EXCEPT WE’RE NOT here at the Mutineer, seeing as we knew about DiCanio’s dream career of managing English football teams since he was appointed as manager of Swindon Town. We even did a little report on how happy we were when the fash fucker left his position there earlier this year. There were other media sources that reported this but obviously it was not seen by many as the most important of news.
Of course that all changed when DiCanio was appointed manager at AFC Sunderland; it seems that everybody now is asking questions as to why this is happening, and the B.B.C., along with other media outlets and left wing groups, are starting to complain about this turn of events. Personally this writer is more pissed off with the left-wing and the media, than with the recent signing in of a self-proclaimed fash.
DiCanio pictured along with some other boneheads
It’s no surprise that the press only started to chase after DiCanio’s far-right activities once he was signed at Sunderland – which also happened to be chaired by Ed Milliband’s loser brother David. That’s what mainstream news does, and while it does piss me off we shouldn’t be surprised, because this does happen all the time. At least Paul Merton made note of this on the newest episode of Have I Got News For You “It’s a bit like invading Czechoslovakia, you got to invade Poland before people take notice”.
However, the people who have really pissed me off are the left-wing reformist idiots who run Hope Not Hate. Looking through all their articles on DiCanio, the first article they wrote on the bastard was dated April 1st 2013. Wait a fucking minute, 2013? DiCanio has been involved in English football since the 90’s – he was managing Swindon Town from May 2011, and you didn’t mention anything then? What the fuck? I would’ve have thought that a group that concerns itself with the monitoring of fascism in the UK would have considered his appointment at Swindon to be of some significant importance. The local G.M.B. union certainly took action when they pulled out from financially backing the team due to the controversial decision, but obviously it was only important for H.N.H to take action when fascists get appointed to the managerial positions of fancy premier league clubs. This is what irritates me the most about H.N.H., S.W.P., S.P., and the broad left in general: they take action on issues which have become mainstream media material. If it is not that widely reported by the B.B.C. and other media mogul elites then they tend to not bother themselves with it at all.
My respect to the individuals and groups who did highlight and take action when DiCanio was appointed manager at Swindon Town; as for the rest of you just remember that fascists must be opposed everywhere. Just because Swindon Town is not a high-profile club doesn’t mean you can relax and let the fuckers carry on...
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE has been supplied by our good friends at the Hereford Heckler:
“The Ross Harriers hunt are in the media yet again this week with an article published claiming that the police are investigating an attack on their kennels, including the dumping of a dead dog on the huntsman’s driveway.
Police were called to the address in Coughton, near Ross-On-Wye last Tuesday, 19th March, to reports of criminal damage to a 4×4 belonging to the huntsman, David Lee Peters, and the death of his dog. In the article an ‘anonymous source close to the hunt’ suggests that the attack and murder of the dog was the work of animal rights activists. The initials ‘ALF’ (standing for Animal Liberation Front) were apparently scratched onto the vehicle and the source claimed that the dog was ‘beaten to death.’
Questions raised
Questions are already being raised about the validity of the claims, especially regarding the involvement of animal rights activists.
Firstly and most obviously, what motivation would activists associated with the animal rights movement have for harming a dog, let alone ‘beating it to death’ and leaving it on the huntsman’s driveway? The pro-hunting community often slander animal activists as ‘people haters’ but whatever point the activists could have wanted to make, either about hunting or about Peters himself, would vegetarian and vegan protesters who commit themselves to ending all animal exploitation (often at the risk of injury or arrest) have done something so counterintuitive and opposed to their beliefs to make this comment? Given the obvious public backlash that would follow and the condemnation and even stronger backlash from the rest of the animal rights movement, we think not!
The ‘hunt source’ in the article heavily suggests that the ALF was responsible for the attack and attempts to explain who and what the ALF is. The Animal Liberation Front is a loose collection, or more accurately concept, often attributed to those who carry out non-violent direct action in defence of animals. Over its 40 year history the ALF has rescued (or ‘liberated’) hundreds of thousands of animals from places of cruelty and exploitation (including factory farms and animal experiment labs). It has also caused £millions of financial loss to those who profit from the exploitation of animals.
In the ALF aims and guidelines, which have to be clearly adhered to for the name to be used in a direct action, it is imperatively stated that activists should:
Take all necessary precautions against harming any animal, human and non-human.
If this does not happen, then it quite simply is not an action of the ALF.
Hunt saboteurs are also mentioned in the article, as they are often active in the region close to the kennels and have previously attended meets of the Ross Harriers Hunt. Again there is the suggestion that they may have be involved in the attack, or that they and the ALF are one-and-the-same.
