Simon Beech's Blog

Dedicated to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice, to maintain the freedom and security of our country and in the defence of others less fortunate. We will never forget and will wear our poppies with pride. May you rest in peace, with the gratitude of a grateful nation.

For The Fallen. Laurence Binyon

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,

England mourns for her dead across the sea.

Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,

Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the ...

I am a strong supporter of the current government. I support the austerity measures that are causing financial hardship for the working man and his family, we are all in this together. I support the belief that the only way to repair the damage to our economy is to be realistic with the countries finances. We have had the glory days of borrowing more than the value of our homes and the spend now, worry later philosophy of the previous elected leaders. What I find increasingly difficult...

You only have to watch Young dumb and living off mum, to see what is wrong with society today.

It's only week three and I despair, that young adults can lack the basic skills of life. They accept no responsibility for their actions and think alcohol is more important than food.

So who is to blame for the behaviour of these vile offspring? The parents, who nurture their every whim and request. What frustrates me more, the parents actually defend their actions, when shown  how useless their...

The day that Britain adopted the European Human Rights Act 1998, we became a haven for criminality and anti social behavior. The lesser elements of society know their rights only too well, citing “human rights” at the first sign of any retribution for their abhorrent behaviour.

No more can the police reprimand the petty criminal or the hoody thug with a clip round the ear. Not without the threat of prosecution, dismissal and even private prosecution. The result, the police no longer command respect. This was apparent during the recent riots, the news interviews with the hooligans on the street “we don’t respect the police, what can they do anyway?”

Schools have the same problem. Children texting in class, smoking in the school grounds, swearing and abusing teachers. The staff powerless, the only weapon in their arsenal is detention. Lets be honest, will the kids actually stay behind anyway. When I was in school, the threat of the cane was enough of a deterrent, to make you think twice about your behaviour. The teachers are faced daily with comments of “touch me and you will be done for assault” or “You can’t take my phone, I know my rights”. The sad thing is, they do, worse still they are usually supported by their parents. I have seen it first hand. A pupil at my sons school waiting in reception with his father. From the conversation, it appeared the boy had misbehaved in class. When reprimanded by the teacher, the pupil responded with a torrent of abuse. The fathers response to his son, “don’t worry, if he starts, I will wait until after school and smack him one”. The apple does not fall far from the tree.

Parents need to accept responsibility for their children’s behaviour, this is no longer easy though. A parents right to discipline their child has been revoked. I do not believe in using physical violence to chastise a child but, as a child, the mere threat of it was enough to restore discipline to my brothers and I. The issue we have now is the child knows he can not be “smacked”.

I fear, we have now gone too far and there may never, be a way back to a civilised society. Each new generation embraces the protection afforded to them by the EHRA.

What kind of society gives more rights to the criminals, than to the victims of their crimes. How many people have been prosecuted, and indeed imprisoned, for defending their home, family or possessions. In the heat of the moment, exactly when is the line of reasonable force, crossed?

In my opinion criminals must be made to accept the risks of their trade. If they are injured or killed while going about their “business”, tough.

Someone enters my house, in the dead of night, armed with a weapon and taking my belongings. I defend myself, family and property, without the time to assess how much force to use. The intruder is injured or worse (depending on your outlook). The fault obviously lies with him. If he was not in my house, he would not have been injured. Plain and simple, black and white. Unless you live in a country bound by human rights, when it suddenly becomes shades of grey. Who assaulted who? How much force was required, and used? Did the victim fear for his life? Was the homeowners weapon actually a weapon (therefore indicating premeditated) or simply a household object? Never mind that the theiving scum had a knife, baseball bat or lead pipe.

To avoid the further decline of society,we must give human rights to the people who will use them, not abuse them.

The day that Britain adopted the European Human Rights Act 1998, we became a haven for criminality and anti social behavior. The lesser elements of society know their rights only too well, citing "human rights" at the first sign of any retribution for their abhorrent behaviour.

No more can the police reprimand the petty criminal or the hoody thug with a clip round the ear. Not without the threat of prosecution, dismissal and even private prosecution. The result, the police no longer command...

In the worst riots since Brixton in 1981, five people were killed, shops and businesses were ransacked by looters, buildings were burnt down and general disorder wreaked havoc on the streets of the UK.

Thankfully, the judicial system is working, as fast as possible, to punish the guilty. Despite the bleeding hearts making excuses, the courts appear to be rewarding the morons, with severe sentences. Better still, remanding them in custody until a Crown Court appearance. You reap what you sow.

But amongst all the madness, here are a few stories which have shown solidarity amongst the British public and have touched the hearts of people all over the world.

1. Messages of peace

Hundreds of people covered a boarded up window of a Poundland store in Peckham, south London, with notes of peace. The wall bore a resemblance to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem as hordes of positive messages appeared on the board after the worst night of violence on Monday calling for peace and tolerance in the capital.

2. Woman confronts rioters

A West-Indian born woman living in Hackney became a viral hit after a video of her lambasting the rioters in the middle of the chaos appeared on Twitter. The brave woman holding a walking stick in one hand branded them as “dirty thiefs” and urged them to “get it real” to their faces.

During the video taken in a riot-hit street and surrounded by violent looters, she screams: “This is about a man who got shot in Tottenham, this isn’t about having fun. Get it real black people, if we are going to fight for a cause, let’s fight for a cause.”

3. People protect their streets

After the unprecedented level of violence on the streets of London on Monday night, Tuesday night saw members of local communities taking to the streets to stop vandals getting to their shops and homes. In Southall, 700 Sikhs gathered to protect their temples from potential rioters. People as old as 80 worked alongside a limited number of police officers to defend their places of worship.

