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'Voting is worthless'? Global protests share contempt for democracy

From India to Israel to Spain, and even on Wall Street, demonstrators appear to have little faith in the ballot box

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Photos: Riots break out in UK

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  1. Offenders sentenced for their roles in recent United Kingdom disturbances, shown Aug. 11 in these photographs from the Greater Manchester Police, include (top, left to right) Aaron Grima, jailed for four months for assaulting a police officer; Paul Obonyano, jailed for 14 weeks for assaulting a police officer and a public order offense; Bernard Moore, sentenced to 20 weeks for assaulting a police officer; Eoin Flanagan, sentenced to eight months for stealing clothes; (bottom, left to right) Jason Ullett, sentenced to 10 weeks for a section 4 public order offense; Tom Skinkis, sentenced for four months for a section 4 public order offense; Ricky Gemmell, sentenced to 16 weeks in youth custody for a section 4 public order offense; and Paul Ruane, jailed for eight weeks for handling stolen goods. (Reuters) Back to slideshow navigation
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    Metropolitan Police officers hold bags containing a pair of Nike shoes and Hugo Boss clothing including jeans, shirts, a coat and a bag during a raid on a property on the Churchill Gardens estate in Pimlico during Operation Woodstock on Aug. 11, in London, England. Over 1,000 people have been arrested since rioting began Aug. 6. Police have started to raid properties across the capital as they round up people suspected of involvement in the rioting and recover stolen property. (Wpa Pool / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
  3. Metropolitan Police officers arrest a suspect after carrying out a raid on a property on the Churchill Gardens estate in Pimlico in London on Aug. 11 during Operation Woodstock. Police hope to recover property stolen during the recent civil disturbances in the capital. Police began raiding houses across London to make arrests over the riots that rocked the British capital, with more than 100 warrants issued already, a senior Scotland Yard officer said. (Anthony Devlin / AFP - Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
  4. Community members lay flowers at the scene of a hit and run following civil disturbances in the Winson Green area on Aug. 11 in Birmingham, England. Police are continuing investigations after three people - reportedly trying to protect shops from rioting and looting in Dudley Road - were struck by a car. (Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
  5. Tarmiq Jahan, father of Haroon Jahan, gives a statement to the media near the crime scene where Haroon and two other Asian men were hit by a car and killed in the early hours in Birmingham, central England, on Aug. 10. (Carl De Souza / AFP - Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
  6. Police officers search the crime scene where Haroon Jahan and two other Asian men were hit by a car and killed in the early hours in Birmingham, England, on Aug. 10. (Carl De Souza / AFP - Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
  7. Police officers detain a man in Eltham, south London, on Aug. 10. (Stefan Wermuth / Reuters) Back to slideshow navigation
  8. Police officers question men during a routine stop and search operation on Aug. 10 in Hackney, north London. An eerie calm prevailed over most of London as night fell, with a highly visible police presence throughout the city. (Karel Prinsloo / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
  9. A police officer speaks to a woman in Birmingham, central England, on Wednesday, after three Asian men were hit by a car and killed early Wednesday. Witnesses said they died while trying to protect their community from looters. (Paul Ellis / AFP - Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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  10. People clean up the Manchester city center, on Wednesday, following a fourth night of violence in Britain. (Andrew Yates / AFP - Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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    Hundreds of messages of support from the community of Peckham are seen posted on a looted storefront in south London Wednesday. (Chris Helgren / Reuters) Back to slideshow navigation
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    Men angry about recent rioting and looting come out in Eltham to protect their properties on Wednesday. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
  13. Police restrain a man in Manchester Tuesday after trouble in the city center. (Dave Thompson / PA via EPA) Back to slideshow navigation
  14. London Mayor Boris Johnson, left, talks with Leon Fearon, right, 19, from Lewisham, during a tour Tuesday of the devastation in riot-hit Clapham, south London. (Nick Ansell / EPA) Back to slideshow navigation
  15. A rioter walks through a burning barricade in Liverpool on Tuesday. (Phil Noble / Reuters) Back to slideshow navigation
  16. Police stand guard at the Mailbox shopping and hotel complex in the Birmingham City Center on Monday. (Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
  17. Police detain a man in central Birmingham on Tuesday. Looting and clashes with police continued for a fourth night. (Darren Staples / Reuters) Back to slideshow navigation
  18. A neighbor cries Tuesday as she looks at the aftermath left by the riots in the area of Clapham in London. (Elizabeth Dalziel / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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  19. An aerial photograph shows devastation in London Road, Croydon on Tuesday. (David Goddard / Getty Images Contributor) Back to slideshow navigation
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    Residents wait to be allowed through a police barricade to help council workers with the clean up after the rioting that took place the previous night outside Clapham Junction railway station in Battersea, London. (Matt Dunham / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
  21. London residents launch a clean-up operation Tuesday around Hackney Town Hall in east London to clear up after the rioting that took place the previous night. (Nick Cunard / Zuma Press) Back to slideshow navigation
  22. Looters carry boxes out of a home cinema shop in central Birmingham on Tuesday. (Darren Staples / Reuters) Back to slideshow navigation
  23. Aerial photograph of a Sony distribution center engulfed in flames Tuesday in Enfield, north London. The warehouse was set alight by rioters on Monday night. (David Goddard / Getty Images Contributor) Back to slideshow navigation
  24. The remains of destroyed vehicles are removed Tuesday from streets in Hackney, north London. (Chris Helgren / Reuters) Back to slideshow navigation
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    Related video Riots spreading in the UK
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    Firefighters battle a large blaze that broke out in shops and homes in the London neighborhood of Croydon on Tuesday. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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    Police patrol the streets as a large fire engulfs shops and homes in Croydon on Tuesday. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
  27. A woman jumps from a burning building on Surrey Street during rioting in Croydon, south London, on Monday. (Amy Weston / WENN.com) Back to slideshow navigation
    Related interactive Woman leaps from burning building amid riots
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    Police arrest a man as rioters gather in Croydon, south London, on Monday. (Sang Tan / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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    Looters run from a clothing store in Peckham, London, on Monday. (Dylan Martinez / Reuters) Back to slideshow navigation
  30. Police clear an area in London's Ealing neighborhood while patrolling the streets on Monday. (Ming Yeung / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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    Looters rummage through a convenience store in Hackney, east London, on Monday. (Olivia Harris / Reuters) Back to slideshow navigation
  32. An injured man is treated by medical staff after being arrested for looting in an electronic shop in south London on Monday. (Simon Dawson / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
  33. A police officer helps an injured colleague as rioters gather in Croydon, south London, on Monday. (Sang Tan / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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    Related video Violence, lawlessness spread across London
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  34. Residents flee Clarence Road in Hackney, north London, on Monday. (Dan Istitene / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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    A resident films a police officer on his mobile phone during disturbances in Hackney, north London, on Monday. (Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
  36. Police officers in riot gear block a road near a burning car in Hackney, north London, on Monday. (Luke MacGregor / Reuters) Back to slideshow navigation
  37. People loot a Carhartt store in Hackney, north London, on Monday. (Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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  38. A girl is detained outside Currys electrical store in Brixton, south London, on Monday. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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  39. Youths throw bricks at police in Enfield, north London, on Sunday. (Karel Prinsloo / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
  40. Police cordon off an area in Enfield, north London, on Sunday. (Karel Prinsloo / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
  41. A police officer patrols as firemen dowse buildings set ablaze during riots in Tottenham, north London, on Sunday. (Luke Macgregor / Reuters) Back to slideshow navigation
  42. Residents watch as a building burns after riots in Tottenham, north London, on Sunday. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
  43. Aaron Biber, 89, assesses damage to his hairdressing salon after riots on Tottenham High Road, north London, on Sunday. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
  44. Police officers wearing riot gear stand in front of a burning building in Tottenham, north London, on Sunday. (Stefan Wermuth / Reuters) Back to slideshow navigation
  45. A double decker bus burns as riot police try to contain a large group of people on a main road in Tottenham, north London, on Saturday. (Leon Neal / AFP - Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation

