[rustyme]

I have read a few little snippets here and there , of what may be on the way to the UK this summer. The government have been discussing using troops to control any civil unrest in the UK from April onwards. It has been revealed that there are factions who are planning protests and worse, in connection with foreign workers taking UK jobs. The numbers of these people will be many more than would normally take such action due to the economic situation which is expected to get much worse as the year goes on . They are expecting unrest on a scale similar to that in Greece a short while ago ,maybe even worse ? The police have been training for such an event for some time now , more so than normal !!, but the numbers of people expected to be involved will mean that the police will not be able to cope , therefore the army is set to act . This sounds seriously close to martial law. So the prospect of some very scary times is very possible. ANy trouble is expected to occur in major towns, cities etc. , therefore anyone living in country areas needn't worry too much . Those in towns and cities however, should watch news reports and keep a general eye open for anything kicking off. This isn't meant as a doom and gloom end of life as we know it thing , just as a warning for anything that MAY occur. Events like this have been happening in Europe for some time now, with very little press coverage , and I can only wonder how it hasn't hit here so far ? Still , take care everyone , and in the words of corpral Jones...."DON'T PANIC ", just be aware of what is going on . Am I glad I live in the middle of nowhere.....? YES ...

cheers

Russ

[Crofter]

As you say Russ, most of the unrest in other countries goes unreported here. It makes you wonder how much our media is being manipulated
I think the government are terrified of another blockade of the oil refineries/terminals.  Last time it appears we were only 2 days from anarchy.  Supermarkets run on a 3 day supply chain as we are only too aware here on Lewis where we rely on the ferry.  No ferry for two days and there are NO staple foods on the shelves at either Tesco or Co-op.
Most people who use this forum will have some idea how to provide for themselves, and some would not be too concerned if Tesco ran out of Milk and sliced bread, but imagine what it would be like in the cities!

Dave

[rustyme]

I think the media is very much manipulated here Dave. Some things have media blocks placed on them and that is it .
   The government were very worried by the blockades and they have , very quietly bought in many new laws since then . They say that thay are to do with terrorism , but the way they have worded them , anyone doing anything that goes against what they think we should be doing , can be classed as a terrorist , it is very scary . Anarchy could arise very fast once food or fuel or both become scarce . I would not want to be anywhere near a large town or city , once food was in short supply . I could cope easily for maybe 6 months without buying food , although it would be a bit different to my usual diet. I would have to get my dog's used to a different diet also .  Bread I would be ok without buying as I have a large store of flour, and milk I could get from any number of dairy farmers locally. So in general, I would be ok,  as you say , so would many on this forum . I  hope things don't kick off , but I think they very well may !!! One funny thing ...up till a few months ago, the government said that the army would have to stay in Iraq till at least 2010-11 . Then all of a sudden ..oh our troops will be out of Iraq by this summer!!! I wonder why


cheers

Russ























 

[sellickbhoy]

you should all read "The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein

all good stuff about how right wing, free market capitalists are exploiting natural/economic/political "disasters" to pussh through their own free market policies.

scary stuff

[sausagesandcash]

We have the same economic problems here in Ireland. I have always said though that those of us who have land will never go hungry. Sustainable living might make a huge comeback. That being said, I can see us being back to horses and carts before any of us are out of the economic woods. Speaking of woods, I wish i had one...with price of oil and all that! 

 

[xxmillyxx]

I have often wondered how we manage to keep virtually "potest free" in this country when it comes to economic problems, whereas you look at France, etc and they appear to be out on the streets because of interest rates, petrol prices, etc.

I do agree that our time is bound to come very soon and I too would be pretty concerned about the outcomes of any such protests.

However, you only have to look around you to see things getting worse everywhere.  I have a shop (7-11 convenience) in a not too nice area of my town (I live opposite it at the moment) and I have seen my takings drop by upto £500 per day.  Now these are people who are in the main not working or elderly and these times are affecting them badly also.  Shop prices seem to be rising everyday due to wholesale prices rising and not one of my customers saw any benefit from the reduction in VAT as I didn't either.  Wholesalers put prices up to suit !!!  Its these people that I feel for.

