Britain Concerned By Threats of Violence

Britain is on a self-described "red alert" in advance of next week's G20 Summit in the London. Protesters have made no secret of their intent to do everything possible to disrupt the meeting of leaders of the world's 20 wealthiest nations called to discuss the global financial crisis. The newspapers and the BBC are full of threats to smash windows, hang bankers from lamposts in effigy (and perhaps in person) and at least one threat to rush the BBC broadcasting tower and shut it down as a "save the environment" statement. An additional 3000 riot police have been hired to keep the place safe, and bank staff were warned to wear chinos and loafers to work next week in order to not become targets. Over the weekend, the home of the former head of the Royal Bank of Scotland, who made billions in losses and then walked away with a fat pension, was vandalized by a mob who threw rocks threw the windows and damaged a Mercedes in the driveway. The banker, who is currently in South Africa with this family, is said to be strongly considering staying there permanently. We're very glad to be leaving on Monday, two days before all this chaos is supposed to start, but we can't help but reflect on the irony that this is the same Britain which frowned on the colonial mobs that attacked tax collectors and the homes of English governors in the Massachusetts and Virginia not quite 250 years ago. What goes around comes around, perhaps.