Stop the war protest

[Beach Hut]

I think these protestors are so hard aren't they, oh let's attack a McDonalds and terrorise the staff there - so hard and thoughtful.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

I agree EDO never talk about the protests, but I would like to know what profits they make from arms manufacture and how they probably pay zero towards paying to over police the demonstrations against them.

In answer to this point, they have to pay the costs of getting the various injunctions that apply to their premises. I wouldn't like to see their insurance bill either, given the regular threats and previous damage they've received.

But I presume the taxpayer has to fund the likes of today because it potentially impacts on the entire city. Same as the Albion wouldn't have to pay if it was thought there would be clashes between football fans OUTSIDE the immediate Withdean environment.

In response to Dave's question: that's the situation as I understand it, and I've looked at the various SmashEDO sites plenty of times over the last few years, along with various media/business ones, and the ITT-MBM company site. So hopefully I've got the right end of the stick.

Unlike the BBC, who called it an "arms factory" in today's news reporting...

 

[willingdon_seagull]

These mugs are everything in humanity that I despise! Makes you ashamed to be human. The police should be allowed to act like the do abroad and bring these bastards down a peg or two!

 

[dougdeep]

The protester chap they interviewed on the BBC local news said that they have to stop making bombs in Brighton. Well clued up then?

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Interesting point. The problem is protesting against the company itself is counter productive all it means is that actually more government money (in the form of police etc) is spent protecting the offices/staff. As long as the government go on funding military activity there will be a company making profits out of it, is that really the company's fault?

Their was a riddiculous amount of police herding a teenage mob of Albion Chavs at Leyton Orient this season, it was a complete waste of money, however clubs now reduce costs inside the grounds by paying for their own stewarding.

I am a pacifist and would like to not pay taxes that go towards any arms manufacturing by our goverment, I would gladly pay to fund better social and welfare needs. So its bizzare to have to pay taxs to police events against companys that manufacture components of weapons. I would just like to know what level of cost EDO front for this on going operation.

 

[Husty]

yep..fully entilted to my opinion !!

And i agree entirely with yours but im not going to bother getting in an argument with the right wing idiots on here

 

[Trigger]

I think these protestors are so hard aren't they, oh let's attack a McDonalds and terrorise the staff there - so hard and thoughtful.

I think it's more a case of lets go anywhere that DOESN'T have a bath or shower, smelly piss ridden runts.

 

[blue'n'white]

Just thank our lucky stars that these left wing scum didn't disrupt people getting to the match on Saturday. THAT was important - running around causing trouble for the Police isn't. As far as I am concerned the Police should have arrested the lot of 'em and cast them off into the sea on a big boat . . . which the RAF could have then used as low level bombing practice ! Just to see if the EDO catch things worked like. I'd have called that poetic justice. We really don't need these twats in Brighton disrupting the bank holidays of normal ordinary decent folk going about their business on a very rare day off work. But of course work is anathema to these prats isn't it

 

[Husty]

The protester chap they interviewed on the BBC local news said that they have to stop making bombs in Brighton. Well clued up then?

About as clued up as your average BNP member yes

oh: 20 pages

 

[Pot noodles for everyone]

Their was a riddiculous amount of police herding a teenage mob of Albion Chavs at Leyton Orient this season, it was a complete waste of money, however clubs now reduce costs inside the grounds by paying for their own stewarding.

I am a pacifist and would like to not pay taxes that go towards any arms manufacturing by our goverment, I would gladly pay to fund better social and welfare needs. So its bizzare to have to pay taxs to police events against companys that manufacture components of weapons. I would just like to know what level of cost EDO front for this on going operation.

Sorry but not following your line of reasoning. You personally don't want money going to arms manufacturing therefore it's bizarre that we taxpayers have to pay to police the protests.

It might stick in your craw but bizarre it ain't. Any other policing at protests you don't want funded by the taxpayer? Pro-hunting? Anti-hunting? Ghurka rights? Fathers for Justice? Trade Union mayday protests? It's all part of living in a social democratic society that we don't usually have hypothecated taxes and you don't get an opt-out.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

These mugs are everything in humanity that I despise! Makes you ashamed to be human.

Jeez!

 

[Pot noodles for everyone]

About as clued up as your average BNP member yes

oh: 20 pages

Eh? DougDeepSleep may be many things but as far as I'm aware, a BNPer he ain't. This thread is gonna go to 20 pages anyway without you trying to take it off on yet another BNP tangent, you cheeky minx.

 

[Robbie G]

I'm not quite sure how ruining a police van and hurtling missiles at police is going to help. I also quite liked the fact that a lot of them had their faces covered. If they were peacefully protesting then they wouldn't care if they had their faces showing and were being filmed, surely?

