English Defence League: the (white) pride of the UK

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > English Defence League: the (white) pride of the UK

sootikins: May 24, 2008; Did I ever. Remember it as if it were yesterday. Soon as I woke, I went to empty my bowels - my favorite part of the day. Defecatin' to the sunrise - downright glorious.

Mild derail, but since a couple people wondered and I happen to know:

The photographer of the crying babies series (entitled 'End Times') is Jill Greenberg and her photos are meant to be distressing/shocking. I don't like her methods, they are cruel, petty, and utterly selfish.

It was revealed that U.S. photographer Jill Greenberg had provoked the tears of the two and three-year-olds by giving them a lollipop for 30 seconds and then suddenly taking it away.
[snip]
She took the sequence of images, enlarged to 1m by 1.2m, in response to the troubled future children face in today's world.

Yes, like dealing with arrogant artists that deliberately provoke small children to tears for An Art.

She was most famous here in America for doing a 2008 photo shoot with Presidential candidate Senator John McCain and misleading he and his staff about the nature and composition of the photos. You may remember them, he had shark's teeth photoshopped in and was portrayed as a literal moster. I'm not a fan of Senator McCain by any means and I feel that was a dick move by Greenberg.

I think she's also the one that took the GQ cover photo of Glenn Beck's crocodile tears that were manufactured with the aid of Vick's VapoRub. Unlike McCain, I recall Beck was in on the joke.

Anyway, back to your scheduled fash bash, I enjoy reading the updates and stories and commentary!

# ? Dec 16, 2012 05:52

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 4, 2024 11:34

hexa: Dec 10, 2004; And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom

Oh look, the British Freedom Party have disbanded, not with a bang but a whimper. Could anyone have foreseen such a thing?

quote:

The English Defence League's political wing, the British Freedom Party, appears to have wound up it's operations and de-registered themselves from the electoral commission by not sending them their �25 fee. Nothing has been posted on any of their social media websites since the 12th December which is the day after they were de-registered.

This means that they will not be able to field any candidates under the parties name but could field independents.

The party, set up to catch the vote from EDL supporters failed to take off due to the fact that support of the EDL was rapidly declining and many EDL members were more interested in a drunken day out than taking their views down the political road. The EDL's support is currently at an all time low and they have become a liability.

Full story

# ? Dec 20, 2012 18:06

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

RIP EDL, good loving riddance.

# ? Dec 21, 2012 10:36

Rude Dude With Tude: Apr 19, 2007; Your President approves this text.

Paul "Stephen "Tommy Robinson" Lennon" Harris got 10 months http://news.sky.com/story/1034468/edl-leader-lennon-jailed-for-passport-offence

Sky News posted:

EDL Leader Lennon Jailed For Passport Offence

Stephen Lennon, 30, pleaded guilty to possession of a false identity document with improper intention, contrary to the Identity Documents Act 2010, at Southwark Crown Court.

Lennon used a passport in the name of Andrew McMaster to board a Virgin Atlantic Flight from Heathrow to New York, but was caught out after his fingerprints were taken by customs officials.

He left the airport and entered the US illegally but left the country the following day, using his own passport to return to the UK.

The court heard that Lennon, who had previously been refused entry to the US, used his friend's passport to travel to the country in September.

He used a self check-in kiosk to board the Virgin Atlantic flight at Heathrow, and was allowed through when the document was checked in the bag drop area.

But when he arrived at New York's JFK Airport, customs officials who took his fingerprints realised he was not Mr McMaster.

Lennon was asked to attend a second interview but left the airport, entering the US illegally.

He stayed just one night and travelled back to the UK the following day using his own legitimate passport - which bears the name Paul Harris.

The court heard that is the name that appears on the EDL leader's passport, although he uses aliases.

Lennon, who was arrested in October, was jailed for 10 months.

The court heard that he was previously jailed for assault in 2005 and also has previous convictions for drugs offences and public order offences.

Sentencing the 30-year-old, Judge Alistair McCreath, told him: "I am going to sentence you under the name of Stephen Lennon although I suspect that is not actually your true name, in the sense that it is not the name that appears on your passport.

