So London Mayor Boris Johnson has ordered three water cannons to be bought from Germany to be deployed on the streets of London. It has caused a lot of controversy, but like many others who don't know any better, or just don't care, Johnson has made out it's all a bit of a joke - though, after agreeing to be fired upon by one of these new weapons when he was caught off-guard by a radio interviewer, he may not be just quite so nonchalant.
The true nature of water cannons is really explained by, well, their name. These are CANNONS, a weapon invented in the Middle Ages to bring down the walls of besieged cities.
They are not, for example, garden hoses. Nor are they water chutes like in swimming pools. They are not even like the sprinklers the Mayor may have his people water his lawns with.
No, these are cannons. Weapons, firing high velocity jets. And they do what cannons do.
And it ain't funny at all.
The true nature of water cannons is really explained by, well, their name. These are CANNONS, a weapon invented in the Middle Ages to bring down the walls of besieged cities.
They are not, for example, garden hoses. Nor are they water chutes like in swimming pools. They are not even like the sprinklers the Mayor may have his people water his lawns with.
No, these are cannons. Weapons, firing high velocity jets. And they do what cannons do.
And it ain't funny at all.
 |
| Dietrich Wagner, a Stuttgart environmental campaigner, was blasted in the face by a water cannon during a demonstration against plans to cut down some trees. He lost his sight. |
Why didn't the German Greens (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) get them banned when they were in power with the SPD.
ReplyDeleteYou'd need to ask the German Greens - I'm not one of them and it is nearly a decade since they were in Government. What is interesting is that the Germans are actually phasing out water cannons now: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jun/11/germany-phasing-out-boris-johnson-water-cannon-safety-fears-wasserwerfer-9000
Delete