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Syndicate
CODEPINK Activist Detained for Over 48 Hours at Canadian Border After Being Denied Entry to Canada
Today:
Rally. March. Block Party. Tent City.
Allan Gardens, 2:30
Brother Coles's response to Marcus Gee column in the Globe:
Dave Coles
President of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union (CEP)
Columnist Marcus Gee blames the massive security overkill at the Toronto summit on
the rhetorical threat from a handful of fringe groups.
I am an activist. I condemn the use of violence by citizens at the upcoming summit
demonstrations.
I also condemn sound cannons, water cannons, plastic bullets, CS gas, and the
alarming sight of a police officer armed with a machine gun at the corner of
Dundas and Yonge at lunch time on Wednesday.
The demonstrations that have already taken place have been completely peaceful.
In every case police have massively outnumbered marchers.
The Surete du Quebec admitted using agents provocateurs at the Montebello Summit
in 2007. I know. I was there. I unmasked them and asked one to put down the rock
he was carrying in his hand. You can take a look on YouTube. The footage has been
viewed half a million times.
Now the RCMP confesses they intend to use "infiltrators". That is a polite word
for agents provocateurs.
Security forces continue their massive mobilization, despite CSIS Chief Richard
Fadden's admission there is no evidence of a terrorist threat.
The unrelenting coverage of the security overkill at the summit distracts from the
ugly fact that this summit, like all those before it, will be a catastrophic
failure when it comes to dealing with the world's suffering.
Dave Coles
President of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union (CEP)
Great, thanks Catchfire, you beat me to the punch. Whoops, that sounded violent...
How I was detained by G8 security: CP journalist
While one stood guard over me, presumably for my own safety, officers from the Ontario Provincial Police crime unit descended on the vehicle.
Then, the G8 security task force sent in their people. More uniforms took notes.
"Of course, we are very curious about why you are carrying body armour and a gas mask in your car," said a female officer who asked not to be identified in the media. In fact, no one could be identified. For security reasons, of course.
"You understand."
All standard equipment issued by my employer for covering demonstrations that could get out of hand, I assured them.
Seems my assurances weren't good enough.
"What is your supervisor's name?" one officer asked.
"We'll need to speak with him," said another.
They called Scott White, editor-in-chief of The Canadian Press, to confirm that our reporters are issued safety equipment like gas masks and vests. But that apparently wasn't enough to get me through.
Soon, a helicopter was hovering overhead.
Then came the bomb-sniffing dogs.
I was still being detained, nearly two hours after being pulled over. And I was growing only slightly aggravated by the lengths to which they were going to interrogate a reporter.
I saw a story. So I asked that I be allowed to videotape my interrogators.
"You can't do that," said one moustached officer.
"We have protocols, and you wouldn't want to put us in danger, now would you?"
Harper's Aggressive Plans
I hope the young man in this video runs for public office. He clearly has a better understanding of the Charter than any of the police officers who attempted to violate his rights, or than our idiot Premier. (h/t skdadl at pogge)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZgjX5vHt2o
G20 Saturday Evening
CBC live coverage of G8/G20 "protest control" where 2 Police cars are on fire, Police line moving forward pushing the crowd beyond the designated protest/gathering area near the U of T....
I just have to say that it is good to see something happening, although it is a bit counterproductive to burn police cars. And it gives the CBC [Mansbridge] a chance to call them all "hooligans", despite the fact that the vast majority of the protestors are not hooligans.
I have been watching this live coverage for about an hour now. It is really too bad that CBC cannot find a few minutes to give the protestors a voice.
And when the TV news does give the protestors a chance to talk about what they are protesting, it is so rarely one of the leaders who is more capable of delivering a message clearly on live TV than the average person supporting the protest [but who often gets the camera time].
A rock was thrown. Oh wow, how exciting... it would be if the rock thrower was shown to be an Agent Provocateur [AP]. Mansbridge did not mention that possibility of course, despite the proven AP actions from a couple years ago [in Toronto?].
Anyhow, it is good to see that people are protesting the agenda of the G20. Those issues will be discussed later on in this forum I hope.
Yes, funny how the "free speech zone" in Queens Park, which was suppose to have a "pipe" into the G20 summit for the leaders to hear the voices of the protesters, was never set up.
Then the police charge into the peaceful protesters at Queens Park for no apparent reason, so they couldn't even use the now useless free zone zone they were suppose to be able to us.
Then the police spokesperson comes on and claims that it was the violence of the protesters that was the cause of the police actions?
The police and the G20 organizers should be put up on charges of trying to incite a riot.
Harper, take your G20 and shove it up your fucking ass you worthless piece of shit.
Oh, and Noah_Scape ... I've been watching the CBC coverage for several hours, and I haven't heard a single word from a single protester either.
