STORY about Direct Action posted on June 16, 2011 by Zig Zag
Riot On 2011!
Canucks Fans Celebrate Loss by Burning Cars, Looting
Car burns outside Canada Post building, June 15, 2011
Scared cops stand by as car burns, June 15, 2011
Captain Canuck confronts riot cops June 15, 2011
Riot cop advance blocked by dismantled fencing
Canucks fans pose on overturned burned out car
Two cops cars up in flames, June 15, 2011
Heart Attack 2010 deja vu: Province newspaper box in smashed out windows of Hudson's Bay
Also posted by Zig Zag:
Also in Direct Action:
For weeks leading up to the final Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, Vancouver police and city officials asserted we had 'matured' as a city since the 1994 hockey riot. There would be no repeat of the mayhem that followed the Canucks loss in game 7 to the New York Rangers that year, the last time the team made the finals. And what a wonderful crowning achievement to top off the exhilarating success of the 2010 Winter Olympics, some speculated...
But they were wrong. Very terribly wrong. Seemingly taking a page out of the G20 protests which occurred a year ago, burning cars were a highlight of the June 15, 2011, hockey riot, including at least two police cars. And, perhaps inspired by the 2010 Heart Attack, the Hudson's Bay department store had its windows smashed (almost all of them this time), and much of its first floor contents looted (primarily womens makeup and perfumes, it was like 'Riot Grrrls Gone Wild'!). In a repeat of the Heart Attack, there was even a Province newspaper box thrown through one set of windows.
Initial reports state that over 100 arrests were made and numerous injuries occurred, including 9 injured police officers (some from projectiles). The London Drugs at Granville and W. Georgia had some $500,000 in merchandise looted. Other stores that suffered significant losses included Chapters, the Bank of Montreal, Sears, Future Shop, and a car rental agency. Estimates of damages inflicted are in the millions. Firefighters were forced to withdraw from the zone of conflict after they came under attack. Police have asserted that the rioters came to the downtown core with the sole intention of “destroying,” speculating that anarchists involved in last year's anti-Olympic protests were involved.
The mayhem started at the intersection of W. Georgia and Hamilton streets, around 7:30PM, shortly after the game ended. Here, CBC had set up large TV screens to broadcast the games. For the last few games, several thousand young people had gathered to watch the agonizing final games, which saw the Boston Bruins eventually win the coveted Stanley Cup, handing the Canucks two shutout losses as well as a devastating 8-1 defeat during the series.
Shortly after the final game ended, as some demoralized Canucks fans began departing the downtown core, thousands of mostly youth stayed to celebrate the loss. Across from the CBC, and in the parking lot of the Canada Post building, two cars were flipped over and set on fire. The crowd cheered as the flames grew and thick, black, smoke boiled up into the clear, sunny sky.
All the cops in this area had clustered together on the east side of the intersection, their backs to some crowd control fencing, numbering perhaps 20. They looked on unapprovingly at the crowd that surrounded them, but were impotent to stop the incendiary disturbance some fifty feet from their position. On the top of the Canada Post building were also some cops filming the crowd below.
At around 8PM, police in riot gear arrived, with helmets and shields ('hard hat' mode). They soon began pushing eastward on W. Georgia, forcing the crowd back. Some who refused to move were struck with batons on the legs, arms, and head. The cops also began firing the ARWEN (Anti-Riot Weapon), the projectile appearing to be some kind of rubber disc or pellets. Prior to their advances, they would throw in concussion grenades, which were rubber balls that exploded. Either the ARWEN projectiles and/or the grenades contained some form of pepper spray (unlike '94, police do not appear to have used tear gas this time round). The cops also brought in about a dozen horse mounted cops, and their K9 units prowling around, the dogs straining at the leash and generally going berserk.
With the arrival of the riot cops, police began broadcasting a voice recording that informed the crowd that they were now part of an “unlawful assembly” and had 1 minute to disperse or force would be used. This was played repeatedly throughout the night at different locations, and I saw one cop carrying a small PA system. Nobody seemed to pay any attention to the monotone voice.
As the crowd was pushed east on W. Georgia, some youth dismantled the 6 foot high crowd-control fencing that had been erected around the intersection. This had served as a kind of pen during the last two televised games. People entering the site had been searched, primarily for alcohol. A few half-hearted charges were made with sections of the fence thrown at the police, and some of the metal bolts and joints from the fencing were among the strongest projectiles thrown at police. Eventually they advanced to clear the crowd away from the fences, only to find that the fences were such an obstacle that their line could not advance. Other cops had to come up and haul sections of fence back behind their line.
At this time, a large part of the crowd surged into a parking lot, located at W. Georgia and Cambie street. What drew them was the presence of two empty police cars, which were immediately smashed up. One car was flipped on its side, then back onto its wheels. As a police helicopter circled overhead, using its spotlight to focus on the crowd in the now dimming light, one of the police vehicles was eventually set on fire. It was quickly engulfed in flames, which then spread to the second cop car.
After this, riot police finally advanced into the parking lot, clearing the crowd away from the burning vehicles. Around this time, I decided to move to another location a few blocks away, near Granville, where I had noticed a thick black plume of smoke.
Police had blocked several intersections around the Granville mall area, and I had to walk several blocks north, then west, to arrive at this other area of conflict. Here I saw a Bell store and 7-11 with windows smashed. There were also more burning vehicles, along Seymour and near W. Georgia, and thousands more people. A thin line of riot cops lined one side of the intersection. Across the street, along W. Georgia, almost every window of the Hudsons Bay was smashed. At the corner of W. Georgia and Granville, looters were entering the store, with a large mob of people packed around.
At approximately 10PM, riot police backed by horse cops advanced down W. Georgia to Granville, where they held their line. Several thousand people still remained on the Granville Street mall district, and a party had also started outside the Vancouver Art Gallery a block over (where hundreds of youth were dancing to a blaring PA system). Even here, sporadic vandalism continued, with someone smashing a small side window of the Art Gallery.
