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Go to register.com today and register a domain name for it before someone else does. http://click.topica.com/aaaaEgbz8SnrbAjwjxa/Register ------------------------------------------------------------ __________________________________________________________________________ The Internet Anti-Fascist: Friday, 6 October 2000 Vol. 4, Number 81 (#474) __________________________________________________________________________ Web Site of Interest: Anti-Defamation League, "In Their Own Words: Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church Ongoing Coverage of Holocaust-Based Lawsuits Easton and Levy (press release), "Swiss National Bank sued by ex-Soviet and Yugoslav Nazi Victims: Restitution Demanded for Wartime Nazi Transactions," 2 Oct 00 Fascists Fall Out Over Aryan Nations Verdict Introduction Crosstar, "Should Butler Be Convicted," 3 Sep 00 Richard Barrett (Crosstar), "Spare the Law and Spoil the Cause," 4 Sep 00 Crosstar, "Dees Jumps the Gun With Dirty tricks," 6 Sep 00 Crosstar, "Butler Verdict Rips Cultist Behavior," 7 Sep 00 Crosstar, "Nationalists Support Butler Conviction," 7 Sep 00 Crosstar, "An Idaho Idyl," 14 Sep 00 Movie Review: Neil Rosen (New York One), "Into The Arms Of Strangers, Stories Of The Kindertransport," 29 Sep 00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEB SITE OF INTEREST Anti-Defamation League <http://www.adl.org/> Special Report In Their Own Words: Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church "Rev. Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church, engage in public crusades against homosexuality that include hate pickets across the country. But Phelps also espouses anti-Semitism and racism, a fact that is largely obscured by the church's highly charged attacks against homosexuals. He and his followers attack Jews, Blacks and Christians and continue to spread vile rhetoric against many groups." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ONGOING COVERAGE OF HOLOCAUST-BASED LAWSUITS Swiss National Bank sued by ex-Soviet and Yugoslav Nazi Victims: Restitution Demanded for Wartime Nazi Transactions Easton and Levy (press release) 2 Oct 00 Just as the Swiss banks begin paying out 1.25 billion dollars to elderly Jewish Holocaust survivors, a new class action to be filed October 3, 2000 against the Swiss National Bank (Naumovic v. Swiss National Bank, United States District Court for the Northern District of California) seeks an accounting and restitution of Swiss National Bank-Nazi wartime transactions valued at 1.7 billion Swiss Francs. The new class action filed by California attorneys Thomas Easton and Jonathan Levy is on behalf of the 12 million plus civilian victims of the Nazis from the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia who were excluded from the original Swiss Bank case. A report issued by Special Master Judah Gribetz in the original Swiss banks Holocaust case found that in regard to looted assets, the Nazis treated all loot in the same manner regardless of origin. Much of the victim gold and silver collected from concentration camps, forced laborers, and occupied territories was sent to Berlin for reprocessing, deposited in the German State Bank and then exchanged through the Swiss National Bank and other Swiss banks for hard currency. The Nazis then used the hard currency to buy vital war materials from neutral countries. Easton and Levy have charged that the Swiss ultimately prolonged the war by providing much-needed foreign exchange for the Nazis. The dealings with the Germans and their Axis partners were apparently so profitable that the Swiss continued the practice through April 1945 despite warnings from the Americans and British that they were dealing with genocide tainted gold. In August 2000, Easton and Levy filed a similar lawsuit implicating the Swiss National Bank and Vatican Bank in illicit financial dealings with Croatian Nazis. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- FASCISTS FALL OUT OVER ARYAN NATIONS VERDICT Introduction to "Fascist Fall Out Over Aryan Nations Verdict" How many times have we been counseled by people claiming to be anti- fascists that we should avoid actions that remove fascist leaders on the grounds that such success is really counterproductive for it makes the leader a "martyr?" How many times have we heard Morris Dees and the Southern Poverty Law Center attacked on just such grounds? The "martyr" objection is a bumper-sticker sized advertising jingle: it sounds profound but is never presented with any evidence to support the claim. While we are never obligated to prove a negative sometimes the proof drops into our laps. So is it with Dees's latest victory over Butler and his Aryan Nations. For Crosstar/Nationalist Butler is "anti-social" and his organization composed of "criminals, drug-addicts, drunks and misfits." He has established a "heretical cult." He "must be compelled to forfeit what he has