If You Hype It, They Will Come

Hamburg is bracing itself for an escalation of violence on the eve of Friday and Saturday’s G20 summit after a fleet of hi-tech water cannons was used to disperse crowds partying near the conference venue, and police warned that protesters could be hoarding weapons at secret locations across the city.

  Guardian

Wait, wait, wait.

They used water cannons on people partying??? Is there a police problem there maybe?

"Protesters could be hoarding weapons." They COULD be hoarding lots of things. A little less wild public speculation and a little more actual policing might be a good idea, too.

The German newspaper Taz described Tuesday’s show of strength in the midst of a peaceful protest as a “professional escalation” on behalf of the police, which would have caused howls of outrage had similar incidents taken place in Russia or Turkey.

[...]

In the run-up to the summit, German police have seized knives, baseball bats and containers presumed to be filled with flammable liquid and unknown chemicals from various locations in and around Hamburg. Jan Hieber, a senior officer, said police had probably only found a small proportion of the weapons that had been stockpiled for use in the protests.

I suspect they could find knives and baseball bats pretty much anywhere, and what's this "presumed to be" business. If they have the containers, can't they check?

Authorities in Germany’s second-largest city are preparing for [...] thousands of international protesters ranging from anti-capitalist activists to middle-class families keen to voice dissent.

I hope they have life vests and gas masks for the kiddies.

Police say they expect a core of about 5,000 violent protesters to gather in the city’s historic port area for a “Welcome to Hell” march just as world leaders and international delegates start arriving at Hamburg airport on Thursday afternoon.

"Violent" protesters.

The Hamburg police chief, Ralf Martin Meyer, expressed concerns that the city would see “not just sit-in protests but massive assaults”, as anarchists from Scandinavia, Switzerland and Italy joined up with local activists in a city with a long tradition of leftwing protest and annual May Day riots.

We're all set for a battle then. I'm not saying there won't be violence. I'm just saying, when the police publicize scare warnings and get ready for a battle royale, they're increasing the chances that people will come prepared to fight back.

If you haven't seen it, this might be a perfect time to watch the movie "Battle in Seattle".

 ...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.