Police planting catapults on anarchists? I don't believe it.

[ymu]

You're not making sense. How can it be a story if there's no way to link the catapults to the police or the anarchists and all the witnesses' descriptions of the man in black sound like a performance artist? And you seriously want anyone to write that he was an agent of the State? Get real.

You posted your reply so fast that you didn't read my post, let alone think about it. If you want to play Punch and Judy, find someone else. If you want an intelligent discussion, engage your brain and post something with merit.

Huh? Catapults found at anarchist rally wouldn't make a nice press release for the police, in the atmosphere they were whipping up for G20? Get real.

I did read your post in full. It only takes a minute. Are you a very slow reader? It rambles on about how a journalist wouldn't touch the Ian Bone story without verification of what happened. It had precisely fuck all to do with the reasons as to why the police haven't press-released it to all and sundry.

You're not keeping an open mind, you're weaseling.

Except that it has a suicide rate far, far higher than the UK, so perhaps not everyone is as chuffed with life as you make out. Heard any good Norwegian bands recently?

That's because they get 24 hour darkness over winter. And it's waaaaay off- topic.

 

[ymu]

Here you go Nick. Lengthy round-up of the day's events from the Daily Mail. No trouble at all, one arrest for drunk and disorderly. Yet the police found a stash of catapults. We know they did - we've seen the stop'n'search docket. Don't you find that a little bit odd?

 

[chico enrico]

Except that it has a suicide rate far, far higher than the UK, so perhaps not everyone is as chuffed with life as you make out. Heard any good Norwegian bands recently?

unfortunately that link doesn't work, but i'd have thought it was fairly well known that such statistics are a tad disingenuous. scandanavian countries are predominantly secular thus there isn't the great taboo about suicide being recorded as the cause of death. in catholic countries thus is regarded as sin and this a cause of shame for families so generally 'death by misadventure/accidental death' will be recorded. furthermore, it is suggested that in fact catholic countries have higher suicide rates than secular as in such societies child-pregnancy/abusive marriages are common reasons for suicide but are seldom reported as such.

sure there will be numerous reports on this disparity online and things may have changed . i'm only basing the above on my university sociology dissertation on the subject and emile durkheim's studies so things could have changed over past 15 years or so.

 

[_float_]

.

 

[albionism]

Are there any other anarchists other than "Class Struggle" anarchists about?
Whatever happened to Black flags?...

 

[rekil]

Heard any good Norwegian bands recently?

Ranheim aren't bad. Shellac/Minutemen/Jesus Lizard type stuff.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

Am I the only one who keeps reading the thread title and thinking of Victor Meldrew?

 

[nick h.]

Here you go Nick. Lengthy round-up of the day's events from the Daily Mail. No trouble at all, one arrest for drunk and disorderly. Yet the police found a stash of catapults. We know they did - we've seen the stop'n'search docket. Don't you find that a little bit odd?

No.

Please explain - I'm trying to follow your argument but you've lost me again. You think the Police should have told the press that the catapults were found? Or that the Police did tell them, but the press are so pro-anarchist that they suppressed the story?

Tell you what, write the opening paragraph of the story they should have run. You could even phone a newspaper yourself and give them the story - ever think of that?

"Weaseling" also mystifies me. Please spell it out. What responsibility am I ducking? If anyone's weaseling it's anarchists who bleat about a police plot against them and make no effort to get justice. Perhaps they think that the mark of a good anarchist is doing nothing.

 

[ymu]

You think the Police should have told the press that the catapults were found?

I think it's vanishingly unlikely that they would not have, given their statements to the press in the run-up to Saturday and tomorrow.

The rest of your post is irrelevant. Interesting agenda you have there though.

 

[nick h.]

I give up. You're just trolling now.

 

[ymu]

Yeah, sure.

 

[likesfish]

seems a rather pathetic sting.
we found a cache of black widows
"WHAT THE PINKO SCUM HAVE POISONOUS SPIDERS THE BARSTARDS"
er no sir there catapults
what kiddys toys get obama ought of here we'll cover him
could'nt they stretch to some crossbows
yes I know a catapuult with ball bearings is not harmless it just ins'nt going to impress anybody in the mnedia you can buy them in pound shops ffs

(not that I did as that would be sad and not a tall adult)

 

[Stoat Boy]

Luckily the pea-shooters escaped the beady eyes of the Peelers.

 

[Badger Kitten]

It's not really a news story without pics.
Or eye witnesses.
Or a charge sheet.
Is it?

 

[ymu]

It is if the Metropolitan Police press release it. They could have supplied pics and everything. The thing is, they didn't. They found some catapults at an anarchist rally and didn't tell the Daily Mail.

It's most out of character, surely?

 

[ymu]

In light of this report in the Times, I am going to summarise the catapult story and send it to Kit Malthouse. Unless those directly involved would prefer to do it themselves, in which case let me know. Are there any objections to me sending a .txt copy of the thread, or would people prefer that I cut, paste and anonymise the relevant eye-witness bits?

