Indo-UK News & Discussion 9th Aug 2011

[Ambar]

Which brings us the question why despite a bigger number of immigrants the absence of such riots in US ? I can think of only 1 answer : the Law enforcement does not hide behind secularism/political correctness. Somali thugs and gangs are routinely smashed in Seattle and Minneapolis. Islami gangs in No.VA and Ann Arbor,MI are closely watched. When incidents like Rodney King riots/Katrina riots do happen, the cops don't hesitate to open fire first and then think later.

We routinely see small scale rioting and looting in Canada too, this is the problem with secular-liberalism.

[Philip]

Battle of Britain-2
(Staff reporter,Arson N.Loot)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/0 ... intcmp=239

Xcpts:

London riots escalate as police battle for control• Full-scale alert as violence spreads across capital
• Disorder breaks out in Birmingham city centre
• Prime minister, mayor and home secretary return


The Guardian, Tuesday 9 August 2011
The prime minister cut short his holiday and flew back to Britain as London witnessed devastating scenes of violence stretching the emergency services beyond limit on a third night of rioting in the capital.

Buildings were torched, shops ransacked, and officers attacked with makeshift missiles and petrol bombs as gangs of hooded and masked youths laid waste to streets right across the city.

The sheer number of incidents – including in Hackney, Croydon, Peckham, Lewisham, Clapham and Ealing – seemingly overwhelmed the Metropolitan police at times, who had poured 1,700 extra officers onto the streets.

Disturbances continued into the early hours on a breathtaking scale, and they spread outside London for the first time with riots reported in Birmingham and Liverpool.

David Cameron, forced to break off from holiday in Tuscany, was this morning due to chair a meeting of the government's emergency committee, Cobra. He was travelling on a UK military flight leaving Italy at 3am. Asked why the prime minister had now decided to return, a Downing Street source said: "The situation has become more serious."

The violence erupted in daylight in Hackney, east London, where police confronted rioters hurling missiles and setting fire to bins and cars. One officer could be seen lying on the ground after being struck on his shield by a missile.

In Hackney's Pembury Estate, the centre of the violence in east London, masked youths – both men and women – helped carry debris, bins, sticks and motorbikes, laying them across the roads to form a flaming boundary to the estate.

Several buildings were set alight in Croydon, south London, one massive fire consuming the 100-year-old Reeves furniture store. The fires were so severe that approach roads into Croydon were thick with smoke leaving some residents struggling to see or breathe. "Words fail me. It's just gone, it's five generations. My father is distraught at the moment. It's just mindless thuggery," said owner Trevor Reeves.

A bus was torched in Peckham as police struggled to respond to the spread of sporadic incidents. Witnesses said a 100-strong mob cheered as a shop in the centre of Peckham was torched and one masked thug shouted: "The West End's going down next."

A baker's next door was also alight. One onlooker said: "The mob were just standing there cheering and laughing. Others were just watching on from their homes open-mouthed in horror."

A trail of bins and abandoned vehicles were ablaze in Lewisham.

At Clapham junction, looters – some as young as 14 – moved from shop to shop laughing as they smashed shop windows and clearing shelves of stock, unimpeded by over-burdened police.

Reassuring Londoners police were there in numbers, Godwin added: "We remain steadfast and determined."

The unrest spread beyond London with West Midlands police confirming outbreaks of disorder in Birmingham city centre. Shops including a branch of Louis Vuitton had windows smashed and were looted. An unmanned police station in Handsworth was torched. Extra officers were being sent into the streets of Britain's second city.

Boris Johnson, mayor of London, also cut his holiday in North America short and was returning overnight. Kit Malthouse, London's deputy mayor of policing, said: "I don't think anybody could have predicted this sort of horrendous spectacle." As the home secretary, Theresa May, broke off her holiday to return to London, she condemned the "sheer criminality" of the violence. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh said one-third more officers were available on Monday nightthan on Sunday, when shops were ransacked and torched in Brixton, south London, and trouble reported in Enfield, Edmonton, Walthamstow and Islington.

The Guardian understands senior officers are prepared to add more areas to the list. The special powers have been perceived as targeting certain ethnic groups, thus fuelling tensions.