I'm not a CBC news junkie, but every report I've heard so far has made a pretty clear distinction between what they call "about 50" "anarchists" or "black bloc", and thousands of real demonstrators.
If Mansbridge called everyone "hooligans", then he must be condemned - but first, I'd like a quote in context, or a link.
As for the burners and looters, they are far worse than hooligans. They are indeed agents of the state, probably underpaid, and possibly even deluded into believing they are doing something good. In the good old days - and even today, in our workers' demonstrations and on picket lines - we look after our own agents provocateur before they can do any damage. It's a shame that the movement is not at the level where we could deal with these assholes before they can serve the state's agenda.
We've gotten to over 100 arrested. Police Chief Bill Blair now confirms 103 arrests.
Although it's illegal, you struggle see quite how this guy's decision to bare all merits the police response.
Ben Powless and many, many other peaceful protesters are being arrested at Novotel.
Steve Paikin. Steve Paiken has been "escorted" from the area. I've heard a report that all journalists are being cleared out. A CTV producer was arrested earlier, as were two National Post photographers.
The sound of helicopters overhead is constant.
"i saw police brutality tonight. it was unnecessary. they asked me to leave the site or they would arrest me. i told them i was dong my job." — http://twitter.com/spaikin
Most people are behind the protesters that I've heard from, which is different than usual. Say's a lot about this G-20 gongshow and the bullcrap going on behind their fence.
Steve Paikin's latest tweets [assembled]:
From The Torontoist: We've learned that the reporter that the reporter arrested at the Novotel Hotel earlier tonight, who Steve Paikin claims he saw "assaulted," is Jesse Rosenfeld. Rosenfeld is a Guardian freelancer, on assignment with the U.K. paper; on Friday, he filed "Rejecting G20's consensus of the few" for the paper. — http://torontoist.com/2010/06/live_g20_saturday.php
I hope the young man in this video runs for public office. He clearly has a better understanding of the Charter than any of the police officers who attempted to violate his rights, or than our idiot Premier. (h/t skdadl at pogge)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZgjX5vHt2o
Those police officers should be charged with theft. They stole that young man's goggles, on camera, with no colour of right whatsoever. The whole episode is a disgusting example of how Orwellian this country has become.
Indigenous Activists Protest G8/G20 Meetings in Toronto
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/25/indigenous_activists_protest_g8_g2...
"The G20 are not respecting indigenous rights across the world. They're bending over backwards, so that way, corporate colonialism can control indigenous lands and indigenous peoples, who are directly affected by the decisions made at the G20.
So, being in solidarity with Palestinians and liberation armies from South America, we've felt the need to come out here today and represent the warriors' voice, when the liberal organizations are coming out to pacify the movement.." MC - Ojibwe Nation
I watched the CBC yesterday, and what struck me about the 'vandals' scene is how staged it looked.
Two police cars, empty and with open windows, parked out front, apart from everything else, serving no obvious purpose. Masked person saunters up to one, in plain sight of camera, nobody trying to stop him, no sense of urgency or subterfuge... Another one lets camera have a good gawk at his pick-hammer*, then calmly and delibaretely smashes plate glass... Almost as if they didn't expect to be stopped.
Mass of robocops in full regalia over here; mass of bicycle cops in shorts and yellow macs, no protective gear, over there, just standing around. Huh?
*(whatever it's called; i sure wasn't going to say tool)
Ha! I just snagged this off another thread
Groggo:
About those curious blazing police cars. I was at the site, close to those cars. We were confronted by scores of menacing cops, who were keeping crowds back. Then, an odd thing happened. The cops retreated and went elsewhere, leaving both cars abandoned. I thought this was MOST peculiar. When was the last time you saw cops abandoning their own police cars? Within about 30 minutes, angry people (not black-clad 'anarchists') were stomping on the cars, and then both cars were set aflame -- how I don't know. MOST peculiarly again, not a single cop was there to step in, although there were hundreds of them just around the corner on Spadina Avenue. The whole thing reeked of a set-up.
CP-24's non-stop, hysterical 'coverage' has been predictably one-sided. The thousands of peaceful demonstrators were all but forgotten. Now, it's all about 'anarchists' and 'thugs'.
Thought so.
It always strikes me as ironic that if the crowd had been cheering BLUE JAYS or ARGOS or LEAFS, they could have destroyed as many cop cars as they liked.
Authority, it seems, does not like to be questioned.
You mean, like, all's we had to do was paint our faces soccer-team colours?
This weekend, we have large security, but not smart security.
