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Thursday 5th August at The Plough, Easton, from 8pm-late. £4 on the door.

On Saturday March 27th in Portland, Oregon, Luke Querner, a long-time anti-fascist activist and skinhead, was shot by neo-nazis. Fortunately Luke survived, but he has been left with a mountain of medical bills. Comrades in Bristol have organised a benefit gig to raise funds to help Luke out. The line-up features two bands from Brazil, who are visiting the UK to take part in an anti-racist football tournament, with support from local acts, and all bands are playing for free.

Our friends in Moscow have asked us to pass on their sincere thanks to everyone who supported our recent fundraiser in memory of Ivan Khutorskoy. After costs, we were able to send £300 to Ivan's family. They have been deeply touched by the solidarity shown by anti-fascists around the world who, while maybe not knowing them or Ivan personally, have given them emotional and practical aid when they've most needed it.

We'd also like to pass on our respect to everyone who played, helped out, turned up on the night or donated to the cause. Without you, we wouldn't have been able to do this.

Bristol Radical History Group are holding the following event, and we'd highly recommend it.

Morris Beckman, The 43 Group

Date: Monday, 01 March 2010
Time: 19:30
Venue:The Cube

After World War II a group of demobbed British Jewish servicemen were shocked to find that Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists was operating openly in the streets of Britain. They began to wonder what they had been fighting for and also wondered what they could do to halt the increase in anti-Semitic attacks.

In 1946 a group of ex-servicemen and women met in a room to discuss what course of action should be taken, there were 43 at that this first meeting and so they became known as the 43 Group. In a short time they had recruited about 1000 street fighters ready to beat fascism from the streets of Britain.

Morris Beckman, now 89, is the author of The 43 Group, a thrilling account of the post-war fight against fascism in Britain. Beckman served in the Navy during World War II and was torpedoed twice during the Battle of the Atlantic. He went on to serve on board ships in the Bay of Bengal, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. In 1946 Beckman was a founder member of the 43 Group: "The authorities were doing nothing; we were seeing newsreels of Auschwitz. We decided that as trained troops we would 'out-fascist the fascists'".

In association with Bristol Indymedia.

Freedom Of Movement in association with Bristol Antifa and Bristol Anarchist Black Cross are pleased to present an evening of punk and ska featuring

La Fraction (France)
Left For Dead (Kent)
Jakal (London)
Rejected (Bristol / Wales)

at The Croft, 117-119 Stokes Croft, Bristol BS1 3RW. 7-11pm, £6 entry, early arrival definitely recommended.

This event is raising money for the family of Ivan 'Bonecrusher' Khutorskoy, a Russian anti-fascist who was brutally murdered by nazis in November last year.

Ivan was a genuine hero, a committed fighter for the anti-fascist cause who paid the ultimate price for his beliefs. His attitude remains an inspiration to those of us who continue the struggle against the fascist threat. We are proud to hold this event in his memory and hope that you can join us too.

If you are unable to attend the gig, you can still make a donation for Ivan's family via Bristol Antifa (please make sure you state that the donation is for Ivan).

Who: Active Minds, Tortyr, This System Kills, Cry Havoc, Jesus Bruiser and Murder Of Crows
Where: The White Hart, Whitehall Road, Easton BS5 9BJ
When: Saturday 23rd January 2010, 6pm(ish) – midnight(ish)
How much: £6

Punks from near and far join forces in Bristol this Saturday night to raise money for worthy causes (including Antifa, Hunt Saboteurs and Sea Shepherd). Six bands over six hours for six quid, and held in a welcoming local pub, it's a must for lovers of noisy music, friendly crowds, cheap cider and a damned good night out!

16th March 2003. 26-year-old Italian anti-fascist Davide Cesare is stabbed to death by fascists after leaving a bar in Rome.

13th November 2005. 20-year-old Russian anti-fascist Timur Kacharava is murdered by fascists in St Petersburg after a Food Not Bombs action.

16th April 2006. 19-year-old Russian anti-fascist Alexander Ryuchin is stabbed in the heart by fascists on his way to a concert.

21st July 2007. 21-year-old Russian anti-fascist Ilya Borodaenko is attacked by fascists during the night at a protest camp and dies from head injuries.

12th November 2007. 16-year-old Spanish anti-fascist Carlos Javier Palomino is stabbed in the heart by fascists while on his way to a demonstration in Madrid.

18th January 2008. 18-year-old Czech anti-fascist Jan Kučera is stabbed to death after confronting a knife-wielding fascist.

16th November 2009. 26-year-old Russian anti-fascist Ivan Khutorskoy is shot to death by fascists at the entrance to his home.

Today, on Sunday 17th January 2010, Bristol and Czech anti-fascists gathered beneath the Spanish Civil War memorial in Castle Park to honour these fallen comrades. Like others before them, they have paid the ultimate price for their beliefs. We will never forget the debt we owe to every one of these men and women who gave their lives in defence of freedom.

But we do no justice to these heroes simply with words and monuments. While the cancer of fascism threatens, we will continue to attack and destroy it. And we will not stop until the disease is eradicated.

Even as we remember and mourn our losses, we resolve to fight harder for all of our futures. Our message to the fascists is simple and defiant -

YOU SHALL NOT PASS!

(Report in Czech here)

In recent months, the English Defence League have appeared on the streets of Britain. The group claim to be opposed to Islamic fundamentalism and, on the surface at least, try to sound like a reasonable and respectable response to the religious fanatics of Islam4UK and their kind.

