'White power' chanted during immigration discussion at school

Written by: Jeffrey Wolf, Web Producer
and Nelson Garcia, Reporter



BROOMFIELD – It started with a simple question and ended with at least one student chanting "white power" in a classroom.

It happened Tuesday in a classroom at Holy Family High School, the Catholic school that sits at the corner of 144th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard in Broomfield.

The classroom discussion started with the question: Why do students need to learn Spanish?

According to the Archdiocese of Denver, the conversation soon became about immigration and it turned ugly.

"It became a heated discussion and some rhetoric was used that was inappropriate for the classroom," said Jeanette DeMelo, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Denver.

At least one e-mail sent to 9NEWS said that at least one student started a chant of "white power" and some said that all Mexicans should go back to Mexico.

"Immigration is an explosive topic right now. It seeped into the classroom," she said.

The Archdiocese says they did not expect something like this to happen in their system, which has embraced its Hispanic students. Archbishop Charles Chaput has come forward several times in support of the Mexican community.

"I think the teacher was a little bit unprepared for that type of discussion in a language classroom," said DeMelo.

The archdiocese says the four students who instigated the whole thing have been talked to and supposedly are remorseful. The Spanish teacher also met with administrators.

An e-mail sent to 9NEWS states the Hispanic students in the class at the time asked to leave, but were forced to stay in the classroom.

Holy Family Principal Sr. Mary Rose Lieb, O.S.F. released a statement on Thursday evening about the incident:

"On Tuesday in a Spanish-language class at Holy Family High School, a single handful of students used heated and inappropriate rhetoric in a discussion on immigration. In a class of approximately 30 students, fewer than six students voiced strong anti-immigration opinions. The remaining two-thirds of the class were silent or voiced support for immigrants. At the end of the discussion, one student inappropriately said "white power," two or three times. Most of the students in the class did not hear the comments. Contrary to media reports, there were no chants by more than one student. Two students, who were offended, asked to leave the classroom and were given permission to leave. However, the discussion ended when other students realized how these students were affected and all of the students remained until the end of class."

"When the administration received a complaint regarding this discussion, interviews were conducted of the students in the classroom as well as the teacher. The student who acted inappropriately was disciplined and the situation has been addressed with the teacher."

"The administration treated this situation as a teaching moment - an opportunity to reaffirm that respect and charity should be the foundation of every dialogue and encounter with another."

"Holy Family High School is dedicated to being a family - through respect and charity for all its members. It's always had a diverse student body. It values that diversity and strives to be a place of unity and respect for all. The distortion and inaccurate reporting of this situation is hurtful to a community that should be praised for how well they get along in their diversity."

"In all archdiocesan Catholic schools there is ongoing in-services for administrators, teachers and staff on relevant topics such as immigration, historic justice, issues of bullying and respect."

School leaders at Holy Family say their school is all about inclusiveness. It is in the school's motto and in the spirit of their teachings.

"Holy Family is precisely what its name is: a family. And they've always prided themselves on the diversity," said DeMelo.

Holy Family has a large Hispanic population and the archdiocese wants to make sure everyone is comfortable going to school.

"We are seeing the Hispanic population trust in the Catholic school system and in the diversity that exists there," said DeMelo.

Source: 9news

Fight Leaves Two Injured

Dennis Edwards
Reporting

(WJZ) One man was stabbed with an ice pick. Another was hit by a shovel in a melee ignited by racial slurs and complicated by frustration over crime.

Sky Eye Chopper 13 was over the intersection of Chain O Hills Road and Queen Anne Road after a group of white teenagers attacked six black teenagers. It all started around noon when Clara Montgomery's son was walking by a house a block away.

"My son was going to pick up my niece from school and meet her and the guy started calling him racial words, slurs to him and started throwing beer bottles at him and he ignored him," Montgomery said.

But Eyewitness News learns a group of black teenagers allegedly retaliated by smashing windows in the man's truck and home. Four hours later, six black teenagers apparently abandoned a stolen car near the intersection as a group of white men and teenagers allegedly attack. Montgomery's son was stabbed in the leg and another teenager was hit with a shovel.

