Lesson One from the G8/G20 protests: The police and the political support behind them, don't give a good goddamn about such quaint things as rights or whether your protest is peaceful. Even Five Feet of Fascist was shocked to learn that police ignorance and condescension also applies to rightwingers. …
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HUMOUR:THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH OIL: …
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And he's pissed....Bloody hell, all it took was spending billion dollars on a couple dozen international political leaders and several thousand riot cops in his fair city. …
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... the citizens will gather and they will challenge you. Stephen Harper, you got things backwards; just like your buddies, who hold aggression to be the only road to peace. You build bombs and bombs will fall. You build walls and people will tear them down. You turn Toronto into an armed camp and people will become fearful. The mere presence of 20,000 armed personnel was the primary act of …
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Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.The G20 weekend in Toronto has been the most abysmal thing I have ever experienced, for all kinds of reasons. I'm positively livid. I cannot believe what I have seen in this most peaceful and life-giving of cities. Much will be said over the coming weeks, but for now, let this be the image that we remember. …
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Oh yeah! For real! You all remember Blogging SupposiTory Maria S Nunes AKA Dodo? Yanno, the one who likes to drink in order to hate the world going by? Well, I’m surprised Dodo is still sober enough to blog!! Given her last two posts, well…booze might have helped. Well, Pale, Fern, Filibluster and other ProgBloggers who thought those “Black Bloc” ruffians were agents provocateurs doing the bidding of the police and/or Master Steve, we thought wrong!  Nope! Dodo’s super sleuthing with the help of her long suffering  faithful wingnut element found us all out yet …
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INTERNATIONAL LABOUR: GENERAL STRIKES ROLL ACROSS EUROPE:Following previous general strikes in Greece and Spain unions in Europe are increasingly reaching for the weapon of the general strike to protest government austerity measures across the continent. Recently workers in France and Italy held one day general strikes, and Greek unions have set a date for yet another such strike as well. Here's news from the Epoch Times of the strike in France last Thursday June 24. EEEEEEEEEEMillions in France Protest Raising Retirement Age to 62Workers from both the public and private sectors joined …
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With condolences and respect to the families and friends of Master Corporal Kristal Giesebrecht, 1 Canadian Field Hospital, and Private Andrew Miller, 2 Field Ambulance. Both medics were serving with Task Force Kandahar Health Services Unit.Killed due to enemy action.Militi Succurrimus …
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Jesus. A headline a like that must be a sign of the End Times. I need a drink. …
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Any bets as to how long it’ll take before a Harpercon, any cheerleader from their media and/or blogging supposiTories will take before they blame it all on the Liberals? First, a little review of why these leaders have been summoned to an overpriced shindig and photo op by Master Steve. Last night and this morning, he attempts to tell world leaders to cut their deficits in half by 2013 by introducing austerity measures; to cut their programs and raise taxes. Given that he so arrogantly told them he would not participate in a global bank tax, I hope these world leaders will tell …
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Almost a month ago we took Conor to see SHReK in the local Empire theater. It was Conor's first visit to a theater in a few years and it went very well.  We weren't sure  though if it was a fluke or not so today we went again; this time to see Toy Story 3. Woody and Buzz  are a couple of Conor's old favorites. It went very, very well. Conor was not in the least bit agitated.  He laughed out loud during the movie and had lots of fun. In the combined picture above Conor smiles and points out some familiar faces Woody and Mr. Potato Head. Conor was happy, very happy,  and …
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Tropical Storm Alex made landfall at just after 2300 GMT yesterday. The movement slowed slightly and, as expected the storm lost intensity. It has been downgraded to a Tropical Depression for the time being. It dropped large quantities of moisture on Belize and the surrounding environs.A good description of the passing of Alex through coastal Belize is provided by the Cay Caulker website where the writer describes the rapidly changing weather.Alex will soon leave the Yucatan behind and enter the Gulf of Mexico. What happens after that is currently a guess. The high sea surface temperatures and …
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We don’t trust judges so we put in place mandatory minimums. We don’t trust pardon boards so we go to the 11th hour to deny a pardon to someone who likely wouldn’t have gotten one anyway. We don’t trust politicians so we demand that they spend more time accounting their endeavors than governing. We don’t [...] …
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I’m also getting sick of anyone who dares try to ask questions, or put any of this in perspective, we would get lambasted for supporting the rogues who caused the vandals. It just plays into that ol’ recycled Bush mantra Steve is now using.  I’m not going to justify my arguments. If you wish to be as narrow minded as to believe that, fine, kool-aid drinker. Let’s all put things back into perspective. Torontonians lost their city long before the the protesters. Their city, stopped being recognizable the moment it turned into a police state.  The photo below is quite …
