Rioting in London?

[Serafina]

Those girls quite obviously had no ideological or political motive behind this. They said it themselves, its fun and its free alcohol. People aren't doing this because they're angry at budget cuts (though it may have started that way) but because it's an excuse to run mad and burn down society. It's insanity, and shows a lack of morals that is painful to see.

It's just a guess, but i'd say that most of the people doing this do not really feel as a part of society.

[HMS Sophia]

]It's just a guess, but i'd say that most of the people doing this do not really feel as a part of society.

Indeed. Sorry, I had a cross moment. How do you make someone feel like a part of society though?


ETA: Oh, its started again in West Bromwhich...

[Crazedwraith]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14458424

Best quote:

'Yeah.. the government... yeah rich people... conservatives or whoever it is...'

The Reporter: Why have you been looting local businesses?
The Girl: Cuz it's the rich people, it's the rich people's fault that this happened.

"It about showing the police we can do what we want!"

The Big Society at work people.

Though that's not fair. The Twitter organised clean-up is the kind of the thing that 'The Big Society' is actually supposed to be about.

[Broomstick]

Also, plastic bullets are now a possibility, and are under consideration by the police.

While I think the restraint the authorities have shown up to now, their efforts to avoid harming rioters, I fear that it may take lead bullets, not plastic ones, to end this violence. I would be happy to be wrong on that, but with a multi-day riot like this the force will need to be ratcheted up until order is restored. It's not just the looting, the arson poses a very grave risk to the city as a whole.

[HMS Sophia]

While I think the restraint the authorities have shown up to now, their efforts to avoid harming rioters, I fear that it may take lead bullets, not plastic ones, to end this violence. I would be happy to be wrong on that, but with a multi-day riot like this the force will need to be ratcheted up until order is restored. It's not just the looting, the arson poses a very grave risk to the city as a whole.

I hope not. I really do. The reaction in this country to the slightest bit of police brutality is never good, and I'd rather not see London get to the point where they have to start shooting people for real.
I think everyone knows the police are going to be much more aggressive tonight. They have numbers, they have more authority, I really want them to use them.

[Chirios]

While I think the restraint the authorities have shown up to now, their efforts to avoid harming rioters, I fear that it may take lead bullets, not plastic ones, to end this violence. I would be happy to be wrong on that, but with a multi-day riot like this the force will need to be ratcheted up until order is restored. It's not just the looting, the arson poses a very grave risk to the city as a whole.

I hope not. I really do. The reaction in this country to the slightest bit of police brutality is never good, and I'd rather not see London get to the point where they have to start shooting people for real.
I think everyone knows the police are going to be much more aggressive tonight. They have numbers, they have more authority, I really want them to use them.

They might not be. They're allowed to make shows of force, but I think that the police are generally scared about what will happen to them if they actually hurt someone, regardless of whether that person was throwing bricks/ petrol bombs.

[whackadoodle]

At least somebody is doing well from all of this.

The eagle-eyed Adrian Chen of Gawker tweeted about an ugly trend at Amazon.co.uk: sales of bats are spiking. Sales of both aluminum baseball bats and police batons have jumped 5,000 percent in the last 24 hours. The top 10 on Amazon's "movers and shakers" list for Sports and Leisure are: a wooden baseball bat, another wooden baseball bat, an aluminum bat, a wooden bat, a kid's wooden bat, a tent, a work stand, and another bat. Every item on the list has seen its sales shoot up more than 720 percent.

[Dartzap]

The best bit is that anyone found with a telescopic truncheon is probably going to get nicked for carrying an offensive weapon.

[HMS Sophia]

Right now the bats will get you done as well in some areas.
There is arson and rioting in West Bromwich, just outside of brimingham

[HMS Sophia]

Also, Salford's going to shit. We moved out of there at exactly the right time. There is a mob on Salford Precinct, and we lived near there until recently

[Dartzap]

Hmm, cant remember: is Rye Bolton or Salford based?

Either way, hope he keeps his head down.

[HMS Sophia]

Hmm, cant remember: is Rye Bolton or Salford based?

Either way, hope he keeps his head down.

Don't know, certainly Manchester though (not that that helps much).
Luckily Preston and York have yet to see anything...

[Eternal_Freedom]

Saw the coverage on the news at 6, followed by some piece about conditions in some backwater African country.

And a cynical, selfish part of my mind wondered: "If we had spent the time and money we use in third-world aid inproving our own country, would we be having these riots now?"

Mostly though I'm pissed off with the whole damn bunch. Once again they prove why young people have such a bad reputation. Bastards.

