From City TV news:
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair accused one of the most prominent activist organizations involved in G20 protests of complicity in the violence that occurred last weekend as he stood beside the weapons and other items seized by authorities during the international event.
Not exactly sure why the Media Co-op logo was seized or why Upping the Anti: a journal of theory and action is consdered so dangerous.
Seriously, you can't make this stuff up.
Isn't it nothing short of amazing, hilarious and shocking how "different" our so called weapons are from the pig state?
Really!
Rocking the resistance on Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver.
Tami Starlight
VMC Reporter and rabble rouser
It's like when the War Measures Act was perpetrated, the Quebec police seized a book about Cubism and Cubists as subversive because they thought it was about Cuba and arrested the book's owner.
You can't buy better publicity than that. Go Media Co-op and Upping the Anti! Knowledge is the weapon of the people.
I hear the police are soon to launch a campaign to dissuade young people from tuning into alternative and independent media: "JUST DON'T READ IT!"
Because clearly it functions just like a gateway drug. You tune into the Media Co-op or read Upping the Anti! and next thing you know, you're dressing in black and breaking Starbucks windows.
They really are brilliant.
If you felt they were criminalizing dissent, here is your proof.
Clearly, the police leaders do not like
* independent media that are not frightened of showing police brutality
* anything left-wing, especially if it uses the infamous word 'revolution'.
Now, I can understand that, from a more mainstream viewpoint, the word 'revolution' used in Upping The Anti may sound like a call to arms, but a revolution simply means a change of system.
But the essential problem is the police should not do politics ! The police and the law are not supposed to judge your opinions, but rather your actions.
Yet police officers who show left-wing books as sign of illegal behaviour is sadly not new (though it remains as pathetic as ever).
They also showed many helmets as being weapons. Hmm, odd, I thought the helmets were a protection against weapons? ... People of all sorts wore helmets and masks to protect themselves from gas or charges from the anti-riot police. In this case, a mediacoop reporter wanted to protect his head. Hmm, I wonder why? Oh yes, because the Toronto police assaulted and threw on the ground various journalists and reporters.
Some police are digging themselves a hole and, hopefully, those who do politics and repression will lose their jobs. I mean I also saw police who were cool and not overtly going out of their way to obey and apply these unconstitutional powers.
If Bill Blair is responsible for massive arrests, he had better apologize. But the politicians who gave the police excessive powers are the true criminals.
The independent media really is dangerous to capitalism. It really is. And the weapons shown are accurate. Weapons of truth. This government is anti-Canadian, anti-democratic, unpatriotic, and nothing scares the beejesus out of those that would have the truth distrorted more than dissent and true democracy. Never mind answering questions. Blairshould be fired and Harper and McGuinty tossed out of office.
of course they are weapons...weapons of truth. And of course they are dangerous. They are dangerous to those who are opposed to democracy and dissent. Without dissent there is no democracy, only dictatorship. These people are undemocratic, anti-Canadian, and traitors to democracy. The pen is mightier than the sword, and they will do whatever it takes to take your pen away.
Blair should not be answering questions but should be thrown out of office, along with Harper, Miller and McGuinty.
Laugh all you want but thats not just books there were showing, the showed some kind of machete-like large knife. Im not saying that was coming from protesters, but sadly i think to some people protesting is just some kind of game. Symbolicly breaking a starbucks windows is nothing much than preaching to the choir. If you think thats convincing my suburban cousin of anything but that these kind of protesters are nothing but thugs, and that them or stanley cup rioters its all the same thing, youd be right. These kind of actions to me are just people trying to convince themselves they are "the real" protesters and cops must have quite a laugh at how they play right into their hands and how easy it must be to plant undercovers dressed in black.
Amongst all the "weapons" (sigh), there is a small rusted saw. It clearly can't cut a fence, maybe bread at worse. It is possibly a weapon, but a very weak one. The person carrying that should be slapped, but you can't accuse her of really planning a serious violent action.
My point is, on three tables of non-weapons, we have one small rusted pathetic saw.
Case closed.
Well you missed the footage i saw, which clearly showed some black curved blade machete type weapon. Again, im not saying this was actually taken on a protester, because i doubt anything the police says after Montebello (and since earlier, ive been to protests since the late 90s). But my point is that it was shown as evidence and that this macho bravado is helping cops getting what they need to continue to push this anti-democratic legislation and repression through.
these were just things that were collected during the past week. the blades and and saws were probably picked up at someones home, the tire iron came from a trunk most likely. flag poles were also "weapons" last week as were swim goggles.
it is up to the people to stop the legislation. the black bloc helps bring the issue to the forefront. Bill Blair needs to resign and punished.
the camera is a weapon.
I see nothing but a weak attempt to excuse police brutality coming from Blair and any government liar above him. Weak excuses to claim that real dangerous people were bearing real dangerous weapons - and doing so because they know damn well that what they (were likely told to) classify as the threat are the very freedoms this country worked hard to develop. The weapons they were trying to break were public unity & peaceful demonstrations.
I'd love to see Blair resign or be fired but the reality is that he's most likely got some bigger politician or federal top's arm up his arse. Nothing but a scapegoat puppet.
Truth is indeed a weapon. Right on.
The Globe and Mail has an article, outlining the ways in which the police misrepresented these weapons, including things on the table which had nothing to do with G20 protests, and quite blatantly lying about the purposes of items such as the cloth covered arrows:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/weapons-seized-in-g...
The site for the Toronto local of The Media Co-op has been archived and will no longer be updated. Please visit the main Media Co-op website to learn more about the organization.