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Kady snagged this pic of the Inscribe the Bible.ca bus on Friday. It was parked outside Charles McVety's Canada Christian College for the Karl Rove mini-G20 Faith and Business speech - which was all about giving the US Dems a "whupping" apparently..Inscribe the Bible Canada is sponsored by B'nai Brith Canada and Christians United For Israel, founded by Texas millionaire televangelist Pastor John Hagee. John Hagee Ministries rents office space from McVety at Canada Christian College, and McVety in turn is chair of CUFI Canada. B'nai Brith VP Frank Dimant chairs a department on Israel at …
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"For the past few weeks, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said, it has been in talks with police to clarify the rules in and around the security zone: What are the rights of citizens, what search powers are police entitled to, and what should protestors be told before they go out to protest. They were told of a number of requirements, rules and laws that could be invoked.But the Public Works Protection Act never came up, they said. Not once. Not even when the CCLA sent the police a version of the “Know Your Rights” brochure to review before handing it out to protestors as they …
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Kady snagged this pic of the Inscribe the Bible bus parked outside Charles McVety's Canada Christian College at Karl Rove's speech for the G20 Faith and Business session on Friday. Inscribe the Bible Canada is sponsored by B'nai Brith Canada and Texas millionaire televangelist Pastor John Hagee's Christians United For Israel. John Hagee Ministries rents office space from McVety for his Canadian operations at Canada Christian College, and McVety in turn is chair of CUFI Canada. B'nai Brith VP Frank Dimant chairs a department on Israel at McVety's college, where his appointment was attended by …
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PERSONAL:HERE AT MOLLY'S BLOG:The time of greatest activity is often the best time to stop and take stock. In terms of anarchism the term is getting more press in the last few days than it has had in perhaps the last ten years. Yes, even including the coverage of the Vancouver Olympics. Whether this publicity is positive or not I will leave to my readers' opinions. This blog has always attempted to be one that presents anarchism to 'non-anarchists'. An ordinary person does not just not "speak" like the average anarchist, educated in social science faculties as the anarchists are, but they …
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HUMOUR:WHAT REALLY GOES ON AT SUMMITS: …
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CANADIAN POLITICS TORONTO:SOLIDARITY WITH G20 ARRESTEES.The film studio prison camp that was taken over as a detention centre for those arrested at the G20 protests is getting at least some use. It seems, however, that it has become more of a 'preventative detention' centre as it is now housing inmates scooped up in household raids removed from the actual protests themselves, with no evidence that those arrested actually committed any crimes. Here, from the Facebook page of the Toronto Community Mobilization Network is a call for a solidarity demonstration tomorrow, June 27.@@@@@@@@@@JUNE 27: …
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HUMOUR:THE G20- THE NAKED TRUTH: …
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Questions for the Cons: Do you understand now why holding the G20 summit in downtown Toronto was a huge fucking mistake? Did you really think these summits would boost Ontario tourism? Really? Care to comment on how at least 3 cop cars were torched after apparently being left unattended? How about the report about a journalist who was punched in the face? Got anything to say about that? And this one? Emomotimi Azorbo charged with assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, but friends say he couldn’t hear and follow police instructions. He is deaf. Can you tell us why the TO police …
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Questions for the Cons: Do you understand now why holding the G20 summit in downtown Toronto was a huge fucking mistake? Did you really think these summits would boost Ontario tourism? Really? Care to comment on how at least 3 cop cars were torched after apparently being left unattended? How about the report about a journalist who was punched in the face? Got anything to say about that? And this one? Emomotimi Azorbo charged with assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, but friends say he couldn’t hear and follow police instructions. He is deaf. Can you tell us why the TO police …
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I've said it once and I'll likely say it again in the future.There is something SO fascinating with the correlation between "radical" Left activists and being young, White and male.Now I've already put in my two cents in about how I feel about Black Bloc tactics: http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2010/02/olympic-log-day-7-black-bloc-organizer.html so I won't belabour the point.I will remind everyone that none of the media reports, indie or popular, say that anybody has actually gotten HURT, physically.  NOR have anybody's homes been vandalized.  This is just a reminder to say …
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I've said it once and I'll likely say it again in the future. There is something SO fascinating with the correlation between "radical" Left activists and being young, White and male. Now I've already put in my two cents in about how I feel about Black Bloc tactics: http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2010/02/olympic-log-day-7-black-bloc-organizer.html so I won't belabour the point. I will remind everyone that none of the media reports, indie or popular, say that anybody has actually gotten HURT, physically.  NOR have anybody's homes been vandalized.  This is just a reminder to say …
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Reading around the blogosphere I've noticed that many people - I'm looking at you neocons - are conflating protesters with violent anarchistsLet me clarifyProtesters are the people who are peacefully exercising their democratic right as outlined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. There's nothing about their actions that are undemocratic or fascist.The morons who are assaulting the police, smashing windows, burning cars etc are not protesters. They're criminals who are using violence, vandalism, and looting; to advance their ill defined purposes. The belief amongst some right wing …