Hunt saboteurs also use non-violent direct action to save hunted animals. They put themselves between the hunted animal and the hunters, using scent-dulling sprays and hunting horns to mimic the huntsman and call hounds away from the hunted animal.
In the 50 years that hunt saboteurs have been active, there have been all sorts of accusations made against them by the hunting fraternity; spraying hounds with battery acid, using trip-wires to trip up horses, even bringing pre-caught foxes along and releasing them in front of hounds to prove that hunts are illegally hunting – none of which have ever been proven.
The Hunt Saboteurs Association introduction literature clearly states that saboteurs should never harm or put animals at risk, whether they are the hunted animal or animals used by the hunt. This is seen as somewhat of a golden rule by hunt saboteurs and monitors. The press officer of the Hunt Saboteurs Association commented on the incident saying:
“We simply do not engage in or condone criminal damage or any attacks on animals,”
“We engage in legal disruption of illegal hunting and we had nothing to do with this whatsoever.
“It doesn’t sound like the sort of thing the ALF would do either, killing a dog. They have been known to steal an entire pack of hounds, but they wouldn’t harm one.”
In short the murder of this innocent animal (if that is indeed what happened) is obviously a heinous crime, something that animal rights activists and hunt saboteurs would also be extremely opposed to, whoever it belonged to.
Lee Peters, pictured outside Hereford Magistrates Court. On Trial for a criminal case that lead to him being found guilty of being a racist bastard
The Ross Harriers – not so squeaky clean
It seems that the media (including, unsurprisingly, the Daily Mail) are swallowing up yet another animal rights scare story, without looking any deeper and only giving a glancing reference to the recent history of this particular hunt.
The Heckler has reported on the Ross Harriers a number of times in the recent past. In November, Peters was fined £720 by magistrates in Hereford and ordered to pay £200 compensation to a hunt saboteur he was found guilty of racially abusing during a meet at Aston Crews last January. In October a supporter of the Harriers was also found guilty of assaulting a saboteur and around this time last year members of the hunt attacked the vehicle of anti-hunt protesters and some of its occupants with an iron bar. Hardly the track record of law-abiding, non-violent and decent human beings and certainly far from the image of ‘victims’ that they appear to have gained with some.
A ‘false flag’ attack?
So with it looking extremely unlikely that the people who carried out the murder of this dog were associated with hunt saboteurs or the animal rights movement and the previous bad behaviour of the hunt examined, who could have been responsible? A number of possible (and in our opinion much more likely) explanations for the attack and who carried it out have been raised online:
It could be part of a smear campaign by the hunting community to slander hunt saboteurs and animal rights activists. Lee Peters is appealing his conviction of racially abusing a saboteur last year, and the retrial will be heard at Worcester Crown Court in the Summer. The media attention and police investigation would serve as a well timed attempt to gain public support for Peters and to discredit and put pressure on the activists who oppose him and who will presumably play a part in the case against him.
It could have been committed by somebody with a personal gripe against Peters, or another rival, local hunt. There are often bitter rivalries over hunting territory, support and finances. The pro-hunting community have also been known to dump dead foxes at the houses of hunt opponents, have killed and injured pet animals (such as dogs) and have vandalised vehicles and houses. This sounds awfully similar to the type of attack described in the article, and the ‘antis’ would make for perfect cover for such an attack.
It could have been proponents of the upcoming badger cull, which will take place in the area. The badger cull is conveniently mentioned in the article and by the hunt’s ‘anonymous source,’ without anything else suggesting that this alleged ‘ALF action’ had anything to do with the cull. By making it look like ‘animal rights extremists’ are operating in the area, the police would be forced to take more of an active interest in pursuing the animal rights activists who would oppose the cull.
The ‘ALF’ attack on the vehicle could have been an action genuinely committed by animal rights activists, with the dog being dumped (or planted) by others afterwards – the dog either dying of natural causes and being made to look like it was killed, or being killed in a more sinister manner. Again this could serve to discredit the action and the activists, by giving a scapegoat for the death and turning the media attention to what the hunting community would portray as ‘hypocritical hunt opponents.’
It is not unheard of for such ‘false flag’ attacks to happen, after all. Back in 1990 an unheard of group called the ‘British Animal Rights Society’ claimed responsibility for having attached a nail bomb to a huntsman’s Land Rover in Somerset. Forensic evidence led police to arrest the owner of the vehicle, who admitted he had bombed his own car to discredit the animal rights movement. He was jailed for nine months.
