Atmosphere in the City of London today best described as uneasy apprehension.

At Bank junction so far today there has been a small protest, an suspect package dealt with and currently there is an ‘incident being dealt with’, whatever that is.

We reckon it could get a bit dodgy. I’m going in to work, I shall be very alert!

Shall wait and see. I have to go to both Holborn and Queen Anne’s Gate tomorrow afternoon.

Reckon you should be OK there. Our office is right in the middle of the demo areas tomorrow. Last time it went really bad (9? years ago) the car dealership at the back of the building was torched and the McShatBurger out the front was destroyed. Add to the mix this time the Halifax branch & the Bank of China pretty much outside our front door…..

At least it will be quiet on here tomorrow since all the left wing pinko members will be doing their bit to smash the establishment rather than boring us to tears…

Businesses around Liverpool St are being told they MUST close tomorrow. No option. This order is coming from the Police.

A lot of hysteria is being whipped up. A lot of anger is brewing up. This is what the authorities want. They want people to be angry, to kick off.

I’ve seen the way the police act, at things like this. They will be fine, then all of a sudden, start pushing people into tighter and tighter areas. This has the effect of angering a crowd, who then retaliate. This is done deliberately, to undermine the message behind the protest, and to discredit the cause. I’ve no doubt the police will be ordered to behave in this manner, tomorrow.

As for the ‘crusty anarchists’, well, over the years, I’ve seen surprisingly very few people charged with owt more than affray. Surely, considering the sophistication of police surveillance and intelligence gathering, more people wooduv been brought to book, if there were in fact real instigators of trouble.

I fear there will be very little scope for legitimate protests to be held in London, following this week, if it does kick off.

And if it does kick in big time there’ll be something worth listening about on the telly.

Fred, I shall be ‘running the gauntlet’ to / from work tomorrow. Liv. Street, Bishopsgate, Cannon Street, Bank. I will be around all of these.

Gulp!

I hope not, I’ve got a drinks reception in Whitehall to go to tomorrow evening.

I will be right by Bank Station, as my office is pretty much there.

Pretty much concluded that I won’t use the trains tomorrow as the rail network will be ridiculously easy to disrupt and cause havoc with. And I’ll not be commuting in the Rapha tomorrow either.

Agree with RudeBoy, above. All the media hype is being done to try to wind it up to give the authorities the “right” to act heavy-handedly.

and hopefully they will if justified.

I’ll not be commuting in the Rapha tomorrow either

[Chuckles] I reckon I look enough of a shambles that I’ll not be mistaken for a bastion of the Establishment.

It’s gonna be funny spotting the ‘bankers’ tomorrow. It’ll all be Chinos, polo shirts, cashmere jumpers, jeans with creases ironed in them, etc

PK; I’d rather they started on people like you, tbh.

**** Wine Bar indeed… 😉

We were discussing what custom T-shirts we should get printed.

Favourites were:

I get hard for cash
My bonus paid for this T-Shirt
RBS Golf Day 2009
I heart Fred Goodwin

etc

thanks rudeboy.

muppet.

Actually, PK; what exactly do you have, against people protesting about the uselessness of the banks, and the global corporations and governments that are **** up this planet, and perpetuating war, famine and poverty?

I’d be inertested in hearing your carefully considered, objective opinions.

I suspect I my wish may be in vain…

Let’s meet up for a pint, then, you can call me a muppet to me face! 😉

How about, ‘don’t beat me, I am pregnant’ or ‘who is at home shagging your missus? copper’

You can find my response as to why everyone is complicit in the economic situation on a number of threads on here if you wanted to rudeboy. But obviously you’re not part of that complicity as you’ve eschewed the modern lifestyle and therefore won’t have access to a computer, modern media or anything like that.

It must be nice in your world. Always sunny.

Oh, and yes, I would call you a muppet to your face, I just don’t need to prove it.

RB you muppet

wots rong wiv a likkle riot. is not da ppl is da babylon wot corses truble.

So, PK, being that you’re such a brave soul, and fearful of no-one, I’ll expect you to be out there tomorrow, arguing you point with others, in an open and honest manner*.

You could say what you liked, to my face; I’d just laugh at you.

That a yes or a no, to a drink, then? 😉

* I suspect the truth is, you’ll be cowering somewhere, shitting yerself. All well and good being a ‘big man’ on tinternet; a different story, trying to do it in real life.

As far as I’m concerned, tomorrow will be business as usual, taking advice from the security services and our internal risk managers. They’re making the calls on my behalf.

with respect to the protestors, anyone who goes out of their way to antagonise them tomorrow is on a hiding to nothing. If there was the opportunity for reasoned discussion, that would be fine, but hey, that’s not what protest is all about. Surely you’d realise that rudeboy?

I like your final point. Kind of ironic with you saying it.

I’ll be running the gauntlet through the city tomorrow in my pinstripes, red braces and bowler hat

seems ironic to me that the anarchists will be protesting about the anarchy of the banking system

No irony at all. I’ve already offered to go for a drink with you, Big Man. You seem to spurn me, sadly. 🙁

Don’t try back-pedaling; I agree that hijacking the protest, just to cause trouble, is out of order. But you and a few others seem to assume that all protesters are yer dirty unwashed types, and you’ve even expressed a desire for the police to behave violently towards them. Reveals your resentment of people you’ve conveniently labeled the same, regardless of the reality of who they actually are.

You’re a bit angry about this, aren’t you? Maybe it’s your fear, that manifests itself as hate.

If you, and others, took a step back, and tried to see things with a bit more of an open mind, you might see that protests like this are completely justified. As for the attack on the financial sector, I believe a lot of the anger expressed by those within those professions, against those they believe will potentially attack them, may well be founded in guilt and shame.

