Author Topic: London riots. (Read 8714 times)

smokester · « **on:** August 08, 2011, 02:39:37 PM »

Anyone that has been awake sometime within the last 3 days may know of the appalling riots in London. I have now heard that it is kicking off not a mile from my house in Clapham Junction, although it is as yet unreported.

These are not race riots like we have had in the past (probably rightly so too), these are opportunists organising themselves for a looting fest and are doing so via all the social network facilities that are commonplace nowadays.

I was told that the groups started to assemble at around 6.30pm this evening waiting for their numbers to be strong enough to take down some of the big sports outlets. Surely though the police should have figured something was up when youths started to gather all looking like the Taliban? Maybe they were too scared to tackle them as I can tell you I would be.

It's going to get a lot hotter before it gets better and at the moment that looks like a good few days away;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14439970

redlandslide · « **Reply #1 on:** August 08, 2011, 04:50:41 PM »

It's looking pretty scary down there, I hope it hasn't spread too close to where you are. It's started kicking off in Birmingham as well so maybe just a matter of time before it spreads further north. I hope when all the rioting finally stops that the shooting of Mark Duggan (and the shooting of another man this evening in Croydon) aren't trotted out as excuses for the looting and arson that's taken place.

smokester · « **Reply #2 on:** August 08, 2011, 06:01:13 PM »

Clapham junction is quite near me and Lavender hill is at the bottom of my road. A lot of the vandals are heading up this way so I am keeping an eye on my bike as there have been some cars set alight, but to be honest I am not going to mess with them if that did happen.

They have decimated St John's rd which is the first shopping street from the station, and I don't think they've stopped yet. Sky news is running it live and frequently show Clapham, but compared to Croydon I think we got off light.

I can't believe Camden kicked off too, as a lot of the people around there consider it almost sacred. Hopefully though that got contained quickly is the police weren't dealing with multiple riots like they were in south London.

Apparently in my mum's area, which is about a sleepy as it gets in London, there were no riots but a group of people looted Waitrose - I can only imagine how many of them were wearing Tweed.

redlandslide · « **Reply #3 on:** August 08, 2011, 06:12:05 PM »

It just said on BBC news that there are reports of "police cars set alight" in south Liverpool. That's quite unusual for a Monday night, that more of a weekend sport down there.

smokester · « **Reply #4 on:** August 08, 2011, 06:27:59 PM »

I am a bit surprised that Manchester hasn't joined the party yet? Or perhaps they're waiting for the second half when they'll let Rooney out with a box of matches.

redlandslide · « **Reply #5 on:** August 08, 2011, 06:41:06 PM »

Quote from: smokester on August 08, 2011, 06:27:59 PM

I am a bit surprised that Manchester hasn't joined the party yet? Or perhaps they're waiting for the second half when they'll let Rooney out with a box of matches.

If they rioted in Moss Side or Salford nobody would really notice the difference.

Hopefully the shop I work in won't be involved in the unpleasantness since it's in one of the better off areas of the city. I may turn up there tomorrow to find the local youths making Molotov cocktails out of bottles of Pimms.

dweez · « **Reply #6 on:** August 08, 2011, 08:09:16 PM »

I say give the bobbies back their guns.

But seriously, stay safe smokester, and anyone else near it. Hopefully it will run itself out soon.

smokester · « **Reply #7 on:** August 09, 2011, 02:35:43 AM »

I'm just waking up to see Chek's area in tatters. Incredible scenes and I hear Toxteth up by Red also had trouble.

The police are helpless as the can't arrest the big groups, and have no chance of arresting individuals within those groups as that's even more dangerous. Guns would be hopeless as the are twice as many spectators in amongst it filming it on their phones. Those onlookers need to go home and then the military needs to be mobilised with rubber bullets and tear gas.

