Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

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Well the last Labour government did little to improve life for these young people as they grwew up during that period and turned to crime. Another statistic is that 75% of the rioters had some previous conviction or caution. It was just existing criminals doing a bit more of that they are good at.

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Hays,

There is something in the comment that "only the stupid get caught".

I don't think that is entirely accurate, but if you review the number of "solved" crimes and successful prosecutions, there is much truth in the remark.

Another problem regarding the "records" of individuals is that once an individual has one successful prosecution against him, it is easier to get the next prosecution against them.

Also, the apprehending of "prominent" members of the riot is possibly due to this group being known, or more easily recognise.

(Many of the previous crimes mentions were minor crimes, such as minor drug offences, ie. possession of such. (It is suggested that Cameron and the Bully Club had similar tendencies.)

Your remarks may cover the ones with records, but why did so many without criminal records, join in the riot?

Herd behaviour, or resentment (reasonable, or unreasonable) against what they understand as "one law" for one "group" and another for a less "fortunate group".

Passing the demonstrations off, as due to simple criminality (even though many elements of them were possibly so) and ignoring the probability of other aetiology will probably lead to further demonstrations of a similar nature.

I hope that I am wrong.

It is not easier to get convictions when people have previous records as these records are only considered at the sentencing stage and not during the actual case. I dare say that many of the ones without previous records were not caught previously. Don't forget this statement that I posted above "Another statistic is that 75% of the rioters had some previous conviction or caution". That doesn't leave that many without some involvent with the law.

"One in four riot suspects had 10 previous offences.

One in four people charged over the riots in English cities last month had committed more than 10 previous offences, figures show."

It is my belief, that three out of four 'rioters' (ie. looters) actually joined in because the police were simply standing around doing nothing but watch them. they simply let them do it! The police were not taking any action and were not apprehending the rioters/looters.

Consequently, it looked as though rioting/looting was such an 'easy peasy lemon sqeezy' thing to do, that anyone could do it and would have been an idiot not to join in and take advantage of all the delicious freebies that were on offer just for the taking!

I do agree about the police's response. It was too slow and too weak. However it is instructive to see that 75% of the ones that did loot and riot have previous convictions and cautions. That suggest that most law abiding people were not tempted by what they perceived as being the low chance of being caught. If you allow for the possibility that the remaining 25% may have also been criminals that hadn't previously been caught then it looks like opportunism by criminal elements and not much more. I would also like to see the figures broken down in other ways. For instance, what was the ethnicity of the rioters. Were they black or white, Eastern European, second generation immigrants. Were they from one parent families etc.

This 11+ exam is nothing like the one i took in the 1950's , its just a IQ test

I scored 7

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7773974.stm

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Now you are talking :-) Details of a first Postman Pat feature film have been announced with actor Stephen Managan providing the voice of Pat.

Hays,

"It is not easier to get convictions when people have previous records as these records are only considered at the sentencing stage and not during the actual case. I dare say that many of the ones without previous records were not caught previously. Don't forget this statement that I posted above "Another statistic is that 75% of the rioters had some previous conviction or caution". That doesn't leave that many without some involvent with the law."


Supposing that a policeman is faced with a crowd of rioters and recognises a face (known to the police) in the mob, i.e., of a previously convicted felon, then it would be more likely that a felon would be arrested once again, in preference to a previous un known innocent, as he/she is recognisable.

Therefore, in such situations, it is more likely that a higher proportion of previous felons than is truly representative of the mob will be arrested, prosecuted and lead to higher rate of convictions than is perhaps truly representative of the mob as a whole.

Therefore, the findings, or interpretations from simple figures or data provided, which have been clutched at by Clarke and fellow travellers, maybe spurious.

While there were obvious crimes committed, there was also an element of letting off of underlying resentment in the present society.

This was similar to the recent student riots, and may be an indicator of the likelihood of such behaviour in "demonstrations", which are likely to occur over the next 6-12 months.

An amazing development: -

Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness is on the verge of running in the Irish presidential election.

Ireland's deputy first minister has been approved by the party's officer board. It will now go before the party executive for formal approval.

Triple semtex`s all round.

During one of the MAM `outs`I was compelled to attend the AFN farty party, the same old bores are there since MAM broke away, same ramping OF AIM , only now they have a new weapon, for a fiver a month you can become a " blue" alias, which gives you the right to become a sort of gauleiter and ban people who oppose your ramping (they call them ` de-rampers`).