By 11PM I had left the downtown core and returned to my lair in the Downtown Eastside. On the way back, I came across a brawl between young men and hotel security staff, with about six motorcycle cops wading in with their batons to make some violent arrests. I also saw another car flipped over, an action which can cause considerable damage to a vehicle (smashing its windows, mirrors, etc.). There is, of course, far more destruction and events that I was not witness to, and it will take several days before the full extent of casualties, arrests, arsons, property destruction, looting, etc., is known.
Along with Canucks, Cops Big Losers
According to police, they had revised their tactics and strategy, and there would be no repeat of the 1994 rioting. That time, they had waited “too long” to deploy their officers, and by then they had already lost control of the streets. This time, they were deployed from the very beginning and throughout the crowd, in pairs, clumped together at intersections. Part of their strategy was to be able to react quickly to any small incidents, stopping them before they grew into bigger crowd control problems.
When cops are deployed in this manner, they are also able to engage members of the crowd at a far more personal level. In this instance, part of their strategy was to gain the sympathy of the crowds by appealing to their sense of Canucks fan camaraderie. During a scout of Game 6, I witnessed cops with small Canucks flags, while others joked with fans about winning the cup.
After Game 7, the police strategy was exposed as the failure it was. Many of the youth in the crowd obviously hated the cops, and this hatred only increased with the first acts of police aggression (the deployment of the riot cops). The only chants I heard were “Fuck the Police” and “Fuck the Bruins.”
Overall, the police seemed to be unprepared for a riot, perhaps lulled into thinking their fake smiles had won over the army of young Canucks fans, wearing uniform blue Canucks jerseys. They failed to protect property and left their own resources exposed to attack (such as the two cop cars I saw set on fire). The Crowd Control Unit was spread out over numerous intersections in the downtown core. As a result, their lines were thin, perhaps a dozen riot cops spread across an intersection. If they had faced a determined and prepared frontline, with the size of the crowds on hand, some of these lines would have been vulnerable to being overrun.
Atari Teenage Riot
Despite their daring and bravado, the rioters were poorly equipped for any real confrontation. Most had no disguises to cover their faces, and the majority of projectiles were empty plastic bottles. Meanwhile, the plaza of both the CBC and main library across the street are comprised of thousands of small, square bricks that could be easily dug up (just sayin').
Having been in several riotuous situations myself, I can say that a hockey riot is very different from street actions that have some political goal. In a hockey riot, there is little sense of unity, less solidarity and far less ability for groups to coordinate their activities (like move location, change direction, etc.). There is more internal fighting, and there are more potentially hostile groups moving through the crowd (numbering between 5-10). The high levels of drunkeness create an unpredictable atmosphere, with decreased ability to think and communicate among many intoxicated participants. To operate in this environment, a large group that can defend itself while staying mobile appears necessary.
Along with extremely drunk people, there were some who could only be described as fools. These guys did really stupid stuff, like turning and throwing heavy projectiles high into the air without looking, which clearly landed amidst the forward ranks of the crowd. Some of the injuries were no doubt caused in this manner.
For many of these youth, their lack of experience (or perhaps common sense) will cost them. In the aftermath of the '94 riot, Vancouver police siezed video and photo from several corporate media stations, and solicited donations from the public. They then used an advanced image tracking system that captured photos and videos containing the same person (based on facial features and articles of clothing). These linked individuals to certain incidents, and were made into wanted ads for Crimestoppers as well as a portable kiosk that was placed in public malls. Photos of people were posted, and members of the public who knew these people were encouraged to inform the police of their identity. Many people were arrested in the weeks following the riot.
A more recent example of this occurred following the riots at the G20 in Toronto last June, where police gathered not only their own surveillance, but also received from the public large amounts of photos and video footage of individuals involved in incidents. These were used to develop wanted posters and TV ads through which several persons were identified and subsequently arrested.
Many people lament the fact that it takes a hockey game to mobilize large numbers of riotous youth on the streets. But from my observations, many of these youth are the ones sitting at home observing media coverage of protests and riots. It seems like a simple case of “monkey see—monkey do,” and there is little doubt in my mind that many were inspired to riot from recent disturbances including the anti-Olympics campaign, the G20 in Toronto, and the Middle East protests that erupted earlier this winter.
Undoubtedly, Vancouver police, government officials, and upright citizens will be condemning the riot for many weeks and months to come. Autopsies will be conducted on both the Canucks loss as well as that of the police, with conspiracy theorists chiming in that it was all part of a sinister plot by the government. Yet, in the end, we are reminded once again that no matter what level authorities go to in their efforts to maintain social control, they can't stop the chaos. As for myself, I am now a dedicated Canucks fan, and wish them the best of luck in next year's season...
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Comments
Policing Became the Story
This is by far the most useful on-the-ground reporting and analysis that I have come across so far. Policing became the story. The vaunted and over-trusted "meet-and-greet strategy" failed — and failed big time. Strategy? No. Discredited tactic.
Super Cool
It's funny how genocide is occurring all around the world right now, yet the only reason people can come up with to riot is hockey. Way to go morons.
Over-priviledged, under-challenged.
"...they can't stop the chaos."
Please, this wasn't even a riot by international standards. Get a grip. Try rioting for freedom or liberty or food... and don't wrap up a bunch of drunken stupidity in the flag of some sort of ideological truism. Perspective... find some.
a sign of things to come.
If certain nations do not act to quickly get their finances in order, these same people may quickly see what happens when this behavior relates to stock market declines, banks going out of business, and gold prices soaring to levels most people couldn't even imagine. When times are good, people look for any excuse to behave like this. On the other hand, when times are tough, people may have to act like this to survive.
A horrible evening for our city!
I was somehow caught right in the middle of the riot, having exited the Canuck game some 45 minutes after the end of the game, and walking right into the eye of the storm so to speak! I thought the police were doing the very best that they could in the moment, given the mob mentality that they were dealing with. These were not hockey fans dissapointed, but organized thugs and criminals, with intent to cause violence and damage for no good reason. I was seriously scared for my safety, as were many caught in the city, and absolutely ashamed to think that these men could be born and raised in BC! I hope through all the brodcasting of the riot videos and photos, that all of these people are charged! And I wonder what their mothers are thinking, as they watch them in these violent videos and photo releases? Who raised these animals?
