JTaylor

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-14471921

Pakistan, Iran, China and obviously Libya getting plenty of mileage out of this. Whether you like it or not, we need to consider how we're perceived by the rest of the World.

Thoughts?

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

We're screwed?

GlesgaKiss

Interesting...

bigsinky

purleeease!!!! take the amazonian rainforest out of your eye before you remove the mote from mine. Iran has a catalog of human rights violations that make the uk look like a butlins holiday camp. iran are in no position to judge the uk when it comes to police bully boy tactics

GlesgaKiss

I think you must be trolling. What exactly are we supposed to do? Just sit here as citizens and allow the poor victims of social inequality to loot us? F*ck that, and f*ck how we appear to the rest of the world.

Every country you listed there bears witness to appalling oppression and criminal aggression against its citizens by the government. It's laughable to suggest we should be bothered about some misinformed opinions expressed by people within them! How about we just surrender all rights in the name of politics and waving the flag for democracy. "Yes, things are just going swimmingly here, personally I'm happy to be looted by people who must surely be on a heroic political crusade against social inequality".

GlesgaKiss

Think you must have taken my post the wrong way!

bigsinky

i wasn't getting at you Alan, i was referring to Iran. but then again .....you are scotch

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Americans thinks we're all posh and speak like the Queen....any report of rioting is a wake up call that we ain't all prim an' proppa. Like.

Still, this lot is small time compared to the riots in LA.

jonc

I think JTaylor is right to point this out as it is vitally important how the UK is perceived on the world stage. Britain and is supposed to be the bastion of civility, democracy, opportunity, freedom and stability. With our current foreign policy of "promoting" these ideals and then all of a sudden having exposed our own serious underlying social issues, the UK risks as being cast as hypocrites that could potentially result in other countries loosing confidence in the UK and what it stands for and diminish our standing on the world stage. To the world this country is the United Kindom of Great Britain.

Had we drafted in the military, this would have undermined the Police and shown to the world that we had lost control of social order. It does not surprise me that Libya, Iran etc hold the views that they do since they themselves went through a period of mass social unrest who where subject to more far reaching consequences.

PaulC72

+1

Can't wait for the olympics next year now........if anyone comes lol.

andythejock01wrx

Good, I don't need to say much - Jon's covered it.

As above. Not sure how positive the world view of us is outside the West, but we need to take some account of it (no prob's with water cannon though!)

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Well maybe if we didn't poke our nose into other countries' affairs we would have the right to be upset when they do so to ours, as it is you can hardly blame them!

SJ_Skyline

Shows how much you know mate.

Speaking with my clients in Texas earlier this week they were wishing us all the best, hoping that we were all safe and understanding why I had to send my team in London home early this week so they didn't get caught up.

They offered us Mr. T. But I hung in there for Chuck Norris

SJ_Skyline

Well, Seeing as Iran said the UK should let the rioters protest and the police show restraint then I think that's fair. And then likewise, if the UK has shown restraint we should also show that we can mete out punishment in the same way that Iran does. A few beheadings, a few stonings and lets see some hands cut off.

Christ you really do ask some stupid questions at times Mr. Taylor.

Turbohot

I have had a few calls from India, China and West Africa, asking, if I were safe. I have told them many times that I don't live in London etc. any more, and Wales is another planet, but they just don't get it. Anyhow, they didn't offer their perception of the UK to me. The ones in India always seem to see good in everything e.g. to their belief, people drink a lot of alcohol in Britain because they have to, to keep themselves warm in freezing cold climate. Yeah, right. I wonder if they think that it will be holy to forgive those looter kids, because all kids are ultimately holy. Other than that, other world is well-aware of the fact that things aren't as civil as they are believed to be in this land; by the dwellers of this part of the world. Other world is not mind-blind.

JTaylor

I absolutely get your sentiment and if you read Jonc's post it pretty much sums-up the external considerations.

See above.

TelBoy

Don't want to drag this off topic, but this is an interesting point. Are all the rioters and looters Atheists? Because if they're not, how do their wonderful religions sit with their actions? Or is that terribly inconvenient? Is there a level of intelligence below which religion ceases to have any meaning at all?

Leslie

To hell with what other countries think or how they use the riots as an excuse to attack us.

The real point is that we need the authorities to deal with such insurrection and criminal behaviour in a positive manner which will indicate the futility of such behaviour and to protect the innocent from the vandalism and injury which these louts were inflicting upon them.

It is no good pussyfooting around-move in, with the military if necessary and sort them out properly.

Les

Leslie

Very embarrassing as well as pretty accurate.

