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This Writer is amazed that we’ve reached a point where I have to write headlines like the above, but for clarity here is the story in a nutshell:
She was photographed with a save Palestinians sign-on a chair in the background was a very small blue stuffed toy-an octopus-that is what they are complaining about-she explained it's a toy used to calm autistic children-it seems anything can be deemed antisemitic now
I had to cast around for information about this and found an article inĀ Rolling Stone that corresponds with my own thoughts about this – from the start. It states:
TWO WEEKS INTOĀ the horrific war betweenĀ IsraelĀ and Hamas, the state of online discourse has descended from āgenerally bad and stupidā to āunfathomably dumb and borderline dangerous.ā Case in point: recent allegations that environmental activistĀ Greta Thunberg, after posting a āStand with Gazaā sign and demanding a ceasefire, was actually posting a Nazi dogwhistle. Later, the official X account for the Israeli government piled on, too.
On Friday, Thunberg posted a photo on social media of her holding a āStand with Gazaā sign accompanied by other activists holding similar pro-Palestinian messaging. The caption on her post on X read, āToday we strike in solidarity with Palestine and Gaza. The world needs to speak up and call for an immediate ceasefire, justice and freedom for Palestinians and all civilians affected.ā In the original post, she was seen with a light-blue stuffed octopus on her shoulder.
Predictably, many criticized her post for failing to condemn the terrorist group Hamasās Oct. 7 surprise on Israel, whichĀ left at least 1,400 people dead,Ā many of whom were civilians. Perhaps less predictably, however, others focused on the octopus, interpreting it to be a kraken, a mythical, multi-tentacled sea beast that was occasionally used in Nazi iconography.
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āWhat does the Kraken next to you on the couch mean @GretaThunberg?,ā one account with more than 1,000 retweets wrote. āThe Kraken was, and is, a well-known sign of the Nazis for the anti-semitic term international finance judaism.ā
In a follow-up tweet, Thunberg, who is autistic, clarified that the plush octopus on her shoulder was not a reference to a (frankly, somewhat historically obscure) anti-Semitic canard, but to a commonĀ toy used by neurodivergent people to express their feelings. āIt has come to my knowledge that the stuffed animal shown in my earlier post can be interpreted as a symbol for antisemitism, which I was completely unaware of,ā she wrote. āThe toy in the picture is a tool often used by autistic people as a way to communicate feelings. We are of course against any type of discrimination, and condemn antisemitism in all forms and shapes. This is non-negotiable. That is why I deleted the last post.ā
This explanation did not, however, prevent the state of Israelās official Twitter account from calling out Thunberg for her post. ā@GretaThunberg, Hamas doesnāt use sustainable materials for their rockets which have BUTCHERED innocent Israelis,ā the post reads. āThe victims of the Hamas massacre could have been your friends. Speak up.ā The post contained images of missing Israelis such asAgam Berger, Nik Beizer, and Roni Eshel, who are all 19.
Of course, Thunberg was not making a point about whether Hamasās munitions manufacturing practices are green-compliant; she was calling for a ceasefire to prevent more people from being killed, aĀ position that is shared by manyĀ peace groups all over the world.
The idiocy of the attack on Ms Thunberg is perfectly encapsulated in the second of the following two ‘X’ posts:
Does this have implications for all us customers at Octopus energy then? Unbelievable to see the extent to which this trope is being played out. #ItWasAScam#FreePalestine āšÆš“
— Andrea K Heywood#VoteGreen š (@andreaheywood11) October 21, 2023
Yes indeed. I await the Israeli government’s attack on that energy firm for its anti-Semitic iconography. Or is it a case of an octopus being just an octopus because political opportunists can’t get a headline out of it?
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Star support: Arnold Schwarzenegger with Greta Thunberg.
Even the Terminator can see that Greta Thunberg and the activism against climate change that she promotes deserve support – or at least the actor and former politician playing him can.
Arnold Schwartzenegger, former Republican governor of California, has spoken out in support of Ms Thunberg’s environmental activism.
It’s good to see the movement getting such high-profile support.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has expressed his support for environmental activist Greta Thunberg, after he offered to lend her an electric car so she could get around the US.
The actor is currently doing the press rounds for the latest Terminator film, Dark Fate, alongside co-star Linda Hamilton, who reprises her role as Sarah Connor.
Speaking to Sky News, Schwarzenegger said that politics āgets in the way of good policyā, which he cited as the reason he now tends to steer clear of political commentary,
However, he made it clear he was a fan of Thunberg, calling her āfantasticā and adding: āSheās a child and hereās children saying āwhen you screw this up with the environment, itās our generation thatās going to sufferā, and I think thatās a very compelling message and I think politicians are listening.ā
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Emotion: Greta Thunberg was fighting back tears when she spoke at the UN Climate Change summit – because she knew many people would try to undermine her simple, common sense message?
