Brighton Smash EDO protests cost taxpayer more than £700,000 (From The Argus)

The demonstrators should have the money taken out of their benefits.

Perhaps EDO should be paying for the policing. After all, it's their factory of death that's attracting the protest. They're making enough money when their products are used for murder that they can use some of that money to pay the police bill.

Same old story which will never change. Smash EDO will keep protesting and the poor old Brighton & Hove tax payer will keep footing the bill! The war will carry on....people will die....thats life unfortunately....get used to it!

£700k?!?!? Hahahahahaha Christ!

colin218uk wrote:
Perhaps EDO should be paying for the policing. After all, it's their factory of death that's attracting the protest. They're making enough money when their products are used for murder that they can use some of that money to pay the police bill.

Yawn

colin218uk wrote:
Perhaps EDO should be paying for the policing. After all, it's their factory of death that's attracting the protest. They're making enough money when their products are used for murder that they can use some of that money to pay the police bill.

Do you ever consider Israel need arms, as Iran is threatening to attack them?

stan bailey wrote:

colin218uk wrote:
Perhaps EDO should be paying for the policing. After all, it's their factory of death that's attracting the protest. They're making enough money when their products are used for murder that they can use some of that money to pay the police bill.

Do you ever consider Israel need arms, as Iran is threatening to attack them?

Are we supposed to believe that if Smash EDO are successful then there will be peace in the Middle East? If they are truly concerned why don't they get to the heart of the matter, i.e. the Israelis and Hamas. Instead they pick on a company who are a tiny, tiny part of the whole issue and who just so happen to have a factory in a really nice place for a day out...

That's a lot of money - and all to pay for truncheons broken over innocent's heads.

The should have all been arrested, had their names taken and then charged for the police time. Next time get the money from them first.

ade1200 wrote:

stan bailey wrote:

colin218uk wrote: Perhaps EDO should be paying for the policing. After all, it's their factory of death that's attracting the protest. They're making enough money when their products are used for murder that they can use some of that money to pay the police bill.

Do you ever consider Israel need arms, as Iran is threatening to attack them?

Are we supposed to believe that if Smash EDO are successful then there will be peace in the Middle East? If they are truly concerned why don't they get to the heart of the matter, i.e. the Israelis and Hamas. Instead they pick on a company who are a tiny, tiny part of the whole issue and who just so happen to have a factory in a really nice place for a day out...

who told you moulsecoomb was a nice place, Stevie Wonder?

I dont hear Smash EDO making any noise about how brutal and barbaric Hamas are. And i mean to the Palestinian people, not the Israelis.

Oh well I guess this will mean fewer officers on the beat. Fewer officers helping women who have been raped, or old people who have had people conning their way into their homes to steal their life savings, fewer officers helping bereaved families or investigating proper crimes.
I support the right to protest, but if this group had not been so violent and aggressive, the cost of policing the protests would be a lot lower.
It's sad that these people probably think sacrificing lives in the UK justify their masked violence.

£700k? brilliant! Keep it up smash Edo!
Soon the factory will be made to pay for any excessive policing. Then either the police will grow up, stop fear mongering amongst the stupider sections of Brighton, provide the reasonable number of police required and hopefully one link in the chain of illegal warfare will quietly pack up and leave.
As for police having any other use than violence and thuggery I am left in doubt. But then unlike most of the contributors to this site I can read at an adult level and was raised to be able to think critically. x

What a waste of money. I bet the protest would have actually been more peaceful if there was less policing. The protesters just love confrontation. It just looked stupid on TV: one police officer for three protesters.
And then people complain when the council simply lend £20k to Pride...

why should the factory pay? they didn't ASK for the policing. the demonstrators caused the need for the policing, by threatening someone elses property. the police then hve duty to protect that property. everyone is entitled to run a business, regardless of what they make, without fear of attack or reprisal. if EDO don't make these parts, then another will. will these protesters then go and attack that factory? the bill should be paid by the people that caused the police presence in the first place, i.e, the protesters.

I think these protesters enjoy the confrontation, the play acting of the oppressed role, the wearing masks pretending they are on the West Bank.
If they weren't doing this they would be campaigning about something else...only the glamorous issues though...turning out to march with mums and pensioners fighting hospital closures isn't exciting enough and does not suit the wearing of silly masks so they can't be bothered.
They are a funny lot and this is why hardly anyone turns up considering this town has two unis, loads of colleges and thousands of so-called activists.
A wet lettuce of an effort.

davyboy.........logi
cally, if the factory wasn't there then neither would be the protesters

TheInsider wrote:
I think these protesters enjoy the confrontation, the play acting of the oppressed role, the wearing masks pretending they are on the West Bank.
If they weren't doing this they would be campaigning about something else...only the glamorous issues though...turning out to march with mums and pensioners fighting hospital closures isn't exciting enough and does not suit the wearing of silly masks so they can't be bothered.
They are a funny lot and this is why hardly anyone turns up considering this town has two unis, loads of colleges and thousands of so-called activists.
A wet lettuce of an effort.

