http://rawstory.com/news/2008/35000_protest_G20_in_London_0401.html
(AP: THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information.) "G-20 protesters in downtown London have smashed windows and entered the Royal Bank of Scotland building. They have also tried to storm the Bank of England.
"At least 4,000 protesters have jammed into London's financial district for demonstrations Wednesday. Protesters broke windows and scrawled the word "thieves" on the side of the Royal Bank of Scotland building.
"Protesters were also pelting riot police with eggs and fruit and confronting them at barricades.
"Earlier Wednesday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and President Barack Obama held a news conference in London ahead of the Group of 20 summit being held Thursday. World leaders are gathering with hopes of resolving the global financial crisis.
"Eight people have been arrested in the G-20 demonstrations so far. There have been no reports of injuries.
An estimated 35,000 protested the G20 Wednesday afternoon in London for a several hour long march.
According to the German Press Agency, "Angry protestors shouting "shame on you" and "storm the banks" were involved in minor skirmishes with the police outside the Bank of England during anti-globalisation demonstrations.
"Several hundred demonstrators attempted to break through barriers to reach the heavily-guarded and boarded-up bank building, but were held back by police.
"One protest group, calling itself G20 Meltdown, staged "carnival parades" into the City led by effigies of the "four horsemen of the apocalypse" representing war, climate chaos, financial crimes and land enclosures."
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Commentary: War on drugs is insane
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03...rugs/index.html
3/31/2009
By Jack Cafferty
Special to CNN
Editor's note: Jack Cafferty is the author of a new book, "Now or Never: Getting Down to the Business of Saving Our American Dream." He provides commentary on CNN's "The Situation Room" daily from 4 to 7 p.m. ET. You can also visit Jack's Cafferty File blog.
Jack Cafferty says America's effort to prohibit illegal drugs doesn't work and should be rethought.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Here's something to think about:
How many police officers and sheriff's deputies are involved in investigating and solving crimes involving illegal drugs? And arresting and transporting and interrogating and jailing the suspects?
How many prosecutors and their staffs spend time prosecuting drug cases? How many defense lawyers spend their time defending drug suspects?
How many hours of courtroom time are devoted to drug trials? How many judges, bailiffs, courtroom security officers, stenographers, etc., spend their time on drug trials?
How many prison cells are filled with drug offenders? And how many corrections officers does it take to guard them? How much food do these convicts consume?
And when they get out, how many parole and probation officers does it take to supervise their release? And how many ex-offenders turn right around and do it again?
So how's this war on drugs going?
Someone described insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result each time. That's a perfect description of the war on drugs.
The United States is the largest illegal drug market in the world. Americans want their weed, crack, cocaine, heroin, whatever. And they're willing to pay big money to get it.
The drug suppliers are only too happy to oblige. The Mexican drug cartels now have operations in 230 American cities. That's 230 American cities!
And we're not just talking about border towns, but places such as Anchorage, Alaska; Boston, Massachusetts; Atlanta, Georgia; and Billings, Montana. They're everywhere. And they don't just bring drugs, but violence and crime as well -- lots of it at no extra charge.
They have been able to infiltrate those 230 cities because we have not bothered to secure our borders. In addition to illegal aliens who come here to work and avail themselves of our social programs, we have criminals from Mexico bringing drugs in, taking money and guns back, and recruiting American kids into their criminal enterprises while they're here. iReport.com: Is it time to legalize pot?
What do you suppose the total price tag is for this failed war on drugs? One senior Harvard economist estimates we spend $44 billion a year fighting the war on drugs. He says if they were legal, governments would realize about $33 billion a year in tax revenue. Net swing of $77 billion. Could we use that money today for something else? You bet your ass we could. Plus the cartels would be out of business. Instantly. Goodbye crime and violence.
If drugs were legalized, we could empty out a lot of our prison cells. People will use this stuff whether it's legal or not. Just like they do booze. And you could make the argument that in some cases alcohol is just as dangerous as some drugs. I know.