Similarly, Kurds and Turks together joined forces in Hackney- the worst-hit borough of the London riots – to ward off looters with bricks, snooker cues and baseball bats. George Eaton referred to them as “a true English Defence League” in The New Statesman.

4. Charity page for injured boy

A charity has been set up online to support injured Malaysian student Ashraf Rossli. His story melted the hearts of people around the globe after a video of him being mugged appeared on the Web. The JustGiving page entitled ‘somethingniceforashraf’ was set up to pay for dental treatment for the teeth he lost in the attack and the belongings he lost in the mugging, which included his bike, phone and PSP.

In response to the page, the Kuala-Lumpur-born victim thanked contributers, saying: “It is very nice of you all to help me.” Despite the terrible incident, he plans on staying in London to complete his accountancy studies. At the time of writing, the charity has reached over £22,000 in donations.

5. Clean-up campaigns

Celebrities and normal people alike turned out to volunteer in a nationwide clean-up campaign in the aftermath of the riots. Armed with brooms, binbags and rubber gloves, Mancunians and Londoners got stuck in helping clean up the damage caused by the rioters. Facebook and Twitter have been instrumental in spreading the word and getting people motivated in mass clean-up operations.

6. Memorials

The fifth person whose life was claimed in the riots was 68-year-old Richard Mannington Bowes who died when he was set upon by a gang while trying to stamp out fires in two industrial wheelie bins started by rioters on Tuesday evening. Ealing Council has since set up the Richard Mannington Bowes Relief Fund to help local businesses and the community to return to normal in the wake of the riots. The Union flag was also flown at half mast from Ealing Town Hall on Friday in the pensioner’s memory.

A Peace Rally and Walk is also due to take place on Sunday afternoon in Birmingham in memory of brothers Shahzad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31, and their friend Haroon Jahan, 21. The trio died in the early hours of Wednesday after they were knocked down by a car in Winson Green as they reportedly protected property from looters. Thousands of people are expected to turn up to the event.

Despite the moronic actions of the few, Britain is, and will remain, Great.

In the worst riots since Brixton in 1981, five people were killed, shops and businesses were ransacked by looters, buildings were burnt down and general disorder wreaked havoc on the streets of the UK.

Thankfully, the judicial system is working, as fast as possible, to punish the guilty. Despite the bleeding hearts making excuses, the courts appear to be rewarding the morons, with severe sentences. Better still, remanding them in custody until a Crown Court appearance. You reap what you sow.

Bu...

In the worst riots since Brixton in 1981, five people were killed, shops and businesses were ransacked by looters, buildings were burnt down and general disorder wreaked havoc on the streets of the UK.

Thankfully, the judicial system is working, as fast as possible, to punish the guilty. Despite the bleeding hearts making excuses, the courts appear to be rewarding the morons, with severe sentences. Better still, remanding them in custody until a Crown Court appearance. You reap what you sow.

Bu...

I am proud to be British. We live in a country of free speech and democracy. If we do not work, we are supported by the benefits system, we have social housing, free healthcare and everyone has the opportunity to be educated. We are the envy of many nations and one of the largest economies in the world.

The events of the last few days have left me saddened and ashamed. The whole world has watched, as the worst of Britain went about mindless, wanton and wholly unjustifiable rioting, looting and criminal damage. They have destroyed lives, buildings, businesses and motor vehicles and for what? A free pair of sports shoes, a flatscreen TV or in one case, 6 bottles of nail polish.

I watched in disbelief as a young scrote in Manchester was interviewed by a journalist. He was asked why they were rioting and looting. His answer, "for money, the police can't do anything to stop us". That was it, his justification for being the scurge of Britain. Dressed in tracksuit, obligatory hoody (which should be banned) dark glasses and baseball cap. He was, your stereotypical yob, no more than 14 or 15 years old.

I am a single parent of two children. My eldest 16, my youngest 10. I know where they are all the time. At night, they are home, safe and out of trouble. If your children where involved in the reckless behaviour, you have failed as a parent, worse, you have failed as a member of society. You should be ashamed and embarrassed.

Watching the news, it is pleasing to see the speed with which the guilty are being punished. What puzzles me is, why would a primary school teacher, throw away his career and future prospects for stupidity. He was obviously employed, had a home and a partner. I would love to know how he justified his actions in court.

My main concern, is whether the punishment will fit the crime. Remembering that people have lost loved ones, homes, businesses and income. Punishment should be as harsh as possible. The message should be clear. In modern society, we will not accept this kind of behaviour.

The bleeding hearts will start to excuse the behaviour with the usual social excuses. Unemployment, bored teenagers, low income, high prices. I'm sorry, it wont wash. The country, as a whole, is in recession, everyone is feeling the pain. Who do these people think will bear the cost of the clean up, the increased insurance premiums, the extra policing. They have not saved jobs, they have jeopardised them.

I wonder how many of these yobs are claiming sickness or incapacity benefits. To ill to work but can throw a bin through a shop window, then run away. I hope the police and the courts liase with the benefits service.

Punishment should be in three parts.

1. Name and shame. If you loose your job, tough luck.

2. Dress them in orange overalls and make them clean up and repair the damage.

3. Sentence by victim. If that includes public flogging, so be it. Human rights should not be part of the equation.

My final word, will be praise for the police and fire service. True professionals in difficult circumstances. Also to the community members, who rose above the destruction and joined together to restore some pride. The best of British, yes indeed.