Meanwhile, the maker of the BlackBerry smartphones, Research in Motion, said it would co-operate with a police investigation into claims its popular BlackBerry Messenger service played a key role in organising the London riots.

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, visiting Tottenham, said the violence would leave "big scars" on the community. Surveying the wreckage after the torching of businesses and homes in Tottenham High Road, he spoke to Steve Moore, who lost his jewellery shop in Saturday's violence. "I'm devastated, it's completely gone. My shop just doesn't exist anymore," Moore told him.

Latest eyewitness reports from the media :

There are close to a hundred or so in running battles with police at the Bethnal Green end of mare street. Youths looting shops, including the boarded-up Texaco garage. Bottle banks on Mare Street have been upended to provide ammunition for launching at police. Many youths
walking around with spoils of their looting, swigging from bottles of Martell. Youths just arriving chant "Bethnal Green" and appear to be joining the affray, moving south down Mare Street from Hackney to Cambridge Heath Road.

Reactions of onlookers varied from a man telling an officer moving a youth on to "get your hands off him, pig," to an afterschool club worker declaring to police that "these kids shouldn't be out here, they should be back in their yard," and saying that if she was in charge of dealing with rioters she'd "tear gas their asses".

Hackney rioters and police in hand-to-hand
There appeared to be more women participating in the riot than on previous nights, with some forming lines to help ferry debris for the flaming barricades. There were no TV cameras in sight, as crews struggled to access the scene of rioting.

Attempts by police to quell the situation around 8.30pm failed.

As lines of dozens of riot police marched into the estate, they were met by a hail of bricks, stones and bottles. At times there was hand-to-hand combat, as youths ripped off tree branches and used sticks to club police, who quickly retreated.

Youths used wheelie bins to ram riot police who, although in large numbers, were not in control. Twice, isolated police officers escaped serious injury. One officer became detached from his unit, tripped, and was attacked by a mob with sticks. He was rescued by colleagues seconds later.

In a more serious incident, a police officer in a solitary parked vehicle was attacked. His car windscreen was entirely smashed as a young man scaled the roof and pounded it with a brick. Surrounded and unable to see out of his window, the officer drove his smashed car through the crowd, and a hail of stones and bottles.

Bystanders cheered. "I've been wanting to see us do this to the Feds for years," said one man, in this thirties.

PS:Why haven't the fuzz fired more tear gas,rubber bullets and even shot rioters on sight as they've done in N.Ireland? The muted response from the London police,when they knew huge trouble was brewing,to send a strong message to opportunistic rioters is as "apalling" as the acts of violence themselves.Why haven't curfews been declared?Is it because a softly-softly approach has been wanted so as not to lose votes? The appeasement of certain immigrant communities looked upon as a sure votebank primarily by successive Labour govts.,just like appeasement of the minoriity vote by certain sections of Indian political parties too,has culminated into this orgy of violence which must be met with equal fire.

[Anindya]

London Riots: India, England cricketers told to stay at hotel

[JE Menon]

Tut, tut...

[JE Menon]

What I'm enjoying more than anything else is the look of constipated alarm on BBC newsreaders faces as they try hard to avoid using words normally reserved for little local difficulties in other parts of the world...

Rest of it, I pretty much agree with shyamd's take - but the potential now exists for it to be diverted into other channels, such as the Islamist one, now that Birmingham is affected. If I were a Brit in M15, I'd have all my antennae out for capturing data on the worms likely to crawl out of the woodwork as of today. Furthermore, I might just instigate a little as well in order to divert the attention towards radical Islam, and away from the general free-for-all. Realistically bringing up an Islamist angle to this will definitely subdue the general mayhem, and may even get the youthful blacks/whites running around with their blood up to turn their attention on the Islamists. Two birds with one stone. Right opportunity.

Surely, a couple of retired mid-ranking IB chappies living in some bucolic setting in the suburbs of Londonistan can be tapped for advise. Only. What say?

That said, it is rather sad to see what has become of the Brits. I enjoy London immensely, and it is difficult to look at images of areas I know and view what's happening with neutrality.

[chetak]

Tut, tut...

Saar, we should call off the tour citing security reasons onlee.

Pay them back in their own coin, so to speak!!

[ManjaM]

I think US, EU and NATO seriously need to consider cutting off all diplomatic relationships with UK and establish a no fly zone over the beleaguered country. Maybe do an arms drop for the rebels and drop a couple of JDAMS on the regime loyalists.

