London Braced For Mass Demonstrations

[bigfootedfred]

Tens of thousands of protesters will descend on central London today ahead of tomorrow's G20 summit, causing widespread disruption in the capital.


Coaches will bring demonstrators from all over the UK to four separate "carnival parades" that will culminate outside the Bank of England.
The protests could cause chaos on London's transport network and many non-essential workers have been advised to stay at home.
Pinstriped suits and pink silk ties will be dumped in favour of hoodies and jeans, as City workers try not to draw attention to themselves.
But some defiant bankers plan to wear bowler hats and carry canes.
They have been warned to expect potentially aggressive confrontations with some protesters.
The G-20 Meltdown website says the focus will be on "thrusting into the very belly of the beast: The Bank of England".
It adds: "Their tax-dodging, bonus-guzzling, pension-pinching, unregulated free market world's in meltdown."

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-...d_On_Streets__




SAS on standby

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/f...ts-strike.html

Dont know why they keep calling people 'anti capitalists' tbh, i know a few people going and there nothing of the kind. People are pissed at bankers sure, so this makes them anti capitalists?

[Exarch]

pissedat bankers?
join the club

but what's demonstrating going to achieve?

[bushbush]

POLICE BRUTALITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i am just anticipating all the moaning and whining from the protesters once they see a single cop in their sight.

[Visna]

Heh, they better start shaping up to the fact that with all the bank bailouts and help packages they'll soon be something like "co-owners" of the banks. Can't have bank co-owners who aren't capitalists...

[bigfootedfred]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009...summit-twitter

• Starting to get nasty outside bank of England @ #G20 eggs, police hats, and flares twitpic.com
  by matthew_weaver at 4/1/2009 11:16:08 AM12:16 PM
• AudioBoo: Laurenz is.gd
  by matthew_weaver at 4/1/2009 11:09:08 AM12:09 PM

• The fourth horseman arrives; its hot the crow cheers, the protester still shouts ; we were teargassed
  by sandralaville at 4/1/2009 11:07:48 AM12:07 PM
• A few helmets stripped off and a hurled at lines, with plastic bottles, amid scuffles. Clashes v small in number.
  by paul__lewis at 4/1/2009 11:06:28 AM12:06 PM
• One protester leaving the scrum says the police are teargassing us; tell the public. Its not peaceful.
  by sandralaville at 4/1/2009 11:06:08 AM12:06 PM

Regular updates from this page.
They have people on the ground updating constantly.

[Exarch]

yeh, step up, young impressionable undergrads;
this is your chance to 'fight the power' and feel likea hippie right before you continue doing your business degree and end up as some future dick cheney/rumsfeld/dubya.
yeh, rock on.

[Zephyrus]

yeh, step up, young impressionable undergrads;
this is your chance to 'fight the power' and feel likea hippie right before you continue doing your business degree and end up as some future dick cheney/rumsfeld/dubya.
yeh, rock on.

hey, that's MY plan too!

[Dayman]

These protesters should be ashamed of their behavior. I'm watching this on CNN and they're doing nothing but being idiots. If you start yelling, screaming, and throwing things at police expect a swift baton to the head. Idiots. Peaceful protest goes both ways.

[bigfootedfred]

These protesters should be ashamed of their behavior. I'm watching this on CNN and they're doing nothing but being idiots. If you start yelling, screaming, and throwing things at police expect a swift baton to the head. Idiots. Peaceful protest goes both ways.

just saw some major scuffles break out.

some people i know who are there have told me theres some 'elements' coming into threadneadle street.
and alot of them, masked, big and aggresive looking, some armed with poles and missles.

this could start getting ugly already..


edit: from the Gaurdian on ground team

• ..Surge moved back lines 10 metres. Um, now crowd facing a branch of RBS. Trucheons out and swinging - tmprarily
  by paul__lewis via twitter at 1:00 PM
• Trapped between barricades. Crowd a bit restless, some shouting at police #g20
  by alokjha via twitter at 12:59 PM
• AudioBoo: Comedy Terrorist is.gd
  by matthew_weaver via twitter at 12:57 PM
• Flashpoint; threadneadle st crowd attempting to push back police lines to chants of "our streets"...on move.
  by paul__lewis via twitter at 12:56 PM
• Police using their batons on Threadneedle st. No people being allowed out of a sealed off area around Bank tube station.
  by patrick_barkham via twitter at 12:53 PM
• Massive surge towards police line.
  by rachelwilliams2 via twitter at 12:52 PM
• AudioBoo: Ricky Dilorenzo is.gd
  by matthew_weaver via twitter at 12:51 PM
• The horses are making their way to the east as the crowd jeers and boos.
  by rachelwilliams2 via twitter at 12:49 PM

[Dayman]

just saw some major scuffles break out.

some people i know who are there have told me theres some 'elements' coming into threadneadle street.
and alot of them, masked, big and aggresive looking, some armed with poles and missles.

this could start getting ugly already..

