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Thursday, July 08, 2010
Salman Hossain Finally Facing Charges
And we might add our personal editorial; it's about bloody time:
A Look Back at the WCFU: Lessons To Consider?
We started this blog in large part due to the emergence of the Aryan Guard in Calgary, Alberta because at the time we really were concerned that this gang would be a real threat to public safety. While this has been the case far too many times, the reality is that the Aryan Guard soon became the laughing stock of the, "White Nationalist" movement in Canada. Sex scandals (including not only McKee's tryst, but allegations of underage sex from people close to the gang), drug use and rampant alcohol abuse, constant infighting with other groups, founding members leaving and other forming rival groups which are even more embarrassing, and numerous arrests, not to mention some younger groupies coming to their senses and leaving the lifestyle behind, all of which took their toll and ultimately lead to gang basically dissolving and leaving only a few to claim membership.
That the Aryan Guard had lasted from late 2006 to almost 2010 (and, if you're to believe the ghost town that is their website, still exists) is remarkable considering the incompetence of the leadership, the animosity they engendered from other WN groups, the transitory nature of the membership, and violent acts that some of the membership was involved with. Sadly, while the Aryan Guard is rightly regarded with a healthy combination of contempt and ridicule, some real damage was done to individuals victimized by the gang as well as the reputation of Calgary and the province.
It never had to be like this.
The Aryan Guard was not the first group of it's kind to come into existence in Canada. Only 2 years before the Aryan Guard was founded by McKee, Price, and Reitmeier, another group tried to make an impact in Alberta.
Western Canada For Us (WCFU) was founded in early 2004. Their leadership under Glenn Bahr
was an older and more stable than the drunken idiots and teenagers who made up the Aryan Guard. Like the Aryan Guard, WCFU held a rally in March (in the WCFU case the rally was in support of Ernst Zundel, pictured on the left, and was coordinated with a rally in Toronto organized by Melissa Guille). Bahr was courted by the media and was the guest of a nationally syndicated radio show. The WCFU even had serious plans to expand into other provinces with chapters already designated in British Columbia and Manitoba (though these efforts weren't particularly successful).
Bahr (left) with Melissa Guille
The WCFU had few of the Aryan Guard's problems, at least outwardly (co-founder Peter Kouba was ousted after a disagreement regarding the direction of the WCFU) and a lot of advantages.
The Aryan Guard lasted until December 2009 and the remnants remain active.
The WCFU lasted no more than 5 months and most of the original membership has remained silent since.
So, what happened? How did one group collapse so quickly while another filled with miscreant losers hold out for three years?
The answer to that might be a tale of two hate crimes divisions.
In Calgary the Aryan Guard were able to seemingly act with impunity, at least to some observers. Even when it's members were committing crimes (some of which were on film) the division that deals with hate crimes didn't seem to be all that focused on shutting the group down. We can speculate about the reasons; manpower, limited ability to collect intelligence, complacency, budget crunch, or any other reason or combination of reasons could have been factors. The fact remains that the Aryan Guard fell apart on it's own, but before it did, there were assaults, suspected firebombs and vandalism.
By comparison, the division that deals with hate crimes in Edmonton were very quick to recognize the potential threat the WCFU posed and moved quickly to gather the appropriate intelligence and evidence. Once done, they moved to shut down the WCFU.
Three years vs. five months.
The following link provides some details about the case against the WCFU. We would ask our readers to examine the document and ask themselves if there's a great deal of difference between the evidence used to shut down the WCFU and the same kind of evidence that the Aryan Guard left for investigators on their own website and other websites:
Citation: R. v. Bahr, 2006 ABPC 360
We've taken a stance regarding support for the police that isn't always shared by other anti-racist organizations. They know our position, we know theirs and we can respect our differences in opinion. The purpose of this article isn't to beat up on the police in Calgary or to praise the police in Edmonton. What we would like to see is that police departments throughout this country take these groups seriously. We don't need the membership of these gangs to hurt someone or damage someone's property before taking action. Legislation already exists to deal with groups like the Aryan Guard and Western Canada For Us.
Let's try to think a little outside of the box.
That the Aryan Guard had lasted from late 2006 to almost 2010 (and, if you're to believe the ghost town that is their website, still exists) is remarkable considering the incompetence of the leadership, the animosity they engendered from other WN groups, the transitory nature of the membership, and violent acts that some of the membership was involved with. Sadly, while the Aryan Guard is rightly regarded with a healthy combination of contempt and ridicule, some real damage was done to individuals victimized by the gang as well as the reputation of Calgary and the province.
It never had to be like this.
