What is so cynical about this, is that those bb-vandals, whoever they were, are not dumb. They were not picked up at Queen Park. They saw the riot-police army, and would slink away.
Who gets hammered? Its the idealistic kids, who go to the front, as they BELIEVED they had the right to free speech, and assembly, as they were told in the weeks before.
As an observer, just living in the city, and with some experience, I could see the hundreds of riot-troops massing on College, it was like WWIII. It crossed my mind there could be live shots fired if something happened, as the ETF was there too.
So out of being concerned, I did go near the front, and tried to tell a few young people to be careful, as this was not a "protest" anymore, it could literally turn into a tragedy. Saldy, to a person, the younger people would say..."they can't come up here, this is the free speech zone"...etc. Then later, those were the same folks who ended up under horses hooves, and knocked from behind, and thrown in a cage without charge.
Contrary to the police lies, the experienced bb-vandals, were long gone, whoever the bb-vandals were. This is why the TO Gitmo was full of young girls, and teens, students, reporters. They were the easy targets that the cops went after, as the kids believed they had a right to free assembly, and the reporters also thought it was their job to be there.
This thing was not a fuck-up. After looking at every side of it very carefully, this was a planned operation, top down, and done with military precision.
Propagandize the public for months and scare them. Plan to allow a huge protest, and then plan to allow the fringe group of vandals to trash the city unopposed by police for a least a few hours, as they did. Then call out the Robocop riot-troops to "restore order", and come down on everyone, especially the easy targets like kids. A special target are those "reporters" who think they are such hot-shit, with their cameras, they'll learn a lesson too, from the state. How many reporters are going to do their job next time? Or will they stay in their offices, like most senior reporters did in this assault? Notice how the senior reporters did not end up in TO Gitmo, they saw what was happening, and went north for the weekend.
How many female reporters are going to risk going to the front next time, after these strip-search tactics, throwing people in cages with no bathrooms with doors, sexual and rape threats, and all of the other Gitmo style intimidation? That was all deliberate stuff, to scare people for next time. As well, power corrupts, and when they give someone too much power, they are going to act out.
Its a crime against Canada what has happened in Toronto. The real fear is that this will be standard procedure from now on.