Refugees welcome here - Stand Up to Racism national demonstration

Refugees welcome here now! UN Anti-Racism Day national demonstration - Saturday 19 March - London, Glasgow, Cardiff

Refugees are welcome here day of action Saturday 12 September

Refugees are welcome here - National Day of Action Saturday 12 September 2015,

London details - assemble 12pm, Assembly point Marble Arch 2pm Rally,Downing Street

National day of action, Called by Stand up to Racism, BARAC, Stop the War Coalition, Migrant Rights Network  War on Want, Peoples Assembly Against Austerity, Unite Against Fascism, Movement Against Xenophobia, Love Music Hate Racism and Black Out London
 https://www.facebook.com/events/1629390697300657/

Migrant Lives Matter protest

Protest at the EU London HQ:

The death of 950 African migrants in the latest loss of a ship crossing from Libya to Europe has exposed the appalling human cost of the 'Fortress Europe' immigration policy imposed by European Union and the British government.

Anti-migrant rhetoric of the establishment politicians, UKIP and the Katie Hopkins obsessed media has lead to thousands of people, many of whom are fleeing nations torn apart by Western intervention, drowning
in the sea.

In the first quarter of 2015, approximately 1,700 migrants have already drowned, 30 times as many as in the same period of 2014, leading to fears of a record death rate this year. Last year nearly four thousand bodies were recovered from the Med, and that figure is just those that were found. The EU needs to change it's policy to stop this and restart the rescue.

Protest called by the Movement Against Xenophobia, supported by:
Stop the War Coalition
BARAC UK (Black Activists Rising Against Cuts)
Global Justice Now Global Justice London
Stand Up To Racism

Time: 1pm.

Date: Saturday 25th April

Place: European Commission, 32 Smith Square, Westminster London, SW1P 3EU (nearest tubes Westminster or St James')

France: The Republic of Islamophobia

The persistent targeting of Muslims is preventing the effective management of diversity in French society. It is exacerbating tensions and obscuring the fundamental social and economic problems besetting France. It is encouraging the growth of the Front National. The only way to escape this vicious circle is to target and isolate the very real threat posed by the FN. The principal obstacle to this remains Islamophobia, in all its guises.
Jim Wolfreys, 'The Republic of Islamophobia', Critical Muslim, 13.

Edited to add: Tariq Ali on Charlie Hebdo, see also this and this - two good responses to an unconvincing attempt to defend the publication from the charge of racism.

Copycat Crime - A UKIP Calypso response by Alexander D Great

1,000 Stand Up to UKIP in Doncaster

One bit of good news on an otherwise quite depressing weekend - the importance of building anti-racist organisations like Stand Up to UKIP cannot be overstated as the UKIP bandwagon continues to roll on, taking the rest of mainstream official politics in Britain even further to the right...

Fascist terror and the Politics of Islamophobia

Some weekend reading - Tad Tietze and
Richard Seymour on the neo-Nazi terrorist Anders Breivik,   also Priyamvada Gopal on  whiteness  and  Deepa Kumar and John Molyneux on the Politics of Islamophobia. 

Edited to add: see here - Breivik's 'English friends' humilitated
in Walthamstowe - great stuff!   

Another Histomat Exclusive

After the recent announcement of the policy 'Local Homes for Local People', Histomat can exclusively reveal today that Gordon Brown unveiled a new policy for the retail sector...

'Local Shops for Local People'


A Local Shop, yesterday

Speaking of his new policy exclusively to Histomat, Brown said

'If you are local, then for convenience and practicality you need a local shop. And by local I mean local, and by local shop, I mean of course Tesco Extras, Sainsbury's Local, Tesco Metros, Sainsbury's Local, Tesco Express, and so on, so everyone can benefit from the whole diverse range of local options. In this time of economic insecurity we as New Labour, are going to champion Local Shops for Local People.'

When asked by one owner of a cornershop if this meant Brown would now provide additional support for post-offices, cornershops or small independent high street traders facing closure, Brown replied, 'Are you local? This is about Local Shops for Local People and we are New Labour. There is nothing for you here'.

In other news, Brown is reportedly also set to follow the path set by his predecessor Tony Blair who appeared in The Simpsons and set by Tory Mayor Boris Johnson's forthcoming appearance on EastEnders and plans to appear in a TV series himself. In the new series of the League of Gentleman, Brown will play a local councillor who stands for mayor of Royston Vasey on a programme of 'Local Homes and Local Shops for Local People'. The programme makers refuse to reveal in advance whether Brown's election attempt is successful or not.