"These were not hockey fans
"These were not hockey fans dissapointed, but organized thugs and criminals, with intent to cause violence and damage for no good reason."
from reading this article and many others, i would say that these people were anything but "organizined". they were an unruly mob, venting frustrations that may have something to do with hockey, and also may have something to do with their general malaise and alienation, though they may not know it. so i would amend your statement to:
"these were hockey fans disappointed, but also disorganised and disoriented people with intent to cause violence and damage because they cannot seem to find or even want to find another outlet for their frustrations than hockey, such is their alienation."
This:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJm64CIbYFM
Riots
"I can say that a hockey riot is very different from street actions that have some political goal." Love this part, as if any riot ever has any political goal. Its a cover to be an idiot, none of these people, not the ones in Vancouver, nor the idiots dressed in black at the G20, had any true political motives, it is all so transparent and pathetic. Down with big business maaaaaaan. Yet, these idiots loot the stores and take whatever they can get their hands on. Enough, grow up.
The "idiots dressed in black"
The "idiots dressed in black" at the G20 smashed store windows but did not loot. their purpose was to destroy the stores' property not to get new stuff for themselves. check your facts before comparing hockey rioters and looters to political riots.
I'll first commend you on
I'll first commend you on some good on the scene reporting, and your criticism of the police response is spot on, but your analysis is far from accurate in my opinion.
This wasn't a riot of the oppressed, this wasn't a release of frustrations from the disenfranchised. These were middle class, white male shitkickers, the same privileged yuppiespawn that turn the same neighborhood into a warzone every weekend. Fuelled by a combination of alcohol, testosterone and the complete lack of personal accountability that comes with their spoiled upbringings.
They weren't inspired by people who fought for causes, they were lashing out in rage from an insult to their corporately-sponsored nationalism. They were looking for someone to hurt, something to break for fun. Western capitalist culture has glorified this mean-spirited, aggressive and violent behavior in young men, both blatently and latently.
The rather muted police response to this compared to the G20 or even the Heart Attack demonstrations were telling. The kid gloves policy enacted by police was deliberate. It was because these were the privileged, the spoiled, the dominant. It's perfectly fine in this political environment to assault, oppress and beat "losers" like ethnic minorities, women, the poor, the homeless, the disenfranchised. But these weren't them, these were the children of important people, "pillars of the community", and were given a free pass.
i absolutely agree with you,
i absolutely agree with you, but i don't think the author ever said this was a riot of the oppressed.
However, "middle class, white male shitkickers, the same privileged yuppiespawn that turn the same neighborhood into a warzone every weekend. Fuelled by a combination of alcohol, testosterone and the complete lack of personal accountability that comes with their spoiled upbringings" might be causing shit every weekend because their lives, which are considered 'succesful' by our society's standards, are meaningless drivel. they are far from disenfranchised in the sense that you speak of, but the middle classes can consume as much as they want, realise that it does not fulfilthem, consume more, still not get satisfied, overconsume even more, etc. they are stuck in a perpetual cycle of overconsumption and frustration. capitalism makes them suffer in a very different way than it does those who it disenfranchises, dispossesses, and marginalises, but they suffer nonetheless.
I would call their violence
I would call their violence an outgrowth of their privilege and arrogance. I work in a homeless shelter and have recieved numerous stories of rich children violently assaulting the homeless on regular occasions. They are not lashing out against the meaninglessness of their lives, they are lording their privilege over those who cannot fight back. i have personally responded to medical emergencies created by these same assaults, especially since the establishment of the expensive commuter pubs on Main street a few months ago.
Capitalism has created a class of cowards and bullies. This is no different than the sons of lords raping women indescriminately on their fathers holdings. This is "A Clockwork Orange", this is a failure of the rule of law. Every week, the downtown core is flooded with children in designer jeans weilding their fathers credit cards and a sense of entitlement. Every identified rioter has come from privilege. The destruction in downtown Vancouver was just an uncapping of the usual bullshit from a class of unaccountable, spoiled, coddled children.
Nicely biased descriptions on
Nicely biased descriptions on the accompanying pictures.
"Scared cops..." "Riot cop advance blocked..."
Really? The police don't appear scared or blocked to me.
Obviously, you're one of the
Obviously, you're one of the morons responsible for this ridiculous act of cowardice. Hopefully you'll all be brought to pay your due to society. Although I doubt any of you cretins have the nads to ever take resposniblity for your actions. Just a bunch of Loser Cowards!
Dear Dexdolly, Cry me a river
Dear Dexdolly,
Cry me a river you grump. Why don't you go post comments on CTV they'll probably be more appreciative.
@ jon: he did get a grip.
@ jon: he did get a grip. this article had very good perspective. and no where did the author "wrap up a bunch of drunken stupidity in the flag of some sort of ideological truism." in fact he laid out quite clearly the difference of these events and those of a politically organized action. you, my friend, are the one firing loose cannons....
@ dexdolly: i'm sorry, but they were hockey fans alright. and frankly, quite typical ones in their actions. to be dumbstruck by the fact that there were riots after the game was simply shortsighted (though, granted, the scale this time is rather impressive).
anyway, zig zag, nice article. i always appreciate your view and analysis.
Seriously
All this hand wringing by people ashamed, disgraced, disappointed and generally mortified that the happy shiny image of Vancouver has been soiled by - take your pick - hooligans, anarchists, angry young men, morons, fake canuck fans, fake Vancouverites. I want people to be ashamed, disgraced, disappointed and generally mortified that we have the highest child poverty rate in the country and unspeakable numbers of missing and murdered women and the poorest postal code in the country...... Seriously, Vancouver has no reputation to lose and better reasons to riot.
And for those twisted up about having drunk young men wreak havoc in ‘your town’, come down to the DTES on any weekend (ditto Cyprus where Canadian soliers stationed in Afghanistan take R+R). We know what its like to live in the city-sanctioned entertainment zone where it’s a frat party every flippin’ weekend. Show up, get drunk, do what you don’t do anywhere else because, hey, it’s ‘the skids’ and the cops do nothing because they want ‘social mix’ and they’re too busy busting and harassing the locals. Five days before this riot, after the big UFC event at Rogers, a group of men left the London Pub - one of the newest sports bars in the DTES catering to moneyed non-resident drinkers – and beat the shit out of a 56 year old man, who remains in critical condition in the hospital. Not a peep in the media...