Police Chief Blair alienated peaceful protest organizations and individuals by forcing them to stay far away from the fence, and having the presence of riot officers in full gear. He and other police officials did not work with peaceful protesters, but rather against them. The police and community/labour organziations could have worked together to allow for protests to be held within earshot of the world leaders while keeping those leaders safe. The protesters should have been allowed close to a fence without the presence of riot squad officers. Had Blair worked with community organzations, he would have got a lot more cooperation to stop the Black Bloc from vandalizing our downtown core.
Essentially Chief Blair treated all protesters as criminals rather than as citizens. Personally, I am a member of Fair Vote Canada. I see myself as a citizen advocating for better voting rights and power for all citizens. I did not go downtown because I did not want to be treated like a criminal with the presence of riot squad officers and ID checks on people who got too close to a fence.
We are not criminals; we are citizens. The next time there is a major event in Toronto or in another major city in Canada, the police and government officials must treat people like citizens rather than as criminals; they will get more cooperation from Canadians.
Here's the story of the veterinarians who were awakened at 4 am by cops pointing guns at them.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/06/26/police-booth-raid426.h...
Booth, 30, lives with his wife, Dr. Hannah Booth, 31, and his six-month-old son in the top two floors of the house.
"I thought it was a bad dream. Basically I woke up, and there were four police officers in my room," Booth told CBC News.
"It was one of the very few nights I forgot to lock the front door and, lo and behold, they gained access and did not ring the doorbell, did not knock.
"One of them has his gun drawn and [it] is pointed at me, which is obviously an extremely unsettling way to wake up."
Booth said police questioned him and he gave them his identification. They said they had warrants to search his home and arrest him.
Booth also said the officers informed him he was going to be charged with conspiracy to commit mischief and then handcuffed him.
After half an hour in police custody, they apologized and released him. They were looking for other people in the house.
Excellent post above, Skinny Dipper - I fully agree. It is the police, working in tandem with the provocateurs, who keep the thousands away from the fences and where they can see and hear and be seen and heard. That's in part what happened in Québec City in 2001.
Hopefully this ugly experience will help eliminate the "diversity of tactics" bullshit and make way for a truly democratic process - where organizations meet and discuss and agree on tactics, rather than ceding the ground to the most adolescent and/or the police agents.
Despite the hundreds -- perhaps thousands -- of documented examples of states/intelligence agencies/police forces/corporations using agent provocateurs the subject is completely taboo. More so than Zionism, more so than human experimentation and torture and war. Even 911 truth gets occassional news treatment. Not so provocateurs. The subject brings into question the legitimacy of domestic authorities in relation to dissidents who pose a real threat to the establishment. It cannot be broached.
Anarchists have been framed for this bullshit as far back as the black hand in spain and the Haymarket incident in America. There are always a handful of useful idiots who go along with it. The 'propaganda of the deed' period is the most notorious example.
Today, it is Islamists who are targeted with the greatest frequency, suckered into bogus terrorist plots by intelligence operatives. Cue media storm, war pretense. It doesn't help that many intellectuals on the left insist on ignoring the threat, ommitting evidence that the latest "Al-Qaeda" attack is a frame-job or false flag, terrified of being labeled a 'conspiracy theorist'.
You'd think that the issue would get more attention when it involves our own protest groups. We have no problem writing books on COINTELPRO but when it comes to the fake anarchist black bloc or provocateurs in the radical environmental movement we write treatises on the difference between property damage and violence instead of exposing the agents in our midst. If the black bloc had any sort of useful purpose it is long past; this was apparent in Genoa, when fake anarchists were running around trashing mom and pop stores. Thus is the philosophy of anarchism dragged through the mud at every major protest event.
But the danger is far worse than denigrating anarchism. When members of the public see these images on TV they become rightfully frightened of attending protests themselves. It's the perfect dirty trick: bring in a few clowns dressed in black, break something, crack heads. Villify the one philosophy capable of putting an end to the madness, paint dissidents as hooligans, dissuade the public from stepping up.
Some of you may be familiar with Operation Gladio. It involved not only provocateurs but entirely manufactured terrorist groups ostensibly representing the left/anarchists/communists but actually comprised of fascists on the payroll of NATO and CIA. They commited terrorist outrages, encouraging a crackdown by the state and ushering in a series of right-wing governments throughout Europe. There's actually a term for such groups in military circles: "Pseudo gangs". You can read all about it in the revolution of military affairs. It wasn't limited to Europe, either. The Symbionese Liberation Army (Patty Hearst) was clearly a fake terrorist entity. Anywhere you find a group that poses a threat to the establshment you'll find a corresponding pseudo group designed to villify the real activists in the eyes of the public.
'Al-Qaeda in iraq'? Gimme a break.
This is a far, far more serious and pervasive threat than many of us have acknowledged. Naturally we would prefer to focus our intention on visible insitutional factors, but I don't see how we can win this thing without devoting significantly more attention to what is derisevly labeled 'conspiracy theory'. The same applies to 911 and the 'war on terror'.