The Aryan Guard was not the first group of it's kind to come into existence in Canada. Only 2 years before the Aryan Guard was founded by McKee, Price, and Reitmeier, another group tried to make an impact in Alberta.
Western Canada For Us (WCFU) was founded in early 2004. Their leadership under Glenn Bahr
was an older and more stable than the drunken idiots and teenagers who made up the Aryan Guard. Like the Aryan Guard, WCFU held a rally in March (in the WCFU case the rally was in support of Ernst Zundel, pictured on the left, and was coordinated with a rally in Toronto organized by Melissa Guille). Bahr was courted by the media and was the guest of a nationally syndicated radio show. The WCFU even had serious plans to expand into other provinces with chapters already designated in British Columbia and Manitoba (though these efforts weren't particularly successful).
Bahr (left) with Melissa GuilleThe WCFU had few of the Aryan Guard's problems, at least outwardly (co-founder Peter Kouba was ousted after a disagreement regarding the direction of the WCFU) and a lot of advantages.
The Aryan Guard lasted until December 2009 and the remnants remain active.
The WCFU lasted no more than 5 months and most of the original membership has remained silent since.
So, what happened? How did one group collapse so quickly while another filled with miscreant losers hold out for three years?
The answer to that might be a tale of two hate crimes divisions.
In Calgary the Aryan Guard were able to seemingly act with impunity, at least to some observers. Even when it's members were committing crimes (some of which were on film) the division that deals with hate crimes didn't seem to be all that focused on shutting the group down. We can speculate about the reasons; manpower, limited ability to collect intelligence, complacency, budget crunch, or any other reason or combination of reasons could have been factors. The fact remains that the Aryan Guard fell apart on it's own, but before it did, there were assaults, suspected firebombs and vandalism.
By comparison, the division that deals with hate crimes in Edmonton were very quick to recognize the potential threat the WCFU posed and moved quickly to gather the appropriate intelligence and evidence. Once done, they moved to shut down the WCFU.
Three years vs. five months.
The following link provides some details about the case against the WCFU. We would ask our readers to examine the document and ask themselves if there's a great deal of difference between the evidence used to shut down the WCFU and the same kind of evidence that the Aryan Guard left for investigators on their own website and other websites:
Citation: R. v. Bahr, 2006 ABPC 360
We've taken a stance regarding support for the police that isn't always shared by other anti-racist organizations. They know our position, we know theirs and we can respect our differences in opinion. The purpose of this article isn't to beat up on the police in Calgary or to praise the police in Edmonton. What we would like to see is that police departments throughout this country take these groups seriously. We don't need the membership of these gangs to hurt someone or damage someone's property before taking action. Legislation already exists to deal with groups like the Aryan Guard and Western Canada For Us.
Let's try to think a little outside of the box.
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Ruud Plans On Protesting Gay Pride Parade In London
The folks in London, Ontario celebrates their Pride Week a little later than most cities, but by all accounts it's a rocking affair. Of course it does attract it's fair share of protesters, but they've sort of become part of the show as they stand along the side of the street with their homemade signs that contain some well used rhetoric (i.e. wages sin yadda yadda yadda) calling on the parade participants to repent of their wicked ways.
In our experience, the parade participants are usually either quite pleasant to the protesters or mercilessly mock them because, well, they are sort of funny in their impotence.
One of the groups that has protested the parade in the past have been our good friends in the Northern Alliance and the Canadian Heritage Alliance, as well as some of their hanger-ons. Last year, they didn't show up. Couldn't get the numbers they wanted we guess, though they really have never been a large group at these events.
This year however, Stormfront user and Northern Alliance member, "For Honor" promises a return performance in the protester sideshow event:
Perhaps it would be useful to remind our readers who, "For Honor" is:
Yep, it's Dave Ruud. This picture was from a few years ago during another Pride Parade protest. He's also the go to guy in the Northern Alliance now that Jason Ouwendyk has dropped out of public.
Some of Ruud's fellow travelers aren't comfortable with his public announcement on Stormfront however:
Yep, Tom Winnicki, pictured at yet another Pride Protest in London, feels that Ruud has said too much:
But that hasn't stopped Ruud from providing other useful information:
The people involved in organizing the protest (i.e. getting people to show up and hold a sign while helplessly being the subject of pity and ridicule) are at great pains to stress that those who do participate are to leave their Nazi flags and symbols at home:
But we thought you were PROUD to be white? And by saying that this is a, "clean protest" is that a tacit admission that there is nothing, "clean" or particularly honest about, "White Nationalism."
Well we are shocked! Shocked we say!