Like I said ... something to think about. It's time.
3/31/2009
By Jack Cafferty
Special to CNN
Editor's note: Jack Cafferty is the author of a new book, "Now or Never: Getting Down to the Business of Saving Our American Dream." He provides commentary on CNN's "The Situation Room" daily from 4 to 7 p.m. ET. You can also visit Jack's Cafferty File blog.
Jack Cafferty says America's effort to prohibit illegal drugs doesn't work and should be rethought.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Here's something to think about:
How many police officers and sheriff's deputies are involved in investigating and solving crimes involving illegal drugs? And arresting and transporting and interrogating and jailing the suspects?
How many prosecutors and their staffs spend time prosecuting drug cases? How many defense lawyers spend their time defending drug suspects?
How many hours of courtroom time are devoted to drug trials? How many judges, bailiffs, courtroom security officers, stenographers, etc., spend their time on drug trials?
How many prison cells are filled with drug offenders? And how many corrections officers does it take to guard them? How much food do these convicts consume?
And when they get out, how many parole and probation officers does it take to supervise their release? And how many ex-offenders turn right around and do it again?
So how's this war on drugs going?
Someone described insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result each time. That's a perfect description of the war on drugs.
The United States is the largest illegal drug market in the world. Americans want their weed, crack, cocaine, heroin, whatever. And they're willing to pay big money to get it.
The drug suppliers are only too happy to oblige. The Mexican drug cartels now have operations in 230 American cities. That's 230 American cities!
And we're not just talking about border towns, but places such as Anchorage, Alaska; Boston, Massachusetts; Atlanta, Georgia; and Billings, Montana. They're everywhere. And they don't just bring drugs, but violence and crime as well -- lots of it at no extra charge.
They have been able to infiltrate those 230 cities because we have not bothered to secure our borders. In addition to illegal aliens who come here to work and avail themselves of our social programs, we have criminals from Mexico bringing drugs in, taking money and guns back, and recruiting American kids into their criminal enterprises while they're here. iReport.com: Is it time to legalize pot?
What do you suppose the total price tag is for this failed war on drugs? One senior Harvard economist estimates we spend $44 billion a year fighting the war on drugs. He says if they were legal, governments would realize about $33 billion a year in tax revenue. Net swing of $77 billion. Could we use that money today for something else? You bet your ass we could. Plus the cartels would be out of business. Instantly. Goodbye crime and violence.
If drugs were legalized, we could empty out a lot of our prison cells. People will use this stuff whether it's legal or not. Just like they do booze. And you could make the argument that in some cases alcohol is just as dangerous as some drugs. I know.
Like I said ... something to think about. It's time.
Trial begins for Marine in Iraq killings case
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090401/ap_on_re_us/marines_fallujah;_ylt=ApnoaBZiDom15Ve6ukEwgktvzwcF
By THOMAS WATKINS, Associated Press Writer Thomas Watkins, Associated Press Writer – Tue Mar 31, 8:11 pm ET
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – A court-martial began Tuesday for a Marine accused of killing an unarmed captive in Iraq in a case officials knew nothing about until the defendant sought a Secret Service job and was asked about the most serious crime he had ever committed.
An attorney for Sgt. Ryan Weemer told the jury that prosecutors cannot prove their case because they have no body, no forensic evidence and no relatives complaining of a lost loved one. Prosecutors, however, played recorded interviews in which Weemer said he and other Marines shot a total of four men in Fallujah in November 2004 after their squad suffered its first fatality.
Weemer, 26, of Hindsboro, Ill., is accused of the unpremeditated murder of one man and dereliction of duty. His former squad leader was acquitted of related charges in federal court and another squad member has yet to face court-martial.
The case came to light long after the battle.
In 2006, after he left the Marine Corps, Weemer applied for a job in the Secret Service. During a background interview before a polygraph test as part of the application, he was asked about the most serious crime he ever committed.
