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Overnight Open Thread: More on the G20 Riots Love-In (genghis)

Dave in Texas posted on this earlier in the day, but in case the thread has gone cold and you missed out on commenting, here’s a reprise from AP via the Seattle Times. Or whatever else your little black hearts desire to yak about. (I got to see most of these same dickheads in person during the 1999 WTO riots. Anecdotes, I have a few) This just builds on Dave’s post a little bit.

”LONDON — Chanting G-20 protesters clashed with riot police in central London on Wednesday, overwhelming police lines, vandalizing the Bank of England and smashing windows at the Royal Bank of Scotland. An effigy of a banker was set ablaze, drawing cheers.”

Some were defiant in the face of this:

”Some bolder financial workers leaned out office windows, taunting the demonstrators and waving 10 pound notes at them. Two men - one wearing a suit - exchanged punches before police intervened.”

Of course taunting them with semi-automatic rifles might’ve been more effective. As usual, the peaceful rioters protesters stayed classy:

”Protesters pelted police standing guard at the Royal Exchange with paint, eggs, fruit and other projectiles, and a small group of anarchists, skinheads, and masked protesters repeatedly attacked a police cordon flanking the Bank of England. Some in the crowd urinated against the bank and the message "Built on blood" was scrawled in chalk in front of the building. Police helicopters hovered above. A particularly ferocious balaclava-wearing mob broke into a closed RBS bank branch and stole keyboards, using them to break windows. Other protesters spray-painted graffiti on the RBS building, writing "Class War" and "Thieves." Mounted riot police eventually pushed them back.

More anarchy fun and links below the fold.

Charming. If you were unable to skip across the pond and show solidarity with your fellow anarchists, there are still things you can do here, such as join an anarchist book club.

”In an effort to sharpen our hatred and contempt for the existing social order a few of us decided to form an anti-authoritarian/anarchist reading group here in Olympia. This group will be ongoing, open to all and will be focusing mostly on post-left anarchist theory. We will try and provide copies of literature for people who can't afford it, but suggest that individuals bring their own material.”

So it’s good to see the anarchists getting organized. Somewhere on that Indymedia site there used to be a graphic calendar where anyone could schedule or post notice of their particular protest/riot but I couldn’t find it. (It’s not the “peace and justice calendar” listed near the top of the left-hand sidebar). However, a year or two ago it got posted at AoS and it got moron-rushed with you guys putting up some of the most hilarious “events” ever to be seen. Maybe that’s why I can’t find it. They probably took it down. If any of you old-timers that remember it and somehow have a link to an active, current version, please put it in the comments or send it to me on the tipline. Even a screencap from those days would be funny to post if you have one.

Keep in mind, while Indymedia started up in Seattle during the ’99 WTO riots peaceful demonstrations, practically every major city in America has an Indymedia site. (They’re listed on the left-hand sidebar.) Almost all have a completely open posting/commenting policy, so there’s nothing stopping you from having a little hometown fun at their expense.

If you want to follow the riot merriment on a more local level, here’s a link to most of London’s major media sites. Along with practically every other newspaper or tv station in the world if you go up a couple of levels.

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