Then, a black (african ?) baby-sitter and the child she was taking care of were murdered in Belgium. The deed was promptly blamed on the politics of the Vlaams Belang, who promptly denied any involvement.

Now, and why I was compelled to take this up again, some lefty (antifa) was stabbed almost to death by two neonazis in Poland. Check the Indymedia article at http://tinyurl.com/oa8y3.

The name of the guy who was stabbed had apparently been posted on a neonazi/skin website, www.redwatch.info. They (redwatch) seem to have connections to the british national front, but also in .DE and other places, as well as chapters in many polish cities.

As in my last posting, I wonder how it comes that the govts (.de, .be, .pl, .at, ...) allow a violent para-political scene to form and exist relatively unchecked. The leftist, far less violent para-political scene of house occupiers has long since been smashed, terrorized into non-existence.

We do have some skins/neonazis here in .at, I have had  opportunity to see and interact with skins. Some 10 years ago I was held up with a bayonet by two skins. They let me pass but they beat and kicked another guy while I was there. There were about 6 skins and they were stopping and harassing everybody passing before a well-known local near Schwarzbergplatz. Police was present. In fact, two of them were over the street near the entrance of the Hotel Schwarzenberg. The police were not interested in what was happening perhaps 30m from where they stood.

Somebody I know personally has spent some weeks in a hospital because of some bad beating. After about 2 years, AFAIK his aggressors were never caught. There are many more instances of skin/neonazi activities which all smell of being tolerated and protected by police. My other observation about skins is that they all seem to have undergone the kind of training one can only receive from the military, and they are disciplined, not a rowdy beer-guzzling horde.

Being neo-'nazis' and violent, one would suppose that they are the worst enemies of jews, and that the various govts would do everything to eradicate these genuine 'anti-semites' as a danger to humanity, peace and tolerance ... Or, you would think that jewish communities throughout Europe would exert continued pressure for skins to be taken off the streets for good, but, that does not seem to be the case (please show me that I am wrong).

Now, compare the treatment the skins receive and contrast it to what happened to Ernst Zundel, a 65-year old nobody who was writing on his website stuff equivalent to stating that swiss cheese has square holes. The german govt went to extreme lengths to have him deported from the US, resorting to questionable methods when it became clear that they did not have a case against him under US laws.

Lets put things together: a) police ignores them and/or protects them b) they seem to receive (para-) military training not commonly available c) the media ignores them unless they do some outrage d) they can organize freely, and e) they seem to have enough funds to keep their infrastructure, social and technical, working.

What does all that tell us ?

Do skins really receive favored treatment from the authorities or am I the only one with that impression ?

What exactly is the "neo-nazi" ideology, as compared to the nazi ideology ? Any reference ? I ask because I think that the nazi ideology as I understand it does not reflect popular political interests in todays europe (I say that on base of having partially read Mein Kampf and found it bonkers).

What is the relationship of the Vlaams Blok / Vlaams Belang to the neo-nazis apart from their views against foreigners ?

What is the relation/difference between neo-nazis and 'skins' ? (I perceive them both as the same group).

Who, outside the neo-nazi/skin scene, could have an interest in their continued existence, and for what reasons ?

Could anybody direct me (and other readers) to a comprehensive study or documentation of the skins/neonazis ? Website ?

I base my suspicion about the skins on some passages from "Im Namen des Staates" (ISBN 3492230504) by Andreas von Bulow, where he states that the skins exist for a reason. In any case, I recommend the book.