...here comes the rest of it.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/terroris ... 92,00.html



Armed police will use anti-terrorism powers to "deal robustly" with climate change protesters at Heathrow next week, as confrontations threaten to bring major delays to the already overstretched airport.

Up to 1,800 extra officers will be drafted in to prevent an estimated 1,500 people disrupting the airport over the period of the camp for climate change, which is due to begin on Tuesday. The police have been told to use stop and search powers against the protesters, who have pledged to take direct action on August 18 and 19 but not to endanger life..
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The Guardian has established that at least two climate change campaigners have been arrested recently at Heathrow by officers using terrorism powers. Cristina Fraser, a student, was stopped when cycling near the airport with a friend and then charged under section 58 of the Terrorism Act. This makes it an offence to make a record of something that could be used in an act of terrorism.

"I was arrested and held in a police cell for 30 hours. I was terrified. No one knew where I was. They knew I was not a terrorist," she said.

Ms Fraser, a first-year London university anthropology student, has been on aviation demonstrations with the Plane Stupid campaign group, but claims she was carrying nothing at all. The police later recharged her with conspiring to cause a public nuisance.

NB This thread is concerned with the massive increase in police powers in the US and UK since 11th Sept, and possible/inevitable abuse of those powers, NOT issues concerning climate change

Well I'm all for civil disobedience but I draw the line at violence. We had a pretty cool protest here a few years ago where people protested against inner city trafic by parking their bicycles (and paying the parking fee) on the parking spots.

It's not very surprising that the police will abuse and/or stretch the limitations of whatever powers they are given, it's just how things work, and is why it's important to keep some safety margins.