Edinbourgh: Police surrounded anticapitalist demo and banned observers

It's spelt Edinburgh

02.07.2005 18:55

Please get it right.

Spell checker

here comes national pride

02.07.2005 19:46

what does it matter how the fuck it's spelt?

No Borders

Well don't you expect this if you dress in black hoodies and wear masks? You stand out a mile.

Are there any British in the "black bloc" anyway? It looks like a rather sorry group of individuals from Spain / Italy / Greece.

frank

Masked up ramblers

02.07.2005 21:20

Black bloc is or was a tactic, not a group of masked up wannabees strutting around with no aim unless you class getting penned in a aim. fucking hell what was the point in masking up to walk around doing fuck all? I am a anarchist and i was there today and just found the whole thing pathetic. i left the "bloc" fairly early so as to avoid the pen which was to be a certain tatic of the police. More would have be acheived today by leaving the masks off and talking to the other protesters, insted of pratting around with hoods and masks for no reason other than attetion seeking. fuck it if i thought that was what to expect up north i wouldnt risk it. Luckily a lot of anarchists didnt see the point in attending today as there was very little need or chance for direct action on a day like to day. i only wished i had listened and saved by bus fare. black bloc is not a fashion show it is a tatic stop fucking around, as well as drawing unwanted, unreasoned attention to yourselves, you also risk the arrests of those that will bring you solidarity such as todays clown army.

(A)

fashion show

02.07.2005 23:57

black bloc ... fashion show

Well that fits in with my South European theory.

frank

Ho, ho, ho

03.07.2005 01:02

"There was very little need or chance for direct action on a day like to day."

Really?

Block Blac

Southern Europeans

03.07.2005 06:18

Frank,

Have you got any problems about groups of individuals from Southern Europe? I don't see why groups from this part of the world should be "sorry", anyway not in any way more "sorry" than groups from Northern Europe or any other geographical area.Time to review racist views?

a Southern European

Invaders not welcome

03.07.2005 07:36

Invaders & space cadets R not welcome up here we've got enough of those already

Scot

Scot

nice pictures tho-thats me mammy with the hoodie

03.07.2005 09:05

"There was very little need or chance for direct action on a day like to day."

"Really? "

yeah like what ever it was worked eh?

How the fuck did they manage to get themselves penned anyway for over two hours?

A lot of anarchists did stop away from what was always going to be a very lame A to B march. A lot are actually over in scotland and chose to stop on the campsites, others are coming over for mondays events and yet more are going straight to gleneagles.

i'm not in scotland and wasnt there yesterday so dont know what was planned or who was involved but it does seem to be a bit of a macho show to me, espicially when you look at the photos of what does appear to be a very lame pen coupled with no arrests, this was a bloc -yeah- a black bloc?

Weird

smash the state (well after the police allow me out of this pen)

Is blacblic a Tack Toc?

03.07.2005 10:40

Declaring the Black bloc a "tactic" creates all sorts of problems: as a tactic it can be used by any group to acheive their political aims. The use of masked individuals to carry out violence against property or individuals has a long history from throughout the political spectrum: from the Molly Maguires to the Nazi Crystal Night. The press often likes to use the term 'anarchist' to mean anyone who is ready to break the law to acheive a political goal. This then gets confused with the bundle of often contradictory views which constitute anarchism as political philosophy.

Black Bloc as tactic and black bloc as fashion statement both depoliticise the situation, the one as much as the other. Between the two points of view lies a political hole which could better be filled with reflection and consciousness

This "performance" by 300 people on a demonstration of 225,000 results in a display of political weakness - there being no resonance in the rest of the demonstration - inviting the thought that those who composed the Black Block were hiding in the shadow of the other 224,700 demonstrators. Meanwhile, many people feel cynical about how Sir Bob and his buddy Tony Blair have been manipulating the situation. Blair's "heroic stance" against Bush has already started to unravel as more and more voices suggest that all the strings being attached to the new wave of aid (still less than what was promised years ago) is much more about drawing African and other pillaged economies under closer control of the capitalist class.

Are broad ranges of people any more likely to be inclined to fall in line behind a vanguard of masked-up black-clad street fighters than a vanguard of banner-weilding red-clad Trotskyists? Is the strategy more about seizing the headlines than seizing the means of production? Does the no-discussion-with-the-media policy show that this tactic ends up creating an antagonistic collusion amongst those who seek to be the most conspicuous of those seeking to confront the powers that be.

Luther Blissett

Luther Blissett

To Frank

03.07.2005 12:17

...Well, You should be glad that the Italian, Spanish and Greek groups are not here. If there were, u would had seen different things. THey face the cops and the riots every day and they have some tactics from that experience. No chance to have been cordonned by inexperienced cops like yesterday.

FRanky

don't follow

03.07.2005 19:32

Not sure what point you're making Franky. If it's that the British police don't have the same traditions of carrying firearms as those on the continent, let's hope it stays that way.

paul g

I don't like all this anarchist bashing...

