The release by the White House of President Obama’s “official” birth certificate was a poignant reminder of just how deep and pervasive racism remains in our nation. Think about this: A sitting president has to “prove” to the nation that he was indeed born in America — Hawaii — and therefore eligibly qualified to be elected president of the United States! A factually non-issue was permitted become a national issue, not because of Donald Trump and the media. No, this was the ultimate result, of the silence and tacit acquiescence of white political, religious, and community leaders, especially leaders of faith-based organizations, who sat, said and did nothing to counter this insidious new form of 21st-century racism. The silence and abnegation of moral leadership, by persons whom we should have otherwise expected to publicly to challenge this growing “birther” issue, is a stain on the conscience of our nation. In 1963, Rabbi Joachim Prinz, then president of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) was the speaker who immediately preceded Dr. King’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech at the March On Washington. The AJC was one of several major organizations participating in the March On Washington on August 28, 1963. Obama’s decision to release his “official” birth certificate in an effort to silence the challenge to the legitimacy of his American citizenship reminded me of the words of Rabbi Prinz on that occasion. He said: When I was the rabbi of the Jewish community in Berlin under the Hitler regime, I learned many things. The most important thing that I learned under those tragic circumstances was that bigotry and hatred are not the most urgent problem. The most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful and the most tragic problem is silence. Is the “need” of Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th president of the United States, to “prove” his citizenship, yet again, another example of what some people called the dawn of a “post-racial America” following his election? White political leaders, especially in the Republican Party, should hang their heads in shame. Wednesday, April 27, 2011, should be remembered as day of moral ignominy in America. It was a day that symbolized the disgraceful and tragic silence of the “good” people among our political and community leaders who did nothing to publicly challenge the irrationality of Donald Trump and others who peddled their racist garbage of President Obama’s non-citizenship.
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New governance structures for aid, and greater input from recipient countries, are required for a very different world The decline of western power does not mean the decline of the west. The former is not only a certainty; it is already a reality. Power is relative, so the rise of power elsewhere automatically diminishes the power of others. But it is how the west reacts to these new realities that will determine whether it suffers actual decline or responds to this geopolitical repositioning in such a way as to enhance its own interests and those of others. The west has two options. Either it leads the process, whereby power and responsibility in global governance become more democratic, encouraging all countries to be brought in on a more equal footing (the G20 being a step in this direction). Or it resists (for example on the issue of World Bank and IMF governance), thus squandering long-term influence over the kind of changes that are anyway taking place. One aspect of the west’s dominance has been its control of the aid agenda. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was set up in 1961 as a club of rich, mostly western, nations. It soon established a development assistance committee (DAC) to manage aid flows to poor countries, often ex-colonies. Aid is not just charity – it has been and remains an integral part of foreign policy, shoring up political support and economic opportunities in other parts of the world. That is why so far it has sat fairly comfortably in an OECD committee. The OECD-DAC has been integral in discussions about how aid can be best used to promote development, not just the interests of donors. Arguably the most important role it has played in the last 10 years or so has been to transform pressure from civil society and recipient countries for “better aid” based on recipient-country control (or “ownership”) into a fairly successful international bureaucratic agenda. The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (pdf) is not just a good set of principles, it is also a technocratic process of evaluation and monitoring that is leading to some important (if slow) changes. The historic imbalances of power remain the same, and will do so as long as countries need aid as a fundamental part of their economies, rather than as an optional and useful extra source of funds. But the declaration and accompanying process have lent power to the countries insisting that donors support national priorities and systems, and to donors and civil society groups pressuring recipient countries to focus more on the poorest. This should mean that aid has been used more effectively for poverty reduction. So the OECD team responsible for this area of work should be proud of what they have achieved to date. How much harder it will be, then, to relinquish control of this process. But that is the next crucial step if the Paris agenda, and the DAC itself, is to remain useful and