"We went into this house, there happened to be four or five guys in the house," Weemer said in a recording of the interview played during the prosecution's opening statement. "We ended up shooting them, we had to."
The U.S. military had ordered all civilians out of Fallujah ahead of an assault aimed at recapturing the city from insurgents. "Operation Phantom Fury" involved vicious house-to-house fighting.
Weemer's account triggered a criminal investigation and led to Weemer being recalled to active duty to face military prosecution.
"This is a case about following the rules, this is a case about doing the right thing at the most critical time," the prosecutor, Capt. Nicholas Gannon, told the jury of eight officers.
Weemer's civilian attorney, Paul Hackett, countered that it was "a tragic story that represents the reality of combat."
"This is not a perfect science.... Marines are put in tough positions and they have to make snap decisions," Hackett said.
The shaven-headed Weemer sat straight in his chair, occasionally speaking to his military attorney.
His squad, led by Sgt. Jose Nazario, had been ordered to clear a house immediately after losing its first man, Lance Cpl. Juan Segura, who was shot by a sniper.
Inside the home, the Marines found three young men and one older man, who were unarmed and had their hands in the air, prosecutors said. Hackett said a sweep of the property turned up at least two AK-47s with hot barrels as well as spent ammunition cartridges.
Weemer said in the interview that the unarmed Iraqis were slain after the squad asked superiors for instructions.
"We called up to the platoon leader and the response was, 'Are they dead yet?'" Weemer said in the recording.
Hackett said the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a killing even occurred. If prosecutors can show this, Hackett said, his client had been ordered to fire his weapon by an overwhelmed squad leader who had lost control of the situation, and even if he did shoot, it was in self-defense because the captive reached for Weemer's weapon.
Hackett said military investigators returned to the house and carried out extensive forensic analysis but found no bullet fragments or blood spatters.
The defense attorney also said Weemer never took the actual polygraph test during the Secret Service interview.
The squad was from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, the same company that a year later was involved in the widely publicized killings of 24 men, women and children in Haditha. None of the Marines from the Fallujah case were involved in the Haditha case.
In his Secret Service interview, Weemer said news of the Haditha investigation had gotten him thinking about things he did during the war.
The prosecution also played a recording of a subsequent interview of Weemer by Navy investigators.
Weemer described an argument that broke out among squad members over what to do with the detainees. He said that after Nazario shot two men, the squad leader asked his colleagues to help him dispose of the other two.
"I just remember that we didn't want to do that," Weemer said. "Finally, I grabbed a guy and took him ... and I shot him ... with my pistol."
Nazario was beyond the reach of a Marine recall after the investigation because he had completed his military obligations. He was tried in U.S. District Court and found not guilty of voluntary manslaughter, assault with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
Another sergeant, Jermaine Nelson, has pleaded not guilty to unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty, but his court-martial has been indefinitely postponed because of a flurry of last-minute motions filed by his attorney.
(This version corrects that Secret Service interview came ahead of actual polygraph test.)
By THOMAS WATKINS, Associated Press Writer Thomas Watkins, Associated Press Writer – Tue Mar 31, 8:11 pm ET
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – A court-martial began Tuesday for a Marine accused of killing an unarmed captive in Iraq in a case officials knew nothing about until the defendant sought a Secret Service job and was asked about the most serious crime he had ever committed.
An attorney for Sgt. Ryan Weemer told the jury that prosecutors cannot prove their case because they have no body, no forensic evidence and no relatives complaining of a lost loved one. Prosecutors, however, played recorded interviews in which Weemer said he and other Marines shot a total of four men in Fallujah in November 2004 after their squad suffered its first fatality.
Weemer, 26, of Hindsboro, Ill., is accused of the unpremeditated murder of one man and dereliction of duty. His former squad leader was acquitted of related charges in federal court and another squad member has yet to face court-martial.
