G20?

[nibbler]

They who set the table know that some of the desperate will act accordingly.

[nibbler]

i sense you have read an awful lot more into my post than intended, nibbler.

I second that sense and raise you a glass- cheers! :chug:

[nibbler]

[nibbler]

‘I will not forget what they have done to me’

20 people arrested at the G20 tell of ‘inhumane’ treatment at the hands of police

Published On Mon Jun 28 2010, The Star

excerpt: just 2 of the 20 stories

Amy Miller, Montreal

Miller, an independent journalist, was on her way to the jail solidarity protest Sunday around noon with fellow journalist Adam MacIsaac. She stopped at Bloor and St. Thomas Sts. where she saw police officers searching a group of young people carrying backpacks. She says police attacked her.

“I was throttled at the neck and held down. Next thing you know I was being cuffed and put in one of the wagons.†She says she was threatened and harassed by police at the Eastern Ave. detention centre. “I was told I was going to be raped, I was told I was going to be gangbanged, I was told that they were going to make sure that I was never going to want to act as a journalist again.â€

She also says she spoke to numerous young women who were strip-searched by male officers.

Selwyn Firth, 59, Toronto mayoral candidate

Wanting a better view of a protest outside Queen’s Park on Saturday, Firth walked to an elevated U of T building. When police told him to leave, he identified himself as a mayoral candidate. He refused and was forced to the ground, his cheek lacerated. He was arrested for obstruction.

“I wasn’t obstructing anyone, I was asking questions,†said Firth, who was taken to the Eastern Ave. detention centre where he needed insulin for his Type 1 diabetes. Sunday morning he was taken to the Finch Ave., courthouse and again needed insulin, so was sent to hospital. He later returned to court and was released on $1,000 bail. He is considering suing the city and police.

Read the entire article by linking to the source

[Kanada Kev]

The events from this past weekend cannot be shuffled under the rug. I really hope that people continue to come forward and aren't deterred by these horrific bullying and scare tactics. So utterly disgusting and so many people around here have bought into the pr and are regurgitating exactly what is being fed to them.

Did any of this passionate speech from Naomi Klein make it on the news? I don't know

[ollie]

The events from this past weekend cannot be shuffled under the rug.

What are you colleagues at the CBC saying about this? Do you have any contacts in the news department? What are they saying internally?

[Kanada Kev]

The events from this past weekend cannot be shuffled under the rug.

What are you colleagues at the CBC saying about this? Do you have any contacts in the news department? What are they saying internally?

Sadly, I'm not associated closely with the news (other than dealing with the commercials that air on News Net).

I have been contemplating sending an email to a couple of produces to ask whether or not they are planning on follow-up stories and investigative work into what went down.

Since i'm not close to the news people i havn't really got an idea of what they are saying "internally". However, I will be more than happy to ask if i run into them on the elevators, etc.

Contacting people at the CBC is easy if anyone else here wants to do it. You can pretty much find out the names of people associated with specific shows online. Simply take their names and follow this format FIRSTNAME.LASTNAME@cbc.ca and they'll get it.

Your local MPs need to hear about it as well. No matter what party they are from. When question period opens in Parliament it will be interesting to see who speaks up regarding this shit. I expect a bunch of chickenshit cowards. Passing the buck to other jurisdictions.

And how about McGuinty??? He's the one on watch and allowed the twisted "temporary" legislation through that allowed for these random sweeps of citizens on the streets of our city.

I heard that the complaints process for this is a bitch too. The Metro Police are completely different than the OPP and RCMP.

Contact your fed representative and get their stance on this. Tell them how it will directly affect the way in which you vote in the next election. The cops used force that was given to them under orders of their chiefs/commanders. I want to hear what Fantino has to say about all this.

Just had to listen to a coworker say how they think it's grand to have them sweep everyone up to weed out and get the few that are the "bad" ones. I asked if she'd feel this way if anyone they knew (who was an innocent bystander) got swept up like this if they'd feel the same way.

[Kanada Kev]

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontog20summit/article/830030--no-arrests-made-under-g20-rule-change-ontario-says

So, let me get this straight. There were NO arrests under the Provincial law that was temporarily granted to include the Security Zone. They clarified that it had nothing to do with police power, but rather defining property. OK, I understand this. It makes the Security Zone like an airport or court house with extra security measures.