But then considering the affinity of the Northern Alliance to Nazism, that might be more a self-reminder than anything:
That last picture includes Canadian Heritage Alliance leader Melissa Guille who has also attended the London protests in the past.
In fact, Ruud has a rather odd obsession with the London Pride week parade. We could post dozens of screen shots, but we'll limit it to a couple:
The protests also have attracted an odd group of people. Sort of like this guy:
So, who is Wayne Kellestine? We'll let Ruud explain:
Wow. Talk about the company you keep.
So who's going to be coming out? We think that we could start with those who attended the last protest in 2008. Ruud will be there of course and maybe Winnicki. We think that Guille might make an appearance as well:
Perhaps Randall Linton will show up:
It wouldn't be a protest without Tyler Chilcott:
And finally, this Northern Alliance member who's name we still aren't sure of (but would love to know):
As for this year's events, if you bring a camera, be sure to keep this humble blog in mind when you consider sharing.
In our experience, the parade participants are usually either quite pleasant to the protesters or mercilessly mock them because, well, they are sort of funny in their impotence.
One of the groups that has protested the parade in the past have been our good friends in the Northern Alliance and the Canadian Heritage Alliance, as well as some of their hanger-ons. Last year, they didn't show up. Couldn't get the numbers they wanted we guess, though they really have never been a large group at these events.This year however, Stormfront user and Northern Alliance member, "For Honor" promises a return performance in the protester sideshow event:
Perhaps it would be useful to remind our readers who, "For Honor" is:
Yep, it's Dave Ruud. This picture was from a few years ago during another Pride Parade protest. He's also the go to guy in the Northern Alliance now that Jason Ouwendyk has dropped out of public.Some of Ruud's fellow travelers aren't comfortable with his public announcement on Stormfront however:
Yep, Tom Winnicki, pictured at yet another Pride Protest in London, feels that Ruud has said too much:
But that hasn't stopped Ruud from providing other useful information:
The people involved in organizing the protest (i.e. getting people to show up and hold a sign while helplessly being the subject of pity and ridicule) are at great pains to stress that those who do participate are to leave their Nazi flags and symbols at home:
But we thought you were PROUD to be white? And by saying that this is a, "clean protest" is that a tacit admission that there is nothing, "clean" or particularly honest about, "White Nationalism."
Well we are shocked! Shocked we say!
But then considering the affinity of the Northern Alliance to Nazism, that might be more a self-reminder than anything:
That last picture includes Canadian Heritage Alliance leader Melissa Guille who has also attended the London protests in the past.
In fact, Ruud has a rather odd obsession with the London Pride week parade. We could post dozens of screen shots, but we'll limit it to a couple:
The protests also have attracted an odd group of people. Sort of like this guy:
So, who is Wayne Kellestine? We'll let Ruud explain:
Wow. Talk about the company you keep.
So who's going to be coming out? We think that we could start with those who attended the last protest in 2008. Ruud will be there of course and maybe Winnicki. We think that Guille might make an appearance as well:
Perhaps Randall Linton will show up:
It wouldn't be a protest without Tyler Chilcott:
And finally, this Northern Alliance member who's name we still aren't sure of (but would love to know):
As for this year's events, if you bring a camera, be sure to keep this humble blog in mind when you consider sharing.
Friday, July 02, 2010
Suspected Hate Crime Arrests Made in B.C.
Four arrested in suspected hate crimes
Richmond brothers accused of beating gay couple in Vancouver; police say another attack may have been driven by homophobia
David Ebner
Vancouver — From Friday's Globe and Mail
Published on Thursday, Jul. 01, 2010 9:52PM EDT
Last updated on Friday, Jul. 02, 2010 10:22AM EDT
Four men were arrested on Canada Day in two separate Vancouver incidents that police described as possible hate crimes.
On June 12, David Holtzman and his partner Peter Regier were returning home after a concert and said they saw two men urinating on their door as they approached their Keefer Street home in downtown Vancouver. After a confrontation, Mr. Holtzman and Mr. Regier were beaten, both concussed, and landed in hospital.
The beaten men alleged that the assailants made homophobic slurs.
On Canada Day afternoon, Vancouver Police announced that two brothers from Richmond have been charged with assault causing bodily harm – two charges against 30-year-old Parminder Singh Peter Bassi and one charge against 27-year-old Ravinder Robbie Bassi.
The brothers are set to appear on July 5 in Downtown Community Court, which was set up in 2008 generally to handle cases against the mentally ill and drug-addicted.
An alleged hate crime is considered as an “aggravating factor” if the case reaches sentencing, Constable Jana McGuinness said Thursday.
