Here are five basic things you'll need to know to guide you through the fog of the 2011 Vancouver civic election campaign.

1. Both the NPA and Vision Vancouver are bankrolled by developers

The most powerful thing the city does is make decisions about how land is developed. The city decides what kind of development is allowed on a given property, and how big. This is called "zoning," which largely determines the value of the property. The city can also decide to change what's allowed on a given property, thereby changing its value -- "rezoning." In short, big developers donate millions of dollars to municipal parties with the expectation that the parties will help increase the value of developers' properties.

More than 5,000 were in downtown Vancouver Oct. 15 to share a message that corporate greed has seen its day, as they joined the global Occupy movement.

A taste of images from the day. Have photos to share? Send share them in the Occupy Canada photo pool on flickr.

A big moment in progressive Canadian history, Occupy Canada begins in dozens of cities from coast to coast on Saturday, Oct. 15.

And we at rabble want to share our best news and analysis on the movement so far with readers.

In solidarity, the latest copy of our popular printable digest, the rabble rouser, is a special two-page Occupy edition. Download and print it, remail it, and share it! It's a great read!

Stories include:

• A message from Occupied Wall Street

• Asking the big economic questions

• Making room for racial justice

... and more!