Whoever the perpetrator of the alleged attack on the Ross Harriers kennels was, we think there is more to this story than meets the eye…”
ANOTHER ANTI-FASCIST STORY for this week: turns out that the South Wales National Front (yes, they apparently still exist!) and the Plymouth division of the English Defence League have both announced plans to demonstrate their hatred against everything that isn’t white and British. In Swansea, on the 9th of March, the South Wales N.F. are hosting an imaginatively-titled ‘White Pride’ day to celebrate how fucked up and out-of-touch with the people they claim to support they really are. Meanwhile, on the 13th of April, the already-dwindling E.D.L. will be dragging out their fake Stone Island fashionwear and sloping brows to potential mosque which will replace the Dance Academy, which has been closed now for six years.
The E.D.L., for their part, are enjoying a painful, humiliating nosedive in support, with new splinter factions and minor civil wars dogging them at every turn; theiir Cambridge outing a few weeks was a wash-out, trudging out a shower* of 30 E.D.iots and the festivities involved muchas entertaining infighting; since July, the disorganisation has multiplied into the English Volunteer Force, and previously the Northwest Infidels and also the Combined Ex-Forces. And lets not forget the Judean People’s Front.
The National Front are themselves a living fossil, forgoing the decency if disappearing into the annals of history, desperately clamping onto any modern-day rightwing hate expression, in a lame attempt to recruit new blood, and not die the inevitable death they so richly deserve; but we can say the same for Blood And Honour, a Nazi fetishist music promoter. Nowadays, they manage to squeeze out showers even smallest than their E.D.L. contemporaries, with turnouts of five blokes and a reluctant dog not uncommon (A.L.F. take note). It’s fair to assume that their ambitions for Swansea this month is a clumsy bid to siphon off members of disillusioned Welsh Defence Force.
All that being said, it’s important to not just ignore these poor excuses for humanity, or relegate them to being a pure laughing matter; though they are pretty funny. They are violent nutters and can still pose a physical threat to communities, which why it is important to make sure that when we do oppose the, and oppose them we shall, that we don’t resort to the same old liberal/U.A.F. tactics of hosting demonstrations as far away from them in the towns and cities as possible, or ignore them and hope against hope that they’ll go away. It’s through direct action and physical confronting the bastards, as well as systematically dismantling their bullshit arguments, that they’ll be kept off the streets – after all, no one likes a repeated kicking.
MUTINEER DICTIONARY CORNER
Shower* (v): to wash oneself by partial or full immersion in a continuous spray of water; (n) a device for personal hygiene, moving water through a nozzle with minuscule holes; a short period of rain; a collective of fascists or racists [ i.e. “a shower of fash”]
THIS WEEK HAS been great news for all the footy fans who hate the fash as much as we do. Paul Di Canio; the the perfect exmaple of an italian far right bonehead, resigned on the 18th February from his managerial posistion in Swindon. Follwing his resignation he has now apparently beencaught on CCTV engaging in a midnight raid on his old office and tearing up the place.
For anyone out there who has no idea about Di Canio or indeed football for that matter, Di Canio is famous amongst the english crowd for his career within various footy clubs in the English and Scottish leagues. Such teams including the Glasgow based Celtc FC, east end London boys West Ham United, Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic. After his english tour he returned to italy to play for Lazio and Cisco Roma.
Di Canio has self described himself as a ‘Fascista’ and has been spotted giving the fascist salute to his fans on several occasions. This was done mostly during his time at Lazio who’s fanbase has a reputation for involvement in fascist politics including an anti semetic attack against against Tottenham Hotspurs fans last year. One of these salute incidents happened when Lazio played against A.S. Livorno Calcio which has a more left wing attitude when it comes to politics. Di Canio has also praised the Benito Mussolini in his autobiography describing the italian dictator as a “basically a very principled, ethical individual” who was “deeply misunderstood”
Di Canio in his true bonehead form…
So when Di canio decided to manage Swindon Town F.C. it was no surprise that many football fans and anti-fascists were a bit pissed off with this new addition to the club. As a result the local GMB union withdrew their £4,000 yearly donations to the club, and many rival fans have been known to mock the Italian Boss during games as a ‘Shit Mussolini’.
So there you have it, due to financial disagreements Di Canio has now resigned from the club and we’re only too happy to see this fucker gone from the Westcountry. The only bad thing to say is that he should have been got rid of earlier, but lets just hope this fascist swine never gets a job in the footballing world ever again.
