angiescarr

Well, someone had to post about the riots. Even if those of us who live in Spain feel a long way away from them. Is this the beginning of something much bigger? Maybe the final realisation that Globalisation is at an end in it's present state. People standing up for a just cause. Or just a few greedy stupid people using any old excuse to steal things and burn stuff?
(Stands back)

Grayling

so when did this breakdown start?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_riots

Mitzyboy

I am really saddened by what I see, especially as it has no spread to my home area, Birmingham.

I don't think this has anything to do with just causes. These are the low lifes in Britain coming out to play. They aren't demonstrating against anything, they have no cause, they are just interested only in looting ..... and for some reason totally ruining other peopls lives. Now the real criminals are joining in, and taking advantage of the situation.

Now that it's spreading it needs to be stopped immediately in a way that these lunatics understand, and that unfortunately means resorting to the water canon, the army and if necessary rubber bullets. You can't talk to them, they won't listen .... and the more they get away with it, the more of them will come out of the woodwork.

Meanwhile the Police seem powerless to stop them, peoples homes are being destroyed, businesses ruined .... and all so that someone can get a new 50" TV without paying for it. The ultimate cost of all this will be horrendous.

Rosemary

I agree with you Mitzy except you added rubber when it should have been left out.

Graham

Rosemary

That is what happens with the vast majority of riots and troubles. It is not the normal, ordinary people of the country causing the difficulties but the thick in the head types with mob mentality.

Rosemary

bil

So what was the story of the shooting that was supposed to trigger this event.

I caught a report that said the police hadn't bothered to talk to the family of the shot guy, and there was something about the police saying he was the victim of a gun battle where he shot at the police, but this was later denied.

The Met has got previous for shooting people in VERY questionable circ's, and has previous for being less than racially sensitive.

When I see the mayor's assisstant shrieking about the criminals doing all this, and then blustering when the above points were made to him, I start to wonder about where the blame lies.

If the Met have shot someone without proper grounds and then lied about it, it will be a nice change from clubbing old men to death and lying about it, or murdering Brazilians and then lying about it, or fitting up people and then lying about it, or beating people halfto death and then lying about it...

I'm sure there's a pattern there if only I could put my finger on it.

With the recession, the current crisis, people short all the time, the heat et al, wouldn't an intelligent person see the way this family was treated, if true, was like juggling with flaming torches near a ruptured petrol drum.

bil

Personally I think the Met are too free with their bullets as it is.

Dick Dasterdly

Spot on.

Little short of harsh measures has any hope of working against these mindless turds of society with little or no decency
and a total lack of respect for everyone.

The softly softly, throw more money at the problem, attitude of todays nanny state clearly does not work.
The problems begin at home in their younger days and continue with todays weak school discipline.

Although organised gangs are now getting involved, many of those in previous days have been as young as 12 or 13 yr.old.

Sad also to see the likes of Livingstone and the Guardian rag justifying their actions and using the opportunity to do some electioneering.

HBG

I know some of the affected areas rather well, and I've lived in them for years. And I'm going to say something from my intimate knowledge of those places which will probably not be aired on the politically correct news channels, and maybe it shouldn't be.

The great majority of the rioters were black people, from areas where a high proportion of black people live. Those areas also have the highest crime rates in the land - and the highest rates of unemployment and poverty.

An army of sociologists will write long reports, the war cabinet has met in Cobra, the police have lost control of the streets in those places, and little children will suffer as they follow their terrified parents out of burning homes.

Do I know of a solution? No, I haven't got a clue.

bil

Ah yes, what we need is some more shootings. Let's see, we have the ruptured petrol drum blazing nicely so let's put a few rounds into the big tank over there now.

Oh masterful, simply masterful.

steviedeluxe

Regardless of whether a mistake was made last week in Tottenham, this situation should not have been allowed to escalate to the stage it is now. It's small business owners, shop workers and even flat tenants in various areas who are suffering now.

The scenes shown on Hackney yesterday afternoon was very frustrating. The rioters were very nervous, and ran as soon as the police made an advance. But the police made no effort to clear the street, held back as much as possible, and were seemingly quite content to see toe-rags light fires in the street. No attempt made whatsoever to snatch ringleaders and quell the disturbance. These scenes were obviously seen by gangs in different parts of London, who now realised there was no effective law and order. Hence their ability to loot and burn at will. The only time they came up against effective resistance was from local vigilantes eg the Turkish community in Dalston http://twitpic.com/635ffl

I've heard some people say the police are scared of the criticism they'll get in the Guardian newspaper, and so are "working to rule". If so, it is pathetic. People are going to get killed as this thing carries on, never mind the businesses and jobs that will now disappear.

Meanwhile Cameron,Clegg &Co have been worse than useless. I think I'd sooner have Frank Spencer in charge.

bil

Spot on. Screw political correctness, and let's look at the facts. Like it or not, areas with high immigrant populations are more likely to riot. Whether you take the attitude that that is because poor black areas are more ground down, or because you think that all immigrants are scum, those areas are riots just waiting to happen.

So, an intelligent police force would realise that the shooting of a black man in such areas needs to be handled very carefully, and the family kept in the loop. A bit, I guess like you'd want to be treated if your son had been shot by the police.

If the police have shot a black guy, and the allegations that the shooting is questionable, and the family have been treated badly, then the blame for lighting the fire should be laid far and square at the doors of the Met, where it can join the pile of incidents where the Met has abused its power with fatal consequences, and then lied about it.

There's a lot of people in the riot who have comitted criminal acts, and as such should be tried for it. Don't worry tho, there's precious little danger of there being any coppers in the dock tho.

bil

I agree. Having lit the fire, the police have failed then to control it. As you say "But the police made no effort to clear the street, held back as much as possible, and were seemingly quite content to see toe-rags light fires in the street. No attempt made whatsoever to snatch ringleaders and quell the disturbance."

The fire they lit is out of control. A cynic might suggest that the government are keen to crack down on protest, and allowing something like this to get so bad before stamping it out will enable the government to draw up yet more powers to prevent us from having a say when we are dissatisfied with the way the gang of thieves is running the country.

The police are scared of criticism? PERHAPS IF THEY DIDN'T KILL CITIZENS QUITE SO BLATANTLY AND LIE ABOUT IT THEY WOULDN'T GET CRITICISED.

In my experience, people aren't afraid of the truth unless they have done something wrong.

Mitzyboy

Come on people, do some of you actually think that what happening now is because of one guy being shot by a policemen last week????

This is just about one thing. The hoodies of this world have got an excuse to run riot and they are doing it. Photographing themselves coming out of electric stores so they can prove to their mates that they were big enough to do it. We are seeing the underlying aggression of the UK finally out on the streets for all to see, and it's bloody frightening because it seems to have proved so far that no one can do anything about it.

bil

Mitz, the blazing petrol drum isn't down to just the one match, but the idiot who struck it shouldn't walk away unpunished.

Of course the idiots who then see the riot as an excuse to go shopping with a half brick instead of a credit card should be punished. However, if the governments get us in the shit, remain unaffected themselves and use our money to bail out the rich and powerful while leaving the citizens with nothing (or what they perceive as nothing) then they too are to blame.

You don't get riots where everyone is earning good money.