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top 200 commentsshow 500

[–]Tr0m0s 261 points262 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[–]th1rt33n 84 points85 points ago

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[–]BHSPitMonkey 22 points23 points ago

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Expeliarmus!

[–]Gyvon 44 points45 points ago

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Whether you like cops or not, you can't deny that was badass.

[–]The_Decoy 3 points4 points ago

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Thank you for the .gif from those of us at workplaces that block youtube.

[–]Soosed 39 points40 points ago

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Wow a second petrol bomb just barely missed him. That wouldn't have been good with his helmet off.

[–]ghettoperson 201 points202 points ago

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That's so fucked up they threw a second one at him once he was on fire taking his helmet off. Those protesters are a bunch of cunts, they need to be given the good news with a nightstick to the face.

[–]vorbote 79 points80 points ago

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And because someone says something like that, there are people on the other side that say something like „Those protesterscops are a bunch of cunts, they need to be given the good news with a nightstickmolotov cocktail to the face.“, right? And ’round it goes.

[–]marcusisaacius 18 points19 points ago

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Fuck the police protesters police fuck which one am I on?

[–]Sirus21 78 points79 points ago

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Fuck whomever decides to throw petrol bombs at anyone.

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]dbz253 49 points50 points ago

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Probably had sometime in the past.

[–]Murparadox 114 points115 points ago

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I think this dude got "stop, drop and roll" confused with "panic, flail, and run."

[–]swuboo 266 points267 points ago

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Stop, drop, and roll is generally understood to have the corollary, "Unless one is in a small lake of burning gasoline."

[–]sprashoo 38 points39 points ago

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The word corollary. It doesn't mean what you think it means.

[–]swuboo 94 points95 points ago*

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EDIT: I defended myself here. I realized I was wrong, but reddit ate my edit.

TL;DR: You're right. I should have used 'caveat' instead of 'corollary.' I abused the language, and I am ashamed of myself. I will read the OED definition of the word 'set,' in all its eighty pages, out loud, while sitting on a pile of pine cones. Thus shall I be shrivened.

[–][deleted] 10 points11 points ago

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The word shrivened: you used it incorrectly.

[–]seamonkee 24 points25 points ago

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when the inside of your helmet is full of flames, I think it's pretty difficult to react rationally.

[–]affix 6 points7 points ago

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Stop drop and roll wouldn't do anything for a fuel based fire on your shoulders/neck, there's no way to suffocate that fire with just the ground.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points ago

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Damn, he took that shot to the head. Good thing he had that helmet on. Also, most of the fire stayed on his helmet so when he took it off there wasn't much left.

[–]worff 2 points3 points ago

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Damn--you can hear the bottle crack.

[–]therewillbdownvotes 2 points3 points ago

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Sooo.. I'm calling stop drop and roll fail on that one

[–]thugmonkey 61 points62 points ago

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[–]danth 30 points31 points ago

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Holy hell, is that fire in his ear?

[–]abledanger 26 points27 points ago

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Probably an ear piece for communication.

But fire in your ear would be a bad day.

[–]acydlord 43 points44 points ago

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and Ghost Rider is born.

[–]CaptainPain 1383 points1384 points ago

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im pretty sure he didnt deserve that.

[–]boodle 743 points744 points ago

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Aye, no one deserves that. Poor fucker.

[–]pickyourteethup 446 points447 points ago

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I never thought that I'd see reddit defending the Police, but I definitely agree.

[–]Switche 342 points343 points ago

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It takes a special kind of asshole to rationally think it's okay to burn someone alive.

[–][deleted] 104 points105 points ago

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I don't think whoever threw this was thinking rationally.

[–]Nostalgia_Guy 131 points132 points ago

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[–]pancakesandhyrup 93 points94 points ago

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Is that... Matt Damon?

[–]megaman45 29 points30 points ago

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yes.

[–]arsenal7777 8 points9 points ago

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No, it's Jason Bourne.

[–]ampersandss 7 points8 points ago

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Couldn't help but think "oh wait, wrong set."

[–]saucercrab 52 points53 points ago

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His eyes seem to show immediate regret.

[–]kwirky88 63 points64 points ago

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Just look at that expression. "Oh fuck what have I done!?"

[–]Humpa 7 points8 points ago

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Unless he was the one who threw the second moltov after the burning cop took off his helmet...

[–]the-knife 15 points16 points ago

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Looks like he still has the zippo in this left hand. Flag of England on the cap?

[–]Jorobeq 5 points6 points ago

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Or Georgia

[–]redditforgotaboutme 25 points26 points ago

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I have money on this one, your dude has rocks, mine is actually holding a lighter and another molotov.. http://i.imgur.com/Spsrr.jpg

[–]zelazny 21 points22 points ago

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Well spotted. Sad & horrific all the way around.

