Extinction Rebellion intimidation

For the past week the traffic in many parts of central London has been brought to a standstill by the activities of the group known as Extinction Rebellion. The pretext for their protest is fears over climate change, but the reality is that this concern is merely a front for a hard-line anarchist-Marxist agenda intent on destroying capitalism, similar to that of the Occupy movement. The mostly young activists taking part are easy prey to being manipulated because of their endless indoctrination by the educational establishment into the climate change hoax, together with the uncritical endorsement provided by the BBC, political parties, celebrity pundits and vocal leftist scientists.

The climate change hoax has previously been debunked by this blog post here http://bit.ly/1ZoyPMn . To repeat the facts, there has been absolutely no change to the climate since the end of the ‘Little Ice Age’ over 200 years ago. During the 20th century there were only minor fluctuations in global temperature, and since then temperatures have been flat except for a couple of short spikes due to the El Nino weather phenomenon. During this period there has been a significant increase in the trace gas CO2 but this has not led to any discernable change in global temperature. All the hysteria is based on a dubious discredited theory and alarmist predictions and projections. CO2 is not a pollutant as climate change activists ludicrously claim, but is essential for the continued existence of all plant life.

People have a right to protest, but what they do not have a right to do is to interfere with other people going about their daily business. The police response to the traffic disruption has been wholly inadequate. Over 700 protesters have been arrested but to date less than thirty have been charged. When he was London Mayor Boris Johnson purchased water cannon, but their use was later blocked by then Home Secretary Theresa May. As a result the police have had their hands tied; with the water cannon option open they could have soon ended these protests.

Extension Rebellion are not only intent on destroying capitalism but they also want to bring an end to our democratic system. In its place they are proposing a 100 strong citizens assembly, chosen randomly from the population at large. This is the theory but in practice we can be sure that this assembly, once established, would soon be packed with hand picked supporters of Extension Rebellion to rubber stamp their subversive agenda.

The protests we are now witnessing in London are the direct consequence of our political establishment uncritical acceptance of the climate change hoax over many decades. This credulity is being exploited by those intent on destroying our way of life. Politicians must now come to their senses and voice a clear repudiation of the climate change agitation, and recognise the deceit that lies behind it. Otherwise there will be nothing to prevent these kind of protests continuing indefinitely, until the malign objectives behind them have been achieved.

David Steel & Cyril Smith

The former Liberal Democrat leader David Steel has recently been suspended by the Scottish party, who are carrying out an investigation into comments he made about the former MP Cyril Smith during questioning at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). This is a very disturbing development that ratchets up still further the paedophile hysteria, which according to reports has already resulted in vast amounts of stretched police time being taken up with investigating uncorroborated allegations of historic sexual abuse, often from many decades ago.

David Steel was questioned at the IICSA about allegations made against Cyril Smith in the magazine Private Eye which had originated in a local Rochdale newspaper article dating from 1979. The individuals making allegations were all apprentices aged 15-18 staying at a Rochdale hostel for which Smith was the secretary, during a period when he was also a Labour councillor. In these articles there were no allegations of sexual activity made against Smith, but had there been any this would have suggested Smith could be a homosexual, not a paedophile, given the age of those making the accusations.

The hostel closed in 1965 fourteen years before the 1979 media articles. The allegations were investigated by the local police in 1969 but there was insufficient evidence to bring charges. These allegations consisted of two instances of Smith beating youths on bare buttocks (this was a commonplace punishment at the time) and one of him touching a youth's testicles during an ‘intimate’ medical inspection, as part of a procedure which all adolescent males then underwent as part of an annual medical examination.

David Steel when party leader asked Cyril Smith about the 1979 media articles. Smith acknowledged there had been a police investigation into the allegations and that he had been cleared of any wrongdoing. No other allegations were made against Smith during the 20 years he was an MP, or until he died about 20 years later. The committee members of the Rochdale hostel confirmed to the local newspaper that to their knowledge no 'improper activities' had taken place there.

In giving evidence Steel was justified in claiming that the punishment beatings were no different to that taking place at public schools at this time. This was perfectly legal then and Smith would be acting ‘in loco parentis’ in his role as Secretary of the hostel with a duty of care to the youths in his charge. One was caught stealing and both were given a choice of alternative punishments. With regard to the ‘intimate’ medical examination, the Rochdale newspaper article made clear that Smith was present at these with the consent of the medical examiner. Given the public hostility to homosexuals at this period, it is inconceivable that any youth in his mid teens would agree to this kind of examination by Smith outside a medical. In the police investigation Smith denied all the allegations and he was cleared of all criminal wrongdoing.

During the IICSA questioning David Steel was repeatedly and aggressively asked why he had not taken further measures to either discipline or suspend Smith after having read the Private Eye article. His response was that the beatings were common practice at the time, that they took place when Smith was not a member of the party, and that in any case the police had investigated all the allegations against Smith and he was cleared of any wrongdoing. In these circumstances David Steel was quite right to conclude that there was no justification in him taking any further action against Smith, since the matter had already been investigated and no crime was found to have been committed by Cyril Smith.

This blog has absolutely no time for the policies of the Liberal Democrats, but the Scottish party's suspension of their former leader appears to be both absurd and malevolent given the quite reasonable responses David Steel gave to the IICSA.