G8/G20: It's coming

IS this the place for this?

Canadian Civil Liberties Association: Protecting civil liberties and human rights at the G20:
statement of concerns

James Moore was just on P&P defending the cost of hosting these teo meetings because of the long term financial windfall it will bring to Toronto financial institutions. Unbelievable.

ETA: What it amounts to is a billion dollars of taxpayer money being spent to benefit the big banks.

Screw the US National Guard.  Just bring in the Arizona minutemen.   They'd have a hey-day asking Torontonians for citizenship ID.  They would probably ignore all the white protesters as they profile practically everyone in Spadina's Chinatown.

"What kind of drug do youse gets from 'bok choy?'"

   I think the organisers LOVE these huge over runs on "security budgets" for Olympics and now the G8/G20 summit {today it was pegged at "1.1 Billion"} .

SKIMMING is why they love them. A lot of this money is not well accounted for, so organisers can "shove money at the right people" who can do favors for organisers later, like at election time. Nobody else will ever know.

  Add in the Agent Provocateur theme, which has become SOP {standard operating proceedure} anymore, and it all adds up to a wonderfull conspiracy that sheeple will never believe. Our leaders really are that dirty [at least the ones that belong to political parties that have been in power].

  All in all, it is just more evidence that the only responsible vote is a vote for a new group of leaders, ones that have never been in power, or independant MPs and MLAs. Power corrupts, we know that, so don't keep electing the same damn group of corrupted politicians!!! Arrrrggggg, it is so frustrating to see Canadians supporting these criminals.

Elite Insecurity: 10,000 To Guard Summits

http://mostlywater.org/elite_insecurity

"The police and media have begun drawing distinctions between 'good' and 'bad' protesters in an apparent attempt to preemptively demonize more radical demonstrators...Typically, protesters who are construed as 'wreaking havoc' are labelled 'anarchists'. A draft of the Canadian Forces Counterinsurgency Operations Manual states: 'The most potentially dangerous form of insurrection is that of the anarchist group which sets out to eliminate all political structures and the social fabric associated them.."

This 3-day meeting is costing  $1 BILLION!! 

The Olympics cost $6 billion but we at least got something in return.

Polunatic2 wrote:

How to identify the spies and provocateurs? They're the ones who will be wearing heavy duty ear protection. 

Toronto police get 'sound cannons' for G20

Quote:

 Riotous protesters marching at the G20 summit next month may be greeted with ear-splitting “sound cannons,” the latest Toronto police tool for quelling unruly crowds.

Considering it willbe downtown, wouldnt this be unadvisable since it could very well get 'collateral' damage in the form of normal citizens going about their day?

The 3 day meeting is going to cost Ottawa over $1 billion but they don`t want to pay a penny toward any damages related to the event.

Ottawa won’t cover G20 protest-related damage

JKR wrote:

This 3-day meeting is costing  $1 BILLION!! 

For the elite, any excess, whether it be the wholesale theft of the population's wealth to benefit a few, the broad range of environmental disasters which exterminate everything in its path, or violent expropriation and the resulting carnage around the world, is easily justified by manoeuvring their propaganda bureaus to the task, or simply through the backhanded wave that was practiced so well among the royalty of old. They continue to visit these outrages upon us with impunity, where the latest exhibitions are incrementally worst than the calamities that have gone before them, because they have nothing to fear from anyone.

At least one suspect has been arrested after vandals spray-painted a handful of ATMs in downtown Toronto, marking some with anti-G20 slogans.

The banking machines at a Scotiabank and a TD Canada Trust branch at the corner of Dundas Street West and Spadina Avenue were vandalized overnight, Toronto police said Friday morning.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/05/28/g20-atms-vandalize654.html#ixzz0pEJvYftD

Never trust the MSM, Slumberjack.

Verbatim from CBC.ca:

The Opposition Liberals have asked federal Auditor General Sheila Fraser to conduct an audit into the government's cost estimates of $930 million for security measures at the upcoming G8 and G20 summits.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/05/27/g8-g20-security-costs.html#ixzz0pEWLtF2p

Maysie wrote:

Anyone who's been at the corner of Spadina and Dundas knows that graffiti and spray-paint are a wonderful part of the urban landscape on many buildings in that neighbourhood. Some are from projects with youth, and some are the work of local street artists and various rabble rousers and shit disturbers. Where do you think all those rants of Rick Mercer are filmed?

