If you go out in the streets today ...

If you go out in the streets today
You're sure of a big surprise.
If you go out in the streets today
There's cops in black bloc disguise

And every cop that ever there was
Will gather there for certain, because
Today's the day the copper bears have their picnic.

Kettling time for copper bears,
Toronto copper bears are having a lovely time today.
Watch their snatch and grab affairs,
And dodge their teargas and their pepperspray.
Watch them not put fires out
They've got illegal clout
So never have any cares.
At six o'clock McGuinty and Bill Blair
Will send them out again
Because they're wired little copper bears.

If you go out in the streets today,
You'd better not go alone.
It's lovely out in the streets today,
But safer to stay at home.
For every Charter right that there was
Will get a fright for certain, because
Today's the day the copper bears have their picnic.

Inspired by Skdadl's brilliant post at Pogge.
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G20 Black Bloc get green light to rampage

A photojournalist followed and filmed 75 to 100 Black Bloc for 90 minutes and 24 blocks as they rampaged through the streets of Toronto smashing windows and torching police cars while police looked calmly on from several different locations. Why was this rampage allowed to happen? Police say they had already infiltrated a Black Bloc group and knew what to expect, but tonight the head of G20 security operations told an incredulous Susan Ormiston on CBC that the police had better things to do than attend to the Black Bloc. So much for "serve and protect" then if you're not a G20 fence.

The photojournalist is interviewed here by Paul Manly, who shot the footage of the three rock-toting police provocateurs at the SPP protests in Montebello back in Aug 2007 and wonders if this is a repeat performance. There's the question of the abandoned police cruisers and it was only after the rampagers dumped their black gear and dispersed into the crowd that the police attacked the peaceful protesters.

Well, perhaps not all of them dumped their black gear. Below some 20 plainclothes, including a couple of blackclad guys in hoodies, are seen making a run for safety behind a police line. The crazyangry woman who attacks the photographer scampers off with them.

After Montebello, we should demand to know exactly what these guys were up to here.

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G20 : Security theatre bait cars

Protesters amuse themselves playing with the sirens and lights in two police cruisers inexplicably driven into the crowd and then abandoned in the middle of the street. Calling in to dispatch, making aeroplane noises on the mike for the crowd, and handing out tickets - it's all rather jovial.

Kid lights a paper fire on the passenger seat, someone else puts it out, and a short altercation about safety ensues. Another guy writes on the cruiser in green paint : "This is bait, aka a prop."

Kid on the mike in the cruiser : "For $1.2 billion dollars, thanks for all your photography. This will be on the news tonight justifying the whole event."

And later when the cars were torched for real it was. But some in the media remember the agents provocateurs at the SPP protest at Montebello.

The Guardian :

Many Canadians have become suspicious of police tactics since the Quebec police force admitted that it had disguised three of its own officers as rock-wielding anarchists in an attempt to provoke violence at a peaceful protest in the town of Montebello two years ago. Somewhat farcically, the three were exposed as agents provocateurs when they were found to be wearing official issue police boots identical to those of the uniformed officers "arresting" them.

"There are concerns that similar skulduggery may have played a part in Toronto this weekend, where the burning of three police cars quickly became the defining image of Saturday's otherwise peaceful demonstration. Questions are being asked as to why the police chose to drive the vehicles into the middle of a group of protesters and then abandon them, and why there was no attempt to put out the flames until the nation's media had been given time to record the scenes for broadcast around the world."

Indeed. The other three parts to this event are in the embedded related videos. Click on the title

The revolution will be YouTubed redux

When Paul Manly's video of union leader Dave Coles confronting three rock-toting undercover Quebec police officers skulking through peaceful protestors at the North American Leaders Summit in Montebello hit YouTube two years ago, then-minister of public safety Stockwell Day dismissed calls for a public inquiry :

"The thing that was interesting in this particular incident, three people in question were spotted by protesters because were not engaging in violence," Mr. Day said.
"They were being encouraged to throw rocks and they were not throwing rocks, it was the protesters who were throwing the rocks. That's the irony of this," Mr. Day said.

