G20 protesters smash windows, clash with police

[alienlovechild 75]

LONDON (Reuters) - Demonstrators clashed with riot police and smashed the windows of a bank in London's financial center on Wednesday in protest against a system they said had robbed the poor to benefit the rich.

Hundreds of protesters converged on a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland, shattering windows.

Rescued by the government in October, RBS has become a lightning rod for public anger in Britain over banker excess blamed for the crisis. The protests were timed to coincide with a G20 meeting of the world's leading and emerging economies.

Mounted police and officers in riot gear surrounded the building to keep the crowds back. Protesters hurled paint bombs and bottles, chanting: "These streets, our streets! These banks, our banks!"

HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE

Earlier, protesters marched behind models of the "four horsemen of the apocalypse" representing financial crimes, war, climate change and homelessness.

Some threw eggs at police and chanted "build a bonfire, put the bankers on the top." Others shouted "jump" and "shame on you" at financial sector workers watching the march from office block windows.

"I am angry at the hubris of the government, the hubris of the bankers," said Jean Noble, a 60-year-old from Blackburn in northern England.

"I am here on behalf of the poor, those who are not going to now get their pension or who have lost their houses while these fat cats keep their bonuses, hide their money in tax havens and go and live where nobody can touch them."

A smaller demonstration against Britain's military role in Iraq and Afghanistan attracted several hundred people in Trafalgar Square, not far from parliament.

Police said they had deployed one of Britain's biggest security operations to protect businesses, the Bank of England, the London Stock Exchange and other financial institutions.

The protests, which brought together anti-capitalists, environmentalists, anti-war campaigners and others, were meant to mark what demonstrators called "Financial Fools' Day" -- a reference to April fool's day which falls on April 1.

Some 4,000 protesters thronged outside the central bank, and a Gucci store nearby was closed and its windows emptied.

Wooden boards covered the war memorial in front of the Royal Exchange, once the center of commerce in the City of London and now an upmarket shopping center. Building sites and roadworks in the financial district were sealed to stop people using building materials as weapons, police said.

Police stopped a military-style armored vehicle with the word "RIOT" printed on the front and a police spokesman said its 11 occupants were arrested for having fake police uniforms. By mid-afternoon a total of 19 people had been arrested.

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews...0090401?sp=true

[SMOKE 1,426]

chavs

[Peikko 1,575]

Hardly, too much like effort to go protest about something

[SMOKE 1,426]

Hardly, too much like effort to go protest about something

hey gimme a break. its close. i've been lookin for a chance to use that since you & charles taught me what it meant.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

A lot of the time the violence at those events is orchestrated by anarchist groups.

[Amby 490]

chavs

Cleo is correct about too much effort

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Obviously, Mr. Banks isn't around these days:

[Peikko 1,575]

Hardly, too much like effort to go protest about something

hey gimme a break. its close. i've been lookin for a chance to use that since you & charles taught me what it meant.

Keep working on it, and if you get the chance, try watching a little bit of Catherine Tate

Lauren Alesha Masheka Tanesha Felicia Jane Cooper is the quintessential face of Chavism

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Hardly, too much like effort to go protest about something

hey gimme a break. its close. i've been lookin for a chance to use that since you & charles taught me what it meant.

Keep working on it, and if you get the chance, try watching a little bit of Catherine Tate

I can't stand that show.

[Peikko 1,575]

I don't like all her characters, but some are really great, and Lauren is the classic Chav.

[Amby 490]

I quite enjoy Vicky Pollard

[Heracles 417]

Hardly, too much like effort to go protest about something

You and six should have flown there and protested. I love the down with capitalism sign.

I have a better idea. Why don't they move to a communist country.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

my favorite shot from the protest is when they are breaking into the Royal Bank of Scotland and all the "anarchists" are taking pictures with their expensive digital cameras

[Peikko 1,575]

That's the same kind of argument that Shooter presented earlier, a crass response to a proposed solution I don't promote or agree with. Well done BY.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I don't like all her characters, but some are really great, and Lauren is the classic Chav.

I find that stuff irritating, given that its very close to home.

I prefer a bitty of this!

And shows about local people for local people....