Yeah, Im sure the Australian and their "right" wing fellow travellers were quite upset that the (hoped for) large scale violence didnt occur.

More Olde war stories for the grandkid little protesters of tomorrow ;-)

I have often marched happily with my family and chatted with cheerful crowd-control police, my little boy admiring the police horses.

But on some recent marches in NSW the police seemed to have been explicitly briefed to be hostile to protestors. It is plain to read in the faces, as well as the numbers, of the thin blue line. I was shocked, for instance, when a student march from Sydney Uni turned up outside the building I worked in at the time (the State Liberal Party offices were on the top floor) and I found myself behind not one but four ranks of police "protecting" a very ordinary office building from a couple of hundred unarmed laughing teenagers. It was absurd.

Given all the idiot fencing and the sheer number of police, it was a foregone conclusion that Saturday's rally would leave a sour taste in my mouth. I did not attend; the only thing I really wanted to protest against were the measures taken to deter protestors (why quarrel with a circus?). I have no intention of being treated like a sheep due for crutching, nor of putting my child in such an environment.

I have no doubt that the police behave with hostility because they are under strict instructions to do so. The brief is not always so aggressive; last year's climate-change march, for instance, was a (very well-attended) walk to the park.

Crickey, we have never fought for anything in this country, I think the coal miners, waterside workers and builders labourers had more battles with govt police tactics, and they were just for scab labour, for big buisness throwing the poor out of their rentals, and other local disparities. Here we are talking about the wanton invasion and resulting deaths, mostly murder of over a million Iraqi's and Afghani's, and what? Coupla marches etc. Bush over the coat hanger. There was more violence at Maroubra ( stomp stomp) and the scapegoated leb sucked in to having a tear jerker hike up in New Guinea, after mind you.. seven months in kiddy jail.. yes he has a record now for taking down a pathetic rsl flag... he didn't burn it by the way.. but a tv station burnt one for it's tv realism.
I'm afraid that Lazy got it far far to good on the Aboriginals back Ozzys of the last thirty years, have lost the plot about how to keep the govt in check.
You didn't see those angry young men and women who draped themselves in the britoz flag at the beach that day, in this march eh? no no.. they would be on the side of the cops wanting to bash anyone that doesn't look like them.
A very confused youth we have as a result of constant barrages of propaganda from pro howard media etc.
Our repression of today is far far more than it was back in the 60's
but it's a media repression by govt fear mongering.
What were we talking about? Oh Apec!
gone gone gone never to return... just like a million good people.
you can get Iemma's email addy on googles and give him a serve while your at it.. who cares that he doesn't read it? Some drone in his office will. Yes make your day!

Neilum,

You’re dead wrong we have never fought for anything. Our soldiers, sailors and airmen have distinguished themselves in conflicts across the world, more often than not fighting for other people’s rights.

Your arrogant disdain for our flag and your hysterical rantings about murdered Afghanis expose your extreme left views.

Do you even know why we are in Afghanistan, or who the president is, or anything at all? I don’t think so. It’s not Aussies that have changed, its that we have a new generation of rabid leftists who have grown up (or not) reading the rantings of lunatic left websites and think they represent mainstream views.

The idea that the media is pro howard is just ridiculuous. There is no evidence for that at all.

Did it occur to any of you whingers that terrorist just might use the march as cover to wreak havoc? How small does the possibility that this might happen have to be to ignore it? Maybe if the twin towers hadn’t been flattened and holliday makers in Bali hadn’t been ripped to shreds we could feel safe in assuming such things could not occur. I bet you would be screaming that the police hadn’t done enough if a bomb exploded on your march.

And then there is the home grown anti-globalisation anti everything( except pot smoking and puppies) bunch.
If you have a look at the history of meetings such as APEC across the world you will see that this ratbag element frequently instigates violence and rioting. We only need look as far back as the recent G20 in Melbourne. Thirty police were injured.
summithttp://www.theage.com.au/news/national/the-battle-of-collins-street/2006/11/18/1163266834498.html

What people like you have to realize is that we live in a democracy where the majority rules. A noisy misinformed minority doesn’t have the right to dictate terms to the rest of us.