"Six to eight white boys had shovels...bats, knives. Both of 'em, intermixed. They both had weapons. Swinging, throwing bats," said Lee Anne Grigsby.

"The guy was swinging a shovel and a rake, trying to hit my son and them. He was taking off his clothes to see where he was stabbed at," Montgomery said.

Anne Arundel County Police declined on-camera interviews. They also aren't talking about suspects in the case, but Eyewitness News has learned two people have been taken into custody and police may be looking for at least two more.

Neighbors tell Eyewitness News racial tensions have escalated with an increase in burglaries and car thefts but what's clear in this violent melee is a problem on both sides of the racial divide.

Neighbors tell Eyewitness News they're hoping police and other authorities will intervene before someone gets seriously hurt.

Source: WJZ

Nazi Group To Protest Illegal Immigration In Omaha

Omaha, NE - A major Omaha road may be shut down this weekend by Nazis.

The National Socialist Movement will shut down Dodge street Saturday to protest illegal immigration. The Nazi protest at the Mexican Consulate is becoming a cause for community concern. So much concern in fact, the white supremacist group will receive a police escort in and out of Omaha as well as police security during the event according to both the consulate and protestors.

"I have seen every kind of demonstration from pro to totally contrary so they are totally within there right to do it," says Consul Jose Luis Cuevas.

His calm demeanor may be unexpected but it couldn't be more opposite of the National Socialist Movement. The white supremacist group planning to crowd the streets around Cuevas building.

"This is not Mexico and we don't want it to be Mexico," says Col. Tim Bishop with the National Socialist Movement.

Illegal immigration threatens the self described Nazi group's main goal.

"The preservation and the promotion of the white Arian Caucasian people," says Bishop.

Only the swastika emblazoned protest against illegal immigrants will happen outside the one place in Omaha Mexicans can obtain legal identification.

"I guess because it has a Mexican flag out front or they misinterpret what we do," says the Consul.

"They're telling people to come here. They're telling people where they can get social services. They're telling people how to exploit the system," says Bishop.

The consul's concern is not the demonstration but the potential for violent public reaction and damage to his building.

"A counter demonstration is not productive in any way and that's exactly what these people are looking for."

"Everything pro-white is racist. They've forced us into this extremist political position. And so they give us no other option so they should not be surprised with this rally," says Bishop.

Source: Action3News

Hate Graffiti Mars Plainview, Long Island Park

Plainview, L.I. (1010 WINS) -- Nassau County police are investigating a bias incident at a Plainview park.

Authorities say a swastika, anti-Semitic slurs, and racial slurs were spray painted on signs, bleacher seats, and a slide at a playground at Lindsay Street and Sally Lane.

The perpetrators hit the park sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning.

The Town of Oyster Bay is removing the graffiti.

Detectives ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.

Source: 1010wins

Study shows that diversity impacts a company's success

by Joseph Wardy, Jacquie Schmall, Sheeja Saji, and Joyce Priddy

Sociologist Cedric Henning, of the University of Illinois at Chicago, recently conducted a study about diversity. Beyond the question that diversity is positive, Mr.Henning wanted evidence that it made a difference. Conclusion: Diversity makes a difference and the study shows impact on company's success.

Let's begin by reviewing how Mr. Henning conducted his research. He began by obtaining data about diversity levels and business performance from about 250 companies. Verification was secured from Dun& Bradstreet and the federal government. The companies ranged from 10 employees to multinational corporations with thousands of employees.Fact: Regardless of the size of the company, Henning found the same relationship between diversity and business success.Here are two of Henning's findings:

* Diversity supporters have long claimed that workers from different backgrounds more responsive to customers. Mr. Henning's research supports this position. Mr. Henning states " that racial diversity is a marker for diverse ideas, attitudes and experiences and that having a range of perspectives can alert a company to threats and possibilities.When diverse ideas are shared and not dismissed, the environment changes form the ego of I'm right to the collaboration of what's right. The study also suggests that diversity in the workplace connects closely to Listening, one of the Seven Habits of Effective People by Stephan Covey. Mr. Covey stated, " To be understood, we first understand". If you doubt the wisdom of Mr. Covey's suggestion,reverse the scenario.If an employee seeks first to be understood, he tends to argue and defensively defend his position. An adversary can become a possible enemy.