legitimate. Why? There are three reasons. First, non-OECD countries, such as China, India, South Africa, Brazil and Venezuela, are increasing in importance every year as financial supporters of poorer or smaller countries. DAC aid is about $125bn a year compared with non-DAC aid estimated at between $30bn and $60bn. It is nonsensical for a set of principles to cover part of the aid a country receives but not the rest. The OECD’s instinct is to try to integrate these countries into the Paris process. But however welcoming the OECD tries to be, these new powers don’t want to be part of an old world club – and they don’t need to. They will increasingly be setting their own rules. Second, the OECD’s way of giving aid is outdated. That is partly why the Paris process got started in the first place. It is founded on a post-colonial client relationship that is being broken apart not only by the large new donors, but by the proliferation of smaller-scale south-south co-operation that is demonstrating new ways for countries to support one another’s development. Not only are the terms “donor” and “recipient” anachronistic, but even the word “aid” itself needs to be shelved – all countries benefit from development co-operation, so a word implying charity is misleading. And third, the new era of aid effectiveness will be ever more recipient-led. The Paris process has supported attempts begun by civil society in the 1980s to insist that power over aid strategy and spending be increasingly in the hands of recipient countries. The OECD has overseen the growth of a broad-based working party on aid effectiveness that brings countries together in a more or less balanced way to discuss the policy and process. As we approach the High Level Forum on aid effectiveness in South Korea in November, all the talk is of leadership from recipient countries. Indeed, probably the most important statistic about the Paris agenda to date is that while only 34 recipient countries took part in the initial monitoring survey in 2005, that number rose to 55 for the second survey in 2007, and in the current survey, to be published later this year, 91 countries are expected to return data. But if the OECD can find me one of those 91 recipient country government that believes the DAC should remain the central cog in this process, I would be surprised. New governance structures are required for a very different world. The OECD needs to make a bold statement clearly relinquishing overall co-ordination responsibilities of the aid effectiveness agenda and offering to play a different, although still significant, role in a new way of managing aid effectiveness at a global level. By acting against its instincts in this way, it would ironically secure its influence and vital contribution to the gradual evolution of the role of publicly sourced development finance. Aid Jonathan Glennie guardian.co.uk
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US president Barack Obama to visit Tuscaloosa in Alabama after storms kill 300 across seven southern states President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, are to visit Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to meet victims of the storms that killed 300 people and devastated entire neighbourhoods in seven southern US states. As emergency crews searched rubble for survivors, Obama described the loss of life as “heartbreaking” and called the damage to homes and businesses “nothing short of catastrophic”. He promised strong federal support for rebuilding. Robert Bentley, the governor of Alabama, said his state had confirmed 210 deaths. There were also 33 deaths in Mississippi, 33 in Tennessee, 15 in Georgia, five in Virginia and one in Kentucky. Hundreds if not thousands of people were injured, 600 in Tuscaloosa alone. Some of the worst damage was in Tuscaloosa, a city of more than 83,000 and home to the university of Alabama. The storms destroyed the city’s emergency management centre, so the Bryant-Denny stadium was turned into a makeshift headquarters. School officials said two students were killed. Over several days, the powerful tornadoes – of which there were more than 160 reported in total – combined with storms to cut a swath of destruction heading west to east. “I think this is going to rank up as one of the worst tornado outbreaks in US history,” said Craig Fugate, director of the federal emergency management agency. There were still unconfirmed reports late on Thursday of “entire towns flattened” in northern parts of the state, Fugate said. “We’re still trying to get people through rescues and locate the missing.” It was the worst US natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which killed up to 1,800 people. The US national weather service said the storms were the most ferocious some of their forecasters had ever seen, and the deadliest since tornadoes in 1974 killed 315 people in the region. Meteorologists said some of the tornadoes that hit this week had winds of around 100mph and stayed on the ground for a few miles. “There’s a pretty good chance some of these were a mile wide, on the ground for tens of miles and had wind speeds over 200mph,” said research meteorologist Harold Brooks at the storm prediction centre . While rescue officials searched for survivors, some who sheltered in bathtubs, closets and basements told of miraculous escapes. “I made it. I got in a closet, put a pillow over my face and held on for dear life because it started sucking me up,” said Angela Smith of Tuscaloosa. In