[–]jebba 8 points9 points ago

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Ya, but he has rocks in his other hand which were also flying.

[–]Zeleres 5 points6 points ago

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Matt Damon?

[–]soupdawg 4 points5 points ago

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Came here to point that out.

[–]Crayonflashes 7 points8 points ago*

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I know, that's why I've started a movement called: "The coalition for the promotion of rational thinking during the throwing of molotov cocktails at police officers."

Basically, it outlines areas of when and where to whom whenever you decided. It's borrowed heavly from the Emancipation Proclamation and the works of Tom Clancy. (The early years, prior to the strokes.) (LOL, not the band, the medical "event" or condition. LOL, you know what I mean man, a stroke. Basically, Tom Clancy suffered multiple strokes and his writing declined, so what I've done is referred to his works, but I specify that I mean PRIOR to having those strokes. Got it?) Cool man nice talking to you.

[–]BukBukMeow 80 points81 points ago

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As do I... Sometimes people do not think their actions through...

Imagine doing your job and having this happen? I may be wrong, but I assume this protest was not about police, why focus your anger at them in such manor...

[–]maki_j 15 points16 points ago

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There's these ritual exchanges of violence between the police and some of the protesters at many of the demonstrations in Athens - personally I think the government encourages it, because it directs the anger at the police, and then nobody throws those petrol bombs at the parliament (which is just a few hundred yards away from these altercations).

[–]xmashamm 100 points101 points ago

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First, let me say that I don't condone what happened. I don't think it's acceptable to burn another human being.

However

Imagine doing your job

Is a somewhat overused justification for things. Saying "Well I was just doing my job." is not an excuse. If your job is oppressing people, you are, in part, responsible. You cannot hide behind "Well it's my job."

(This is not in the context of this specific protest, but about the notion of "just doing your job")

[–]anderssi 58 points59 points ago

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i don't know the context of these protests, or if you're just talking generally. However i got the impression that you think police everywhere are the oppressors. a protesting mob (one that throws petrol bombs) vs the police trying to keep order, the police in this scenario is most certainly not oppressing the mob in any way shape or form.

and besides, the world would be fairly chaotic place without the po-po keeping you safe.

[–]xmashamm 12 points13 points ago

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(This is not in the context of this specific protest, but about the notion of "just doing your job")

This is why I included that parenthetical. I also am not saying that all cops are bad. I'm saying that if a cop does something immoral, he cannot hide behind "it was my duty". Cops should make their own decisions about the morality of their actions, not simply blindly follow orders. I in no way am claiming that police are always wrong.

[–]AmishJihad 23 points24 points ago

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True but irrelevant. The Greek police are hardly brutal and oppressive overlords. In my very limited understanding most of the Greek protests relate to financial issues (i.e. tax evasion and high unemployment) not dissimilar from what we see in Wisconsin.

[–]jebba 54 points55 points ago

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The Greek police are hardly brutal and oppressive overlords.

http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=en&article_id=1252665

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/12/469972.html

"Greek Police Torture Video Published"

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/06/17/18428124.php

etc....

How many do you need?

[–]AmishJihad 21 points22 points ago*

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Thank you for the information although I stand by my original statement. I need more than two cases of abuse to declare an entire nation's police force oppressive. If you can provide evidence of more systematic abuse I will swiftly change my mind. In the mean time have an upvote.

Edit: In light of considerable evidence provided by jebba I retract my opinion. It appears that Greek police are fairly brutal and oppressive.

[–]pmksb98 14 points15 points ago

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I had written a comment a few months ago, asking a French riot police officer his opinion about a few videos. Take a look at them: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/dta55/im_a_retired_french_riot_police_captain_ama/c13anpw

[–]jebba 39 points40 points ago

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"Greek NHS doctors who treated the wounded and the Medical Association talks about disturbing phenomena of police violence and call for investigation"

http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/2010/12/12/441-athens-like-london/

[–]jebba 40 points41 points ago

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"While the demo headed back to Poletechnic, a student block received murderous attack by the bastards of the uniformed gang “Delta” (motorcycle police force). A female american demonstrator was badly injured by a cop of “Delta” with a piece of marble in the head and beated by a group of cops before they left her semi-unconscious on the sidewalk."

http://en.contrainfo.espiv.net/2010/11/18/athens-november-15th-anti-imf-dynamic-demo-police-brutality/

Let me know if this is enough evidence yet of systematic abuse.

"greece police brutality" turns up a few hundred videos as well, but I don't feel like watching them.

[–]jebba 42 points43 points ago

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"Greek police accused of beating 35 year old mother in front of her two year old child "

http://teacherdudebbq.blogspot.com/2009/11/greek-police-accused-of-beating-35-year.html

[–]jebba 35 points36 points ago

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How about police beating and mock executions of children?

http://www.hrw.org/en/node/76791/section/6

...