[IndraD]

The BBC was criticised for its political correctness last night after continually referring to the yobs rioting across London as “protesters”.

police's soft approach was a disaster

London Riots 'Could Destroy Some Businesses'

[IndraD]

Forced to strip naked in the street: Shocking scenes as rioters steal clothes and rifle through bags as people make their way home

Surrender to the forces of anarchy! Vigilantes forced to defend stores as powerless police let yobs seize streets

Theresa May downplays chances of Army being brought in as Cameron returns to chair emergency summit

[Lalmohan]

this could have easily become a race issue, but given that plenty of the rioters are white, its now a class issue - or an underclass issue. some interesting footage emerging of events - black women screaming abuse at the rioters, turkish shopkeepers forming vigilante groups, white kids robbing injured boy on the street, etc., etc. in all cases the numbers rioting are relatively small - shows that the cuts to policing have gone too deep - there arent enough officers around to deal with this. the army will have to be called out if this persists a few more days (but where they will find numbers from is another great question!)

the language used in the oped i cited earlier does not hold back from 'failed state, etc.' rhetoric. the media is having a field day with this, but still not a huge impact on the majority of people

[IndraD]

Theresa May rejects calls for water cannon

London riots: police lose battle as lawlessness erupts

[Philip]

Theresa May needs to be sacked.If harmless water cannon cannot be used,pray,have the hilarious calls from the fuzz,etc., to parents,"call your children home,please" been effectiuve at all? Out on the streets,ruthless thugs and anarchists have been let loose and are banding together to cripple a society that has appeased anti-social and terror groups within the mmigrant community for decades.It is now blow-back time Britain.Curfews and the army alogn with "shoot-to-kill" warnings are the only way.The Turks have armed themselves with clubs,etc., to defeat the rioters.Is vigilantism then the answer for affcted innocent citizens when the uniquitous London "Bobby" has failed?

If Cameron,Boris J and co. do notget their act together,then we will have the enjoyment of seeing Britain burn for many more nights,thanks to the incompetency and buffoonery of its govt and leaders.

[uddu]

The terms like Secularism and immigrants used here need to be replaced with pseudo-secularism and immigrants with non-plural views and believes.
Secularism is good, but pseudo-secularism is bad.
Immigration is good. But immigration of people with non-pluralistic ideologies and belief system is bad.

[uddu]

Army must have been called and prevented the riots from spreading. Seems ego issues are causing the riots to conntinue and spread to more areas.

[IndraD]

Earlier, a social divide revealed itself in Clapham this morning. Looters stopped sacking shops at the junction between St Johns Road to the north and Northcote Road to the south. To the north are council estates and chain stores such as Debenhams, JD and Currys. These shops were looted. To the south are Victorian terraces and shops like Jack Wills, White Stuff and artisan bakeries. These were untouched. Am told Northcote Road residents formed a line at where the roads meet and let no-one pass.

cameroon uvach-You will feel the full force of the law and if you are old enough to commit these crimes you are old enough to face the punishment. You're not only ruining the lives of others and ruining your own communities you are potentially ruining your own lives, too.

Army will not be called- T May

[Philip]

I seriously think that Ms. "T-May" should be sent to the battlefront to quell the rioters and looters.I am sure that one glimpse of her visage will find the anti-social "protesters"-thank you BeeB,trembling in their newly acquired for free,Nikes and Reeboks!

Now China takes a side-swipe at Britain saying it has underestimated the subversiveness of social websites and fears for the safety of the London Olympics! Iran too has joined the bandwagon.The nations who Britain attacked for their human rights record are now hitting back with a vengeance.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... Games.html

London riots: China raises questions over safety of 2012 Olympic Games
Riot-swept Britain is tasting the 'bitter fruit' of its failure to introduce controls on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, Chinese state media said today.

London riots: China raises questions over safety of 2012 Olympic Games
Riot-swept Britain is tasting the 'bitter fruit' of its failure to introduce controls on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, Chinese state media said today.

The pictures of burning high-streets and apparently impotent policing astounded many Chinese Photo: GETTY IMAGES By Peter Foster, Beijing
09 Aug 2011
Questions are also being raised questions over whether London could be trusted to stage a safe Olympic Games.