The case came to light long after the battle.
In 2006, after he left the Marine Corps, Weemer applied for a job in the Secret Service. During a background interview before a polygraph test as part of the application, he was asked about the most serious crime he ever committed.
"We went into this house, there happened to be four or five guys in the house," Weemer said in a recording of the interview played during the prosecution's opening statement. "We ended up shooting them, we had to."
The U.S. military had ordered all civilians out of Fallujah ahead of an assault aimed at recapturing the city from insurgents. "Operation Phantom Fury" involved vicious house-to-house fighting.
Weemer's account triggered a criminal investigation and led to Weemer being recalled to active duty to face military prosecution.
"This is a case about following the rules, this is a case about doing the right thing at the most critical time," the prosecutor, Capt. Nicholas Gannon, told the jury of eight officers.
Weemer's civilian attorney, Paul Hackett, countered that it was "a tragic story that represents the reality of combat."
"This is not a perfect science.... Marines are put in tough positions and they have to make snap decisions," Hackett said.
The shaven-headed Weemer sat straight in his chair, occasionally speaking to his military attorney.
His squad, led by Sgt. Jose Nazario, had been ordered to clear a house immediately after losing its first man, Lance Cpl. Juan Segura, who was shot by a sniper.
Inside the home, the Marines found three young men and one older man, who were unarmed and had their hands in the air, prosecutors said. Hackett said a sweep of the property turned up at least two AK-47s with hot barrels as well as spent ammunition cartridges.
Weemer said in the interview that the unarmed Iraqis were slain after the squad asked superiors for instructions.
"We called up to the platoon leader and the response was, 'Are they dead yet?'" Weemer said in the recording.
Hackett said the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a killing even occurred. If prosecutors can show this, Hackett said, his client had been ordered to fire his weapon by an overwhelmed squad leader who had lost control of the situation, and even if he did shoot, it was in self-defense because the captive reached for Weemer's weapon.
Hackett said military investigators returned to the house and carried out extensive forensic analysis but found no bullet fragments or blood spatters.
The defense attorney also said Weemer never took the actual polygraph test during the Secret Service interview.
The squad was from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, the same company that a year later was involved in the widely publicized killings of 24 men, women and children in Haditha. None of the Marines from the Fallujah case were involved in the Haditha case.
In his Secret Service interview, Weemer said news of the Haditha investigation had gotten him thinking about things he did during the war.
The prosecution also played a recording of a subsequent interview of Weemer by Navy investigators.
Weemer described an argument that broke out among squad members over what to do with the detainees. He said that after Nazario shot two men, the squad leader asked his colleagues to help him dispose of the other two.
"I just remember that we didn't want to do that," Weemer said. "Finally, I grabbed a guy and took him ... and I shot him ... with my pistol."
Nazario was beyond the reach of a Marine recall after the investigation because he had completed his military obligations. He was tried in U.S. District Court and found not guilty of voluntary manslaughter, assault with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
Another sergeant, Jermaine Nelson, has pleaded not guilty to unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty, but his court-martial has been indefinitely postponed because of a flurry of last-minute motions filed by his attorney.
(This version corrects that Secret Service interview came ahead of actual polygraph test.)
Big Brother wants to smell your fear
http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/03/big-brother-wants-to-smell-your-fear/
If you know someone who's not yet been taken aback by the ever growing police surveillance complex, show 'em this.
From the Sunday Times:
LAW enforcement agencies are seeking scientists to develop an artificial nose that can detect the smell of fear as terrorists pass through security at airports.
The US Department of Homeland Security is advertising for specialists to devise airport scanners that will sniff out “deceptive individuals”.
[...]
Homeland Security wants a device that automatically compares odours with scents collected from crime scenes and held in a “smell bank” which, like DNA or fingerprints, could be used in court.
Last week officials said they only wanted to explore the possibilities but scientists are already predicting that it is only a matter of time before police will be able to sniff out crime artificially.