I think this country will see protests and I have to ask myself, although I know it will cause a lot problems, whether I blame people for this or support them ?

[HappyHippy]

Oh dear......... I feel a rant coming on  apologies in advance !
Although I don't think I'd ever protest myself, I can see why people would. We're a small island and we could barely cope with our population before the joining of Europe and the floodgates opening to thousands of extra people, BUT, I also see the other side where those who come to this country are doing work that many UK people seem to think 'below' them for lower wages than UK residents would be prepared to do. So it's a catch 22, UK people too lazy/uninterested (I blame the benifit system) so the jobs go to people who will do them, then there's a mass outcry of 'they're stealing all our jobs' and most of the money they make is being sent home, out of our economy and not going back in to keep things on an even keel. Result - recession. (Okay that's maybe very over simplified, and I'm not always the sharpest tack in the box, but it's how I see it)
That said, I also put a large portion of blame on the government for increasing cheap imports and all but destroying our own food production in this country. It seems they'd rather get the stamp duty from new build housing estates on agricultural land than protecting our farming industry so that we don't need to rely on others.
I'm so glad I live in the countryside, away from major cities and hopefully the mass riots won't happen - but if they do I hope someone points out to the people in power that they brought this all on themselves! 

[sausagesandcash]

As long as they confine they focus their attention on the guilty parties...I have no problem...the whole idea of burning cars and looting shops in the name of a protest doesn't cut it with me. Only the innocent suffer...

[rustyme]

it gets worse .....government talks about compulsery work for under 25 at minimal wage......(in other words FORCED LABOUR ) work brings freedom.....or as was written above the gates of Auschwitz  ARBEIT MACHT FREI......this may seem a bit over the top ....but it isn't .. If you go back to the roots of the EU you end up at the Nazi party in the late 1940's. They started it as a way of ruling Europe . After their defeat in 45 they changed from nazism to communism and carried on till it is where it is now. All the evidence is still there ... but it is hard to find . Some of the EU's ruling /directives come right out of those of the NSDAP , scary indeed . They lost the war but have won through the back door..........Even if those that protest against foreign workers were to win the day , it still wouldn't stop anyone from EU STATES from working here. The UK government is already just a puppet government as 80% of legislation is now EU legislation that WILL be passed without question. A year or two down the road they won't need the UK government at all .We will be ( are being) controlled by the Europen government , who in turn are ruled by the EU commision , an UNELECTED body that has complete control over the EU government. The Uk is already divided into sections as in Europe ie section 1 section 2 etc....there is already a Euro police force in the UK , set to take over from our police force and they are talking about a Euro army too. All armed forces are to swear an allegiance to the EU rather than the Queen, oh and the Queen ...you can't have a King or Queen in the EU ... only a Prince or Princess .. so thats them out of the door too..... The times they are a changing ....and as a whole we are letting them do it .....I just think of all those people that died during the war , to keep the UK  free , it now seems they died for nothing as the governent has signed our freedom away without ever asking us. The reason they changed the EU constitution to a treaty is we already have a constitution and you can only have one....The EU treaty WILL become a constitution though and we will have a new anthem (not a national anthem , we won't have a nation , we will be a state !!) the Euro anthem and a new flag too , both already there....These are reasons why I think that when the sh*t hits the fan it will happen BIG TIME.....it is just a matter of when will it happen ??

Russ

[sausagesandcash]

Yup they lost two world wars, yet now they control europe, without having fired a single shot! Europe destroyed Irelands sugar beet industry, Took our fishing rights, plundered out natural resources....and happy days there's more to come. Although when you see the ineffectual lot we have in power at the moment, you have to ask yourself would Europe do a worse job? Possibly. Look at the rules and regulations we have for pig production, which allow us to be undercut by European counteries with an incredibly poor standard of production. It's a scandal what poor standards they get away with. I say even the playing field and let the pigs have quality of life before hitting the plate. A happy pig is a tasty pig! Ban the crappy imports from Germany, Denmark etc. Thank god for jamie Oliver showing up the farce that is Continental European pig production...Harmonisation of legislation my posterior (don't want to be rude!).

