Great article Sam. As a Brit, albeit expat, I’d just throw in that the UK is amongst the lowest in Europe when it comes to taking in refugees. The numbers illegally arriving in boats averages 1800 a month for the first quarter of 2024 and are primarily from Vietnam (1076), Afghanistan (1046), Iran (653), Syria (591), Eritrea (459) and Iraq (373). Four of those countries the UK has lovingly bombed/sanctioned to protect the people from their Governments.
Over the two-year period 2022-2024, 75,228 were stopped attempting to illegally enter the UK (and up to 60% of those immigrants/refugees could be prevented if we hadn't attacked their countries); during that same period there were over a million live births in the UK. My point is, that illegal immigration is a drop in the ocean (pun intended) when it comes to social services. Illegal immigration is not the problem, the problem is the public perception of refugees/illegal immigrants as being the cause of so many of the social problems in the UK and that is a deliberate Government policy of 'kicking down' in order to divide and rule the working classes.
The cause of the riots is part of a wider cult of Islamophobia, a term very very rarely used by the Government even when challenged to do so in the face of attacks on Mosques. They never hesitate to use the term Anti-Semitism even when totally inappropriate eg, pro-Palestinian Peace protests that have a large banner waving Jewish component or criticism of Israeli policy and actions.
The 'Far Right' riots are similar in philosophy to the MAGA movement but psychologically more akin to the BLM movement in that the rioters are marginalised, feel themselves to be under attack, unrepresented, disenfranchised and voiceless. The murder of those young girls was a George Floyd/Rodney King moment. Even though the attacker was born and raised in the UK to Rwandan parents (Rwanda is 92% Christian and only 2% Muslim) and has no know connection to Islam, the mob attacked the Muslim community and churches on the assumption that he was a Muslim. THAT is the problem. The UK is 47% Christian, 37% no religion, 6% Muslim, 2% Sikh but Islamophobia is rife across the UK and has been stoked by successive British Prime Ministers.
In the US the two wings of the Uniparty differentiate themselves on three emotive (but relatively trivial issues on an international scale) subjects; gun control, abortion and diversity. In the UK we only have one issue to differentiate between the two cheeks of the centrist Uniparty arse - diversity. So, Labour has to champion Diversity and 'Woke' issues as the sole difference between them and the Tories. So, they avoid directly antagonising minorities whilst still following the 'bad Muslim' agenda and this gets frequently gets them twisted into knots.
The riot was a result of deliberate misinformation and social policies by successive British Governments and the harsh punishments that will undoubtedly follow will further inflame that community, particularly as the punishments will be harsher than those that would/will be given to the Muslim community - another BLM parallel.
"Conclusion: Can we step back from the brink of a broader war in the Middle East? Unlikely. "
The proper answer is: No. I'm working on a Substack piece which makes that clear. This was has been INTENDED for at least the last twenty-five years - and probably PLANNED for the last several years - since Biden and Netanyahu gained ascendancy in their respective countries.
As for the UK, no, it's not "immigration". It's not a matter of "no society can tolerate that much immigration". If that's the case, the underlying reason is racism and a bad economy - not immigration. As William S. Burroughs once said, "England is the only country where shop clerks refer to each other as 'my colleagues'." Next to India, England invented "caste".
Great article Sam. As a Brit, albeit expat, I’d just throw in that the UK is amongst the lowest in Europe when it comes to taking in refugees. The numbers illegally arriving in boats averages 1800 a month for the first quarter of 2024 and are primarily from Vietnam (1076), Afghanistan (1046), Iran (653), Syria (591), Eritrea (459) and Iraq (373). Four of those countries the UK has lovingly bombed/sanctioned to protect the people from their Governments.
Over the two-year period 2022-2024, 75,228 were stopped attempting to illegally enter the UK (and up to 60% of those immigrants/refugees could be prevented if we hadn't attacked their countries); during that same period there were over a million live births in the UK. My point is, that illegal immigration is a drop in the ocean (pun intended) when it comes to social services. Illegal immigration is not the problem, the problem is the public perception of refugees/illegal immigrants as being the cause of so many of the social problems in the UK and that is a deliberate Government policy of 'kicking down' in order to divide and rule the working classes.
The cause of the riots is part of a wider cult of Islamophobia, a term very very rarely used by the Government even when challenged to do so in the face of attacks on Mosques. They never hesitate to use the term Anti-Semitism even when totally inappropriate eg, pro-Palestinian Peace protests that have a large banner waving Jewish component or criticism of Israeli policy and actions.
The 'Far Right' riots are similar in philosophy to the MAGA movement but psychologically more akin to the BLM movement in that the rioters are marginalised, feel themselves to be under attack, unrepresented, disenfranchised and voiceless. The murder of those young girls was a George Floyd/Rodney King moment. Even though the attacker was born and raised in the UK to Rwandan parents (Rwanda is 92% Christian and only 2% Muslim) and has no know connection to Islam, the mob attacked the Muslim community and churches on the assumption that he was a Muslim. THAT is the problem. The UK is 47% Christian, 37% no religion, 6% Muslim, 2% Sikh but Islamophobia is rife across the UK and has been stoked by successive British Prime Ministers.
In the US the two wings of the Uniparty differentiate themselves on three emotive (but relatively trivial issues on an international scale) subjects; gun control, abortion and diversity. In the UK we only have one issue to differentiate between the two cheeks of the centrist Uniparty arse - diversity. So, Labour has to champion Diversity and 'Woke' issues as the sole difference between them and the Tories. So, they avoid directly antagonising minorities whilst still following the 'bad Muslim' agenda and this gets frequently gets them twisted into knots.
The riot was a result of deliberate misinformation and social policies by successive British Governments and the harsh punishments that will undoubtedly follow will further inflame that community, particularly as the punishments will be harsher than those that would/will be given to the Muslim community - another BLM parallel.
Excellent comment Andy — thanks for the extra context and framing. Adding a note above so readers make sure to catch this one.
"Conclusion: Can we step back from the brink of a broader war in the Middle East? Unlikely. "
The proper answer is: No. I'm working on a Substack piece which makes that clear. This was has been INTENDED for at least the last twenty-five years - and probably PLANNED for the last several years - since Biden and Netanyahu gained ascendancy in their respective countries.
As for the UK, no, it's not "immigration". It's not a matter of "no society can tolerate that much immigration". If that's the case, the underlying reason is racism and a bad economy - not immigration. As William S. Burroughs once said, "England is the only country where shop clerks refer to each other as 'my colleagues'." Next to India, England invented "caste".