"A mock execution is a form of torture. The acts by Patras port police, as alleged by Najib M. and Jafar F., would constitute at least cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. By repeatedly throwing victims into the water and beating them, perpetrators demonstrated that they were in complete control. The victims had a real fear of drowning and do not know whether they will be pulled out of the water again; the possibility of a child's drowning as a result of such ill-treatment is real. "

[–]jebba 35 points36 points ago*

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"at Omonia Police Station, a detained person who had alleged to have been ill-treated by police officers, and who required medical attention, was threatened with immediate deportation by the Commander of the Station unless he informed the CPT's delegation that he no longer wished to see doctor. In relation to a case of a detainee who died in custody at Omonia Police Station, the same Commander refused the delegation's request to have access to certain papers and, subsequently, removed them from the file which the delegation was reviewing at the time."

http://www.cpt.coe.int/documents/grc/2008-03-inf-eng.pdf

That is what they they are like when officials from the European Union come for official inspection visits. What do you think it is like when they go away and the cops are left alone with a bunch of poor immigrants, "anarchists", etc.? They beat the hell out of them.

[–]jebba 34 points35 points ago

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“Blows, insults, cameras destroyed or confiscated, photos deleted, memory cards damaged, arrests and gratuitous bureaucratic harassment are now all part of the daily fare for reporters and photographers,” [in Greece]

http://en.rsf.org/greece-journalists-caught-between-radical-21-12-2010,39118.html

[–]jebba 31 points32 points ago

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http://strasbourgobservers.com/2011/01/17/police-violence-against-roma-to-investigate-or-not-to-investigate-that-was-not-a-question/

"The victim, a young man of Roma origin apprehended on suspicion of bicycle theft, ended up dead four days after he was shot in the abdomen during police interrogation."

[–]jebba 34 points35 points ago*

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"In April the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) leveled sharp criticism at Greek asylum and detention policies and recommended that other European states not return asylum seekers to Greece"

Even the UN doesn't think people should be sent there....

"Around 1,000 unaccompanied children entered Greece in 2008, the majority from Afghanistan. There were numerous examples of such children being beaten and kicked by Greek coastguard, police, and port police officers upon interception at the border or during arrest and detention. "

[–]jebba 30 points31 points ago

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"On 5 January a cop of the DIAS motorcycle police force ran over a 6-year old Roma girl in the area of Menidi in NE Athens (where there are Roma’s settlements). According to eye-witnesses, the six-year old girl was run over as she was on the streets, where she was singing carols with other children (in Greece, children sing carols on the Eve of the Epiphany day). The eye-witnesses also claim the policeman dragged the girl along for 150 metres and did not stop to offer any help."

http://en.contrainfo.espiv.net/2011/01/06/menidi-ne-athens-policeman-of-the-dias-motorcycle-force-ran-over-and-killed-a-6-year-old-roma-girl/

[–]Makkaboosh 11 points12 points ago

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Damn. Jebba's tearing it up in here.

[–]jebba 35 points36 points ago

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New torture video by the Greek Police

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=8d2_1182615952

[–]jebba 36 points37 points ago

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[–]jebba 44 points45 points ago

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"Daoud", a 14-year-old Afghan boy, told me how the Greek coastguard intercepted his inflatable boat in May 2007, beat him and the other migrants, took them within sight of the Turkish coast, removed the engine and oars, punctured the boat and set them adrift. "The police beat all of us," the boy told me. "They told us not to come back."

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/01/25/greece-does-eus-migration-dirty-work

I'm still on the first page of my Google search. Only a few hundred thousand more hits to review, but the first ten seem pretty solid.

[–]jebba 35 points36 points ago

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"A report published on Monday 30 March by Amnesty International reveals a pattern of serious human rights violations by Greek police and other law enforcement officials. The report highlights allegations of excessive use of force and firearms, torture and ill-treatment, arbitrary detention and denial of prompt access to lawyers."

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_19272.pdf

[–]jebba 32 points33 points ago*

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Oh, and if you don't trust first-hand accounts from Indymedia, reports from Human Right Watch, the United Nations, etc. perhaps this video:

"Greek Police beating Albanian Immigrants"

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=444_1182059861

I didn't watch the whole thing, but they did kill some Albanian children in captivity at the time, it may have been those two.

[–]jebba 31 points32 points ago*

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"Cypriot student sues Greek state over police beating

A Cypriot student beaten by Greek plainclothes police on the sidelines of a 2006 demonstration..."

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=0f1099cd-578c-4f64-b86e-ee4647e81eab

"The affair acquired notoriety in Greece after the police claimed the student injured himself by stumbling into a street flower box."

It just keeps coming:

"The eight officers still face a criminal investigation.