EDIT: Oh, and here's this little gem from my brither's boss, on hearing the police might use water cannons:

"Fuck the water, use the fucking RARDEN cannons!"

It seems I will never escape the idiocy.

[Big Orange]

Saw the coverage on the news at 6, followed by some piece about conditions in some backwater African country.

And a cynical, selfish part of my mind wondered: "If we had spent the time and money we use in third-world aid inproving our own country, would we be having these riots now?"

Yeah, you're not the first person to complain about the UK government blowing billions on some of the most dysfunctional regimes in the world (like Pakistan).

And I won't condone what has happened yesterday and on Saturday - the worst attack on London since the Blitz - but did people honestly think London having a funny patchwork of affluent areas (with swanky yuppie flats and gleaming upmarket shops) sitting right next to impoverished areas (stacked up to the rafters with chavs and yardies) could be kept peaceful indefinitely? Especially in the face of England taking the full brunt of a ailing global economy locked into a death spiral and idiot politicians cutting funding for everything (back in the 80s at least Maggie had the sense to keep the police on her side with pay rises). London's heartless economic policies created a big youth underclass (who were also hardened in recent decades by the casual brutality of gangsta "culture") and in the last few days London paid for it.

I'm not sure the Met and governmented wanted riots to break out to weed out agitators, if so they gravely miscalculated and we have politicians torn away from their holidays. Angry people wanting to have armed men from the British Army (or Royal Navy/Air Force) to secure the streets by any means necessary is too hot headed and way too loaded, especially concurrent to what's happening in North Africa and Middle East. And reeks of Internet Tough Guy-ism.

[Eternal_Freedom]

What is really getting me are the "random memebers of the public" interviewed on the news, saying how it's the governments fault or whatever.

No, morons. It's the fault of the people rioting. They are the ones looting, burning and attacking people. I have yet to see an MP throwing brocks at coppers or through a window.

[Dartzap]

Multiple stores looted and on fire in Manchester city centre now. C4 reporter running like the clappers in opposite direction.

[Big Orange]

Places still flaring up with little warning is exactly why I've decided not to go down town to the Bristol city centre to meet friends in a restaurant there, since it already flared up in Bristol quite a bit last night and it's only Tuesday, with the police on edge and the possibility of roads getting shut (it may take the rest of the week for the nation wide riots to ease down).

[EnterpriseSovereign]

If the police are unable to restore order, martial law in London may be the only solution- going by the definition, I'd say this certainly qualifies (emphasis mine):

Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis—usually only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively (e.g., maintain order and security, and provide essential services), when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law becomes widespread.

[Dartzap]

Yeah, but what cocking forces do we have to maintain martial law? The vast chunk are out in Afganistan. It takes a large force to maintain that, even for a short time.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Let's hope that the 16,000 police that are being brought in is a large enough force, otherwise there's little alternative

Someone emailed the local news saying that if people want to fight, they should go to Afghanistan, where our soldiers are fighting and dying so that these morons can lay waste to shops and businesses over here

[HMS Sophia]

Apparently the Manchester rioters are pre-organised and they have team leaders. This is a worrying development.
Also, it's not just youths. In Salford someone saw a family drive their car up to a store, fill the boot, and drive off.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Some of the looters are stealing stuff just for the sake of it, even stuff that isn't actually very valuable. It just shows how some people will take advantage of the chaos given the chance

[aerius]

At least somebody is doing well from all of this.

The eagle-eyed Adrian Chen of Gawker tweeted about an ugly trend at Amazon.co.uk: sales of bats are spiking. Sales of both aluminum baseball bats and police batons have jumped 5,000 percent in the last 24 hours. The top 10 on Amazon's "movers and shakers" list for Sports and Leisure are: a wooden baseball bat, another wooden baseball bat, an aluminum bat, a wooden bat, a kid's wooden bat, a tent, a work stand, and another bat. Every item on the list has seen its sales shoot up more than 720 percent.

It's actually even worse now. Thinking about it a bit, online sales of bats and other improvised weapons could be a very useful SHTF indicator, if you see those things flying off the shelves you know something's going down or about to go down.

[Dartzap]

What I want to know is why people have seemingly forgotten the cricket bats that are bound to be in the attic, heh.

[Eternal_Freedom]

What I want to know is why people have seemingly forgotten the cricket bats that are bound to be in the attic, heh.

Cricket bats are too "upper class" - after all, everybody knows that only posh people (read: those who earn their own living) like/watch/play cricket. [/sarcasm]

Plus, to get the best effects you have to hold the cricket bat right. Baseball bat is easier and therefore better for lazy fuckers like this bunch.