Toronto was crazy today.

DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,902 Posts
edited June 2010 in Strut Central
I'm pretty shocked,

I love this city, but today was a hot mess. Sad to see some protest with legitimate issues getting jacked today by some thugs.

That said, I saw some shit by the cops which was downright despicable.

Beating down little old ladies. Trampling women with horses charging.

Took a lot of pics, but here is a video of rubber bullets and tear gas shot my way. This was pretty tame compared to a lot of other craziness that went down.


Getting shot at with rubber bullets & tear gas during the G20 in Toronto. from bwilliamp on Vimeo.

«1

  Comments



  • hertzhoghertzhog 865 Posts
    The police on horseback remind me of


  • nzshadownzshadow 5,518 Posts
    same shit different city.

    fuckin tryhard 'anarchists' ruining protests, of course noone is surprised to hear the reports that some of the ringleaders are actually working for the man, plants whose mission is to discredit the real protests and draw the attemntion away from the real issues.

    the G20 is a joke, a bunch of wankers sitting around a table talking about new ways they will make us pay for their fuckups.

    Throwing a shopping cart through a McDonalds window will show them.

    lets change the world by kicking a cop cars window in.

    dont care.

  • street_muzikstreet_muzik 3,919 Posts
    BAck when i was more involved in activism during the prop 187 days we formed a group to organize and we made a lot of waves. We did have a few rules. No cops (we were infiltrated), and no anarchist hipster fucks.

  • spelunkspelunk 3,400 Posts
    nzshadow said:
    some of the ringleaders are actually working for the man, plants whose mission is to discredit the real protests and draw the attemntion away from the real issues.

    this. plenty of CIA and FBI up in there.

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    What's the current going salary in Toronto for a job where you have bottles thrown at you and then have to treat said bottle throwers with courtesy and respect??

  • dwyhajlodwyhajlo 420 Posts
    Rockadelic said:
    What's the current going salary in Toronto for a job where you have bottles thrown at you and then have to treat said bottle throwers with courtesy and respect??

    I'm almost positive that it's a rhetorical question, but you can find the answer here: http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/careers/salaryandbenefits.php

    nzshadow said:
    fuckin tryhard 'anarchists' ruining protests, of course noone is surprised to hear the reports that some of the ringleaders are actually working for the man, plants whose mission is to discredit the real protests and draw the attemntion away from the real issues.

    Is that their actual stated objective? I know that there's been infiltration of these groups by various law enforcement agencies for a long, long time, but are the infiltrators the actual "ringleaders" of the violence? I don't profess to being an expert, but I was always under the impression that the infiltration of said groups is generally so that they can monitor potentially violent people to make it easier to defuse them when stuff like this does occur.
    It just seems a little conspiratorially-minded to think that there's that much concern about peaceful protesters that law enforcement agencies would devote resources to actively discrediting them.

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    dwyhajlo said:
    Rockadelic said:
    What's the current going salary in Toronto for a job where you have bottles thrown at you and then have to treat said bottle throwers with courtesy and respect??

    I'm almost positive that it's a rhetorical question, but you can find the answer here: http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/careers/salaryandbenefits.php

    .

    I'm curious....is the "Family Health Plan" that they get different/separate from the National Health Care program??

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    Yes. Generally speaking, national healthcare doesn't pay for drugs, only medical appointments, operations, etc.
    It sounds from the title that the police plan includes the whole family.
    My workplace plan pays for 80% of any prescription drugs. Edit - and I have to pay a little more if I want to add a family member. Same if I want to add them on to my dental or eyecare plans.
    Depending on what kind of plan (and occupation) it is, some workplaces include massages.

  • dwyhajlodwyhajlo 420 Posts
    In addition to what bassie said, I have another example: my father works for the Government of Canada, but his health coverage is still done via Sun Life Financial.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    I work for the provincial government and we are also with Sun Life.

  • maldorurrmaldorurr 120 Posts
    dwyhajlo said:

    It just seems a little conspiratorially-minded to think that there's that much concern about peaceful protesters that law enforcement agencies would devote resources to actively discrediting them.

    I agree that it seems a little paranoid, but I can attest from experience that police infiltration of virtually any political organization other than Young Democrats/Young Republicans goes waaaay beyond what anyone would reasonably expect, or what any cop should reasonably be doing with his/her time. Particularly in towns with large universities, and particularly when said towns are rather miniscule apart from the student population, cops get involved in almost every half-assed "anarchist meeting" at the coffee shop; I've been told, though I haven't got any proof of this assertion, that attendance at such meetings is a way to gain departmental brownie points for people still in school who eventually plan to join the PD, and I've certainly been at some allegedly political functions shut down for "noise" or "disturbing the peace" that could hardly have been heard by someone standing at the front door, much less by neighbors or a homeowners' association.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    double post

  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,902 Posts
    It's completely disgusting what's going on right now at Queen & Spadina.

    Where is the mayor???

  • DOR said:
    It's completely disgusting what's going on right now at Queen & Spadina.

    Where is the mayor???

    what is going down there right now? are things ramping up?

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    He can't do shit.
    We've been abandoned.
    I am not trying to be melodramatic, but the cops have their orders and they are running the show.

  • maldorurrmaldorurr 120 Posts
    crabmongerfunk said:
    DOR said:
    It's completely disgusting what's going on right now at Queen & Spadina.

    Where is the mayor???

    what is going down there right now? are things ramping up?

    Yeah, can we get some SS embeddededness? Sounds like shit's getting heavier than I'd have anticipated.

  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,902 Posts
    crabmongerfunk said:
    DOR said:
    It's completely disgusting what's going on right now at Queen & Spadina.

    Where is the mayor???

    what is going down there right now? are things ramping up?