Kit Malthouse, deputy chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority, said: “We have asked the Met for a thorough briefing session. We want to review and understand why they employed those tactics.”

Mr Malthouse, who is also London’s Deputy Mayor with responsibility for policing, said that members would also require a full explanation of the intelligence material which convinced police that anarchist groups were planning violence in the City.

He added: “We need to understand the intelligence picture and decide whether the police response on the day was proportionate.”

 

[smokedout]

In light of this report in the Times, I am going to summarise the catapult story and send it to Kit Malthouse. Unless those directly involved would prefer to do it themselves, in which case let me know. Are there any objections to me sending a .txt copy of the thread, or would people prefer that I cut, paste and anonymise the relevant eye-witness bits?

i wouldnt expect much back

Cityboy Kim Malthouse has been brought in to oversee the police. Malthouse has extensive experience in this are having led a noble (and yet failed) campaign to ban prostitutes from adverstising in phone boxes.

Not only that but he spearheaded a campaign to have beggars locked up and make grand claims that under whilst heading the Social Services department at Westminster Council he halved the number of rough sleepers in the borough.

This was done in several ways. Firstly homeless people in Westminster were rounded up, arrested and harrassed until they left the borough of their own accord and went to sleep rough somewhere else. Secondly with the connivance of then Homeless Tsar Louise Casey they fixed the annual street count to assess the number of street homeless people.

This was done quite easily by forcing everyone off the streets into hostels or cells on the night it was carried out.

http://johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/boris-meet-the-team/

quoting myself i know, bit rude, just trying to point that malthouse is a tory tawt

 

[nick h.]

Are there any objections to me sending a .txt copy of the thread

No objections from me! Fill yer boots.

 

[butchersapron]

In light of this report in the Times, I am going to summarise the catapult story and send it to Kit Malthouse. Unless those directly involved would prefer to do it themselves, in which case let me know. Are there any objections to me sending a .txt copy of the thread, or would people prefer that I cut, paste and anonymise the relevant eye-witness bits?

Don't put my name in at all please.

 

[ymu]

Cool, thanks. I'll summarise the other sources rather than use the thread, butchers.

smokedout - Malthouse being a Tory twat is an advantage - we've got a Tory City Hall fighting with a Labour government for control over the Met. The MPA, headed by Johnson and Malthouse, are saying they suspect bogus police intelligence in the run up to G20, so it seems like a good time to bring this to their attention. There'd have been no point before, but now there just might be.

 

[lopsidedbunny]

I suspect it's a newspaper job by the ---- and such like I wonder if the editorial were pressurise by Chairmen of the Brown and co to do this? I seen the video clip of this but you don't see it as the cameras are looking at the people making speeches. The Catapults where "dropped" in front of them and the people who were there saw what was happening and kicked it with their feet careful not to uses their hands to look inside the bag. They then kicked it under a fence and then told the police about it.

 

[ymu]

Yeah, right. It was a media stunt that never got reported.

 

[nick h.]

It's just as convincing as your theory.

I'm sure the receipt of your intelligence will be a career high for Mr Malthouse.

 

[ymu]

OK, draft submissio .pdf.

Input welcome. I've asked greg to get back to me with his blessing so won't be sending it for a while.

 

[winjer]

Yeah, right. It was a media stunt that never got reported.

A police stunt that led to no arrests and no press release?

 

[ymu]

A police stunt that led to no arrests and no press release?

Exactly.

There's audio of people announcing the planting of the catapults, and for all the police observers know, audio and/or video of the whole thing, including the announcement that the police had now found the planted catapults and were about to attack the rally. They got rumbled, so they abandoned the plan with a quick stop and search and no further action.

Why else would there be no media briefing about this? It was a successful day. No violence. One arrest. Why wouldn't the police want to take some credit for that?

 

[winjer]

But why wouldn't the police want to capitalise on their discovery/plant, to give them more cover for their plan for April 1st?

 

[ymu]

Because they got rumbled - loudly and publicly at the rally. They knew there'd be plenty of witnesses to the planting and probably video evidence should they get the media interested in the story and someone chose to dispute it. And they were right. No media have picked up on the Ian Bone blog, but they'd be all over it if the police had press-released the original set-up.

 

[winjer]

Someone dropped catapults, the WAG speaker mentioned it, the police searched him. That's the all the facts, isn't it?

What are you suggesting was the police plan?

 

[ymu]

Someone dropped catapults in front of many witnesses.
Someone gets on stage to make sure everyone knows, and the group agrees to kick them under the fence.
30 minutes later, copper wanders over and finds catapults. Starts consulting with other officers nearby.
Greg Hall gets on stage to say the police are about to try and stitch up the rally. Gets stopped and searched on the way out.

The police plan was to find catapults at an anarchist rally. If someone got their fingerprints on them whilst unwrapping them, bonus - but just finding several "high-powered catapults" at an anarchist rally would have been a dream for their media build-up to G20 - justifying the hysteria up to that time, and pre-justifying their plans for violence on the Wednesday.

Why on earth would the police not brief the media about this find? It's indisputable that they made it.