"What you did went absolutely to the heart of the immigration controls that the United States are entitled to have.

"Had it been known in this country that you were proposing to leave under a false passport, you would not have been accepted on to the plane and you would not have been permitted to leave this country on a false passport.

"It's not in any sense trivial."

Rude Dude With Tude fucked around with this message at 14:28 on Jan 7, 2013

# ? Jan 7, 2013 14:19

marktheando: Nov 4, 2006

Wait, so I knew Tommeh was a fake name, but Stephen Lennon is as well? What is the reason for this?

# ? Jan 7, 2013 20:34

Serotonin: Jul 14, 2001; The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of *blank*

identity issues

# ? Jan 7, 2013 20:51

Wootcannon: Jan 23, 2010; HAIL SATAN, PRINCE OF LIES

Ooh, do you think he'll go all David Shayler in a few years?

# ? Jan 7, 2013 21:06

Serotonin: Jul 14, 2001; The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of *blank*

I doubt it but bringing up Shayler has got me thinking about an alternative explanation, and that is Tr/SYL/PH or whatever is a MI5 asset. Given the history of the far right and its repeated infiltration by the security services in the 70s and 80s at the highest level it doesn't seem so far fetched.

# ? Jan 8, 2013 07:58

goddamnedtwisto: Dec 31, 2004; If you ask me about the mole people in the London Underground, I WILL be forced to kill you; Fun Shoe

Serotonin posted:

I doubt it but bringing up Shayler has got me thinking about an alternative explanation, and that is Tr/SYL/PH or whatever is a MI5 asset. Given the history of the far right and its repeated infiltration by the security services in the 70s and 80s at the highest level it doesn't seem so far fetched.

You'd think he'd have access to a better class of forged passport in those circumstances, although having said that if he hadn't been dumb enough to boast about it would he ever have been nicked for it?

So with the BNP and the EDL now imploding, does this mean we're winning? Or does it just mean that the political centre has now shifted so far to the right that there's literally no room for the fascist fringe any more?

# ? Jan 8, 2013 09:17

Mokotow: Apr 16, 2012

I was worried the EDL is a goner (and so is this thread), but it seems they're up to something in Manchester. I wouldn't call a 500-person demo "huge", and Facebook can hardly be used to gauge potential attendance, but it's something, I guess. I'm counting on more EDL hilarity, but the fact that they need over 3 months to organize a 500 person event doesn't bode well for the future.

# ? Jan 8, 2013 12:26

hexa: Dec 10, 2004; And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom

Going by Facebook numbers of 500... it means they'd be lucky to break 100.

# ? Jan 8, 2013 12:37

Serotonin: Jul 14, 2001; The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of *blank*

goddamnedtwisto posted:

You'd think he'd have access to a better class of forged passport in those circumstances, although having said that if he hadn't been dumb enough to boast about it would he ever have been nicked for it?

So with the BNP and the EDL now imploding, does this mean we're winning? Or does it just mean that the political centre has now shifted so far to the right that there's literally no room for the fascist fringe any more?

I expect its more likely he's an asset as opposed to an agent as such. There's been a lot of accusations of grassing within the EDL in particular and and he finger has been pointed his way many a time.

# ? Jan 8, 2013 13:47

marktheando: Nov 4, 2006

Serotonin posted:

I expect its more likely he's an asset as opposed to an agent as such. There's been a lot of accusations of grassing within the EDL in particular and and he finger has been pointed his way many a time.

Tommy having MI5 help would explain how he manages to remain in place as leader despite being an obvious idiot. He makes Nick Griffin look capable.

goddamnedtwisto posted:

So with the BNP and the EDL now imploding, does this mean we're winning? Or does it just mean that the political centre has now shifted so far to the right that there's literally no room for the fascist fringe any more?

Far right groups tend to not do as well under right wing governments, same thing happened under Thatcher with the national front.

# ? Jan 8, 2013 14:06

Cerv: Sep 14, 2004; This is a silly post with little news value.

goddamnedtwisto posted:

You'd think he'd have access to a better class of forged passport in those circumstances, although having said that if he hadn't been dumb enough to boast about it would he ever have been nicked for it?