Who would have thought a teenager who isn’t in showbusiness could have such an impact on the world?
This is a really strong speech:
Admittedly, Greta Thunberg has yet to persuade financiers and business leaders to stop the climate change-related harm they are doing to our environment, but this is probably because she has hit such resistance from the false-equivalence brigade.
For example:
'16 year old Greta Thunberg is too young to make her own mind up and has been groomed' scream people who said that Shamima Begum knew at 15 exactly what she was doing and should be treated as an adult.
Who are these people? I, for one, face no such contradiction in my thinking as I said Ms BegumĀ did know what she was doing when she ran off to join IS at the age of 15. I argued that she should be treated as an adult now because sheĀ is an adult now.
That is an argument about Ms Begum, rather than Ms Thunberg. It also ties in with this:
There is a huge difference between these two subjects, of course: Epstein was alleged to be exploiting teenagers – Ms Thunberg is expressing her own opinions.
And haven’t we been encouraging our young people to develop opinions on such subjects?
This Writer can remember television programmes going back to the 80s, at least, in which young people were canvassed for their views on political matters – and young viewers were encouraged to think about them.
And what about William Hague?
He was the poster boy of the Conservative conference in 1979 when he made a speech… at the ripe old age of 16.
Had he been exploited? Or was he perfectly capable of forming his own opinion? If the latter, then serious questions will have to be asked about political parties that have any kind of youth wing at all.
And that should not happen, because they are perfectly capable of thinking and acting properly at the age from which they may become members of such organisations.
The matter of sex is different because younger people are not always equipped to deal with the consequences of it. Legally, they are not considered capable of consenting to sex. Practically, they may be unable to access contraception, meaning pregnancy is more possible – with financial and social consequences. There is the huge issue of sexual exploitation. And not everybody is the same; some are mature enough to behave responsibly about such matters, and some are not.
Consider this: If a young teenager were to become pregnant, would she (and her partner, of course) have the maturity to understand that they are bringing a person into the world, with needs just like their own?
Answer: Some would, and some wouldn’t. The law is there to minimise tragic consequences, as much as it is there to prevent unwanted demands on medical and social services.
Turning to Ms Thunberg’s arguments: It is incredible that people are trying to marginalise them by saying she isn’t mature enough, or that she is being groomed, when they are the same arguments being used by adults across the world.
Look atĀ Harrison Ford:
He used the same “house on fire” metaphor as Ms Thunberg. Are her critics suggesting thatĀ he has been groomed?
The fact is that this young lady has come to a mature conclusion about the consequences of business decisions across the world and has struck a chord with young peopleĀ around the world – as well as adults.
People attacking her are in fact revealing their own inadequacies.
And who are these people?
None of them ever seem to be named.
I want to know who’s messing up the future for us all – don’t you?
Who are the businesspeople whose decisions are clagging up our air with carbon dioxide?
Who are the financiers who are funding them?
Who are the government ministers – worldwide, not just in the UK – who are helping them to vandalise our environment?
If they are named, they can be watched, criticised… ultimately prosecuted.
If not, they will get away with murder – billions of times over. And Ms Thunberg’s critics are their cynical little helpers.
EXTRA – October 15: I’ve just received this tweet:
@MidWalesMike Just reflecting on a silly tweet of mine that got a lot of traction and notice that it's cropped up in an article you wrote. You seem to have misinterpreted it as an attack on Greta Thunberg. I'd just like you to know, it was not. At all.https://t.co/0vl7jgSGhZ
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Greta Thunberg: They couldn’t argue with her reasoning, so they insulted her instead.
The silly season has arrived early this year.
Extinction Rebellion has announced that its protest in London will end on Thursday with a day of disruption and a closing ceremony.
The organisation that spent nine days organising peaceful mass civil disobedience said it would leave its remaining blockades after opening up “a space for truth-telling” – and it was time to spread this space both locally, nationally and internationally.
One of the highlights of the protest was the visit by Greta Thunberg, whose speech at the United Nations Climate Change Conference last year galvanised a generation – ofĀ youngsters – to demand change on environmentally-catastrophic policies from uncaring world leaders.
…Ā but it seems certain malcontents couldn’t wait for her to leave before spreading some “truth-telling” of their own.
And it only proved the truth of Margaret Thatcher’s decades-old claim: “If they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.”
Here’s a chap called Tom Harwood, who calls himself a journalist:
The clip is from the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009, when Ms Thunberg’s motherĀ Malena Ernman, represented Sweden with a song entitled ‘La voix’.
Apparently Mr Harwood wanted us to think this was a bad thing. He didn’t get what he wanted.
Yes she's a massive star here. Fantastic singer and activist. And seems to have done a fab job in raising her daughter. I'm sorry what was the point again now?
