Millbank student demo just got real

[64hz]

Sometimes, public feeling is volatile enough to spill over into violence. Although the violence shouldn't be condoned, it also shouldn't be ignored - people are clearly fucking angry.

A few smashed windows and a free day off for the people in the office building isn't too bad really and it makes a hell of a point. Lobbing a fire extinguisher off the roof of a 387ft building really is NOT acceptable... could've been very nasty.

This.

and

what this man said

one million people plus marched against the iraq war to no effect. 1,000,000 people feeling strongly enough about something to take to the streets - effect: zero. What were 52,000 kids gonna do? 'AWWW, SWEET!' the Tories'd say looking on from their tower while calculatedly demolishing the fabric of a society that 10's of millions have shed blood to create - and all in the hope we'll all become a mixture of Richard Branson and Mother Teresa to minimise the inevitable debilitating effects to our social cohesion, togetherness, well-being, happiness etc. etc. Protesters on the roof - history'll tell you the great Gandhi started with vandalism of destruction of public property in SA, then flouting the law on the salt levy in India. Breaking glass would not be seen as a tragic display of the destruction of his epic non-violent movement. Even the deified Mandela was part of a rebel movement responsible or outrageous violence. Bold statements are always condescended as petit, mindless violence by the authorities for the purpose of alienating 'them', the protesters from the rest of the disenfranchised in society - it quells further unrest - a tactic of power retention. Please please support these people - students, union members, benefits claimants, it matters not who they are, people don't choose to kick in glass of the seat of power in front of banks of cameras as a laugh - that is a daily mail reader's response, grow up and stand up for what your grandparents fought for and the tories are now taking away from them in their final years. I'll chip in £10 for the glass to be repaired after the tories have backed down, anyone else in?

at least people aren't being dociley led to a state where only the privileged are educated, and power is even more entrenched in the hands of an elite. (yes im aware of how cliched i sound)
30 years til metropolis! lets get that tower built. . .

[Kochari]

He could afford a better sign if he didn't spend his money on expensive Adidas bags.

Either it belongs to the guy behind him or its a tiny tiny bag

[butt jolokia]

He could afford a better sign if he didn't spend his money on expensive Adidas bags.

Either it belongs to the guy behind him or its a tiny tiny bag

if it belongs to the guy behind him, its one huge ass bag. dunno, you might be right. i'm up for a new pair of glasses this week.

[Kochari]

[mashmash]

just pisses me off how a lot of these protesters probably have their parents paying for everything anyway. if that's the case, they're not going to give that much of a shit, just jumping on the bandwagon to smash shit up. dickheads

[danoldboy]

[Motorway to Roswell]

I'm on the protestors' side, but they need to find a better way of protesting than smashing stuff up.

[symmetricalsounds]

I'm on the protestors' side, but they need to find a better way of protesting than smashing stuff up.

decapitating the monarchy usually gets the message across

[stephisaint]

The problem is, in light of the deficit the Labour party's campaign to put every A level student into uni (regardless of whether it was in their best interests or not) has had on the economy, these cuts need to happen.

Yeah, I don't want to have to pay 30,000 to go to uni but taxpayers can't afford to keep paying the bill. It's not as if the fee increases are going to be introduced to the maximum across the board either; it's going to depend on what course you do at what uni, and what you are expected to earn afterwards.

As usual though they're announcing it the wrong way, mixing cuts they should be making like the cancelling of certain courses, with the announcement of increased fees (without annoucing the introduction of fees for Scottish students for instance, who I think still get free uni at the expense of the British tapayer) but that doesn't change the fact that changes have to be made..
I doubt many people at the protest had bothered to look up the details of what they were protesting against but fair play to the people there who actually truly oppose the cuts and didn't take part in the damage... I respect that they're actually trying to get their view heard, despite their stance being damaged by the violence.

[Pedro Sánchez]

The problem is, in light of the deficit the Labour party's campaign to put every A level student into uni (regardless of whether it was in their best interests or not) has had on the economy, these cuts need to happen.

Yeah, I don't want to have to pay 30,000 to go to uni but taxpayers can't afford to keep paying the bill. It's not as if the fee increases are going to be introduced to the maximum across the board either; it's going to depend on what course you do at what uni, and what you are expected to earn afterwards.

If only these other students in higher education could get that around their educated brains.

[danoldboy]

it's very short sighted. There will be generations of workers in the UK who have been forced by monetary measures down the path of low income, low skilled jobs. I know they government more or less has a quota to meet for these but this isn't the best way to go about it.

[stephisaint]

it's very short sighted. There will be generations of workers in the UK who have been forced by monetary measures down the path of low income, low skilled jobs. I know they government more or less has a quota to meet for these but this isn't the best way to go about it.

If anything I'd say the forcing students into university has brought about the problems we have now (including the current generation of unskilled, low paid workers with useless degrees). I believe they've put in place grants for maths and science degrees which weren't getting the people they needed due to oversubscription of media, music and art, and I think they're also planning on increasing places for apprenticeships as we have a shortage of skilled trade workers at the moment.
*If* they do it right, it should work... it's understandable that it's unpopular though.

[nicenice]

They should be protesting against the gentrification of London.

[Motorway to Roswell]

They should be protesting against the gentrification of London.

or the pedestrianisation of Norwich city centre.

[Pedro Sánchez]

They should be protesting against the gentrification of London.

or the pedestrianisation of Norwich city centre.

Classic Partridge

[Motorway to Roswell]

They need to couple It's A Knock Out with Question Time.

[Pada]

I think Education up to, and including, degree level should be free for the majority, it used to be so why shouldn't it be now?

[wubstep]

Where does anyone get this idea of 'shortage of skilled workers'?

Every fucker I know has a 'skilled worker' as a father and have been to college/apprenticeships for manual labour jobs themselves. Most of them struggle to find jobs though, end up starting their own businesses.

I'm one of two guys from 350 who are perusing something 'creative'.

[knell]

is this a protest against all the cuts, or for them? i've read the thread and im still not sure...

those protesters look stupid as hell tho, acting like brats and holding "witty" signs that really just hurt whatever they're protesting against (or for, their signs dont help me realize what they're trying to accomplish)

whatever is happening needs to happen if it gets the brats this riled up... but someone should fill me in (briefly)

[mikey_g]

Apparently it went tits up after the SWP arrived

havent read it all yet but why was shaun wright phillips there?