Arrests in the high-profile case came after tips to police following the release of surveillance photographs on June 18, at a news conference attended by Police Chief Jim Chu and Mayor Gregor Robertson.
The arrests were announced at the same time as police revealed another “possible hate crime,” this one occurring at 2:45 a.m. A 30-year-old man was walking with friends on Davie Street downtown, an area popular with homosexuals, when he was confronted by a man in another group. The man threw a punch, police say, and the 30-year-old was knocked to the ground, when another man allegedly joined in, also punching the victim.
“Disturbing comments were also allegedly made regarding the victims’ sexual orientation,” police said.
The victim was not sent to hospital, but had facial injuries that required medical attention at the scene.
Alexandre Tchernychev and Aaron Alexander Hahn, both 21 and from Vancouver, were charged with assault causing bodily harm.
Monday, June 28, 2010
This Is Why They`re Called Boneheads: To Paraphrase Kyle McKee, Marleau is Fat, Lazy and Stupid
During the period in which Kyle McKee was in the Calgary Remand Centre awaiting his trial for attempted murder and other charges (he plead guilty to possessing bomb making materials, while the more serious charges were dropped by the Crown citing insufficient evidence), there didn't seem to be any dissension between himself and John Marleau. Considering one could argue that Marleau was the reason why McKee found himself in detention - it was Marleau's ex whom he had been allegedly harassing who was one of the targets of the attack - it's surprising that McKee wasn't just a little unhappy with his porcine friend.
Perhaps there just might be a bit more tension between the two than previously stated publicly?
On Mike "Puddles" Gaio's Facebook profile as Marleau casually suggests assaulting two women, McKee responds:
How much of a loser do you have to be for Kyle McKee to call you out?
Perhaps there just might be a bit more tension between the two than previously stated publicly?
On Mike "Puddles" Gaio's Facebook profile as Marleau casually suggests assaulting two women, McKee responds:
How much of a loser do you have to be for Kyle McKee to call you out?
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Paul Fromm: "I'm an old line segregationist."
As an executive member of the American-based hate group, the Council of Conservative Citizens (who's forerunner was the White Citizens' Councils that attempted to maintain a segregated South), we really aren't surprised by this admission which was made while Paulie discussed social issues in South Africa:
FYI, the Asa Carter biography in Wikipedia is an interesting read.
FYI, the Asa Carter biography in Wikipedia is an interesting read.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Cobb Update: The "Podblanc Team" Responds
More on the curious case of Crusty the Clown. Er... we mean Craig Cobb.
Our most recent series of article discussing Cobb were as a result of an anonymous commenter who stated that Cobb had been arrested at the Vancouver Public Library. At the time we had no idea why he was arrested, though we have our guesses. A second article, which we found at another blog, stated that Cobb had reportedly been released.
We're not too happy that we can't confirm or deny the reports we've received. We're pretty proud of our abilities to dig up information when the mood really suits us, but so far we've been stymied. However, we do have the satisfaction in knowing that we have more information than even his friends and allies have.
The following comes from Cobb's Podblanc which, mercifully, is offline once again. In the email, the "Podblanc team" provides the reasons why the website is down, as well as giving voice to their concern about Cobb's whereabouts:
Dear Podblanc Member,
One of our server companies recently caved into Jewish and Israeli
pressure and decided to unequally enforce their TOS policy and deny us our
right to free speech. This comes at a particularly bad time as it is not
entirely clear whether Craig Cobb has been imprisoned for "Hate Speech"
in Canada or not. Please check in to vnnforum for updates.
Here is the server company's address:
[REMOVED BY ARC COLLECTIVE EDITOR]
We encourage you to send them a letter telling them that they should not
be in the censorship business, catering to the whims of domestic jewish
terrorist groups, and denying Whites their right to free speech. We also
encourage you to stop doing business with this company and to recommend
that others stop doing business with this company as well.
Check back with us in the weeks ahead and please send us a significant
donation when we are back online. Freedom is not free and we require
continuous and major support from our viewers so that we can bring you the
news, culture and information you are used to getting from us and so that
we can expand.
Rahowa,
Your Podblanc Team
There is a chance that the "team" is nothing more than Cobb himself and the request for a "significant donation" is because he's currently unemployed, but then to assume that would make us cynical and we are not at all cynical.
Our most recent series of article discussing Cobb were as a result of an anonymous commenter who stated that Cobb had been arrested at the Vancouver Public Library. At the time we had no idea why he was arrested, though we have our guesses. A second article, which we found at another blog, stated that Cobb had reportedly been released.