Phil Campbell, a small town of 1,000 in north-west Alabama where 26 people died, a shop, petrol stations and clinic were destroyed by a tornado that the mayor, Jerry Mays, estimated was half a mile wide and travelled some 20 miles. “We’ve lost everything. Let’s just say it like it is,” Mays said. “I’m afraid we might have some suicides because of this.” As many as a million homes and businesses were without power, and Bentley said 2,000 National Guard troops had been called up to help. The governors of Mississippi and Georgia also issued emergency declarations for parts of their states. “We can’t control when or where a terrible storm may strike, but we can control how we respond to it,” Obama said. “And I want every American who has been affected by this disaster to know that the federal government will do everything we can to help you recover and we will stand with you as you rebuild.” Bentley said forecasters did a good job alerting people, but there was only so much they can do to help people prepare. Carbin noted that the warning gave residents enough time to hunker down, but not enough for them to safely leave the area. “You’ve got half an hour to evacuate the north side of Tuscaloosa. How do you do that and when do you do that? Knowing there’s a tornado on the ground right now and the conditions in advance of it, you may inadvertently put people in harm’s way,” he said. The storm system spread destruction from Texas to New York, where dozens of roads were flooded or washed out. Insurance experts were wary of estimating damage costs but believed they would run into the billions of dollars, with the worst impact concentrated in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. Natural disasters and extreme weather United States Barack Obama Mark Tran guardian.co.uk
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The French pile it high, the Russians cook it in cauldrons and the Germans have a special soup. Only cake is a certainty over here As Jay Rayner has pointed out , speculation over the menu to be served at today’s wedding has entered the realm of the rabid. The Independent reports that Swiss chef Anton Mosimann will be cooking dinner, though reliable sources deny this. The Mail assures us they’ll drink English wine , and three cheers for that. Meanwhile, a Canadian TV station tracked down the Queen’s former chef (one of 20 who follow her “wherever she goes”, like a group of betoqued stalkers) and breathlessly broke the story that “Her Majesty’s royal palate” does not care for garlic or onions. Charles and Camilla’s 2005 wedding dinner was a relatively low-key buffet , and in a time of cuts and penury the Windsors may feel it prudent not to scoff too much foie gras and caviar. Buck House were as cagey with me as they have been with other hacks on the subject of the food, but whatever gets served will be subject to the same two challenges as any wedding: the logistics of mass catering and the influence of tradition. Tradition is always double-edged: nobody wants to feel bound by it, but flouting it can seem wilful or perverse. Mark Niemierko , one of the country’s leading wedding planners, told me: “Some people start off with the idea of serving veal or sashimi, but then they realise Aunty So-and-So is coming and there’s no way she’d eat raw fish.” Previous royal weddings have had their menus written in French, which would look pretty naff now, and it’s also customary to name specific dishes after the guests. Diana’s “suprême de volaille Princesse de Galles” was a chicken breast stuffed with lamb mousse. Coming as it did after quenelles of brill in lobster sauce, it was a meal that would have done little for the bride’s burgeoning bulimia. A wedding is a public act to mark a private action. As such, it’s steeped in ritual and edible custom. In Germany, a fine consommé , the Hochzeitssuppe, is traditional; in Japan it’s hamaguri clams, in Iraq marzipan sweets, in China gingko nuts. The French stack profiteroles into the marital phallus of a croquembouche . A Gamo bride in southern Ethiopia will have her head covered in grass and a butter made from intestines. Through some folkloric memesis these foods become associated with prosperity, fertility or just good luck. In Britain, of course, a cake of some sort will always feature. The British wedding cake may be the descendant of a Roman custom which saw the groom break a barley loaf over his bride’s head, an act that sealed the marriage. At medieval weddings people made a stack of buns, and the couple stood on tiptoe and tried to kiss over the pile without knocking it down or falling over. The fashion for elaborately tiered cakes didn’t emerge until the mid-1800s. Queen Victoria’s 1840 wedding cake, slices of which survive , was distributed among the nobility of Europe. When Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon married George VI in 1923, the cake stood 9ft high and weighed 360kg. One of the few culinary details to emerge about the impending nuptials of “Kate ‘n’ Wills” is the information that the groom, like Wayne Rooney, will have his own cake . In Canada it was traditional to hide a nutmeg inside the wedding cake; the person who found was believed to be the next to marry. Feasting is the major constant of weddings – the fasting ceremony is a rare thing. By far the most useful “miracle” in the Bible is the transmutation of water into wine during the marriage at Cana , an episode that shows the Hellenism that then survived in parts of the