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the BBC Television Center in a rowdy rally against British National Party chief Nick Griffin, who appeared on the broadcaster's "Question Time" program. At one point about 25 people breached a police cordon and ran into the center's lobby.

BBC footage showed some being pulled across the floor by their arms and legs by security. The broadcaster said the protesters were "escorted promptly" from the building.

"Shame on the BBC!" one female protester yelled as she was being dragged out.


Scotland Yard said three officers were injured in the protests, and six people were arrested.

The BBC later broadcast footage of Griffin arriving in the building and taking his place on the "Question Time" panel to scattered applause. Justice Secretary Jack Straw, a senior member of the governing Labour Party, was seen sitting across from Griffin on the show's panel. The BBC said the program was taped and would air after editing.

Griffin said afterward that he was relatively pleased with the program, and had taken a lot of flack but had "been able to land a few punches of my own."

"It was hard-going," he told The Associated Press in telephone interview. "It was a bit like a boxing match."

He said he didn't believe the show itself would revolutionize his party's fortunes, but said it was a kind of "boy scout's badge" for having secured, he claimed, the BNP's place on the national stage.

Question Time gathers Britain's leading politicians, journalists and other public figures to discuss questions from a studio audience. The three-decade-old program has become something of a national institution, and many have condemned Griffin's invitation as awarding his far-right group an undeserved aura of political respectability.

The BBC said that, as a publicly funded broadcaster, it must cover all political parties that have a national presence. Earlier this year the party won two European Union parliament seats, gaining 6 percent of British votes in European polls. It has no seats in the British Parliament.

The whites-only BNP opposes immigration and claims to fight for "indigenous" Britons. Griffin has a conviction for racial hatred and has denied the Holocaust in the past. But the party has tried to shed its thuggish image and enter the political mainstream.

"We believe that the BNP is an illegal, undemocratic, racist and homophobic party whose existence encourages thugs on the street to engage in violent acts against minorities," said Jackie Hutchingson, a 46-year-old volunteer who joined the protest from southern England.

"It gives racist people confidence. That's the argument for why they shouldn't be interviewed or given any publicity," said Sarah Ensor, a 42-year-old bookshop manager from East London.

The University of Cambridge-educated Griffin said he expected a hostile reception, but had a right to be heard, and insisted his views had been misrepresented.

"If these people would only let us say what we want to say and then argue with what we've actually got to say instead of creating monsters and then being wound up about the monsters, everyone would get on far better," Griffin said before the show.

The head of the Muslim Council of Britain, Muhammad Abdul Bari, said "allowing the BNP to air its toxic views will increase Islamophobia and give the BNP an aura of respectability needed to spread their message of hate."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Griffin's appearance would expose the party's "racist and bigoted" views.

The BBC is wary of government interference in its political coverage. In the 1980s, the Conservative government banned radio and TV appearances by members of the IRA-linked Sinn Fein party. The broadcaster hired actors to read their words instead.

___

Associated Press writers Jill Lawless, Rachel Leamon, Martin Benedyk, and David Stringer contributed to this report.
 
CougarDaddy said:
Scotland Yard said three officers were injured in the protests, and six people were arrested...

SNIP

..."We believe that the BNP is an illegal, undemocratic, racist and homophobic party whose existence encourages thugs on the street to engage in violent acts against minorities," said Jackie Hutchingson, a 46-year-old volunteer who joined the protest from southern England.

Hello, Kettle?  Yes, Pot here... look old boy, it appears that you seem to somewhat, err, black, as it were.
 
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