We're not too happy that we can't confirm or deny the reports we've received. We're pretty proud of our abilities to dig up information when the mood really suits us, but so far we've been stymied. However, we do have the satisfaction in knowing that we have more information than even his friends and allies have.
The following comes from Cobb's Podblanc which, mercifully, is offline once again. In the email, the "Podblanc team" provides the reasons why the website is down, as well as giving voice to their concern about Cobb's whereabouts:
Dear Podblanc Member,
One of our server companies recently caved into Jewish and Israeli
pressure and decided to unequally enforce their TOS policy and deny us our
right to free speech. This comes at a particularly bad time as it is not
entirely clear whether Craig Cobb has been imprisoned for "Hate Speech"
in Canada or not. Please check in to vnnforum for updates.
Here is the server company's address:
[REMOVED BY ARC COLLECTIVE EDITOR]
We encourage you to send them a letter telling them that they should not
be in the censorship business, catering to the whims of domestic jewish
terrorist groups, and denying Whites their right to free speech. We also
encourage you to stop doing business with this company and to recommend
that others stop doing business with this company as well.
Check back with us in the weeks ahead and please send us a significant
donation when we are back online. Freedom is not free and we require
continuous and major support from our viewers so that we can bring you the
news, culture and information you are used to getting from us and so that
we can expand.
Rahowa,
Your Podblanc Team
There is a chance that the "team" is nothing more than Cobb himself and the request for a "significant donation" is because he's currently unemployed, but then to assume that would make us cynical and we are not at all cynical.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Terry Tremaine's Motions Dismissed
Not surprisingly, Doug Christie argued that the Lemire decision regarding Section 13 should be considered in dismissing contempt charges against Terry Tremaine. The judge, however, had none of it.
Harrington writes in response:
This particular motion for show cause is limited to cease and desist. The Lemire decision relates to other aspects such as the imposition of a fine, and the Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act insofar as it relates to cease and desist orders was upheld by the Taylor decision to which I just made reference.
So Harrington echoes what many of us have suspected might happen; the penalty provision will be struck down, however the rest of Section 13 will remain in force.
Harrington writes in response:
This particular motion for show cause is limited to cease and desist. The Lemire decision relates to other aspects such as the imposition of a fine, and the Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act insofar as it relates to cease and desist orders was upheld by the Taylor decision to which I just made reference.
So Harrington echoes what many of us have suspected might happen; the penalty provision will be struck down, however the rest of Section 13 will remain in force.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Cobb Released?
We never did find out why he was detained in the first place, but according to an update on Lady Liberty's Lamp, Craig Cobb has been released based on a report from a reader placing Cobb at "the Carnegie."
Sunday, June 20, 2010
June 2010 Bits and Bites
Just two short updates on previous stories.
First, so far nothing new on the reported Craig Cobb arrest, though we have notices that Podblanc is down again. Cobb's friends on VNN also noticed our previous article reported the arrest and have been trying to get in contact with Cobb, including Glenn Miller (who posts as "Rounder" on VNN):
Now now, you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar, Glenn.Second, a story related to the arrests of the 17 year old and the 28 year old David Castonguay in Quebec and their use of social networking websites to disseminate hate propaganda:
Provincial police made two arrests this week in cases in which the Internet became the conduit of hate propaganda.
On Tuesday, officers of the Surete du Quebec arrested a 17-year-old man in Sept Iles who was allegedly using a Facebook page to disseminate hate against specific ethnic communities.
On Thursday, they arrested a 28-year-old in Trois Rivieres who was allegedly using You-Tube videos to propagate his messages. Officers found a Nazi flag, hate literature and some pot in the man's home.
The second arrest was prompted by a complaint filed by a citizen in January.
Human rights lawyer Richard Warman said it was only a matter of time before hate propaganda moved to popular sites like Facebook and YouTube.
"Social media have become an essential part of people's lives and hate-mongers are using that forum," Warman said.
"Statistics show that there has been a recent spike in hate crimes, but that might also mean there has been more reporting of it."
Warman said the usual targets are showing up in online hate sites: Jews, Muslims, blacks, gays and lesbians.
The law states that anyone wilfully propagating hatred can be sentenced to a maximum of two years in jail.
Warman said he would like to see Facebook and YouTube monitor the pages under their names more carefully. Facebook does have a report button for users to flag particularly offensive material, but with an estimated half a billion users, some questionable sites slip through.
"If a service provider knows that a site like this exists, they should be held accountable for not taking steps to stop it," Warman said.
He said if a citizen comes across a hate propaganda site, they should contact the police, in particular the SQ hate crimes unit.
"In my dealings with the SQ, they have been very solid," Warman said.
asutherland@thegazette.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
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