One bright spot for scent libertarians: the Times says "Lopez's Glow range and Chanel No 5" mask natural smells and confuse detector dogs, so they'll likely prove a large tripping point in the development of such a thing as an artificial nose.
It also says the nose could theoretically detect the smells of certain diseases or disorders, like cancer or depression.
Always a double-edged sword, this tech-knowledge of our's. *sigh*
-- Stephen C. Webster
If you know someone who's not yet been taken aback by the ever growing police surveillance complex, show 'em this.
From the Sunday Times:
LAW enforcement agencies are seeking scientists to develop an artificial nose that can detect the smell of fear as terrorists pass through security at airports.
The US Department of Homeland Security is advertising for specialists to devise airport scanners that will sniff out “deceptive individuals”.
[...]
Homeland Security wants a device that automatically compares odours with scents collected from crime scenes and held in a “smell bank” which, like DNA or fingerprints, could be used in court.
Last week officials said they only wanted to explore the possibilities but scientists are already predicting that it is only a matter of time before police will be able to sniff out crime artificially.
One bright spot for scent libertarians: the Times says "Lopez's Glow range and Chanel No 5" mask natural smells and confuse detector dogs, so they'll likely prove a large tripping point in the development of such a thing as an artificial nose.
It also says the nose could theoretically detect the smells of certain diseases or disorders, like cancer or depression.
Always a double-edged sword, this tech-knowledge of our's. *sigh*
-- Stephen C. Webster
9 Memos Reveal 2nd Rate Bush Lawyers Sought 1st Rate Powers
http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2009/03/03/9-memos-reveal-2nd-rate-bush-lawyers-sought-1st-rate-powers/
By Tommy Christopher
Mar 3rd 2009 12:25PM
On Monday, the Obama administration released 9 memos that bring into clearer focus the powers claimed by Bush administration lawyers. The memos claim, for the
President, authority that stops just short of the right of primo nocte, although I can't be sure that wasn't covered in one of Bush's umpteen-zillion signing statements. From the New York Times:
Some of the positions had previously become known from statements of Bush administration officials in response to court challenges and Congressional inquiries. But taken together, the opinions disclosed Monday were the clearest illustration to date of the broad definition of presidential power approved by government lawyers in the months after the Sept. 11 attacks.
...The Oct. 23 memorandum also said that "First Amendment speech and press rights may also be subordinated to the overriding need to wage war successfully." It added that "the current campaign against terrorism may require even broader exercises of federal power domestically."
The story goes on to detail how Bush Justice Dept. official Steven Bradbury issued an "Oops!" memo 5 days before Bush split town, calling the opinions "doubtful propositions," and blaming the opinions on "novel and complex questions in a time of great danger and under extraordinary time pressure." I guess Barney was just too small to have plausibly eaten their homework.
The memos underscore a fundamental flaw in Bush administration thinking:they turned on its head the axiom that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Their theory seems to have been that it's easier, still, to remove the requirement for permission.
One of the authors of these, John Yoo, also wrote a long-since public memo nearly erasing the goalposts on torture. After reading these, it seems his main intent was to allow himself to torture the law. The memos are filled with a weird Yahtzee scoring system, where some combinations of executive powers outweigh Constitutional rights if they come tumbling out of the cup just so.
This philosophy is powered by a desire to make things simpler, to bend the law to fit any situation. "National security conservatives," which include a whole lot of Democrats, want to legislate for the Jack Bauer contingency, the ticking timebomb, so that the most extraordinary case becomes the exception, rather than the rule.
