11/22/2009

Diary of a Jew in the Second World War

Another one has been found. Now, rather than just one by Anne Frank (Who lived in Amsterdam) there is one by a lady called Klaartje de Zwarte-Walvisch, whom, too, lived in Amsterdam. She had given her diary to her brother-in-law and wrote in it: “I wish that this will reach the outside world someday” which it now has as they are going to publish it. It had been in the possession of the “Joods Historisch Museum” or Jewish Historical Museum, In Amsterdam for several years, but it was not known who had written it. It had taken some time for a Dutch tv program, who was doing a series on the second world war, to find the anonymous document. Once they did they tracked down who it was by use of old transport lists they realised it must be that of Klaartje de Zwarte-Walvisch. It’s exciting that there is another account, this time by a 32year old. It allows people to see what really happened in the Second World War in Amsterdam, not just from the perspectives of a child. Many Dutch people feel that they were very much innocent in the Second World War, after all Holland was occupied by the Germans. And I grew up with the same ideas, as that is what the general conception is. It was only when I learnt more about it, watched more programmes and especially the film of ‘Zwart Boek’ or ‘Black Book’ has opened my eyes to the contraversiality of what really happened. There were always colaboraters, no matter where you were in the “third reich”, but they seem to be forgotten at times in Holland. And it is only now that people can fully understand that there were plenty of colaboraters in Holland, and thus it was hard to get away from all of it. I feel it is important that the catastrofes of the Second World War are not forgotten, no matter where you live. (And those of the First World War).

My History teacher told me that 1 in 20 children thinks that the Holocaust (the systematical mass murder of Jews in the second world war) was a party at the end of the war to celebrate that it was over.
Children think that Hitler was a footbal coach.

And then there are people in the world who have the audacity to say that we should not commemorate the first and second world wars simply because it was a long time ago. Yet things such as Burns Night are still celebrated… and that was far longer ago – but there is no question of stopping that, after all it includes fireworks and drinking. It seems ridiculous to me, and it is something I will never be able to understand, that these children do not know or understand fully about what happened in the second world war, so many people were murdered for no reason at all. So many innocent people died because they didn’t fit a certain description set up by some idiot who thought that all blond people were the best in the world. (The irony with that is… the mixing of the genetics of two “races” – for lack of better word – makes it stronger. If you keep “breeding” the same genetic characteristics there is a higher chance of relation and thus degeneratif mutation of the genes) Hitler was making the “übermensch” weaker, not stronger.

All in all it is important that everyone realised and is educated about the atrocities in the first and second world wars, without them our world would not be as it is today.

You forgot a very important thing my friends, I am captain Jack sparrow.

Piracy – this is what the Somalians do best… they kidnap people and get randsom.. But they’ve had a bit of a hickup with this English couple… They don’t have any money – so now they are asking the government for help. The point my stepmum made? the UK does not pay randsom money –> they never have and never will. So what is going to happen to the poor people that are being held captive? I honestly don’t know. What I do know is that the Somalians have made piracy a highly lucrative business and do so in a manner completely different to what the age old image is. They no longer take women captive or rob other ships with hand guns and swords. There is never talk of right of “parlay” and there will not be a chance that they are released without randsom money being paid.

The somalians use big guns, big being and understatement at that, and hold people captive for money. They often take people who are likely to have financial backing. their first mistake being this english couple who have a yacht – and that’s it, according to their family. I believe they currently have about 30 hostages or something… so if you’re sailing don’t go anywhere near there unless you want to end up  as bate, and possibly an extra on NCIS…

11/06/2009

Fort Hood - Texas

Ok, I feel my blog name is very appropriate right now. What. Was. That?!
Fort Hood, the largest american military base had a shooting, 13 dead, 33 wounded. 1 guy who flipped caused all of it. now the thing that surprised me most, is that I went on to the website this morning, to make sure I had all of the right figures. Their website says NOTHING. I am appalled, already they are covering it up? Or what are they doing? Are they just plain in denial about what happened. Sure I understand that it is important to continue ones life and to move on from what happened, and I'm sure that the base needs to continue to be run - but surely it doesn't need to be ignored this early on? (Check out their website here
Luckily all of the news papers and news channels are currently still commenting on it, and shocked.
I feel it is a bit ridiculous that the Times has had to comment on the fact that the soldier was Muslim, as if this is something so very significant. What does strike me, however, is that Major Nidal Malik Hasan was trained to by a psychiatrist... a bit ironic. So is the fact that he lived in a place called Killeen. But none of this is proof for anything, of course, beyond extreme irony and that if god exists he has a very strange sense of humor.
All in All, what happened in Fort Hood was something that is definitely shocking and rediculous, I hope that Major Hasan gets a very long period in a prison, because that is definitely what he deserves.