* When people of color join groups that were formally all white, the entire group begins to think in different ways. The influx of minorities stimulates new thinking patterns. This finding lends credence to the quote: " We find comfort with those we agree with and growth from those who are different". Another great benefit is that diverse ideas minimizes " group think" which favor a status quo mentality. Refusal to change in a competitive market is not competitive.

In my management development work, I have always contended that building relationships an awareness and appreciation of different perspectives. Most importantly, we begin to realize that perspective stems from our individual experiences. Perhaps, the great benefit to diversity in the workplace is that the interdependence of the group results in better solutions!

Diversity brings an eclectic array of talents and points of view to any project, giving it greater potential, making it stronger. This has been shown to be the case in business, and it's also the case in show business.

When people of very different ages come together to make a film, or put on a live show, there is an incredible force that comes into focus as we work together. The experiences of the older members of the group give validity to ideas that have worked before. The younger members of the group catch the direction of those ideas and carry them to fit into yet another incarnation that will entertain a younger audience.

In addition to being savvy about the contemporary audience, the younger members of the group have more muscle to manifest the physical part of the project. Meanwhile the older members will have more savvy about brands of paint or sources of special materials.

In the beginning, age difference is clearly a factor in finding who's going to lead what, however, it doesn't take long to sort out. It's fantastic we all get to see the final product become a successful production.

In my experience, seeking to engage diversity in any project, whether social, ethnic, or age related, will definitely invigorate the creative and/or business process.

Strategy, Product and People -These are the key factors of a successful company.Talking about people, diversity absolutely impacts a company's success without a doubt. Putting together people from different country and background ,and combining their ideas and bringing out the best of unity lead whole sector to success.

People think and act depending upon on the background they are brought up. A team who have well knowledge of all levels of people and their mentality is very important here. Lifestyle of people from different countries are very much different or if to say lifestyle of people form different areas of same country vary so as their ideas.

Best example is Donald Trump's" The apprentice" (I hope most of us watched it at least few episodes)

So it's very much true that diversity impacts a company's success.

Diversity is one of the key factors that will enable a company to truly be successful. Without diversity within a company there will not be success. After all, if we were all clones the world would become stagnant and boring.

Diversity encourages more thought processes in the company. With emerging ideas and suggestions, a company's success will become larger. Employees will work harder because they know that their opinion counts.

Through diversity, delegation of tasks is much easier within a company. Delegation of tasks and project assignments is imperative to a company's success. If everyone only knew how to do one task the company would fail. Additionally, if everyone approached tasks the same way, it will cause failure in the company.

Source: Helium

Skinheads attack, injure two Czech Romanies

A group of unidentified perpetrators, probably skinheads, attacked two Czech Romanies, aged 18 and 23, in an open-air cinema on Friday and injured them, Ivo Vykopal from the local police force told CTK today.

In the assault, the offenders shouted racial insults, Vykopal added.

The younger boy was slightly injured on his face, while the older suffered a fracture of his nose and brain concussion, Vykopal said.

The assailants pushed the older boy to the ground and kicked him, he added.

The perpetrators called the Romanies "black pigs and Gypsy sons of bitches," Vykopal said.

Source: Romea

Iraqi injured in latest racist attack in Germany

Magdeburg, Germany - An Iraqi man was racially abused and beaten with a baseball bat in the third xenophobic attack in Germany in less than a week, police said Sunday. The 36-year-old Iraqi was attacked by an unidentified right-wing extremist in the eastern town of Magdeburg on Friday evening, six days after assaults on eight Indians and two Africans in two other towns.

