Received today from The Love Park 4 Defense Committee:

Our lawyers have informed us that in light of a discovery motion being filed on our behalf - and due to the fact that the District Attorney’s Office is not yet ready for trial - our court date on Thursday will be far less important then originally expected. Instead of a trial date, the judge will hear a defense motion for discovery, and then continue the hearing to a later date to give the State a chance to respond. Further, our lawyers were alerted to the fact the District Attorney’s Office planned to ask for a continuance anyway, claiming that even though it has been over 2 months since our status hearing - and almost 5 months since our arrest - the State is still not ready to present its case at trial.

While we would still love support during our court date on Thursday, we understand that with work and school, it is hard to get a day off. If you don’t have work or school - or already took off and can’t get the day back - please still come to court to support us. But we would also prefer a large turnout at our actual trial date, so for those people who can’t get that many days off, please save your time off for more important court dates in the future.

For those of you who can still come, court starts at 8:30AM Thursday morning at the Criminal Justice Center, 1301 Filbert Street, Philadelphia - Room 1003.

Bulletin received today:

CALL FOR COURT SOLIDARITY FOR THE LOVE PARK 4:
PACK THE COURT ROOM ON DECEMBER 13th

Thursday, December 13, 2007 - 8:30AM
Criminal Justice Center - Room 1003
1301 Filbert Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107

On July 23rd 2007, four Philadelphia-area anti-racist activists were arrested on multiple trumped up charges stemming from a counter-demonstration against a Ku Klux Klan rally that was scheduled to take place in Center City that morning.

Two men wearing neo-Nazi t-shirts were verbally confronted by anti-racists and forced to leave. The men then boarded a waiting SUV, at which time another verbal confrontation ensued, at the end of which one of the SUV’s windows was damaged. Police personnel waited until this point to break their cover and identify themselves - the driver of the SUV was a Philadelphia Police Detective while the passenger and owner of the vehicle was an FBI special agent.

The initial charges against each activist consisted of 4 felony and 6 misdemeanor counts, but were quickly reduced to 8 misdemeanor charges when the arresting offices realized the original trumped up charges were just too exaggerated to ever stick.

On December 13th, the Love Park 4 will have their day in court.

We are happy to report that the defendants are confident in their lawyer’s ability to help them beat these trumped up charges, and are currently proceeding towards trial in December with cautious optimism. We are encouraging friends, family, and fellow activists to pack the courtroom on December 13th to show their support and solidarity for the defendants.

It is important that as many people as possible attend this court date. We must show the State the large amount of support that exists for these anti-racists arrested in a situation that - for all practical purposes - was straight up entrapment. We must send a clear message that State-sponsored harassment of political activists will not go unchallenged.

We have also received word that local white supremacists are planning to attend this court date to intimidate and harass both the defendants and their supporters. With this new information, it is even more imperative that people turn out in large numbers on December 13th. We must not allow this attempt at intimidation to go unchecked. Let’s pack the court room with signs of solidarity for our comrades – fill those seats early and keep the neo-Nazis out!

We are asking that everyone who comes to court please dress in an appropriate manner, and behave professionally. Coming to court will help show the judge and district attorney just how much support the Love Park 4 has - but anything negative will only hurt their case. Please keep that in mind when you are planning to attend.

In Solidarity with ALL Political Prisoners,

The Love Park 4 Defense Committee
www.myspace.com/supportlovepark4

Please attend and show support if you can, or donate to the defence campaign if you can’t.

UPDATE: A comrade from Bristol has just informed us that the planned event featuring racist apologist Dr James Watson has been cancelled.

The leader of Bristol City Council, one of the organisations backing the event, told him that the Bristol Cultural Development Partnership will issue a press release confirming this first thing tomorrow.

The cancellation of the event apparently follows behind-the-scenes pressure on the BCDP from the Council, The Arts Council and the business community. We think that the fact that all of these groups had been made aware that anti-fascist activists were on the case may have helped!

Thanks to all of our supporters for spreading the word and taking action.

