How long before this!

Krusader

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Police-Officer-Set-On-Fire-As-Anti-Austerity-Protests-In-Greece-Turn-Violent/Article/201102415939532?lpos=World_News_First_Home_Article_Teaser_Region_3&lid=ARTICLE_15939532_Police_Officer_Set_On_Fire_As_Anti-Austerity_Protests_In_Greece_Turn_Violent

Adam Tate, Sky News Online
A policeman has been set on fire during anti-austerity protests in Greece involving tens of thousands of people.


Five people were injured when the demonstration against government cuts turned violent.
More than 30,000 had taken part in the demonstration but many were forced to take cover when youths began throwing rocks and fire bombs.
The officer was hit by a petrol bomb which set his uniform and motorcycle on fire.
He was forced to remove his crash hemet and colleagues had to help extinguish the flames.
Riot police used tear gas and flash grenades to try stop the violence.

One officer was set on fire during the protest
The Greek government is facing international pressure to make further cuts after its ailing economy was bailed out by the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.
It has already made drastic spending and pay cuts, as well as imposing a number of tax hikes in order to meet the conditions of the deal.
Around 500 people gathered outside parliament following the main march.
The group said they would not move until ministers agreed to make concessions.

orourkeda

We havent even gone on protest yet.

Let alone burn policemen

Jimmy the Wheel

* watches video, reads report, scratches head...

humberklog

How long before this?


According to your own link it has already happened. In Greece. The other day.

major bill

Will never happen....People in this country aint built for that kind of violence.

chin_grin

I for one welcome our new laser-based overlords.

Krusader

humberklog wrote: »

How long before this?


According to your own link it has already happened. In Greece. The other day.

you know what i mean

Krusader

chin_grin wrote: »

I for one welcome our new laser-based overlords.

haha, i fixed the link :pac::pac:

chin_grin

Crosáidí wrote: »

you know what i mean

Unless you're being rhetorical again...........To that I say....Well played. Well played.

FatherLen

what? i have already set fire to six gardai!

Wibbs

I'd agree with major bill. It's unlikely to happen here. We're not that rebellious, nor as aggressive as a culture. Not within Ireland anyway. Remember the chap from the IMF walking from his hotel all the way down to the central bank? No way would he have dared to do that in Greece, or any of the Latin countries in general. The chance of serious assault or even being killed would have been too high. We're more "civilised/passive/easygoing"(delete as applicable) than many cultures IMHO.

The Brits are similar. Maybe it's cos as islands we've been invaded so few times and have had a more stable society for longer? OK we go on about the Brits and they witter on about the normans(and still cant abide the French), but that's nigh on 1000 years ago in both cases. If you're Greek you've been invaded so many times there's a turnstile at the border Maybe that makes cultures more aggressive?

optogirl

orourkeda wrote: »

We havent even gone on protest yet.

Let alone burn policemen

Speak for yourself (the protest bit not the burning Gardai bit)

chin_grin

Found this on reddit.

The urge to shoop the faces on the crowd is unbelievable.

Although it's a spectacular photo that portrays both sides. The conflict, pity and remorse of the action.

Here.

123balltv

the IMF/EU/Government :mad:

they can take whatever they want from us Paddy's sure we're grand
take everything off us tax the Arse off us, put up prices bus fares,clothes etc
we dont seem to get angry we hide and panic about our futures and threaten to leave this shoe box of a country.

ejmaztec

I think the long-awaited change of government is what's keeping the trouble here at bay at the moment, but if the new government starts crapping all over us, things might hot up.

flyton5

Guards all over the country are training on a weekly basis in preparation for this kinda thing. If you get up to Leopardstown racecourse on the right morning you'll see for yourself...

ejmaztec

flyton5 wrote: »

Guards all over the country are training on a weekly basis in preparation for this kinda thing. If you get up to Leopardstown racecourse on the right morning you'll see for yourself...

...are they fighting with the punters after the bookies do a runner with the winnings?

mickydoomsux

flyton5 wrote: »

Guards all over the country are training on a weekly basis in preparation for this kinda thing. If you get up to Leopardstown racecourse on the right morning you'll see for yourself...