The commentary on the video said it all. The unviewed person doing the commentary, sometimes down a loud hailer, goaded the police at every opportunity, knowing full well that although they would have liked to have split his smug head open with a truncheon, they couldn't. And smug is absolutely the correct word to describe him.
It's just play acting. I bet, in their heart of hearts, 90% of the people on the demo don't give a stuff about EDO. They are largely (but not only) people without jobs with anarchist tendencies. Basically anti authority. They just want a bit of an adrenalin rush by taking on the police.
It also hasn't escaped my attention that each demo attracts fewer people than the one before.
So - unemployed adrenalin junkies is about it. Most of them too scared to go anywhere near the West Bank or anywhere truly life threatening.
Waste of space.

I marched against the pit closures, apartheid and the poll tax and actually support the Palestinians. All the events i took part in were peaceful and included a wide range of professional people, families, workers, etc.
Never, ever, ever, did we cover our faces. We had articulate and honest spokespeople who engaged with the police, MPs and this is what added power to our causes.
The whole point of our protests was to show the Govt that ordinary people wanted change. We were the electorate, we were normal and we wanted action or they would be voted out. Once any protest is hijacked by antagonists or people with suspect motives, or violence against a community in which a protest is being held, a whole cause is lost through mistrust, as this one clearly has been.
No-one believes what these people are trying to achieve as they are not transparent, they do not follow agreed protocols. Therefore, they have lost any support they may have gained from a wider audience which in itself adds fuel to the fire that perhaps their alleged aim is not true and the enjoyment of 'any' protest and engaging with the police is the real aim.
It's a shame really.

Tis a shame really, insider. Have you been on any demos since the new world order became part of the agenda?

fruitnveg wrote:

colin218uk wrote: Perhaps EDO should be paying for the policing. After all, it's their factory of death that's attracting the protest. They're making enough money when their products are used for murder that they can use some of that money to pay the police bill.

Yawn

Double Yawn.
Next time lets see a few water cannon turned on the perps or are we so PC and "liberal" in this country the rentamob lot could sue for getting wet (uman rites!)
Come on namby pamby Police service - Protect US not the yobs

Bennn wrote:
What a waste of money. I bet the protest would have actually been more peaceful if there was less policing. The protesters just love confrontation. It just looked stupid on TV: one police officer for three protesters.
And then people complain when the council simply lend £20k to Pride...

There would be less police if :

> Smash EDO organised the demo with the help of the police

> Smash EDO told the police the numbers expected and the route they wished to take

> The protestors didn't threatern violence towards EDO staff and property

It would be interesting to know how much it would have cost to police the protest if Smash Ego had followed the "rules" laid down by law reguarding protests and carried out a less confrontational protest. While i support their right to protest and make their feelings heard, I dont agree with the rent a mob antics (masked faces, dart throwing, throwing paint at passing vehicles and frightening young children on their way home from school and damaging public property. All of which we have seen in the past from Smash Ego. Thuggish behaviour only turns people against their cause.

What if our country was under attack? Wouldnt we hope to be equipped with the neccessary hardware for us to be able to defend ourselves or would we be prepared to die.
-
Maybe the smah EDO protestors should consider this?

Made In Sussex wrote:
What if our country was under attack? Wouldnt we hope to be equipped with the neccessary hardware for us to be able to defend ourselves or would we be prepared to die.
-
Maybe the smah EDO protestors should consider this?

In all honesty, i don't think "consider" is a word that Smash EDO are familiar with.

Nyberg wrote:

TheInsider wrote:
I think these protesters enjoy the confrontation, the play acting of the oppressed role, the wearing masks pretending they are on the West Bank.
If they weren't doing this they would be campaigning about something else...only the glamorous issues though...turning out to march with mums and pensioners fighting hospital closures isn't exciting enough and does not suit the wearing of silly masks so they can't be bothered.
They are a funny lot and this is why hardly anyone turns up considering this town has two unis, loads of colleges and thousands of so-called activists.
A wet lettuce of an effort.

The commentary on the video said it all. The unviewed person doing the commentary, sometimes down a loud hailer, goaded the police at every opportunity, knowing full well that although they would have liked to have split his smug head open with a truncheon, they couldn't. And smug is absolutely the correct word to describe him.
It's just play acting. I bet, in their heart of hearts, 90% of the people on the demo don't give a stuff about EDO. They are largely (but not only) people without jobs with anarchist tendencies. Basically anti authority. They just want a bit of an adrenalin rush by taking on the police.
It also hasn't escaped my attention that each demo attracts fewer people than the one before.
So - unemployed adrenalin junkies is about it. Most of them too scared to go anywhere near the West Bank or anywhere truly life threatening.
Waste of space.

