It started with a lie…
The Vancouver Observer was founded on misinformation. It all started when editor Linda Solomon arrived in BC and published her book “Why I Love Vancouver Reflections on a City by a Pulitzer Nominated American Journalist”. Solomon, like her fellow Hollyhock instructor Rex Weyler pulled a cheap trick on the people of BC- they’re not really Pulitzer nominees. You see, anyone can put $50 in an envelope and send it to the Pulitzer Prize Board- nominees are people who’ve made it to the finals, everyone else is considered an “entrant”.
Since its dubious foundation, the Observer has made itself into the Pravda of Western Canada- which would be funny if it wasn’t for the fact their reporting has become a danger to our country. Take for example their dodgy NDP “Spying” story that published misinformation about Canada’s security services- weakening their ability to do important work monitoring the small percentage of activists who’ve been promoting sabotage and criminal activity.
So, how does a fake Pulitzer nominee follow-up creating Western Canada’s “truthiest” online publication? Solomon’s idea is to launch the National Observer, continuing her tradition of publishing dangerous propaganda. Adding insult to the injury, Solomon has shamelessly misappropriated the memory of Rosa Parks- a brave woman who stood against America’s institutionalized racism by defying the rules and sitting in the front of a Montgomery, Alabama bus.
Linda Solomon’s Appropriates Rosa Parks With A Racist Slur!
Linda Solomon with David Suzuki on Burnaby Mountain
Linda Solomon has launched a crowdfunding project as part of her efforts to launch the National Observer. As anyone who has signed up to the Vancouver Observer’s online updates is aware, Solomon has been spamming people’s mailboxes the past few days promoting her cause by disseminating misinformation. Yesterday’s email was titled “Rosa Parks And Burnaby Mountain”.
Solomon began her email with her typical anti-energy narrative, focussing entirely on Canadian energy and ignoring the “conflict oil” most Canadians are importing from vicious dictatorships like Saudi Arabia, Venezuela & Nigeria. In the next section “Why Should I Back The National Observer”, she discusses the protests on Burnaby Mountain saying:
“Hundreds of protesters gathered in a suburban forest to protest a new crude oil pipeline by pipeline giant Kinder Morgan, one slated to push through a conservation park. As the protest gained momentum and attendance over six weeks, tensions occasionally flared between protesters and police—while David Suzuki and others spoke to the crowd about the high-stakes context in which all this was occurring.”
David Suzuki made a mockery out of civil disobedience on Burnaby Mountain with his impassioned speech about his grandson Tamos Campos’ arrest saying:
“I did want to start by speaking to the RCMP first. To the RCMP, I come before you with great respect. But now you are here to enforce the law. That does not mean that you are above the law, or that you make your own law. My Grandson, was dragged across the line yesterday (or the day before) and arrested. You’re breaking the law! And I’m disappointed, I am disappointed, it grieves me. Because of the respect we hold for you!”
This website uncovered Suzuki’s misinformation. Campos’ arrest (and the arrest of Suzuki’s daughter and grandaughter) was stage managed by Harsha Walia, Canada’s most prominent promoter of activist violence. According to a post by Campos on his Facebook page, the RCMP were very aware of what really happened.
The first thing to notice is that Campos isn’t very smart, the RCMP don’t police the Downtown Eastside, that’s the jurisdiction of the Vancouver Police. Both Suzuki and Campos are supporters of the Unist’ot’en Camp, a group the RCMP have labelled as “extremists” and have been monitoring since 2010. Linda’s brother Joel Solomon has been organizing with Unist’ot’en supporter, and RCMP labelled extremist Clayton Thomas-Muller.
Solomon next continues to say:
“These were not radicals, but ordinary people who saw this pipeline and its inherent risks as a profoundly bad idea, for reasons both local and global. Mostly they were people who are keeping their eye on the future environment and economy we’re creating. They were youth, seniors, scientists, professionals and Aboriginal leaders.”
But, once again, her claim was completely misleading. As this site disclosed in #BurnabyMountain Unmasked Part I, many of the high-profile people arrested during the protests were the very definition of extremists:
– SFU Associate Alan Dutton started off the protests with the misleading claim that “this is not civil disobedience”. Dutton’s career has been centred around radicalization, working with extremist anarchist groups like Anti-Racist Action- boldly clashing with people they designated as “neo-Nazis”.
– The Observer presented SFU professor Stephen Collis as a mild mannered man, but he’s clearly the opposite. Collis supports the doctrine of Diversity of Tactics- meaning, that it’s okay if fellow protesters use violence (like when Campos and his comrades pushed their way into the police line on Burnaby Mountain). Collis’ books promote violent clashes with the police.