Police said the suspected neo-Nazi set his dog on the victim and hit him on the back of the head with a baseball bat before fleeing after a witness raised the alarm.

Police said the attacker, who also uttered racial slurs at the Iraqi, faced charges of incitement to racial hatred and aggravated assault.

A 29-year-old German was ordered to be kept in detention on Saturday, following another racist attack on two Africans which put a Sudanese man in hospital on August 18.

The unnamed man was arrested on Friday along with an accomplice, aged 26, who was freed on police bail.

They are accused of beating up the Sudanese and an Egyptian man, following a wine festival in the village of Guntersblum, near the town of Mainz in western Germany.

The Indians were also attacked during a festival on the night of August 18 in the small town of Muegeln in Germany's former communist east.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the attack as "extremely grim and shameful" and a government spokesman said it was harmful to Germany's image abroad.

The deputy president of the European Commission, Franco Frattini, called for the banning of the neo-Nazi NPD party after the attack in Muegeln.

He said in an interview with the Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday that neo-Nazis represented "a threat" and "an ulcerous cancer for democratic countries like Germany."

Source: EarthTimes

Minutemen Extremists Barred from Hotel

Judge bars Minutemen Extremists

By BRANDON COUTRE - bcoutre@nwherald.com
Comments (No comments posted.)

WOODSTOCK – A McHenry County judge on Thursday ordered an anti-illegal immigration group to stay away from the Crystal Lake Holiday Inn, in part because the group breached its contract with the hotel.

The Illinois Minuteman Project had scheduled a conference for Saturday in Crystal Lake, but hotel management decided to cancel the group’s reservation. Judge Maureen McIntyre affirmed that decision on Thursday.

Minuteman director Rosanna Pulido called the ruling bittersweet.

“While I’m grieved, I’m also happy that every American citizen can see what our country is turning into and what will happen if we don’t wake up and address illegal immigration,” Pulido said.

Suzanne Walters, an attorney for the Minuteman Project, said the hotel was stifling her organization’s right to free speech. But McIntyre said the case had little to do with protected rights.

“I don’t think this question here before the court today boils down to an infringement of [free speech] rights,” she said.

The hotel’s attorneys filed an emergency restraining order request Thursday afternoon.

McIntyre agreed with hotel attorneys that Pulido violated the contract because she wasn’t up front with who she really represented and didn’t provide proper proof of insurance. Pulido signed a contract with the hotel last month, when she identified herself only as the event coordinator for the Sheriff Daniel Beck Immigration Conference.

It wasn’t until another group contacted the hotel about staging a protest to the Minuteman conference that hotel staff members realized that Pulido was the leader of an anti-illegal immigration group, attorneys said.

"They realized they were duped,” said Rita Alliss Powers, one of the hotel’s attorneys. “These meetings have a history of drawing a lot of very visceral reaction and protest.”

The private conference was supposed to host about 100 people to hear Allen County, Ohio, Sheriff Daniel Beck discuss his efforts to identify and seek deportation of illegal immigrants.

The event was set continue as planned until Wednesday, when the Crystal Lake Police Department informed the hotel that it would have to spend up to $3,500 on extra police forces to handle protesters.

Under the contract with the hotel, the Minuteman are supposed to cover the cost of security. But the Minuteman said they would not pay.

“Why don’t the protesters who are causing the problems have to pay for the $3,500?” Pulido asked.

Hotel attorneys said they canceled the Minuteman event because hotel management was worried about the safety of the hotel’s patrons and the hotel's image if guests were to see a SWAT team lingering nearby.

“This is a hotel that has weddings and conferences, and all of the sudden they’re going to have to have armed guards on this property because of this, quote, conference,” Alliss Powers said. “Can you imagine the family that’s just passing through on their vacation and this is the event taking place at the Holiday Inn in Crystal Lake?”

NWHerald

Robber Sentenced to 20 Years

August 24th, 2007 @ 11:32am



(KSL News) A self-proclaimed white-supremacist took time for a racially charged rant before being sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The sentence is in connection with a bank robbery conviction handed down in June.