I also think the PM should have announced a mandatory 1 year prison sentence for anyone involved. He could have sorted out the legalities with the law lords later on, and it would have stopped the puny opportunists from getting involved.

redlandslide · « **Reply #8 on:** August 09, 2011, 05:16:21 AM »

Quote from: smokester on August 09, 2011, 02:35:43 AM

I also think the PM should have announced a mandatory 1 year prison sentence for anyone involved. He could have sorted out the legalities with the law lords later on, and it would have stopped the puny opportunists from getting involved.

I think he was rather too busy posing with waitresses on his fourth summer holiday. Besides which aren't the prisons meant to be full? They could put them all in Pontins, that would teach them a lesson.

Skadi · « **Reply #9 on:** August 09, 2011, 08:29:15 AM »

Quote from: redlandslide on August 09, 2011, 05:16:21 AM

They could put them all in Pontins, that would teach them a lesson.

^ lol I had to Google that

The first day I saw news about it.. they mentioned Tottenham and I got all excited because I knew where that was

I saw today that some England/Netherlands match got cancelled because of everything.. so things must be very very overly serious to go to that extreme

All jokes aside, stay safe.

chekovsulu · « **Reply #10 on:** August 09, 2011, 09:27:52 AM »

I was going to go shopping today!

A friend called me at 4am (!) asking if I'm OK, and then criticising me for apparently sounding apathetic $:-\$

A friend from Staines called me a while ago to tell me there's apparently been trouble in Hounslow so the shops in Staines High Street are being vewwy careful. People gave him funny looks because he wore a hoody.

Boris Johnson certainly had a hard time at Clapham Junction, I made this face:

smokester · « **Reply #11 on:** August 09, 2011, 12:05:12 PM »

I had to go to a petrol station today just to get bread and milk. Even the corner shops are closed and they open on Christmas day!!

Clapham is nearly a no go area this evening, with all the main drags being closed off or have a heavy police presence. It almost feels like we are in a Vampiric state because as soon as the light goes, all the freaks come out.

goldshirt*9 · « **Reply #12 on:** August 09, 2011, 12:26:49 PM »

i hope your safe and well .
my wife is at / was at london today for a girlie day out , booked it 5 months ago and is having to go to the train early , although 27 women on a day out drinking vodka and such , I'd be worried for the ~~rioters~~ thieves.
So agree on your comment about Rioters.bunch of opportunistic thieves that's all.
what are they rioting over. designer clothing and tv's nothing else.
Bring back the Riot act .
let the Police / Army just go in and give them a good beating.

The Police are in a no win situation, harm someone and the press will crucify them and yet do nothing the press will crucify them.
Too many softies in charge .

smokester · « **Reply #13 on:** August 09, 2011, 01:09:17 PM »

The solution to all this I will say quite honestly: National Service!!!

goldshirt*9 · « **Reply #14 on:** August 09, 2011, 01:23:58 PM »

Quote from: smokester on August 09, 2011, 01:09:17 PM

The solution to all this I will say quite honestly: National Service!!!

i suggested the exact thing earlier on today
no one on the social , all getting paid , have a job , paying taxes.
win win for the government i'd say.

smokester · « **Reply #15 on:** August 09, 2011, 03:17:53 PM »

It appears there may be some vigilantes being mobilsed this evening, and I wholeheartedly support them. They are saying that they will "citizen arrest" anyone breaking the law and wait for the police to collect them. Some of the chaps looked pretty damn tough too.

chekovsulu · « **Reply #16 on:** August 09, 2011, 03:58:30 PM »

I figured this was important:
http://uk.eonline.com/news/ask_the_answer_bitch/kate_middleton_safe_london_burns/257078

The police helicopters are flying low enough to make my windows shake. The armoured police vehicles on TV look so cool, I want one!

redlandslide · « **Reply #17 on:** August 12, 2011, 03:45:26 AM »

So the rioting seems to have abated and the police are arresting people for crimes ranging from theft to murder. Kids seem to be getting away scot-free because of their age (too young to be imprisoned maybe but not too young to use a dustpan and brush to help clean up the mess they contributed to I reckon), whilst those facing tougher judges have been hit hard - six months prison for stealing a bottle of water.

