Anarchy In The UK

I rarely link to something that Glenn Reynolds has because I'm reasonably sure you've read him and seen it anyway. Today he links to one of the best written posts I've read in a long time. Josh Trevino is blogging from the G-8 Summit in Edinburgh, Scotland:

Unlike at the park on Princes Street, these police were drawn in a line and ready for action. Their postures were braced: left foot forward, right foot back and turned 90 degrees out, shield to interlocking shield. Before them was a line of police cavalry. These are truly impressive on their massive British steeds, which were themselves armored like so many modern-day knights' mounts. The horses wore plastic visors, some manner of flak jackets across their flanks, and shin wrappings that appeared to be sewn of kevlar. Atop them, the mounted cavalrymen sported similar gear to their infantry comrades, with full-face clear visors and body armor of their own. Unlike the foot soldiers, though, they had no shields -- only batons.

They used their batons readily, clearing out the odd anarchist with the backbone to approach them too aggressively, and marshaling others who more obviously wanted to clear the area. The latter group was regrettably small, and so as the crowd confronting the riot line grew -- I and my milkshake were by now at its front -- the forces of law and order called in reinforcements. These reinforcements, rather impressively, arrived and marched in formation from behind and through the hostile crowd, which mocked and jeered them, but moved aside nonetheless. One of the anarchists began goosestepping alongside the formation, chanting in time: "Ba dum da dum! Ba dum da dum!" It occurred to me then that I was looking forward to the inevitable police charge to clear out these folks. It also occurred to me that I was surely in its way.

Of course read the whole thing. Every anarchist, radical lefty and dude who's pissed his mom kicked him out is in Scotland and Josh describes the scene as well as anyone.