Battle of the (right-wing) blogs

There is an ongoing dust-up in the blogosphere as a prominent right-wing American blog has gone after Germany's most extremist right-wing hate blog - Politically Incorrect. Charles Johnson, the owner of Little Green Footballs (LGF) has recently infuriated many US ultra-conservatives by attacking them for their bigotry and embrace of junk science. Some background on the controversy and conflict can be found here. But Johnson turned his attention to Germany and the activities of the hate-blog Politically Incorrect. PI has been active in supporting the extremist anti-Muslim "citizens initiative" Pro-Cologne. Pro Cologne is planning an "anti-Islam" conference (Anti-Islamisierungskongress) in May, and proudly announced that two prominent American right-wing extemists - the blogger Pamela Geller and the "journalist" Robert Spencer - would be speaking at the event. LGF and Charles Johnson went to work and uncovered neo-Nazi connections with the organizers of Pro-Cologne. The blog Harry's Place has a summary:

Charles Johnson at Little Green Footballs has been reporting on an ‘anti-Islamisation’ conference organised by Pro Köln, which is the successor to the neo-fascist “Deutsche Liga für Volk und Heimat“.

We expect fascists to use anti-Muslim bigotry to advance their hateful politics. The British National Party are following precisely the same agenda in the United Kingdom.

If you are no longer capable of distinguishing between specific jihadist and Islamist parties - Hamas/Muslim Brotherhood and Jamaat-e-Islami - and ordinary Muslim citizens of your country, then you have crossed over the line. If you attend a conference organised by fascists, then you have also crossed over the line. You have become an anti-Muslim bigot.

Speaking at the “anti-Islamisation” conference are Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs and Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch.

Johnson unmasked Geller as the "Poster Girl of Eurofascism: and skewered Spencer for his bigotry.  Johnson now calls PI a "pro-fascist German website" - couldn't have said it better myself! Most importantly, Johnson has won the battle, since both Spencer and Geller have cancelled their appearances at the Pro-Cologne conference.  The news was a setback to PI, who today wrote bitterly about Charles Johnson's influence:

Wir sind jetzt von Charles Johnson als “pro-facist German website” bezeichnet worden. Weiß Charles Johnson eigentlich noch was er schreibt? Seine Verbalattacken gegen renommierte Islamkritiker wie Pamella Geller, Robert Spencer und Lars Hedegaard haben diese mittlerweile dazu bewogen, ihre Teilnahme am Kölner Kongress abzusagen. Zu groß, zu schwer wiegt auch unter uns Islamkritikern die faschistische Moralkeule.(Now we have been called a "pro-facist (sic) German website" by Charles Johnson. Does Charles Johnson even know what he's writing?  His verbal attacks against renowned critics of Islam, like Pamela Geller, Robert Spence and Lars Hedegaard have now forced them to cancel their participation in the Cologne Convention. The fascist label simply weighs too heavily among us critics of Islam.) 

But Charles Johnson knows all too well what he is writing about. Congratulations to Charles for disrupting the hate-fest in Cologne.  Many thanks to Dr. Dagmar Schatz for keeping me informed of the situation.  And thanks as well to Dietmar Näher for all the hard work he does each day to keep track of hate groups like PI and Pro-Cologne in Politisch Korrekt.

Comments

[Far Left Media]

Around 4 years ago I was curious wether there is any german meeting place in the internet for people who think George W. Bush is a great president, and does good politics for the whole world and all the rest of it ...
Well, I found Politically Incorrect.
A portal for people who were fed up with all those "european hippies and wussies", therefore the name.
At that time PI was very far-right but not extremist, i think.

Since them i visited the page every now and then, because they fascinated me in a sick manner.

They got worse every year, more extremist, more paranoid. By now they have reached a state where they can hardly distinguish the bagdad suicide bomber from your dark skinned neighbor(he could be muslim).
Ironically PI has also started to give fundamentalist christians a platform.

I won't say PI is the "Germany's MOST extremist right-wing hate blog". it's just by far the best known.

salutatory thefarleftmedia

[Hattie]

Excellent post and comment. I appreciate your work,since I don't have the stomach to read the ravings of these people but want to know what they are up to.

[Lex, Agent of Chaos]

Great article! I found it through a post at Little Green Footballs, as I've been following the Blog Wars for (heavens!) over a year now. It has gotten severely out of control though, and this is from someone who writes only on this subject! Make them stop!

But thanks for the article, just the same!

[MrBaracuda]

I don't know about you, but Schatz and Näher are almost as bad as PI with their (at least in the case of Näher and perhaps the platform for Schatz, which is duckhome) leftist and Muslim following. Just the other end of the spectrum I suppose. I'd keep away from them. gegenkritik has some entries on Näher if you're interested. http://de.wordpress.com/tag/feindaufklarung/

One was able to have nice discussions - not with Näher (incidentally because he's an idiot, too) but on Näher's site - in the comment section maybe two years ago. But then there was a sudden influx of idiots and more or less raging Muslims who are there to this day. Whiny Näher (maybe you have seen his exchanges in the comment sections of a taz-article about his "fight" against PI)'s in really good company, one's tempted to say.