24 hours after the riot and the façade of social peace is once again firmly in place...and the fire next time? I’m hoping it counts for something.
Seriously Michael, get the
Seriously Michael, get the fuck out then and go to where you'd rather be like the outback where you can live with other animals. Society doesn't need losers like you that don't contribute to society. Only suck out what they can and never think about giving back. Fuck you make me sick!
and on what did you base this
and on what did you base this idea that michael wants to live in the outback with other animals and doesn't contribute to society?
do his views on poverty and gentrification offend you so much that you have make shit up? is everyone who doesn't agree with you automatically a loser? wow, that's so smart! you know what, i don't agree with you, so i'm going to go out and call you a child rapist and nazi-sympathiser whose only contribution to society thus far has been to pay for prostitutes with daddy's trust fund money. there we go, argument settled. have a nice day!
[note to eds: if you chose to reject my sarcastic reply, please remove the above comment as well as they are both equally ridiculous and offensive]
hooligans
You said it! Interesting too that people are so up in arms re: all the property damage, but not so much is heard about the injuries to real human beings, like property is so important. And all this property will be replaced, since the Bay and others have high priced lawyers who will get sizable settlements (unlike the little old ladies who try to battle it out with insurance companies). Nancy Grace mentality, that's what this all is about.
Why are most anarchists white
Why are most anarchists white middle class children of the occupiers?
because anarchism is a
because anarchism is a western school of thought?
also, i don't know which anarchists you know but the ones i know come in all colours and genders and social backgrounds. i'd venture to say that you're basing your judgement on what you saw on the CBC and don't actually know any actual anarchists yourself.
cops and jocks are just poor loosers
It's ludicrous that they are trying to blame this on anarchists, I mean, when anarchists riot they only smash specifically targeted corporate stores, and only do property destruction.
when hockey jocks riot they do indiscriminate violence (even to each other).
I lived on the streets of whyte ave for years, and it is exactly like Michael Finnigan painted it. every weekend all the jocks would come out from the rich areas of town and come down to whyte and fuck shit up, and the cops would be out in heavy numbers but would seem to focus their violence on beating up street peops and hasteling the buskers and panhandlers instead of the jocks
I think to blame this riot on anarchists when they knew it was would have happened with or without any anarchists there, is just cheap, and bad sportsmanship
conspiracy theorists
good points in previous comments... especially about the demographic of the crowd.. disgusting.. most people *knew* a riot was going to happen and that's most likely why it happened..
the police like riots - the VPD gets new toys, new recruits and to test their strategies.. they handled a crowd 3 x the size of 94 in 1/2 the time.. they will refine again and get more toys
they didn't even use their LRAD technology -- they would use this at serious protests, no problem. What does that tell you about the demographic?
this makes serious protest more difficult, gives police more training, toys and resources at the tax payers expense. It is being belamed on anarchists, punks and organized criminals... many snippets and talk about the 'black bloc'..
what a joke.. we know the major demographic here.. it's all a big game to them whilst residents flip the bill
I find this article very
I find this article very interesting, it has a tactical analysis that is usually missing from both activist and mainstream journalism. I like how you analysis the 'tactics' of the drunken crowd as well
Dung- flinging apes
Pointless. A reflection of a vacuum.
COMMUNISTS
Remember in the 60's any riot would be blamed on "communist agitators" the same way they claim all riots are caused by "anarchists" nowadays. Just figured I'd mention this. Good article.
really?
Really Zig Zag? Really?
Garbage
Who wrote this shit? Journalism is not your forte sir. You could though win a prize for awkward writing and biased reporting.
Sum it All Up
Vancouver Police Department(VPD) got lax, complacent, etc. The Premier is a rookie and without the much needed foresight. VPD Chief is irresponsible for not being humble to admit being shortsighted and complacent and just chose to use the BLAME GAME instead .
Rioters are MOSTLY WHITE MALES(I don’t really know if there are any other races). Non-active participants(bystanders gawking) are not entirely innocent as they chose not to ignore the scene in a sense that they should have walked away and just went home.
Defenders(people trying to make sense to the rioters) may be naive for attempting to try to stop the rioters from looting, overturning vehicles, and protecting human lives(Bruins fans) BUT DEFINITELY NOT STUPID for doing so. The should be given good and positive recognition.
Responders MAYBE self-righteous for not placing their self in bystanders perspective in that bystanders are still human for being unable to stay away from the ghastly scene.
Unpredicted? Unlikely. Unprepared? Might be. Organized? Not by a long shot. Spoiled? Apparently. Sore-losers? Just human who are mostly intoxicated.
“To err is human, to forgive is divine” ~ Alexander Pope
A class analysis needed
To the reporter's credit, the article offers a much more neutral view than is provided in mainstream coverage which more concerned with protecting Vancouver's "image" and dismissing the event with knee-jerk responses blaming hooligans, anarchists, and leftists. S/he offered some analysis, but what was offered explained little.
I think that one comment following the article offered by "c-gordon" really gets at the social class aspect of this and other riots.
This analysis completely fits with a class view of the function of police in any class structured society, and especially in a capitalist society. In the latter their purpose is to protect the system of capitalism from any threats against the legitimacy of the system, and the interests of the capitalist class such as threats to private property. Hence, the dual way that police handle riots.
In riots that occur in relation to political protest demonstrations, the police typically see the crowds as the enemy because they threaten the legitimacy of the system. Hence their response is aggressive and they attack the crowd indiscriminately. Very frequently the rioting in these events have been engineered by police provocateurs in order to justify their crackdown and to tarnish the demonstrator's issues.
Whereas, in riots that occurs after sporting events, the police use much more friendly methods in the initial phases, and then crack down on rioters in a much more discriminatory fashion according to the rioter's behavior.
Sure, blame
Sure, blame anarchists.
However, someone in true understanding of liberation and anarchism won't give a fuck in the first place about this NHL so-called sports, which is just a facade of athleticism while the corporations and the media promote consumerism and violence. No wonder during these events the sales of alcohol, cigarettes and condoms explode through the roof.
