News Stories

[Vexx]

Correct, kemosabe.... and we can't even get people to work with the same set of facts which to develop an opinion. The faction leaders keep flying with assertions they just haven't been forced to validate at all. And the voters keep falling in line with whatever supports their suspicions whether it has any basis in fact or not. double-plus-ungood-no-think at its "finest".

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Vexx

And the voters keep falling in line with whatever supports their suspicions whether it has any basis in fact or not. double-plus-ungood-no-think at its "finest".

With education spending cut and viral marketing and adverts everywhere to influence the people, how can they think when they are not even taught to?

[DonQuigleone]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

With education spending cut and viral marketing and adverts everywhere to influence the people, how can they think when they are not even taught to?

Who should teach them to?

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

With education spending cut and viral marketing and adverts everywhere to influence the people, how can they think when they are not even taught to?

I would say the parents but, if they can't do it themself...

[Jinto]

Originally Posted by Vexx

For those of us trying to communicate via sarcasm on the Internets... there's an attempt to promulgate a font that makes it clear the content is sarcasm: Sartalics, a backleaning form of italics.

http://www.mediapost.com/publication...es.showArticle
http://sartalics.com/

I don't know... I think smilies are already a powerful means to send a message.

For example (if I have had the time this morning) I could have put some of them in my post...

Originally Posted by Jinto

I assume this was a rhetorical question?

It doesn't matter who is in charge, because if the people in charge are friendly and fair they will be replaced or rather mobbed out of office by assholes and schemers. People cannot see into the hearts and minds of politicians. Hence, it is impossible to make a good choice. You can always try to take the lesser evil... but on the long run, any form of power will attract corruption and misuse... this seems to be natural in a system that is more or less based on social darwinism.

Btw. the system meant here is our modern understanding of democracy ^^'

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by ganbaru

Soul searching lies ahead as riots cool in Britain
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...7760G820110811

Shoot to kill is the answer here.

Flamethrowers would help too.

[Yu Ominae]

Some news on a Malaysian college student who was attacked during the riots.

Footage posted on the internet shows Asyraf Haziq, a student from Malaysia, collapsed on a railway bridge in Barking, east London, with blood pouring from a facial injury during Monday’s violence.

A black male appears to come to his aid, putting a reassuring arm around his shoulders and lifting him to his feet.

But while he is distracted, clutching his bleeding wound, another rioter wearing a baseball cap approaches him from behind and unzips the rucksack on his back.

Dazed from his injury, the 20-year-old victim is unable to put up any resistance as the supposed good Samaritan and his accomplice rifle through his bag, joined by two other hooded youths.

The thief wearing the cap then snatches his wallet and mobile phone from the rucksack, before swaggering off, discarding an unwanted item on the ground.

The Metropolitan Police said yesterday that they were investigating the incident, which happened at 7.30pm, but had been unable so far to identify any of the culprits.

Mr Haziq, a first year student at Kaplan International College London, had gone out on his bicycle to buy some food for Iftar – the meal eaten by Muslims when breaking their fasting during Ramadan – when he got caught up in the street violence.

One group of rioters knocked him to the ground and stole his bicycle before repeatedly punching and kicking him in the face as he lay there helpless, it is understood.

It was then that the other group of looters spotted him as an easy target and mugged him.

Mr Haziq suffered a broken jaw and tooth and was today expected to undergo surgery at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London.

Wan Azmi, consular officer of the High Commission of Malaysia in London, said the student was in "high spirits" despite his ordeal but that he may have to undergo an operation to fix a metal plate in his jaw.

Mr Azmi said: "He is doing OK but his jaw is broken and his face was very swollen. He can’t speak very well because of his injuries.

"The doctors will examine him again today and take a decision on whether he will need surgery. It is most likely that he will need a metal plate in his jaw.

"He can’t eat at the moment so he’s being fed through a drip."

Describing the attack, he added: "The first group attacked him and that's when he lost his bicycle.

"Then the second group, on the pretext of helping him, came along and took his wallet and his mobile phone.

"I feel so sorry for him. He came here to study, he's only been here a month.

"He really was in the wrong place at the wrong time, you can’t predict this kind of thing."