Mr. Day added the actions were substantiated by the video that he has seen of the protests.
"Because they were not engaging in violence, it was noted that they were probably not protesters. I think that's a bit of an indictment against the violent protesters," Mr. Day said."

This ridiculous statement ran nightly on TV newscasts alongside footage of the police provocateurs shoving Dave Coles around before sneaking back behind police lines - seen here at left - to jeers from the crowd.

As Dave Coles told CBC's As It Happens :

"I didn't know they were police right away but I knew they were agitators because earlier they had been trying to get the young kids down on the road to cause trouble."

For days after the incident, Quebec Provincial Police denied these were their guys.

Well there was no inquiry and Quebec's Police Ethics Commissioner took till this May, two years later, to clear the officers, but now the Quebec independent police ethics committee will hold hearings to determine whether the officers breached the Code of Ethics of Quebec Police Officers by inciting others to violence.

Dave Coles suspects likely federal involvement may lead to a cover-up :

"This is the big question: Who sent them in? And don't give me some lame excuse that it was a low-level officer "

Good thing we already have the public statements from Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and the QPP on record for the Quebec independent police ethics committee.

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Still on the milk carton...

It must have seemed like a terrific idea at the time.

Three guys with their faces hidden by identical kerchiefs, one of them holding a rock the size of a friggin melon, headed off towards a line of Surete du Quebec police in full riot garb. Union leader David Coles intercepted them, first demanding that they take their rock and bugger off, and then when they refused he demanded that they reveal their faces.

At this point they still had the opportunity to just walk away and blend back into the crowd again with their identities intact, as any sensible member of Black Bloc would certainly have done. Instead the video shows they approached the same police line they had earlier appeared bent on attacking and disappeared into it to be taken into custody. WTF?

And now we learn there is no publicly available paper trail documenting their arrest.

Choose One :

1) New Black Bloc tactic : Immediately surrender to the nearest policeman the first time some unarmed old guy tells you to bugger off.

2) Agent Provocateur. But for whom? The Star :

"The Mounties and Quebec provincial police deny using agents provocateurs at this week's Montebello summit, despite video evidence that suggests undercover cops tried to incite violence."

A statement that clearly shifts the blame to either CSIS or the US, and from which they will have to hurriedly back off again any moment now. I'm not sure where we go to protest American agents provocateur attempting to incite a riot in the middle of a peaceful protest miles away from the Montebello summit, but I'm pretty sure Steve and Doris won't be instigating it.

3) These are the same fuckwits who respond to either winning or losing a Grey Cup or a Tidy Bowl by smashing store windows and acting all "For the people, man!" about it, followed up by spending the next day at work wishing they were a lion tamer.

RossK first sent me the video days ago - here's one of his many good posts on this - but for a complete listing of everybody's coverage since then, Dr Dawg has the video, the stills, and a ton o links.

.UPDATE : CALL OFF THE AMBER ALERT

From the Quebec Provincial Police via RossK:

"Following the diffusion of a video extract on Internet site Youtube.com, possibly implying members of the Safety of Quebec at the time of the Summit of Montebello, the latter would like to bring certain precise details. After having analyzed its contents, in addition to taking note of the vidéos recorded by the police bodies, it is able now to confirm that these individuals are police officers of the Safety of Quebec."

Major props to Paul Manly of Nanaimo for putting up that YouTube. You can bet we never would have heard about this otherwise. And hats off to labour leader Dave Cole for having the guts and leadership to call them out without losing his cool and the smarts to hold a press conference about it.

Loved this bit from the QPP : "The police officers were located by the demonstrators at the time when they refused to launch projectiles."

Refused to launch projectiles? I dearly hope that's a translation problem and not just more Quebec Provincial Provocateurs ass-covering bullshit. This ain't over.

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