This isn't 'Vancouver's' team nor Canada's team. It's actually a bunch of fat corporate cats owning a ton of Swedish skaters under an incorporated name of The Vancouver Canucks.
If you truly love competitive sports, volunteer for local junior teams, go watch neighborhood players, and support the young atheletes with a parcel of your time and effort. If not, you probably just like getting fucked up and cheering for a team while believing that it has something to do with you...
This event showed the culture of camaraderie of non-existent.
Sure, some brave folks stood infront of windows of big shops ... and sure, we can all get angry sometimes, break a window or two, even exchange a punch or two. However, in my opinion, when people began to get stabbed, get shitstomped, and cars filled with fuel being set on fire, EVERYONE should have just left the fuck out of there, representing themselves that "Hey fuck you assholes, I don't want to be a part of this, we are all leaving." That would have de-clogged the streeets and left the criminals in the middle of a less concentrated areas for either cops or a concerned group of citizens to do an easier job telling these violent and drunk morons to fuck off.
Trashing as a tactic?
If drunken racist jerks who lose a hockey game trash stuff, and the Egyptian police trash stuff to try to discredit the democratic uprising; what does that say about trashing stuff as strategy in other contexts?
Almost nobody is really opposed to selective and carefully communicated property destruction in certain circumstances (Just one example, a clever modification of a corporate criminal's billboard - causing as much $ damage as breaking several windows and communicating a political idea at the same time). But seemingly random trashing is a rather dubious way of communicating a positive vision for change. This is particularly the case when some of the 'corporate' targets trashed are low-end franchises commonly owned by recent immigrants of modest means (e.g. Subway franchises).
Of course, if there is no positive vision of change to communicate, and no desire to build a mass movement, then maybe trashing makes a bit more sense.
It's curious how you didn't
It's curious how you didn't mention the the Egyptian population trashing stuff including the cops themselves which just about led to the complete overthrow of the Egyptian state. It seems like trashing stuff was pretty useful in that case.
Good ol' VMC
Thanks to zigzag and D for the closest thing to journalism I've seen on the riot.
Amusingly, I don't think either of them really claims to be a journalist, and both own their biases in their analysis but at least they have one!
If you let CBC and CTV spoon-feed you, you'd think the whole story was about how everyone is going to lurk each other's facebook and collude with the VPD to throw their own neighbours and children in jail. Creepy stuff.
Also!
According to D, the only anarchists that were downtown flying the black flag -
(ie, dressed as black bloc) got attacked by the mob.
dead wrong
d. is full of shit!
RE: ZIG ZAG AND OTHER ZOMBIES
Everyone is right up to a point:
"The mayhem started at .." drinking bars in downtown area that were left open ON PURPOSE. Get it right. Security video will show it's same people that started instigation and damages ... unless it amazingly get's lost AGAIN.
Only from some online video we can see 19 cops and fusion center punk ass kids being instigators, another few 100 belonging to so called FILTHY RICH families, another large number as "c-gordon" said. Rich class aren't only ones who have face recognition appz and related tools. They should have paid actual developers better $ instead of kicking them to the curb, should have paid everyone much better $ :)
Your youtube clip is of employee [in red] working with private security, FUSION CENTER goons and scripted goon in Vancouver shirt, holding fire extinguishers to protect themselves in case any smart Citizens in crowd decided to put them under Citizen's Arrest or their exit is blocked by fire. And, where is the rest of that video?
Some cops seen at this event are same ones as at G8 & G20. Want to explain this?
As the saying goes: There's nothing that's presented by Corporate Media unless it's scripted well before hand by powers that be. Remember this anytime you see ANY major event.
These and other Unlawful actions were planned well beforehand by City officials, Government, upper rank cops, Fusion Center staff, G8 leaders and all the way back to Tavistock Institute of inner London UK, same as other such actions were exposed by Wikileaks and insiders. Tigers don't change their spots, shills don't change their agendas. It doesn't take a genius to connect the dots ... you just need to get off your lazy ass and WAKE UP, use that brain of yours for something constructive.
Take a critical thinking investigator's coarse, law courses, science and R&D courses, marketing, social engineering, extensive history, and related subjects. Put them all together and you will see exactly how this was scripted.
You will never see a Rich ass kid in jail unless their family hates them. They know very well how to use Admiralty Law [administrative] system for their benefit. Some will even take the fall for benefits later. They know as long as you make restitution [pay a fee] on a product [you and every human] they can get away with murder.
Learn your rights:
You are born a Free Sovereign Man or Woman and it's only by being registered with a birth certificate created in your name they have control over you as a PRODUCT. See Winston Shrout, Robert: Menard, Lawful Rebellion and others for details. Learn well enough so you don't need to hire a lawyer or attorney.
What this video and many others don't show is the multitude of people trying to stop the mayhem, and in many cases succeeding. Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jvb44FyFAIE
There were many courageous girls/Women who stood up to rich ass spoiled punks and owned them as well. Where are those videos? We only found two on net to date.
You want to put the rich abusers back in their place? MAKE THEM PAY ... it's one of the few things they understand.
- Charge or Bill them for your lost time and enjoyment, aggravation, their harassment of you and or family, damages etc. Literally send them a Bill. Going rate is 2 oz of Gold per hour [or equivalent of your choosing] and 100 oz. of Gold per incident. We have seen these rates as high as 100 oz of Gold per hour and 1000 oz. per incident.
- Find the richest of the rich and send their shit back to them: pollution, garbage, faulty products, GMO foods, synthetic pharmaceuticals, chemicals, etc. There's enough of it out there to bury those abusers for the next 1000 years, and their gated communities too.
- Not just CEO's but the richest investors. Those that hide from public.
Anarchists that were at so called riot? We didn't see any. Anarchists that were at G8 & G20 are only uneducated patsies and shills working for the man. There may have been some kids of Anarchists but not many.
Any educated Anarchist knows not to go into a city and cause damage. Under Common Law, Bible and other Law systems you are allowed to protect yourself and your family, same as most farmers do today. They know to hide their best guns and wait til all hell breaks loose to send the tyrants packing. When you see farmers demonstrating then you know there's a problem, big problem. They hold about 90% of the guns in Canada, that's over 30 Million guns of which only 6.5 Million have been recorded. I can't even guess at number of bullets per each. The point is they hold all the power in on Land called Canada.
