So how are you Londoners not terrified of the Met yet?

[Jharry5]

Well, British cops do the same, although American police are more heavy handed about it. I'd be more concerned with the CCTV and the fact that city councils are recruiting 7 year olds to spy on their neighbors. INGSOC would be double plus proud.

This, especially the bit about CCTV cameras. If you see footage from riots anywhere in the world, the police always act in roughly the same way. One guy died in the G20 riots; there have been higher body counts in many more riots. Don't forget that the media have a habit of blowing things out of proportion for ratings, and this would have had something to do with all the controversy...

 

[BubbleGumSnareDrum]

Okay, you made the ridiculous statement that i'm thick, and we're talking about how you think governments are important, so... i'm gonna have to respond. You sniveling brat baby.

Governments write laws, and we obey them - what's there to judge them on? This is the way of life, if you want to be exempt from governments then work your flabby ass off and move to a country where you're treated specially because you're a foreigner - like China. The government is not something to trust because trust implies some kind of mutual agreement and there is no mutual agreement. People like to think there's some kind of social contract but there quite simply cannot be one in a world where 6.5 billion people reside. There's nothing to trust in governments because there's nothing you can do about anything, you stinking pile of granduer-delusions, and you should stop wasting breath on them.

So what if they collect taxes? Life's just like that, if they tax you too much you fill out a form.

So what if they oversee the running of the nation - that's there job and how they do it hardly changes your computer-ridden life one bit.

I'm not concerned in the slightest with what the gov't does about me, because as far as i'm aware my existence is carrying on more or less smoothly as a result of all the 'back-stabbing corruption' going on.

You want something to care about? Whine at banks that over-charge you on fees. Whine at food companies who sold food products to you that were laced with plastics (oh, wait, you're not chinese, you probably don't even know where china is) Whine at something worth whining about, don't try to insult me, or even out-debate me, on governments, because the fact is that they're simply not a problem, they're a non-issue and the only issue one should care about is how they're working to better themselves. If you try to call me a wuss, or someone who doesn't stand up for their rights, then i'll laugh in your face for even thinking you have rights - the only reason you think you do is because you haven't pissed anyone off; a status quo i advise you to maintain. Just live, stop caring about bullshit you have no control of, and don't you dare insult me again you average-joe, captain-extremist hick from the states.

I'm posting my opinion in a thread on the internet and the fact that you have the gall to tell me that my life is "computer-ridden" when you're blathering on like the backwards wallaby you are about "grandeur delusions." There are no grandeur delusions here. You are grossly misunderstanding pretty much everything that has been said in this thread. Governments are a non-issue? Are you shitting me? Every important thing that happens in the world happens with some relation to government. Government is involved in everything. You are saying this yourself. How can government have a hand in everything and be a non-issue at the same time?

You will care about all of these things on the day that you actually have a right taken away from you. You do have rights, and so do I, and the wrong kind of government won't hesitate to take those rights away. Insult me all you want, it only weakens your argument beyond the skeleton it was in the first place. You will care the second it personally affects you, and you'll realize that you should have cared in the first place.

I'll only call you a pussy because you keep shitting onto my computer screen from a 20 hour flight away just because it's easy to do. Typically unpleasant Aussie cum stain.

 

[LockHeart]

Okay, you made the ridiculous statement that i'm thick, and we're talking about how you think governments are important, so... i'm gonna have to respond. You sniveling brat baby.

Governments write laws, and we obey them - what's there to judge them on? This is the way of life, if you want to be exempt from governments then work your flabby ass off and move to a country where you're treated specially because you're a foreigner - like China. The government is not something to trust because trust implies some kind of mutual agreement and there is no mutual agreement. People like to think there's some kind of social contract but there quite simply cannot be one in a world where 6.5 billion people reside. There's nothing to trust in governments because there's nothing you can do about anything, you stinking pile of granduer-delusions, and you should stop wasting breath on them.

So what if they collect taxes? Life's just like that, if they tax you too much you fill out a form.

So what if they oversee the running of the nation - that's there job and how they do it hardly changes your computer-ridden life one bit.

I'm not concerned in the slightest with what the gov't does about me, because as far as i'm aware my existence is carrying on more or less smoothly as a result of all the 'back-stabbing corruption' going on.