This isn't happening at all.

Bosco boy

We aint seen nothing yet! everyone is going to be screwed by the incoming government and many people/voters dont realise it and the realisation will bring real anger, there will be serious protests when the drastic cuts come and the danger is that a totally demoralised Garda force will stand by and let it happen. I hope it dosent come to that. strange times indeed!!

pragmatic1

major bill wrote: »

Will never happen....People in this country aint built for that kind of violence.

Ever hear of N.Ireland. We're more than capable of extreme violence.

pragmatic1

Wibbs wrote: »

I'd agree with major bill. It's unlikely to happen here. We're not that rebellious, nor as aggressive as a culture. Not within Ireland anyway. Remember the chap from the IMF walking from his hotel all the way down to the central bank? No way would he have dared to do that in Greece, or any of the Latin countries in general. The chance of serious assault or even being killed would have been too high. We're more "civilised/passive/easygoing"(delete as applicable) than many cultures IMHO.

The Brits are similar. Maybe it's cos as islands we've been invaded so few times and have had a more stable society for longer? OK we go on about the Brits and they witter on about the normans(and still cant abide the French), but that's nigh on 1000 years ago in both cases. If you're Greek you've been invaded so many times there's a turnstile at the border Maybe that makes cultures more aggressive?

Britain as a whole was named the most violent country in Europe a few years back. Scotland was named the most violent country in the developed world, ahead of even the US.

major bill

pragmatic1 wrote: »

Ever hear of N.Ireland. We're more than capable of extreme violence.

and? differant government them boys are professional rioters the lads down south dont have a clue...love ulster was a tea party compared to whats happening in greece!!!

pragmatic1

major bill wrote: »

and? differant government them boys are professional rioters the lads down south dont have a clue...love ulster was a tea party compared to whats happening in greece!!!

The Irish state came very close to collapse in the 1970s due to civil unrest. Love ulster was mostly a bit of craic, as are 99% of the riots up north. When grown men cant feed their families you'll see a different type of riot.

r3nu4l

How anyone could do that to another human being is beyond me! I don't care what side you're on that's sickening.

I just hope he wasn't too badly injured and that if he has kids they don't end up without a father because of this. :mad:

Dravokivich

so... we aren't going to burn the bondholders then?

Krusader

More news from Greece and a movement that's being started

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41723432/ns/business-world_business/

'I won't pay' movement spreads across Greece
In light of austerity measures, citizens ignore tolls, transit ticket costs, even bills for healthcare

ATHENS, Greece — They blockade highway toll booths to give drivers free passage. They cover subway ticket machines with plastic bags so commuters can't pay. Even doctors are joining in, preventing patients from paying fees at state hospitals.

Some call it civil disobedience. Others a freeloading spirit. Either way, Greece's "I Won't Pay" movement has sparked heated debate in a nation reeling from a debt crisis that's forced the government to take drastic austerity measures — including higher taxes, wage and pension cuts, and price spikes in public services.

What started as a small pressure group of residents outside Athens angered by higher highway tolls has grown into a movement affecting ever more sectors of society — one that many say is being hijacked by left-wing parties keen to ride popular discontent.

A rash of political scandals in recent years, including a dubious land swap deal with a rich monastery and alleged bribes in state contracts — has fueled the rebellious mood.

At dawn last Friday, about 100 bleary-eyed activists from a Communist Party-backed labor union covered ticket machines with plastic bags at Athens metro stations, preventing passengers from paying their fares, to protest public transport ticket price hikes.

Other activists have taped up ticket machines on buses and trams. And thousands of people simply don't bother validating their public transport tickets when they take the subway or the bus.

"The people have paid already through their taxes, so they should be able to travel for free," said Konstantinos Thimianos, 36, an activist standing at the metro picket line in central Syntagma Square.

In one of their frequent occupations of the toll booths on the northern outskirts of Athens recently, protesters wore brightly colored vests with "total disobedience" emblazoned across their backs, and chanted: "We won't pay for their crisis!"

The tactic has cropped up in the health sector, with some state hospital doctors staging a blockade in front of pay counters to prevent patients from paying their €5 flat fee for consultations.