Yes, it is easier to not need permission, but the bargain that we make when we are born or sworn as Americans is that we will protect our country, even from its own leaders
By Tommy Christopher
Mar 3rd 2009 12:25PM
On Monday, the Obama administration released 9 memos that bring into clearer focus the powers claimed by Bush administration lawyers. The memos claim, for the
President, authority that stops just short of the right of primo nocte, although I can't be sure that wasn't covered in one of Bush's umpteen-zillion signing statements. From the New York Times:
Some of the positions had previously become known from statements of Bush administration officials in response to court challenges and Congressional inquiries. But taken together, the opinions disclosed Monday were the clearest illustration to date of the broad definition of presidential power approved by government lawyers in the months after the Sept. 11 attacks.
...The Oct. 23 memorandum also said that "First Amendment speech and press rights may also be subordinated to the overriding need to wage war successfully." It added that "the current campaign against terrorism may require even broader exercises of federal power domestically."
The story goes on to detail how Bush Justice Dept. official Steven Bradbury issued an "Oops!" memo 5 days before Bush split town, calling the opinions "doubtful propositions," and blaming the opinions on "novel and complex questions in a time of great danger and under extraordinary time pressure." I guess Barney was just too small to have plausibly eaten their homework.
The memos underscore a fundamental flaw in Bush administration thinking:they turned on its head the axiom that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Their theory seems to have been that it's easier, still, to remove the requirement for permission.
One of the authors of these, John Yoo, also wrote a long-since public memo nearly erasing the goalposts on torture. After reading these, it seems his main intent was to allow himself to torture the law. The memos are filled with a weird Yahtzee scoring system, where some combinations of executive powers outweigh Constitutional rights if they come tumbling out of the cup just so.
This philosophy is powered by a desire to make things simpler, to bend the law to fit any situation. "National security conservatives," which include a whole lot of Democrats, want to legislate for the Jack Bauer contingency, the ticking timebomb, so that the most extraordinary case becomes the exception, rather than the rule.
Yes, it is easier to not need permission, but the bargain that we make when we are born or sworn as Americans is that we will protect our country, even from its own leaders
G-20 protesters jam downtown London, target banks
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090401/ap_on_re_eu/g20_protests
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Writer
LONDON – Thousands of G-20 protesters jammed downtown London on Wednesday and some tried to storm the Bank of England, pelting police with eggs and fruit and rocking the barricades designed to control them.
Demonstrators shouted "Abolish Money!" and clogged streets in the financial district known as "The City" even as Prime Minister Gordon Brown and President Barack Obama held a news conference elsewhere in the British capital.
Protesters had branded the day "Financial Fool's Day" ahead of Thursday's summit of world leaders who are gathering in hopes of resolving the global financial crisis that has lashed nations and workers worldwide.
"Every job I apply for there's already 150 people who have also applied," said protester Nathan Dean, 35, who lost his information technology job three weeks ago. "I have had to sign on to the dole (welfare) for the first time in my life. You end up having to pay your mortgage on your credit card and you fall into debt twice over."
Demonstrators hoisted effigies of the "four horsemen of the apocalypse," representing war, climate chaos, financial crimes and homelessness.
"The greed that is driving people is tearing us apart," said Steve Lamont, 45, flanked by his family and protesters who were banging on bells, playing drums and blowing whistles.
At least eight people were reportedly arrested for having police uniforms. One police officer lost his helmet and demonstrators tossed it around like a trophy and chanted slogans.
Helicopters hovered above the protests and some buildings were boarded up in case the protests turned ugly. Many banks had extra security and hundreds of police officers lined the streets.
Despite the pushing and shoving along the police barricades, there were no reported injuries.
Fearing they would be targeted by protesters, some bankers swapped their pinstripe suits for casual wear and others stayed home. Bolder financial workers leaned out their office windows Wednesday, taunting demonstrators and waving 10 pound notes at them.
Especially in Britain, bankers have been lambasted as being greedy and blamed for the recession that is making jobless ranks soar.
"It seems like everything is in a mess," said protester Steve Johnson, 49, an unemployed construction worker. "You get bankers getting massive bonuses, and the MPs (British lawmakers) are lining their own pockets."
