“I’m…tired of people telling me what to do!” “I don’t give a shit what America wants- I don’t care, I don’t even care a little bit…”
Dec 20
My Response to Mr Neil of The Council of Canadians
Me on October 15th, speaking about the campaign to take corporate funding out of politics. This initiative was supported by Joyce Murray.
Dear Mr Neil,
Thank you for the quick response. I have always held your organization in great esteem, and have no expectation the Council of Canadians wants to bring Occupy Vancouver to the point of revolution! This is inconceivable to me, as it always has been of course! Your’s is an organization I’d aspire to be part of one day.
However, Leadership from The Council of Canadians have most certainly taken-up residence in our organization- and have considerable influence. Carrying your organization’s name can have a halo effect that makes people overlook what is in front of them. It is a tool that should be wielded cautiously, and with 110% transparency.
Dec 20
A Response from Garry Neil From The Council of Canadians
This letter is the response to: A Letter to Maude Barlow at the Council of Canadians
___________________
December 20, 2011
Dear Greg,
Thank you for your December 16 email concerning the Council of Canadians and the Occupy movement. I want to assure you that the Council is not in any way trying to “take over” or co-opt the Occupy movement. We are very supportive of the movement because the concerns of the occupiers are ones we share. But, we believe that among the real strengths of this movement are the fact that it arose spontaneously as an expression of outrage and concern about the many inequalities in our society, and it does not have identified “leaders.”
Dec 20
A Letter to Maude Barlow at the Council of Canadians
"Maude Barlow addresses an anti-tar sands protest on Parliament Hill."
I was talking with Ruth Meta on December 16th, when she told me that Bob Ages from the Council of Canadians was going to be taking over mediation of Occupy Vancouver’s moderated Facebook page. We both did some research and felt uncomfortable with the transparency in OV’s relationship.
Ruth wrote the letter below and I decided I would also sent it as my personal request. Here is the content of the letter- my next two postings will include responses.
The response to this letter can be found here: Letter From Gary Neil…
Dec 20
Is Occupy Vancouver a Pawn to the Unions? (and others)
Watching this video makes me feel cheap, used, and taken advantage of in many ways. Like we may have been a sideshow for a union’s aspiration to get ‘cred’ with their membership. Curiously, this event happened at the same time as a hearing about OV at city hall- most of us were either there, or had our eyes glued to the livestream…
Dec 20
CoV Provides Just Under $1 million of Overtime Bonuses!
I’ll always remember the first day of Occupy Vancouver, and how impressed I was with the city’s level of preparedness. They grounds were cleaned-up, there were professionally made signs warning people not to use tent pegs, and there was steel fencing installed over a what I think was a stairwell- protecting people from falling into it.
The fencing Gregor may have approved of "just to make someone happy...". Or, for insurance... Notice the man carrying the barrel- the pic was lifted from CTV's website, it appears that CTV threw a #SacredProvocation at us!
I met one of the senior members of the Engineering department that day- the same man who later told me how the city believes Occupy Vancouver was co-opted by a potentially dangerous group of people. I congratulated him for having the foresight to install the fencing- assuming it was to keep us safe. His response was “I’ve been wanting to do that one for a while now!”
One thing I really noticed at OV is how happy and friendly the city staff were with us. I expected them to be unhappy that they were being distracted from their daily grinds- it didn’t make any sense until this evening when I read an article in the Vancouver Sun that discusses a ‘leaked’ memorandum from Penny Ballem and Sadhu Johnston about the CoV’s costs that were related to OV.
VPD: $590,000
Engineering: $345,878
Emergency Management: $28,494
Fire and Rescue Services: $16,730
Total: $981,102
Dec 18
#OccupyTruth!
Speaking with one of the people helping me research who came up with a title for my personal occupation: OccupyTruth!
Thank you to those people in Vancouver, Oakland, Ontario, Denver & NYC who have added your efforts to occupying the truth!
Dec 18
Breaking News! Kevin Stevenson Is Important Enough to be On My Blog!
In a heated Facebook discussion with a concern troll, the person throwing ad-hominem attacks (who will remain unnamed) I told this person “Give it up, you’re not important enough to get space on my blog!”
Kevin Stevenson, who previously was a nobody, sentenced to life not being discussed on my blog, has now been elevated to the esteemed position of “important enough to be mentioned on my blog!”
Kevin joins such local celebrities as Harsha Walia, David Eby, Quatchi, Ruth Meta and Prime Minister Harper. Congratulations Kevin! But, watch out, soon there may be an “OccupyKevin”!