Middle East. The wedding feast of Camacho in Don Quixote captures the hungry medieval peasant’s almost pornographic desire for satiety. In that banquet, a whole steer was stuffed with two dozen suckling pigs and roasted on an elm-tree spit, served with chickens and geese and eggs and 60 wineskins holding eight gallons of booze apiece. Emma’s wedding in Madame Bovary displays comparable excess for different reasons. When the hero marries Minnehaha in Longfellow’s epic The Song of Hiawatha , the guests eat sturgeon, pike, pemmican, buffalo marrow, “haunch of deer and hump of bison” – though the bride and groom “Tasted not the food before them / Only waited on the others / Only served their guests in silence.” People are not afraid to eat well and widely at modern weddings too. Today’s caterers say that Wags notoriously ask for Christmas dinner with all the trimmings at their weddings – Christmas being the one meal a year in which they let themselves eat properly. Victoria Adams reportedly wanted to serve roast turkey for her and David Beckham’s guests in 1999, but was finally persuaded that it would be difficult to prevent the meat from drying out. The caterer convinced the couple to serve guinea fowl, though neither had heard of it before. Only in south Asia does the feast aspect of weddings seem to be threatened: India has considered introducing a law to restrict wasted wedding food, while in 2004 Pakistan banned “un-Islamic” displays of wealth at the walima or wedding party. This is hardly a commonplace attitude, though: one of the best weddings I ever attended was in El Jadida, Morocco, which was strictly Muslim and where it was taken for granted that everyone should eat their fill and then some. Mark Niemierko says that, in 2009, his flower budget fell while his food budget rose. “I had a client who worked at Goldman Sachs in New York, and he was concerned not to look too ostentatious during the financial crisis. So we focused on getting the food perfect, because everyone has got to eat.” That banker was a canny fellow: a good ” breakfast ” is essential for a successful wedding, whether it be a Niemierko-style £600-per-person blowout at the Connaught, a hog roast in the garden or a Margot Henderson event with food from St John. Without good and generous food a wedding will tend to sag, and you can only reach a merry din once the guests are met and the feast is set. Food & drink Royal wedding Kate Middleton Prince William Monarchy Weddings Oliver Thring guardian.co.uk
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Headteachers are likely to vote at their annual conference over whether to hold their first national strike over pension changes Headteachers are likely to vote this weekend over whether to hold their first national strike in history — a move which could close thousands of schools this summer. Heads are expected to call on the 28,000 members of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) to vote for a ballot over whether to strike over changes to their pensions at the association’s annual conference in Brighton on Sunday. A national strike would be the first in the association’s 100-year-plus history and affect millions of children. It comes after two of the main teaching unions voted to ballot their members for a national strike over pensions earlier this month. Pension reforms, outlined in a government-commissioned report last month by former Labour minister Lord Hutton, call for final-salary schemes to be scrapped and replaced by career averages. Under the plans, teachers would pay higher contributions to their pensions every month and the retirement age would rise to 66 by 2020. At the moment, many headteachers retire at 60. The government has argued that the cost of paying teachers’ pensions is forecast to rise from about £5bn in 2005 to almost £10bn by 2015, as more staff retire and life expectancy increases. Russell Hobby, general secretary of NAHT, said he would encourage heads to vote for a ballot over whether to strike. “The pension reforms would mean the average headteacher would lose £100,000 to £200,000 in retirement and would pay 50% more in contributions, which could cost them £1,000 more each month. This amounts to a pay cut at a time of rising targets in education. Pensions are one of the attractive rewards of the job and we have to stand up for this.” Teaching Schools Trade unions Public sector pay Pensions Jessica Shepherd guardian.co.uk
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Discussions in hacker forums point to huge numbers of credit card details stolen from Sony’s PlayStation Network, while some owners see fraud – but is it just coincidence? Hackers in underground online forums are claiming to have access to credit card details stolen from Sony’s PlayStation Network in mid-April, though security researchers say it is not possible to verify the claims. The online discussions centre around a haul of 2.2m Sony customer credit card numbers that are claimed to have been copied during the attack, which led Sony to shut down the network for more than a week after it happened between 17 and 19 April. At the same time some of the 77 million PSN users have begun to report discovering new fraudulent charges on their credit cards, though the timing could be coincidence and not linked directly to the breach. Any sufficiently large number of credit card owners is certain to include some who have recently been defrauded by other methods. The claims of fraud include the equivalent of $1,500 spent in a German grocery store on an American credit card, and dozens of people reporting charges on items such as German airline tickets and Japanese stores. Kevin Stevens, a security analyst with Trend Micro, said in a tweet that “the hackers that hacked PSN are selling off the DB [database]. They reportedly have 2.2m credit cards with CVVs” – the latter being the three-figure number required for “card not present” transactions. But Stevens added that he couldn’t be sure the claim was true. The hackers were also claiming to have offered to sell the database back to Sony, but that the company declined it. Sony spokesman Patrick Seybold said that as far as he knew there was no truth in that claim. Speculation is growing that the hackers who carried out the attack could be European, based on the names being used in forums, though no further details have emerged so far. One reader of Venturebeat said he had been contacted by Sony and told that his card might have been compromised, and discovered two new charges totalling $400 he hadn’t made. Sony insisted in a blog post that the credit card data it stored was encrypted: “While all credit card information stored in our systems is encrypted and there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility. “If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained. Keep in mind, however, that your credit card security code (sometimes called a CVC or CSC number) has not been obtained because we never requested it from anyone who has joined the PlayStation Network or Qriocity, and is therefore not stored anywhere in our system.” PlayStation Sony Hacking Games PS3 Data and computer security Charles Arthur guardian.co.uk
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Von Miller Drafted 2nd Overall By Denver Broncos Denver Broncos select Von Miller 2nd overall Cam Newton Goes First to Panthers in NFL Draft 2011 NFL Draft: Denver Broncos Linebacker Von Miller Potent … Denver Broncos draft pick Von Miller talks with the media after being selected in the 2011 NFL Draft. Schefter Reports Von Miller “90% Certain” to be a Denver Bronco … Adam Schefter, who is regarded by many to be the most “in the know” reporter, has stated that there’s a 90% chance that the Broncos will pick Von Miller . Throughout the day, Von Miller has been picking up steam as the popular pick for … Von Miller drafted 2nd overall by Denver Broncos – BroncoTalk The Denver Broncos have made their choice. Von Miller is the first piece to Denver’s rebuilding defense puzzle. The Broncos selected Texas A&M. News Clicker » Von Miller Profile Football Recruiting Following a very strong combine and pro day, texas am linebacker Von Miller is generating a lot of interest at the top of the nfl draft. Broncos coach john fox is singing the praises of texas am linebacker Von Miller , which may mean … NFL Draft 2011: Cam Newton, Von Miller , Marcell Dareus, A.J. Green … We look at the first four 2011 NFL Draft picks and what it means for the 49ers upcoming pick. VicLombardi says: Not only will we hear from Von Miller tomorrow, we'll also visit with some current Broncos who plan on working out here at Dove Valley.
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Ceasefire fails to hold as one Thai soldier killed and four wounded in fighting near ancient temples One Thai soldier has died and four wounded in further clashes on a disputed stretch of border between Thailand and Cambodia, a Thai military spokesman said, as a newly agreed ceasefire failed to hold. At least 16 people have died in the fighting over the past week, centred on ancient temples at two points on the border. Thai regional army commander Thawatchat Samutsakorn told Reuters four soldiers were wounded during two clashes involving guns and grenades, which he said had been started by the Cambodian side. “We are in close contact with Cambodia now and while gunfights broke out, it was not a major clash like before, so I consider this an improvement,” he said. “But it also shows tension is still there and we have to monitor the situation closely for another two or three days.” The ceasefire agreed on Thursday was supposed to end seven days of sporadic artillery and small-rocket fire that had fanned nationalist passions in both countries. Cambodia’s defence ministry said the two sides had agreed to keep troops in the area, hold regular meetings between field commanders and leave their territorial disputes to a joint demarcation commission. They also agreed to open border checkpoints near two disputed 12th-century Hindu temples at the heart of the fighting, although it was unclear when villagers would be allowed back to their remote, ravaged towns. More than 60,000 people have been evacuated during the fighting. Thailand Cambodia guardian.co.uk
