And who is to blame for this? Could it be anarchist protestors who tear up businesses, build barriers and set fires and public streets, and hurl rocks and molotov cocktails at police? Or, do police in Geneva routinely do this?

Are you shure this was the german police and not the police of swizerland?

Whos to blame for the riots in the streets? Whos to blame for all this? Are the governments to blame? Governments who let millions die of hunger every day, who try with all their might to force us to practically wear a mind-uniform, manipulate us, lie to us, spy on us, and otherwise make our lives miserable?
Or do we all just get up in the morning, and think: hey its really damn hot out, let go run around, throw stones, get gassed, run even faster, get beaten to shit, get arrested, be treated like animals, get our stuff stolen by cops(isnt ironic?) and then let go with a single: im sorry, or even a plausable reason for the inhumane treatment.

Whos to blame for the riots in the streets? Whos to blame for all this? Are the governments to blame? Governments who let millions die of hunger every day, who try with all their might to force us to practically wear a mind-uniform, manipulate us, lie to us, spy on us, and otherwise make our lives miserable?
Or do we all just get up in the morning, and think: hey its really damn hot out, let go run around, throw stones, get gassed, run even faster, get beaten to shit, get arrested, be treated like animals, get our stuff stolen by cops(isnt ironic?) and then let go with a single: im sorry, or even a plausable reason for the inhumane treatment.

as said b4, 2 'realist', if you want to respond to original post, go learn french, spend half the day searching for diverse experiences of the protest, and post reply there...
sprout is only a semi humanoid translation service...yeah, post me in chinese, why don'tcha, my computer can handle that, and so can i...

....and i guess u'd track backwards 2 c if ppl read your rant, just you and me on the whole of the net, will get this far down the page, saaaaaaaaaaaaaaad

this article has to be a mistake. something afoul happens, but it's not in the USA? oh my GOD! everyone knows anything that goes wrong in the world has to be in the USA or at least their fault.

I truly believe that much of the overly zealous response to protest is the fault of some of the protestors.

If a crowd starts throwing rocks, bottles, or other molotov cocktails, the police must respond with force. When a group of protestors destroys private and public property, causing thousands or millions of dollars in damage, the police will respond as if it is a riot and will use measures appropriate to quell a riot.

The problem is that many of these violent and destructive criminals like to hide in crowds of peaceful protestors. It would be nice if the police could target only those who committed the violent and destructive crimes but it is difficult to pick out 50 people in a crowd of 1000.

The police act on the 'precautionary principle' once the protestors are engaged. That is, the police attack anyone in their way. These casualties are regrettable but necessary. As much as the protestors dislike being beaten, electrocuted, and gassed the police dislike being stoned and lit on fire.

It is the 'black block' protestors that are engaging in a scorched earth campaign against the government by attacking, physically and financially, the people they claim to be saving. (Yes, police are people, too.)

Solidarity and show of support should be the goals of any good protest. This does not require any illegal actions and, in particular, no property and violent crimes.

Illegal actions should be restricted to relatively harmless crimes, such as blockading a public street, and the protestors should use passive resistance whenever possible.

'Black block' tactics paint all demonstrators as crazed loons who are more interested in finding a good riot than championing a cause.

If policemen hit a single normal resident, what do you think they can do for protestor? Even if what's happen to this man is sad, may be next time he will vote or act (?) for a party which didn't allow this kind of comportement from the police force...(did i spoke about Gena?)

Responding to MechaBlue who is thinkings that the principle of precaution is a good reason to permit the cops attack the citizens, i can answer that the principle of precaution is also a good reason for anybody to attack all institutions (g8... but also enterprises, or government)who put in danger the life of the citizens of the world (and especialy of the poorest country) but also who put in danger all the citizens (us) by the action they take in increasing the pollution damages and the global risk they take for the Humanity!... there is lot's more to say, but this only reason is already enough.

zzz

I strongly doubt those were German riot police patrolling protests in Switzerland. A bit like the canadian police coming to Seattle to give parking tickets.

Unless it was some special exchange thing -- yet I think it is safe to assume that Switzerland has its own riot cops and wouldn't need to borrow any from Germany.


It is never fun to be wacked with one of those club things, but on the bright side, they didn't shoot you. :)

There were specially trained german riotpolice-units with watercanons (shooting a gas-water mixture), flanked by local cops shooting rubberbullet and throwing teargas grenades. First they fought in Lausanne (june 1st), and later at the same day they moved to Geneva.

who the hell to these thugs think they are. why are they defending such an evil organization. they should quit there jobs or at least read about what they are defending but, no, they just do it because it's there job and they do it for money. morality doesn't apply to payed thugs. i can't stand how people can just be o.k. with that. i thought the goal is to shut down the meetings no matter where they are.i think all these half-ass demonstraters should read more about actual revolutions and the tactics that worked and ones that didn't. even martin luther king threatened to use any means neccisary and was planing a not so non-violent demonstration on washington before he was killed. it's a tactic just the same as non-violence. if we don't allow for variety of tactics we are doomed to fail.

Oh, Hello there was a civil war next door what do I do?


Beeing a resident in Switzerland I never thought Geneva would end like that !
Onestly, I've been up in Hackney and saw some of the Raids by Riot polices, specially last year before May 2002. Along the usual intimidation, I've noticed a very arogant way of handeling the situation in this calvinist city suposibly peace minded!

I've been up to some demonstration while abroad, but what Ive seen last week-end is either Faschist or Extreme Leftisch methods from an institution called State. Has it occured to these Gentlemen who are politician & respnsible for the security is about protecting it's (voters) population. What happened in L'usine is unacceptable, what happened to those on the streets even more !! Nobody understands that streetching so much political determination is in fact extremist = dangerous= terrorist= ?
and so is responsible for
the shit it blames on the " casseur" , movie stars for the mass media crap ?

Black block has been for me the word I heard 10000 times to justify anything from not have flushed the toilets in the community centers to attacking " Poor police cops" in battle trainers Robocop like Ass.

OK keep them in power, pay them a fortune, but please sit them in front of Metal gear or vice city in a Psycatric institut.

Oh, and Thanks for the 6 Rubber bullets in the legs while literally doing nothing on Pont du mont blanc, monday ! The water spray was refreshing, but wait a minute, didn't I have nose bleeding 1 day after?
Anyway thank you very much for having shown your real face, cause doing it on the quiet, was a bit like finding out that There are not weapon of mass destrctions in Irak.............. W.............
See u later Sky.....

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