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[BocoDragon]

As a Vancouverite, I freshly understand the strange sensation of having your area's good image swept away by a bunch of assholes. :/ Best of luck UK-Gaf, and I already know this has nothing to do with your actual national character. There are fuck ups everywhere on this planet who could be incited to riot in whatever circumstance.

 

[ThisWreckage]

Looters and vandalists are indeed filth, but so is this bloody government for inadvertently creating such unrest and angst. Huge cuts, increased uni fee's, more unemployment and so on...it was bound to happen. It's a boiling pot right now.

These people aren't rioting because of social change. They're rioting because they're bored and stupid. Don't confuse the two.

 

[Phonomezer]

Chave looting "Wii consoles" from the Sony building... lulz

Witness said youths came out of the Sony place carrying Wii consoles ha

lolol

 

[Scythian Empire]

Guy in BBC just said people were walking out of Sony building with Wii consoles? This truly is the end of the world.

 

[The English Conquistador]

Thank fuck for these guys

The assholes better not touch my Bar Vinyl!!!

 

[Ether_Snake]

Come on guys, how long until you realize the police needs to open fire, at least with rubber bullets? Letting this go on is useless, dangerous, self-destructive.

Imagine if it was Al-Qaeda doing this, everyone would be screaming their lungs out for the military to come in and shoot them dead.

There is really no difference between these people and Al-Qaeda. They have no justification for their actions.

 

[outunderthestars]

You cannot be serious.

I am. That girl was in a group of people that were given minutes of warning to disperse and that they were in violation of the law. The group she was in had torched a car and was destroying everything int heir path.

SO yea, it sucks that she died, but if she hadn't been committing felonies it wouldn't have happened.

 

[Gareth Bale]

I heard it got trashed earlier, along with Underworld/World's End.

It's on Sky News now. Seems like they boarded it up.

 

[Andrefpvs]

I don't know if there's a God, but if he does exist, he really hates Sony.

PS Vita further delayed in the UK.

 

[Qasiel]

the fuckers. they were in my birthday plans next month

Unconfimed at the moment, just things going around on Facebook, but a couple of people have mentioned it. I'm hoping the bastards leave the Relentless Garage alone, as I'm heading up there on Saturday...

 

[Digishine]

U would almost say the police are hippie's atm

 

[traveler]

Dunno if the Anon account I'm seeing on twitter is legit, but if it is...

RT @forde1690: @AnonymousIRC Sony distribution centre on fire in London | Burn baby burn... #AntiSec

Even more evidence these champions of people against the terrible, oppressive corporations don't give a shit about the working men and women who get hurt in the crossfire.

 

[Alpha-Bromega]

It did stop the rioting though IIRC.

trade the life of your girlfriend, sister, mother, whoever to quell this riot. would you do it?

it's a fucking human being, not property

 

[Red UFO]

I am. That girl was in a group of people that were given minutes of warning to disperse and that they were in violation of the law. The group she was in had torched a car and was destroying everything int heir path.

SO yea, it sucks that she died, but if she hadn't been committing felonies it wouldn't have happened.

They couldn't have tasered her, just shot her with a water cannon, etc.?

 

[Margalis]

I am. That girl was in a group of people that were given minutes of warning to disperse and that they were in violation of the law. The group she was in had torched a car and was destroying everything int heir path.
...
SO yea, it sucks that she died, but if she hadn't been committing felonies it wouldn't have happened.

I'd like to see some documentation of this.

 

[Gary Whitta]

Wow @ Sony fire.

Ion cannon this scum!

 

[APZonerunner]

For protection, yourself (as a cop) and others.
Thugs can be armed. A druggie charging you with a knife. Anything can happen when a gun can be useful.

Where I come from all cops (in "outer service") are armed, but they seldom use them.. Only when it is absolutely necessary. Sometimes it is enough to present the weapon in the hand and a situation is calmed down. I see no problem with it.

Our cops wear stab vests and are extensively trained in disarming short to mid range melee weapons, so it's not so much of an issue. They also carry incredibly effective close-range weapons of their own. Again, it's not really needed - having guns wouldn't really help this situation, as these people aren't trying to kill the police - they're just acting like utter twats. Sadly not any reason to shoot them.