Critics deride the protests as yet another example of a freeloading mentality that helped lead the country into its financial mess.

"The course from initial lawlessness to final wanton irresponsibility is like a spreading cancer," Dionysis Gousetis said in a recent column in the respected daily broadsheet Kathimerini.

"Now, with the crisis as an alibi ... the freeloaders don't hide. They appear publicly and proudly and act like heroes of civil disobedience. Something like Rosa Parks or Mahatma Gandhi," Gousetis wrote. "They're not satisfied with not paying themselves. They are forcing others to follow them."

Many accuse left-wing parties and labor unions of usurping a grassroots movement with legitimate grievances for their own political ends.

"You think that lawlessness is something revolutionary, which helps the Greek people," Prime Minister George Papandreou said recently, lashing out in Parliament at Coalition of the Left party head Alexis Tsipras. "It is the lawlessness which we have in our country that the Greek people are paying for today."

But there is something about the "I Won't Pay" movement that speaks to something deeper within Greek society: a propensity to bend the rules, to rebel against authority, particularly that of the state.

It is so ingrained that many Greeks barely notice the myriad small, daily transgressions — the motorcycle driving on the sidewalk, the car running the red light, the blatant disregard of yet another government attempt to ban smoking in restaurants and bars.

Less innocuous is persistent and widespread tax avoidance despite increasingly desperate government measures.

"There is a general culture of lawlessness, starting from the most basic thing, tax evasion or tax avoidance, which is something that Greeks have been exercising since their state was created," said social commentator Nikos Dimou.

But many see the "I Won't Pay" movement as something much simpler: the people's refusal to pay for the mistakes of a series of governments accused of squandering the nation's future through corruption and cronyism.

"I don't think it's part of the Greek character. Greeks, when they see that the law is being applied in general, they will implement it too," said Nikos Louvros, the 55-year-old chain-smoking owner of an Athens bar that openly flouts the smoking ban.

"But when it isn't being applied to some, such as when there are ministers who have been stealing, ... Well, if the laws aren't implemented at the top, others won't implement them."

By ELENA BECATOROS

aujopimur

flyton5 wrote: »

Guards all over the country are training on a weekly basis in preparation for this kinda thing. If you get up to Leopardstown racecourse on the right morning you'll see for yourself...

And the army.

major bill

pragmatic1 wrote: »

The Irish state came very close to collapse in the 1970s due to civil unrest. Love ulster was mostly a bit of craic, as are 99% of the riots up north. When grown men cant feed their families you'll see a different type of riot.

I hope if the time ever came where we had to stand up im proved wrong but it only seems to be a minority that is capable of extreme violence on a large scale while the rest of the country sits behind a computer condeming the violence.

Kasabian

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh0uvq_muse-uprising-2011-grammy-s_music

Krusader

major bill wrote: »

I hope if the time ever came where we had to stand up im proved wrong but it only seems to be a minority that is capable of extreme violence on a large scale while the rest of the country sits behind a computer condeming the violence.

Blood is a cleansing and sanctifying thing, and the nation that regards it as the final horror has lost its manhood... there are many things more horrible than bloodshed, and slavery is one of them!
P.H. Pearse

/

Wibbs

pragmatic1 wrote: »

Britain as a whole was named the most violent country in Europe a few years back. Scotland was named the most violent country in the developed world, ahead of even the US.

Links please. I don't doubt you. Well I do TBH. Just a little bit.

To be fair pragmatic1 I should have been more specific. Agressive as in civil unrest more than street or other type of violence.

Crosáidí wrote: »

More news from Greece and a movement that's being started

That's where I can see things kicking off alright. The "I'm not gonna pay" type revolt. Well there will simply come a point where a large chunk of people simply won't be able to pay. If the banks/government start sending in the sheriff etc then it could badly kick off.

pragmatic1

Wibbs wrote: »

Links please. I don't doubt you. Well I do TBH. Just a little bit.

To be fair pragmatic1 I should have been more specific. Agressive as in civil unrest more than street or other type of violence.