and fade away." And it all comes from within Butler's movement if not his organization. The Crosstar/Nationalist articles, reprinted below, show the false character of the "martyr" argument. Fuehrers fall out. We, like Dees, must contribute to the process. - - - - - Should Butler Be Convicted Crosstar 3 Sep 00 Richard Butler, a retired millionaire cultist on trial in Idaho, has described himself in court as a "Nationalist." But he has shunned legal and other advice from Nationalists and set up what his lawyer described as a "homeless shelter for derelicts," which has become a center for lawless activity. So, is Butler a Nationalist? And, has he brought dishonor and disrepute down upon the name "Nationalist" by reckless and criminal conduct? If so, should he be punished? Or be let off? Butler admits that he harbors criminals, drug-addicts, drunks and misfits. He's been convicted before and still engages in bizarre and anti-social activity. Testimony indicates that Butler has tried to fabricate evidence, cover-up his operations and hide his assets. Should Butler be convicted of conspiracy and negligence in assaulting marijuana-smoking Indians outside his compound? Or, should he get a "bye" for calling himself a "Nationalist"? Will his conviction improve the image of Nationalists? Or, will it hurt? - - - - - Spare the Law and Spoil the Cause Richard Barrett (Crosstar) 4 Sep 00 Spare the law and spoil the cause. What if your minister filled the choir with unrepentant drunks and drug- addicts? Or, if your mayor engaged clerks who were fugitives from the law and habitual offenders? Or, if your high-school coach was making bombs in his basement and hatching all sorts of conspiracies? If each had declared, "I am an American," would that make it all right? Would you stand for it? Of course not. Some terms are not just generic. They carry a high calling. "American," for example, is not the same as simply being a "citizen of a country." It means one who is descended from the best stock, demeans himself with utmost honor and is ascendant above all others on the face of the earth. Likewise, a "Christian" is not just an adherent to just some religion, but is one who transcends time and space to seek the face of the Lord, who radiates holiness. It is the same with a Nationalist. When someone says that he is a "Nationalist," he is not simply stating that he votes or thinks in a certain way, but that he is a unique fighter for his country, an exemplary soldier for his people and an extraordinary missionary for his way of life. So, if you fire the wayward minister, it would not be because you were against Christianity. You just wanted a sacred place of worship. If you recalled the errant mayor, it would not be because you had turned against government. You just wanted a city hall free of corruption. And, if you kicked out the reckless coach, it would not be because you were hostile to sports. You simply wanted a playing field where athletics could flourish. Likewise, if you convict one who calls himself a "Nationalist," but who hands the unsuspecting the powder keg of lawlessness, which then blows up in his face or yours, it would not be because you had betrayed a compatriot. You just wanted to police and protect your ranks. Arius, a churchman who lived in 325 AD, refused to accept the divinity of Christ. He began the first heretical cult, which thumbed its nose at the beliefs of the church and tarnished the image of the Son of God. As a result, he was compelled to forfeit all he had and go into exile. Richard Butler, in a similar vein, refuses to accept the American flag. He has begun another sort of heretical cult, which thumbs its nose at the laws of the nation and tarnishes the image of the Father of our Country. As a result, he, too, must be compelled to forfeit what he has and fade away. Nationalism is not a "homeless shelter" for bomb-makers and drug-addicts, Butler-style, but a campground for reformers and patriots, Valley-Forge style. The adage "spare the rod and spoil the child" applies to the family. "Spare the law and spoil the cause" applies to the Movement. - - - - - Dees Jumps the Gun With Dirty tricks Crosstar 6 Sep 00 Pro-minority activist Morris Dees, who is vowing to "go after other groups" after suing Richard Butler in Idaho, has jumped the gun in trying to destabilize rightists, even before the trial is over. According to observers, Dees' use of "dirty tricks" has, also, backfired. Former television-repairman Tom Metzger, attending the trial, told reporters that "the end" had come for Butler. Butler's compound has been a self-described "homeless shelter" and launching pad for criminals and derelicts, from which an assault was mounted against some marijuana-smoking Indians in 1998. The charge of reckless conduct and lack of supervision prompted Dees' lawsuit, which is expected to bankrupt Butler's self-described Aryan Nations, the same way Dees bankrupted Metzger. Seeking to put the Butler defeat