As for Schatz, if I am not mistaken she's a convert, at least an apologist for all things Islam, who had to close her strange "Islamophobia"-watchblog slash glorify-Islam blog after she was fined for libel of Udo Ulfkotte. If I'm not mistaken, Schatz and her associate repeatedly called Ulfkotte a Nazi.

Anyway, I'd steer clear of those two, as you will only end up doing yourself a disservice.

[David]

I believe Schatz has ended her association with Duckhome, which has become extremely anti-American.

I've criticized Ulfkotte in the past, but I respect him for severing all relations with Pro-Koeln last year.

[MrBaracuda]

Well I wouldn't know, as I avoid that place. Sad story, since I love duck(lings). Oh, the pain!

Anyway, you might be right; her last entry was in the middle of December. But I remember her well from the days of her strange blog and she wrote extensively for duckhome. That is my recollection anyway.

Not exactly the kind of people I'd thank - for what anyway? Doesn't seem too hard to browse some LFG or PI yourself, now does it?

As for Ulfkotte, meh, I couldn't care less about that strange fellow. Maybe you have seen some of his TV appearances and well, he's something of a buffoon. But as you said, yeah good for him severing any relations. The relations with that Bürgerbewegung (Pax Europa or something; he founded it or was one of the founders if I am not mistaken) as well.

You're awfully silent on Näher. I saw you link to him. Shudder.

[gegenkritik]

"I believe Schatz has ended her association with Duckhome, which has become extremely anti-American."
Duckhome was extremely anti-American from the beginning and this is definitely not a contradiction to Schatz' own ideological stance.

By the way, as much as I appreciate your article here, why do you link to such websites with a clearly Anti-USA and Anti-Israel agenda like Spiegelfechter or Toomuchcookies? Have you read the nonsense that Jens Berger and Omar Abu-Namous are spreading?

[David]

What is this - the blogroll police?

[gegenkritik]

Just curious to know why you hang out with such people like Näher, Schatz, Berger and Abu-Namous. Apparently you don't know much about their web-sites?

[MrBaracuda]

No David, just concerned citizens. :D

[David]

Naeher is strong supporter of President Obama, as am I.

I just read your post on Obama when he won the election.

Here's news for you: Americans judge their leaders by what they do for the United States, not by how much they hate Hamas. President Obama's approval rating with Americans is off the charts, after the first 100 days.

'nuff said.

You are free to read what ever blogs you wish, but don't try to censor me!

[Volker]

David, don't take them too seriously. One look at Gegenkritik's blog and everyone knows which "Geistes kind" he is.

[gegenkritik]

"Naeher is strong supporter of President Obama, as am I."

There's a huge difference between Americans, who voted for Obama because they thought he will be a good President for their country, and creeps like Dietmar Näher, who favored him for the exact opposite.
Näher, Schatz and many more Germans were only in favor of Obama because they imagined him as "un-American", hoping he would transform the USA into an ideological part of German-Europa, cut all ties to Israel and immediately withdraw all troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and thus help to establish islamic dictatorships there (Näher is sympathetic towards the Iranian Mullahregime, even though he sometimes critizies Ahmadinejad as an Alibi).

To make this very clear: I am not in favor of President Obama, but he is way better than creeps like Näher or Schatz.

[David]

One thing I like about Naeher and Jens Berger: they blog under their own names. They are not afraid to identify their ideas with themselves.

To do otherwise is cowardly, in my view.

[gegenkritik]

Ah, so it's better to be an anti-American and Anti-Zionist as long as one blog under his real name, than critizising such things under pseudonym.
By the way: Berger and Näher aren't really courageously, since they share their hate for the USA and Israel with the overwhelming majority in Germany.

[Bushama Hussein]

the blogpolice, the old story of the flies and the dung...

And another old story, rightwing extremists from different countries never really get together because they are only able to follow their own narrowminded agendas. If their hyper-emotional hatred permits an agenda, that is.

LGF and PI are both viciously racist and violence-loving communities, but that doesnt mean they would necessarily work together.

It's also apparent that even an extremely violent and racist ideology like their adopted Zionism can't bridge these gaps.

Although modern European fascists regularly profess their "love of the USA", it's probably a little to much to hear that from a bunch of very "challenged" german counterparts.

[Scott]

It was only a matter of time before the tacit alliance between neocons and the right-wing fringe dissolved. I imagine that European right-wingers and the Zionist fringe will once again find common cause, but for now the weight of history is too heavy.

The truth is that Anti-Americanism (and its frequent counterpart anti-semitism) is still a large part of the neo-fascist, "freiheitlich" movement. Hating Islam brings right-wingers together but absent a common enemy (such as the Antifas) the ugliness of presumed allies becomes to much to bear.