**********

UPDATE 2: Watson only had one event left after the Bristol one was cancelled. This was due to take place at the Centre for Life in Newcastle on Sunday. Watson is the Patron of the Centre, a registered charity. The Centre had earlier released a press statement saying that they intended to go ahead with the event despite the cancellations elsewhere. However, they have now been forced to cancel it after Watson scurried back home to the US much earlier than planned! You can read their press release here - http://www.life.org.uk/about/press/articles/42

No doubt when he lands Watson will also be pleased to learn he’s been suspended by the board of trustees at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he is the Chancellor.

The response of the Centre for Life has left much to be desired. The fact that Watson has been supported by them throughout this affair and still remains their Patron is outrageous. However, some of the other board members may be uneaasy about being associated with a racist (for instance, a local councillor is involved). We will see what we can find out about the Centre and its board so that we can apply suitable pressure, and we welcome any info that you can pass on to us.

¡No Pasarán!

**********

Original report:

‘Academic’ bigot Dr James Watson is due to speak at an event in Bristol (UK) on Wednesday 24th October, 12.45pm, at St. George’s Bristol.

Watson said in a recent interview that he was “inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa” because “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really”.

He also said he hoped everyone was equal but that “people who have to deal with black employees find this is not true”.

The event is being supported by the University of Bristol as part of some pseudo-intellectual ‘Festival Of Ideas’ where people with a self-inflated sense of worth can gather and boost each others’ egos. Tickets are on sale at The Watershed Media Centre (another refuge for middle class tossers).

Watson was scheduled to speak at the Science Museum in London later this week, but the museum have cancelled his appearance. They said that Watson had “gone beyond the point of acceptable debate”. We fully agree.

Unfortunately, the supposedly ‘educated elite’ of Bristol seem to have no problem with supporting racists. The event will be chaired by the University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor (!) Eric Thomas, and a spokesperson for the University said they respected “freedom of speech and the right of people to express their views”. The event is also supported by Bristol Cultural Development Partnership, made up of Bristol City Council, Arts Council England and Business West.

We wonder how the black workers in these organisations feel about their employers defending the ‘rights’ of this prejudiced moron.

The antifa position is quite clear on this - racism is not entitled to have a voice. Watson’s lies provide ammunition and comfort to those who perpetuate racist ideals. The BNP have already used Watson’s words to bolster their own pathetic racist beliefs.

Whilst local antifa work out how best to respond to this event, we call on antifa supporters everywhere to contact these organisations and make it quite clear to them that racists have no place in our society. Please be polite but forceful - with enough pressure beforehand we may just be able to stop this travesty before activists have to take possibly more risky action on the day.

Bristol City Council
Council leader: Helen Holland
Tel: 0117 9872238
Email: helen.holland@bristol.gov.uk
URL: http://www.bristol.gov.uk

Bristol Cultural Development Partnership
Chair: Simon Cook
Tel: 0117 9031992
Email: simon.cook@bristol.gov.uk
Director: Andrew Kelly
Tel: 01275 370816
Email: andrew.kelly@businesswest.co.uk
URL: http://www.creativebristol.com

St. George’s Bristol
Director: Suzanne Rolt
Tel: 0117 9294929 (admin office)
Email: administration@stgeorgesbristol.co.uk
URL: http://www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk

University of Bristol
Vice-Chancellor: Eric Thomas
Tel: 0117 9287499 (his office)
Email: public-relations@bristol.ac.uk
URL: http://www.bris.ac.uk

Watershed Media Centre
Director: Dick Penny
Tel: 0117 9276444
Email: dick@watershed.co.uk
URL: http://www.watershed.co.uk

All of these organisations claim that they work to end discrimination, and are in partnership with a whole range of groups who will be offended by their collaboration with Watson. We will try and inform as many of them as we can about this event, so that we can work together in opposition to Watson.

Please pass this information on to as many people as possible. We need to stop this NOW!

Statement from the Ad-Hoc Committee Against Racism And Fascism:

Ad-Hoc Committee Against Racism and Fascism

For Immediate Release: 10/8/07

Contact: Ad-Hoc Committee Against Racism and Fascism, fight_them_back@riseup.net, 971.285.4688 (voicemail).

