Nicely Done

For all of you who like the story of Robin Hood and didn't sympathize with the Sheriff of Nottingham,

[a] GANG of anarchist Robin Hood-style thieves, who dress as superheroes and steal expensive food from exclusive restaurants and delicatessens to give to the poor, are being hunted by police in the German city of Hamburg.

The gang members seemingly take delight in injecting humour into their raids, which rely on sheer numbers and the confusion caused by their presence. After they plundered Kobe beef fillets, champagne and smoked salmon from a gourmet store on the exclusive Elbastrasse, they presented the cashier with a bouquet of flowers before making their getaway.

The latest robbery is part of a pattern over the past several months, suggesting that the thieves deliberately set out to highlight what they perceive as the inequality inherent in German society. [emphasis added]

Perceive? If they're part of the current world economic model, that takes the real wealth created by workers and transforms it into phony monetary wealth for the moneylenders, I would say that they have pretty reasonable cause for these beliefs.

However, the authorities do not agree. Bodo Franz, a police spokesman, said: "They get off feeling they are just like Robin Hood. There are about 30 in the group. But whatever their motives, they are thieves, plain and simple."

This may be plain and simple theft, but it pales in comparison to the institutionalized, legal theft of the world's wealth by the powerful money managers.

Carsten Sievers, the manager of a luxury supermarket in the wealthy Blankenese area of Hamburg, recently watched the robbers run off with trolleys full of expensive foodstuffs, including Kobe beef which, at more than £100 a pound, is always on their illicit shopping list.

In another recent swoop, the gang emptied a groaning buffet table in a top restaurant into sacks, while one of their number held up a sign saying. "The fat years are over" - the title of a hit film currently doing the rounds in Germany.

In internet statements, the gang have made a point of saying their booty is distributed to Hartz IV recipients - the poorest of Germany's long-term unemployed.

***

When the gang robbed the gourmet store in April - triggering a massive police investigation that cost £20,000 in taxpayers' money without an arrest being made - they left a note behind saying: "Without the abilities of the superheroes to help them, it would be impossible for ordinary people to survive in the city of the millionaires."

***

Mr Franz said: "They try to make crime fun but are politically motivated."

What a thought. The police think that there is political motivation behind this and it's not just for fun. Why should this group of people want to effect change to a system that is bleeding us all dry to enrich a small class that is more powerful than one could ever imagine?

Way to go guys!