You want something to care about? Whine at banks that over-charge you on fees. Whine at food companies who sold food products to you that were laced with plastics (oh, wait, you're not chinese, you probably don't even know where china is) Whine at something worth whining about, don't try to insult me, or even out-debate me, on governments, because the fact is that they're simply not a problem, they're a non-issue and the only issue one should care about is how they're working to better themselves. If you try to call me a wuss, or someone who doesn't stand up for their rights, then i'll laugh in your face for even thinking you have rights - the only reason you think you do is because you haven't pissed anyone off; a status quo i advise you to maintain. Just live, stop caring about bullshit you have no control of, and don't you dare insult me again you average-joe, captain-extremist hick from the states.

I'm posting my opinion in a thread on the internet and the fact that you have the gall to tell me that my life is "computer-ridden" when you're blathering on like the backwards wallaby you are about "grandeur delusions." There are no grandeur delusions here. You are grossly misunderstanding pretty much everything that has been said in this thread. Governments are a non-issue? Are you shitting me? Every important thing that happens in the world happens with some relation to government. Government is involved in everything. You are saying this yourself. How can government have a hand in everything and be a non-issue at the same time?

You will care about all of these things on the day that you actually have a right taken away from you. You do have rights, and so do I, and the wrong kind of government won't hesitate to take those rights away. Insult me all you want, it only weakens your argument beyond the skeleton it was in the first place. You will care the second it personally affects you, and you'll realize that you should have cared in the first place.

I'll only call you a pussy because you keep shitting onto my computer screen from a 20 hour flight away just because it's easy to do. Typically unpleasant Aussie cum stain.

Just leave him to his trolling, he's impossible to have a reasoned debate with. He can't do anything other than try to insult you and your intelligence while trying to wriggle away from perfectly valid points with yet more insults. Check the 'Who believes in Global Warming?' or whatever poll for some classic examples.

 

[BubbleGumSnareDrum]

Look, only silly billies who cannot see valid points (i.e. Global Warming's happening, and we're exacerbating it, stop getting offended by being branded a polluter, or: you can't help what governments do, just give up and focus on your own life) think I'm trolling by making up new arguments. I stick to one argument, and spend like 10 posts trying to make the other person understand the damn argument by repeating myself over and over, while they repeatedly say "nyeehhh, this is a dan brown novel, ya fool, the government is always conspiring to come to my house and drop bags of poo on my front step". Can you be smart enough to understand the following scentence?

"You can do nothing about governments, so stop trying to change them, stop caring about them, better yourself instead" It's not even a particularly unpleasant notion - your refusal to understand it, your determination to feel like Neo or something (fashionable, rebellious anti-establishment sexbomb?), is what's making this unpleasant.

When do you plan on saying something relevant, and without assumption? For one, Dan Brown is one of the only people I would more greatly prefer to be hit by a bus than you. Secondly, I do plenty of bettering myself when I shut my PC off and you no longer exist to me. Consider that. When I flip the switch, you are of no relevance whatsoever to me. My government, the representation and ruling order of the town, state, and country I live in is much more relevant to me than you could ever be, and that is what has been discussed by everyone who didn't troll post in here.

 

[garfoldsomeoneelse]

I don't think Rodney King is too impressed with the supposed brutality of the British Police.

 

[Lexodus]

I live in the country.

 

[BubbleGumSnareDrum]

so basically, after all, you still am trying to convince me why you should care about your government.

*sigh* okay, suit yourself... live your life of romantic idealism and wasted emotion, I'll live my life of self-improvement and international success

We'll see.

 

[Sami2503]

They arent as bad as america - most police dont carry guns or anything here

 

[Haliwali]

Spoiler

Figured it was relevant. Also, after reading the book, I decided to reject all 50,000 movies pics that showed up before this one. By the way, how am I the first to post this?

 

[sallene]

Huh, I didnt have any problems with the police in london when I was there. Hell I even got pretty bombed at a pub and a couple of police officers gave me a ride back to my friend's house where I was staying after they saw me having a bit of trouble walking straight.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

Yes, because having someone lightly tap you over the head with a nightstick is quite the end of the world.

