Agents provocateurs at demonstrations

"That a small crowd of comics — one of them dressed as Osama bin Laden — could cruise unmolested through two of the most heavily guarded checkpoints in central Sydney, happily ensconced in two vans and a hired car, escorted by a couple of pretty daggy motorbikes and jogging 'security men', is perfectly, gloriously preposterous. Their cars sported Canadian flags, and no one on guard duty woke up to the fact that the Canadian contingent hadn't even arrived in town at the time.

"As it happens, the real Canadians have had a touch of protest madness themselves in recent times that is quite the reverse of Sydney's current troubles. Just a couple of weeks ago, three Canadian police went undercover at a demonstration in Quebec, outfitting themselves in face masks and camouflage gear. One of them was clutching a large rock in his hand when other demonstrators — clearly more alert than Sydney's finest — noticed he and his two mates were being astutely ignored by nearby riot police. The demonstrators, recognising agents provocateur in their midst, began chanting 'cops, cops' and the Government ended up red-faced and apologetic."
The Age