Greece’s police have spent years trying to shake off a reputation for abuse gained during the 1967-74 military dictatorship - when the junta suspended many civil liberties and arrested and tortured political opponents, notably communists.

On Sunday, the police ordered an investigation into a report that officers had ordered a public strip search in Athens’ Omonoia neighbourhood which has a large immigrant population.

Last year, the police were again shaken by accusations of brutality after a number of cellphone clips apparently shot by officers showing the beating of migrants appeared on the Internet and television reports."

[–]jebba 32 points33 points ago

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"One indication of this aggression is the frequency with which plainclothes police officers show up in hospitals in order to identify beaten demonstrators and intimidate them in an effort to discourage retribution.

"Last December, doctors had to ask (the police) to leave... in order to go on examining people," says Papanikolaou.

"This is what happens in countries ruled by authoritarian regimes, not in a European democracy.""

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/01/12-2

[–]jebba 26 points27 points ago

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"The level of violence employed by the police has been outrageous. Journalists said they were thrown to the ground and beaten, or were prevented from working by use of physical force. The police have also forced some journalists, including the Reporters Without Borders correspondent, to delete the photographs they had taken."

http://en.rsf.org/greece-unacceptable-police-violence-09-12-2010,39000.html

[–]jebba 31 points32 points ago

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"A young pregnant mother suffered shock distraught when riot police entered into her apartment and savagery began firing chemicals in every direction without considering anything. From the voices and loud bang grenades the two young children of this family became terrified and unable to breathe due to heavy smoke of tear gas, falling almost unconscious on the floor.

When the mother saw her two young children lying on the floor, suffered by strong nervous shock which resulted to an irreparably disruption of pregnancy. A few hours later she finally aborted, despite the enormous efforts of doctors to keep the fetus alive."

http://eagainst.com/articles/police-brutality-keratea/

[–]jebba 29 points30 points ago

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To show that this has been going on for a long time (systematic), you can watch this documentary:

"Your Neighbor's Son: The Making of a Torturer, is a documentary or docudrama directed by Jørgen Flindt Pedersen and Erik Stephensen in two versions, 1976 and 1981. The film documents the conversion of young Greek police recruits into torturers and touches on the subject of the power of the institution to compel otherwise moral human beings to torture. The documentary examines the processes and methods of the military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974."

[–]jebba 26 points27 points ago

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"The same sequence of events was repeated in the following days. Police officers took a 17-year-old boy to the police station and reportedly tortured him there. He said that they undressed him, forced him on the ground, spread his legs and put a gun to his temple threatening to kill him. A policeman reportedly took a photograph on his mobile phone. Reportedly, around 60 Afghans were beaten, but only 30 of them dared to complain. At least 17 of them were aged 15 to 17."

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=15837

[–]Tastingo 24 points25 points ago

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I think that reddit hates all unjustified violence. No matter were it is coming from.

[–]Thonythetiger 2 points3 points ago

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Police, protester, redditor, we're all human.

[–]Phunk131 2 points3 points ago

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He's a person first. And no person deserves that.

[–]superjuice 2 points3 points ago

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I don't think it's about defending the police as much as condemning setting them on fire.

[–]pyroenthused 6 points7 points ago

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The guy that looks like he just through it even has the "I actually hit him... OH SHIT" look-of-terror on his face.

[–]jaggazz 4 points5 points ago

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I wonder if it was this guy

[–][deleted] 34 points35 points ago

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He made three baskets in a row. I don't see what everybody is complaining about - he gets unlimited turbo, no goaltending, and increased shooting ability until the other team scores

[–]Always_Says_Penis 18 points19 points ago

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BOOMSHAKALAKA

[–]pmksb98 102 points103 points ago*

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While I don't wish him hurt, I cannot say that I am particularly disturbed. Especially since his job is doing this: http://i.imgur.com/vWQ10.jpg http://i.imgur.com/s5pmY.jpg. It is not the same guy, but it is the same unit and the idea is to slam their motorcycles onto people. Here is a video of the event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GthZEd35xwI

Edit: The pictures show a different cop. The video is the same event as the picture of the OP.

[–]FlockOfSmeagols 127 points128 points ago

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I don't think giving that nice man a ride on his handlebars warrants being set on fire.

[–]forlornhope 101 points102 points ago

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[–]pnettle 19 points20 points ago

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Thats awesome! Its like the titantic scene with leo, but ON A MOTORCYCLE!

That cop was just being romantic.

[–]yoordoengitrong 48 points49 points ago

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the intent behind using motorcycles to push back an angry mob is to provide a non-lethal means for a small police force to control a very large crowd.

the intent behind throwing a petrol bomb is to maim, seriously injure, or kill your target.

think about the reverse. if this was a civilian using his motorcycle to push back the police and the police threw a petrol bomb on him how would you feel about that?