Scratch beneath the surface though, and it soon becomes clear that the EDL is nothing more than a right-wing nationalist organisation intent on stirring up racial tensions and divisions in the UK. They state that they're only against "Muslim extremism" and deny being racist, hoping to deflect criticism and gain wider appeal. But their tactics clearly echo those of right-wing and fascist groups; using provocative rallies and marches, scapegoats (Muslims this time) and rhetoric based on fear and hatred.

"Like the BNP, the EDL will not solve working class problems"

While the EDL leadership tries hard to publicly distance itself from the fascist British National Party, it can't hide the fact that the group was co-founded by BNP members and activists. Nazi-saluting BNP thugs and right-wing football hooligans shouting racist abuse on EDL demos have shown their true colours. With chants of "dirty Muslim bastards" and "We hate Pakis more than you", EDL members are singing from the same hymn sheet as fascist bigots everywhere. Their right-wing mobs serve to further the aims of the "respectable" BNP and to provide it with new recruits and more votes. By stirring up trouble between Asians and whites in local communities the EDL have taken nationalist politics back to the street.

Like the BNP, the EDL have grown in the face of a political culture dominated by middle class values meeting middle class needs. The mainstream parties have never looked after working class interests, we've been abandoned by most of the "radical" left and traditional trade unions have largely lost the will to fight. It comes as no real surprise that a disempowered and pissed off chunk of the white working class, looking for a target for their anger and a voice that speaks for them, turn to the likes of the EDL.

And, like the BNP, the EDL will not solve working class problems. Its demands back up right-wing media hysteria and strengthen calls for ever more repressive government powers to 'deal' with militant Islam. We've seen how so-called anti-terrorist laws are used against us all, to keep us under control. For the authoritarian state, the EDL is a gift. They divert our attention away from targeting the real enemies of the working class – the bosses, bankers and politicians – and distract us from organising for ourselves, as a class, to fight for control of our lives and communities.

The EDL and the religious lunatics they claim to oppose have far more in common with each other than they do with the rest of us. They are all small-minded bigots with a hatred for the traditional working class values of freedom, fairness and equality. Their racial, religious and cultural 'identity' politics are in complete opposition to our idea of a world where we can all reach our full and unique potential, and we reject them totally.

This article is also available as a downloadable A5 leaflet for printing and distribution in your neighbourhood.

Recommended further reading:

Multiculturalism & identity politics – the reactionary consequences and how they can be challenged (IWCA)

Received today from Liverpool Antifascists:

It would seem that the Freepost Against Fascism campaign has been successful. From the BNP website:

"Please be aware that our FREEPOST address is no longer operational due to sustained abuse and illegal activity from our political opponents. This matter is currently under police investigation and until further notice we would request that you use the following postal address instead" etc. etc.

No doubt the police investigation will fail to materialise, unlike the slew of desperate, begging letters from Gri££in!

RESULT! Thanks to our friends everwhere for spreading the word, taking part and making this happen.

Received from a friendly anti-fascist postie:

Bankrupt the BNP!

Well, maybe not quite bankrupt, but folks in the UK can help make this bunch of fascists considerably poorer.

They've just got themselves a freepost address:

British Heritage FREEPOST

Nice and easy to remember eh? Every 'letter' to this address costs them 42p, and can simply be an empty envelope with the address on it. It's cheap to buy a bunch of these (you can get 50 self-seal ones for 75p from Wilkos) and run them through your printer while you're off doing far more interesting things. A friend has so far sent 1250 envelopes, costing the fash over 500 quid. That's less than £20 of my mate's hard-earned cash very well spent!

Please feel free to join in.

42p may not sound like much, but it would pay for dozens of BNP leaflets. Multiply that by potentially tens of thousands of empty envelopes sent their way and the impact on their activities becomes much more obvious. And when an envelope costs little more than a penny, it really does make sound economic sense!

We're advised that it's not worth sending heavy objects as they'll be filtered out at the sorting office, and we don't want to make our posties' jobs even harder than they already are.

Clive Courtney (right), one-time darling of local nazis and failed fascist candidate in every election he's ever contested in the South West, appears to have disappeared off of the BNP radar. This seems strange for someone who recently bragged to us that

My position in the BNP is team Leader for the Dept. of Security in the South West. I attend most national and local events – Leeds Trial, RWB, organisers' conferences, election counts, demonstrations and so on. My background in security work, close protection, TA and martial arts – which I teach – serves me well in this role. We have quarterly training camps in all aspects of security and the party now has an Intelligence Dept. which is a separate entity to the DoS, for obvious reasons.

Now we think we've found out why there's been a deafening silence in the BNP's propaganda machine about this nasty drivel-spewing piece of work.

A few months back, we reported the arrest of Courtney for assaulting his partner. We've since discovered on the 'This Is Bath' website (05.08.09) that:

Clive Courtney, 55, of St John's Court, Keynsham, was given a community order for two counts of assault by beating.

This is the same 'man' who told us back in January that

My stepdaughter, by the way, thinks she disagrees with the BNP but that is the result of PC brainwashing from TV and her multi-culti teachers at school (so bear that in mind if you decide to do something heroic like put our windows in while our two babies are sleeping – it will prove me right to her about my reasoning regarding all you cowardly lefty/liberal/self-loathing dupes of the establishment).

We don't need to say any more.