Hopefully this ugly experience will help eliminate the "diversity of tactics" bullshit and make way for a truly democratic process - where organizations meet and discuss and agree on tactics, rather than ceding the ground to the most adolescent and/or the police agents.
Abolutely. The 'Black Bloc' should be loudly condemned BY ANARCHISTS as well as other sincere dissidents to the point where impressionable youth will not consider joining the group/pseudo gang. There is no point in enaging in a debate about the difference between property damage and violence. The issue here is one of effectiveness. If one wants to break the law in non-violent fashion -- and I certainly have no problem with those who do so -- there are far more creative ways of causing a ruckus than hurling molotov cocktails or throwing a brick at Starbucks.
I noticed that both CTV and CBC are claiming that the Black Bloc is not a group, rather it is a tactic used by protesters generally. The assumption of this framing is that violence is accepted by the movement, and that everyone is guilty who was protesting.
Yeah,tactics. Maybe a police tactic...
Why I thought it was the finest sucker punch we have seen in ages, the protesters played into their hands beautifully, the billion dollar security is justified and we are one step further to a full time police state. I am certain those who set this up are very pleased with the way things have turned out. I am not, the left needs to get smart fast and understand that there is no winning the game the way they set it up, we have to figure out how to mock them not fight them.
Right on, ennir. We could start by not equivocating about bank branch arsonists, and not spewing bullshit about "diversity of tactics". Then we can organize the crushing of provocations before or when they begin, rather than let the cops have free rein and use the excuse to attack and arrest at will. We may be Canadians, but we don't need to be suckers. We would prefer winning to losing.
I should clarify that never seen or heard or reference to the Black Bloc being only a tactic on CTV; the other source I was thinking of was Globe and Mail coverage last night.
Why I thought it was the finest sucker punch we have seen in ages, the protesters played into their hands beautifully, the billion dollar security is justified and we are one step further to a full time police state. I am certain those who set this up are very pleased with the way things have turned out. I am not, the left needs to get smart fast and understand that there is no winning the game the way they set it up, we have to figure out how to mock them not fight them.
Leading up to the G-20, some of us had taken a hard line against violent tactics, and this is one of the reasons.
I'm feeling rather sad and depressed today - I never thought that I would see in my city police bursting into people's homes in the middle of the night and arresting them without a warrant, arresting students who are found to have black clothing in their residences, tear gas released in the streets, people throwing feces into storefronts.
If any good comes out of this, it shows the utter disaster that "diversity of tactics" is in the real world.
However you look at the mechanics of the protests, whatever you think about the police tactics and whomever you blame, there are some inexcapable conclusions and questions.
It is hard to see a point coming out of the protests other than the violence itself.If the violence is the only point you want to make then participation is worthwhile.
For those who have something legitimate to say in opposition to the G8/20, there is no point in becoming involved. Peaceful protest when it suceeds makes almost no news and when unsuccessful it is easy to be hijacked.
I can't help but conclude that all that effort being wasted in non-violent protest that gets smeared by those who become violent could be better used.
At the same time, I think there may or may not in each confrontation be provocateurs. It is likely however, that often enough, provocateurs would not be required as the event itself will attract people who are more than willing to provide that function. Indeed, the event itself is provocative including the security spending etc. What happened was predictable-- even without provocateurs and therefore why would you bother to risk provocateurs when there will be enough stupid people to perform the service without organization. The burned police cars may have been an error and may have been a surrender on purpose to the violent people that may not have been provocateurs but simply falling in to the trap.
It seems to me that for the effort, non-violent opposition to the G8/20, rather than marching where they will be taken advanatage of would be better of holding some kind of competing event. Indeed, the creation of youth summits have a greater chance of achieving some kind of sharing of a message -- as the "girls summit" did. Having those at a different place or perhaps a different time makes more sense.
I am not arguing that there is not a legal right to direct protest at the fence, what I am arguing is if there is a value for such a protest. I think alternative messages can be better carried. And if you truly believe the agents provocateurs, why not call for nobody to go down there and leave them with no cover.
None of what I am saying here legitimizes the examples of police over-action/brutality we have seen but I think if you keep doing something over and over that does not work then why do it? For a few the only thing is the thrill of throwing a rock at the man-- an outlet for the anger -- but is this helpful? What is achieved?
Some solid points in there, Sean.
Sean, with all due respect, that was one of the most demobilizing and fatalistic (and historically totally inaccurate) posts I've ever seen from you. I shudder to think what you would consider to be the yardstick of success of mass mobilizations like this - the G20 becoming instantly nice? The downfall of capitalism?