Abdul Hamid, 23, who shot the footage in Barking, said: “It was sickening to see him lying there so helpless.

“But then for these people to come along when he was in that state and mug him was ridiculous.

“I wanted to go down and help but I was terrified that I would get beaten up as well. There were about 50 or more of them.”

He added that the mob were passing through the area on their way to attempt to loot stores on a nearby retail park.

Mr Haziq arrived in London recently having won a scholarship through the Malaysian Government agency Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) to study accountancy at Kaplan's finance school.

A MARA spokesman described him as a gifted student from Selangor, Malaysia, who was one of a tiny percentage selected to study in Britain. He is due to remain in the country studying until 2013.

Mr Haziq's mother Maznah Abu Mansor, 47, told Malaysian newspaper The Star: "I was initially very worried but I'm glad that he is all right.

"However, I am not able to talk to him because of his injuries."

She added that she would appeal to MARA for financial support to visit her son.

The footage drew condemnation from police and thousands of internet users who viewed it on YouTube.

One commented: “It’s just sick. Why would you steal from a helpless kid in that situation.”

Others branded the rioters as “animals” and said they had wept watching the video.

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: “This is truly distressing to watch. The footage has been passed to our investigating team, who are trying to find out more.”

Daily Telegraph

[MeoTwister5]

Ok I am officially withdrawing my plans to seek medical residency training in the UK.

[Sugetsu]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

Ok I am officially withdrawing my plans to seek medical residency training in the UK.

Is that the best thing for your future? No matter the country you are in you are always bound to encounter some form of social unrest. Besides, the news media make things look way worse than they actually are sometimes.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

Ok I am officially withdrawing my plans to seek medical residency training in the UK.

It certainly was not a stellar moment for British society.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

Shoot to kill is the answer here.

Flamethrowers would help too.

Flamethrowers?

Actually I would suggest that someone take a bottle, tape nails around it, fill it with toilet bowl cleaner, stuff aluminum foil into the bottle then throw at the crowd. A guarantee to disperse them.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Flamethrowers?

You know what they say: fight fire with fire.

[MeoTwister5]

I was actually planning to try Canada anyway. At least I got relatives living there. I've already written off taking the USMLE out of principle a long time ago.

It's already ironic that while Western nations are considered bastions of modern high end education, there's always a street thug waiting around the corner waiting to beat up society's brightest minds.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by GDB

You know what they say: fight fire with fire.

How about filling the water cannons with diluted bleach?

Honestly, I can't believe that the British government have become so spineless as not to take action. It is almost ridiculous to believe that foreign students got robbed in point blank.

I worry about a few of my friends studying in London though. Though I am more worried about one who is more prone to violent retaliation - she IM-ed about bringing a kitchen knife to school everyday.

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

I was actually planning to try Canada anyway. At least I got relatives living there. I've already written off taking the USMLE out of principle a long time ago.

It's already ironic that while Western nations are considered bastions of modern high end education, there's always a street thug waiting around the corner waiting to beat up society's brightest minds.

I don't think society's brightest minds go down that easily. At least carry a fine-tip pen along or something : struggle close enough and run the pen through that asshole's groin or stomach.

Then run.

[DonQuigleone]

You guys are only finding out about Chavs now? We call em scangers in Ireland, but they're pretty much the same. I like to think that they make life a little more exciting!

But really, the thuggish underbelly of British society is pretty infamous. You guys should know better! Chavs are one of the many things that make Britain what it is, London has always had a thuggish underbelly ready to knife you when you weren't looking. Haven't you ever read Dickens?

[Mystique]

Originally Posted by DonQuigleone

You guys are only finding out about Chavs now? We call em scangers in Ireland, but they're pretty much the same. I like to think that they make life a little more exciting!

But really, the thuggish underbelly of British society is pretty infamous. You guys should know better! Chavs are one of the many things that make Britain what it is, London has always had a thuggish underbelly ready to knife you when you weren't looking. Haven't you ever read Dickens?