 

[SeagullRic]

Me and my wife have just come back from brighton and im ashamed to be british...oh no, not with the protest going on but the amount of police everywhere, totally obscene and ott if you ask me..i mean as i tax payer im appalled that my money is wasted in such way...helicopters, horses, dogs and as many police and cars/wagons as you like..total shambles...for what ?? about 500 mostly peaceful protesters (who do have the right to protest)...shameful...and before people start slagging all the protesters off as being the unkept unwashed brigade, well from what we saw there were many decent working class people among the crowd, familys, old people, all sorts, and lot prob got decent jobs...and have you all stopped to think what the they are protesting about ?? an arms factorty in brighton making parts used to kill innocent people...im not anti police or protester myself, but all too often people are quick to condem such action without really thinking about what the protest is all about...and who should be footing the bill for all the policing in my view the edo factory itself not tax payer ...

Just a couple of things:

1) The protestors whcih came down my road were not all peaceful. Some were, but one of them shouted as he ran past my house 'if this gets messy then get your f***ing blades out', which was met by a roar of approval from many others around him.

2) The protesters did not have an actual route sorted for the march- they were just all marching down the middle of different roads, causing mayhem all around them

3) I thought the Police were coping with it pretty bloody well, given they were having stones, beer cans, bottles and many other things chucked at them. They could have been a lot more violent than they were when I saw them.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

my mate got broke in ..phoned police was told they were too busy... what waiting in thier warm patrol cars for someone to go 2-3 miles over the speed limit

*sighs* I can hardly be arsed...but I will indulge you just a bit more.

I have been in my job for about five years. In that time, I have prosecuted a grand total of zero people for speeding.

There is a designated Road Policing unit with responsibility for this kind of thing, and that's essentially what they deal with. Well, not just speeding, but other traffic offences, mobile phone use, drink drivers and often, scraping bits of people off the road; and breaking the hearts of grieving relatives, after their loved ones have ploughed their cars into trees. I bloody wish they would come to burglaries, but they don't, in fact I've known them to have days when they can't even cover every serious collision and rely on response officers to deal as best they can.

The ones you're talking about are the basic response officers, who deal with crime, the usual thing you expect us to. They have neither the inclination, the equipment nor the time to sit on roads waiting for marginal speeding offences. They get sent to job, after job, after job, sometimes a little time after the victim would like them to, because the call handlers have to prioritise the immediate need based on the contents of the telephone call. They don't care about minor traffic offences - that just means more forms to fill in.

If your mate had reported the burglars still on scene, they would have come round straight away, or should have done at least. If he gets home from work to find someone's been and gone, nicking stuff, it's unpleasant, but it's not an emergency, therefore it won't be graded an immediate response and will be queued for the next available unit. As will all the similar burglaries. And reports of receiving slightly mean text messages from someone at school. And stolen gnomes. And assaults where the assailant is no longer present.

Not looking for sympathy here, I'm just saying it's not a case of "can't be bothered". Sussex Police often receive a couple of thousand calls a day but don't have anything like that number of officers on duty at any one time.

So spare me the cliches about traffic tickets

 

[Pot noodles for everyone]

I'm not quite sure how ruining a police van and hurtling missiles at police is going to help. I also quite liked the fact that a lot of them had their faces covered. If they were peacefully protesting then they wouldn't care if they had their faces showing and were being filmed, surely?

I think in fairness to the protesters that quite a few are now being actively tracked and aggressively at that by the security forces. The police have taken to filming people going in and out of the Cowley Club apparently. I think there's a fair few of them that have stopped believing the mantra "if you've done nothing wrong, you've got nothing to hide".

I would feel happier too if the police also didn't look like some South American paramilitary force.

 

[Robbie G]

I think in fairness to the protesters that quite a few are now being actively tracked and aggressively at that by the security forces. The police have taken to filming people going in and out of the Cowley Club apparently. I think there's a fair few of them that have stopped believing the mantra "if you've done nothing wrong, you've got nothing to hide".

I would feel happier too if the police also didn't look like some South American paramilitary force.

Well you may argue you have had to have done something serious beforehand to be tracked.

Yeah the police presence looks daunting but then it's a price to pay for the idiots who throw stuff or assault them.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

I would feel happier too if the police also didn't look like some South American paramilitary force.

What do you think they should wear when having stuff chucked at them?

Shirts, ties, polyester trousers, slip on loafers and a traditional bobby's helmet?

The outer clothing is designed to be hardwearing so they're not being replaced (at the taxpayers expense) every five minutes, the helmets are designed to stop your head being smashed in by sticks or flying bricks, the stab vests are mandatory these days, and the "balaclavas" are flash hoods.

 

[Pot noodles for everyone]

They need protection but do they REALLY need to look like this?

Do the police need to look "military"? Why black? Why masks? Why those massive boots?

Go on admit it. It's designed to intimidate.

 

[sir danny cullip]

The police aren't there to intimidate they are there to protect peaceful citizens who want to go about their business as usual despite the actions of a few crusties. To protect in this way they put themselves on the front line and should be given every bit of equiptment they need to do this as safely as possible and to be honest I couldnt care if it was black or pink and I dont really think that should be the main concern either.