As for alternate summits, they are always and everywhere. There is absolutely no contradiction between forums like those, and letting people feel the power and the numbers in the street. And you really must moderate your view of the MSM being all-powerful in getting its message across. If that were so, where would the tens of thousands in the street have come from in the first place?
All this to say... I disagree... nonviolently.
I hope they don't arrest pudgy middle-aged guys like me who wear black for vanity (slimming) purposes.
Unionist-- I would consider success managing to get a point out like what their opposition is. Some kind of message or gaining of public support.
Nothing came out other than the violence and that is a communications failure. Those who believe in anything else can't see a success here.
Frankly, wasting resources on a protest that can be so easily and predictably undermined, is not the way to oppose this. And in a modern world of communications, I think we can do better than making a pile of handwritten signs nobody will see and being party to the torching of police cars everyone will see-- it does not even matter if those were police agents provocateurs or idiots--the result is the same.
And no, I think relying on failed predictable means of protest like this is the fatalistic point of view. While we still have some other freedoms in this country I think not only can we do more but we must.
Oh and please list the victories from this weekend.
Prior to the weekend the money spent on the summit security was a target and the alternative "girls summit" got some press.
I think we could have done better and we must find another way than allow all opposition to be tarred with these images.
When it comes to the security overkill and police brutality and the removal of civil rights-- with the images of burning police cars and broken shop windows you have at best a draw. Nothing positive has been achieved here today.
Frankly, organized labour with not inconsiderable resources can do better and should seriously consider this. And we should look to the leadership for opposition there since it is not coming from anywhere else at least not to effective ends.
http://vimeo.com/12883752
I don't know if this link or a similar link has been posted but it shows how the cops are running into a peaceful crowd of protestors and doing a smash and grab of their own.
Great video: G20 cop gets owned by protestor
http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/48532/G20_Cops_Gets_Owned_By_G20...
It's terrible what is being done. And only the converted will even be aware of it.
We must do better-- it is not enough being right. You must win.
Again not sure if this has been posted amongst all the G8 / G20 stuff but interesting article that tells exact tactics police are using
http://www.thestar.com/article/828876--porter-when-police-stick-to-phony...
I've been following the liveblogging today mainly at the Grope and Flail, and just in the last few hours, things have got rough for a peaceful group who ended up being kettled at Queen and Spadina. People out shopping got caught. Journalists have been arrested, CTV guys with their ID showing (apparently there will be photos), and there's at least one G&M reporter in there. They've been in the middle of a T-storm for the last hour, too. At one point the crowd sang Oh Canada; the cops let them finish and then charged.
I don't know: it seems to me that as soon as the sun goes down, the cops decide it's payback time, and they don't care who they step on.
ETA: Here's the anthem and the charge.
That is just atrocious. The words that cannot express the rage, frustration and oppression I am feeling are piling up more and more behind my eyes today. Wizard of Oz is on television right now. How appropriate. Where are we living?
There have got to be nationwide protests against this barbarity. These acts of aggression cannot stand, man.
I love that corner. The whole of Spadina is to me a holy place. I'm trying to remain rational about this, and I'm watching from a distance, about 45 mins away, but I tells ya, that made me cry.
The G20 leaders were never "in" Toronto. They were in their own little hell, which looked to me like some version of East Berlin ca 1965. Richly deserved, too. They didn't see the real streets and the real people. They cheated themselves.
The G20 in Toronto is an excellent metaphor for global capitalism, really.
Quote about the cop cars on fire: "Then, an odd thing happened. The cops retreated and went elsewhere, leaving both cars abandoned."
Mansbridge also mentioned how it was odd that the Police cars were left there, almost as if it was a target that could not be ignored by protestors.
However, he did not mention the possibility of Agent Provocateurs [APs] despite the fact that there were proven APs a few years ago, so it is a possibility worth mentioning, so that is at least a suggestion that is was APs who set them ablaze.
But here WE go - the visually stunning acts get all the attention and the real issues are sidelined.
Issues? Harper's "Womens Health Initiative" is just a distraction from the fact that these programs have been set up before, and then not funded enough to make a difference. The leaders should have to write a cheque right then and there, and hand it over to an NGO to be implemented.
Also, the fact that birth control is being ignored as part of the solution makes it that much more useless. And they want to make sure no funding is for abortions... I don't like the fact that abortion is so often used as a method of birth control, instead of better options for birth control... but this initiative will only increase the numbers of "backroom abortions" in poor nations, countering the exact thing they are proposing by insisting that none of this money is used to fund abortions. So stupid.
Someone mentioned the "Gleneagles" pledges that were never funded sufficiently... Quote: "The only promise that counts is the Gleneagles one to increase aid by 50 billion dollars by 2010 and that is the one they have abandoned today," said Fried." -
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/06/27-4
We're fucked, or at least I am. The G20 just backed harper's perposal. I'll have to be pushed in a fucking wheel barrow.