Yeah, yeah it's a crime to spray paint the insides of buildings, but Caissa, your lack of support for the G8/G20 protesters, even in theory, is getting crystal clear. Property damage is more important? I've heard that before.

There's art, then there's the kids who tag everything.

Re the property damage: small businesses in the downtown are finding it harder to get insurance they can afford, and impossible to get plate glass windows insured, because of all the unimportant property damage.

I guess the people who bought the spray paint keep their money in a sock under a mattress.

Doesn't help to conflate activists, and the assholes who are going to come to Toronto to trash the place, and then claim they did it in the name of oppressed people.  Again, they're assholes not activists - they only hurt the cause.

reposted from here: http://www.rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/statica/2010/05/g8g20-communiqu%C3%A9-policing-and-security-update-organizing-and-info-abo

 "Salut rebellions,

It's one month away from the G8/G20 Summits and three weeks away from the People's Summit!

First off, for anyone interested in a great backgrounder on the G8/G20 Summits and la resistance against them - the People's Summit and the Toronto Community Mobilization Network facilitated protests --  this is a kick ass article written for rabble.ca by S.K. HUSSAN. Dive in and pass around!

The Toronto Community Mobilization Network is having another fundraiser on Friday June 3, 2010  starting at 9:00 pm at the Silver Dollar Room (486 Spadina Avenue).

Cover is $7 but no one will be denied the right to dance!  (Unfortunately, I'll be back at the sweat lodge that weekend but dance your pretty asses off for me...and yes, I did just say that!)

Its next meeting is this Saturday (May 29, 2010) at 11:00 am at 25 Cecil Street followed by Postering and leafletting in neighbourhoods.

But now let's get into the security stuff and its impact on Toronto.

1:  Cost of G8/G20 policing and security hit $1.1 billion. Remember this is YOUR taxpayer dollars at work!

Quote: "The cost of hosting the G8 and G20 summits next month in Ontario now stands at $1.1 billion and further costs are likely, federal documents show. That's much higher than the $933 million security bill the Tories revealed earlier this week."

2: The Council of Canadians planned Shout Out for Global Justice event has NOT  been cancelled but will have to be relocated - because the University of Toronto has decided to shut its St. George campus during the Summit protests. The lastest news I got from Jaggi Singh is that the Council plans on contacting Toronto Mayor, David Miller, and the University of Toronto. I'll update you when more info rolls in.

3:  Toronto police get 'sound cannons' for G20: Long-range acoustic devices can be used for crowd control

I am not going to use the term "sound cannon." Let's be honest here, "cannons" = "weapon" so I'm calling these things what they are: "sound weapons."

Oh great, this what some of the $1.1 billion was spent on, acquiring four sound weapons for the G8/G20 protests which Toronto police plan on keeping for further protests.  

Now, not only do you get to pay the police to not only gas, shoot, arrest, harass and violate your civil rights, they can also make your ears bleed.

Quote: "For University of Toronto adjunct professor Peter Rosenthal, a lawyer who has participated in several trials involving Taser deployments, anything that can stun people or crowds should be considered dangerous.

"Tasers were introduced and said to be totally benign but have now generally been recognized as dangerous weapons," he said. "To start using experimental weapons on people is really outrageous in my view."

Yup, your taxpayer dollars at work!

#30#

Caissa wrote:

My response from the closed thread:

 

Yes. There was a letter in yesterday's Globe by a U of T history prof. decrying the closure. He argued it was incumbent upon universities to remain open always regardless of anything else which might be happening.

 

Then hes an idiot. It is incumbent upon universities to have a place for learnign to thrive and research to be done as well as give both teachers and students a safe encouraging learning enviroment. Hard to do if you are tasered, tear gassed or having your ears bleed from sound cannons let alone any other violence which may happen.

Imagine the outrage if they did nothing and damage and injuries resulted? Better to be safe than sorry and then hector the government into never doing this kind of thing near them again, or any other learning insitution

Thanks for duplicating that letter, Catchfire.

I can see the university's position - they have to worry about liability.  At the same time, U of T is part of the city.