PaulL,
Agreed. The only thing that saved Sydney from the violence of the G20 episode was the 'rabid proof' fence and police in large numbers.

Those that destroy public and private property, injure police, throw condoms filled with urine and use marbles to injure police horses need to be dealt with harshly. Let us hope the courts impose adequate penalties on those arrested last Saturday.

The big problem we have is that, in a democracy, these imbeciles get to vote and breed. Mores the pity.

Nice beatup Banjo, shame that no evidence, charges or convictions have ever materialised for the endlessly repeated 'urine filled condoms' and 'marbles at horses' claims of the cops and their subservient media parrots (from s11 wasn't it? you know, the one Vic Gov settled damages rather than have the evidence of planned assaults aired in court).

At APEC we had one nut with darts and an iron bar (rightly arrested and charged) and hundreds of uniformed sado-erotic nuts who will never face Law for their violence. Instead they'll quid-pro-quo govt (ala Bracks-Mullet) to spend our money on more unnecesary overtime, more prefascist uniforms, weapons and donuts. That the hype, lies and violence coming from AFP & NSW Police are unquestioningly supported across the MSM shows what a joke of a democracy we are interned in here.

Mmmmm .... donuts.

I take offense regarding the 'type' of people at the APEC rally. I was there with my brother, daughter and some of her friends. We are middle class workers and university students, active in our communities, taxpayers, spiritual, well-read, educated, and we care about the state of the world - passionately enough to make the effort, despite threats of violence towards us from the government and police, to voice our concerns. Some of which are:

- that economic and political decisions and policies made by those world leaders present at APEC will disempower and marginalise millions of people, keeping them in poverty and fear.
- that our consumerism in the developed world is destroying the environment
- that our consumerism is domestically causing huge debt and unhappiness
- that smoking related diseases cause more deaths than terrorism
- that in countries like Burma I could be imprisoned for feeling this way
- that our government, especially as seen at APEC, supports a regime of propaganda and fear, and so on .....

Whilst I understand the need to provide for, and protect, important world visitors, however, dastardly I believe most of them to be, I resent being treated like a child by Howard, Iemma and their cronies.
Mojo47

Mojo47,

I am sure you aware that there are plenty of people at APEC and G20 who have extreme views and instigated riot and mayhem to get TV time.

You really are playing the victim to the HILT. Neither the Gov’t nor the Police threatened to harm protesters. But many of the protesters weren’t happy with being excluded from security areas and intended to breach them. These were the people bent on confrontation. 30 Police were injured at the G20.

Your first claim that APEC disempowers and marginalizes millions is complete propoganda. Freer trade is the direct cause for the emergence of middle classes in India, China and many others. Free trade isn’t just supported by industry groups, it is the dominant philosophy of economics today. Instead of the failed policies of the left which tried to artificially create wealth by redistributing it through taxes. Current economic policies focus on growing the total wealth of a nation, thus providing everyone with more.

If you want to argue laissez faire capitalism go talk to an economist, they’ll point out the deficiencies of your argument in minutes.

Consumerism is a fact of life, our economy depends upon it and it has always been this way. It is a fundamental human drive to make the most of what you have and live as comfortably as possible. However I agree we need to make sure we are not ruining our environment at the same time.

Smoking deaths are a problem but people do it to themselves, there is no valid comparison with terrorism.

You could be imprisoned in Burma for speaking your mind. You would have been tortured and executed in Saddam’s Iraq for having the temerity to do the same.

Propoganda and Fear? You might wish to first start with the Chinese and Russians and then you could move on to the North Koreans and Iranians. When you have dealt with them come see me.

If you don’t like being treated like a child don’t go to protests where the childlike are the noisy majority.

Well down Mojo47! I agree entirely.

Oops! Not well down!! Well done!

Weel doon Mojo47