Racist group hunts asylum seekers on Britain's south coast beaches

I am beginning to wonder how much nastier my increasingly nasty nation can become.

To the anger that informs our current politics and rising violence on the streets, we can now add a despicable move by racists to hunt down arriving migrants.

A far-right group named Britain First is sending patrols onto the south coast beaches with binoculars to catch asylum seekers arriving by boat from France and report them to the police.

Hundreds of people from Africa and the Middle East crossed the English Channel in small boats and dinghies this year, and the traffic is increasing with the approach of winter.

Burly men in T-shirts branded 'Britain First Defenders' are taking part in what they call Operation White Cliffs, taking up positions on piers and scanning the sea and sands.

Their leader is Paul Golding, who has served a jail term for religious harassment. Members of his group were recently filmed emptying beer cans outside a mosque in east London.

HATE

A statement by Britain First said, “Equipped with binoculars, torches and high-visibility jackets, our activists patrolled the beaches keeping a close eye out for migrant crossings. We will continue and escalate these patrols until the situation is dealt with by the government.”

A spokesman for Stand Up To Racism said, “Given the hateful politics of this group, the name of their vile stunt, Operation White Cliffs, suggests a chilling echo of the ideologies of Nazi Germany in the 1930s. It champions hunting down desperate people embarking on horrendous and dangerous journeys to find a better life.”

A Home Office spokesman said members of the public should report incidents but not take direct action.

The latest group of migrants consisted of eight people including a child who made landfall from a small inflatable boat. They said they were from Iran.

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Zambia’s vice-president has called on Africans to stop eating maize meal, a proposal akin to telling British people to stop eating fish and chips, or Italians to forego pasta.

Maize meal is hugely popular across much of southern and East Africa, which consumes some 21 per cent of the maize produced worldwide.

But VP Inonge Wina believes people should eat more nutritious foods such as millet, sorghum, cassava and sweet potatoes.

She argued that “a shift from predominantly maize-based meals is good for the nation as more nutritious foods will have space at our tables”.

Ms Wina’s appeal comes at a time when parts of Zambia and some neighbouring states have been hit by poor rainfall and food shortages. A more varied diet would tackle the problem, she said.

Maize meal — ugali to Kenyans — is known as nshima in Zambia, nsima in Malawi, sadza in Zimbabwe and papa in South Africa and Lesotho.

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A campaigning lawyer has forecast that eating meat could one day become illegal as a way of combating climate change.

According to the latest statistics, global warming is speeding up and causing sea levels to rise dangerously because glaciers and ice sheets are melting fast.

Highlighting unprecedented increases in carbon dioxide, the World Meteorological Organisation says the last five years were the hottest ever.

A statement issued in New York last week said, “As we saw in the Bahamas and Mozambique, sea levels rose and intense tropical storms led to humanitarian and economic disaster.”

Targets to cut carbon should be increased threefold, the WMO said.

In Britain, barrister Michael Mansfield called on the government to introduce legislation to criminalise the wilful destruction of nature. “It is time for a new law on ecocide to go alongside genocide,” he declared.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, hopped on a bike last week and led campaigners on a ride through the capital to mark Car Free Day. Motor traffic was banned from 17 miles of road across 15 boroughs.

“We need Londoners to understand the importance of reducing the levels of pollution on our streets,” he said, stating that thousands of Londoners die prematurely because of air pollution.

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The teacher at a small rural school decided to test her class on arithmetic. “There are a dozen sheep and six of them jump over the fence,” she said. “How many are left?”

“None,” answered little Sammy.

The teacher shook her head. “Sammy, you don’t know your arithmetic.” Sammy said, “Miss, you don’t know your sheep. Where one goes, they all go.”

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A wife who was very cautious about what she ate asked her husband to buy her some organic vegetables.

At the supermarket, he checked with an assistant. “These vegetables are for my wife. Have they been sprayed with any poisonous chemicals?”

“No,” replied the employee, “you’ll have to do that yourself.”

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