tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post6135314594596093949..comments2024-03-28T23:48:27.173-06:00Comments on Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan: Berlin Police and the Holocaust in the Benie Gunther Series (Part I)Bill Selneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268006369157307593noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-44127967848827606862016-02-26T23:23:59.807-06:002016-02-26T23:23:59.807-06:00Kathy D.: Thanks for the comment. You raise an imp...Kathy D.: Thanks for the comment. You raise an important point. There was no choice for European Jews in WW II. Bernie had options because he was not a Jew.Bill Selneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17268006369157307593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-6426474233467965962016-02-26T23:21:11.352-06:002016-02-26T23:21:11.352-06:00Kathy D.: Thanks for the comment. Our Supreme Cour...Kathy D.: Thanks for the comment. Our Supreme Court appointment process is becoming more politicized. I pray it never reaches the ideological intensity of the United States.Bill Selneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17268006369157307593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-92055401289186011992016-02-25T01:26:40.613-06:002016-02-25T01:26:40.613-06:00Talking about the Holocaust, I wouldn't have h...Talking about the Holocaust, I wouldn't have had a choice. That would have been a privilege. Half of my family is Jewish. Some were union organizers and advocates for civil liberties and civil rights. None of it tolerated by the Nazis.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-31982321419969159772016-02-25T01:20:49.315-06:002016-02-25T01:20:49.315-06:00Well, yes. Now some folks are announcing they'...Well, yes. Now some folks are announcing they'll obstruct nomination of a Supreme Court justice based on their political views, violating the legal obligation of the president to nominate people for the position. <br /><br />And what's going on with the election process is wild. So much is dangerous about what is being said, uncriticized. People are threatened if they protest in some settings.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-84141747751928717792016-02-23T23:05:12.877-06:002016-02-23T23:05:12.877-06:00Kathy D.: Thanks for the comment. I am coming to f...Kathy D.: Thanks for the comment. I am coming to fear for the Rule of Law in America.<br />Bill Selneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17268006369157307593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-71310515947504713982016-02-23T04:15:55.626-06:002016-02-23T04:15:55.626-06:00It makes people around the world more suspicious o...It makes people around the world more suspicious of U.S. motives and practices.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-85362107508576260742016-02-21T21:52:33.306-06:002016-02-21T21:52:33.306-06:00Kathy D.: Thanks for the comment. I have struggled...Kathy D.: Thanks for the comment. I have struggled with how America has handled its prisoners in the war on terror. I believe your nation will regret its lack of legal process with regard to these prisoners.Bill Selneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17268006369157307593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-7080333545303237552016-02-21T03:34:58.374-06:002016-02-21T03:34:58.374-06:00I believe everyone has a right to a legal defense....I believe everyone has a right to a legal defense. And some notables in the U.S. who are international human rights lawyers or civil liberties attorneys (or were) have taken questionable clients for the reasons you outline.<br /><br />However, there is a double standard. While Nazi war criminals were given legal counsel, those imprisoned at Guantanamo who have not committed genocide, are denied basic civil liberties, held in solitary confinement, considered a form of torture, denied trials, etc. <br /><br />And some people, including youth, are kept in jail here without trials, sometimes for years. Basic civil liberties are denied.<br /><br />I don't know how Canada's legal system works and if it's in better shape than the one here. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-14004107826927489702016-02-17T22:40:15.526-06:002016-02-17T22:40:15.526-06:00Kathy D.: Thanks for the comment. If we are going ...Kathy D.: Thanks for the comment. If we are going to have prosecutors present evidence and argument in favour of guilt those accused need lawyers to defend them. Not every lawyer will defend those charged with war crimes but if you are going to be a defence lawyer you should defend such accused. Our legal system needs strong prosecutors and defenders.Bill Selneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17268006369157307593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-26659347097437187972016-02-15T10:36:54.791-06:002016-02-15T10:36:54.791-06:00TracyK: Thanks for the comment. What happened make...TracyK: Thanks for the comment. What happened makes me think about what I would have done.Bill Selneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17268006369157307593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-42565529540990069082016-02-14T23:52:47.048-06:002016-02-14T23:52:47.048-06:00Police are part of the state and they have to carr...Police are part of the state and they have to carry out the program of the government's officials. They're not independent, although people always have to make choices. But if they want to keep their jobs, they have to go along.<br /><br />I wondered about a few series about police in Italy during the fascist rule of Mussolini. How could they be neutral? And then I saw TV episodes about a police officer before and after the war. He is an OK guy, but then is sent to Rome and as the war is starting, he's seen looking at photos of fleeing resisters. He protects who who is a friend and then the scene fades.<br /><br />Next disc, it's at the end of the war.<br /><br />And the issue about lawyers is interesting. People do deserve lawyers, but would all lawyers defend those who committed genocide? War crimes? Is it always fair?<br /><br />People are imprisoned without trial and legal rights at Guantanamo. Why did Nazi war criminals have rights to counsel and trial at Nuremberg? And yet these rights aren't extended to everyone?<br /><br />I do know civil liberties and human rights lawyers who have taken questionable cases for many reasons, for one, to earn a living to pursue other cases. And because they probably thought that everyone charged should have legal defense.<br /><br />Yet, WWII genocide. I know many lawyers couldn't take on defending anyone who carried this out. I wonder if any Jewish or Roma lawyers have done this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-22508877746469778972016-02-13T14:13:24.941-06:002016-02-13T14:13:24.941-06:00Very very interesting, Bill. Thanks for sharing th...Very very interesting, Bill. Thanks for sharing this research with us. TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-75495197383041015592016-02-08T22:39:19.904-06:002016-02-08T22:39:19.904-06:00Margot: Thanks for the comment. What is striking t...Margot: Thanks for the comment. What is striking to me is the participants in the Holocaust who were not committed believers in twisted Nazi ideologies. It was always a choice.Bill Selneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17268006369157307593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-3329376284064051232016-02-08T06:22:28.113-06:002016-02-08T06:22:28.113-06:00It is fascinating and truly disturbing to see how ...It is fascinating and truly disturbing to see how the police - at least the examples you provided - slowly turned into people who furthered the Third Reich's aims, Bill. As you point out, it was an insidious step-by-step process. I think Kerr depicts effectively how the Nazis were able to persuade so many people to go along with them. And in that sense, I think the books provide a subtle but very real warning.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com