– Harsha Walia is Canada’s most prominent promoter of activist violence. She was on the front lines providing cover for Black Bloc protesters as they smashed-up downtown Toronto. After the 2010 Olympics, she went on the record calling people who “de-arrested” fellow protesters from the police “deeply heroic”. Walia was a major player on Burnaby Mountain, and held responsibility for dealing with people who were arrested.
– Audrey Siegel was on Burnaby Mountain. A few months later she appeared at the #ShutDownCanada protest where she made a false claim that she was assaulted by Vancouver Police.
– Cop Watch leader Jennifer Allan is most well known for the video of her yelling racist abuse at the police. Allan was recently seen pushing into and yelling at the police at #ShutDownCanada.
That’s just a small sample, a full list of the extremists on Burnaby Mountain would be very long…
Next, Solomon misappropriates the name of Rosa Parks. Keeping it classy, she throws-in a racist slur for good measure:
““I’m doing this for my children,” was a familiar refrain as one by one citizens were cuffed and directed into paddy wagons. For each one, the decision to break the law was difficult and emotional. But for most of them it was a moral stand about climate change, one they felt was worth taking—not unlike Rosa Park’s refusal to get off the bus for being black.”
The phrase “paddy wagon” is a derogatory and racist slur for a police van from back from the days when Irish people were stereotyped as drunken and violent louts. It takes a special type of ignorance for someone to use a racist slur while invoking the name of Rosa Parks, and Linda Solomon raised to the occasion.
Equally, her comparison between Burnaby Mountain and Rosa Parks, while glorifying David Suzuki and his grandson’s part in the protests, is completely disrespectful to such a beloved American hero. Part of the definition of Civil Disobedience is that a protest is “non-violent”, while many people on Burnaby Mountain respected this- Tamo Campos was involved in a violent scrum, pushing into and against the police.
Finally, Solomon shovels bullshit so deep it could only come from the editor of the Vancouver Observer:
“For us, it was a defining moment too. We were on the front lines every day, capturing stories. Our coverage was deep, personal and accurate. Many said we had the best coverage of any news outlet. That if we hadn’t been there, the actions they took and their reasons for taking them would have gone unseen and unheard by the general public”
Solomon got the “personal” part right, David Suzuki’s speech against the RCMP was deeply personal and hurtful to the hard working men and women who did their best to keep the peace. That said, Calling the Observer’s coverage of Burnaby Mountain “accurate” is an insult to journalists across the country. And, finally, the mainstream media did an excellent job at explaining why protesters came to Burnaby Mountain- even the protester’s nemesis Sun News (one of their reporters was assaulted by a former Observer writer) was clear about the protester’s purpose.
genuiNEWitty: Observing The Vancouver Observer
You saw it here first…
Despite the large amount of misinformation being reported by the Vancouver Observer, few people in the media have been brave enough to speak out about the “truthiness” of Linda Solomon’s publication. genuiNEWitty.com has been the leading source of articles uncovering the Observer’s misinformation:
– When Observer writer Matthew Millar published his dangerous story misleading readers about “government spying” on activists in November 2013, this site uncovered the truth, and published the full documentation received from the NEB.
– In April, 2013 this site was the first to publish the truth about Linda Solomon & Rex Weyler’s dodgy claim to be Pulitzer nominees
– In June, 2013 this site uncovered Linda Solomon’s dodgy coverage of well known con-artist and indigenous abuser Kevin Annett’s wild claims that the Vancouver Club is an “infamous” home for satanic child abuse and murder.
– In December 2013 the Observer published a vicious piece (by the writer who assaulted a Sun News journalist) framing Port Metro Vancouver staff as people who assaulted Santa Claus, this site uncovered the background of the protesters and their violence throwing coal at the port’s staff.
– When the Observer published a story praising Burnaby Mountain Mia Nissen’s fake hunger strike, this site uncovered the truth that she’s anything but Gandhi.
– When well known Twitter troll used the Observer as a platform to publish deeply personal insults about Vivian Krause’s age and appearance, this site exposed her hate in August, 2012.
– In June 2012 the Observer published an article with misinformation about a group of cop-baiters who were arrested after clashing with Vancouver police- this site uncovered the truth.
Linda Solomon has raised 10’s of thousands of dollars for her website which is virtually guaranteed to produce more dodgy, and dangerous, reports in the future. Over the three and a half years of this website, genuiNEWitty.com has only raised $750.
I need to ask for your help to continue the “good fight”, writing more articles that expose the Observer’s outright propaganda, and contrasting their dangerous stories that promote dangerous (and sometimes violent) activists- the people who make a mockery out of brave heroes like Rosa Parks.
Brother (or sister), can you spare a dime? Help me bring truth to the Observer’s misinformation… (All donations will be kept confidential unless you ask otherwise)