Gah.

 

[Iron Mal]

This is the excuse neo-conservatives use constantly in the states to justify the possibility of phonetapping and any other surveillance made on our people. I don't buy it here and I wouldn't buy it in London, either. Surveillance doesn't prevent crime, it only proves that it happened, and when it comes to violent crime (the crime that really matters) there is always a victim, a witness, and evidence that will all sufficiently prove the crime, assuming it actually happened.

And all of you are forgetting about that serial rapist who went unhalted by the Met for years, sexually assaulting/raping dozens of womens in the process, and was only just arrested, what, last month?

Surveillance may not prevent crime (even though it does discourage some people from committing crime, which is technically prevention) but, like you said, it proves that a crime has occured and identifies who the suspects were with greater ease and clarity.

A friend and I were recently attacked down the road from his home (which left me with facial injuries), we reported the crime to the police and gave a description to the best of our ability, it was also mentioned that a nearby shop may have had CCTV footage of the aggressors following us (which turned out to be useless due to the camera angle). As it stands, they haven't found the people responsable for the assault yet and I still think that if there had been more cameras and observation in the area then perhaps they would be made to answer for what they've done (my injuries weren't serious but what if they do it again with more serious consequences? Catching them now would be crime prevention).

It sounds straight foward to say that increased surveillance impacts on our freedom and privacy without much in the way of good justification but I think a CCTV camera is nowhere near as detrimental to your peace of mind and personal freedom as the criminal element who, if left unchecked and unobserved, would simply attack who they want, when they want (it's the lesser of two evils).

Make your choice, smile for the camera? or give me your wallet before I stab you?

 

[Lazier Than Thou]

Look, only silly billies who cannot see valid points (i.e. Global Warming's happening, and we're exacerbating it, stop getting offended by being branded a polluter, or: you can't help what governments do, just give up and focus on your own life) think I'm trolling by making up new arguments. I stick to one argument, and spend like 10 posts trying to make the other person understand the damn argument by repeating myself over and over, while they repeatedly say "nyeehhh, this is a dan brown novel, ya fool, the government is always conspiring to come to my house and drop bags of poo on my front step". Can you be smart enough to understand the following scentence?

"You can do nothing about governments, so stop trying to change them, stop caring about them, better yourself instead" It's not even a particularly unpleasant notion - your refusal to understand it, your determination to feel like Neo or something (fashionable, rebellious anti-establishment sexbomb?), is what's making this unpleasant.

You have a very defeatist attitude, don't you? "Don't fight the machine because you can't win." I'm sure that while that sounds extremely nice in your head, it just doesn't seem to work well in the real world.

Let me give you an example. In America, one of our most well known individuals is a man named "Martin Luther King Jr." He is probably the best known man who fought for civil liberties for blacks in the US. If he had had your out look on life then the amazing "I Have a Dream" speech never would have happened. Why? Because you can't change the government. It's something that exists within a vacuum and doesn't change. It simply is. However, he wasn't a panty-waste and, as such, decided to do something about his country. He fought for what he believed in and now, thanks to his marvelous struggles we now have a black man in the Oval office today. You think that would have happened if he simply "stoppped trying to change it?" You think that would have happened if he "stopped caring about it?"

Honestly, I can't understand how you got to the belief that the individual can't change anything when it's obvious all over the place. You really don't think the governments evolve or take on different stances based on individuals who either vote for or become public officials? Really? Because that shows a clear and obvious misunderstanding of what voting is supposed to even be about.

Still, all of this may end up meaning absolutely nothing to you. I know little to nothing about the government in Australia and, quite frankly, I don't really care enough to learn. Certainly not if the populace is so complacent as to believe that their efforts to change anything in it ultimately mean nothing.

 

[Wadders]

Look, only silly billies who cannot see valid points (i.e. Global Warming's happening, and we're exacerbating it, stop getting offended by being branded a polluter, or: you can't help what governments do, just give up and focus on your own life) think I'm trolling by making up new arguments. I stick to one argument, and spend like 10 posts trying to make the other person understand the damn argument by repeating myself over and over, while they repeatedly say "nyeehhh, this is a dan brown novel, ya fool, the government is always conspiring to come to my house and drop bags of poo on my front step". Can you be smart enough to understand the following scentence?

