David DeGraw mentions:
I consider the London riots that took place over the weekend in Tottenham to be part of the global rebellion. This is what happens when you bury people in poverty and then make cuts to social programs, as the UK has recently enacted harsh austerity throughout the country. In this roundup, you will see that the people are using this as a rallying point to fight back against austerity, and the riots are now spreading throughout the country. The Guardian makes this point here:
Spending cuts, police lay behind UK riot, locals say
Anger at high unemployment and cuts in public services, coupled with resentment of the police, contributed to an explosion of violence and looting in a deprived London neighborhood, residents said Sunday….
Rioters set police patrol cars, buildings and a double-decker bus on fire. Others took advantage of the police being occupied to loot a nearby retail park, smashing shop windows and hauling away televisions, computers and sports shoes….
Several said long-mounting frustration over the gloomy economic situation, which has led the government to slash many public services to rein in a big budget deficit, and anger at what some saw as unfair treatment of ethnic minorities by the police, had boiled over.
Unemployed local man Scott Allen said he feared similar violence might happen in other parts of London.
“Tension is building because of the coalition government’s cost-cutting measures. People in the poorer communities of London and around the country are going to feel victimized,” Allen, who said he was in his 40s, told Reuters.” [read full report]
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Alex Higgins
The riots in London have spread into neighbor suburbs tonight as reports emerge that peaceful protests turned violent after Police started beating a 16 year girl. Evidence has also emerged that police lied about the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting of the man which sparked the initial protests.The news in London is moving quite fast so here is the latest – For the absolute latest the Guardian’s live blog of the riots is here. 1) Evidence emerges that police lied about the killing of man which sparked the initially peaceful the protests.
Several UK newspapers are reporting evidence has emerged that casts doubt on the official police version about the fatal shooting that sparked the protests.
Police claimed that they were involved in a gun fight with a criminal gangster and shot him dead in response to a shot he first fired which they claimed barely missed an officer inside the car and was lodged in the radio of a police officers car.
The problem with the story is ballistics show the bullet recovered from the radio was actually a police officers gun and investigators have uncovered no evidence that the man shot dead even fired a gun.
The claim that man who was killed fired the bullet that was recovered from the radio when it was really a police bullet suggest the police tried planting evidence to cover up their misdeeds.
2) Eyewitnesses tell UK newspapers that the originally peaceful protests in turned violent after a 16 year girl threw a rock or some other object at the police. The police then responded with a force of 15 police officers who beat the girl on the ground with their shields The Daily Mail is quoted below. BBC interview with a first hand witness to the beating of the girl is also below.
3) Tonight marks the second night of riots which have spread beyond London and into neighboring suburbs of Brixton and Enfield. Unlike last nights spontaneous rights tonight’s riots were planned.
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