Don’t worry, PK Pucker, you’ll have plenty of big, strong coppers to protect you, I’m sure.

Or, come for a drink with me. I’ll look after you.

are you not banned yet you two faced trolling muppet?

are you not banned yet you two faced trolling muppet?

No, I’m still here – why do you ask ?

LOL!

Nice one, GG! 😀

Of course the funniest thing for us will be the Security ‘manager’ at work. We reckon he’ll be wandering round talking into his lapel all day pretending to be jack Bauer

pk-ripper – Member
and hopefully they will if justified.

I’m interested how you’ve extrapolated my statement above to a blanket statement of what constitutes a protestor and how I’m so against them. Personally I don’t advocate civil disobedience any more than I advocate the police using heavy handed tactics, oh, and look, that’s why I stated the phrase above, which includes the words “if justified”.

My mind is perfectly open to the politics of a global economy, funnily enough, that’s because that’s part of what my work involves. And whilst I agree with sentiment that things could perhaps have been done better by any number of people, that number of people is counted in the tens of millions so specific protest is naive at best and missing the overall picture of how everything in a global economy is interconnected.

For example:

– Do you blame the investors in the tiger economies for not having sufficient faith in their own economies and instead investing in the US?

– Do you blame the any number of people globally for working hard and wanting a return on investment on their savings to allow them to grow so the time they’ve worked can provide for them when they need it?

– On the basis of that, do you blame the banks for seeking to provide that return, and perhaps somewhat ironically, investing in the tiger economies as they show consistent growth year on year?

The three statements above present an incredibly simplified picture of just a few specific circumstances that have led to the current position.

What my mind isn’t open to is those that are calling for the heads of bankers, those intent on criminal acts against specific people, intimidation of any kind on those that are seeking to carry out their normal work, and specific disruption. That impinges on everyones freedom. If those people who are protesting can specifically disassociate themselves in entirety from any interactions with banks, corporations, or in fact money, then I would support them.

I still don’t want a drink with you. ad infinitum.

1. take moral high-ground
2. rubbish other’s opinion
3. disparage/belittle poster

Same old RB

Think I’ll go to work tomorrow listening to the
sex pistols 😆

Nickname. That’s a good idea. Need a theme tune to run the guantlet!

in the mean time:

😉

What my mind isn’t open to

..is a fair bit, actually.

So, you’ve revealed that you are really quite fearful of an attack on yourself, as part of the institution of global finance. You don’t actually seem too bothered about the erosion of our democratic rights, or that the current ‘crisis’ is in fact just one more indication that those in charge have fecked things up, or that those same people have acted not in the interests of people, but to line their own pockets, whilst creating the illusion that economies are ‘strong’ and ‘growing’.

Many of your posts reveal a selfishness within you; one which you praps aren’t even aware of yourself, such is your inability to be objective.

Still, you probbly can’t help it.

The bubble has burst. It was always going to burst. The big bosses knew it was going to burst. Indeed, anyone with half an ounce of intelligence knew it was going to burst.

So, what did these bankers, and global leaders do, to prevent or lessen the impact of the economy crashing? Did they ensure measures were in place, to protect people’s jobs, homes, livelihoods? Have they looked at alternatives to oil, to provide energy, and invested sufficient time and effort into new projects? Have they considered the social and environmental impact of rampant Capitalism, on people everywhere?

Have they bollocks. They’ve been too busy lining their own pockets, awarding themselves huge bonuses, and consolidating their grip on power.

That’s what this is all about. That’s why so many people are angry. And that’s why there is a long overdue need to take away the power that these elite few have had over all of us, for far too long. Because they have become far too corrupt, with power and greed. The power to run a society should lie with Democracy, not with money.

On a National level, people are losing their jobs and homes. On a Global level, people are dying in wars, of disease, poverty and famine. something needs to change, and change quickly.

Maybe you can’t see this, though. Maybe your head is too far up your own arse. Or maybe you’ve just lost the ability to think for yourself.

No use whining on about blaming banks or whatever. We know they are largely responsible; they are institutions set up to serve the interests of an elite few, not for the Greater Good of all people. You are just a cog in the machine, disposable, expendable. No-one cares about you.

But that shoon’t stop you caring about anyone else.

you clearly are from planet utopia

pk-ripper

didn’t you used to be the-yorkshire-pk-ripper?

why did you decide to “sever” your connection with Yorkshire?

Are you unworthy of that diginified origin?

FWIW, I do not condone violence against individuals, as it has been suggested (by the police and media) may happen. I hope that no-one gets caught up in any violence. I have friends that work in the City. I’ve met Cheesyfeet, and he seems like a nice feller. I woon’t wish owt bad on him, or any other people off here or otherwise. . And HackneyRider is a mate of mine, he works in the City too. Of course I’m concerened for his safety, along with all those that are just trying to do their jobs. I have nowt against anyone who works hard to try and earn a decent living.

On Saturday, at a march of over 35,000 people (police estimates), there was only one arrest (police statement I heard on’t radio today). For drunken behaviour. It is possible, that protests can be peaceful and orderly. Let’s hope tomorrow’s demonstrations are like this.

Stay safe, people.

If I protest, it won’t be about the banks. But instead about the loss of our civil liberties, the use of anti terror law to intimidate public and the obscene amount of data that the government have collected about us over the last year. Phone, homes, computers, cctv it has gone way over the top. It’s almost as we are all being watched and if we put a foot out of line we will get picked up and taken away. I feel that these protests will decrease our freedoms even more and new laws will be put in place.

Especially with new DNA databases and ID card that the labour government will try and push through. This is what really worries me.

Lets give communism a go I say, after all it has been so successful elsewhere.

As long as the trains are running and the pubs are open after work its all good 8)

If not, there will be anarchy 😈