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British national said to be among dozens injured in Marrakech cafe blast, as William Hague condemns terrorist bombing British embassy officials are trying to establish if any UK citizens were caught up in a terrorist bombing that ripped through a cafe in a popular Moroccan tourist spot , killing at least 15 people. The foreign secretary, William Hague, sent his condolences to the families of the victims, mostly foreign visitors, of Thursday’s attack. There was no official indication from the Moroccan authorities to verify a media report that one Briton was among the dead in the worst attack there in eight years. One British national was said by the casualty unit chief at Marrakech’s main Tofail Hospital to be among dozens injured by the blast. Gas canisters were initially blamed for the massive explosion in the main Jamaa-el-Fnaa square, which is well-known for its snake-charmers, fire-breathers and story-tellers. Within a short time, however, a Moroccan government spokesman said it had been a terrorist attack but it was too soon to lay the blame on any particular group. British tourists described how the front of the cafe had been blown away during the busy lunchtime period and the first floor left in ruins. Hague said he was “shocked and saddened” at yesterday’s “deeply worrying” attack. “I offer my condolences to all those who have lost relatives or been injured. Initial reports that this may have been a result of terrorism are deeply worrying. All acts of terrorism are utterly reprehensible. “British officials are in contact with the Moroccan authorities to establish the facts and to provide consular support to any British nationals who may have been caught up in the blast.” Ambassador Tim Morris was travelling to Marrakech to bolster the team there, he said. Andy Birnie, of north London, who is on his honeymoon in the city, witnessed the blast in the square. He said: “There was a huge bang, and lots of smoke went up. There was debris raining down from the sky. Hundreds of people were running in panic, some towards the cafe, some away from the square. The whole front of the cafe is blown away. “It was lunchtime so the square was very busy. We had just walked into the square, but were shielded by some stalls.” Another Briton, Hugo Somersham-Jones, who lives near the square, told the BBC: “It sounded like a bomb. I went outside and saw smoke and got to the cafe and saw falling masonry. I came out to the main square and saw the first floor of the cafe in ruins. “People had fire extinguishers, trying to put out the fire, and others were pulling people out from the building. It was pretty bad.” At least two French nationals were among the casualties, although it was not clear whether they were dead or wounded, officials in Paris said. The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said the US condemned the attack “in the strongest terms”. She added: “We extend our deepest sympathies to the victims of this cowardly attack and stand with the people of Morocco at this difficult time.” Germany, which said none of its citizens had been injured, said the attack “must not lead to the reform process that has been initiated in Morocco being undermined”. Morocco Global terrorism guardian.co.uk
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Police tactics condemned after officers and protesters injured during overnight disturbances in Bristol city centre Police officers and protesters were injured in Bristol after further demonstrations against a Tesco store in the city centre turned violent. Problems began when bottles were thrown at officers in Cheltenham Road in Stokes Croft. The disturbances, which began around 1am on Friday according to eyewitnesses, took place after a peaceful event earlier in the evening. Avon and Somerset police said officers moved in to “contain a group of protesters” who were wearing masks and throwing bottles. A number of officers were injured, the force said. However, police tactics have been condemned by protesters. Richard Ayres, 39, told the BBC: “I received three blows to my legs and a blow to my head for which I have received hospital treatment.” He said he joined the protest to “show solidarity to those who had been treated violently” during previous protests last week. Mr Ayres claimed mounted police “rushed down the middle of the street” after Cheltenham Road was closed at about midnight. “We were knocked to the side by them and were then shoved back by riot police with helmets, shields, truncheons and dogs,” he said. “I remonstrated with them peacefully, flabbergasted at the sudden turn of events.” Police said neighbourhood officers were “actively engaging” with what was a peaceful gathering earlier in the evening outside the squat known as the Telepathic Heights. However, reinforcements were called in after a number of people became violent, put on masks and began throwing bottles at police. Assistant Chief Constable Rod Hansen said: “Unfortunately a number of people attended this event to incite violence and cause criminal damage. “We will not tolerate this behaviour in our communities. Our primary concern is to keep people safe. “Throughout the week our neighbourhood officers have received the message from local residents and businesses that they do not want any further disruption. “There was further evidence of this earlier this evening during the buildup to the trouble. “A minority have clearly been intent on creating a volatile situation and committing criminal acts of disorder. We are taking swift and robust action to arrest those responsible.” Rick Palmer, service director at Bristol City Council, said: “What we have seen tonight is totally unacceptable behaviour which is clearly not supported by local people.” Last night’s skirmishes happened six days after a riot in same area when about 160 officers in riot gear swooped on a house to arrest four people they said were “a real threat to the local community”. The crowd dug up cobbles to throw at the police and a branch of Tesco Metro, which has been subject of a campaign to prevent its recent opening, was petrol-bombed. Protest Tesco guardian.co.uk
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