19:00
It would seem that, so far, only one side is dressed and carrying weapons.

We need to learn to protest more often in more dynamic and novel ways. I totally agree with the comment about needing a sense of humour to combat paranoid policing.

sorry, but I thought these protests were against unelected capitalist forces denying basic rights...ruining the eco-system, forcing the South to its knees etc all in the name of profit. Perhaps I got it wrong, perhaps I should be more concerned about what music we protest to than the fact that there is a protest. This kind of attitude stinks..this isn't necessarily meant to be a fun day out, it's a show of defiance, part of an increasingly loud voice that is saying no to the corporate takeover of the globe. Not everybody wants a sound system drowning out any message we have to give to the general population....

Of course it's not about the choons, but getting our message out requires novel ways of engaging the general public. Having fun, and encouraging others to join in, is a good way to create outreach to people who aren't normally active. It also presents a different angle for the media.

Look at the media coverage of today's actions. It focussed solely on the existence or otherwise of violence, nothing on the issues. The media have a well trodden formula for dealing with "normal" demonstrations, either the ones that just have marching and boring chants and the ones that end up as a "riot".

I think the best way to change the formula is to change the nature of protest in new and creative ways. Person-to-person contact is always better than a mediated confrontation. Parties encourage people to get involved, to come along for a dance and hear the views of others. The media also has to come up with new ways to cover the events and the police aren't as justified in breaking up a smiling, happy crowd of people than a nasty, angry mob of people covering their faces.

Reclaim The Streets in Sydney has provided massive inspiration and injected new life into Australia's protest movements. It's shown that there's more ways to get the message across than marches, chants and speeches.

I came to May Day hoping to see similar innovation but instead found it quite dull. The actions in Sydney and Melbourne (see their Indymedia sites) sure looked like a lot more fun. I certainly don't think the cause (mine or yours) was furthered by what happened today. At best there may be some fallout with the massive overreaction of the police and the scaremongering tabloids, meaning future protestors won't be corralled by massive police lines.

Keen to hear the views of others.

I can kind of see what you mean, but isn't it a little like preaching to the converted...I hate to use what could be seen as stereotypes but would the use of a sound system explain what the protests are about to 55 year old warehouse manager from Derbyshire...in my opinion they wouldn't (and I should know...it's what I've grown up with). I really don't think that these occasions should be seen only as parties as they can be exclusive..especially when considering those people who have never thought of protesting before

Also I think you'll find that the protests in Australia were covered by the mainstream media such as BBC Radio as violent protests so the use of party tactics does not protect you from media spin..

Don't get me wrong, I can understand what you are saying but in my opinion there must be better ways of winning round the general public...I agree that person to person dialogus is good

any ideas anyone??

about the typo....dialogue!!

While it seems a lot like today's actions were drizzled on and
highly-policed (preventing the arrival of sound systems?), hence
adding to a general air of less than fun (from the outside I should
mention - I only wandered up and down Oxford Street watching the riot
cops on the street corners; some were acting very bored, hopping up
and off the lerb, searching the odd group of people and pouring their
drinks out on the pavement) - as afr as UK protests being boring goes,
you should have been at J18, RTS in Trafalgar Square, Tottenham etc
etc - lots of sounds, partying and good cheer. That is as usual until
the police came along with the batons.

It is important to get the message across, peacfully in preference to
feeding the corporate media's thirst for sensationalism. On the
reports seen so far today, the media did seem to at least question
some of the Police tactics, and the laughable assertions that random
attacks on stockbrokers by katana-weilding anarchists were roundly
ridiculed. Still, the cops will claim that their imposition of martial
law was a reasonable response, and the press will seize on as many
incidents as they can to make it all seem much more violent than it
apparantly was. Naturally, there will be no condemnation of police
aggression and violence.

Actions like the RTS parties can only work so far; protests like
today's do at least cause the mainstream media to pretend to discuss
the issues - the whole day was dominated by the event, which can only
be a good thing.

Boring?! Not where I was, that samba band played solidly, the party was kicking off in Holles street with dancing, music and high spirits (despite inevitable pissed up morons trying to steal the show)And what about the wombles? And critical mass? the party people and eccentrics, musicians and entertainers cant be everywhere at once, especially with the police tactics being as they were. Mabe you were just in the wrong place. Dont judge all brit demos from one, possibly unrepresentitive experience.