ETA: Here's the anthem and the charge.
Just disgusting.
While I have said in this thread that I don't think this type of protest is useful, it is a right.
That video should be seen widely.
I wonder what will happen whe some of this goes to court and the courts are stuck with the legislative requirement to accept the police's word when in some cases they may have video evidence. Then the court will be forced by this crazy legislation to prefer an account by a biased party over actual footage of what happened. If anyone ends up seeing this in court I hope they will come here and document it.
As well, I can't help but recognize the amount the government had at stake in these protests. If there had been no violence or arrests the government would have looked worse with the billion dollar bill. While I thik AP are perhaps more rare than they are claimed to be, there is a clear motive for them this time as a peaceful summit would have been a disaster. This is why I hope people would stay away.
I hope the young man in this video runs for public office. He clearly has a better understanding of the Charter than any of the police officers who attempted to violate his rights, or than our idiot Premier. (h/t skdadl at pogge)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZgjX5vHt2o
The young man is correct to insist on the police providing reasonable grounds for a search but he pushes the constitutional argument too far, imho. No the police do not have to officially detain or arrest him to search his bag given the context. Yes, the Charter and the Supreme Court (which has followed the US Court closely on this matter) has significantly tightened the rules, grounds and procedures for search and seizure but context matters in all cases. For example, it would be entirely inappropriate for the police to stop and search this young man without a reasonable cause on any other day. Given the context of the G8/G20 and what looks to be a large public gathering in the background (a cop says "protest")and the supposed threat of violence, then stopping and searching people could possibly be considered reasonable by the Courts. The same standards would apply at a sporting event where bags are checked prior to entry. Constitutionally speaking, fair investigative practices and reasonableness cannot be divorced from context.
To put it differently, and in contrast to his there's "line in the sand and it's our rights" perspective, our expectations of privacy and of security against unreasonable search exists on a continuum from very little right to privacy such as airports and border crossings to a high expectation of privacy, such as in our homes.
The key question is how did the police stop him initially and on what basis? Were the stopping everyone or did they choose the young man on some basis?
Good on him for standing up for himself.
An aside, he's what, 10 -12 inches taller than the tallest cop? lol
Is this a fact or just one of the mistruths that are thrown about?
And really what business is it of yours to dislike or like, if it is?
I was there today with Mrs. Ramone and kids (4, 9 and 11). I witnessed vile police state tactics and came close to being arrested myself by heavily armed mounted police, with my 4 year old on the back of my bike, simply for demanding that police xplain why clearly peaceful protesters were being arrested. I'll write more tomorrow. Best coverage I've seen tonight is on CP24, where they've interviewed several innocent people arrested tonight. Treason!
Many Canadians have become suspicious of police tactics since the http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/08/23/police-montebello.html#ixzz0s3... " href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/08/23/police-montebello.html">Quebec police force admitted that it had disguised three of its own officers as rock-wielding anarchists in an attempt to provoke violence at a peaceful protest in the town of Montebello two years ago. Somewhat farcically, the three were exposed as agents provocateurs when they were found to be wearing official issue police boots identical to those of the uniformed officers "arresting" them.
There are concerns that similar skulduggery may have played a part in Toronto this weekend, where the burning of three police cars quickly became the defining image of Saturday's otherwise peaceful demonstration. Questions are being asked as to why the police chose to drive the vehicles into the middle of a group of protesters and then abandon them, and why there was no attempt to put out the flames until the nation's media had been given time to record the scenes for broadcast around the world.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/27/g20-toronto-policing...
Correct me if I am wrong:
I understand that there was a zone around the fence in which police had the temporary powers. But we are seeing these powers involed far from that line. Does anyone know exactly where the police were allowed to use these powers and if it is possible to locate on a map where teh reports of the powers being used are coming from?
15M of the fence line and within Queen's Park. But they were being enforced even in Yorkville as reported by CBC. AntiSpin I believe is correct as to the video. If police ask you to submit to a search prior to entering a park or an event, it isn't a violation of any rights as you have a choice. You are not required to submit to a search; you will just be denied entry. The police in this video (the young man whose bag was searched), I thought, were very professional. They didn't allow it to escalate to a confrontation and arrest, but they did their jobs (however distasteful). But elsewhere, as in Yorkville, the police were abusing the law.
Seems the only time the cops WEREN'T using violence was when things were getting smashed.
It's probably been posted somewhere on this board already, but I'll risk a repost.
Protesters encourage one another to sit down on the grass and they'll be alright. After a few sit, the police ram them. Cops tell the guy with the camera to back up, but there's nowhere to go. So many enraging videos from this weekend, thought I'd add one more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaYbq484abs
And from the Star's blog:
"8:15 p.m. Police may stay in Toronto after Sunday
"Police imported into the city for the G20 have been put on stand-by and warned that they may have to stay in the city after Sunday.