Why is it that in those couple of days before the G20 was to take place that the law was explained relentlessly as giving the police the authority to demand identification and searches of people and bags???

With that being taken as the truth, people complied all over to searches that are technically unlawful, no? (well except that they went along with it for fear of being arrested).

hmmmm

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontog20summit/article/830057--demands-rising-for-inquiry-into-g20-debacle

[nibbler]

Kevin,

Naomi Klein was interviewed on Democracy Now presenting these same points yesterday. Its not what I would call the Main Stream Media, but it is circulating globally.

[ollie]

I caught the end of a conversation between her and Evan Solomon on CBC last night, FWIW.

[Kanada Kev]

Kevin,

Naomi Klein was interviewed on Democracy Now presenting these same points yesterday. Its not what I would call the Main Stream Media, but it is circulating globally.

That was fantastic. Thank you for posting. I am forwarding it along to family and friends for sure. Very well reasoned, explained and presented.

[nibbler]

[Kanada Kev]

It is sad hearing long time Toronto journalists like Paikin talk about these dark days.

That video lead me to this scary interview with Paul Cavalluzzo: Ontario Public Works Act removes probable cause & right to free and peaceful assembly. Allows a decision by Cabinet to invoke near martial law.

[Schwa.]

I see all of this as a very unfortunate learning tool. OK, it happened once. Let it NEVER happen again.

[nibbler]

Kev,

One of the videos you posted titled "G20 Toronto Protest painclothes cops arresting..." shows many plainclothed police officers retreating through a line of cops after throwing some indiscriminate beatings around. Incredible how many of them are dressed up in black bloc costume- minus the scarf to cover their faces of course! Also gotta love the policewoman who growls at the cameraman while giving a good whack with the telescoping club!

Seriously though- great to see so many cameras on the streets, so much youtube footage of the events, its really fucking with the Main Stream Media's initial attempts to smear the protest movement. Maybe there is hope for Democracy 2.0 after all.

[nibbler]

"Rally for a Public Inquiry Concerning the Actions at the G20"

Where: Queen's Park, Toronto

When: 5:30 P.M. today- Canada Day

Who: Canadians who actually give a shit, LIKE YOU!!!

website

facebook event page listing

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nibbler, what do you make of people whose opinions about the protests / coverage etc has been 100% from mainstream media? I haven't looked at any of the alternative media reports or sites, but yet still am pretty shocked at police tactics and results etc. If my only source is mainstream media and I hold generally the same reaction as you, how has the mainstream media failed in this case?

[Thorgnor]

AD = fail.

[Kanada Kev]

Angry merchants ask: Why did G20 protesters attack us?

Vandals attacked their stores during the G20 summit. Now, Yonge St.’s small merchants want to know, ‘Why us?’

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontog20summit/article/831506--store-owners-defiant-after-property-damaged-during-g20-riot?bn=1

and

The G20 summit’s grim lessons for civil liberties

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontog20summit/article/831443--walkom-the-g20-summit-s-grim-lessons-for-civil-liberties

Edited July 4, 2010 by Guest

[nibbler]

nibbler, what do you make of people whose opinions about the protests / coverage etc has been 100% from mainstream media? I haven't looked at any of the alternative media reports or sites, but yet still am pretty shocked at police tactics and results etc. If my only source is mainstream media and I hold generally the same reaction as you, how has the mainstream media failed in this case?

Your "reaction" to the events as retrospectively told in the MSM was my "expectation" of the events long before they began. If you havent already done so, please read this short article from The Star

While the G20 was happening, the MSM focused on footage of smashed windows and burning police cars, cementing an image of violent protesters into the minds of millions of viewers, images which were supposed to galvanize support for the summit's billion dollar budget, and the tory 'Tough on Crime' agenda.

It wasn't until after the events of Saturday night, when members of the press corps were caught up in the indiscriminate net cast by the police that the tables turned and the MSM began telling the 'protesters as victims' side of the story rather than the intended 'protesters as antagonists' angle.