The Americans spotted it was bogus. I can't imagine they're the kind to not follow up on that.

# ? Jan 8, 2013 14:11

Wootcannon: Jan 23, 2010; HAIL SATAN, PRINCE OF LIES

It's strange that he got through Heathrow- I used my passport as ID for a domestic flight years back and they put it on an OCR thing before I went through.

# ? Jan 9, 2013 02:19

My Banana: Dec 18, 2012; by Y Kant Ozma Post

marktheando posted:

Tommy having MI5 help would explain how he manages to remain in place as leader despite being an obvious idiot. He makes Nick Griffin look capable.

Far right groups tend to not do as well under right wing governments, same thing happened under Thatcher with the national front.

Even before that it was hard to for fringe groups to look too genocidal and racist when the Labour government in power is killing tens of thousands of muslims,

# ? Jan 9, 2013 02:25

goddamnedtwisto: Dec 31, 2004; If you ask me about the mole people in the London Underground, I WILL be forced to kill you; Fun Shoe

Wootcannon posted:

It's strange that he got through Heathrow- I used my passport as ID for a domestic flight years back and they put it on an OCR thing before I went through.

The passport was real, it just didn't belong to him.

# ? Jan 9, 2013 08:34

Serotonin: Jul 14, 2001; The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of *blank*

goddamnedtwisto posted:

The passport was real, it just didn't belong to him.

The one he tried to get in to the US with wasn't his, but the one he returned to the UK with was. It just happens to have the name Paul Harris on.

# ? Jan 9, 2013 08:42

Serotonin: Jul 14, 2001; The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of *blank*

More on the name front. Some of you might know this already, sop my apologies if you do.

Obviously we all know Tommy Robinson is an alias, but what I didnt know was where he stole it from. I had always been told Tommy was a big time football hooligan well connected in Luton firms, it turns out to be totally true. Thing is, its not Stephen Yaxley-Lennon/Paul Harris.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8EODEbqQF4&t=1529s
(clip from that awful Danny Dyer docu on footy hooligans)

This guys the real Tommy Robinson, top boy in the Luton MIG, their notorious firm (for yansk reading a firm is the name given to an organised gang of football hooligans).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mig-Down-Tommy-Robinson/dp/0955039401

Apparently Yaxley-Lennon nicked his name to give himself a rep and look hard and some of the well publicised assaults back in the early days of the EDL that were blamed on him being jumped by angry muslims were from the real Tommy Robinson and his mates none to happy that this little squirt was trying to look hard with a fake name as well as smearing the real Tommy Robinson as a hardcore racist.

Stormfront are also not claiming that Paul Harris is his real birth name, but that he was adopted and Yaxley-Lennon is his adoptive parents name. Interesting.

# ? Jan 19, 2013 09:52

KayTee: May 5, 2012; Whachoodoin?

So, seeing as it�s nearly February, I figure it�s time for an update as to what the EDL and Co got up to at the end of last year :v:

Yeah� Sorry. I�ve been caught up in other things.

Also the EDL have not been up to much. At all.

First: A quick summary of their current condition:

They�re dead.

Tommy in Jail, the BFP pretty much wrapped up (get to that in a bit) and every pack of pub racists is now their own club. The most prominent of them at the moment is the EVF (English Volunteer Force) with England�s Golden Dawn as a close second (at least on Facebook).

So. Last we heard Steve Lennon/Paul Harris/Tommeh was sentenced. 10 Months was a little on the mild side, IMHO, but then I don�t know the full details of the case. Personally, I figure they gave him a sentence that would guarantee he�d be inside right up to his Mortgage Fraud case where (as the leader of a number of people) he�d likely be given a couple of years.

Since then, the leadership of the EDL fell to Kev Carroll. He has been useless in this facility.