Les

jonc

I have to disagree, had we brought in the army to quell the rioting, it would have sent out the wrong message to other countries. Can you even imagine how the world would react to resorting to the use of military force on young adults and children? Essentially kids (despite them being little fvkcers!!) being charged at, beaten and bloodied with armed soldiers and military vehicles patrolling the streets of the capital. The foreign press and leaders of both friendly and non-friendly countries would have a field day! I would think much of the world would react with disgust and would cause irreparable damage to the reputation of the UK. Whilst our Government have reacted far too slowly, they have at least let the focus of most of the attention fall on the wrong doings of the rioters and not the methods used to restore order.

Though the way the riots may not have been dealt with in the most assertive manner, but using minimal force has at least meant the criticisms and comments from the likes of Iran, Libya, Syria etc, hold little water and only highlights their own hypocrisy. With the up and coming Olympics, the part-taking countries, even though their confidence may have been slightly dented, can still be assured that our Police are still able to restore and maintain order without military intervention.

mrmadcap

I'm ashamed to admit, that is one of the most critically accurate articles i have read for a long time.

+Doc+

Have to agree, the problems we face run much deeper than the media hype we read.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

It really depends on which areas/states you go to; When I toured across the deep south there was an overwhelming level of ignorance amongst the locals. Not in a bad way, but they obviously had been given a false impression due to the American TV culture and how it protrays the British.

Some of the people I talked had never met a British person before in their life. And at first didn't realise I was British only going as far as knowing that I wasn't American. Many honestly thought we all spoke like that Emily women off Friends (Helen Baxendale).

Not sure if you missed my subtle hint that everything in America has to be bigger/better/greater/taller etc.

madscoob

iTrader: (3)

SPOT ON

Turbohot

No, all looters are not atheists. There are plenty of hypocrites born every day. All wonderful religions talk about "Thou shall not steal" and "Thou shall not hurt others". All wonderful religions have their own way of punishing atheist/theist looters. One religion may say "Forgiveness is the greatest thing of all, end of.", " What goes around comes around", "Let the perpetrator off, God will kick his backside one day", or, "Perpetrator will be re-born as some pathetic whinger creature in his/her next life, so no point getting your hands dirty" etc. Another religion might say, "Let's pull our sleeves up and stone the barstwards in here-and-now situation" or "Let's give them a chance for confession to the whiter-than-white priest, and all is forgotten" etc. etc. Of course, the universal religion (often disregarded but some recognise it as humanity)can cease to have any meaning at all below certain level of cognition, if not intelligence. This is when a so-called human with normal neurobiological functions and with the least/ no emotions causes another human a great deal of suffering. Atheist or a theist, such psychopath/s can be classified as the shamed owners of a low level intelligence. Actually, they are not necessarily dimwits. What they have is selective cognition and selective sensitivity to the phenomenon of others' suffering. When they are hurt, the well know that it f**king hurts like hell. Therefore, intelligence of any level as such is not in question, in relation to such pests. Psychopathy is their religion, masked under different religions, or under the veil of atheism, even.

Leslie

Well as you might imagine, I have to disagree with your post.

In accordance with the first line of my earlier post, I think it is of no consequence what other countries think and we should not allow that to affect our actions, especially in respect of the rioting.

The main priority of course should be to stop the vandalism and injurious actions which were happening due to those out of control thugs who had their own agenda.

If the police are incapable of any significant form of control as they obviously were then it is essential that the military should be called in to do the job. It is far worse for the authorities to be seen to do nothing as the hoodlums were burning and looting while the coppers were standing and watching without any attempt to stop the law being broken and the public being left unprotected. If you are that worried about appearances-how impressive do you think that looked?

The important bit of course is how the army did the job, and they have had all the experience they need at controlling riotous situations in such a way that they don't alienate the "good guys". They are acknowledged to be very good at it.

Taking the situation by the scruff of it's neck and close control of those louts would have stopped the trouble and saved the damage to so many people's property etc.

Lefty pinko PC attitudes towards the rioters is the very worse way to go about it.

Les

Dr Hu

I like this comment on the Australian story.... Nail - Head if you ask me.....

Phil of Sydney Posted at 3:28 PM August 11, 2011

A sad example of what can happen when a country loses control of its borders over the past 40 years and fails to absorb and assimilate huge numbers of economic migrants. This is not the Britain I lived in during the 1960s. Its hard to know what the country represents today.

JTaylor

This is a thoughtcrime. Do not, under any circumstances, criticise multi-culturalism. There are people lurking.