Long term plan for elites is to take those guns away from Lawful Citizens while instilling a Police State. That's why you see such dumb riots in cities, land theft, pollution and abuse of land, harassment of Citizens, unjust legislation, acts and statutes. As all tyrants they go for the weakest link: the poor, uneducated, indoctrinated, young fools, drunk, dumb asses who don't know any better. But even since the inception of Birth Certificates you are rich.
Each Birth certificate is worth Millions and dividends from it are more than you need to live off of for any year. Enough to start you off as an independent Free Sovereign. Check why, where, when and how they came about. No reason for anyone to live on the street if they don't choose to do so or cause damage in such silly way as presented by such a silly outburst as in Vancouver.
Under Settlers rights and Common Law rights you are entitled to a 1/4 section of land per individual, up to full section, for survival and well being of you and your family. Without it you are not even a Free Canadian. This also means being being neighborly with your locals, natives and your brothers and sisters.
Most of you are nothing but voluntary slaves to a JOB, Just Over Broke, slaving for filthy rich. A temporary thing devised for those whom don't know any better. You live in a city, a virtual prison, that's polluting you and your kids, and schools are nothing but indoctrination camps for working class and you call yourselves Canadians? HA
You want to learn the truth then start studying ancient texts, so called myths, contracts, treaties, agreements and everything powers that be don't want you to know. Good places to start
- http://www.sacred-texts.com
- Universal Laws: Cosmos by Carl Sagan, Nassim Haramein, Maya, pre flood Egypt, Pyramids world wide.
- of all things look into info in Crop Circles. A very mind expanding experience.
- look into patents that are on the books and many that filthy rich are hiding: Tesla, Pantone, etc.
Cross-reference them, Combine them and put the pieces together. You will find a world much more advanced than ours, real and original Laws, how to sustain any good environment, permaculture, how to depose tyrants and abusers, remedies for any illness, free energy and even advanced space travel.
Keep in mind only less than 1% of ancient texts and artifacts have been found to date, but it's enough to get you started on a path beyond your wildest dreams. Anyone telling you any different is dumb, has been indoctrinated or a shill.
Besides Congo and South America, Canada is the Richest country on the planet and doesn't need to be abused as it is by Elites and Corporations. If you want to protect it then start reporting much more truth, the full truth and nothing but the truth. Otherwise get off here and let someone with much better skills do it. That or be exposed as a fraud ... again.
wow ...
Hey ROFL
If you weren't so clearly in need of medication, I might point out how condescending that tone of yours is. It seems pretty unlikely that someone so manic would be able to maintain an independent media website, but since VMC is open to submissions, what exactly is stopping you from writing the "full truth"?
Oh yeah, your free-associative thinking that you mistake for logic.
Critical thinking takes more than just an imagination, but if you're curious why you alienate people, it's by implying that they're incompetent liars with your paranoid delusions.
Also, nobody reads a post that long dude ... come on. Stay on topic.
Go ROFL ...
Hey Sid ... unlike you I actually read ROLF's comments. Sourced most what I could or at least was available and found it to be dead on. I spent all night and all day on it. In my searches I found much more extensive information that matches, supports and extends greatly ROFL's statements. It really opened my eyes to the extent the ruling class is lying to us.
Maybe you're the one whom needs to get off medication.
At one point I had 988 tabs open and almost crashed my game box with 16GB of mem. In any case, ROFL is not some light weight as you may think. He really knows what he's talking about. Everywhere I checked the information seems to be pointing to one event and Vancouver, G8, land grabs, protests, abuses, war, police state, oil pollution and all ruling class games is only a distraction to get you to think away from it. That you will have to find out for yourself and maybe tell us to confirm you're right.
Next weekend I'm getting all my gamer bros and anons together to search more about these subjects and on surviving this even.
@ WOW
I could write an Epic full length book about what's wrong with Zig Zag article. It's an insult to educated Canadians and anyone past the 5th grade.
The most telling part is:
"Autopsies will be conducted on both the Canucks loss as well as that of the police, with conspiracy theorists chiming in that it was all part of a sinister plot by the government. Yet, in the end, we are reminded once again that no matter what level authorities go to in their efforts to maintain social control, they can't stop the chaos."
It is clearly the intent of Zig Zag to stifle any comments or rebuttal of his statements in article. It is an attempt to Sway the readers mind to a passive state. Article is so lightweight and one sided towards Police and Government it's outright despicable.
Obviously Zig Zag doesn't know much about issues Youth have with the system, way corporation of Canada operates, nor the kind of Social Engineering ones in power use.
Core of this event is that it's another photo-op for Police and Government. They knew full well since '94 what is going to happen and they obviously let it. Between then and this event they have systematically agitated Youth and let them run wild in most Filthy Rich Class circles as practice and preparation for this event and any similar and future events. All the while suppressing and abusing middle class and poor Youth to the extent of full general anger.
There's a big difference between average Youth fighting for everyone's rights and Rich Punks instigating mass mayhem. By now everyone in the IN crowd knows who instigated all this and will deal with it in their own way. Get ready, because what you're about to see, if look closely and keep your ear to the ground, is certain Rich Punks getting what they deserve. It will be sweet, cunning, brutal and in some cases deadly. I suspect most of it will not be reported in mass media.
Canadian parents made the biggest mistake by letting gang culture in from US back in days of Bloods and Crypts. Now Youth have their own modified culture which doesn't fall under any other rule but their own. They are not as stupid like most want to believe. They have learned their mistakes and are close to being ready.
Keep in mind there's a world movement against tyrants and abusers which is cooking like a pressure cooker and spreading like wildfire. Once this blows it will make Mexican war over drugs look like child's play. When there are young people asking to buy guns on a regular basis you know something is coming, something big. Most have them stashed away already.
Youth is also learning about and concentrating on permaculture, bush and urban survival skills, self defense, gorilla warfare, recording and experimenting with free energy technology for their futures ... clearly getting ready to start a new system after this corrupt one is deposed. Also keep in mind Youth outnumber Cops, Government, Elites and Super Rich by 10,000 to 1.
