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David Cameron considers banning suspected rioters from social media

Demon of Light

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David Cameron has told parliament that in the wake of this week's riots the government is looking at banning people from using social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook if they are thought to be plotting criminal activity.

The prime minister said the government will review whether it is possible to stop suspected rioters spreading online messages, in his opening statement during a Commons debate on Thursday on the widespread civil disorder for which MPs were recalled from their summer recess.

Cameron urged Twitter and Facebook to remove messages, images and videos that could incite more unrest across the country. "All of them should think about their responsibility and about taking down those images," he said.

Source: The Guardian

Political censorship of the Internet comes to the UK it seems.
 
While I may not support this course of action, lets get one thing clear.

This was not a politically motivated demonstration or anything of that nature.

This was one riot about a young man getting shot by police, that exploded into youths taking advantage of a breakdown of law and order to loot and burn and in some cases kill.

That is all.
 
Source: The Guardian

Political censorship of the Internet comes to the UK it seems.

He is loving the situation since he can force his shackles aka the Lib Dems to implement some of the draconian things that the Conservatives are known for. Sadly Labour are in a bit of a bind since they cant be seen in protesting too much against the draconian measures since that would make them look weak on crime.

For one, he has said that they are looking into evicting people who live in council estates (government housing), either directly or through relatives in the household, if someone in the household is convicted in conjunction with these riots. My bets are that this draconian measure will continue long beyond that if I know the Conservatives right. Yea that is a brilliant idea.. make people homeless as a collective punishment for someone in the household committing a crime... where is it I have seen that being done for the last 20+ years to no avail? And for the record, this will effect a lot of people, since half of the those so far through the court system have been under 18. So if Cameron gets his way, then whole families will be homeless because of the actions of one person...

And the most ironic thing is that Cameron has the judicial system running 24/7 to convict these people, but guess what... because of cut backs there is no room in the prison system and no money to expand it...even Labour is calling for more prisons but the Conservatives are against it... wtf?

While I have no sympathy for these thugs and criminals what so ever, I am shocked to see how far the UK political elite are possibly willing to go to hit down on these trouble makers... there has even been talk from the Conservatives of out right banning twitter, Facebook and so on from the UK for a period..... anyone ever see V for Vendetta?
 
No it wasn't.

Yes it was. The original "spark" was protests against the Police for the shooting of a black man. At the time the police were dragging their feet and the people of the area in Tottenham gathered to get answers. From these protests, some persons, mostly from the outside of the community, saw fit to start troubles. This spread over the next few days, as the gangs and youth saw the police could not handle the situation.

The sad part is that in all this violence the fact that the black man was in fact murdered by the Police has been totally forgotten by the media.
 
I am not sorry to say that in a civilized society if you have a grievance with the way things are going you can organize and protest all you want to bring about the changes you want, however the minute you cross the line and begin to burn and destroy private businesses that had nothing what ever to do with the issue that is being used as a scape goat to act out with unreasonable acts that deserve no public support.

I for one believe this could have been stopped early on by shooting rioters who loot or set fires.

Harsh, not in my mind. I see these people as terrorists and they deserve the treatment they get, up to and including being shot to death.

If you want change, use the system, get involved because one person can make a difference. I believe that or i would never have become a City Councilman.
 
If shutting down the Internet didn't work in Egypt, this won't work in the UK.
 
If shutting down the Internet didn't work in Egypt, this won't work in the UK.

I vote for the Libyan precedent of creating no-fly zones, embargoes and a humanitarian bombing campaign until Cameron and the queen give all power to the protesters, who need to be treated as the legitimate government of great Britain.
 
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While I may not support this course of action, lets get one thing clear.

This was not a politically motivated demonstration or anything of that nature.

This was one riot about a young man getting shot by police, that exploded into youths taking advantage of a breakdown of law and order to loot and burn and in some cases kill.

That is all.

I disagree with this assessment. It's not about JUST about people suddenly seeing an opportunity to make a smash and grab for free stuff. Where the riots started and where they spread to were all poor areas that have long-standing grievances with government and social cutbacks.

Cameron is constantly talking about his commitment to restoring order to London. How about restoring these people's lives that have been pillaged by neoliberal policy?

Naturally, the new right wing will use this as an opportunity expand power through the social realm and degrade freedom of speech further. How can you ban individuals from using internet sites? That's like banning someone from using the telephone or writing an e-mail. Preposterous.

This proposed internet policy will only further suffocate people into wanting to rebel more. That's what these neo-cons don't seem to understand.
 
I am not sorry to say that in a civilized society if you have a grievance with the way things are going you can organize and protest all you want to bring about the changes you want, however the minute you cross the line and begin to burn and destroy private businesses that had nothing what ever to do with the issue that is being used as a scape goat to act out with unreasonable acts that deserve no public support.

I for one believe this could have been stopped early on by shooting rioters who loot or set fires.

Harsh, not in my mind. I see these people as terrorists and they deserve the treatment they get, up to and including being shot to death.

If you want change, use the system, get involved because one person can make a difference. I believe that or i would never have become a City Councilman.

It definitely possible to bring about positive change on a local level. However, on a national level, it is nearly impossible without large sums of money.
 
I am not sorry to say that in a civilized society if you have a grievance with the way things are going you can organize and protest all you want to bring about the changes you want, however the minute you cross the line and begin to burn and destroy private businesses that had nothing what ever to do with the issue that is being used as a scape goat to act out with unreasonable acts that deserve no public support.

I for one believe this could have been stopped early on by shooting rioters who loot or set fires.

Harsh, not in my mind. I see these people as terrorists and they deserve the treatment they get, up to and including being shot to death.

If you want change, use the system, get involved because one person can make a difference. I believe that or i would never have become a City Councilman.

From another forum:

‎"Somebody propose something more ironic than self-identifying with American Revolution-era Boston rioters and then cheering for British troops to fire into a rioting crowd."
 
From another forum:

It's also ironic to see the rioters who supposedly want choking revenues spent on them as comparable to people seeking representation for their taxation. I don't want anyone shot, but the "disenfranchised youth" here aren't fit to lick the boots of the American revolutionaries or the more recent Arab Spring movement.
 
It's also ironic to see the rioters who supposedly want choking revenues spent on them as comparable to people seeking representation for their taxation. I don't want anyone shot, but the "disenfranchised youth" here aren't fit to lick the boots of the American revolutionaries or the more recent Arab Spring movement.

What? Who was comparing the rioters to the American revolution?
 
How would this work? Couldn't those banned just use friends' computers, etc. and nicknames?
 
I disagree with this assessment. It's not about JUST about people suddenly seeing an opportunity to make a smash and grab for free stuff. Where the riots started and where they spread to were all poor areas that have long-standing grievances with government and social cutbacks.

That is totally inaccurate. The riots happened in poor and middle class areas and in city centres.
 
That is totally inaccurate. The riots happened in poor and middle class areas and in city centres.

So the poor were destroying the property of the poor.

The teachers unions are pretty strong over there, are they?
 
How would this work? Couldn't those banned just use friends' computers, etc. and nicknames?

Then they'll just ban those computers from accessing the sites.
 
Source: The Guardian

Political censorship of the Internet comes to the UK it seems.

This is the same county that has so called hate speech laws and over reacted and banned guns.So it was only a matter of time before they did something like this. I am surprised the UK has not banned demonstrations and rallies yet.
 
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