Jeremiah Gregory robbed a Wells Fargo bank two years ago and claimed he had a bomb.

Before being sentenced Gregory accused the court of treating him harshly because of his race and said retribution for the actions of the judge would be "swift."

Source: KSL

Woman donates car to family affected by vandalism

Virginia Beach Fire investigators nabbed 26-year-old, Hans Stephen Jaborek for torching a family's car and spray painting racially charged messages on it and a front yard fence last Monday. Acting on a tip, authorities arrested Jaborek this morning in Norfolk.



Vandalism victim Judy Brett says, "We're very happy. Now we can get back to our lives." Jaborek was taken to court by the family in recent weeks and convicted of making annoying phone calls. Brett claims he started calling again two weeks ago harassing the family and they went to court again over it. She wonders if revenge played a part because her daughter's two sons are bi-racial.

"We were so scared until they caught him today. I didn't know if he'd try to come back and try to do something else," says Brett.

Jaborek remains at the Virginia Beach Correctional Center without bond. In the meantime, a viewer who wrote WAVY.com about giving Brett a spare vehicle she had - did. Therese Duvall drove a '98 Jeep Cherokee to Brett's home and handed her the keys. "I wanted to help. I saw the story. It touched me. I felt it was the thing to do."



"From the beginning I said there was more good in the community than bad. I've been overwhelmed with my neighbors and people I don't even know. Thank you," said a tearful Brett.

Source: WAVY

Two Lewiston men face hate crime charges

By Annie Bishop / KXLY4 Reporter



LEWISTON -- Two Lewiston men face serious charges for a hate crime after attacking and harassing an African American male in a Zip Trip parking lot on Friday, August 17th.

Police say victim Herman Gary was pushed by 24-year-old Steven Leas after Gary emerged from the convenience store with a sandwich. Leas and 18-year-old Cody Lindell then chased Gary around the parking lot, yelling racial slurs and otherwise harassing him because of the color of his skin.

The two then took off in a pickup truck.

Lewiston’s Interim Police Chief Roger Lanier called the incident “downright frustrating” and said it certainly wouldn’t be tolerated in the Lewiston community.

The two men were captured on the Zip Trip surveillance camera, prompting the father of one of the suspects to turn his son in.

Leas had his first court appearance on Wednesday, charged with Felony Malicious Harassment and two counts of Misdemeanor Battery, while Lindell also faces a felony.

Police Chief Lanier promised that the responsible party would be brought to justice, and warned others against committing racially motivated crimes.

“There’s no room for it; keep it to yourself,” Lanier said. “Lewiston is a diverse place; North Idaho is a diverse area. It’s here for everybody.”

“If you harbor ill will, keep it to yourself,” he reiterated. “We’ll investigate it rapidly and we’ll prosecute it to the fullest extent.”

Source: KXLY

GOP will punish worker for e-mail

By Joe Hallett
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
A longtime employee of the Ohio Republican Party will be disciplined for electronically forwarding a racist joke about the Rev. Jesse Jackson, according to the party's chairman.

Robert T. Bennett said yesterday that he likely will suspend Rita Graham, 47, a finance officer, for circulating a racially insensitive e-mail she apparently received from outside GOP headquarters.

"Her inappropriate behavior was forwarding anything like that outside the office and inside the office," Bennett said. "We're going to talk to the entire staff about this. Beyond that, we're going to take some disciplinary action, but we'll keep it as an internal matter."

Jason Mauk, executive director of the state party, said that after getting the e-mail, Graham apparently forwarded it to at least two other employees at GOP headquarters and to some friends outside the building. The e-mail forwarded by Graham contained the "ohiogop.org" Web address.

"It's clearly offensive and inappropriate, and we have no tolerance for the circulation of that type of material, even if it is in jest," Mauk said.

