London braces itself for the Carnival against Capitalism

Today sees the "Carnival against Capitalism" where various anti capitalist groups are targetting up to 100 premises across London for demonstrations and possible protests. The protests are a response to the G8 summit (and the Bildeburg group meeting) taking place in the UK.

Londoners generally have a relaxed view towards protests. We are very used to them. For many city workers, it is simply an issue of hoping that the protests cause no hassle and don't disrupt journeys. As for protestors, the aim is to get as much exposure as possible.

The Barnet Eye is a believer in protest, however we are of the view that you need to be specific about what you protest against and have a specific aim. We are sympathetic to some of the aims of this group of protestors, however we feel that the brush is too broad in a message of simple "anti capitalism". There are things wrong with unregulated greed and rampant privateering in the public sector. We'd prefer to see specific issues targetted, such as tax dodging corporations, corporations who attack public services and firms involved in dodgy practices. Just to attack the concept of Capitalism per se, seems to us to be a very blunt tool to deal with a whole range of specific problems. We'd prefer to see more focussed protests against specific organisations, where there is scope to raise public awareness and influence buying patterns.

We hope that the protests are peaceful. That is the bottom line