04.07.2005 10:16

these guys didn't choose to get penned in, and anyway I don't agree with the comment that most anarchist didn't turn up, 'cause there are all sorts of anarchists who dont dress up in hoodies and masks (and I'm not sayin that hoodies are a bad idea) and take all different forms, i'm sure there are anarchists in circa and I know there are a whole lot in the samba bands, so lets not steriotype and believe we all dress up in black and smash things :) 'cause for a lot of us, that ain't true!

@

SOLIDARITY TO THE BLACK BLOC .....

04.07.2005 11:23

ok we get the point!!!!you don't like black bloc
so go to the police and complain about it(you stupid pacifists)!!!
if you don't like black bloc tactics ok you don't have to, but please stop this whole criminalization thing and criticism. follow your own tactics we don't need you!!!
when you make parties and popstar shows - we write history...
Seattle-prague-genova-brussels-thessaloniki.....by all means, resistance and direct action always.
and as an anarchist slogan says here in greece : whoever is afraid- is going for a sleep!!
keep going comrades-back reformists.
SOLIDARITY_RESISTANCE_SELF-ORGANIZATION

spiros

anarchist triangle(spain-italy-greece)?...black bloc is everywhere!

04.07.2005 12:50

attention: the notorious anarchist black bloc criminals are here in our city.they are violent and dangerous,please for your own safety go and hide in your homes. if you know something about them please report it immediately in yor local police office or better shoot them in the face!!!your friendly police officel.

are you all so stupid or just so pacifists.
i can't believe all these articles all these years about black bloc
ok we get the point,you don't like black bloc!
that's ok you don't have to, but please stop this criminalization thing an all this stupid criticism.who do you think you are? the cops of the movement!
you pacifists you have not differences with politicians and the police!!!all the time you talk,talk bla bla....bla.revolution and direct action is something you just can't understand. the history is written in the streets!
you think we are monsters and nihilst fools.ok we don't care about it.we know well who we are and exactly what we are doing.you make popstar parties and shows-we are in the streets fighting back!!!
yes it is better to smash a bank and doing "symbolic"(as it said) direct actions, than sitting in an office and discussing with all these hypocrite politicians and capitalists.
this fucking system cannot be changed!it should be destroied!!!
seattle,prague,genova,brussels,thessaloniki......edinburgh the struggle continious !!!!
Keep going comrades of black bloc - back off reformists!!!
and as an anarchist slogan here in greece says: whoever is afraid-should go for a sleep!

SOLIDARITY_RESISTANCE_SELF-ORGANIZATION_DIRECT ACTION!!!

Spiros from athens-greece

wot happened to Greek wisdom?

04.07.2005 12:57

Spiros--
Thers not much Im afraid of --but when I sleep, I sleep better being a pacifist than I would a fascist!

Vaso

anarchist triangle (spain-italy-greece)?......black bloc is everywhere!

04.07.2005 13:04

attention: the notorious anarchist black bloc criminals are here in our city.they are violent and dangerous,please for your own safety go and hide in your homes. if you know something about them please report it immediately in yor local police office or better shoot them in the face!!!your friendly police officel.

are you all so stupid or just so pacifists.
i can't believe all these articles all these years about black bloc
ok we get the point,you don't like black bloc!
that's ok you don't have to, but please stop this criminalization thing an all this stupid criticism.who do you think you are? the cops of the movement!
you pacifists you have not differences with politicians and the police!!!all the time you talk,talk bla bla....bla.revolution and direct action is something you just can't understand. the history is written in the streets!
you think we are monsters and nihilst fools.ok we don't care about it.we know well who we are and exactly what we are doing.you make popstar parties and shows-we are in the streets fighting back!!!
yes it is better to smash a bank and doing "symbolic"(as it said) direct actions, than sitting in an office and discussing with all these hypocrite politicians and capitalists.
this fucking system cannot be changed!it should be destroied!!!
seattle,prague,genova,brussels,thessaloniki......edinburgh the struggle continious !!!!
Keep going comrades of black bloc - back off reformists!!!
and as an anarchist slogan here in greece says: whoever is afraid-should go for a sleep!

SOLIDARITY_RESISTANCE_SELF-ORGANIZATION_DIRECT ACTION!!!

spiros from athens-greece

Hey Spiro

05.07.2005 19:55

I repeat your words:

...you stupid pacifists...We don`t need you ... Revolution...is something you just can`t understand, history is written in the streets ... This system can not be chanched it should be destroied...

Who is we? And what is your Imagination of a better world in which you dont need "us" ?

There is a big system called Live. You are in it and I am too. Revolution is on the way. Not only in the streets. I need you and you may need me. Support your neighbour...

Sven

Sven

Photo Censorship

24.07.2005 14:43

Why are two of the faces obscured in the photos? Censorship? I thought that was up to the state.

Chris

UK Indymedia