[–]chandleg 12 points13 points ago

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I would be wondering why some idiot decided to drive a motorcycle into a large crowd, and what he had expected to happen. So I'd pretty much be thinking the same thing.

[–]MijnWraak 19 points20 points ago

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if this was a civilian using his motorcycle to push back the police and the police threw a petrol bomb on him how would you feel about that?

The police would have shot and killed that man in seconds.

[–]bitingmyownteeth 10 points11 points ago

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And by "shot and killed", I assume you mean "throw a petrol bomb at and burnt to death".

[–]poop_lol 17 points18 points ago

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TIL running into someone with a motorcycle qualifies as non-lethal.

[–]Kryian 18 points19 points ago

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I dunno...that (specifically the one in the OP) doesn't look like a very deadly vehicle to run in to someone with. It's very thin and small, and the frame looks like plastic or a flimsy metal. The guy in the OP is caught under it and looks to easily drag it along a short distance before he's freed and runs away, so I can't imagine it weighs more than a couple hundred pounds.

Yes, at a high speed you could certainly kill someone by running in to them...but that would also put yourself in an immense amount of danger as well (though you do have the upper hand since you're wearing a helmet). With a 10-20mph collision I would expect more often than not the person hit would just fall over the handle bars and fall to the side. Maybe some broken bones...but broken bones don't (often) kill.

[–]questionablemoose 2 points3 points ago

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Being that there are no belts on a motorcycle, I seriously doubt anyone on a bike would want to run very hard in to anything at all, much less a pedestrian.

[–]Karlwithakay 20 points21 points ago

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i think this guy threw it

[–]DeSaad 21 points22 points ago

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nah, he threw something else, otherwise he'd have returned to upstanding position long before the cop was down engulfed in fire.

Someone else did it.

[–]pmksb98 8 points9 points ago

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He is also holding rocks in his other hand.

[–]youtwo 10 points11 points ago

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yeah, but where'd the lighter fluid come from?

[–]pstu 2 points3 points ago

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That means a lot, coming from CaptainPain.

[–]devoted_Atheist 2 points3 points ago

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Picture tells half of the story. According to eyewitnesses, right before the petrol bomb, he was seen chasing a protester with his bike. The protester, who was unarmed, was hit so hard by the bike that flew up in the air. The petrol bomb followed.

[–]wootup 23 points24 points ago*

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im pretty sure he didnt deserve that.

And I'm pretty sure you have no idea what you're talking about. Have you ever dealt with Delta Squad before?? These guys are hard-core violent right-wing authoritarians, their unit was formed in 2009 specifically to attack immigrants and anarchists (ie. people fighting for liberty and equality). An acquaintance of mine (a very small female) was almost beaten to death by them a few months ago. The sheer litany of beatings, kidnappings, and fascist-collaboration they are documented to have partaken in is staggering. So yes, he definitely "deserved" that molotov.

[–]delhux 308 points309 points ago

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No one ever remembers how to put out a Greece fire.

[–]forlornhope 51 points52 points ago

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At first I thought you were talking about this.

Then I realized I was smother-fucking knee-deep in a pun thread.

[–]behindthebush 9 points10 points ago

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I don't know weither the "s" was intentional but I liked it.

[–]ty5on 13 points14 points ago

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He'll be fine and back on petrol the next day.

[–]andrewsmith1986 339 points340 points ago*

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Riot or not, you put a man out if he is on fire.

[–]worff 42 points43 points ago

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The photo was taken about one second after he was hit by the petrol bomb. He manages to get his helmet off put out the flames somewhat/move towards a group of firemen quite fast.

[–]georgiecasey 12 points13 points ago

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Wow, a second one was thrown right after. Scum.

[–]FrankManic 2 points3 points ago

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A. They are area denial weapons. They are inaccurate as hell and as the video shows not particularly dangerous as projectiles go. They're intended to intimidate and the create a wall of flame between the cuirassier and the peltasts.

B. The Cuirassier is a member of a special unit infamous for violence and extralegal activities. If you believe violence is ever justified then this man, by choosing to work with this unit, would likely fulfill your definition of a legitimate target.

c. Simple petrol bombs, while dangerous, are not nearly as dangerous as many homebrew weapons can be. They occupy a middle place on the scale of threat escalation. They're above rocks and yelling, about on par with bricks, but well below firearms, grenades, knives, vehicles, and various explosive unpleasantness.

[–]pickyourteethup 71 points72 points ago

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not in Scotland, in Scotland you tackle him to the ground then get awarded a medal by the Queen of England.

[–]Uaedaien 60 points61 points ago*

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She's Scotland's Queen as well.

Scotland the only place where a burning terrorist gets punched in the face for good measure.