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Reading around the blogosphere I've noticed that many people - I'm looking at you neocons - are conflating protesters with violent anarchistsLet me clarifyProtesters are the people who are peacefully exercising their democratic right as outlined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. There's nothing about their actions that are undemocratic or fascist.The morons who are assaulting the police, smashing windows, burning cars etc are not protesters. They're criminals who are using violence, vandalism, and looting; to advance their ill defined purposes. The belief amongst some right wing …
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But if it has not been Gazetted yet, I cannot "reasonably" be expected to know it exists. …
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The connection between Stephen Harper's department and the Hitlerian security being rammed down the throats of citizens supposedly protected by a Charter of Rights for a "summit" for which the final communique has already been written is becoming very apparent.That this whole thing has been planned for a long time, including the crushing of rights no government has the final authority to remove is finally starting to occur to people - especially those outside Toronto who are wondering why it had to be this way.Perhaps this explains it. Harper doesn't give a red rat's ass about your rights. …
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This will be the new poster child moment from the G20 demos. It probably would have blanked out the more deserving contender anyway, but I think spraying urine on CBC reporters probably sealed it. Illegal searches and detainments, McGuinty's attack on our Charter rights, preemptive house arrests, $1-billion in security? Pfftt. CTV is running 16 minutes straight of two burning police cars. .Realtime updates at cbcg20.. …
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The Regina Mom has just learned that she’s going here to work on her next book of poetry.  And so she needs to raise money–fast. As a result, she’s hosting a Sizzling Summer Salon and Silent Auction with writers, artists, and musicians of her acquaintance on Wednesday, July 14 at 7:30 p.m. 30 tickets are available and they’re $25 in advance, $30 at the door, providing there are some left by then. Note that a Paypal link will be in place by tomorrow.  Note also that any money raised over and above that necessary to attend the prestigious writing school will be used to …
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Science gets into some pretty interesting stuff. One wonders if the authors of this paper, when they took that first BIO-101 survey course, knew that they would someday be trained professionals watching videotapes of Belgian women walking down the street, then guessing about their history of vaginal orgasm.In the sample of healthy young Belgian women (half of whom were vaginally orgasmic), history of vaginal orgasm (triggered solely by penile-vaginal intercourse) was diagnosable at far better than chance level (81.25% correct, Fisher's Exact Test P < 0.05) by appropriately trained sexologists. …
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CANADIAN POLITICS TORONTO:G20 PROTESTS BEGIN:After the conclusion of the G8 summit in Ontario cottage country the G20 summit in downtown Toronto has begun. From what I can glean from the media the G8 summit was a non-event. The media seems much more interested in covering protests than they do the photo-ops and weaselly statements of the assembled leaders of the G8. In any case there has long been speculation that the G8 is outmoded. What this means is pretty plain in that the host country Canada is far less of a major players in the world economy than many non-members who will be at the G20. …
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A couple of law blogs have discussed the apparently legality of the move to embed a modification in the Public Works Protection Act 1939 to allow warrantless search and arrest within five metres of designated security perimeter.Law professor James Morton minimises the impact of the law and suggests that the it might actually fall within Constitutional wiggle room and apparently isn't as bad as it looks.It's probably constitutional as a small infringement on rights for legitimate goal -- the Supreme Court has ruled protection of foreign officials is a valid public goal. (It may be …
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THE DAILY MAIL ONLINE has a report, well, ya gotta wonder — 'Don't taze my granny!' American police accused of using a Taser on an 86-year-old, bed-ridden grandmother. Really. And this was after asphyxiating the poor old woman.Lonnie Tinsley called the emergency services to his home in El Reno, Oklahoma, when he became concerned that his grandma Lona Vernon had failed to take her medication. But instead of a medical technician, he claims at least a dozen armed police officers answered his call.In order to ensure 'officer safety', one of his men 'stepped on her oxygen hose until she began to …
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The citizen in this video makes me proud to be a Canadian. He stands his ground not only for himself but also for the Charter and for you and for me. Early in the video you will hear one officer say -- of Allan Gardens! -- "It's a government building in here." He says that quickly and quietly, and it's the only time in that long encounter that any of the police comes close to admitting to citizens the regulatory "boost" that Dalton McGuinty slyly gave the police almost a month ago, as pogge outlines here and here. Even before the female sergeant appears, it becomes clear that police have …
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More foreign competition won't make wireless cheaperMONTREAL, June 17 /CNW Telbec/ - Canada's largest telecommunications union says the federal government's plan to increase foreign ownership in the telecommunications sector will not result in cheaper wireless service, and that it will undermine plans for universal access.Speaking at a conference of telecommunications workers yesterday in Montreal, Dave Coles, president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, said CEP-commissioned research from a leading investment firm disputes claims that wireless services are more expensive in …
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