"It was a hissy fit, a tantrum, a performance and a farce."

Are you talking about the protest or your article???

read the article!

a spontaneous demo happened AFTER the "storming" - this was about people blocking the road.

the meeting was not prevented - it went ahead after - the only thing that was prevented was the keynote address from KEN LIVINGSTONE

there was a lot of support from many there - and for those involved in the process esp the other europeans - a lot of understanding of the reasons this occured.

this morning at the assembly of the social movements there were two speakers who addressed the intervention from "different sides" - both recieved loud applause.... and that tells you a lot about the forum, the process and the intervention.

On reason these idiots gave for their protest was....

Babels said, "Many opportunities of experimentation and innovation have been missed out on during the organization of this forum resulting in the exclusion of many. This is in total contradition to the Porto Allegre charter. Instead, the London ESF has employed classical neoliberal organization, management & service delivery, with the result that the form has been totally dependent on the state. This has had disastourous consequence for the development of our movement." They finally mentioned that, "as ESF delegates prepapre to discuss the fight against racism and facism in Europe today, some of our fellow translators cannot be here today beccase they are not allowed into the UK. It is sad that the organisers of the ESF have not helped in this process."

Well... maybe but does that justify disrupting an anti-fascist meeting? If they felt strongly they should have raised it in the meeting by making a contribution. Instead they exposed themselves as anti-democratic thugs. I pity them.

Since when where you, 'still laughing', 'democratically' elected to represent the '20000' esf attendants? Where did you get the 'authority' to make a statement that all those people were against the 150 people who disrupted the esf to make a their voices heard?

I want to hear your views, but please don't go around representing 20000 people.

"So 150 (or 200 if you must) vs 20,000) - very crass!

Also, have you never taken direct action before (picket lines, disruptions, demos etc...), when you were percieved to be in the 'minority' on the occasion?

THe most important thing now is to ask questions why the 150 people (of many nationalities) decided to take that action, and see if they have a point, and if they do, take it into consideration for the future!

I have not witnessed the event. There is some truth in your criticism. But while I do see it´s important to have Red Ken on a meeting against fascism in Europe - I do not see while the movement should be transformed into a conference machine - as is happening in some countries - and why the movement´s conference, the ESF, should be sold out to Labour.

That is exactly what the ESF organisers and the SWP are doing. The same old stupid right-centrism for ever and ever. Clarity instead of majority! - as Liebknecht said.

You can form a people´s front against fascism. You do - preferably - form a united front against fascism. You can form a united front against war - if neccesary with war opponents of the Labour party. But you don´t form a people´s front against capitalism with members of your bourgeoise.

Maybe those who stormed the meeting were wrong doing so. But putting them into a racist corner - as you do! - and thus smearing them as fascists - THAT IS DISGUSTING! Probably there were Jewish activists in the meeting? Why not accuse those who stormed allypally as antisemites?

What you have done to the ESF and the movement is to instrumentalise it in order to suit the movements policy and direction to match the Party´s line. But the Party´s line is wrong!

Let´s end with Karl Liebknecht: The enemy is standing in your own country!

You are destroying the movement! You will destroy what is left of the SWP!

I think the demo yesterday was a brilliant idea even tho I am not an anarchist

WELL done to all who took part.

I could not afford togo to the ESF not the cost of going in although £20 is a lot to someone with not much money but the cost of sleeping and eating in London,I think London was a mistake,there has been also little organising in the sticks for it,I sadly think all this stuff about SWP and some others(who ARE workers power?)is true.I have noticed these changes in the SWP it has got worse over the last few years and there are always the same few who go round speaking at meeting all over the UK.,People were only told about sleeping in the dome at the last minute and we were told it was for people who had already registered,so as up to then I had not made mind up that decided me not to go,if I was young I would have gone and slept on a floor and taken my chances ,
so I do feel that those protesting were representing all the people who could not go,I would think there were not many disabled people there .I did not feel like the long walk from the station up to ALly Pally usually they have shuttle buses from Wood Green if a show is on but from looking at the official site that did not seem to happen.Why?and also there was no attempt to provide decent food .I have been to AllPal and it is expensive and crap food there,
There are loads ans loads of peopl in small community groups who did not know about this ESF as no attempt has been made to involve them also the cost for a small group to be part of this is too much.
So weell done to those who organised Autonomous spaces and the demo.

give the trots and the boiurgois wankers a good kicking. they are as bad as the pigs that they love and support. You hippocritical inneffective cowardley parasites with your symbolic bullshit. Reclaim the streets - beat up the SWP. I know I will.

Though i think it is very important to bring radical and anti-authoritarian criticism into an event as the esf is, i have to say the way the action took place was just bullshit. if the goal was to reach people and tell them our critique and analysis of a state-run european social forum, the way chosen was the worst to choose. why was the stage entered by masked yelling men dressed in black? why was a table destroyed, and with that the possibility of sitting together and discussing (without ken livingston, of course)?
why not ask the samba-band (that was in the auditorium!) if they'd enter the stage? the way tha action was run just closed every canal people in the auditorium could had open to listen to what was said. there where no fucking flzers to explain the action! just tiny pieces of paper in way to few numbers with way to little letters. how can somebody think of disrupting an event without making flyers? my guess: because it was just about disrupting and feeling radical, not about bringin radical ideas into the esf.
right idea, worst way to do it. ignorant black-block youngsters anarchism.

try it dancing next time!

The ESF in Florence was organised by Claudio Martini (DS) president of the Regime Toscana or the "sixty year regime" as i prefer to call it . the commies have been in power in tuscany since 1945 through Partito Communista Italiano (PCI) and then slighty further right in the Partito Demcratico di Sinistra (PDS) and then in a land slide to the right allah neo Labour into the Delinquenti di Sinistra(DS) .
The ESF in Florence was the start of a very well put together PR stunt for the (DS) which saw them snuggling upto the peace and no global movements and culminated (so far) in them ripping off the,by now world famous) rainbow peace flag and using it as their election symbol. The fact that a whole bunch of similar lefty shite in London including Red Ken all want to jump on the band wagon is also very predictable .
Here in Italy it's big bad wolf politix goodies and baddies left and right and for sure the big bad wolf berlusconi
is really rolling back the years with a 1930's revival and sure it's getting scary but on the other hand "the same world is possible" but under a bunch of slimley lefty scum bags who tell you all the lefty fairy tales and then fuck you over for the corporate shilling ... I have given up using the term left and right and now prefer to talk about rich and poor and dry not to call everyone middle class wankers .. but they are good at organising meetings and swaying the vote in their favour ..