Friday 27 March 2009

G20 Rabble-rousing Professor Is Suspended ahead of Summit

MAIL Online: The university professor masterminding mayhem at the G20 summit in London was suspended from his job yesterday.

The dramatic move came after anarchist Chris Knight threatened violence against the police in a series of inflammatory declarations.

The 66-year-old former member of Labour's extreme left-wing Militant Tendency warned that 'all hell will break loose' if demonstrators meet police aggression.

Knight, a lecturer in anthropology at the University of East London, confirmed that an effigy of disgraced former RBS boss Sir Fred Goodwin would be among those strung up at the protests and warned bankers to stay away.

He said of Sir Fred, whose house was attacked earlier this week: 'To be honest, if he winds us up any more I'm afraid there will be real bankers hanging from lampposts.'

Last night, his employers said in a statement: 'Professor Chris Knight has been suspended from his duties at the University of East London, pending investigation. In order not to prejudice this process we cannot make any further comment.'

In recent days, Knight has given media interviews warning of his plans to ignite a revolution in the capital to coincide with the G20 meeting. >>> By Michael Seamark | Friday, March 27, 2009

MAIL Online: 'White, Blue-eyed Bankers Have Brought World Economy to Its Knees': What the Brazilian President Told Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown’s efforts to broker an £80billion bailout for world trade on a trip to Brazil hit a stumbling block tonight when the country’s president lashed out at ‘white, blue-eyed’ bankers for bringing the world economy to its knees.

Mr Brown watched on uneasily as his host, President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva, launched a bizarre tirade in which he warned that next week’s G20 summit in London would be a ‘spicy’ affair.

President Lula said it was completely unfair that the poorest people in the world were suffering most for the mistakes of wealthy, Western financiers.

‘This was a crisis that was fostered and boosted by irrational behaviour of people that are white, blue-eyed, that before the crisis looked like they knew everything about economics,’ he declared.

‘Now they have demonstrated that they don’t know anything about economics.’

President Lula, head of Brazil’s main left-wing party, said that ‘no black man or woman, no indigenous person, no poor person’ had been in any way culpable for the global banking crisis.

‘I’m not acquainted with any black banker,’ he said. ‘The part of humanity that’s responsible should pay for the crisis.’ >>> By James Chapman | Friday, March 27, 2009