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200 arrested as hardcore anarchists fight police long into night in Battle of Trafalgar Square after 500,000 march against the cut.

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Breaking past a small group of police, nearly 1,000 protesters charged into Fortnum & Mason, famed for its wicker picnic hampers and for delivering tea to the Queen.
After forcing themselves through the ground floor doors into the area selling luxury cheese and chocolate at around 4pm, the mob ran amok. Afternoon shoppers, among them dozens of Japanese and American tourists, fled up the stairs, followed by police officers who tried to stop the occupation from spreading.

Activists made speeches on the ornate spiral staircase and baskets full of £5 bags of Easter bunny chocolates were pushed over and spilled on to the floor.
Black-clad anarchists, wearing face masks to hide their identity, shouted abuse at customers and launched into tirades about class war. One threatened to attack a customer in a restaurant, outraged that they were carrying on eating salmon sandwiches.

A group of menacing extremists stood under the crystal chandeliers and hung posters from metal stair-rails. They threatened to smash display cases full of luxury goods if the police tried to drag them out.
Two others daubed anarchist symbols on the dark pink walls as smartly-dressed shop assistants tried to bring order by restacking upturned shelves. Some activists from the group called UK Uncut, which protests against tax avoidance, helped clean up the mess.

Campaigners claimed they targeted the 300-year-old store because its owners are at the centre of a £40million tax avoidance row. Protesters also occupied Vodafone, Boots and BHS stores on Oxford Street for the same reason.

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Also, capitalism has pretty clearly failed

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Originally posted by Geezer:
Anarchists for more government and more taxes? Does that seem right to you?

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Originally posted by dreamtrove:
Do they call themselves anarchists?

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'Black bloc' anarchists behind anti-cuts rampage reject thuggery claims.

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But unmasked and talking to the Guardian, anarchists involved in last weekend's violence claimed their direct action tactics were going viral. They said they were legitimate representatives of the public's concern about public sector cuts and their ranks had swollen to an estimated 1,500, boosted by student first-timers.

The black bloc tactic involves masked militants moving in tight units cordoned by flags, vandalising symbolic property and sometimes attacking police. The group created chaos in central London's busiest shopping area last weekend, seizing attention from about half a million peaceful anti-cuts protesters on a Trades Union Congress-organised march and terrifying onlookers. Anarchists attacked the Ritz hotel, smashed the windows of banks, fought with police officers and vandalised police vans. There were 201 arrests (mostly non-violent protesters at Fortnum & Mason) and at least 84 people were injured including 31 police officers, 12 of whom required hospital treatment for minor injuries.

One activist admitted criminal gangs and small numbers of football hooligans were among those who adopted the approach. But the anarchists stressed that those in the black bloc last weekend included graduates, social workers, students, the unemployed, militant feminists and mental health nurses.

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Originally posted by AURaptor:

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Also, capitalism has pretty clearly failed

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So, freedom has failed?

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But, yes, Rap, if you have a Patriot Act, a dept of Homeland Security, torture, assassinations, systematic dismantling of the bill of rights, placing the govt. above the law, and abandoning habeas corpus and the Geneva Conventions, then, yes, "Freedom" has failed.

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Originally posted by AURaptor:

gimmie gimmie gimmie!

The call of the new entitlement minded anarchist.

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"gimmie gimmie gimmie!"
-anarchist provocateur undercover police employed by kosher IMF banksters demanding QUADRILLION$ in bailouts

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Originally posted by Geezer:
"They said they were legitimate representatives of the public's concern about public sector cuts..."

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Originally posted by dreamtrove:
Geezer,

I'm going to wait for Frem to weigh in on "anarchists." A quick wiki reveals that Black Bloc is a tactic, and not a group: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_bloc

So it's hard to say who they are until we know who they are, and then what they say. Anyone can use black bloc apparently, including socialists, and anyone can cause chaos.

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Originally posted by AURaptor:
gimmie gimmie gimmie!


The call of the new entitlement minded anarchist.

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Originally posted by Geezer:

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Originally posted by dreamtrove:
Geezer,

I'm going to wait for Frem to weigh in on "anarchists." A quick wiki reveals that Black Bloc is a tactic, and not a group: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_bloc

So it's hard to say who they are until we know who they are, and then what they say. Anyone can use black bloc apparently, including socialists, and anyone can cause chaos.

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If you read the whole Guardian article, you'll find that several of the folks interviewed identifed themselves (although not by their real names) as anarchists, so they apparently think they are.

I realize that there are several flavors of anarchist, but the though of some of them encouraging government welfare and tax law enforcement just seemed a bit strange (and a bit funny) to me; especially since I'm more used to the American Libertarian/Anarchist type.

"Keep the Shiny side up"

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Originally posted by Kwicko:

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Originally posted by AURaptor:
gimmie gimmie gimmie!


The call of the new entitlement minded anarchist.

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The call of the new entitlement-minded capitalist, too.

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Originally posted by Geezer:
If you read the whole Guardian article, you'll find that several of the folks interviewed identifed themselves (although not by their real names) as anarchists, so they apparently think they are.

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Originally posted by canttakesky:
I read the whole article looking for precisely that self-identification. I didn't see it at all.

Maybe I missed it? Please paste and quote if I did? Thanks.

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Jason Sands, 32, a graduate and local authority IT worker in south London and black bloc veteran, said the ranks of anarchists appeared to be "growing in confidence, skill and numbers". He said there had been an influx of students galvanised by last year's violence at the Conservative party headquarters in Millbank Tower during anti-tuition fees protests and by police tactics used against conventional demonstrators such as kettling.

"It feels good to be part of it," Sands said.

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Originally posted by Geezer:

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Originally posted by canttakesky:
I read the whole article looking for precisely that self-identification. I didn't see it at all.

Maybe I missed it? Please paste and quote if I did? Thanks.

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Jason Sands, 32, a graduate and local authority IT worker in south London and black bloc veteran, said the ranks of anarchists appeared to be "growing in confidence, skill and numbers". He said there had been an influx of students galvanised by last year's violence at the Conservative party headquarters in Millbank Tower during anti-tuition fees protests and by police tactics used against conventional demonstrators such as kettling.

"It feels good to be part of it," Sands said.

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Seems like he's pretty much self-identifiying as an anarchist.

"Keep the Shiny side up"

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Originally posted by Geezer:
Seems like he's pretty much self-identifiying as an anarchist.

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Originally posted by Magonsdaughter:
What one in Australia?

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