[MrRee]

As a former soldier I was trained in containing civil unrest for the United Nations in Cyprus. The marching season over there can get a bit scary,12 of us separating 18,000 Turkish Cypriots on one side and 30,000 Greek Cypriots on the other,all within the confines of a small road by Ledra Palace in Nicosia. I was 19 at the time,and together with a few mates in the line,saw it as a chance to give a few people a good kicking. I've since grown up,my point being,a squaddie's mentality is just that though. Given that a British soldier now spends 8 months,sometimes longer,a year on operations,often in places like  Iraq or Afg,the potential for overspill of emotions onto the general public in a 'softer' environment is ever-present. My advice if you go to a demonstration and see squaddies coming out in riot gear...... run!

[pikilily]

hi folks, the civil unrest has already started, albeit in a small way. 

My 18 yr old daughter is working part time in the Bank of Scotland, partly as a gap year to fund her uni which starts in sept/oct but also to fund her for her local volunteer youth work. She was saying tonight that, again today she has had to endure verbal abuse at work from customers. today she was called a slag, a thieving bitch etc etc. this is becoming a regular occurrence. Only a few months ago an episode such as this would occur very occasionally...now it is almost daily. People seem to think that the people who serve in the branches are personally responsible for the decisions made by the fat-cats at the top.

She has recently been threatened with physical violence too. She comes home visibly shaken by her experiences....Today was the fifth time she has had to ask for the customer to be escorted from the building! If she has to leave her job because of this sort of unrest and abuse she will not be able to afford to do her volunteer work with the  youth drugs initiative. Shame that!!
Emma

[rustyme]

Ree, I know exactly what you mean . MY late dad was in the army for 16 years .Drill sargeant for most of them , and an absolute bar**ard of one at that . He went in in 1948 and was stationed in Egypt and Iraq and it was pretty rough out there even then . He was one of the early riot control guys out there...a dustbin lid and a big f**k off gun ...his words not mine. On night watch the call if they heard a noise should have been .."Halt who goes there ? " spoken clearly 3 times....the reality was BANG BANG BANG  "who the f**k was that ?".... As you say they are young lads wound up like coiled springs waiting to kick off .....My sister and brother were in the army too , my sisters ex was in as well Scotts guards. It is a shame though that our boys may be being turned on our own though ....it has already started in the states.....
cheers

Russ

[sausagesandcash]

Ah yes, people unfortunately vent their rage at the first in line. At protest marches it tends to be the cops in the firing line...has no-one got any purple dye anymore in the U.K.? Lol (ref. Blair). The former C.E.O of bank of Ireland is lamenting the fact that his golden handshake has been cut from 2.9 million euro to 2 million. The horror..the horror! Wouldn't mind doing a protest outside his house..then again I could get my toes squashed by his Bently. Rosanna Davison (daughter of Chris de Burgh) former miss Ireland, or Miss World is looking forward to the return to a more traditional Ireland...clearly the wolf, or the repo man for that matter, isn't at her door!

[rustyme]

sorry to hear about your daughter getting the rough end of it Emma people should know better . It isn't the little people that are to blame , but the big greedy bosses and all the government , as it was they who have allowed this to happen and continue to do so . Sausagesandcash 2.9 down to 2 million ...thats nothing the ex boss of the bank of scotland has got a £16 million pension . This was worked out AFTER the government bailed the bank out with OUR money....and they are going to put even more money into it again now BILLIONS ...ye gods what is going on ?  Maybe it is time that the whole system crashed , but what will be end up with then ? ....It can't be much worse than the insane world they have created.....or can it ?....

cheers

Russ