[–]jb2386 16 points17 points ago

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Interesting enough she is Queen Elizabeth II in England, but Queen Elizabeth I in Scotland.

[–]pocketjunkie 4 points5 points ago

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What causes this?

[–]banal_penetration 9 points10 points ago

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Until 1603 England and Scotland had separate crowns. When Elizabeth I died, James I & VII (the then King of Scotland) inherited both, meaning that the monarch of England and Scotland would be the same person from then on, but each crown has its own predating regnal lists.

[–]rvabdn 18 points19 points ago

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I guess we need a special case for folk who set themselves on fire.

[–]BraveSirRobin 25 points26 points ago

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For the record, that guy is a liar and he did no such thing. It was a taxi driver named Alex McIlveen that kicked and tackled the terrorists. He has said of Smeaton:

"I saw John getting his medal from the Queen and it really p***** me off because he didn't do anything.

"He just stood there smoking a cigarette and watched while we all got stuck in and he has been taking all the credit for it since.

"John changes his story every time he opens his mouth.

"There were no heroics on his part, no karate kicks or James Bond stunts. He didn't land a blow on anyone.

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]ARKopite 3 points4 points ago

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"Glasgow doesn't accept this. That's just Glasgow, we'll set about ye."

Boss

[–]soy_en_fuego 2 points3 points ago

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then please help me

[–]Cooptwentysix 17 points18 points ago

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Most of the faces in the crowd have the "shit just got real" face

[–]likepeterose[S] 38 points39 points ago

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Photo is by AFP's Angelos Tzortzinis.

EDIT here's his website, he's got some work from the Egypt protests http://www.angelos-tzortzinis.com/

[–]Dave2SSRS 47 points48 points ago

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Did he survive?

[–]flaneuric 50 points51 points ago

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Yes.

[–]Dave2SSRS 25 points26 points ago

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Good!

[–]dbath 89 points90 points ago

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That's a riot, not a protest.

[–]antieverything 38 points39 points ago

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Actually, in Greece this sort of thing is referred to as 'Tuesday'.

[–]racergr 3 points4 points ago

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Most peaceful protests in Greece turn to riots by specific groups from the anarchist or the government side.

[–]joshrice 27 points28 points ago

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Jesus christ...I've never been so conflicted by a reddit post. Incredible picture, but incredibly fucked up too.

[–]thedoh 175 points176 points ago

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Is the cop ok? No one deserves being set on fire.

[–]rammsdell 82 points83 points ago

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I saw a video of this happening from a different angle, he was able to take his helmet off and get the fire put out, he didn't to be burned to badly. He survived.

Tr0m0s posted the video

[–]mrestko 85 points86 points ago

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I don't know if you've ever been burned, but you can get second degree burns in less than a second...he's on fire for at least ten seconds, around his neck and face. He was probably seriously injured, and if he breathed the superheated air, his injuries may have been life threatening.

[–]ButtonFury 19 points20 points ago

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Just by looking at the damage to his jacket you can tell that he received some serious burns.

[–]helloimback 4 points5 points ago

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Looks like he's wearing a lot of clothing under that, including a flak jacket. Most burns were probably to his neck and back of the head.

[–]piranha 20 points21 points ago

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Yeah, nothing important.

[–]ty5on 12 points13 points ago

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The fire was in the fumes, not the skin. Petrol fires aren't that hot, and don't transfer heat well. If you've ever shaved your arm with mouth-spray and lighter, you'd know what I mean. He was in much more danger of suffocating in his helmet than he was of being burned.

[–]neoform 5 points6 points ago

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He was on fire for what looks like 5-7 seconds... that's more than enough to get seriously burned..

[–]iorgfeflkd 10 points11 points ago

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Except Sam McGee.

[–]nelsonslament 7 points8 points ago

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[–]pbrown623 63 points64 points ago

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As Jack pointed out on 30 Rock last week, since inventing democracy those guys have been coasting.

[–]NothingReallyEnds 25 points26 points ago

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[–]caio6939 23 points24 points ago*

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There's a woman laughing on the background...

edit: I guess it's a guy and not a woman.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points ago

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that's not a woman. that's my friend Alex, he has a wicked sense of humor.

nice guy

[–]JimmyJamesMac 2 points3 points ago

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This is a hard one. On the one hand we see the human tragedy of being on fire, on the other we know that he's a working class tool willingly being used against other working class people.

[–]GOPscareTACTICS 3 points4 points ago

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Wow

[–]21000 39 points40 points ago

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Anyone noticed reaction from this guy?

[–]danth 10 points11 points ago

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MEME ALERT

Yeah, I look forward too seeing that guy again, in many unrelated pictures.

