---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <steve.sundur@...> wrote :
Here's what sorta blows my mind. Apart from the rally, London is the most visited tourist destination in the world, and you are right there. I am not sure why that causes some cognitive dissonance to think that it is just a hop, skip and a jump away, for you, when people may plan for months and budget many thousands of dollars to go there. Just some musings..................... I feel like that about Fairfield. All those wonders I could never get bored of just on your doorstep, probably keep you busy for several lifetimes. But I know plenty of people who live in London that never go out and drink in it's wonders, all those museums and galleries and old churches and historic walks, the docks and parks and shops and the river with its endless cafes and the world famous scenery that never gets boring. I don't blame them for wanting to come and visit but if you come and there's a major demo on you've got to join in. Unless it turns into a riot and you end up spending six months being detained at her majesty's pleasure. That might not be so good. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <no_re...@yahoogroups.com> wrote : ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <steve.sundur@...> wrote : Okay, you were there. I guess you know. The quick scanning I did, indicated there may have been tens of thousands instead of hundreds of thousands. I think the way they operate is that saying "tens of thousands" is technically true as saying "hundreds of thousands" but said in a measly way to make it seem like something they don't like isn't as popular as it really is. And if they went along and filmed the carnival atmosphere even more people would go. It's like Glastonbury without the music and with people shouting at you instead. Quite refreshing if you've seen who plays at festivals these days... The number of people showing up at rallys is often a matter of contention. You aren't kidding here. The police figures used to be as hilariously skewed as the organisers. Pick a number halfway between the two and that was probably bearer the mark. Fine, 250,000. (-: ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <no_re...@yahoogroups.com> wrote : ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <steve.sundur@...> wrote : Uh, dude, just for the record, the 250,000 is your number. Most other reports have it at tens of thousands. As a stickler for accuracy, I'm sure you appreciate that. I was there. The figure came from the independent stewards the organisers hired to observe the march and record any potential trouble. Much easier to do it that way than end up being accused of incompetence and bias. The MSM you seem happy to rely are dead set against the anti-austerity campaign because they are a bunch of right-wing maniacs like Rupert Murdoch and Paul Dacre. Most newspapers only reported there was a demo because it was in London, and posted a single picture of someone with a hood on burning a pile of placards thus giving the impression it was an out of control anarchist event. Subliminal fascism. The BBC do what they are told these days. Way too scared of losing their funding.But if you are on a demo and Parliament square is full and two hours later the rest are still backed up the the Mall then there is more than "just" a few thousand. Any time. This is the sort of comment that makes you look like an idiot who isn't as clever as he thinks he is. Best avoid the smugness in future. Oh, and by the way, is that slogan supposed to shock people? No, it's supposed to be funny which is why I mentioned that everyone laughed. What is funny is that I had you in mind as part of the slow class. And here I am explaining it all to you.... Really? You couldn't make it up. A casual observer might wonder why I'm giving a troll the pleasure of a response but I'm just trying to keep my "actionable" headline at the top of the list to annoy Doug. Fight the power! Great slogan huh? It was on a banner at the anti-capitalist march I went on in London yesterday. What a super day, so good to be amongst like-minded people all of all ages, races and creeds. United against a common enemy, a government that has waged a class war on the poor. And we did it peacefully, without setting fire to a single bank or police station! So much better to defeat an enemy by words, if you don't give them the excuse to get the truncheons out they have to open a dialogue with you or stick their hands in their ears and pretend you don't exist somehow. We assembled at the Bank of England and listened to various rabble rousers demanding revolution and then we marched - all 250,000 of us - all the way to Parliament square, past Downing street, past the shoppers on the Starnd, past the queues for the theatres, past the hordes of tourists in Trafalgar square, finally packing the Mall up to the Cenotaph and the bridges by Westminster and even overflowing into St James' park. What an atmosphere! Music, dancing, cheering at the speakers like Caroline Lucas, who was amazing, a true firebrand. Russel Brand had a go too but I missed that, I was too busy tapping my walking stick at an impromptu rave someone had started outside the Ministry of Defence. There was a real sense of community all day that reminded me that there are others that care about the downtrodden, others that want to change the miserable world we live in, to challenge the authorities that shape our lives and make decisions we have no say in even though we didn't know what they would be like when they conned their way into power. And if the slow class is in today, I chose the post title because you can paint a sign ten foot wide and carry it all the way through London on Saturday afternoon and everyone just laughs. But I wouldn't try it here if I was you....