Quote:

if you have graffitti, you must MUST pay to have it removed otherwise the city charges you 10k to remove it for you. Even tho you didnt do it, you gots to pay which is apparently causing a huge burden on small business owners and home owners

My husband works for one of the BIAs - most of these now hire private graffitti removal services, and the cost is divided up amongst the businesses.  It's a big expense - as I mentioned before, most graffitti is not the beautiful pieces Rick Mercer showcases in his rants, but kids tagging, or drunk people who happen to have a sharpie in their pocket when staggering home from the bar writing, say, "Eat the homeless" or "Soylent Green is made of Gord Perks" across somebody's storefront.

Speaking of the homeless, there was an art exhibit last year featuring photographs of homeless people all around the city.  The one on our street was repeatedly defaced with, "Get a job, ya lazy fuck," and similar sentiments, that the graffitti removal people had to keep cleaning up.  

I mention these things just as a reminder that graffitti isn't always about art or progressive politics.

And the people living in Chinatown woke up this morning to discover they couldn't use the bank machines in their neighbourhood.  True, it's a tiny inconvenience compared to the gross inhumanities being committed worldwide.  I'm sure the small business owners and students who comprise most of the folks living in Chinatown, upon discovering that they couldn't take out funds, were moved to tears of sympathy for oppressed people everywhere.

A billion dollars to host it in Toronto.  Fucking waste of money.  Should have been in Yellow Knife, way cheaper to protect, better scenery and way nicer people.  Also a lot tougher for the protesters to get to.

The Cons fucked this one up big time.

Bacchus wrote:

It is incumbent upon universities to have a place for learnign to thrive and research to be done as well as give both teachers and students a safe encouraging learning enviroment. Hard to do if you are tasered, tear gassed or having your ears bleed from sound cannons let alone any other violence which may happen.

I think this is a bit melodramatic. The campus is not inside the security zone, and, thought it may be close to the "free speech zone" (god, even writing that makes me want to gag) there is a very low risk for direct gassing or other violence for people on campus. Furthermore, people given proper warning and time to prepare have a right to stay away.

I think it is quite likely that the University was pressured to close by the cops (local, RCMP, or American) or the federal gov't. Universities make great meeting areas for activists and I think that the above mentione 'baddies' want to keep as tight a grip as possible on the location of demonstrators during the summit. I remember in Quebec City how important the University was. We met up with other activists there and, after I was arrested, my colleagues made it back there (eventually) to sleep for the night.

Restricted zone in Toronto unveiled:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/05/28/g20-security-zone684.html

Basically, between King W - Lakeshore Blvd W - Yonge St - Blue Jays Way - Spadina.

Chester Drawers wrote:

A billion dollars to host it in Toronto.  Fucking waste of money.  Should have been in Yellow Knife, way cheaper to protect, better scenery and way nicer people.  Also a lot tougher for the protesters to get to.

The Cons fucked this one up big time.

Maybe this was an excuse to "upgrade" the security of Toronto--

Sean in Ottawa wrote:

Chester Drawers wrote:

A billion dollars to host it in Toronto.  Fucking waste of money.  Should have been in Yellow Knife, way cheaper to protect, better scenery and way nicer people.  Also a lot tougher for the protesters to get to.

The Cons fucked this one up big time.

Maybe this was an excuse to "upgrade" the security of Toronto--

Nah.  It was two things.  A feable attemp to generate votes in Toronto, and inject much needed money into the provincial and municipal coffers.  Where do all of the security detail, the service providers, hotels, local police etc live and work. The direct transfer to the city and province for the service no doubt had inflated figures, the old $10,000 toilet seat scam.  It has nothing to do with G8/20 meetings, protesters; it's all about the money.  It was just another method of transferring dollars outside the federal/provincial tranfer method. 

Harper's $1 billion photo-op is getting scrutinized by Auditor General Sheila Fraser.

Fraser to audit summit expenses

Noah_Scape wrote:

[ I used to want change, but now that I am being lumped in with and classified as an anarchist, I might as well act like one

Act like an anarchist? Like, what, you mean doing anti-oppression and anti-colonial work in small groups, based in communities, with no centralized power structure? That's what you meant, right? 'cuz i'm sure you weren't just being a jerk about it.