As an American, I'm seeing people's right's infringed (property, safety/health) for protests that don't seem to have a valid cause for free speech. I would support using force.

This is correct, but it's a delicate balance and a geninely tense moment. COBRA will meet tomorrow morning first thing and decisions will be made about how this proceeds if things don't taper off tomorrow.

Again, I point to the LA Riots in 92, where over 50 people died (none have died here) in addition to widespread property destruction where it took the President several days to decide to send in the national guard. It's a really delicate decision.

That said, Cameron will not want to appear weak, so I think he'll charge in with an iron fist. I hope, anyway.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

trade the life of your girlfriend, sister, mother, whoever to quell this riot. would you do it?

it's a fucking human being, not property

They wouldn't be dumb enough to be there.

 

[Carl]

That Sony fire is actually mindblowingly huge.

 

[zerodayPopbot]

Of course they wouldn't go after a Sony competitor.

 

[Escape Goat]

trade the life of your girlfriend, sister, mother, whoever to quell this riot. would you do it?

it's a fucking human being, not property

No flaws in that comparison at all.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

They couldn't have tasered her, just shot her with a water cannon, etc.?

You do know that tasers kill people too, don't you?

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

Come on guys, how long until you realize the police needs to open fire, at least with rubber bullets? Letting this go on is useless, dangerous, self-destructive.

Imagine if it was Al-Qaeda doing this, everyone would be screaming their lungs out for the military to come in and shoot them dead.

There is really no difference between these people and Al-Qaeda. They have no justification for their actions.

Yup. Agreed.

Burning businesses, assaulting people, looting... God knows what else. They're animals, absolute scum, and deserve no sympathy for any injuries that they get as a result of their actions.

The police should be allowed to clean this up with force now. The only people who would criticise that move are fucking idiots.

One of my friends from uni who lives in London is basically saying she's a prisoner in her own home and is scared shitless. This is a form of terrorism.

 

[Xyrmellon]

Sorry, an American here, but I want to ask, how widespread is this? I know it has spread to other cities, but are these very localized incidents or is this getting completely out of control? Do you Brits in London feel safe?

 

[Digishine]

Chave looting "Wii consoles" from the Sony building... lulz



lolol

It could been Devkit of something :/

 

[Ether_Snake]

They couldn't have tasered her, just shot her with a water cannon, etc.?

No, they shot her with a rubber bullet.

What's your point? That she could NEVER have died from being tasered instead?

 

[Dark Machine]

If you believe in God (I don't personally) then he has intervened up in the North West. It's starting to piss down and most of the kids have dispersed.

 

[Andrefpvs]

Can someone post a pic/screen cap of the Sony fire? Having stream problems atm.

 

[Forsete]

Most are trained to a similar level to the US. We also have special armed response teams within each division of the police who are trained in a wider variety of weaponry like fully automatic weapons etc. Police on the beat don't have them as they really don't need them - as evidenced by the fact that in 3 days of rioting nobody (that we know of) has died yet. A lot of bad shit, but no deaths. In the 92 LA riots 50-something people had been killed by now.

You'll see police in key places - by number 10, parliament, the palace, airports - readily armed - usually with both SMGs and handguns both - but you'll rarely if ever see a cop on the streets wearing a holster.

I see, thanks.

We all know US cops are pretty trigger happy.
We had a pretty big riot in Gothenburg in 2001. Shops were destroyed (not looted as far as I can remember). No one was killed eventhough every single cop was armed, an anarchist was shot though but survived (sadly).

 

[JMB]

Looters and vandalists are indeed filth, but so is this bloody government for inadvertently creating such unrest and angst. Huge cuts, increased uni fee's, more unemployment and so on...it was bound to happen. It's a boiling pot right now.

I'm sorry but you're wrong, the riots have nothing to do with the 'cuts' (which don't actually exist as spending is going up) or uni fees going up.

These are just mindless thugs who think its 'fun' to do this shit, so don't try and defend their actions as it only encourages them.

 

[nib95]

These people aren't rioting because of social change. They're rioting because they're bored and stupid. Don't confuse the two.