    I was down there earlier.

    Basically there was a completely peaceful walk going on down Queen Street. Once they got to Spadina the cops were there to stop them from going south or west. So people just stopped right there. A good portion of the people were just there to watch. We were trying to go west to eat on Queen and we took a back alley to get through. So after the cops started surround everyone to a point where they totally had everyone boxed in.They have been holding people there in the rain for the last 3-4 hours in the rain not letting anyone go. Didn't matter why you were there.

  • maldorurrmaldorurr 120 Posts
    There's gotta be a jurisdictional clusterfuck going on as well -- I can't believe that the G20 'leaders' would show anywhere, much less all at the same time, without private security and very possibly some Blackwater-ish ringers, probably uni'd up along with the Toronto PD. Everyone up there be well careful, aye?

  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,902 Posts
    Before the rain. A good portion of the people in there are not even protesters.


  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,902 Posts
    This was earlier.

    Wait for the Canadian anthem to finish.


  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    I think they are frantic to clean this up for tomorrow morning, but already there is talk of the extra police not leaving tomorrow as planned. As well, people are calling for additional protests in reaction to what DOR described as well the snatch and grab tactics. Peaceful protesters and journalists, joggers and tourists...it seems everywhere in the core is the wrong place and it will be the wrong time for a good while.


  • pppppppp 261 Posts
    This is really disheartening, and is evidence that both sides have deteriorated to the point where it's just brainless fighting (for the most part). Lighting up cop cars and smashing the windows of CBC news trucks because of G20 meetings is pathetically juvenile and straight up angering. They're fucking up my city and I'm pissed. But THAT was Saturday - today is a different story.

    The cops have been detaining people for 24 hours without the chance to have a conversation with a lawyer - a lot of them have been held outside in the rain. It's amoral, unethical and the cops will have a lot of explaining to do tomorrow.

    This is all Stephen Harper's fault! As if this wasn't totally predictable. Why hold these meetings in a metropolis with 3 million people? To put "Toronto on the map"? Is that necessary? I can't wait for that guy to get tossed out of office.

  • dwyhajlo said:
    Is that their actual stated objective? I know that there's been infiltration of these groups by various law enforcement agencies for a long, long time, but are the infiltrators the actual "ringleaders" of the violence? I don't profess to being an expert, but I was always under the impression that the infiltration of said groups is generally so that they can monitor potentially violent people to make it easier to defuse them when stuff like this does occur.
    It just seems a little conspiratorially-minded to think that there's that much concern about peaceful protesters that law enforcement agencies would devote resources to actively discrediting them.

    It has happened before. http://www.thestar.com/news/article/248608

    Cops plant provocateurs in peaceful demonstration to provoke a reaction, and in turn use it as a reason to administer more force.

  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,902 Posts
    CinisterCee said:
    dwyhajlo said:
    Is that their actual stated objective? I know that there's been infiltration of these groups by various law enforcement agencies for a long, long time, but are the infiltrators the actual "ringleaders" of the violence? I don't profess to being an expert, but I was always under the impression that the infiltration of said groups is generally so that they can monitor potentially violent people to make it easier to defuse them when stuff like this does occur.
    It just seems a little conspiratorially-minded to think that there's that much concern about peaceful protesters that law enforcement agencies would devote resources to actively discrediting them.

    It has happened before. http://www.thestar.com/news/article/248608

    Cops plant provocateurs in peaceful demonstration to provoke a reaction, and in turn use it as a reason to administer more force.

    I kinda wanna slap this guy in the face. But I'm sure he's right that they are cops.


  • nzshadownzshadow 5,518 Posts





  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    I don't know why people think it outrageous - in its improbablility or conspiratorial bent - that police infiltrate activist groups, especially those known for radical behaviour. They go undercover with gangs and drug rings - why would the not do the same with folks who undermine the social norms in other ways?

    Anyhow - if anyone in the area is interested, there is a gathering with speakers in front of HQ to protest the behaviour of the police.

    ___________________________________________________

    http://rabble.ca/babble/activism/protest-police-state-tactics-toronto-tonight-mon-june-28

    EMERGENCY RALLY: PROTEST POLICE ABUSE OF POWER
    DATE: Monday, June 28th
    TIME: 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
    PLACE: Toronto Police Headquarters, 40 College Street
    FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/event.php?eid=122237507819100&ref=mf

    Protest police abuse of power and show your solidarity with those who have been arrested. Be there to defend our rights to freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, and freedom to dissent!

    Speakers:
    Naomi Klein
    Ben Powless
    David McNally
    Abeer Majeed
    Testimonies from people who've been brutalized by police

    Over the past two days, police have rounded and arrested up hundreds of people. They have been denied access to lawyers, telephones, food and water, and held in deplorable conditions in makeshift steel cages. Many have been beaten in the streets and in their homes; shot at with rubber bullets and tear gas; some have been sent to hospital with severe injuries. Hundreds are still in custody as of Sunday night.
    We need to get our people out. We need to take our city back from the armed fortress that it has been turned into.

  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,902 Posts
    bassie said:
    I don't know why people think it outrageous - in its improbablility or conspiratorial bent - that police infiltrate activist groups, especially those known for radical behaviour. They go undercover with gangs and drug rings - why would the not do the same with folks who undermine the social norms in other ways?

    I think what is on people's minds is, not if they are infiltrating... But are they responsible for starting violence?

    Like the video's in Quebec. A peaceful protest which cops are found to be a part of the crowd is not the a major deal. The fact that he's holding a rock is a very irresponsible action. And this action should be banned in Canada.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    Is it a form of entrapment?
    Also not unheard of in other arenas - also should not be allowed.
    I don't know, I just don't find it that unbelievable...
Sign In or Register to comment.