It is local Youth who pointed me to subjects I referenced in my previous comments and for last 20 yrs or more. It is they whom investigated and did actual R&D to prove all of it correct. They use the internet as a school and an advanced one since general schools are being controlled by Corporate shills.
So, maybe it is YOU and VMC whom needs to get of the corporate meds and wake up.
RE: WOW Sid & VMC
I didn't know VMC was into censorship when it comes to differing news and facts.
Are you willing to take the chance your coverage of "Vancouver Riots", comments thereon, blocked comments and VMC be taken to court and or court of public opinion such as truthdig, reddit, liveleak and many others?
Following is Missing from http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/comment/reply/7502 comments:
I could write an Epic full length book about what's wrong with Zig Zag article. It's an insult to educated Canadians and anyone past the 5th grade.
The most telling part is:
"Autopsies will be conducted on both the Canucks loss as well as that of the police, with conspiracy theorists chiming in that it was all part of a sinister plot by the government. Yet, in the end, we are reminded once again that no matter what level authorities go to in their efforts to maintain social control, they can't stop the chaos."
It is clearly the intent of Zig Zag to stifle any comments or rebuttal of his statements in article. It is an attempt to Sway the readers mind to a passive state. Article is so lightweight and one sided towards Police and Government it's outright despicable.
Obviously Zig Zag doesn't know much about issues Youth have with the system, way corporation of Canada operates, nor the kind of Social Engineering ones in power use.
Core of this event is that it's another photo-op for Police and Government. They knew full well since '94 what is going to happen and they obviously let it. Between then and this event they have systematically agitated Youth and let them run wild in most Filthy Rich Class circles as practice and preparation for this event and any similar and future events. All the while suppressing and abusing middle class and poor Youth to the extent of full general anger.
There's a big difference between average Youth fighting for everyone's rights and Rich Punks instigating mass mayhem. By now everyone in the IN crowd knows who instigated all this and will deal with it in their own way. Get ready, because what you're about to see, if look closely and keep your ear to the ground, is certain Rich Punks getting what they deserve. It will be sweet, cunning, brutal and in some cases deadly. I suspect most of it will not be reported in mass media.
Canadian parents made the biggest mistake by letting gang culture in from US back in days of Bloods and Crypts. Now Youth have their own modified culture which doesn't fall under any other rule but their own. They are not as stupid like most want to believe. They have learned their mistakes and are close to being ready.
Keep in mind there's a world movement against tyrants and abusers which is cooking like a pressure cooker and spreading like wildfire. Once this blows it will make Mexican war over drugs look like child's play. When there are young people asking to buy guns on a regular basis you know something is coming, something big.
Youth is also learning about and concentrating on permaculture, bush and urban survival skills, self defense, gorilla warfare, recording and experimenting with free energy technology for their futures ... clearly getting ready to start a new system after this corrupt one is deposed. Also keep in mind Youth outnumber Cops and Government and Super Rich by 10,000 to 1.
It is local Youth who pointed me to subjects I referenced in my previous comments and for last 20 yrs or more. It is they whom investigated and did actual R&D to prove all of it correct. They use the internet as a school and an advanced one since general schools are being controlled by Corporate shills.
So, maybe it is YOU and VMC whom needs to get of the corporate meds and wake up.
Still so hopelessly arrogant ...
... and did it ever occur to you that you're talking to one of these "youths" right now? Of course, I'm not interested in some random paranoid's definition. Whether I'm a "rich punk" or "average youth fighting for everyone's rights", you pretty much just described me and mine.
I'm about as interested in permaculture, survivalism, self defence, etc as I am bored by your posturing. It's a shame there's no fixing your poisonous attitude because a lot of the theory that interests you is very relevant to the next few years ... but if you can't even discuss with others, let alone work with them, you won't be of any use. Just another armchair type who talks the talk.
You're just way too quick to assume everyone who criticizes you is the enemy. Ego.
I knew it wouldn't take long.
I knew it wouldn't take long. Seems like Rabble.ca has the Balls to post what VMC doesn't.
http://rabble.ca/news/2011/06/vancouver-hockey-riot-manifestation-americ...
I really wonder what kind of shills and amateurs compose VMC. I guess the perfect example is zig zag.
ROFL
yelling censorship
Seems to me everything you posted to comments on this site are published, including your original post and your complaint that it wasn't posted. We sometimes have a backlog of comments to check througg. Would be appreciated if you didn't yell censorship because a comment doesn't appear immediately.
Also, if you create yourself a free account on the right hand side, your comment would appear immediately and you wouldn't need to wait for us dastardly moderators to approve it.
Re: Tim
Thanks for the heads up Tim. Yet I'm not ROFL or anyone else nor did I make any other comments.
BTW: I'm a moderator for popular forum as well as run a number of my websites and I don't have any problems going through 1000 comments per day and many full articles after I done my regular work.
From what I'm learning about accounts is: creating an 'account' means being subject to Corporate influence and jurisdiction. Corporations are under Admiralty Law of the Seas and not Citizens on the land called Canada (Common and Sovereign Law), or better known as Turtle Island.
We have changed our websites, blogs and forums accordingly. This is a must to protect visitors from a fully corrupt ruling class. For more information see http://www.freedomrebels.co.uk and related links on left side under Organizations. Especially http://www.youtube.com/user/mrmitee and http://www.youtube.com/user/TheAntiTerrorist
Without doing so and learning properly you are putting all your subscribed visitors at great risk.
BTW: Your catcha code verification sucks. It's not clear enough to read.
Of course they're lying ...
Of course they're lying to you, but there's this unfortunate tendency among those who don't venture out in to the streets enough, to create these vast conspiracies about things they have a very superficial understanding of.
I keep an open mind about these notions of shadowy cabals of elites that sit in secret bunkers and plot world domination, I'm willing to admit its plausible, but when you start wildly speculating on these notions, you can lose all grip on reality and vanish up your own asshole.
If you sit on youtube all night, following these mostly unsubstatiated, largely speculative conspiracy theories about how every riot is this orchestrated bit of street theatre designed to brainwash people, it turns in to a big circle jerk AND its very disempowering.