Saturday “Hammerskin Nation” Neo-Nazi Event Gets Cut Short

Anti-racists Reveal White Supremacist Gathering, Leading to Event Cancellation

Portland, Oregon – Thanks to their eyes and ears in Portland and beyond, anti-fascists were able to release information about the location of a white supremacist gathering held on Saturday, October 6 in the greater Portland area, leading to the cancellation of its venue. White supremacists associated with the Hammerskin Nation, a neo-Nazi organization, had rented the Sherwood Elks Lodge (22770 SW Elwert Rd., Sherwood, OR) under false pretexts, for use in its twentieth-anniversary celebration, scheduled for October 5 - 7. Around three hours after receiving information about the true nature of the event being held on their premises, the Elks Club pulled the Saturday venue, denying use of their space to fascist organizers. Approximately 70 - 100 hardcore white supremacists were at the venue at the time of cancellation. Chatter on racist bulletin boards suggests that other bigots had already cancelled their travel plans in earlier weeks, due to concerns about anti-fascist responses. Despite their earlier talk of a comprehensive “action plan” for the weekend, regional law enforcement showed no signs of having developed viable information about the racist gathering’s location.

The October 5 – 7 “Hammerfest” neo-Nazi gathering had been planned by the “Hammerskin Nation” racist organization. The Hammerskins began their organized activity in 1987, when they were known as the Confederate Hammerskins, a violent and racist skinhead grouping in Dallas, TX. The Hammerskins have now grown into a “Hammerskin Nation” with national and international affiliates. The Hammerskins combine thug tactics with recruitment through hate rock, to forward their Hitler-admiring agenda. The Hammerskin Nation organized their “Hammerfest” national gathering in conjunction with Volksfront, a Portland-led white supremacist group linked to two of the killers of Ethiopian immigrant Mulugeta Seraw in 1988. Similar to the Hammerskins, Volksfront has chapters throughout North America and also on other continents.

Acting on information from verified but anonymous sources, the Ad-Hoc Committee Against Racism and Fascism contacted the Sherwood Elks Lodge shortly after 4PM on Saturday, October 6. At that time, the Elks booking manager expressed disbelief that there was a neo-Nazi gathering being held on the premises, insisting that only an innocent rock show was taking place. The Committee then released its information to the public and the media, requesting that phone calls be made to the venue urging cancellation of the neo-Nazi event. Elks members, some of whom were present at the venue, subsequently realized what was going on and did the right thing.

The Ad-Hoc Committee Against Racism and Fascism also brought approximately 250 people together for a public rally from 1-3PM at Lents Park (SE 92nd & Steele) on the same Saturday. The Lents Park “Nazis Not Welcome, Unite Against Racism” community gathering featured diverse voices connecting the Hammerskin Nation event to broader problems of bigotry and institutionalized oppression. All those present expressed a commitment to undermining neo-Nazi organizing in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

The Ad-Hoc Committee realizes that the Hammerskins and their ilk have at times been deceptive when booking events or when obtaining resources. We also want to note that any number of hotels, venues, civic organizations and businesses may have knowingly or unknowingly profited from “Hammerfest” this year. We believe that institutions in this city need to take responsibility for informing themselves about white supremacist and neo-Nazi organizing in the region. The Ad-Hoc Committee also believes that any businesses that profited from the racist gathering should now take appropriate measures. We urge written accounts of white supremacist movements in the city to be submitted to us by email. We also believe that any profits drawn from the neo-Nazi event - either by accident or through turning a blind eye - should now be redirected to groups combating white supremacy. We recommend either the Center for New Community or the One People’s Project for donations.

Founded this September, the Ad-Hoc Committee is dedicated to monitoring and opposing white supremacist groupings in Portland and beyond. To obtain a chronology of recent white supremacist activity in the Pacific Northwest, or for more information on anti-racist endeavors, please contact the Ad-Hoc Committee: 971.285.4688 or fight_them_back@riseup.net.

Hammerskins? Hammer ‘em!