I suppose those not yet arrested will be quaking in their newly stolen Reeboks.

There are aspects of the way this whole thing was handled by the government and police which rile me. Seeing Cameron enjoying his holiday in Italy while London was burning was revolting. Seeing lines of riot police defending uninhabited large stores and businesses while communities had to defend their own small shops and homes themselves - and in some cases losing their lives doing so - and seeing rioters being moved back instead of arrested, especially in the original North London riot before things got too out of hand.
Plus of course this gives the Tories carte blanche to rewrite the law and bring in whatever draconian measures they see fit without anyone daring to really oppose it.

smokester · « **Reply #18 on:** August 12, 2011, 04:09:06 AM »

Yes, lets lock away a 17 year old because he aspired to a new pair of trainers that he could never have afforded in real life, and while we are at it we can give a stern telling off to the minister who stole tens of thousands of tax payers pounds to have his moat cleaned - except let's not bother with the "telling off" bit.

What the gubmint fails to recognise, especially where I live, is 20 metres from where the looting happened in Battersea, an area that has been decribed and redescribed as an area full of trendy young professionals, dressed in nice clothes and all wanting just to hang out in the swish bars on that road, is the Winstanley estate which is where the "So Solid Crew" hail from and is so economically deprived that even the Doctors surgery on the estate has to have boarded up windows as the norm. That economic situation seems to be mirrored in a lot of the locations where trouble flared.

Of course none of it was right, but I don't think that the uprising was without a root cause that has yet to be addressed.

redlandslide · « **Reply #19 on:** August 12, 2011, 06:09:08 PM »

Cameron is talking about evicting people from their rented homes if their kids were involved in the rioting. I believe some of the rioters were from well off backgrounds. I wonder what similar punishment he has planned for their families? /sarcasm

xtopave · « **Reply #20 on:** August 12, 2011, 07:51:43 PM »

I wonder how are they handling this. Cause if we were talking about Hugo Chávez we wouldn't be surprised (or at least we South Americans wouldn't be). But this is the UK and I confess I am surprised.

smokester · « **Reply #21 on:** August 12, 2011, 07:55:26 PM »

Quote from: redlandslide on August 12, 2011, 06:09:08 PM

Cameron is talking about evicting people from their rented homes if their kids were involved in the rioting. I believe some of the rioters were from well off backgrounds. I wonder what similar punishment he has planned for their families? /sarcasm

I'm actually pretty shocked at the professions of some of the looters: Graphic designer, Primary school mentor, Ballerina, Jedi (ok, I made the last one up)(or did I...).

Warning - while you were typing a new reply has been posted. You may wish to review your post.

Quote from: xtopave on August 12, 2011, 07:51:43 PM

I wonder how are they handling this. Cause if we were talking about Hugo Chávez we wouldn't be surprised (or at least we South Americans wouldn't be). But this is the UK and I confess I am surprised.

Anyone can set up a free blog or forum in a couple of minutes. All you'd need to do then is post what you want on one of those via your phone and then txt everyone with the link. There is no need of social networks as such to spread information, it's all just smoke and mirrors really.

xtopave · « **Reply #22 on:** August 12, 2011, 07:59:12 PM »

All the more preposterous. That's why I don't understand they say they will do something highly questionable when they can't do it in the 1st place.

subvinorosa · « **Reply #23 on:** August 14, 2011, 11:12:05 AM »

I'm glad you guys are safe. I hope you stay that way.

smokester · « **Reply #24 on:** August 16, 2011, 03:52:34 AM »

Quote from: christ on August 15, 2011, 12:07:37 PM

Because they don't understand what they are saying. Government representatives talking about new technology is like a toddler talking about nuclear physics: they can use a few of the right words, and can sometimes by luck string them together into semi-coherent sentences, but they have no idea what they mean.

I once heard one of them talking about "Twatter". I'm not entirely sure of the context as I use a word quite similar to that when talking about some politicians, so he might not have had his foot in his mouth,