How do you know that? That maybe what the media and/or members of parliament or the political field are telling you, but a lot of it imo is related. When in certain areas 10/12 youth centres are being shut down, funding from youth groups and charities is being cut, university fee's are a massive scare for the poorer, jobs are hard to come by and benefits are becoming less of an option, what the hell do kids on the street do? There's hundreds of gangs and youths just looking for something to take their anger out on, and to profit from a quick free fix (looting). They're bored and angry for a reason.

You don't just suddenly lash out like this for nothing. Imo it was inevitable. Things in this country have been getting more and more unstable. I mean, how many protests, riots and so forth have their been since this government took over? It's not coincidence. Labour were right. The Conservative cuts are coming in too thick and too fast.

It's easy to just blame it on bored youth, but it's not that simple. This isn't a run of the mill sort of reaction that happens every other day. It's been building up.


P.S I'm not justifying this actions, I say lock them all up. I'm just saying the government can't just lumber all responsibility on these rioters and have to start examining their own policies long and hard, otherwise there will be more to come. There's a reason why the country at large (especially the youth) is more unruly than it has been in years

.

 

[Red UFO]

You do know that tasers kill people too, don't you?

Surely they are less risky than rubber bullets?

I guess I'm just shocked at the contempt of another human being's life from some of you guys more than anything. "She was breaking the law, she deserved to die."

 

[Jal]

Fuck man, just had a powercut and shit myself, fucking apocalypse.

 

[Joel Was Right]

Pics of sony fire?

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

Can someone post a pic/screen cap of the Sony fire? Having stream problems atm.

 

[APZonerunner]

Sorry, an American here, but I want to ask, how widespread is this? I know it has spread to other cities, but are these very localized incidents or is this getting completely out of control? Do you Brits in London feel safe?

Areas of London, but the 'heart' of London is fucking locked down tight as anything.

Biggest disturbance outside London is in Birmingham, with about 500 youths looting and smashing things. It's relatively small and localized, though - in Birmingham people are tracking individual shops getting smashed "the T Mobile shop has been looted!" on twitter etc whereas in London everything outside of the city center is basically out of control. The other cities aren't a real worry right now, just twats jumping on the bandwagon.

Most of London is still safe, just scary.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

Surely they are less risky than rubber bullets?

Umm, no. They are both weapons, non-lethal in an intent, but weapons none the less.

 

[JMB]

That Sony fire is huge :/

 

[Alpha-Bromega]

They wouldn't be dumb enough to be there.

completely fucking irrelevant, you are still justifying the death of a human being for the quelling of a riot.

 

[painey]

has the England game been cancelled yet?

 

[Escape Goat]

Is it a Sony warehouse or store?

 

[Digishine]

has the England game been cancelled yet?

Yep

 

[Ether_Snake]

Yeah this isn't a protest, and don't tarnish the reputation of people who actually protest for worthy causes. These is mobs of criminal robbers, arsonists, probably rapists and a couple of other things too.

The police could encircle them and start shooting them with rubber bullets just to get them all down and I'd be happy.

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

A man has been shot, apparently.

 

[DECK'ARD]

Big picture of the Sony fire:

http://thewestlondoner.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/london56.jpg

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

completely fucking irrelevant, you are still justifying the death of a human being for the quelling of a riot.

You hang out at a riot, don't be surprised if bad shit happens to you.

 

[outunderthestars]

They couldn't have tasered her, just shot her with a water cannon, etc.?

Tasers don't work against large crowds. They were attempting to disperse a crowd of around 10,000 people.

http://amerika.nu/amerika.php?id=174 A good story on the events.

The police were being attacked with bottles when the officer started firing pepperballs at the crowd.

 

[djm]

Shaky footage of the GIANT explosion from the Sony building

Warning: obnoxious music and yelling.

 

[Trevelyon]

What kind of ridiculously bad karma does Sony have?

My lord.

 

[leadbelly]

What else then? Should they shout at them really loud?

Well, I think a lot of people would like to see them take a much tougher approach. I believe it was actually the British that invented rubber bullets. They were used extensibly in Northern Ireland. I believe they got huge criticism and public outrage after the deaths of civilians as a result.

There is a lot of history that you have to take into account. Even the riots not so long back came under huge criticism as to the way the police handled it. Any decision the police take is not easy.