Shortly after, this happened:Kev Carroll Becomes British Freedom Chairman (BFP link)

The article is hilarious:

quote:

Mr Carroll, who posted the best ever election results for British Freedom in the Befordshire PCC elections, will assume the position from Paul Weston, the latter having stepped down to concentrate on a literary contribution to the battle against Britain�s national trajectory.
Outgoing Chairman Paul Weston:

�It is with great sadness I must announce my resignation as Chairman of British Freedom. I am writing a book about the current dire state of Britain, which is going to take up the majority of my time over the coming months, and I feel it would be better for British Freedom to be led by someone who can devote more time to the party.

I could riff the whole article, but I�d be here all day!

Needless to say that quitting the party is the cleverest thing Westie has ever done, leaving it, and the need to Re-Regester as a political party to Kev Carroll who, of course, has done nothing in his new position.

Except get arrested, that is.

Yup

And not only that � but he has his own party to thank for providing evidence supporting his arrest following the fact.

From the BFP website, again,

quote:

Kevin Carroll, the Chairman of the British Freedom Party, was arrested in Luton on Saturday for making a comment on Facebook.

�Boy oh boy, Baron,� you say, �that must have been a really dangerous comment! What did he do? Call for killing people? Did he incite rebellion against Queen and country?�

Well, actually, no. It wasn�t anything like that. This is what was posted:

�They are all backward savages, a devil-spawned death-cult worshipping all that is unholy and barbaric. Pure evil.�

Screen shots of the comment �allegedly� made by him were provided to the police, and that was enough to have him arrested for the crime of Religious and Racial Hatred. He has now been bailed with conditions, and has to sign in at the police station twice a week.

Here�s the screenshot:

Something tells me that whoever wrote the post (originally from Gates Of Vienna) doesn�t understand the use of the word �Allegedly�.

So� Since then pretty much all that has happened is this:

That�s the English Volunteer ~~Farce~~ Force. The �demo� attendance was reported as being in the hundreds.

Unless it took 80 people to hold the camera, the most anyone has counted in the pics they provided, (minus policemen) was 40.

So, that�s about it. I�ll try to get back to more regular and funnier updates, but what with them on the wind-down, I figure both kinds of posts will be a bit more sparse.

# ? Jan 28, 2013 20:23

Frog Act: Feb 10, 2012

You know, those guys are pathetic assholes as per usual, but doesn't arresting jerks for facebook comments really strengthen their sense of persecution?

# ? Jan 28, 2013 20:25

KayTee: May 5, 2012; Whachoodoin?

Oh god, this write-up of the EVF in Brum

quote:

The English Volunteer Force (EVF) � an offshoot of the English Defence League (EDL) � gathered in Centenary Square to protest about the �Islamification of Great Britain�.

A counter-protest, organised by Unite Against Fascism (UAF) in Chamberlain Square, was also trouble-free.

West Midlands Police mounted a large operation to prevent a repeat of violent clashes seen at previous far-right demonstrations.

[...]

The group continued their protest for 30 minutes until a cry of �Let�s all go to the Brasshouse� � a pub on Birmingham�s Broad Street � was heard, and the demonstrators dispersed.

[...]

Broad Street Manager Mike Olley, said: �They�ve got the right to express their views but, of course, it does cause a lot of disruption.

�There seemed to be more police than protesters, though.

�It was a bit more subdued than the EDL events, which we are grateful for. This lot had their union flag the right way up, which is an improvement of sorts, I suppose.�

# ? Jan 29, 2013 15:39

KayTee: May 5, 2012; Whachoodoin?

So - for the past few months various three-letter-anagram collections of nobbers have been threatening to "demo" outside Abu Qatada's house.

The other day this was posted:

It was posted on the main EDL page, on the Britain First homepage and on numerous other blogs.

The message was pretty clear: Don't go. You'll get yourselves, and us arrested.

...

You don't think they're smart enough to take the advice of police and their own leaders, do you?

Nope.

Even England's Golden ~~Shower~~ Dawn posted this:

Yesterday.

And then this morning they posted this:

Shortly followed by this:

The drama is still unfolding. It'll most likely be a damp squib though, the first thing any of these patriots will do as soon as they're arrested is deny any and all association with any group, leaving up to the police to prove membership, which'll probably be more effort than it's worth.