The e-mail, in part, said the following: "Jesse Jackson got out of the shower and was drying off when he looked in the mirror and noticed he was white from the neck up to the top of his head. In sheer panic and fearing he was turning white and might have to start working for a living, he called his doctor and told him of his problem."

It went on to say that the doctor ordered Jackson to drink brown liquid because he was "a quart low" on "bull - - - -."

Bennett said the party annually provides instruction to employees on diversity and racial sensitivity.

It marked the second time in about a year that the state party has been forced to deal with socially intolerant e-mails sent from its headquarters.

In July 2006, Bennett fired Gary Lankford as the party's social conservative coordinator for sending an e-mail that linked its readers to a Web log that questioned the sexual orientation of now-Gov. Ted Strickland and his wife, Frances. Bennett apologized to the Stricklands.

While deploring the content of the e-mail forwarded by Graham, Bennett said that incident was less egregious than the Lankford incident.

"They are entirely different," Bennett said, noting that the e-mail about the Stricklands "was something generated by Lankford and then sent out without my approval."

jhallett@dispatch.com

Source: Dispatch

Firefighters resolve tiff

CANTON A city firefighter and the captain he accused of creating a racially hostile workplace have agreed to put their differences to rest.

The city also is ready to begin its most comprehensive diversity training, which will be mandatory for all firefighters and could lead to more training in other city departments.

Phillip Strickland, a firefighter since 1995, sued the city June 18, accusing Capt. Mike Richmond of creating a hostile environment in September when he used "a tone filled with racial animus and hostility" during an argument about the handling of a fire.

Strickland said the department didn't reprimand Richmond for his remark, and the environment created stress that caused Strickland to score low on a test for promotion to captain.

The city, however, said Richmond, who denied any racial motivations, was disciplined.

Strickland's complaint asked for back pay, punitive damages, attorney fees and costs in excess of $200,000.

He agreed to meet Richmond for a mediation session, where they resolved their differences after four hours.

In a memorandum of understanding signed by Strickland and Richmond on Wednesday, they acknowledged the fight "was disrespectful on both sides."

"We mutually and respectfully resolved our differences and want this to be a positive example for our Fire Department and the Community," the memorandum said.

Canton Assistant Law Director Kris Bates believes the resolution is a "wonderful commentary on what mediation can do and what communication between people can do. ... It's way better to craft your own solution than to have court craft it for you."

Strickland, in an e-mail to The Repository, said he instructed his attorney to drop all legal action.

Source: CantonRep

Racial obscenities heard during drive-by shooting

The Associated Press --

COLUMBUS, Ga. --
Columbus Police said they are investigating whether a drive-by shooting that injured a teenager may have been racially motivated.

The victims of the shooting, who are black, told police two or three white males trailing their vehicle in a pickup truck hollered racial obscenities before firing at least three shots as they traveled west on Manchester Expressway around 11:45 p.m. Thursday.

One bullet struck 18-year-old Kevin Finch in the left side of his head, said Police Lt. Mark D. Starling. He is listed in unsatisfactory condition at a Columbus hospital.

"It happened so fast," said Barry Crane, 21, who was in the car with Finch. He told The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer the group didn't say anything to the attackers, whom they didn't know.

The third person in the car, 18-year-old Demetrius Bell, could not be reached for comment.

Starling said police have determined at least three shots were fired, but are still investigating how many shooters were involved.

Source: Ledger-Enquirer

New racist attack in Germany, Sudanese badly hurt

MAINZ, Germany, Aug 25, 2007 (AFP) - Two Africans were attacked by right-wing extremists last weekend in Mainz, in western Germany, local authorities said Saturday, the same night as a brutal mob assault on eight Indians in the country's former communist east.

Mainz authorities said they delayed releasing the information for a week so as not to hamper the inquiry into the incident, in which a Sudanese man in his 20s was seriously injured.

They said a group of young right-wing Germans had attacked the Sudanese man and an Egyptian on the fringes of a wine festival in Guntersblum in the Rhineland Palatinate region.

The Sudanese man was hit on the head with a bottle and beaten while he was on the ground. The 39-year-old Egyptian, who tried to get help, was also struck with the neck of the bottle.

