Jun 11
Zach Ruiter is one of the more entertaining clowns in Toronto’s activist community. The protests he leads more often than not turn into cop-baiting sessions, he embarrassed Toronto-Parkdale MPP Cheri DiNovo pretty seriously with one of his anti-nuclear marches. He’s also caused some embarrassment for NDP MP Andrew Cash and MPP Jonah Schein.
Jun 11
Patricia Kelly & Anthony James Hall in the Mennonite Church newsletter…
Last July PressTV broadcast what was undoubtedly their greatest ever fish story. Being a propaganda arm of the Iranian government they’ve told a lot of whoppers. This story is no different that way, but it does have an amusing twist. It actually involves fish- documenting the perils faced by Patricia Kelly as she battled for her rights as a member of the Sto:Lo nation.
After nine years and two hundred appearances later a decision has finally been made. The court granted an absolute discharge and compensated Kelly for all but 276 of the 296 salmon confiscated from her by Fisheries And Oceans Canada as she delivered them to a commercial fish distributor. Kelly’s total compensation was $2,482- or, $9 per fish.
Kelly declared her case to be a major victory for indigenous fishing rights. In an interview with Kelly, Mark Hume of the Globe & Mail appears to have fallen for her story hook, line & sinker. Hume omits to mention how Kelly’s entangled with revolutionary activists who’ve been appropriating the voices of native communities across the country. He also leaves out how some of these activists are working with at least one hostile foreign government. Continue reading
Jun 06
This is what a violent revolutionary looks like?
As Canada’s experiences with the Toronto G20, 2010 Olympics, and Vancouver’s anti-gentrification kerfufel show us- there are people in Canada’s activist community who’ve begun to get out of hand. There thousands of people across the country who espouse the use of political violence, and hundreds who misguidedly follow their guidance. Many of them are just dumb kids who wouldn’t otherwise be so bold. Some of those kids lives got screwed up- if this escalation continues it’s likely there’ll be plenty more.
As when diagnosing any social problem, it’s important to ask the question of who benefits from it and who are the enablers. In Canada, a bit part of the problem comes from the media- from the both far left outlets that promote the violence, and the those in the centre who rarely dig deep enough to find the real story. Both sides are, in part, culpable for where we are today.
Enter Amy Goodman of Democracy Now…
Jun 05
Handcuff marks after Kim Hearty’s arrest…
Yesterday I broke the story about The Case of the Disappearing Pickle– a fake pickle mascot that protesters left unattended at the door of the Pidgin restaurant. The pickle was taken by away by someone at the restaurant, yesterday the Vancouver Police confirmed that the pickle was being held in their custody. It turns out I was correct speculating there would be consequences- one of the alleged pickle culprits was taken into custody on Monday morning.
Most of the reports in the media didn’t indicate the name of the person who was arrested- the VPD’s official statement was that they would not name the person who was arrested until the Crown Council had approved the charges. But, people on the side of the person arrested were not so discreet- they’ve now published that the arrestee was Kim Hearty, a member of the executive of the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE). The CBC has also reported this fact.
This is going to be very interesting…
Jun 03
A few days later a house was burned down…
If there’s one thing that can be agreed on since Vancouver radicals upped the ante with an arson in May- the city is in a bit of a pickle. There are individuals in the Downtown Eastside who’ve been radicalizing parts of the community for years. And, now, it’s got to the point where political extremists are running around with torches believing the city is all theirs.
What comes next in the progression from traffic blocking, to flaming torches, to arson is anybody’s guess…
Currently the most potent symbol of the fight against gentrification is the Pidgin restaurant. Pidgin is a mid-priced establishment built across the street from Pidgin park, a gathering place for many of the city’s poorest people. Pidgin’s average priced dish is $12-$16, one of the lowest priced options is the “daily pickles” which costs $5.
Jun 02
Look! Another white guy with a native revolutionary flag!
Joshua Blakeney is one of the most disturbing journalists in Canada. On the one hand he comes across as harmless, a babbling idiot who publishes stories worthy of the National Enquirer. Most people don’t believe his fish stories, it’s hard to take them seriously when peppered with stupidity. My favourite was the one that said the Canadian government was trying to kill off west coast natives by causing the extinction of Pacific salmon. It was a classic Blakeneyism.
This week Blakeney crowned his previous achievements of the heights of stupidity- going all homophobic on us. There’s so much wrong with this that I hardly know where to start…
May 27
Krystal Ann Kraus: Fake Indian, Intrepidly Krap Reporter (And Capt’n Yarr’s dream girl…)
I was reading Rabble.ca on Thursday (I read it so you don’t have to) when I came across an interesting article by Krystalline Kraus. As my regular readers will already know, Krause is far from being a reliable journalist- often it seems she writes more lies than truth. My favourite example of her ineptitude was in 2011 when she published a story claiming the notorious con-artist Kevin Annett conducted an exorcism that created a tornado “which devastated central Rome and the Vatican“. Annett is a man who has caused great pain to Canada’s indigenous communities.
Knowing about Kraus’ history of telling outrageous lies, I tend not to believe a word she writes (you shouldn’t either). I must have still been waking up when I read the story, or my BS meter was faulty- because I believed it at first. But, after some research, I can confirm that this article is a continuation of her pattern of misleading stories…
May 24
False advertising…
On July 30th of last year I noticed one of my friends was being treated rather disrespectfully. They were in a Twitter exchange with Sandy Garossino where the conversation led to the TIDES Foundation’s funding of organizations that espouse the use of political violence. My friend made a very valid point, TIDES has funded groups like the Ruckus Society- people behind the violence at the Seattle 1999 WTO (commonly known as the Battle of Seattle). Many of Vancouver’s militant anarchists were there, some are the same people smashed up the Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics, others were at the Toronto G20.
Garossino was very offended by this conversation and (electronically) lunged at my friend’s throat- ridiculing her idea, and publicly declaring: “credibility lost!”. In between she made statements stigmatizing mental health, and so obviously bent the truth that Vivian Krause and Leo Knight felt the need to step in and intervene- both pointed out that Garossino “twisted the truth like licorice”. Instead of making an apology for her behaviour she walked away in the hope it would be forgotten.
Sandy Garossino is the figurehead for one of Canada’s most prominent anti-bullying campaigns…
May 16
The Vancouver Police Department just let them roam unhindered with lit torches…
Two weeks ago, during Vancouver’s May Day march, a group of anarchists marched down the street with flaming torches. The anarchists were carrying signs saying things like “Rich Scum Beware, CLASS WAR” and “Mayday Means Attack”. One anarchist vandalized the sidewalk writing ACAB (All Cops Are Bastards). The only action the police took that day was to surround the controversial Pidgin restaurant to keep the protesters away from it. No action was taken to deal with the lit torches.
I my article about May Day I warned that Vancouverites should take these threats seriously. The city’s anarchists have been gradually getting out of control- and, unlike Toronto’s reaction prosecuting the criminals behind the G20, Vancouver anarchists have not seen any real consequences for their actions. Now, the anarchists have proved my prediction to be correct…