"You can do nothing about governments, so stop trying to change them, stop caring about them, better yourself instead" It's not even a particularly unpleasant notion - your refusal to understand it, your determination to feel like Neo or something (fashionable, rebellious anti-establishment sexbomb?), is what's making this unpleasant.

You have a very defeatist attitude, don't you? "Don't fight the machine because you can't win." I'm sure that while that sounds extremely nice in your head, it just doesn't seem to work well in the real world.

Let me give you an example. In America, one of our most well known individuals is a man named "Martin Luther King Jr." He is probably the best known man who fought for civil liberties for blacks in the US. If he had had your out look on life then the amazing "I Have a Dream" speech never would have happened. Why? Because you can't change the government. It's something that exists within a vacuum and doesn't change. It simply is. However, he wasn't a panty-waste and, as such, decided to do something about his country. He fought for what he believed in and now, thanks to his marvelous struggles we now have a black man in the Oval office today. You think that would have happened if he simply "stoppped trying to change it?" You think that would have happened if he "stopped caring about it?"

Honestly, I can't understand how you got to the belief that the individual can't change anything when it's obvious all over the place. You really don't think the governments evolve or take on different stances based on individuals who either vote for or become public officials? Really? Because that shows a clear and obvious misunderstanding of what voting is supposed to even be about.

Still, all of this may end up meaning absolutely nothing to you. I know little to nothing about the government in Australia and, quite frankly, I don't really care enough to learn. Certainly not if the populace is so complacent as to believe that their efforts to change anything in it ultimately mean nothing.

The truth. This person speaks it.

Good first post btw.

 

[ILPPendant]

To the Met's credit, they turned down most of the tasers they were asked to procure, restricting their use to trained firearms officers. The motive was supposedly to make Londoners less nervous, since tasers don't exactly have a brilliant track record for not killing people (to be fair, they're only described as "less lethal").

You know, I actually believe them.

Now, for those who keep on saying "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time." do you mean crimes like discussing euthanasia, [http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/web-filtering-pulls-plug-on-euthanasia-debate-20090521-bh0s.html] playing violent video games [http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/games/web-filters-to-censor-video-games-20090625-cxrx.html] - or any games [http://www.destructoid.com/australia-is-also-banning-second-life-137682.phtml] for that matter?

I guess smack talking McDonald's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mclibel] is way out. Certainly, telling awkward truths about greedy proxy-celebs (see last paragraph) [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1617495.stm] is a bad idea. Don't spread rumours about Arabs [http://www.nysun.com/opinion/one-way-multiculturalism/59930/] either.

What do all these have in common? They're all enshrined in law. It's all very well saying people who obey the law don't have anything to worry about but that's naïve at best since laws are fickle things that can change without warning. [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/25/justice_bill_extreme_pron/] Too bad for this policeman who didn't have something to hide [http://www.theorwellprize.co.uk/the-award/winners-books.aspx?type=blog] but plenty to fear. [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/16/times_blogger_anonymity/]

 

[FinalGamer]

Be glad this isn't the 1980s when the police were the SS.
Here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Orgreave - biggest land battle Britain ever had in the 20th century, between dirt poor ex-miners and the London Metropolitan Police Force.

Although I myself can never trust the police again when my family was the victim of a corrupt vengeful detective of the Stonehaven police force (Scotland, nowhere near London fyi) who made my dad the scapegoat because the detective chased up the wrong lead in a big drug chase.
So he plants 2000 tablets of ecstasy in my dad's car and turns vindictive on my mum, my sister and me, abuse ranging from three raids to hanging rabbit bodies on our trees to sabotaging our cars.

I can't even remember anything of 1997 and 1998 because of this, I had to learn all of this from my mum later. In fact i'm sure if I hadn't had Ocarina of Time as the only escape and place of safety to occupy me, I'd be truly traumatised.
See this shit is why I love videogames, they're the only things that keep my problems away.

 

[Mr Sunday Night]

The Met really aren't that bad, I've never had a problem with them.

Granted, they get a bit tetchy at times, like if there's too many people in one place, or if someone has a beard, but most of the time they're alright.