[–]JKillaII 18 points19 points ago

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Nicholas CAAAAAGE

[–]betterredthendead 10 points11 points ago

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I'll take my face, OFF

[–]MathewC 6 points7 points ago

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The fire was gone in 60 seconds

[–]CornFedHonky 38 points39 points ago

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Wait. What's going on in Greece, now? I can barely keep up with all these protests!

[–]LastEmperor 22 points23 points ago

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They're protesting the cuts in public sector jobs and austerity measures due to the insane amount of debt that Greece has.

[–]sheky 38 points39 points ago*

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Athens native here living roughly 5-10 minutes from where this happened. Please do not get the wrong idea, most of the people doing the damage (including the complete destruction of Syntagma (times square of Athens)) are anarchists, most of the people you see in the back picture are just students who go there to be part of viewing the riots. Things are bad, but the streets are safe, we are not a 3rd world county...maybe we are actually looking at this p icture again...sorry for my english...feel free to AMA

video: http://tro-ma-ktiko.blogspot.com/2011/02/video_805.html

[–]QueerCoup 2 points3 points ago

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Oh, that explains all of the red and black flags.

[–]Gengar420 25 points26 points ago

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Some say that in his off time, he likes to be a motorbike cop made of fire. All we know is, he's called the Stig.

[–][deleted] 13 points14 points ago

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Some say that he spontaneously combusts around protestors and that his skin is made of Teflon. All we know is, he's called the Stig.

[–][deleted] 12 points13 points ago

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Just a reminder that there are decent people, that cop was saved by people in the same crowd when they realised things had gone too far.

I wonder what those petrol bomb throwing assholes would have done had the cop in the OP not had anywhere to go.

[–]mikey13 12 points13 points ago

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and this is what happens when keepin it real goes wrong

[–]theblackraven 5 points6 points ago

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Now that is brutal.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points ago

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[–]snoaj 3 points4 points ago

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Cops are made out of humans.

[–]kmlymi 15 points16 points ago

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And this is how Ghost Rider came to be.

(I didn't watch the movie, but I derived from the trailers)

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points ago

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Terrifying.

I hope he's okay.

[–]Rob7863 3 points4 points ago

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Ghost Rider

[–]ilikesleepingalot 3 points4 points ago

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[–]acerusso 3 points4 points ago

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thats too far. so i bet if the cops started using force to defend themselves they would be the big bad guys on the news. fuck those people.

[–]samurai77 3 points4 points ago

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A rock is one thing, but that is just fucked up.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points ago

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This is disgusting and backwards behavior.

[–]Warlizard 104 points105 points ago

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Ok, so Greece is fucked. They are worried they're going to go completely bankrupt and get kicked out of the EU, which would mean massive unemployment. Germany already wants them gone, so they pass this "Austerity" measure. Here's what's in it:

In exchange for up to 120 billion Euros ($160 billion) from the European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the next three years, Greece has committed to reducing its budget deficit to under the EU limit of 3% of GDP by 2014 (the US budget deficit as a percentage of GDP for 2009 was 9.1%). To fulfill this promise, Greece is planning dramatic tax increases and spending reductions, including: Reducing effective annual wages for public sector workers (which in Greece includes teachers, doctors, nurses, train workers, air-traffic controllers, and many others) by 5-15% per employee Banning increases in public sector salaries and pensions for at least three years Increasing the Value-Added Tax (VAT) from 21% to 23% Raising taxes on fuel, alcohol, and tobacco by 10%

Now you have a bunch of entitled bitches who throw fucking molotov cocktails at the cops. Fuck them and everything about them.

[–]Jadacks 36 points37 points ago

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Entitled bitches? You're damn right I feel entitled. I've worked hard everyday for 28 years, paid high taxes and paid into a pension fund. Now because of some banksters who fucked up the EU and get more money per year than everyone else does in a life time my own wages are being cut, pension slashed. Important front line services like nurses vanishing. People getting fired left right and center and I lose my job in 4 months time and nothing to show for it.

If you think protesters are all just a bunch of entitlement bitches you are way off. If banksters are allowed to carry on wringing the EU dry shits going to explode here at some point.

[–]selectrix 66 points67 points ago

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So the austerity measures are primarily going to hurt the poor/middle class (as usual), and your first thought is to call the protestors "entitled bitches".

It'd be nice if class warfare was directed towards the top once in a while.

[–]Warlizard 20 points21 points ago

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That's one perspective, but another is that the age of retirement is 61 and they wanted to boost it to 63 and people went nuts. Plus, the early retirement age was 57. I mean come on, it's wonderful that people voted themselves a nice early retirement, but it's not even close to being in line with the rest of Europe. So yeah, when the government told them they'd need to change it, they went nuts.

I'm sorry that the middle class is getting hit, but they're also the ones who have enjoyed the benefits.

[–]selectrix 12 points13 points ago

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Just based on a casual assessment of the protesters' ages, I wouldn't imagine most of them are upset about the retirement deal.