Scotland: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article568214.ece

Britain: http://www.nowpublic.com/world/britain-reaches-top-most-violent-country-list

As for civil unrest, theres very few countries if any in Europe that can hold a candle to our little rainy islands when we riot.

Wibbs

pragmatic1 wrote: »

Scotland: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article568214.ece

Britain: http://www.nowpublic.com/world/britain-reaches-top-most-violent-country-list

Ah c'mon P. The first is well dubious as a "survey". Phone survey? The second. where the UK is at the top two places ahead of south africa? And Austria is second with Sweden, Sweden for feck sake, in fourth in the developed world? I call serious shenanigans. Experts say indeed. More Like Dr Nick Riveria style scienticians I'd say. Not denying that street crime can be a right pain in the arse here and especially in some UK cities, but I'd still feel 20 times safer in Dublin than Jo'burg.

As for civil unrest, theres very few countries if any in Europe that can hold a candle to our little rainy islands when we riot.

Maybe at a pinch the UK in particular the English, but compared to the French? I dunno. The Greeks have kicked off more riots in the last year than Ireland has in 20. We have this notion of ourselves as rebels, but it doesnt bear too much scrutiny. Outside the country on the other hand, we're often found building nations.

JOSman

Do you not think that with all the pay reductions, increases in Government costs which includes utilities, that our hearts go out to those who have lost their jobs and are struggling to meet their own commitments and keep their own families intact.

How can you go out on the street complaining about your own pocket with others no pockets at all?

pragmatic1

Wibbs wrote: »

Ah c'mon P. The first is well dubious as a "survey". Phone survey? The second. where the UK is at the top two places ahead of south africa? And Austria is second with Sweden, Sweden for feck sake, in fourth in the developed world? I call serious shenanigans. Experts say indeed. More Like Dr Nick Riveria style scienticians I'd say. Not denying that street crime can be a right pain in the arse here and especially in some UK cities, but I'd still feel 20 times safer in Dublin than Jo'burg.
Maybe at a pinch the UK in particular the English, but compared to the French? I dunno. The Greeks have kicked off more riots in the last year than Ireland has in 20. We have this notion of ourselves as rebels, but it doesnt bear too much scrutiny. Outside the country on the other hand, we're often found building nations.

I'd say a phone survey might be more accurate than official statistics. The reason being, most assaults dont get reported. I've never reported an assault in my life. Also, Scotland has been named the murder capital of western Europe for a number of years.

The results from the second survey are pretty odd, but it was carried out by the EU commission. I agree that I'd feel a lot safer walking the streets of any UK or Irish city than johannesburg. However, I feel much safer walking around other European cities than I would in Dublin or say London.

In relation to civil unrest, inner city riots all over England during the 80s (e.g Brixton and Toxteth). Up North, that many riots the army had to be called in. Down south, the state was close to collapse at one stage.

Right now I think we're too comfortable. We got a taste of money, we liked it and we dont want to jeopardize our chances of getting it again. We're going to be good little EU citizens and take our punishment for being bold.

mickydoomsux

JOSman wrote: »

Do you not think that with all the pay reductions, increases in Government costs which includes utilities, that our hearts go out to those who have lost their jobs and are struggling to meet their own commitments and keep their own families intact.

How can you go out on the street complaining about your own pocket with others no pockets at all?

Oh calm down FFS. Things are bad for a minority. People won't riot because most people aren't that badly effected.

Things aren't like they were 2007 but they shouldn't have been like that in the first place anyway. I work in public transport and we've had a ridiculously busy week, as busy if not busier than Christmas was. There's some X-Factor thing and the King Tut yoke on up in the Big Schmoke and people are bring their entire families to it.

I see four or five 2011 cars on my commute every day. There's plenty of money out there.

The media are being ridiculously irresponsible in the scaremongering they are engaging in. The talk about things like every second household is on the breadline, that's simply not true. If we were in that bad of a situation we wouldn't still be paying umemployed people €188 a week with record levels of employment.

Brenireland

humberklog wrote: »

How long before this?


According to your own link it has already happened. In Greece. The other day.

Some day I'll get as many thanks for a post as you got for that one^