Feb 16
The first Cop Watch started in the San Francisco Bay area by Van Jones, an American Maoist who later became Barack Obama’s “Green Jobs Czar” (and was thrown out after his extremist connections were exposed). It sounds like a good idea on the surface, ordinary citizens standing on the sidelines with video cameras keeping an eye …
Feb 14
In early January Vancouver activist Dan Wallace announced a potentially exciting protest called #ShutDownCanada. The organizer’s goal was to get people to join in from coast-to-coast-to-coast, block critical infrastructure, and “severely impact: the country’s economy”. Adding to the anouncement, Wallace declared the event would “respect diversity of tactics”- activist code that means it’s acceptable if …
Apr 19
Update: The people of Vancouver-Point Grey have now elected Eby into office, God help us all… Radical activism in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES) has been getting out of hand for several years now- beginning in the early 2000’s with the formation of the infamous (and now defunct) Anti-Poverty Committee. The APC was a militant anarchist organization …
Aug 13
You may remember back in June when I covered the story of how Vancouver Cop Watch’s Jennifer Allan hoodwinked Bill Good on CKNW. Jennifer told Good that Cop Watch’s purpose was to politely observe the police, and to build positive relationships with them. I spoke with Jennifer after that, and she told me that there …
Jul 25
A little over a month ago Jennifer Allan of Vancouver Cop Watch showed up on CKNW’s Bill Good show telling the people of Vancouver that Cop Watch’s purpose is to build bridges and make positive relations with the police. I gave her the benefit of doubt back then when I wrote my article The Head …
Jul 18
Walking through Kensington market last week I came across the police arresting someone for what I was told was theft. The cops held the guy against the trunk of the car for about 5 minutes before a van came to pick him up. The cops acted professionally, and took the time to explain to some …
Jul 09
I‘ll never forget the day that Angela Turvey and John Erb were hospitalized– it was an incident that seriously challenged my views on the police. I was sitting at home writing an article, when I got a phone call from one of the people who had occupied Osgoode Hall. They told me that the police …
Jul 09
I just saw this posted on Vancouver Cop Watch’s Facebook page. One has to wonder why they would put-up an arrest of Jayson Fleury from last year at Occupy Toronto. This is indeed interesting- here’s the video of the arrest:
Jun 27
Last week’s Vancouver Casseroles march was another gong show. It looks like only about a dozen people showed up- there were more police than demonstrators. One could call it another ‘leftovers’ march- but, with so few people, perhaps they should just be called scraps?
Jun 13
There are two ways I know when a story has been successful. First, I am blessed with 1000’s of hits from you, my dear readers. The second way is when I see someone publishing an article to counter my writing- this happened recently when ScoutMagazine.ca ran a story that included criticism about when I wrote …