"'My understanding is that people are here until everything is under control,' said Sgt. Nathalie Deschenes, a spokesperson for the Integrated Security Unit. 'There is no specific date set. People will stay as long as necessary.'
"A total of 253 people have been arrested between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. today, which brings the total of G20 arrests to 604."
(Apologies for any formatting weirdness - it's been awhile since I posted here, and these reply boxes do *not* love the copypasta)
I'm about to go to work this morning, riding my bike across Queen St from Parkdale to Riverdale - I hear there are still cops around. Chief Bill Blair is at this moment being interviewed by the CBC. He says there was a "criminal conspiracy" that came to the city specifically to do damage, and their actions were justified on the basis of that, etc.
What a frackin disaster.
Over 900 arrests, they're saying on the news, and Bill Blair says at least 400 of them are a part of the "criminal element."
Well, off to see the damage.
Apologies if this is a duplication, but it's a high-quality video and narration. Real News journalist Jesse Freeston gets punched in face at what I believe was the Friday march (communities).
Video begins with Paul Jay of Real News asking Chief Blair about the incident at a press conference; Blair says he knows about the incident but claims it happened because there were black bloc peeps there. Then we see Freeston's footage, which begins with the arrest of the deaf restaurant worker, followed by the appeals of his friends, their attempts to explain. There are no black bloc peeps in evidence. The police appear to move because the worker's friends have begun to gather. Then Freeston and others get punched, and his mic is stolen for a time.
Eighteen year-old interviewed by rabbletv after being released from detention: "Gay people were kept in separate cages"
In his own words: Guardian freelancer Jesse Rosenfeld is interviewed after being released from detention by rabble's Meagan Perry
JAIL SOLIDARITY RALLY!
Toronto Condemns Police Violence
Monday, June 28th
5:30pm
Police Headquarters,
40 College Street (at Yonge Street)
Speakers:
Naomi Klein
Ben Powless
Judy Rebick
David McNally
Abeer Majeed
Testimonies from people who've been brutalized by police
Over the past two days, police have rounded and arrested up hundreds
of people. They have been denied access to lawyers, telephones, food
and water, and held in deplorable conditions in makeshift steel cages.
Many have been beaten in the streets and in their homes; shot at with
rubber bullets and tear gas; some have been sent to hospital with
severe injuries. Hundreds are still in custody as of Sunday night.
We need to get our people out. We need to take our city back from the
armed fortress that it has been turned into.
We will let the police know that we will not tolerate the arrests,
beatings and attempt to intimidate the people of Toronto. Our community
stands with the people whose lives have been disrupted by the G20, and by
police violence. We will demand that all those arrested be released, and
released now!
G20 Nations: Race to the Bottom Will Continue: A Critical Analysis of the G-20's Toronto Declaration
http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/story/g-20-nations-race-bottom-will-contin...
Naomi Klein: "My city feels like a crime scene."
I'm talking about the heads of state who, on Sunday night, smashed social safety nets and burned good jobs in the middle of a recession. Faced with the effects of a crisis created by the world's wealthiest and most privileged strata, they decided to stick the poorest and most vulnerable people in their countries with the bill.
How else can we interpret the G20's final communiqué, which includes not even a measly tax on banks or financial transactions, yet instructs governments to slash their deficits in half by 2013. This is a huge and shocking cut, and we should be very clear who will pay the price: students who will see their public educations further deteriorate as their fees go up; pensioners who will lose hard-earned benefits; public-sector workers whose jobs will be eliminated. And the list goes on. These types of cuts have already begun in many G20 countries including Canada, and they are about to get a lot worse.
They are happening for a simple reason. When the G20 met in London in 2009, at the height of the financial crisis, the leaders failed to band together to regulate the financial sector so that this type of crisis would never happen again. All we got was empty rhetoric, and an agreement to put trillions of dollars in public monies on the table to shore up the banks around the world. Meanwhile the U.S. government did little to keep people in their homes and jobs, so in addition to hemorrhaging public money to save the banks, the tax base collapsed, creating an entirely predictable debt and deficit crisis.
At this weekend's summit, Prime Minister Stephen Harper convinced his fellow leaders that it simply wouldn't be fair to punish those banks that behaved well and did not create the crisis (despite the fact that Canada's highly protected banks are consistently profitable and could easily absorb a tax). Yet somehow these leaders had no such concerns about fairness when they decided to punish blameless individuals for a crisis created by derivative traders and absentee regulators.
