deus—ex-machina:

Flash mobs that lead to violence and property destruction are a legitimate concern for governments. But is arresting someone for planning water pistol fight going to far?

Police in Colchester, Essex, England, have arrested a man and charged him with under Britain’s Serious Crime Act of 2007 after he allegedly used social media networks to plan a water gun fight.

In a post on the Essex police website titled “Police reassure residents they are working to keep county safe,” Essex law enforcement reported that the unnamed 20-year-old allegedly used his BlackBerry to encourage Colchester residents to gather for a city-wide bout of water-flinging. He was released on bail and is scheduled to appear in court on September 1.

The arrest comes a week after several cities in England were rocked by widespread rioting, looting, and arson, much of which appears to have been organized via instant messaging and other social media platforms. Unlike other counties, Essex has not seen any large-scale unrest.

The man’s arrest has prompted outrage on Twitter, with many asking if the report was a joke. Essex police responded via Twitter that “there may be more involved” in the case, but did not elaborate.

In the wake of the riots, British Prime Minister David Cameron has called for a clampdown on social media. Speaking to the House of Commons last week Cameron said that his government is “working with the Police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality.”

Cameron’s statement stands in contrast to those he made in January, during the uprising in Egypt that ultimately ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Back then Cameron, in a joint statement with his counterparts in Germany and France, warned the Egyptian government that “[t]here must be full respect for human rights and democratic freedoms, including freedom of expression and communication, including use of telephones and the internet, and the right of peaceful assembly.”

Britain is not the first country to crack down on a splash mobbery. Last month, Iranian morality police arrested 17 youths participating in a Facebook-organized mixed-gender water pistol shootout in a park in central Tehran.

There are reports that Iranian youths are organizing another Super Soaker event.

anti-propaganda:

‘Social observers compare Britain with Middle East suppressive regimes tackling the protests, and condemn UK government’s handling of the massive unrest.

In the past months, the global media have been focusing on the countries, which were flooded by anti-government protests and raised their mounting concerns over the humanitarian conditions in the crisis-hit countries as the pro-regime forces were attacking the protesters shouting for justice and social equality.

But this week rather than any other suppressive regime, it was Britain feeling the heat because it is facing the worst violence in the past decade.

British analysts have urged Britain to put an end to its war policies across the world, and take its troops back home, since it has evidently failed to resolve its rising social crisis.

They condemned David Cameron for authorizing the use of rubber bullets and water cannon to suppress the widespread protests, while he has always claimed to be the strong defender of the protesters all over the world particularly in Libya and Syria.

The PM insisted that a “fight back is under way” and that he would not let “phoney concerns about human rights get in the way” of silencing the protesters.

“Whatever resources the police need, they will get. Whatever tactics the police feel they need to employ, they will have legal backing to do so.

“We will do whatever is necessary to restore law and order on our streets. Every contingency is being looked at. Nothing is off the table,” Cameron said.

This is while Britain is trying to demonstrate itself as a human rights defender to the international community, taking an active part on setting a no fly zone on Libya or insisting on sanctions against Syria to end what it calls crackdown on protesters.

Analysts were shocked by Cameron’s reaction to people’s eruption of rage, insisting the recent unrests were the outcome of the coalition government’s austerity measures in the past 14 months, and that he had obviously failed to notice that his spending cuts have crippled the lives of majority of the UK nationals.

The unprecedented protests started when peaceful demonstrators took to the streets in Tottenhom, London. However, soon after, violent protests erupted in major cities like Birmingham, Liverpool, and Bristol creating trouble for the British government and the Metropolitan Police. Protest outbreaks were also reported in Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, Reading, and Oxford.’

PressTV and Russia Today coverage of the UK is always good fun.

samuelfromtheshire:

Police have said social networks were used by rioters to co-ordinate looting during four days of disorder across England this week.

 

“We know this was used … the question is can you do something to disrupt that in a way that deals with these problems?” the source said.

 

“We are having conversations with intelligence services and the industry. We are not proposing anything yet.”

 

(Reporting by Mohammed Abbas, Editing by Matt Falloon)

Anarchism is a political philosophy which considers the state undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, and instead promotes a stateless society, or anarchy. Any information relating to anarchists should be reported to your local Police.

The police briefing was issued as part of the Met’s CommunitySafe initiative.

Read the full article here.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  Ordinarily I wouldn’t even think of putting a Metro anywhere, but this one is worth it.

Riot police become angry during protests because they get too few loo breaks, it is claimed.

Riot police officers clash with demonstrators in March: would things have gone better if they’d had more toilet breaks? (AP)

Officers cannot perform their duties properly because they concentrate on ‘not wetting themselves’, a police official has said.

Bryan Higgins, of the West Midlands Police Federation, wants officers at demonstrations to have loo breaks every 45 minutes.

Not being able to go could be the cause of public complaints of ‘incivility, impoliteness and intolerance’, he claimed.

‘If you’ve not been able to go to the toilet and you desperately need to, you’re not going to be concentrating on the task in hand,’ said Mr Higgins, the federation’s head of health and safety.

‘You’re going to be concentrating on not wetting yourself or not making a mess of yourself. It does cause major problems.’

He continued: ‘If you don’t have sufficient staff on, the first thing to go is the ability to take a meal break or go to the toilet.’

The issue was discussed by West Midlands Police Authority this month. Minutes from the meeting show the lack of loo breaks was raised in a survey on staff morale.

‘It had been suggested this might contribute to reasons for some cases of incivility, impoliteness and intolerance,’ the minutes stated.

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said adequate refreshment breaks were ‘fundamental’.

‘All officers are expected to act with self-control, tolerance and professionalism, treating the public and colleagues with respect and courtesy,’ he added.

Mr Higgins’ comments were made in Police Review magazine and follow complaints from West Midlands officers about a lack of food, clothing and breaks during the Pope’s visit to Britain last year.

Full article.