Ugly BBC Interview Touches on Deeper Issues in London Riots

Re:Ugly BBC Interview Touches on Deeper Issues in London Riots by uxp on Wednesday August 10, 2011 @10:06AM (#2868228)

It should be noted that UK law doesn't allow the news to air unconfirmed speculation as fact or else they, as well as the person saying it, can be held liable for defamation. The interviewer, by UK law and most likely BBC policy, is required to interrupt him after he says that a boy was shot in the face by police because the BBC can't prove that the boy was shot in the face.

Initial reports I've read are that the boy he says was fatally shot by police was first non-fatally shot in the bicep, and then fatally shot in the chest. Enough of a difference to warrant the interruption in that case.

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Re:Ugly BBC Interview Touches on Deeper Issues in London Riots by baha_man on Wednesday August 10, 2011 @11:05AM (#2868542)

"Initial reports I've read are that the boy he says was fatally shot by police was first non-fatally shot in the bicep, and then fatally shot in the chest."

Yes, also Mark Duggan was 29 - hardly "a boy".

Edit: Actually, while it's been confirmed that Mark Duggan was shot in the bicep and (fatally) in the chest, I don't think they've established the order in which the shots were fired.

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Re:Ugly BBC Interview Touches on Deeper Issues in London Riots by binarymax on Wednesday August 10, 2011 @10:17AM (#2868281)

Yes, and yet, at 3:44 in the video she states "...You have taken part in [riots] yourself." Which is pure speculation. She showed very little integrity in that accusation.

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Re:Ugly BBC Interview Touches on Deeper Issues in London Riots by _b8r0 on Wednesday August 10, 2011 @10:28AM (#2868336)

But it isn't speculation[1], he's organised riots[2]. Darcus Howe is a far-left ex-Black Panther who sees nearly everything through colour[3]. If you take a moment to read his columns you'll see recurring themes about how black people are treated. Take it with a massive rock of salt.

[1] - http://www.internationaltimes.it/index.php?year=1971&vol...

[2] - http://www.nickelinthemachine.com/2008/08/brixton-and-the-ri...

[3] - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4360054.stm

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Re:Ugly BBC Interview Touches on Deeper Issues in London Riots by gaius on Wednesday August 10, 2011 @10:27AM (#2868333)

Darcus Howe was a very well known agitator in the 1980s and served time for assaulting a police officer.

As soon as he's backed into a corner he plays the "negro" card, he knows fully well how to manipulate the BBC.

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Re:Ugly BBC Interview Touches on Deeper Issues in London Riots by jshen on Wednesday August 10, 2011 @10:34AM (#2868378)

was MLK an agitator? I don't know anything about Howe, but I get skeptical when dissidents are labelled with the intention of dismissing them.

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Re:Ugly BBC Interview Touches on Deeper Issues in London Riots by gaius on Wednesday August 10, 2011 @11:01AM (#2868518)

He's a professional race "victim", without stirring up racial tension, he loses his soapbox and his income.

If you look at the footage and photos of the rioters, they come in all shades.

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Re:Ugly BBC Interview Touches on Deeper Issues in London Riots by uxp on Wednesday August 10, 2011 @10:29AM (#2868343)

True. Without defending the reporter, as I have my own opinion about the interview, it isn't a bad thing that she tries to challenge his view of the situation to get more information, but the way she does it seems forced and coercive, trying to almost pin him as "one of them" without saying it directly.

Edit: I've also read about his past, as a few other people have responded to your comment linking to some of his history as an activist. That's a whole different ballgame from the one I was originally talking about, which is responsible journalism.

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