Extinction Rebellion: yet more disruption as if we hadn't had enough disruption

Diane Abbott MP's participation during a LBC radio programme became legendary when having been asked how much money was going to be necessary to increase the number of Police officers she gave a figure that would have been the equivalent of spending £10 per Police officer.  

Since then, the Labour MP has complained that she has suffered torrents of abuse during her political career. When she was asked on radio, pressed for time, she gave a figure from the top of her head because she hadn't actually calculated beforehand how much it would be necessary to recruit Police officers that the Labour Party had been talking about for so long in Parliament and outside Parliament when criticizing Conservative governments past and present.

Policing rallies and demonstrations, enforcing Lockdown meaures and dealing with chaos and disorder while protecting public and private property does not come cheap. Police officers that would normally be carrying out regular duties have to be concentrated in big numbers on the streets to prevent public disorder and to deal with cases of violence when violence unavoidably erupts. Extra hours are piled up and all the monies invested in big deployments, arrests and legal proceedings consume even faster a very tight Police budget. As if the number of rallies and demonstrations we have been dealing with was not enough, the news kids on the block - Extinction Rebellion - are now threatening us with further actions and this time focusing on banking institutions. You can bet that, yet again, sizeable amounts of money will be taken out of the Police budget to prevent disorder and to deal with unavoidable confrontations on the streets. As we come out of the quarentine imposed to deal with a pandemic, and as numbers of peoples walking around rise, spring and summer don't look like seasons of the year that you will be able to enjoy, but more as seasons of the year that you will have to suffer thanks to people who believe that generating chaos and disorder they are promoting a healthier environment.

As new legislation is being introduced to tackle disorder, the very same people whose actions serve to justify the passing of stricter legislation are once again creating chaos on the streets and are now going to be joined by the new kids on the block and by other individuals who couldn't care less about any cause and are only around to engage in disreputable behaviour including violence and destruction of public and private property. As always, policing and clean up operations will be paid for by Joe Public.

Council Tax letters were already sent by local authorities including increases of the fees house owners have to pay at a time when local authorities are under additional financial stress, party because of the pandemic, partly because of expenses that rise year on year. So, less money for Police services and less monies for local services delibered by local authorities and this at a time when the Treasury is struggling with vast amounts of borrowing to deal with the pandemic and to protect peoples' jobs. Furlough schemes are basically state subsidies to support those who have lost their income and to keep those who are still working at work.

Any actions that could undermine the operations of vital financial services are a direct attack against the United Kingdom. Such actions can be said to be carried out to promote a healthier environment, but are the de-facto acts of terrorism at a time when the country is slowly, but surely heading towards relative normality. This is a time when we should be supporting the creation of new jobs. Extinction Rebellion doesn't care about jobs and this is also a way to say that Extinction Rebellion could not care less about millions of families in the United Kingdom that have lost their incomes or are struggling to survive with reduced incomes.

   

Die Endlösung der Judenfrage: a capital moment in history

Die Endlösung der Judenfrage: a capital moment in history

Much has been said about what British and other countries where English is the predominant language called simply "Final Solution".

As a historical fact it must be stated that most of the buildings we can see today in what are presumed to be the installations of concentrations camps were built after World War Two when National Socialist Germany was no longer around.
The paradox is that the constant reminder about the camps serves to perpetuate the memories of what happened in concentration camps but at the same time perpetuate the memories of Adolf Hitler and of an ideology called National Socialism. In peoples minds, Jesus of Nazareth and Adolf Hitler are equally famous.

I have looked at the words Arbeit Macht Frei and there is a fundamental truth in those words. Work makes you free. This couldn't be truer in an world in which there is crippling unemployment. We are not masters of our own destiny unless we have control of our own finances. So this is yet again another paradox. We are told to hate an expression that carries such a powerful and positive message.

The NSDAP was in its origins a true Socialist Party German style. Its name - National Socialist German Workers' Party - represents the ideals of a Socialist society in which every member of the said society would play a useful role and in turn everybody's needs would be met.

In spite of all the rubbish we hear when this very important period in history is mentioned, the one fundamental aspect of what actually were the ideals of the NSDAP is completely forgotten. In the rise of National Socialism in Germany there was a very powerful element called Solidarity. People were told that they had to look after each other, care after each other, be a German of one another and share these ideals in the pursuit of a greater, healthier, stronger and wealthier Germany.

For the unemployed, and there were many people out of work and unable to make ends meet, the world Arbeit was a magic word and it was very much rooted in the work ethics of the German people. People were going to be free from hunger, free from the miseries of a life without future, masters of their own lives. This was the essence of "Arbeit Macht Frei" , essence that is very powerful today when in Britain, in USA in France, practically everywhere, politicians promise more jobs and the reduction of the queues of unemployment. There is an element of Arbeit Macht Frei in every political speech - whether we talk about the Conservative Party, the Labour Party, the Liberal Democratic Party, the Green Party, UKIP, BNP et cetera, et cetera. The NSDAP promised more jobs in ways that were identical to the promises made by today's political parties.

People wanted answers to deal with unemployment and deprivation and from 1933 onward the National Socialist Party led by Adolf Hitler as German Chancellor and German President produced a massive number of jobs. There was a psychological factor and a financial factor. Financially, the chaotic situation that existed before the rise of Adolf Hitler was dealt with. People had jobs, people had bread on their tables. The psychological element came from association: this is your country, you deserve everything your country can provide, it is a powerful country and you don't need to fear about external aggression. People were reassured in every way and this led to massive political support.

Here comes the concept of "if you have one political party - the National Socialist German Workers' Party - that looks after your every need, why do you need other political parties?" The process towards a one-party state had been voluntarily and willingly triggered by the mass of the Electorate. Who could possibly be opposed to such levels of happiness, togetherness and wealth? Liberals, Marxists and among them the Jews who were said to be looking after their own interests and didn't care about the German people who where predominantly Christian. This is why at one point, Jews were banned from getting involved in many professions. And the process continues and goes farther and farther.

There is an evolution. There is a series of steps along the way towards getting rid of the Jews but it is also a process to get rid of Liberals and Marxists. People were interned in concentration camps for all kinds of reasons but the persecution of the Jews had little to do with religion or race. It was a political decision and you can deal with people who are political opponents or perceived political opponents in various ways. You ban them from professions. You imprison them. You deport them. You kill them. And there are various examples of this to mention. The persecution of many people - Jews and non Jews - was purely political.