Local people intervened to rescue the men and three suspects, all in their 20s, were arrested.

The head of the Rhineland-Palatinate regional government and leader of the local Social Democratic Party (SPD), Kurt Beck, called it a cowardly attack.

The Indians were also attacked during a summer festival on Saturday night in the small town of Muegeln. A 50-strong mob of suspected neo-Nazis chased them through the streets of the town and broke down the doors of a pizzeria where they had sought refuge.

Three of the Indians were so brutally beaten they needed hospital treatment while the others escaped with minor cuts and bruises.

The deputy president of the European Commission, Franco Frattini, called for the banning of the neo-Nazi NPD party after the attack in Muegeln.

He said neo-Nazis represented "a threat" and "an ulcerous cancer for democratic countries like Germany" in an interview to appear in the Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday.

"Xenophobis and right-wing extremism is on the rise throughout Europe" but "Germany is one of the five countries which we are most concerned about, along with France, Belgium, Denmark, and alas, my own native country, Italy," Frattini said.

Racist attacks have been common since reunification in east Germany, where the NPD is making a particular push to get established.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has denounced the mob attack in Muegeln, calling it "deplorable and shameful" that no-one had intervened to stop it and said it had damaged Germany's image abroad.

Source: Sudan

India takes up racist attacks with Germany

India has formally urged the German government to take action against the racist attackers who assaulted eight Indians in Muegein village in the state of Saxony.

Indian Ambassador to Germany Meera Shankar told the German foreign office to “prevent future incidents of the kind”, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs Navtej Sarna said on Tuesday. Indian embassy officials are getting in touch with the victims, Sarna added.
The German government has strongly condemned the violence and informed the embassy that the German Prosecuting Attorney’s office has begun investigations to ensure the culprits are “called to account”, Sarna said.

The Indians were injured after about 50 Germans chased them across a market square early on Sunday in Muegeln, near Leipzig. Police said onlookers shouted slurs such as “foreigners out” and did not help the Indians.

Seventy police officers were needed to restore order after the incident, during which the Indian men sought shelter in a pizza parlour run by an Indian. But they were beaten up by some of the pursuing Germans who kicked in the doors of the building, police said. Two of the Indians were hospitalized. Four assailants and two police officers were also injured. Two suspects were detained after the attack but later released, the police said.

Source: MagnoySamsara

Jewish leader sounds alarm after racist attack in Germany

By Kate Connolly

A LEADING member of Germany’s Jewish community has accused the government of failing to control rightwing extremism following an attack on a group of Indian men in an eastern town.

Stephan Kramer, the general secretary of the Central Council of Jews said that until a nationwide action plan was launched to tackle the problem, attacks on minorities would only get worse.
His remarks followed a brutal attack on eight Indians in the town of Mugeln, near Leipzig, at the weekend.

During a town festival the men were chased through the streets by around 50 young Germans, who hurled abuse at them, including the taunt “foreigners out”.
All of the men were beaten up, one of them seriously.

“Yesterday it was coloured people, today it’s foreigners, tomorrow it’ll be homosexuals and lesbians and maybe Jews,” Kramer told the German daily newspaper Taz.

Prior to the Mugeln incident, police had been braced for trouble in certain east German towns as rightwing extremists commemorated the anniversary of the death of Adolf Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess.

Kramer said that parts of former communist eastern Germany were “no-go” areas, which people who looked foreign should be warned against visiting.

He accused the government of “delivering the same sentiments” every time there was an attack, but failing to produce results with its anti-extremist strategy.

“This isn’t hysteria,” he said. “This is the bitter truth.”

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, condemned the attacks and pledged to put the issue high on the agenda at a strategy meeting of her grand coalition that began yesterday and ends today.

“It is not acceptable for people in German cities to be chased through the streets and beaten,” she said through her spokesman, Thomas Steg.

There is increasing evidence to suggest that the frequency of far-right attacks is having a detrimental effect on the ability of parts of eastern Germany to attract foreign investment and tourism.