I am sorry. I have spent the last two days in jail, in court and on the streets. I don't have to time to read all the posts here. But, for all those who are saying that anyone needs to condemn the black bloc I say "FUCK YOU!". All energy needs to be put into holding the fascist, violent police accountable for their actions this weekend. THey are guilty of gross violations against human rights and many acts of violence against people. ANy energy wasted on people who broke windows is a waste of time. Get your head straight. The fight isn't over.
for all those who are saying that anyone needs to condemn the black bloc I say "FUCK YOU!". All energy needs to be put into holding the fascist, violent police accountable for their actions this weekend.
Are you sure you're talking about two different groups? While I have no doubt that there were/are many well-intentioned/misguided youth playing black bloc, it also seems likely (to me anyway) that most of this vandalism is staged in order to provide a pretext to attack demonstrators. Why were they allowed to run amok in the financial district with narry a copy in sight? Why were the cars left behind and their gas caps removed? I'm not sure we can draw a clear line between the bloc and the police at this point. The events at the SPP demonstrate this. We need to discuss the bloc precisely because it so directly correlates with police violence. Personally, I would like to see activists take a hardline against the bloc -- not illegal tactics or civil disobedience -- but mindless vandalism which only serves the interests of the police and the PTB.
Naomi Klein calls the G20 politicians the real criminals - on P&P in a minute!
wish i could get newsworld sometimes then perhaps not.....
Klein absolutely skewered the G20 and the police (said the police used the G20 as an ATM machine). Maybe the interview will be on the CBC website later?
Naomi Klein calls the G20 politicians the real criminals - on P&P in a minute!
Wow. That was surreal seeing someone actually making sense on a pundit show. The contrast with the earlier panel of knuckleheads couldn't have been more stark. The professor from Calgary basically said: if you don't want to be brutalized by police, don't go to protests. I'm guessing a lot of Torontonians already received that message loud and clear.
That "professor from Calgary" was the jerk neocon Tom Flanagan.
It's not over. At least a thousand people are rallying at police HQ in protest right now. College closed between Bay and Yonge.
can't watch it anyway dial up, slow dial up 24kb
Synopsis: Not all of us who are fighting in the streets here in Toronto are despondent, but a great many of us are. I am. We are experiencing in our neighborhoods what brown people have experienced for centuries around the world at our hands. It has come home to roost. I woke this morning from a dream of Kanada, and I was weeping uncontrollably. Our children are attacked by troops openly in the streets, openly in so-called “free speech zones.” We chant, “the world is watching,” but as we are beaten back from the neighborhoods in which we have lived for two hundred years by troops who may not even be Canadian, we see football on the TV’s. Is anyone watching us? My ten-year-old was almost fucking killed when he was attacked by police in a free-speech zone. My fourteen-year-old and I were chased for two hours. Does anyone out there care? My friend in California recommends TOSCA-style action. Could we have TOCA here—take over Canada? I feel nothing but despair. My friends are being dragged off to left and right, and the world watches football. I began the weekend juggling for the troops, holding out flowers, but I end hunted and in tears, paranoid and sad. It feels like the end. We are still free, but barely holding on. Why do they hate us so much?
http://counterpunch.org/thomson06282010.html
That "professor from Calgary" was the jerk neocon Tom Flanagan.
And not to forget Herr Harpers personal hero and mentor. You know cuz the CBC is a commie socialist love in.
This is the clearest evidence yet that the vandalism was staged.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeG_t9abaSU
Go to the .40 mark and you'll see a "black bloc anarchist" amongst a pack of cops and plane clothes narks being shielded by police and rushed away to a car.
Also check out the female carrot top "officer" wielding a stick while doing an impression of an angry badger. Her ferocious sneer is something to behold.
A billion dollar circus staged for the public and swallowed whole by our beloved Canadian news media.
G20 charges dropped at mass hearing
Outside court, Miller said he was happy his charge was withdrawn but feels it never should have been laid in the first place.
“I have a problem with the criminalization of dissent,” he said, adding that a good rain would have washed away what he did.
The attorney general’s office said it couldn’t provide an exact number of people whose charges were dropped until Tuesday. Estimates by a legal support group Monday morning were close to 100.
At a Monday night rally against G20-related charges, activist Mohan Mishra addressed a crowd of about 100 people outside police headquarters.
“Over 75 people are no longer facing charges, an admission by the Crown that the charges are bogus,” he said.
Walkom: The G20 Protests and Judicial Farce
http://thestar.com/news/gta/torontog20summit/article/851906--walkom-the-...
"In effect, what occurred at the G20 was a massive and quite possibly illegal array of pre-emptive arrests. People picked up and charged not because they were doing anything wrong - not even because they were about to do anything wrong. Rather they were arrested and charged because those in charge of the police found civil liberties inconvenient...It is the totalitarian's recipe for public order.."