From the BBC today:
Protesters have marched in London in support of the Kyoto Protocol, the international agreement on emissions coming into force on Wednesday.
Police said about 500 people had marched to the United States embassy, carrying flags of the 136 countries that have ratified the treaty.
Mark Holland has a laugh at the BBC for taking this unmighty throng so seriously, and has a particular chortle about something called the Campaign Against Climate Change.
And, from the BBC last Thursday:
Several people were hurt in the crush as thousands flocked to the midnight opening of Ikea’s newest store.
The store in Edmonton, north London, stayed open for just 30 minutes because of safety fears and five people had to be taken to hospital for treatment.
The company blamed the chaos, in the early hours of Thursday, on “an unforeseen volume of customers”.
I think this contrast well illustrates the relative pulling power of shopping for bargains compared to political demonstrating, and shows that Western Civilisation will not necessarily be collapsing under the weight of its idiocy any time soon.
The BBC report continues:
Tottenham MP David Lammy said Ikea should have known offering cheap prices in a deprived area would cause a rush.
Indeed. What evil capitalist swine these Ikeans are! – offering furniture to poor people so cheaply that they can actually afford it and turn up in their thousands wanting to buy it.
Yeah none of us like the BBC – about 20 mins ago I was ‘interviewed’ on the street here in Edinburgh for channel 5’s ‘The Wright Stuff’ and asked to name one thing I would like Tony Blair to do. I almost said I would like him to scrap the BBC, but opted instead for something a little more, ahem, close to his heart…
The program shows this wednesday channel 5 at 9am and is basically an interview with Blair featuring spicy little contributions from joe public.
Hmmm. Let’s see the protesters’ logix. The U.S. diminishing share of world emissions is about 25%. Therefore, if those responsible for the other 75% aren’t doing jack, it’s the fault of the U.S.
Or something like that.
Yeah none of us like the BBC
actually, some of us do like the bbc. we like to read samizdata regularly because it’s funnier than the onion.
How many stores does IKEA have to open before it gets the picture? Thousands ALWAYS flock to IKEA opening–even in good neighborhoods.
“actually, some of us do like the bbc”
Tchh, speak for yourself!!
The BBC programming they show here in the U.S. tends to be very good. Of course were are likely just getting the cream of the crop.
I love IKEA. Reasonably price, elegant and sturdy furniture are my cup of tea.
I think judging political protest by the numbers that turn out, is a risky thing to do, particularly for a samisdatista…
…the anti-war protests last year and the year before were certainly well attended. More than any political rally I can remember, including the Poll Tax protests.
So does this mean that more people oppose US foreign policy than want cheap furniture…? The whole comparision is ludicrous…