Musician and political activist Billy Bragg said the time was now to make a difference.
"It's better than sitting down shouting at the television at these bankers," he said. "We cannot go back to the way things were before to the million-dollar bonus culture."
Protesters included anarchists, anti-capitalists, environmentalists, students, unionized workers, unemployed workers and others hurt by the global financial crisis.
One protester dressed as the Easter bunny managed to hop through the police cordon but was stopped before he could reach the Bank of England. Another black-clad demonstrator waved a fake light saber at officers.
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Writer
LONDON – Thousands of G-20 protesters jammed downtown London on Wednesday and some tried to storm the Bank of England, pelting police with eggs and fruit and rocking the barricades designed to control them.
Demonstrators shouted "Abolish Money!" and clogged streets in the financial district known as "The City" even as Prime Minister Gordon Brown and President Barack Obama held a news conference elsewhere in the British capital.
Protesters had branded the day "Financial Fool's Day" ahead of Thursday's summit of world leaders who are gathering in hopes of resolving the global financial crisis that has lashed nations and workers worldwide.
"Every job I apply for there's already 150 people who have also applied," said protester Nathan Dean, 35, who lost his information technology job three weeks ago. "I have had to sign on to the dole (welfare) for the first time in my life. You end up having to pay your mortgage on your credit card and you fall into debt twice over."
Demonstrators hoisted effigies of the "four horsemen of the apocalypse," representing war, climate chaos, financial crimes and homelessness.
"The greed that is driving people is tearing us apart," said Steve Lamont, 45, flanked by his family and protesters who were banging on bells, playing drums and blowing whistles.
At least eight people were reportedly arrested for having police uniforms. One police officer lost his helmet and demonstrators tossed it around like a trophy and chanted slogans.
Helicopters hovered above the protests and some buildings were boarded up in case the protests turned ugly. Many banks had extra security and hundreds of police officers lined the streets.
Despite the pushing and shoving along the police barricades, there were no reported injuries.
Fearing they would be targeted by protesters, some bankers swapped their pinstripe suits for casual wear and others stayed home. Bolder financial workers leaned out their office windows Wednesday, taunting demonstrators and waving 10 pound notes at them.
Especially in Britain, bankers have been lambasted as being greedy and blamed for the recession that is making jobless ranks soar.
"It seems like everything is in a mess," said protester Steve Johnson, 49, an unemployed construction worker. "You get bankers getting massive bonuses, and the MPs (British lawmakers) are lining their own pockets."
Musician and political activist Billy Bragg said the time was now to make a difference.
"It's better than sitting down shouting at the television at these bankers," he said. "We cannot go back to the way things were before to the million-dollar bonus culture."
Protesters included anarchists, anti-capitalists, environmentalists, students, unionized workers, unemployed workers and others hurt by the global financial crisis.
One protester dressed as the Easter bunny managed to hop through the police cordon but was stopped before he could reach the Bank of England. Another black-clad demonstrator waved a fake light saber at officers.
Conficker Worm Strike Reports Start Rolling In
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2009/04/conficker_worm_strikes_militar.html
Reports are trickling in about the impact from the Conficker worm, as infected systems passed zero hour at midnight and began downloading additional malicious components.
Here's a quick roundup of some of the more notable incidents caused by Conficker so far, according to published reports:
- A nuclear missile installation near Elmendorf Air force Base outside of Anchorage, Alaska briefly went on a full-scale military alert after technicians manning the bunker suspected that several of their control systems were infected with Conficker.
According to wire reports, the remote facility temporarily moved to Defense Condition (Defcon) 3 in the pre-dawn hours, but quickly backed down from that posture. An airman at the installation who asked not to be identified blamed the mishap on "way too much caffeine" consumed by occupants inside the secluded underground control room. The airman said the facility's lead engineer became agitated and inconsolable after watching an Internet broadcast of Sunday night's hard-hitting 60 Minutes expose' on the Conficker worm entitled, "The Internet is Infected."