# ? Feb 2, 2013 16:02

Rude Dude With Tude: Apr 19, 2007; Your President approves this text.

Meanwhile... http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/shortcuts/2013/feb/01/disco-dance-edl-google-facebook

Graun posted:

How to disco dance the EDL off Google and Facebook

Last autumn, four London-based friends, who prefer to remain anonymous, got to talking about reappropriating the acronym EDL from the English Defence League and "putting it to better use".

It started as a joke but they soon realised that it could become a more ambitious campaign. So they formed the English Disco Lovers and wrote a manifesto expressing their aim to oust the existing EDL from the top of Google's search results and outdo them on Facebook. They even have a logo, a shield-shaped mirrorball, and a Latin motto: Unus Mundus, Una Gens, Una Disco (One World, One Race, One Disco).

"I don't think any of us could say we were disco fans before," they explain via email, "but as we've heard more and grown to understand the message, we've found ourselves identifying with it. Disco has always been a scapegoat for racism and homophobia. English Disco Lovers is turning the tables in favour of equality and respect."

The disco EDL's methods echo satirical Google bombing campaigns such as writer Dan Savage's successful 2003 effort to make "santorum" a lurid sexual euphemism in response to Senator Rick Santorum's homophobic comments. But by enlivening a serious point with playful humour, they are also true to disco's hidden politics.

The late 70s disco boom coincided with the surging popularity of the National Front and the musical counter-attack of Rock Against Racism, but there was little overlap. RAR called for "Crisis music. Now music. Music that knows who the real enemy is," which meant punk and reggae, not the seemingly cheerful hedonism of disco.

However, disco grew out of marginalised subcultures � black, Latino and gay � with an inherent message of unity and self-expression. Some records made this explicit. The lyrics to the O'Jays' Love Train, the proto-disco anthem quoted in the EDL's manifesto, were written by politically committed Philadelphia soul kingpin Kenny Gamble. Chic's Nile Rodgers prided himself on sneaking veiled political messages into the band's colossal hits.

Today the disco EDL stepped up their campaign by launching a website. They've had some hate mail from the other EDL, of course, but the scale of the positive response, including over 10,000 Facebook likes and offers of practical support from musicians and promoters, has surprised them. Even if it began as a joke, the English Disco Lovers' deployment of wit and fun as weapons against belligerent xenophobia is a fine tribute to disco's subversive utopian vision.

# ? Feb 2, 2013 17:03

EBT: Oct 29, 2005; by Ralp

KayTee posted:

The drama is still unfolding. It'll most likely be a damp squib though, the first thing any of these patriots will do as soon as they're arrested is deny any and all association with any group, leaving up to the police to prove membership, which'll probably be more effort than it's worth.

They all use real names on their facebook posts, so it seems like if there was any will to punish them it would be trivial to link them.

# ? Feb 2, 2013 17:59

KayTee: May 5, 2012; Whachoodoin?

No comment.

# ? Feb 12, 2013 11:16

Tally: May 26, 2011

I'm not going to google their Latin moto. However, wasn't Latin introduced to the English by a conquering foreign power?

# ? Feb 12, 2013 22:58

A Sloth: Aug 4, 2010; EVERY TIME I POST I AM REQUIRED TO DISCLOSE THAT I AM A SHITHEAD.

ASK ME MY EXPERT OPINION ON GENDER BASED INSULTS & "ENGLISH ETHNIC GROUPS".

Tally posted:

I'm not going to google their Latin moto. However, wasn't Latin introduced to the English by a conquering foreign power?

No, Christianity.

# ? Feb 12, 2013 23:22

Tally: May 26, 2011

A Sloth posted:

No, Christianity.

I thought it was the Romans. Live and learn.

# ? Feb 12, 2013 23:34

Living Image: Apr 24, 2010; HORSE'S ASS

Tally posted:

I thought it was the Romans. Live and learn.

Bit of both.

# ? Feb 12, 2013 23:49

EvilHawk: Sep 15, 2009; LIVARPOOL!

Klopp's 13pts clear thanks to video ref

KayTee posted:

No comment.

