So, who thinks it’s a good idea to go and protest at a G8 meeting? Not that I disagree with some of what’s said about the G8; it’s clearly not an ideal way to come up with ideas for the entire world, but it’s a bit better than nothing. But what is a peaceful protest outside the summit going to achieve? The leaders inside are, of necessity, away from any protests because they have a tendency to get a bit nasty, so they won’t see you banner. The news will be exclusively dedicated to a) what’s going on inside the summit and b) what the nutjobs are doing outside. So their being there is not conductive in any way to achieving their stated aims.

What their presence does do is make everything else more volatile; they provide cover for the bonkers lot, and they inflate the numbers, requiring the host nation to provide more police, more military support and more fortifications.

Brilliant. So they basically make sure that the leaders they’re there to influence are even less likely to see anything to be influenced by.

And every time they have to try and go one bigger, one better than the last; groups are calling in (and claiming) more and more protesters for every summit. Which means that the security is bigger and more obvious every year Which is why I predict that, at some point in the not to distant future, the G8 will either be held in Antarctica or on a cruise liner in the middle of an ocean. Because it’ll be the only way to get anything done without the smell of tear gas in the air…