I saw it more as a peaceful attempt to get the police to question where their instructions come from and what kind of world they are creating for their children... but hey, we all pre-judge information according to our own beliefs and the mindset that we have received from information sources!

amnezia wrote:

Nyberg wrote:

TheInsider wrote:
I think these protesters enjoy the confrontation, the play acting of the oppressed role, the wearing masks pretending they are on the West Bank.
If they weren't doing this they would be campaigning about something else...only the glamorous issues though...turning out to march with mums and pensioners fighting hospital closures isn't exciting enough and does not suit the wearing of silly masks so they can't be bothered.
They are a funny lot and this is why hardly anyone turns up considering this town has two unis, loads of colleges and thousands of so-called activists.
A wet lettuce of an effort.

The commentary on the video said it all. The unviewed person doing the commentary, sometimes down a loud hailer, goaded the police at every opportunity, knowing full well that although they would have liked to have split his smug head open with a truncheon, they couldn't. And smug is absolutely the correct word to describe him.
It's just play acting. I bet, in their heart of hearts, 90% of the people on the demo don't give a stuff about EDO. They are largely (but not only) people without jobs with anarchist tendencies. Basically anti authority. They just want a bit of an adrenalin rush by taking on the police.
It also hasn't escaped my attention that each demo attracts fewer people than the one before.
So - unemployed adrenalin junkies is about it. Most of them too scared to go anywhere near the West Bank or anywhere truly life threatening.
Waste of space.

I saw it more as a peaceful attempt to get the police to question where their instructions come from and what kind of world they are creating for their children... but hey, we all pre-judge information according to our own beliefs and the mindset that we have received from information sources!

and if you bother to read you will see that the guy in the video has interesting views about the police (as he writes in the caption that appears approximately 7 minutes and 30 seconds into the video)

amnezia wrote:

amnezia wrote:

Nyberg wrote:

TheInsider wrote:
I think these protesters enjoy the confrontation, the play acting of the oppressed role, the wearing masks pretending they are on the West Bank.
If they weren't doing this they would be campaigning about something else...only the glamorous issues though...turning out to march with mums and pensioners fighting hospital closures isn't exciting enough and does not suit the wearing of silly masks so they can't be bothered.
They are a funny lot and this is why hardly anyone turns up considering this town has two unis, loads of colleges and thousands of so-called activists.
A wet lettuce of an effort.

The commentary on the video said it all. The unviewed person doing the commentary, sometimes down a loud hailer, goaded the police at every opportunity, knowing full well that although they would have liked to have split his smug head open with a truncheon, they couldn't. And smug is absolutely the correct word to describe him.
It's just play acting. I bet, in their heart of hearts, 90% of the people on the demo don't give a stuff about EDO. They are largely (but not only) people without jobs with anarchist tendencies. Basically anti authority. They just want a bit of an adrenalin rush by taking on the police.
It also hasn't escaped my attention that each demo attracts fewer people than the one before.
So - unemployed adrenalin junkies is about it. Most of them too scared to go anywhere near the West Bank or anywhere truly life threatening.
Waste of space.

I saw it more as a peaceful attempt to get the police to question where their instructions come from and what kind of world they are creating for their children... but hey, we all pre-judge information according to our own beliefs and the mindset that we have received from information sources!

and if you bother to read you will see that the guy in the video has interesting views about the police (as he writes in the caption that appears approximately 7 minutes and 30 seconds into the video)

Interesting views - no he doesn't. I watched the whole video, and his constant verbal harassment of the police negates anything interesting that he might have to say.
I didn't see it as peaceful at all . I saw it as a deliberate attempt at provocation from a smug, patronising ****.
No pre judging. I just viewed the hard evidence as presented in the video. I'm perfectly able to make up my own mind about things - and I resent the constant insinuations that we read from Smash EDO supporters that all of us who don't agree with the are thick or don't read the right newspapers.
Could be it's the other way around...

colin218uk wrote:
Perhaps EDO should be paying for the policing. After all, it's their factory of death that's attracting the protest. They're making enough money when their products are used for murder that they can use some of that money to pay the police bill.

Agreed... Let us give the Public a right to hit industry where it hurts, in the pocket... Hit the cause, not the disturbed.

I am a tax payer, and I would rather have my contribution to society used to save lives rather than take them.

Identropy wrote:

colin218uk wrote: Perhaps EDO should be paying for the policing. After all, it's their factory of death that's attracting the protest. They're making enough money when their products are used for murder that they can use some of that money to pay the police bill.

Agreed... Let us give the Public a right to hit industry where it hurts, in the pocket... Hit the cause, not the disturbed. I am a tax payer, and I would rather have my contribution to society used to save lives rather than take them.

I'm a taxpayer, and I would rather my tax be spent on keeping a lawful factory open, and preventing a few antisocial anarchists from holding a town to ransom.
Your hairbrained scheme is never gonna happen - thank goodness.

I wonder if the smash-edo lot would protest if their factory was somewhere like China-No did not think so either. If edo closes the software will only be made elsewhere.