Britain burns - Chavs ruin civilization

[mongers]

BBC Report - "Police use armoured vehicles for the first time"  - not sure what this actually means.

[Neil]

Cameron and Boris Johnson's slow return to the country looks very bad, especially as Cameron could have come back earlier due to the Eurozone crisis. 

Because if only Cameron and Johnson were in country, they could easily stop the rioters.  It's the 21st century, and the PM and Mayor can afford cellphones.

[Kleves]

BBC Report - "Police use armoured vehicles for the first time"  - not sure what this actually means.

[Neil]

BBC Report - "Police use armoured vehicles for the first time"  - not sure what this actually means.

It means that they're violating the human rights of the chavs.  Expect lawsuits to follow.  Brussels will probably arrest Cameron as a war criminal.

[mongers]

Cameron and Boris Johnson's slow return to the country looks very bad, especially as Cameron could have come back earlier due to the Eurozone crisis. 

Because if only Cameron and Johnson were in country, they could easily stop the rioters.  It's the 21st century, and the PM and Mayor can afford cellphones.

I'm talking about politics and how things look, Churchill could have run WW2 from a bunker in Wiltshire and never gone into London, but how would that have played ? 

[Neil]

Cameron and Boris Johnson's slow return to the country looks very bad, especially as Cameron could have come back earlier due to the Eurozone crisis. 

Because if only Cameron and Johnson were in country, they could easily stop the rioters.  It's the 21st century, and the PM and Mayor can afford cellphones.

I'm talking about politics and how things look, Churchill could have run WW2 from a bunker in Wiltshire and never gone into London, but how would that have played ?

Well, people who are inclined to hate the Tories will hate them.

[HisMajestyBOB]

Supposedly, many of the shopkeepers were ex-ROK army.

ROK has universal conscription - every Korean guy has to serve ~2 years.
So probably most of the men there had training. 

[Tamas]

Without wanting to sound too much of a smartass, there is needless police violence and there is what was happening last night.

Like it or not, the police is called law enforcement for a reason. They should not be above the law, but they should enforce their monopoly on violence in as a much determined fashion as possible.
It is the very basis of any state: only the state can use violence. When Turkish shopkeepers have to fight off looters on their own, your state failed there, on that little spot for that time.

[MadBurgerMaker]

Here's a live BBC feed that can be eyeballed from outside the UK:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14449675

The "armored vehicles" looked remarkably like large Ford trucks (F-2or 350s with police lights and covered beds) in the relatively quick glance I got of them.  They were driving them two or three abreast down the road (taking up the entire street) to scatter rioters, so that, naturally, caught my attention a lot more than the trucks themselves.  They weren't "military" type APCs or anything like that though.

Edit: And just as I post it, it switches to "Live coverage continues shortly."  Doh.  They had gone to sports or something.  Weather looks like it'll be nice today though heh. Okay it's back now. 

[Brazen]

I'm going to kick the next journalist who calls them anarchists in the bollocks. And every opportunist dubbed a "self-confessed anarchist".

Tory MP for Enfield North Nick de Bois believes it's time to get tough. He tweets: Our capital has been trashed, it is spreading across UK. It's time for COBRA to authorise use of water cannon & army support if it continues

Sounds like my old man's had a word with the local MP.

Barney from the US writes: What do you expect to happen when you let the banks get away with ripping off trillions of dollars? Now they're cutting services for the poor and middle classes. You can't expect the poor to join hands and sing Kumbaya. Society is failing

One of the kids they interviewed from the hidden safety of his hoodie claimed it was all because they don't have a youth club to go to. Perhaps they could volunteer at an old folks' home. Big Society that, my friend.

[Brazen]

One of the things that makes me angry (other than risking lives of civilians and police and the mindless destruction of already recession-hit businesses and families) is that we were determined not to let the terrorists win after the 7/7 bombings and previous IRA hits but days after the events entire town centres are still shut down. Everything in Enfield was closed since lunchtime, including the entire shopping centre and my gym, which isn't even in the town centre. Even in areas that haven't been hit so far, shops are shut and people are cancelling nights out because they don't know if they'll be able to get home.

[Brazen]

Three people were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of attempted murder after a police officer was injured by a car in Brent, north west London, while trying to stop suspected looters.

And this terrifies me. We don't need another Broadwater Farm.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadwater_Farm_riot

[Brazen]

Panic on the streets of London
<snip>

Your choice of an anti Royalist rant by a racist, militantly vegetarian nutter is inappropriate and distasteful. You need to look back to the late 70s and 80s riots for a sound track for disaffected youth. Try Babylon's Burning by the Ruts or Ghost Town by The Specials.

There are no protests songs any more - Cher Lloyd, JLS and The Wanted are the top 3 FFS. There may be youth messages in rap, but neither helpful or as widely listened to as people would have you believe.

[The Larch]

Panic on the streets of London
<snip>

Your choice of an anti Royalist rant by a racist, militantly vegetarian nutter is inappropriate and distasteful. You need to look back to the late 70s and 80s riots for a sound track for disaffected youth. Try Babylon's Burning by the Ruts or Ghost Town by The Specials.

There are no protests songs any more - Cher Lloyd, JLS and The Wanted are the top 3 FFS. There may be youth messages in rap, but neither helpful or as widely listened to as people would have you believe.

What about Guns of Brixton? That's a classic.

[The Brain]

In the face of crime first you hit hard and crush it, then later you can get all cuddly if you want. That's basic psychology.

No.  Not at all.

But if simple platitudes about how easy fighting crime is makes you happy, then I don't want to take that away from you.

What are you talking about?