@Izzie,
Question Time - breif outline - worth a watch on iplayer when/if can or are interested (mebbe bored of this now)
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NO CABINET MINISTER agreed to go. There's a surprise a:
Question Time Riot Special BBC1 Thursday 11th Aug 10.35pm
Unscheduled special going out live tonight on BBC1.
Guests are:
John Prescott(Ex boxer)
Brian Paddick(Ex top level copper)
John Sentamu(Archbishop of York)
David Davis(MP)
Camilia Batmanghelidjh(Charity worker and businesswoman).
plus another Scottish Chap - didn't get his name - but I thought he was quite good.
Using benefits as a penal system – some agreed. Some not.
David Davies – social housing is a privilege – if an 18year old is kicked out, are all the family then kicked out, little kids, parents? What happens then? Didn’t address any questions on why different punishments are for different ‘classes’. So, if you own your own home, have a mortgage etc – can the bank take away your mortage?? Not asked. This is aimed at those on welfare and social housing and not on those who are educated and being paraded in the media who have their own homes.
Agree with Brian Paddick – too simplistic re the benefits cut and evictions – this is a knee jerk response and tho has some merit in some aspects – it should not be made at this time. It needs far more thought and we shouldn’t make decisions made in the heat of the moment
GOOD! <phew>
The Archbishop of York – makes a lot of sense about our education system – he was fantastic! Would love to have a chat with him.
‘If you walk into a building where water is coming down the stairs, there is no use getting a mop, you need to turn it off at the tap.’ <not an exact quote> This is the same for this society - we need to turn off the tap of this self-destruction and then clear up the mess. Not keep mopping it up - it will keep flowing if we don't do something.
"Poverty does not lead inextricably to criminality" – TRUE - this does a great deal of injustice to all those who struggle to make ends-meet and do not step over the line of the law. This was a small minority. TRUE.
John Prescott was chewing a bumble bee. I don’t like him at all. He turned himself in knots and then got ar$ey. He’s very aggressive. Nasty man – not a shining example.
Camilia Batmanghelidjh - made some good points.
Media and politicians are packaging these riots up as pure criminality – when social injustice and the why’s should be being considered also… I’m inclined to agree with this and again – media is playing it’s not so pleasant role in the people they are parading around – future social worker, teaching asst, student needing money for his gap year to Africa…. Therefore, the media is saying these were educated folk (true) but parading them as examples of an even smaller minority of the minority who were looting etc. Small discussion on trust of the police - there is HUGE distrust in this ‘level’ of society
Arsonists and violence – everyone agrees this is a whole different ball game. Very much “united gang related”. Penalties will be much harsher.
Vigilantism was discussed – on what conditions is this acceptable. Mixed reviews. Yes and no. I get vigilantism – I’d stand in front of my doors to protect me and mine, call a friend, if there were no police around. Can’t imagine having to do that – cows may complain a bit – but… could get my kitties and dawgs to lick ‘em to death.
David Davies says that the courts are solely responsible for the sentencing. Of course, the magistrates are referring to Crown Court. They receive social reports and have many more details before sentencing is meted out. It feels like no-one wants to set the bar, so to speak, for what kind of sentence is appropriate.
Re police, more equipped, more flexible – has to come from the top and they should not be told to stand off. We must NOT have police cuts.
It was heartening to see the vast majority of people agreeing that the police were handcuffed by being given THE OFFICIAL ORDER to stand off – they were told NOT to use force until Wed (I think) – general concensus, in my opinion, police could not do right for doing wrong. JOB may be a vocation - but it is just a job and when you have a family and your own responsibilties - you do as you're told! It is very difficult to go against the orders they had when they were told to stand off -and if they had been more robust before given the oder, they
would have felt the full force of the law on themselves. This, by the sounds of it, is going to change where the chain of command has to make more flexible decisions. Government and the Police and got to talk more.
Will the Government listen? Who knows!
A someone stated (ONLY ONE PERSON) and the rather colourful lady Camilla - there are some of the conspiracy theories about the fact the “rich neighbourhoods” were not sought out – argument against was that there is much for CCTV security in these areas so the organised crime did not direct the rioters to those areas. Their arguements were that the rioters were deliberately pushed towards to the less economic areas.
I dunno, I find this had to belive. But whaddoIknow.
Love David Dimbleby - he's gorgeous.
Our moral compasses are all spinning in some way right now - this is complicated.
Very interesting.
Ha! The movie on now is “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Next!
They’re coming to take them away, haha, hehe, hoho!
I so need to get my story across to the HOC – I would love to stand up and do that – get them to listen to their lack of responsibility towards family values and mental health and their accountability within the education, health and social system – I may need to do that one day when I’m calmer/less emotional – some politicians should be wholly ashamed of themselves. Dispicable sitting there talking crahp. One day I will give them a piece of my mind, but yes, I realised, not much to lose 
B&stards.
I can't even think if through that this is what councils are attempting to put through legally.