- In Iceland, Conficker brought a brief thaw to the long economic winter that began last year with the government's inexorable slide into bankruptcy. According to local news reports, shortly after midnight local time, an ATM in the capital city of Reykjavik began spewing 100-Krona notes. Banking officials there reportedly said the Microsoft Windows-based based bank system began disbursing the bills after a local prankster crammed an infected USB stick into the maw of the teller machine.
- Londoners woke up to find the iconic clock tower Big Ben stopped at precisely one minute till midnight. The British tabloids blared that the giant timepiece had been felled by the Conficker worm. But security officials reasoned that the beloved landmark -- legendary for its reliability -- would have stopped exactly one minute later had the expected 12:00 a.m. updates to Conficker actually been the culprit. Several members of Parliament are now calling for a full investigation into the incident.
- In Waukesha, Wis., Leroy "Mac" MacElrie, 64, turned himself in to local police, claiming he was the author of the original Conficker worm, and that all of the subsequent versions were mere copycats. According to charging documents, MacElrie said he wrote the worm to get back at Microsoft founder Bill Gates for "not stopping spam by 2008 like he said he would." The man was released on his own recognizance, but several hours later a local television station captured footage of the man standing on a nearby street corner repeatedly shouting "I'm the confickter!"
Read on after the jump for more Conficker madness.
In case you haven't guessed it yet, APRIL FOOLS!!! Seriously, if we get any real news about outages, deaths, or disruptions actually caused by Conficker today, you will read it here first.
Reports are trickling in about the impact from the Conficker worm, as infected systems passed zero hour at midnight and began downloading additional malicious components.
Here's a quick roundup of some of the more notable incidents caused by Conficker so far, according to published reports:
- A nuclear missile installation near Elmendorf Air force Base outside of Anchorage, Alaska briefly went on a full-scale military alert after technicians manning the bunker suspected that several of their control systems were infected with Conficker.
According to wire reports, the remote facility temporarily moved to Defense Condition (Defcon) 3 in the pre-dawn hours, but quickly backed down from that posture. An airman at the installation who asked not to be identified blamed the mishap on "way too much caffeine" consumed by occupants inside the secluded underground control room. The airman said the facility's lead engineer became agitated and inconsolable after watching an Internet broadcast of Sunday night's hard-hitting 60 Minutes expose' on the Conficker worm entitled, "The Internet is Infected."
- In Iceland, Conficker brought a brief thaw to the long economic winter that began last year with the government's inexorable slide into bankruptcy. According to local news reports, shortly after midnight local time, an ATM in the capital city of Reykjavik began spewing 100-Krona notes. Banking officials there reportedly said the Microsoft Windows-based based bank system began disbursing the bills after a local prankster crammed an infected USB stick into the maw of the teller machine.
- Londoners woke up to find the iconic clock tower Big Ben stopped at precisely one minute till midnight. The British tabloids blared that the giant timepiece had been felled by the Conficker worm. But security officials reasoned that the beloved landmark -- legendary for its reliability -- would have stopped exactly one minute later had the expected 12:00 a.m. updates to Conficker actually been the culprit. Several members of Parliament are now calling for a full investigation into the incident.
- In Waukesha, Wis., Leroy "Mac" MacElrie, 64, turned himself in to local police, claiming he was the author of the original Conficker worm, and that all of the subsequent versions were mere copycats. According to charging documents, MacElrie said he wrote the worm to get back at Microsoft founder Bill Gates for "not stopping spam by 2008 like he said he would." The man was released on his own recognizance, but several hours later a local television station captured footage of the man standing on a nearby street corner repeatedly shouting "I'm the confickter!"
Read on after the jump for more Conficker madness.
In case you haven't guessed it yet, APRIL FOOLS!!! Seriously, if we get any real news about outages, deaths, or disruptions actually caused by Conficker today, you will read it here first.
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