Yeah. Always a few 'tards ruin it for the rest of the bunch.

[Visna]

Why is it that people who are self-proclaimed pacifists and always have good intentions about not committing violence, always seem to get into fights? Are they:
A) hypocrits
B) morons
C) all of the above?

Discuss..

[Dayman]

Why is it that people who are self-proclaimed pacifists and always have good intentions about not committing violence, always seem to get into fights? Are they:
A) hypocrits
B) morons
C) all of the above?

Discuss..

Being that most people are morons, I'm going with d.

[Farnan]

Why is it that people who are self-proclaimed pacifists and always have good intentions about not committing violence, always seem to get into fights? Are they:
A) hypocrits
B) morons
C) all of the above?

Discuss..

Yea, violent pacifists always confuse me.

You know a protest is always peaceful as long as its the police getting attacked. Once the Police decide to restore order its then police brutality.

[bigfootedfred]

Apparently police in full riot gear are starting emerge..

updates from twitters

• ...And I"m running out of phone battery.
  by paul__lewis via twitter at 1:27 PM
• RBS bank now taking some bottles and punches. Riot police stormed into defend it.
  by paul__lewis via twitter at 1:27 PM

• Protesters stormed forward. Now next to that RBS. Rows of police in full riot gear just emerged. Does that make it a riot?
  by paul__lewis via twitter at 1:24 PM
• There is blood further up threadneedle street. Cracked heads from police batons as the crowd surged
  by sandralaville edited by sandralaville at 1:19 PM
• Police penning marchers in place on Theadneedle St. No-one's moving #g20
  by alokjha at 4/1/2009 12:18:28 PM1:18 PM
• There are security checks at the lift coming up here and the bit with a direct view over the bank is closed

edit:

Update

• Masked up abd determined to wreck RBS, they've smashed thr windows and now they're going in.
  by paul__lewis via twitter at 1:42 PM
• Riot police waiting at end of bartholomew lane
  by rachelwilliams2 via twitter at 1:40 PM
• Crowd shouting we paid for this, rob the bank!
  by rachelwilliams2 via twitter at 1:39 PM
• Smoke in RBS building after something thrown in. More windows smashed.
  by rachelwilliams2 via twitter at 1:38 PM
• Riot horses at bottom of bathotomew st. More smashes windows.
  by paul__lewis at 4/1/2009 12:35:08 PM1:35 PM

[Martin N]

Damn wished i was there, guess brits arent as much of pussies as i thought, finally started to see tv isnt everthing huh ?

Shame you cant buy guns legally.

[Ishoss]

Damn wished i was there, guess brits arent as much of pussies as i thought, finally started to see tv isnt everthing huh ?

Shame you cant buy guns legally.

Yep, that would've been great. Seriously, just imagine. So many innocents, dead. Yep, it wouød be great alright.

[Martin N]

Yeh except with no guns the police can push you around, see that poste BFR posted, blood all over the place ? with guns, the police wouldent have no choice but to kill thousands, and thousands dead isnt good for there image, so they would stop.

Innocents die all the time, there must be sacrifices if you want to get what you seek, if you think the banks are robbing you, it must be done.

[Farnan]

Yeh except with no guns the police can push you around, see that poste BFR posted, blood all over the place ? with guns, the police wouldent have no choice but to kill thousands, and thousands dead isnt good for there image, so they would stop.

Innocents die all the time, there must be sacrifices if you want to get what you seek, if you think the banks are robbing you, it must be done.

I think I know what your were talking about, but that was a flare. Unless the Police are using disintegration rays bloods doesn't go like that.

[Ishoss]

Yeh except with no guns the police can push you around, see that poste BFR posted, blood all over the place ? with guns, the police wouldent have no choice but to kill thousands, and thousands dead isnt good for there image, so they would stop.

Innocents die all the time, there must be sacrifices if you want to get what you seek, if you think the banks are robbing you, it must be done.

You want to be in a situation, where you, as a peaceful demonstrator, ends up in a demonstration full of guns? Heck, one gunmen would probably be more than enough too ensure a lot of dead.

If people start using guns at demonstration the police would have to retaliate with guns. In the end the army would be brought in, and voilá you're on the highway to a police state.

[Farnan]

You want to be in a situation, where you, as a peaceful demonstrator, ends up in a demonstration full of guns? Heck, one gunmen would probably be more than enough too ensure a lot of dead.

If people start using guns at demonstration the police would have to retaliate with guns. In the end the army would be brought in, and voilá you're on the highway to a police state.

Actually during the First Intifada, the Palestinian Leadership Councils forbid people to bring guns to protests for just that reason.