Seconded.
They've been there for yeeeeeears. People now panicking and worrying about 'protecting' themselves is sadly something I've had to do since I was a kid/teen. It's called 'street smarts'.
Staying away from dark areas, narrow streets, carrying keys in your hand just in case (or an umbrella even if it isn't raining).
About walking straight, looking around, basically being damn 'aware'.

All the world saw was our covered and hidden crap all unite (the gangs actually called truce on each other for a 'common goal') and go apeshit for one moment in history. Those fortunate to have never been forced to encounter or those who have simply turned their back at the unruly kids that do stir up trouble here and there often now got their eyes open.

I guess that's were the shock stems from. It surprised me more than people didn't try to fight back themselves, many were simply too scared (however those who had to deal with the mob with weapons, I can understand their fear and rather thinking of their own lives). But seriously, didn't any of the damn shops have firehoses which people could have grabs and sprayed the thugs like that rabid animals some of them were?

The police weren't spineless, they were under orders from the gov to not use excessive force while it was happening in London, the kids knew this and took full advantage, probably cause there is still an open investigation into the initial shooting by the police anyways.

Water hoses and other forces were only approved when the rest of England copied, 4 freaking days later (and even then, how could they not have seen that coming, I'll never know)
The PM and gov underestimated them at start simply cause they don't engage or realise their true nature or the hate/bitterness that they have at anyone and everyone to the point they can hurt their fellow Londoners without remose and only think of themselves.
Cameron didn't come back from his holiday on the 2nd day saying 'it'd sort itself out', basically all the politicians were out in their cushy holidays while the UK was more or less unregulated by Parliament, lol.

Now Cameron's trying to act all highly and punish them rightly. Punishment is easy, healing, rebuilding and sorting out why kids are likely to give up on school, their lives or the future just for some cheap thrills is where the real challenge lies.
The problem with this riot is that so many different kinds of groups joined for different kinds of reasons that it's a mix-mash of the worst of society all bundled into one.

Thus trying to make sense of it or find a resolve will be near impossible, nor is it that clean cut. But something that definitely shouldn't just be blamed, punished and kicked to the side for the olympics at all.
Perhaps it was timely that it came out now, although it's probably scared tons of people away, lol.

Reminds me of when I had to confront some random idiots at my cousin's party at a local church hall, who were trying to cause trouble and put on masks before I freaking screamed at them that I'd get their asses locked in prison where their asses would be up for sale if they tried to cause any trouble here. Perhaps my own moment of madness there, but at some point one gets tired of being ruled by brats and living in fear, rather than taking a stance.
Heh, if that wasn't terrorism on England, I don't know what it, people sure were terrified and their lives turned upside down for a few days...

Actually Don, the thing that surprised me the most is that only 1 dude in south London got shot. The thugs didn't have guns, that perhaps was the biggest, luckiest thing to have happened in all of this despite many people sadly turned homeless and have lost their livlihoods...

[andyjay729]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

I was actually planning to try Canada anyway. At least I got relatives living there. I've already written off taking the USMLE out of principle a long time ago.

It's already ironic that while Western nations are considered bastions of modern high end education, there's always a street thug waiting around the corner waiting to beat up society's brightest minds.

New Zealand seems nice...at least for now. I'm actually taking a vacation there later this year (in their summer). I was originally planning to go to Japan, but...you know.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Mystique

Seconded.
They've been there for yeeeeeears. People now panicking and worrying about 'protecting' themselves is sadly something I've had to do since I was a kid/teen. It's called 'street smarts'.

Back in the stone age, these Problem kids would have been taking out to hunt and be used as a bait for the sabertooth.

Problem solve.

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Flamethrowers?

Actually I would suggest that someone take a bottle, tape nails around it, fill it with toilet bowl cleaner, stuff aluminum foil into the bottle then throw at the crowd. A guarantee to disperse them.

Is it really a good idea to give some of your ''old trick'' here ? And about the flamethrower wouldn't it be hard to refill while ''in action '' ? Why not suggesting to use some Claymores for protecting your back as well ?

[FateAnomaly]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I don't think society's brightest minds go down that easily. At least carry a fine-tip pen along or something : struggle close enough and run the pen through that asshole's groin or stomach.

Then run.

I don't think your 1 pen can stab multiple groins at the same time.