In dictatorship Hong Kong, thousands of protestors have been allowed to have sleeping bags during their protest that has lasted for over two weeks. A few thousand miles west, in the fully democratic country of England, protestors are being denied the right to anything that is construed as camping equipment, including pieces of tarpaulin to stop soggy bottoms! So it is that Occupy has held Parliament Square through some terrible weather without anything to protect them from the elements. I popped own on Sunday and witnessed one of the most cynical and bizarre arrests I have ever witnessed.
An Occupier allegedly cut a piece of string that surrounded Parliament Square (see the first video) and was arrested for criminal damage. The string belonged to the Greater London Authority (GLA) who are the landlords of the square. What made this situation even more bizarre was that the cops were visibly taken orders from the “red caps”. The red caps were GLA employees called “Heritage Wardens”. They seem to revel in their new found power, strutting around with clipboards exclaiming that the “are only doing their jobs”, and we know where we have heard that before.
I managed to stay for a few hours, during which time I met many determined and peaceful people. It was great to see such determination in the face of so much hostility from the state’s representatives. It’s also great to see that the numbers have grown and that more and more people are willing to sit it out, defying the basic premise of private property and authority. Viva la Tarpaulin Revolution!!

Videos:

 http://youtu.be/pPDch-nqA_Y

 http://youtu.be/4S4I9h099u8

 http://youtu.be/BgG5K4XiVZA

 http://youtu.be/wdXFGfZN69E

 http://youtu.be/wHQHocYUbJk

 http://youtu.be/l8egups2zFo