WHO WOULD HAVE guessed that the same land-owning huckleberries that derive so much pleasure from the chasing and mauling of defenceless wildlife would also be out-and-out Victorian-style racists? Well, the stereotype of the landed rich as a shower of backwards, out-of-touch scum has once again been proved irrevocably correct by Lee Peters, huntsman for the Ross Harriers – a fox hunt operating in the northern extremities of the westcountry. As is the case at hunts all around the country, January of this year saw the harriers visited by their local hunt saboteurs – groups of wildlife enthusiasts who do heroic work sabotaging, monitoring and otherwise tampering with all manner of bloodsports, mainly foxhunts. Now, there has never been any love lost between hunts and saboteurs, and many a countryside outing has turned into a full-on scrap when both sides get to grips. On this occasion, Peters decided to uphold his hunt’s fine tradition of almost indiscriminate violence by riding up to the sabs as soon as they appeared, booting and whipping their van, and yelling a series of foul-mouthed threats! Not content with this, he took a peek inside the van, presumably to see what them thar city folk are wearing nowadays. Inside, along with the other saboteurs was a black female, who was obviously too much for Peters to handle. He turned to the rest of the hunt and shouted “Look, they even brought a fucking wog!” The understandably-distressed saboteur reported Peters to the fuzz, who duly arrested him. The remorseless hunt-master and his mates staunchly denied any racist remarks, even cooking up obviously pre-agreed fake stories (the fact that the hunt fraternity rallied round to defend him speaks volumes about their attitudes to racial equality). However, a local resident, out gardening, heard the whole altercation and was able to give the court enough evidence to convict Peters, slapping him with several thousand pounds of fines and court costs. It remains to be seen whether the Ross Harriers will to the right thing for once, and sack this bigot. Judging by their hobby, though, we doubt it. Sabs are out every weekend throughout the westcountry. To get involved with your local group, check out this webpage: hsa.enviroweb.org/index.php/get-involved/localgroups/243-southwest.
IN ISSUE #2, we reported on the case of a young antifascist who – as a result of a biased legal system and false testimony from the cops – has been found guilty of several offences relating to July’s massive anti-E.D.L. protest in Bristol.
The demo was successful in marginalising the racist group who had openly threatened to attack various multicultural, political and social ‘targets’ in the city. The activist has avoided jail (previously hinted at by the judge), but has been landed with community service and a fine. Combining his fine with legal costs, he has been left footing a bill of over £1,000. It is vital that we all stand together against fascist thugs like the E.D.L. (and their wigged friends?) and help out those who’ve found themselves on the sharp end of the law for standing up for their communities. Various groups are organising a whip-round to pay off this fine. If you, your group, or your union branch could donate – no matter how much – please send a cheque made out to Anarchist Federation to Bristol Afed, c/o Kebele Community Co-op, 14 Robertson Road, Easton, Bristol, BS5 6JY.
THE LAST COUPLE of months has been a great time for anti-fascists, mainly due to the comic demise of the Stella-soaked storm-troopers of the English Defence League (E.D.L.). For those not in the know, the E.D.L. claim to be a force of proud ‘patriots’ opposed to ‘muslamic’ extremism. Scratch just underneath the surface however, and it becomes obvious that the group is riddled with hardcore fascists and racists, and made up of footie hooligans who need a new excuse to kick off now that Old Bill keep an eye on them at football. For the past three years, they’ve turned up uninvited in numerous towns and cities, smashing up Asian businesses, assaulting Sikhs mistaken for Muslims and generally making a nuisance of themselves. Recently however, things have gone downhill for them, with humiliating defeats and ever dwindling numbers at demos in Brighton, Bristol and elsewhere. Then, enter Walthamstow, where less than 200 meagre Ee-ee-diots were outnumbered 16-1 by angry locals, who blocked their march route, occupied their stage, pelted them from first floor windows and forced a full-on retreat. Being a sucker for punishment, and having taken one too many blows to the head, leader Tommy Robinson immediately announced a re-match in Walthamstow, due to take place on Oct 27th… later banned by the cops. Despite online bragging that they would turn up anyway, the E.D.L. pulled a no-show, while over 1,000 anti-fascists held a victory party in Walthamstow, not a single bigot in sight. Meanwhile in Westminster, 70 demoralised E.D.L. members held a static ‘mass national demo’ outside a Wetherspoons. In an attempt to shove a bit of white spirit up the noses of the addled rabble, big man Tommy tried to smuggle himself and 50 ‘loyal’ organisers into a mosque in the back of a removal van. The plan unravelled when at least three of the chosen few grassed – two to the police, one to Unite Against Fascism! – the result being a mass arrest of Tipsy Tommy and co, ‘tooled-up’ and wearing balaclavas, miles from any mosque (but near a pub!).