After months during which China has bridled over western lectures about its fierce crackdown on dissent in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings, the country's official media reported on the shaming scenes in Britain with a mixture of shock and schadenfreude.

"The West have been talking about supporting internet freedom, and oppose other countries' government to control this kind of websites, now we can say they are tasting the bitter fruit [of their complacency] and they can't complain about it," wrote one commentator in official Communist Party mouthpiece, People's Daily.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast urged the British government to order the police to stop their violent confrontation with the people, IRNA reported in the early hours of Tuesday.

Mehmanparast asked the British government to start dialogue with the protesters and to listen to their demands in order to calm the situation down.

The Iranian official also asked independent human rights organizations to investigate the killing in order to protect the civil rights and civil liberties.

Meanwhile,PM Cameron calls for more robust poice action.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... -live.html

[Sachin]

Is vigilantism then the answer for affcted innocent citizens when the uniquitous London "Bobby" has failed?

This should be an eye-opener for India as well considering the large contingent of leftist loonies we have in our country and its prime establishments. The "London Bobby" (especially PCs/SGTs etc.) I feel (reading the comments in many of those news links) is having enough and more challenges in enforcing the law on the ground. It seems when these folks on the ground asked for a confirmation that they will not get suspended later stating "police brutality"; no senior officer gave it. If that is the case, police men should be mentally challenged to go and do some thing good. This is very similar to the case in India, where at least in many cases the police do make a good attempt to thrash the rioters. And yes many of them land up in suspensions and quick transfers. All the while I have never seen any rioter given any decent time in a good prison (with hard labour).

[Philip]

As I said before,why hasn't the use of water cannons and other more lethal methods been used against the rioters? As the Conservative MP has pointed out,they've been used in N.Ireland,why not in London? Why only the Irish and not at home,must such stringent methods only be used on a foreign shore (Ireland,Libya,Iraq,Afghanistan,etc)?!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... annon.html

With the police appearing to lose control of parts of London overnight, many people used the social network site Twitter to demand that officers be allowed to use the weapon.

An early supporter of the tactic was Ken Livingstone, the former London mayor, who said he agreed that police should allowed to start using the cannon to disperse rioters. He said: “The issue of water cannon would be very useful given the level of arson we are seeing here.”

The devices have been used to control mobs in Northern Ireland but senior police officers have never used them on the mainland.

The high-pressure spray is one of several anti-riot weapons, including rubber bullets and tear gas, regularly used in other countries.

There is also the option of sending in the military if the police fail to regain control of the streets.

A curfew could also be introduced to force people to stay in their homes. Patrick Mercer, the Tory MP and former Army officer, last night called for water cannon to be used.

“I find it strange that we are willing to use these sort of measures against the Irish yet when Englishmen step out of line and behave in this atrocious and appalling way, we are happy to mollycoddle them,” he said. “If the police want cannon then they should be allowed to use them. I have used water cannon myself and I found them extremely effective.”

John O’Connor, a former Flying Squad commander at Scotland Yard, said that in “some cases” water cannon use was necessary. Aaron Peters wrote on Twitter: “With civil disorder this big and diffuse the police can basically do very little with or without water cannon.”

PS:Water cannons,says a top cop, have to be brought in from N.Ireland as there are none in England!!!

The Home Office last night insisted that there were no plans to approve the use of water cannon.

“Water cannon are not approved for use on the mainland by the Home Office,” a spokesman said. “A range of measures is available to the police to tackle disorder and we do not believe water cannon are needed.”

A Scotland Yard spokesman said officers did not have any water cannon. If their use was approved, they would have to be brought over from Northern Ireland.

[JE Menon]

The whole police action has been beyond incompetent. Can't fully blame them though. Partly they have been hobbled by the ridiculous legal/regulatory/press/civil society mish-mash that passes for the practice of democracy these days - with little room for personal responsbility on the part of citizens. The tools they have used for decades as levers against other countries, smug in the assumption that this monster wouldn't jump up and bite them in the ass, are now applicable in their own country.

So the incompetence is across the board.

But it will be calmed down in short order. They will revert to the type we know so well A few old-fashioned techniques of empire will be dusted off, and things will get back to normal. Until the next time. This genie has left the lamp.