All iS forgiven MAM

My Mam wouldn't forgive you!

Skinny.

I understand that the Postman Pat film is very factually true to life, far more than the TV series is.
Instead of a postal uniform, including cap, the film Pat wears scruffy jeans, old trainers, a Postal union T Shirt and a balaclava.
He only delivers once a day, a first delivery that starts at 10am and finishes around 2pm, the last hour being on double time.
Early on in the film he is given a FPT for dropping litter (rubber bands) and is eventually sacked after several thousand letter and parcels including hundred or birthday card are found undelivered at his house, all having once contained cash.
Unable to get another job and being unable to pay his mortgage his house is repossessed and he is ends up living on the streets.
The final scene is where Pat takes the post office to court, for damages stating that his right to a family life has been effected, as his child benefit for his 12 kids and his dole is insufficient to support said family.
During the trial it is discovered that Pat is an illegal alien, having sneaked into the country many years ago (should have mentioned that he was from Somalia and his real name was Ahmed Tegarli Ishal).
He claims political asylum which is of course granted for himself his 3 wives, several cousins and of course his 12 kids.
He wins court damages of several thousand pounds, for wrongful dismissal after it is discovered that he never learned English so had only delivered a few letters on the first day, all to the wrong addresses.
He feels that his employer was at fault for not checking he could not understand English and should have supported him more.
The court of course accepted this.
He then reads on a chat line (he can read and understand English when he needs to) that in the village where he lived, a family have gone on holiday leaving the house empty. After breaking a window to gain entry,he moves in as a squatter with his whole brood.
The police are called intending to arrest him for damage, but when they see he is of foreign origin and having been shown a certificate for free legal advice 24/7 from the civil liberty group, they hotfoot it back to the station
On route they are flagged down by the owners of the house who had been informed of the squatters by a neighbour, they become upset when told of the situation and are of course arrested for causing the Police distress.
As the closing credits roll, 2 of Pats (sorry I mean Ahmed's) wives are being taken to a private maternity clinic which is being paid for by BBC panorama who have arranged for the rights to Ahmeds story of his continual fight against the imperialist British.

Note..There is no cat called Jess in the film as a talking cat was thought to be too unbelievable.

'Sky News - 41 minutes agoMiners' Deaths 'Are Stab Through The Heart'Sky News - 1 hour 33 minutes agoTributes To Soldier Shot Dead In AfghanistanSky News - 2 hours 20 minutes agoTrapped Miners: Fourth Man Is Found DeadSky News - 1 hour 50 minutes ago.......Miners' Deaths 'Are Stab Through The Heart'
Sky News Miners' Deaths 'Are Stab Through The Heart'

....The deaths of the four miners at Gleision Colliery near Swansea have been described as a "stab through the heart" of the local community.

Neath MP Peter Hain said: "This is the end we all feared but hoped against hope wouldn't happen.

"Extraordinary courage was shown by the families right through the night, tortuous hours of waiting. We can't imagine what they have been through.

"This has been a stab right through the heart of these local communities.

"There's a long tradition of mining here but nobody expected the tragedies of past generations would come today."

Mr Hain also paid tribute to the "superhuman efforts" of the rescue workers.

"At least the families can cling on to this - nobody tried harder than those rescue workers. They worked relentlessly."

Prime Minister David Cameron described the tragedy as a "desperately, desperately sad situation".

He said the anguish of the miners' families was "intense", adding: "There is going to be desperate sorrow in those families and communities as they come to terms with the loss."

Secretary of State for Wales Cheryl Gillan said: "This has been a truly devastating day for the families of Charles, Garry, Phillip and David who have so tragically lost their lives.

"Their families told me that the unstinting compassion and support they have received from their friends, the local community and volunteers has been of great comfort to them."

South Wales chief constable Peter Vaughan said that the conclusion of the rescue operation was "the one that none of us wanted".

aldwickk I got 14 correct thanks to being in too much of a hurry. You can't seriously have only got 7 correct.

I would have thought that result was on the optimistic side!

mnamreh -& T I M

Did you both go on to Grammar school ? i went to a shit sec mod in Shepherds Bush.

ps I was distracted when i took the test that's my excuse