Yesterday was May Day, and there were large-scale protests in cities across the globe. We begin with the protests here in the US. In downtown Portland, Oregon, riot police fired beanbag rounds at demonstrators, as hundreds of workers and demonstrators occupied the city streets. Shortly after the protest began, officials declared a street-level emergency. More than fifteen people were arrested. Meanwhile, in New York, more than a thousand people marched for immigrant rights. In particular, demonstrators called for a general amnesty for undocumented immigrants. Police did arrest some protesters who were charged under a state law that bars people from obscuring their faces during a demonstration. Many protesters in Seattle and Washington, D.C., of course wore cloth masks soaked with vinegar to combat the effects of tear gas and other chemical agents used by riot police in previous demonstrations.

We now move to Europe, where there were large May Day protests. Anti-capitalist protesters demonstrated in central London yesterday, tearing down the famous golden arches of a McDonald’s and distributing food. Some protesters also carried out guerrilla gardening near the Parliament building. As protesters marched through the streets of London, they were confronted by riot police, who went on to injure more than two dozen protesters and arrested forty-two. British Prime Minister Tony Blair called the protesters “idiots.”

Meanwhile, in Berlin protesters staged a march against capitalism and imperialism last night. Police officers used water cannons, teargas and nightsticks against a crowd of 10,000. At least three dozen people were arrested. In Hamburg, Germany, protests were broken up by riot police using water cannons. More than 130 people were arrested.

In South America’s largest city, Sao Paulo, Brazil, hundreds of thousands of people gathered to protest low wages and high unemployment.

Some 20,000 workers, students and activists marched through Ecuador’s capital, Quito, protesting the government’s plans to adopt the US dollar as the official currency.

In Turkey, tens of thousands demonstrated against the International Monetary Fund.

In Lebanon, workers marched through Beirut demanding better pay and job security.

In Japan, more than a thousand rallies nationwide drew nearly two million people.

In Hong Kong, protesters smashed rice bowls, the traditional symbol of the workers’ livelihood.

And Cambodia, more than 1,000 garment industry workers demanded higher wages and better working conditions.