in perspective, the Crosstar Internet E- mail List circulated a statement by Wendell Gardner drawing distinctions between "Americanism," which Gardner advocates, and "Aryanism," which Butler advocates. Gardner described Butler's operations as "quicksand, where people are sucked down" by involvement with lawlessness. He called for patriots to turn to Nationalism, which he described as "a lightning rod, which attracts energy and produces power." Of the usual discussion which banters about the Internet, one opposing and attenuated view attracted attention. Posted on various bulletin boards, the message insisted that the Nationalists "have no idea what they are talking about." That phrase turned out to be familiar to Richard Barrett, the lawyer who handed Dees his first and only defeat. "When we were taking depositions in the Forsyth County Courthouse, Dees said that we 'didn't know what we were talking about' when we told him that our video camera would remain running, even after he tried to shut it off, because the law was on our side," Barrett recalled. "When Dees debated me on a CNN show recently, he used that same phrase that 'he doesn't know what he's talking about,'" Barrett remembered. "It just stuck in my mind." Barrett said that he has seen the phrase attributed to Dees in print on various occasions. "He doesn't want to answer his opponents, so he tries to ignore what is being said. It doesn't work when he's up against a savvy opponent or an astute audience," Barrett observed. Noting that the anti-Nationalist Internet postings had a scholarly ring to them, Barrett said, "These were written by no high-school drop out. They are cleverly worded, tricky." The postings accuse Nationalists of "siding with Dees" in calling for "better, more effective methods" than those used by Butler. Metzger said that a "Phase Two" was being entered following Butler's defeat. "I think you can imagine what phase two is," he told reporters. "Phase Two," said Barrett, "is Dees' plan to smear rightists as losers, loners and lawless to try to turn the public away from the pro-majority agenda," which includes repelling alien immigration, defeating minority rule and ushering in social justice for working people. Barrett said that Dees' tactics are known as "black propaganda," where the information is geared to look like it comes from one source, but really comes from another. The technique, once called COINTELPRO, was used by the FBI during the Sixties, but has since been outlawed. Dees has boasted of "working with" Justice Department officials and is accorded special tax incentives by the Internal Revenue Service for his self-styled "anti-hate" program. The Montgonmery-Advertiser newspaper, however, won numerous journalistic awards for revealing Dees' questionable fund-raising tactics, which have made him a multi-millionaire. Dees, also, served as fund-raiser for failed presidential candidate George McGovern. Barrett said that he is convinced that Dees or his cronies are behind the latest round of anti-Nationalist diatribes. When Nationalists defeated Dees in court in Atlanta in 1987, they won no money, but all of Dees' accusations against them -- for allegedly being violent, lawless and hateful -- were adjudicated as false. Dees' spokesmen have tried to belittle and castigate Nationalists ever since, but Barrett fires back dubbing Dees "the Commandment-breaker who has borne false-witness against his neighbor." Crosstar launched a techo-blitz and determined that the poster of the Dees- style broadside had posted 46,617 similar attacks over the Internet, all of them anonymous and 5,380 of them using anonymous sites. "No normal, average person could spend that much time on a computer. There has to be more than a mouse and a mac at work," said Barrett. Dees maintains a posh office in Montgomery, Alabama, dubbed the "Poverty Palace" by even his admirers. He claims to have amassed a $600-million tax-free endowment and has numerous student "interns" doing his bidding. The Internet posting suggested that rightist activists must either side with Butler or be branded as supporters of Dees. "Dees idolizes Martin Luther King. Butler idolizes Joseph Paul Franklin," said Gardner. "But neither choice leads to peaceful, positive solutions." Gardner said that he hopes that "Phase Two" includes Congressional and other investigations of Dees, revocation of Dees' tax-exemption and defeat of Dees in court. "The FBI got clamped down on for using 'dirty-tricks,'" said Gardner. "The same thing should happen to Dees for doing the same thing." Barrett said that Dees probably plans for "Phase Two" to include leftists providing financial support for self-proclaimed "Aryans" and violence- provokers in order to build them up as targets. Dees will them lambast them as part of his fund-raising. One of the most notorious such incidents was the revelation that Conde McGinley, a rightist publisher in New Jersey during the Fifties, was clandestinely financed