[subodh]

JEM - also, the police are paying the tories back - this is their way of making a statement about what they percieve to be drastic budget cuts. This is over and above their ingrained incompetence and a reflexive fear of PC led witch-hunts they have been subjected to.

[Altair]

I have just been told by a friend in London that a dude names "Andy Choudary" declared Shariah in East london. No Alcohol, Full Burqha etc.. Can any BRF londoner verify this?

[Lalmohan]

I have just been told by a friend in London that a dude names "Andy Choudary" declared Shariah in East london. No Alcohol, Full Burqha etc.. Can any BRF londoner verify this?

anjem chowdhury - well known islamist nutter, makes declarations like this at random intervals
they've threated to do it, but ofcourse - they actually cannot do anything

[Ambar]

Liberalism creates inadequacies in the system as it tries to make space for those who don't fit it. The sustainability of Islamic ideology especially when they are in minority has been dependent on "ghetto"ization. Europe/UK has failed on 2 counts : To assimilate majority of blacks/Muslims into core European values and take a hardline against those who have turned into lethal parasites on their hosts. Don't be too surprised if similar scenes playout in Hamburg,Stuttgart,Amsterdam,Stockholm,Oslo and much of France.

Nations that have embraced liberalism have 2 options : Turn into quasi police state like US or stop ghetto-ization of society.

[JE Menon]

Altair,

I can declare Shariah over all of England ... same sh1t... This Anjem Choudhary has a following, but is more valueable as a propagandu for the establishment. They roll him out whenever they want to take the "Asian" community down a notch.

Somebody from home ministry probably gave him a snapping flick on the ear and told him what to say... If true, a diversion. Could be useful. But not sufficient, and not even necessary to use this propagandu. They need to use some heavier instruments.

[subodh]

Ambar - also - people have guns in the US. And they will use them if they feel the police are losing control.

Check out the news videos of the old rodney king riots - remember the korean grocery store owners shooting to kill rioting blacks - if something like what is going on in ldn happens in the US, you will see a very different response from the victims of the rioters.

[Cosmo_R]

What I'm enjoying more than anything else is the look of constipated alarm on BBC newsreaders faces as they try hard to avoid using words normally reserved for little local difficulties in other parts of the world...

...What say?

I am reminded of one Luke Harding :

"Heart of darkness"

As a young backpacker Luke Harding found India charming and eccentric. Fifteen years later he returned as the Guardian's correspondent. Now, after finishing his time there, he recalls how one terrible incident of sectarian violence in Gujarat brought his love affair with the country to an end


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/se ... ia.comment

Perhaps we could substitute "Heart of whiteness" and the end of our "love affair with England" which we used to find charming and eccentric.

Maybe all of this rioting is a ploy by white Christian fundamentalists of the BNP to blame this on 'Afro-Caribbean' protesters expressing their anguish at their second class citizenship.

We are entitled to a quantum of schadenfreude. The Empire strikes back.

A final item of business: Can London/UK really provide security for the 2012 Olympics?

We should revisit Mr. Harding online.

[Lalmohan]

met police have announced that plastic bullets will be used today if required
these are supposedly non lethal, and are used when dealing with armed suspects, however have led to 14 deaths in northern ireland so far

[Philip]

It is is now very clear why the rioters are being handled with kid gloves.THis has nothing to do with the situ in London and elsewhere.Read my post in the West Asia thread,where Turkey has warned Syria about its handling of the crisis there.There are stromng reports that NATO is planniongto invade Syria and oust Assad.This is part of the grand master-plan to rdraw the "Arab/Islamic" map of the world by orchestrating internal crises ,civil unres and even civil conflict as we are seeing in Libya and Yemen.On one siude are the pro-west/US Arab nations like the Saudis,etc.This is why no porttest about Saudi troops putting down Shia unrest in Bahrein was heard from the so-called democratic west!

Britain being a key military player in Afghanistan,Iraq (earier),Libya and now in the throes of internal rioting itself,cannot afford to crack down hard upon its own rioters when it condemns foreign nations for use of force just as Willam Hague has just done with Syria! It would be impossible to sustain such criticism and support for military intervention in Syria if in Britain,the police and security forces start shooting rioters,as they should be done with.It is OK to do this in N.Ireland where the Republican movement,the IRA and now the break-away factions of the IRA who have not subscribed to the peace process, has had a history of using arms against British forces.Thus the soft approach to the mayhem going on in England today.Easily understood if one views the situ in the context of the western wars in the Arab world and Britain's key role in it!