[–]helloimback 16 points17 points ago

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So essentially the government gave the people too much without actually having the money to pay for it, and now that they've run out money and need to make serious cutbacks, the people go ape?

[–][deleted] 10 points11 points ago

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no, the money that the people have paid to go to their pensions, the government tries to take away to pay for its own debts.

that's one of the issues.

[–]anonymous-coward 19 points20 points ago

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And Greeks are among the biggest tax cheats in Europe. Their problems would be much smaller if they paid their taxes. And they are bogged down with useless regulations, and violence is employed to protect existing monopolistic interests.

[–]uptwolait 21 points22 points ago

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That's a Suzuki DRZ400S. Great bike.

[–]p0diabl0 23 points24 points ago

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No, its a DR650. You can tell by the lack of radiator shrouds because the 650 is air cooled - no radiators. But the DRZ400S is a better bike.

[–]uptwolait 15 points16 points ago

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You are correct. I sit corrected.

[–]ilikesleepingalot 14 points15 points ago

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The gentleman is correct in sitting!

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points ago

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I fucking love NBA Jam!

[–]SubaruBirri 5 points6 points ago

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Is it just me, or does it appear that the man with the dark hat and white/red striped jacket look like he just threw the thing??

His face is all "oh-no."

[–]PardonMySchmeggies 2 points3 points ago

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I wish I had a camera every time that happened.

[–]sweetudernamedude 2 points3 points ago

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Greek protests seem to be pretty violent. They killed those bank workers with fire bombs last summer...

[–]Marashio 2 points3 points ago

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Is it just me or is the whole world rioting/protesting?

[–]daysi 2 points3 points ago

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Beautiful.

[–]stallmer 2 points3 points ago

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It's actions like this in protests that make the actions of people like Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr. so much more amazing.

[–]SandmanRedeyed 2 points3 points ago

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no one deserves this... it's horrible.

[–]kneedeepatatp 2 points3 points ago

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There's really no need to hit anyone with a petrol bomb, even if they are the cops.

[–]flaneuric 49 points50 points ago

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The man posted in the picture was trying to run into a bunch of people with his motorbike and this was a result of frightened people fighting back. There are numerous crimes commited against the people in my country and the police violence is totally out of hand. Not two moments before this happened a flashbang grenade exploded on a teenager's leg and he's hospitalized in a critical condition as we post. I'm getting downvoted all over this thread, basically from people who are not against unjustified violence but against every single form of violence. Please though reddit, don't let this piece of information sink to oblivion. Don't let this be the only thing that hits the frontpage out of the thousands of things happening at the moment in my country, it's totally uncharacteristic of the situation.

[–]ty5on 15 points16 points ago

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Reddit has no idea how terrible these thugs are. This is what should be frontpaged instead.

[–]upper-deck 17 points18 points ago

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I still don't understand the physics of being able to run down a crowd of people with a motorcycle. Riders crash and get injured hitting small animals all the time. One of the first things you learn at safety classes is how to avoid dogs that will likely chase you and get in front of your bike.

Hitting a 160lb man would likely take down the rider and his bike. If they were running over people laying on the ground who were already down, this would work... but a crowd of people? I just don't see how...

Not that I'm trying to defend anybody's actions, or take any particular side, I just have a hard time envisioning it.

[–]flaneuric 11 points12 points ago

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It happens in every protest, they are trained for it. They don't run into crowds of course, they just pick one or two targets and hit them with their motorbike so as they don't fall down of course. Search the web a bit, you'll find many examples of that in greece. Actually let me find one for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lia9nthJm8g

Start - 7 seconds. A perfect example.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRy47fnfxdM&feature=related

Or this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DuIB6QcirE&feature=related

Or even that.

It's a known tactic.

[–]lolfuckbush 8 points9 points ago

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As a Grecian, I have no sympathy for anyone involved here. These annoying violent anarchists and corrupt asshole cops deserve to kill each other. Any cop on a motorbike is not a good person. Is that the same as throwing a petrol bomb? Having an (annoying anarchists) friend paralyzed by a beating from cops and fascists (literally political fascists) WORKING TOGETHER. You lose your individuality once you don the police uniform, fascist helmet, or anarchist gear. You become one of many douche bags, and you all deserve each other.

[–]FamousAmos23 3 points4 points ago

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"why cant we all just get along"

[–]Anosognosia 5 points6 points ago

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Nicolas Cage?

[–]weebeasties 17 points18 points ago

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Some in the crowd seem to be happy watching him burn. Sick SOBs. Also, it looks like you may be able to id the possible thrower.

[–]girlprotagonist 11 points12 points ago

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I'd say most are not, but it looks like the guy who threw it is in the shot.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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Absolutely incredible photo of an absolutely appalling event.