by Benjamin Freedman, heir to the Beachnut fortune. McGinley was used as a bogey-man in leftist fund-raisers, similar to those used by Dees. "We don't mind policing our ranks and, even, stepping on toes," Gardner insisted. "We have a mission to save and advance our country, our people and our way of life and Dees is not going to stand in our way." - - - - - Butler Verdict Rips Cultist Behavior Crosstar 7 Sep 00 COEUR D'ALENE - A national pro-majority organization says that it supports the verdict in which self-described "Aryan" Richard Butler and his Aryan Nations were found liable for assault, negligence and conspiracy. Richard Barrett, who attended Butler's 1988 trial for sedition in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and supported Butler's acquittal at that time, said that the $5-million verdict will "diminish the loser, loner and lunatic element in the Nationalist cause." Butler had maintained that he was a "Nationalist," although he drew fire from Nationalists for cultist, bizarre and lawless activity. Barrett, General Counsel for The Nationalist Movement, defeated attorney Morris Dees in the case of Hosea Williams v. the Forsyth County Defense League in Atlanta in 1987. Barrett said that Nationalists have been successful because they maintain "close supervision over their members and activities, enforce vigorous rules and have attorneys supervising every step of the way." Butler, whose self-styled Aryan Nations was described in testimony as a homeless shelter for derelicts, drug-addicts and fugitives from the law, had been offered the opportunity for legal advice, but rejected it, said Barrett. "The trial polishes off the tarnish which reckless activity had placed on pro-majority activism," Barrett added. "That much, Nationalists can support." Butler, Aryan Nations, Michael Teague, John Yeager and Jesse Warfield were held liable for shooting at marijuana-smoking Indians in a car which backfired outside Butler's Hayden Lake, Idaho compound. The judgment is expected to bankrupt the cult, which had taught that Americans were actually Jews and whose associates had been involved in bank robberies, bombings and murders. Butler, 83, who made a fortune from a tire-patch invention and retired at 55, also styled himself an "Aryan." The Nationalists have a 22-2 record in winning major constitutional-law cases and recently won an historic free-speech case in the United States Supreme Court. They are presently suing to break bans on public-access television, the Confederate flag and use of public facilities for their rallies. Rioters attacked Barrett during his speech at Fourth-of-July ceremonies in Morristown, New Jersey, but were pushed back and arrested by police. Barrett was critical of the use of the term "Aryan" and the display of pictures of World-War-II dictators by Butler. "Patriotism should bring honor and glory to America, not embarrassment and disgrace," he said. Butler's attorney, Edgar Steele, told the jury that "I join the other side" and that his clients should be found guilty. Dees, attorney for the Indians, told the jury that Butler had lied, fabricated evidence, concealed assets and acted recklessly in failing to supervise his associates. Barrett was critical of Butler's affirmative-action jury, composed of eleven Americans and one Asian. "Steele's failure to mount a political defense or press his clients' aims was a bankrupt and ineffective defense," he charged. Barrett had predicted Butler's defeat, even before the trial began. The Nationalists said they look forward to defeat of Dees in court in the future. "You have Butler, on the one hand, idolizing Joseph Paul Franklin and, on the other hand, Morris Dees, idolizing Martin Luther King. Neither offers the nation any peaceful or positive solutions," Barrett declared. Barrett said that he was saddened by the conviction of Mike Teague, a former member of The Nationalist Movement, who had quit to join Butler. "There is still time for youth to turn their lives around, gain public support and win the victory for the Nationalist cause. Perhaps the lesson to come out of all of this is to switch to lawful methods and winning ways," Barrett said. - - - - - Nationalists Support Butler Conviction Crosstar 7 Sep 00 The Crosstar Internet Poll has tallied 64% in support of the conviction of Richard Butler and his Aryan Nations. The poll, which is considered a reliable bellwether of Nationalist sentiment, had consistently supported a guilty verdict for the Idaho cultist since Butler's trial on assault, negligence and conspiracy charges began. A $5-million judgment was assessed by an Idaho jury against Butler -- who termed himself a "Nationalist" in court -- for reckless conduct in maintaining a "homeless shelter" for drug-addicts, derelicts and fugitives, but which Nationalists denounced as cultist and self-destructive behavior. According to Brad Phillips, "We will win more battles through professionalism and keeping cool in