[SwamyG]

All the naatak regarding race needs to be thrown out the window and the racists in UK need to be called out. The video about a young boy (could not make the race) was injured and was being helped out. Meanwhile a white man rummages through the backpack of the kid, and nonchalantly steals whatever he found in the backpack. It was tough to say if the black man who was initially helping the kid, tried to stop or joined. I give the benefit of doubt to the black guy - based on his reactions and that he had nothing in his hands.

UK needs to be civilized. Time for 3rd world countries to pester the UN to send in international peace keeping troops to help the protesting UK citizens against the tyranny. Next time somebody opens how West is more civilized than East, needs to be shown this footage - which is going viral.

[ArmenT]

I have just been told by a friend in London that a dude names "Andy Choudary" declared Shariah in East london. No Alcohol, Full Burqha etc.. Can any BRF londoner verify this?

Andy Choudary = Anjem Choudary (The guy used to go by "Andy" back in the day before he became a fundamentalist). The guy did declare a shariah only zone in London a couple of weeks ago and they even put up posters and yellow tape in certain areas saying no alcohol, full burqa etc. There were some articles in the local papers decrying this fact and how London is turning into Londonistan. The guy is a full blown radical mullah -- recruits British Muslims for jeehard against British troops one day, unashamedly lives on British Government dole the next.

[Lalmohan]

from the telegraph blog

14.26 Contrary to earlier reports we've now confirmed that the Islamic Bank of Britain was not damaged in the rioting. It appears that worshippers leaving the East London Mosque after prayers were able to successfully chase of rioters, protecting both the bank and the mosque.

[KJo]

Why are the barbarian uncivilized Brits acting this way? Rioting and looting like 2 bit terrorist nations? Do they have KFC there too?

[SwamyG]

^^^
I think China and India should jointly send in troops to help the protestors to help the UK 2011 Spring Festival

Added: Is it too early to have "Managing UK's Failure" dhaaga ? Because some country, probably Germany, is going to step in Europe to be the dominant dog.

[anupmisra]

Tut, tut...

Saar, we should call off the tour citing security reasons onlee. Pay them back in their own coin, so to speak!!

Then India would have lost the series 2-0, a margin that would guarantee them second spot. The strategy, in my opinion, should be to stay put, stiff upper lip and all, and send a message to the brits that Indians are made of sterner stuff. Unlike the lily livered brits who took off at the first sign of trouble in Bombay (and perhaps to avoid a complete white wash).

[anupmisra]

Didn't that inbred islamist street thug, Anjem Choudhary, predict this stuff (streets on fire) a few years ago?

[SriKumar]

Saar, we should call off the tour citing security reasons onlee. Pay them back in their own coin, so to speak!!

Then India would have lost the series 2-0, a margin that would guarantee them second spot. The strategy, in my opinion, should be to stay put, stiff upper lip and all, and send a message to the brits that Indians are made of sterner stuff. Unlike the lily livered brits who took off at the first sign of trouble in Bombay (and perhaps to avoid a complete white wash).

Not a blind supporter of the British by any means, I think India should not be shy about pointing out the double standard in the current situation, but I will say this. After the Mumbai attacks happened, the English cricket team took off but they did come back to finish the series in a little while after they left. The security situation was still somewhat uncertain when they came back to play (and remember, 26/11 was unprecedented), and I give them credit for coming back and finishing it. As for us being made of sterner stuff, the desi cricketers are going to look at this and not bat eye. This is all ho-hum stuff, they've seen and been through much worse. But none of this should prevent the desi media & govt. from saying what needs to be said.

[RajeshA]

Is it too early to have "Managing UK's Failure" dhaaga ? Because some country, probably Germany, is going to step in Europe to be the dominant dog.

There already is one!

[IndraD]

[ramana]

Bloomberg TV had a clip of shop looted by the rioters. The shop owner was a desi.

[Jarita]

Have you seen this from Zaid Hamid (yes the same brasstacks chap)

http://twitpic.com/63c0i8