I'm not "censoring" anyone. This is me at my most charming, pointing out how problematic it is to speculate about things you have no direct experience with. End rant.
You're Dead Wrong Sid
Present Conspiracy is NOT "speculative". It is proven with facts, documents, verified evidence and like. I've been an investigator all my life and much of it for Industrial Military Complex. What's on the internet is only a small fraction of what Citizen Investigators and Reporters have released.
- Millions of Citizen Investigators, people who have been wronged, are finding and leaking info from their perspective jobs, businesses, societies, organizations etc. All this info is being passed around and eventually ends up on Internet.
- shills who run nefarious organizations such as Corporate structure, money, banks, religions, governments, countries, etc. are being exposed for their Fraud ... let me repeat that OUTRIGHT FRAUD ! This includes many parts of science, archeology, cosmology or any institution that belongs to that power structure.
- Yes, it's true present power structure will try to manipulate, misinform, flood the internet and mass media with lies, etc. ... BUT if we look at Natural Laws of things truth becomes readily apparent. Ones who talk about Conspiracy have not gone close to far enough with their info here.
Anyone wanting to know the Full Truth will study Laws of Nature [natural law], history starting with http://www.sacred-texts.com , Nassim Haramein, http://s8int.com, MU [Lemuria], all so called myths, ALL original ancient tribes as they ALL have the same oral story and which is more accurate than any present science provided crap, geometry/religion [yes, they are one and the same], cosmology, archeology and all science related subjects. With this knowledge you will see through the lies of shills with ease.
What does this have to do with Vancouver? ... EVERYTHING !
It is up to you and everyone to learn the above mentioned and how it applies to present power structure and eventually Vancouver or any other situation.
- For instance take present Laws. What government and law society tries to pass as laws is a Fraud to meet their own agenda. Acts, legislation, mandates, policy, decrees, etc are NOT Laws. They are based on Common Law but in reality are part of a Private Corporation called Canada. It has nothing to do with each and every one of us, Free Sovereign men and women living on the land of Canada. Go look at how Canada was started and operates in their own documents.
Obviously you and many here don't even know what your actual Rights are as a Free Sovereign man/woman. With all due respect ... Go get an education before you make a bigger fool of yourself in front of everyone on internet, that's World Wide bud.
Another place to check how Canada operates is Winston Shout. Especially 3rd and 4th CD's from http://btjunkie.org/torrent/Winston-Shrout-Solutions-in-Commerce-Kelowna...
Notice: donate or pay for his material when you find it useful.
Or go visit Kelowna Natives for this info. While you're there you might want to learn our [man's / women's] true history.
When you're done all of the above AND fully realize it's content then come back to have an intelligent discussion. This goes for the rest of you uneducated people.
You want to come and play on OUR Internet then "Get with the Program." or be considered as dumb, stupid, a shill or be laughed at. This is just a fact of life and not meant to be disrespectful.
Oh ... its not meant as disrespect
Do you just ... never interact with real people face to face anymore?
I mean ... how in the hell could anyone possibly construe even half of that rant as anything BUT disrespect and/or manic delusion? YOUR internet? Everyone who doesn't read your hackneyed little list of pseudo-gurus is a "dumb, stupid, shill"?
Get the hell over yourself you posturing jackass.
- and for the love of whatever gods you pray to, STAY ON TOPIC.
This article is about a SPORTS RIOT, NOT abstract theory about canadian sovereignty and metaphysics.
Also, I'm the only one with the patience to read your self-important little rants, out of a relatively small amount of people who read VMC.
So even if I WAS making a fool of myself by talking to you, no-one would know or care.
(Except the poor moderators who have to read this crap)
Hey Sid , WHO ARE YOU TO DIS
Hey Sid , WHO ARE YOU TO DIS ROFL OR ANYONE WHO GIVES US MORE INFO?
You write "Thanks to zigzag and D for the closest thing to journalism I've seen on the riot."
Your words are nothing but lightweight corporate horseshit that you've been fed by those things called schools and general corporate institutions. Get a f*kin' life, learn or stick your head back in the sand.
At least ROFL gave us start to search out elite's origins and how they play the game. GF gave us more to find center of ruling class and social engineering, www.tavinstitute.org , Central part of London UK is western shills HQ. That's where Canada, US and all Commonwealth countries get their marching orders. It's all setup for making profit covering both sides, legal and illegal. Even before the East India Company.
We talked to Six Nations Gamerz and found most broken treaties, treaties between countries, monarchies, leaders, bankers who lead back to Roman, Christian, Greek and even Sumerian times. It's all a frikin scam for profit and control.
Vancouver Party and minor destruction is a win win for banksters. Found this on Truthdig, Democracy Now and many other sites. Then checked with actual documents. They all matched. Vancouver is one of their distribution points: now more cameras, cops, kicking out poor, stealing land and resources and everything else to make more profit. All G8s and G20s are Private Corporate meetings are illegal and unlawful according to Sovereign laws. Same assholes go back to Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek, African and Asian times by spread of Aryans into Asia Minor and beyond, causing destruction as they went and NOW still do.
They run the IMF, WTO, UN, most governments by proxy, states run by tyrants, school of Americas, Blackwater, Israel, big Oil, big Pharma, big Agro, Illuminati, Freemasons, Skull and Bones and everything else that uses fiat money. They are nothing but destructive fascist pigs that were rejected as far back as Atlantis and MU. Common farm pigs have more morals and decency than Aryans. For longest time even corrupt RC church used to cut off their heads or anyone charging profit or interest on loans.
You need to Wake the F*ck Up and maybe YOU need to check the National Archives and major libraries before you shoot off your mouth. It's all there in documents dumb ass. Just wait till someone leaks meetings and calls between officials and Vancouver staff.
Maybe mods can learn something too, like all the shit never taught in schools. One society that's been somewhat more preserved is Maya and American Tribes. It confirms and has predictions of everything we are experiencing now and what we will.
BTW: who the f*ck are you to prevent others from learning and showing the truth? This is not your and zig zags personal sounding board or dumb the readers down board. It's a CO-OP! This means CO-OPERATION , "you posturing jackass".
My apologies to mods. I'm so pissed it Had to be done. I'd love to stick his face in the stacks of documents we found.