public." "Having a compound is a responsibility," Phillips stressed. "If Butler wished to run a homeless shelter for majoritarians down on their luck, he probably could have figured a better way to do it." Phillips quipped, "What really needs to happen now is to catch pro-minority lawyer Morris Dees doing something rancid. And sue him and bankrupt his sorry butt. Now that would be sweet." "Then," said Phillips, "we can start a reparations' fund for the victims of the vast left-wing conspiracy. How about calling it the "Redress of Grievances Center for Normal Heterosexuals against Sodomite Defamations"? Barry Hackney had a compassionate perspective. "Butler was a flake, to be sure, but he also was a victim of persecution. You never see a lawsuit like this brought against a minority." - - - - - An Idaho Idyl Crosstar 14 Sep 00 After botching the Butler case, suing various newspapers for "defaming" him, threatening to sue Nationalists and ducking out on filing an appeal, Edgar Steele suddenly finds that he has so many other things to do. 1975. Richard Butler sets up a religious cult in Hayden Lake, Idaho to further his idea of an "Aryan" nation. Many of his associates become involved in criminal activity, are prosecuted and convicted. 1988. Butler goes on trial in Fort Smith, Arkansas for trying to overthrow the government. He is acquitted. Nationalists offer moral and legal assistance. Butler turns them down. 1992. Mike Teague helps organize Nationalist activities in Phoenix, Arizona and plans to take up Nationalism as a career. But, seeking "more action," Teague opts to join Butler, instead. 1996. Nationalists suggest ways for Butler to operate within the law, by tailoring his program more toward American traditions, law and ideals. Butler rebuffs the suggestion and begins putting up pictures of World-War-II dictators around his compound. 1998. Butler surrounds himself with escaped fugitives, derelicts, drug -addicts, drunks and criminals. Cult-members shoot at some marijuana -smoking Indians outside his compound and Butler is sued. 1999. Attorney Edgar Steele says that he will win the case for Butler on the grounds that Butler has "freedom of speech." He takes a $65,000.00 lien on Butler's property. Attorney Richard Barrett says that Butler will lose for engaging in a conspiracy with criminals and that "free speech" is no defense. Barrett warns rightists away from cultist, violent and conspiratorial conduct. 2000. Butler, Teague and others are convicted and a $6.3-million judgment is levied. Steele sues local newspapers and threatens to sue Nationalists for "defaming" him. Nationalists tell Steele to "put up or shut up." Steele then tells Nationalists that he has "other things to do." Butler, claiming indigence, tries to file his own appeal, but posts no bond to prevent seizure of his property. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- MOVIE REVIEW: Into The Arms Of Strangers, Stories Of The Kindertransport Neil Rosen (New York One) 29 Sep 00 There have been many films made about the Holocaust, but the new documentary Into The Arms Of Strangers, Stories Of The Kindertransport brings to light an incident that's recieved little attention. And it does so, remarkably well. For nine months prior to World War II, Great Britain conducted an extraordinary resuce mission. They opened their doors to 10,000 Jewish children from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia and saved them from inevitable death at the hands of Hitler. These innocent youngsters left behind their families, their homes and their childhood and were taken into foster homes and hostels in Britain. They expected to be eventually reunited with their parents, but of course, tragically, the majority of them never saw their families again. In a series of fascinating and deeply moving interviews, the child survivors, now in their sixties, seventies and eighties, tell their own unique stories. The kinder recall the traumatic experience of being separated from their parents. We learn about their lives in England as some were forced to become servants. And we follow their efforts to rescue their families from the Nazi's, most of which were in vain. Narrated by Dame Judy Dench, director Mark Jonatan Harris weaves together archival footage with the children's personal stories and paints a fascintaing documentary that is both enlightening and deeply emotional, especially when you stop to consider that even though 10,000 kids were fortunate enough to escape, it came at a great personal and emotional cost to them. Plus, as the movie points out out the end, lets not ever forget that 1.5 million Jewish children were not as lucky and were killed by Hitler. Don't miss it. * * * * * In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. __________________________________________________________________________ FASCISM: We have no ethical right to forgive, no historical right to forget. 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