Several major factors at play here:

1) the presence of tens of thousands of video cameras on the streets created a convincing body of evidence which very few Main Stream Media outlets are willing to challenge as doing so would seriously blemish their credibility.

2) Typically the Main Stream Media strategy would try to marginalize and discredit individuals raising criticism of the police, but in this case if they tried to discredit ALL of the allegations against police they would fail, as hundreds, perhaps thousands, of eyewitness accounts from protesters corroborate. As in point 1, the MSM would appear to be mere propaganda outlets if they failed to report the truth as it is already widely circulating in the independent media, via word of mouth, and its backed up by plenty of convincing videos and photos.

3) Just as the police stand up for their own, so do the press corps: perhaps the most important factor at play here- the police screwed up: their heavy handed tactics did not discriminate between protester and journalist, they physically assaulted and arrested several members of both the MSM press corps and indymedia journalists, thus forming a bond between the two branches of journalism, while creating a deep rift between police and MSM.

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While the G20 was happening, the MSM focused on footage of smashed windows and burning police cars, cementing an image of violent protesters into the minds of millions of viewers, images which were supposed to galvanize support for the summit's billion dollar budget, and the tory 'Tough on Crime' agenda.

I think it's more than fair (fact, even) to say that the images of the rampage were newsworthy regardless of your claim of a conspiracy in the MSM to create any one version of events or support for any one agenda. To suggest collusion on that level is laughable.

1) the presence of tens of thousands of video cameras on the streets created a convincing body of evidence which very few Main Stream Media outlets are willing to challenge as doing so would seriously blemish their credibility.

Why would the MSM try to challenge the events of the day? A lot of them were broadcasting live, getting word out even faster than other sources.

2) Typically the Main Stream Media strategy would try to marginalize and discredit individuals raising criticism of the police, but in this case if they tried to discredit ALL of the allegations against police they would fail, as hundreds, perhaps thousands, of eyewitness accounts from protesters corroborate. As in point 1, the MSM would appear to be mere propaganda outlets if they failed to report the truth as it is already widely circulating in the independent media, via word of mouth, and its backed up by plenty of convincing videos and photos.

I think you rely far too much on theories and hypothetical beliefs rather than the facts of the case at hand. Again, why would the MSM try to discredit the allegations of the police? It's not like they just realized that YouTube and the internet is out there and "Oh Shit, we have to completely change the way we do things..." There are always going to be cameras and the internet out there from here on out, so does that mean that never again will the MSM attempt to discredit or change the version of events that happens? And if you believe that, isn't that a great turn of events for everyone?

Again, if someone relied on the MSM to get their G20 coverage and came to the same conclusion as someone who relied on independent media, twitter, blogs, facebook etc, how has the MSM failed?

[nibbler]

Independent journalists have been and are willing to continue doing the job of reporting events as they happen on the ground. Whilst I agree with your point: its a great turn of events that the MSM is apparently raising the bar, I also think its unfortunate that they didn't do it out of choice. Rather they are doing it to prevent obsolescence.

(for the "factual" side of this story rather than my conjecture, please investigate how many sources of print media and daily newspapers are presently going bankrupt all over the globe thanks to the WWW.)

To illustrate with an example: I think its great that many people put effort into learning about Haiti when the country was rocked by a catastrophic earthquake earlier this year. I think its commendable that some people were so touched by the event that they passionately urged friends to donate aid towards the cause. Yet I think its unfortunate for Haitians and the victims of colonialism the world over that it takes a catastrophic earthquake or some such calamity to wake citizens of G8 countries up from our comfortable lives.

[nibbler]

Again, if someone relied on the MSM to get their G20 coverage and came to the same conclusion as someone who relied on independent media, twitter, blogs, facebook etc, how has the MSM failed?

I doubt the MSM led you to conclude that the violence was deliberately encouraged by police in order to push a Tough on Crime agenda whilst justifying a more than 1.3 Billion dollar summit pricetag. However if they did then I tip my hat to them.

[phishtaper]

fwiw, some of the loudest cheers from the crowd yesterday during the pride parade in TO were for the various police officers marching in the parade.

edit to add: when did the mainstream media become a singular entity?

Edited July 5, 2010 by Guest

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when did the mainstream media become a singular entity?

When the govt agenda deemed it neccessary, obviously.