anyone gonna riot tomorrow?

[southeast]

i think i'll rob the local tesco as most of the police will be in london

That would be nice if it wasn't for the SOCPA Designated Area around parliament.

I wouldn't like to be in the city.
There is (of course) fault on both sides - minority of violent pricks causing trouble and the Met handling things atrociously as usual.

However I'm always gobsmacked that so many people's response is that nobody should protest.

doggiesayswoof: actually, and somewhat bizarrely given how generally apathetic I am, I've been involved in various protests and know people who've organised many others which is why I think it's particularly idiotic to get caught up in today's activities. And I'd certainly settle for less than front page coverage if this would be the sort of front page coverage I'm getting.

(And as to whether this will make any difference, we shall see. Suffice to say that the May Day protests in 2000 had less than zero affect on the causes involved).

Countess genuine question.

Apart from bernie madoff (sp) and his ilk, were the bankers actually doing anything illegal by getting us into this? I'm not sure that being irresponsible is actually illegal, and they were acting within the regulations, or weren't they?

Genuine question - people keep saying that those responsible should be locked up but what is the crime? i may well have missed something...

Just seen BBC News.
The RBS was surrounded by media types with large cameras all taking pictures as one or two people in the centre smashed windows.

Looked very much to me like they were being egged on by the media for a good photo opportunity.

cestlavie - your protest would get no publicity whatsoever.

They have chosen tomorrow as they know the world's media will descend on the G20 summit. They want to embarrass the governments into action. Violence just negates any point made. Most people are there to shout loud, to protest, to be heard.

It's a crying shame that the media are only iinterested in getting people to smash windows for their cameras. That's not a true reflection of what is going on in London or of what will go on.

Can't get much info on the BBC website - what's the situation in the City? Is it confined to the City? Dh is over near Charing Cross so presumably that's out of the way.

So glad neither he nor I work in the square mile area any more.

The idea of being in that RBS building with so many people outside trying to smash windows and storm in would be scary!

Have to say as well that sometimes it is useful to protest even if you know it won't do anything. At least then you feel like you are trying. To raise your voice against something with other like minded people is a liberating thing even if the end result is zilch.

For eg the reclaim the night protests aren't actually going to change anything, unless suddenly there are millions of police patrolling in the night which isn't very likely, but it's still worth something to speak out.

I bet if they were properly investigated a lot of them operated well outside the already lax regulations, and yes I am sure you would find plenty that were criminally negligent

I am not saying lock up the bankers ffs
(that would be half my mates inside )
I am saying investigate them properly
Make them shit their pants

I agree with you Sham. Protesting (peacefully of course) can be like a pressure valve that allows people to be heard a bit, enough to make them feel they are doing something.

Dh has come home as I said - he has known this was going to happen for a while - they had a website, the protesters, which was closed down as it stated 'Death to Bankers!'

And yes Rhubarb you need to blame the media not just for egging on these people but for sensationalist headlines and people like Robert Peston stoking the fires around the banking crisis.

The FSA is VERY laidback when it comes to regulating. I think in part, this is the civil servant mindset. a former colleague of mine worked at Goldman, and they said that their FSA contact was impossible to get on the phone. The FSA has also not been that active in fining or bringing regulatory action against banks.

It can be VERY difficult to convince bankers not to do something, if you're not able to threaten them with massive fines or criminal sanction. The SEC and the US regulators have been good on this front, as they are seen to be active, and for some of the areas they regulate the banks are terrified to mess up because they know they'll be fined huge amounts, lose their license or have to be continually monitored (which is expensive and a PITA).

I've had a few thoughts watching:

1. I'm strongly in favour of legitimate protests but having a bad day so can't be arsed to discuss that intelligently

2)Its a pity that the protests are over shadowing the news from the G20 somewhat

3)I do have to smile at the number of protestors too busy taking photos of what is going on to actually get on with the business of protesting.

Thanks countess. It was a genuine question - I have worked in Insurance but not in Banking - so I'm not au fait with the rules/regulations and whether people really did anything actually illegal or not. if they did then damn right they should be investigated vigourously and brought to book. The US seems to be a lot better at that than the UK for some reason - they seem to take white collar crime a lot more seriously - while we seem to tut and turn a blind eye.

Ohyoubadkitten

re 3) the majority are probably press. I noticed on the bbc coverage as they were showing proesters 'clashing with police' the majority of the people pushing and shoving were press.

Well I am not a banker
I am talking large-scale fraud here

It will be interesting to see the outcome of all of this though.

I remember a number of years ago, one of my uni professors said that the world is pretty much structured now like pre-Revolutionary France. There is a "democratic" esque system. You have the UN, global forums like Davos and G8/G20 but: although they appear to represent, or make themselves out to represent, the interests of all fairly (like the pre-Revolutionary parliament in France, where all three estates were represented, but not proportionally), they do not, in fact; they represent the interests of the wealthiest and most powerful. The question is: whether or not this current unrest will lead to such a fundamental change in thought and society as the French Revolution did.

In the states presumably they can get them under SOX (as long as not a private institution of course)

Power to the people! Capitalism doesn't work and people are angry! The media will blow this out of proportion but the fact that people want to protest peacefully and can (at the moment) in this country is a good thing. Anger is a useful tool to promote change

bleh interesting and I am very much inclined to agree.

I 'spect you are right makehay.

I notice Russell Brand is there now.

Imagine you were a young riot-police officer and had the power to give that obnoxious, self-obsessed twat a whack up the jacskie with a truncheon or a faceful of tear-gas... It would just be too, too tempting.

Russell Brand's been arrested before at one of these 'protests' he got naked and stood in a 'jesus' crucifixation pose! Any other slebs willing to put their face or other bodily parts to the protest?

nice uqd

yup it's the medias fault people smashed wndows.

as chris rock said, it's not the media i'm looking for over my shoulder at the ATM.
the people commiting crimes are to blame,not the media.

Just to clarify, there were no workers in the RBS building. Which would have been plainly obvious from the outside. They had closed it. Pity they didn't think to board up the windows - ah well.

I agree that Russell Brand being there is just going to stoke up the fires even more - I may even have to go myself and see if I can't twat him