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  1. Image: Handout photographs show offenders sentenced for their role in recent disturbances
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    Above: Slideshow (45) Riots break out in UK
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    Slideshow (27) Indian social activist Anna Hazare

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Video: 80 arrested in Wall Street protests

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    >>> an outrage over this kind of thing is spilling into the streets here in new york. the arrest of 80 people in one day over this past weekend got the attention of a lot of people. it was part of a protest that's been going on for a while, aimed at shutting down wall street and getting attention for the protesters message. nbc's ron allen is in lower manhattan for us tonight. ron, good evening.

    >> reporter: good evening to you, brian. we're a couple blocks from wall street in that direction. a couple blocks from the financial centers over there as well. they're calling this an occupation of the financial district . there are several hundred people here. the police have the area surrounded. the problem is, the protest hes want to move beyond here and walk out into the streets. that's what happened this weekend when so many people were arrested, charged with disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace . police did not have a permit to march beyond this park. that's the problem now, that's why there's a stand-off. the protesters charge that police use excessive force . anyone who resists arrest can expect to encounter some level of force, but nothing excessive. here again tonight, there are a couple hundred protesters who have moved beyond this park, and who are out near the new york stock exchange and near wall street . so far, we understand everything is peaceful, and the police are escorting the protesters along. all this back and forth could go on for some time, because the protesters insist they're not going to leave this area until they're forced to go. brian?

    >> ron allen in lower manhattan ,

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