Jeffazedl is quite an Arabic name.

# ? Feb 13, 2013 00:17

lets go swimming: Sep 6, 2012; EAT THE CHEESE, NICHOLSON!

EvilHawk posted:

Jeffazedl is quite an Arabic name.

His name's Jeff and he's in the EDL, probably. gently caress knows what the az is there for.

# ? Feb 13, 2013 00:49

FreudianSlippers: Apr 12, 2010; Shooting and Fucking
are the same thing!

Tally posted:

I'm not going to google their Latin moto. However, wasn't Latin introduced to the English by a conquering foreign power?

The English are a conquering foreign power.

e:
A foreign power power that didn't conquer the place until after the Romans had left.

FreudianSlippers fucked around with this message at 18:08 on Feb 17, 2013

# ? Feb 13, 2013 03:00

KayTee: May 5, 2012; Whachoodoin?

Welp, they've stepped in the poo poo right good this time - and seem determined to bury themselves in it.

From the BBC

quote:

The Attorney General is investigating after photographs said to show one of James Bulger's killers were allegedly posted on the internet.

Images purporting to be of Jon Venables appeared on a social networking site.

Venables was convicted of killing two-year-old James along with Robert Thompson in Merseyside in 1993.

There is a worldwide ban on publishing anything revealing Venables' current identity.

A spokesman for the Attorney General Office (AGO) said he could not confirm or deny whether the pictures were of Venables.

Article on EDL News

Considering that the Casuals have attempted to "out" members of the Exposing Racism and Intolerance Facebook Page, as well as the EDL News team several times, and have yet to be correct once, (With one Exposing member (hurr) being outed as at least 3 different people at one point) It's doubtful that the pics are correct - not that it matters to the guy wanting to "cut his belly open and make him run carrying his guts".

# ? Feb 14, 2013 16:27

Duncan Sperguson: Apr 21, 2010

I saw it when some idiot shared it from a group on facebook called 'The Northern Casuals'. Their page basically being what you may expect, the usual anti-Islamic shite interspersed with youtube links of Oasis and the Stereophonics. In particular I enjoyed an incredibly angry post about Cameron letting more Indian students have places at English unis from people who never went to loving school.

# ? Feb 14, 2013 20:04

Superb Owls: Nov 3, 2012

Is there a reason for the image ban? Like the killer's lives might be at risk if the public knew what they looked like or something along the lines?

# ? Feb 15, 2013 18:15

aeverous: Nov 13, 2009

Superb Owls posted:

Is there a reason for the image ban? Like the killer's lives might be at risk if the public knew what they looked like or something along the lines?

To stop vigilantism and rightly so, he served his sentence, we can't have these fucks hunting him down on the streets (or more likely, some poor guy who happens to look like him).

# ? Feb 15, 2013 18:25

30.5 Days: Nov 19, 2006

Isn't venables in prison indefinitely?

# ? Feb 15, 2013 18:37

KayTee: May 5, 2012; Whachoodoin?

30.5 Days posted:

Isn't venables in prison indefinitely?

He may as well be. According to another poster in the UK Megathread he's behind bars (Specifically for getting drunk and giving up his real identity - several times) he can be denied early parole, but the UK doesn't have the ability to hold anyone indefinitely.

And given that there were people literally lining up to murder the pair when they were 10, the clink is probably the safest place for him.

# ? Feb 15, 2013 18:47

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 4, 2024 11:34

twoot: Oct 29, 2012

aeverous posted:

To stop vigilantism and rightly so, he served his sentence, we can't have these fucks hunting him down on the streets (or more likely, some poor guy who happens to look like him).

Venables is back in jail for childporn possession, but protecting lookalike members of the public is the main aim. Pictures of three distinctly different men have been circulating on FB as Venables in recent days, all three are almost certainly not him.

Remember that this is the country where a paediatrician was forced out of her home because of her job title being misunderstood by some mentally deficient cromagnons.

twoot fucked around with this message at 20:19 on Feb 15, 2013

# ? Feb 15, 2013 18:50

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > English Defence League: the (white) pride of the UK

«‹›59 »