While in the nick, plod discovered that Tommy had travelled to America on a false passport (the real one being confiscated for footie hooliganism). Taken alongside his previous convictions for fraud, tax avoidance and assault, Tommy is now stuck in the big-house, dining on halal prison food, waiting for an extradition to America in January. Mind you, this may come as a relief, as, after going bankrupt and being booted out by his wife, without access to his kids, Tommy has been living with his uncle, and fellow E.D.L. ‘top boy’ Kev Courtney in a caravan behind a Sainsbury’s in Luton!
The decline of the ‘League has already given rise to literally a dozen tiny splinter-groupsicles who are, for the moment, too weak to do anything but bicker over who gets to play fuhrer. While they may have one or two mini-demos left in them, their downfall is evidence that, besides their own brain-cell deficit, opposition on the streets (as well as taking the time to counter and defeat their arguments) can and does work, when it comes to giving racists the literal and ideological kicking they so richly deserve.
FOR THE PAST half a year, cleaners at Swindon’s G.W.H. Hospital have been taking action against their employer, Carillion, who take on the maintenance, construction and management of hundreds of buildings across the U.K. The action comes in response to a culture of bullying and racism from Carillion bosses towards the mostly Goan cleaners. As well as routine racist abuse, Carillion managers frequently force workers to present them with ‘gifts’ in return for time off, overtime and other basic rights at work. The Goan workers were also denied the right to take enough of their holiday in one go to visit their families back home. Since the first strike back in February, the workers have given the rest of us a shining example in how to treat your boss, joining the G.M.B. union en masse, taking dozens of days of strike action (always involving nearly 100% of the workforce), blockading Carillion H.Q., holding well-attended meetings, a 400-strong demo through Swindon and numerous solidarity events and protests, alongside Swindon Anarchists and other union and activist groups.
The campaign has already seen one racist boss get kicked out, but instead of taking strikers’ demands seriously, Carillion have responded by sending in scabs to undermine strikes, lying, faking and fudging internal ‘investigations’ and further victimising the victims by launching disciplinary procedures against 10 of the strikers – they even had the gall to accuse the workers of “offering bribes!”. As a result, not only are Carillion losing their reputation in the industry, not to mention lucrative contracts, but they have also been caught playing a central role in a blacklisting scandal – where major companies have been denying work to ‘troublemaking’ workers for the ‘crimes’ of attending anti-fascist protests and being members of a union! With Carillion refusing to take the hint and clean themselves up, an ever-growing number of ordinary workers are getting drawn into the fight, voicing disgust against Carillion (and yet more stories of corporate intimidation). With more strike action on the horizon – as well as planned action from anarchist and activist supporters – you can be sure that we’ll all be hearing more from the brave Goan workers that refuse to be trampled by their arrogant employer, and you can be equally sure they’re not gonna quit until they’ve won the rights we all deserve at work. To send messages of support to the workers, drop us an e-mail at mutineerpress[at]riseup.net and we’ll pass them on.
EVERY AUGUST, THOUSANDS flock to Swindon for the annual Swindon Pride. This year was no exception, with an estimated 8,000 attending what is thought to be Swindon’s biggest Pride yet. Organiser Phoenix Stewart said “Swindon Pride is so important because it celebrates diversity within the community and I think there are still some barriers, and we need to break these down”. While everyone enjoyed the music and bar, many on the march – including activist groups and unions – were there to remind people that Pride, and gay rights in general, are still a political issue. For the first time, the parade was joined by a contingent from Swindon Anarchists, expressing solidarity with the L.G.B.T.Q. community. James from the group said: “It’s great that so many people have turned out, but it is important to remember that this is more than a celebration. Homophobic attacks and discrimination against L.G.B.T.Q. people still continue, and we need to unite as a group to deal with these threats. As anarchists, we are opposed to all forms of oppression, be it based on gender, race, religion or sexuality”.
Another positive development was the absence of the National Front – an openly Nazi group who have traditionally opposed Swindon Pride (admittedly in pitifully small numbers). Usually, they turn up with a few offensive banners and sit around getting annoyed, and laughed at, as same-sex couples revel in getting intimate in front of them! But why no Nazis this year? Another member of Swindon Anarchists explains: “A couple of years ago, we heard the N.F. would show, so we found their meet-up point and chased off a couple of the organisers. Their ‘demo’ ended up as five fat men getting drunk in town under police protection! Since then, they seem to be less eager to turn up!” So, with no drunk Nazis and a record high turnout, including huge numbers of families and straight supporters, a great day was had by all, and a clear message sent out that Swindon is proud to be diverse.