— Chairman Mardikins Reply-guys suckš¤š· (@IAmMardikins) April 24, 2019
Apparently the point was that Ms Thunberg was one of the fabled “One per cent” – the most privileged people in the world. If so, then she has more brains, more conscience, than most of the rest of them put together and is even more to be praised, This Writer would have thought. And I’m not alone:
Yes, it seems Mr Harwood was a press officer for the youth-focused Brexit movement that was used by fellow Brexit campaign Vote Leave to break spending limits in the run-up to the EU referendum in 2016, according to the Electoral Commission. According to Shahmir Sanni, he wasĀ Head of Media for BeLeave and Head of the Student wing of Vote Leave.
So before he tries to shame other people, perhaps he should learn a little contrition himself.
At least he didn’t make the enormous gaff committed by Brendan O’Neill, editor ofĀ Spiked.
In an article headlinedĀ The cult of Greta Thunberg and sub-headedĀ This young woman sounds increasingly like a millenarian weirdo, he stated: “Anyone who doubts that the green movement is morphing into a millenarian cult should take a close look at Greta Thunberg.
“This poor young woman increasingly looks and sounds like a cult member. The monotone voice. The look of apocalyptic dread in her eyes. The explicit talk of the coming great āfireā that will punish us for our eco-sins.
“There is something chilling and positively pre-modern about Ms Thunberg. One can imagine her in a sparse wooden church in the Plymouth Colony in the 1600s warning parishioners of the hellfire that will rain upon them if they fail to give up their witches.”
He’s entitled to his opinion, right? Well…
She has Asperger syndrome and sheās speaking in a second language, you fatuous pillock. https://t.co/q0mSF4ZM63
At the end of the day, her critics have good reason to be grateful to Ms Thunberg: She is unlikely to respond in kind. For the reason, I’ll leave you with this:
Questioner: āHow do you respond to climate-deniers?ā@GretaThunberg: āI donātā.#This
Frack site: The well in Lancashire contributes to global warming and climate change.
Climate change “negotiators” got a hard lesson in their own shortcomings – from a minor.
Greta Thunberg is only 15, but she packed more maturity into her three-minute speech than we’ve seen in decades of mealy-mouthed “negotiations” between representatives of national and internationalĀ economic interests.
The Swedish activist shamed her elders at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP24, where representatives eventually managed to reach a weak agreement over how to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. But everybody there knew they weren’t doing nearly enough to achieve that goal, which is why Ms Thunberg’s words had such bite.
Here’s her speech:
āYou say you love your children above all else and yet you are stealing their future in front of their very eyes.ā
“You are not mature enough to tell it like it is,” she told an audience entirely composed of her elders (but clearly not her betters). “Even that burden you leave to us children.
“Our civilisation is being sacrificed for the opportunity of a very small number of people to continue making enormous amounts of money.
“It is the sufferings of the many that pay for the luxuries of the few… We need to keep the fossil fuels in the ground.”
She also said: “You have ignored us in the past and you will ignore us again.”
Now consider the current court case in the UK over plans by our Conservative government to expand fracking.
If ever there was an example of the many suffering to support the luxuries of the few – the opportunity of a very small number of people to continue making enormous amounts of money – it is the fracking industry in the United Kingdom.
The current case highlights new planning guidance by the government which makes it easier to establish fracking sites. The document orders local authorities to facilitate the establishment of such sites, and proposes the removal of the need for new wells to get planning permission.
The government did not carry out any assessment of the impact its plans would have on the environment, and the guidance was imposed on the country without any public consultation.
It seems clear that James Brokenshire, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, qualifies as one of the people Ms Thunberg describes as “not mature enough to tell it like it is.”
So do former prime minister David Cameron and his successor Theresa May. At a time when sustainable energy has never been cheaper or easier to supply, one is led to ask why they continue to kowtow to fossil fuel corporates like Cuadrilla bosses Roy Franklin and Francis Egan.
Fracking at Cuadrilla’s only UK site, in Lancashire, was halted again on December 11 after yet another earth tremor was caused by the process. This one measured 1.5 on the Richter scale, causing a woman who lives 1.6 miles from the site to say she heard a loud “bang” and her house shook. A Cuadrilla spokesperson said the effect would have been “like dropping a melon”.
We may conclude from this that the spokesperson is “not mature enough to tell it like it is” either.
But what is to be done in the face of such monumental selfishness, such wilful ignorance, such naked greed?
I’d like to think changeĀ is coming, whether the government figures and corporates named above like it or not – but I don’t think it will, unless somebody does something shocking.
I think someone would have to grab Messrs Cameron, Brokenshire, Egan and Franklin, along with Mrs May, drag them to the fracking well in Lancashire, and throw them down it – and then fill it in on top of them.
That’s what it would take to get these people to look up from counting their money and pay attention – the threat of extreme sanction.
But I can’t advocate such extreme measures – and the system is skewed in favour of the privileged. So what’s to be done?
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