“These no-go areas – so-called foreigner-free zones – really exist and non-Aryans know why they don’t go there,” an expert on rightwing extremism, Anetta Kahane, said. “The fact is that many American or Asian firms that have a mix of employees don’t come to east Germany.”

The Mugeln incident came almost exactly 15 years after a far-right attack on a home for asylum seekers near Rostock, in which 120 people narrowly escaped death. That attack led to a political outcry and closer monitoring of far-right activities.

Prosecutors have said that they were investigating two men from Mugeln, aged 21 and 23, for being behind the recent attack and were looking at charging them for breaching the peace. – Guardian

Source: Gulf-Times

Brentwood Family Shocked By Hate Attack On Home

BRENTWOOD -- A Brentwood family wrestled with their emotions Thursday as they talked about the individuals who ransacked their home, stole their 2007 Nissan SUV and other valuables and spray painted racist hate messages on their walls.

"They just hurt us…the words that they used," said Skiwayi Goolden, who lives in the home with her family. "All of that…It hurts. It hurt us."

Her mother Dorothy Barbee sat nearby, emotions rippling across her face.

"These people don't know how much they hurt people by doing something this stupid." she said. "He (her grandson) was gathering up his mother and father pictures -- he wanted me to take them home because he felt somebody was after them."

At about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, police responded to a residential burglary in the 500 block of Douglas Drive. The home was ransacked, vandalized and the walls covered in spray paint.

"We've worked hard with our diversity committee and our community to make this a welcoming community," Brentwood police Lt. Tom Hansen. "It's unfortunate someone did something like this."

Hansen also said it is unfortunate that the family has children who have to see this.

The thief or thieves set about mindlessly destroying everything from furniture, to pictures to electronic equipment.

"There was extensive ransacking, it does appear they were in there a long time," Hansen said about the perpetrators.

The suspect or suspects also stole the family's 2007 Nissan Armada sport utility vehicle with license plate 5VWR339.

The incident was being investigated as a hate crime remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call Brentwood police at (925) 634-6911.

Source: FoxReno

West police targeting white supremacists in 'hate crime'

Thursday, August 16, 2007

By Erin Quinn

Tribune-Herald staff writer

West police say they anticipate making between six and 10 arrests in connection with a brutal attack they’re calling a hate crime.

Four of the suspects, West police Detective Kimberly Lucien told the Tribune-Herald, are teenage girls who live in the West area.

Lucien said she believes the group, who reportedly claim to be part of a worldwide white supremacist organization, intended to kill a 28-year-old Hispanic man they met up with Sunday night at a Skinny’s convenience store in West.

The group had never met the man before, she said, but got into a fight with him in the store’s parking lot over something he said about one of the women in the group.

The man, who was with a white friend and the friend’s son, reportedly got into their car and fled the area.

Lucien said they were followed by the group, who forced the fleeing party off the road in a deserted area.

There, she said, they hit, kicked, stomped and cut the Hispanic man.

Lucien declined to name the victim. The attack was stopped, she said, when the victim’s friend and his son accidentally ran the man over with their car, breaking both of his legs. The group of attackers then fled.

Police officers seized a surveillance video from the Skinny’s parking lot and have located a truck that carried some of the attackers, Lucien said. She obtained a search warrant Wednesday but could not be reached for comment later in the day.

A search warrant is not public record until it is executed.

The alleged victim was in a local hospital Wednesday in stable condition.

Lucien said the group told the victim they are members of Aryan Nations, a nationwide white supremacist organization. Its Web site states its members are “arming themselves — not with congratulatory notes from a now nonexistent regional leader, or a flier for the next rally on the footsteps of a myriad of courthouse steps — but with ‘guns, knives, bullets and bombs.’ ”

Lucien said she had never heard of the group’s having a presence in West.

equinn@wacotrib.com

Source: WacoTrib

MINUTEMEN MIGRANT CAMP VANDALISM (UNCUT)