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Tracking Black Bloc like trying to 'chase dust'
With no structure and no purported leaders, they're maddeningly hard for authorities to pin down. "What we know is what we pulled up on the Internet," said a spokesperson with the RCMP-led Olympic Integrated Security Unit. Funny, but close to the truth, says Michel Juneau-Katsuya, an anti-terrorism expert and former member of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. There's a lot about Black Bloc actions on the web but little to help track individuals. They may belong to other groups or none at all, and need only show up at protests in the basic uniform -- black clothing and a scarf or balaclava -- and ready for action. "Not having any sort of structure to that kind of organization makes it very difficult because basically you're just trying to chase dust," Juneau-Katsuya said from Ottawa. He said police tried to infiltrate the group at the 2001 Summit of the Americas in Quebec but the undercover officers' age and police-issue shoes gave them away. The Black Bloc has an uneasy relationship with those it ends up marching beside. Some of the groups opposing the Vancouver Winter Olympics won't disavow the violent actions they took on Saturday. Adherents say it gives their causes an attention-getting edge but others worry it muddies their message and alienates would-be supporters among the public. The Black Bloc strategy is simple: Show up at demonstrations and attack the prominent symbols of capitalism. Then hope the police react, or over-react, while they shed their black clothes and melt into the crowd. In Seattle, it was McDonald's and Nike. In Vancouver, Black Bloc members smashed windows at Olympic sponsor HBC's downtown store displaying Games merchandise and spray-painted the anarchist circle-A symbol on at least one bus and city vehicle. A Black Bloc contingent that was part of a march by about 2,000 people Friday evening that coincided with the Games' opening ceremonies tossed things at a police line blocking access to B.C. Place stadium. Police pushed back but the scuffle failed to spark a Seattle-style melee. Saturday's vandalism brought a stiffer response, including seven arrests, though protest organizers said none were part of the Black Bloc action. Supporters of aggressive tactics call them successful because they force a thickening of security around big events and further expose what they see as a police state. But a U.S. anarchist in Vancouver blogged that on Saturday bloc activists were getting heckled by bystanders themselves. The protest also exposed cracks in the anti-Olympic movement. David Eby, executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said he was "sickened" by images of Black Bloc members smashing windows and tossing newspaper boxes into the streets. Eby, who's been outspoken against what he considers police intimidation of Olympic dissidents, said protesters were prepared for civil disobedience, such as sit-down demonstration to block an intersection. Eby said there was a hint that the protest would turn violent when his group was asked by a faction of the protesters not to send legal observers to the march, saying they were worried they'd been infiltrated by police and could have their video documentation used as evidence in court. Anti-Olympic protest organizers spun Saturday's actions as non-violent attacks on inanimate objects by those who think the more peaceful message is being ignored. "It's a situation where people feel frustrated," said Melissa Westergard-Thorpe of the Olympic Resistance Network. While stopping short of endorsing the vandalism, she said her group supports "a diversity of tactics." Eby rejects the explanation. "As far as our organization is concerned, property destruction is violence," he said. The Pivot Legal Society, as an advocate for residents of the poverty-stricken Downtown Eastside, has had bitter disputes with Vancouver police in the past but reached a deal with them to unfurl a huge banner on a bridge adjacent to the athletes village Monday as part of a tent-city protest against homelessness. Juneau-Katsuya said police have appeared to show a lot of restraint in the face of Black Bloc provocation. That may change if they see signs of anything close to what happened Saturday. "I'm predicting that we might see a little bit more prompt reaction from the police," he said. --------------------------------------------------- Resistance writers say anarchist protest successful By: Darcy Wintonyk, ctvbc.ca A violent protest that saw seven people arrested and windows smashed at downtown Vancouver businesses was a success, according to a group of journalists from California covering resistance against the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. More than 100 protesters clad in all-black took over an otherwise peaceful protest Saturday morning, tying up traffic for several hours, clashing with police and throwing newspaper boxes into the road. Another 200 protesters remained peaceful, police said later. The San Francisco-area blog, entitled "Beneath the snow: covering the resistance to the 2010 Olympics," said the group of masked protesters, members of the "black bloc contingent," have been a strong force of resistance since the Games opened in Vancouver Friday. "What's especially striking here… is how disciplined and strategically -- even politically -- effective they've been, and how much respect they've earned through their organizing efforts leading up to this point as well as their actions on the streets," the author, who remained anonymous, wrote. The blog is produced by three writers involved in the social justice movement. Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu described the troublemakers in the mostly peaceful demonstration as a loosely organized group of "thugs" from central Canada and across the United States that promotes anarchy. Chu said the group travels to any event that attracts media coverage and "promotes anarchy wherever they go." Many of those involved wore masks and hid among the legitimate protesters, he added. Mission accomplished? While riot police blocked the protesters access to the Lions Gate Bridge, what is believed to be the anarchist's final destination to block access to the Sea-to-Sky Highway, the author said the contingent functioned "very well." "They were good about focusing on the mission: to put obstacles in the streets so as to slow or stop traffic, and thus hopefully the Olympic spectacle. And equally good at focusing on not needlessly antagonizing the police -- a distraction to this mission -- but doing so when needed." The protesters were often met with outcries from members of the public as they passed. Some told the group to "grow up" as they yelled at police and pushed newspaper boxes into downtown intersections. The blog author admitted success of black blocs is often hard to gauge in large-scale protests, but quoted a Vancouver anarchist to describe how the group felt they were having a positive effect. "It's upsetting when you're ‘standing up for people's rights who don't know that you're standing up for their rights and they are against you [when] little do they know, a few years down the road, they're going to be in our shoes themselves.'" Remaining vigilant In a statement issued Saturday, B.C. Solicitor General Kash Heed praised the quick action of police to protect the public while the world visits Vancouver. He promised police forces would remain vigilant to ensure everyone enjoys a safe and successful 2010 Games. "One of the hallmarks of any civil society is respect for the law. The very laws that protect our right to free speech and the right for peaceful demonstration are at risk when a small group in society think they are above the law," Heed said. "The [police] will continue to ensure that athletes and the public are safe from unlawful activity and able to enjoy the Games without concern." Believed to have originated in Germany in the 1970s, the black bloc movement first gained international notoriety during the anti-WTO demonstrations in Seattle in 1999, when a masked group damaged retail stores for GAP, Starbucks and Old Navy in an anti-globalization protest. |
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I'm just glad the phrase
I'm just glad the phrase "olympic spectacle" made it in...
I actually invented that
I actually invented that combination of words.
"It's upsetting when you're
"It's upsetting when you're ‘standing up for people's rights who don't know that you're standing up for their rights and they are against you [when] little do they know, a few years down the road, they're going to be in our shoes themselves.'"
I smell substitutionism...
you must be howard stern the
you must be howard stern
the divot
Baba Booey Howard Stern's
Baba Booey
Howard Stern's penis.
Yes. We are going to keep
Yes. We are going to keep doing what we are doing, that is: Resist the Machine. I expect that there are a few cops and "intelligence" self- described people monitoring this site. We are going to keep doing what we are doing. We are not paid, we get no compensation, we have to scrabble every day, but we are going to keep doing what we are doing. And that is because we know, definitely, that A Better World Is Possible! Up Anarchy! Down The Putrid Festering System!
another corporate media
another corporate media article about anarchists posted on here, but two things in this made me smile. of course when police say going up against the black bloc is like trying to "chase dust". Also...
"What we know is what we pulled up on the Internet," said a spokesperson with the RCMP-led Olympic Integrated Security Unit.
LMAO. What did they spend $900 million dollars on security? Good to know sometimes pigs are exactly as dumb as you think.
Also, to people who are like
Also, to people who are like "WHY DO YOU GO TO PROTEST AND SMASH WINDOWS CAPITALISM ISN'T EVEN GONE YET JUST STAY HOME BE INTERNET COOL" I have to remind them that even the tiniest of actions are feared by the elite... which is why the spend $900 million on security...
Pff are you kidding, petty
Pff are you kidding, petty vandalism is all you awesomeare good for. That's why you don't see anarchist- awesomeover the age of 30. They can't stay out late because they are afraid of losing their management position at Starbucks.
Ha! Half of us are in our
Ha! Half of us are in our 30's now.
We stick with what we said a long time ago... your system provides us NO FUTURE.
Why do you have no future? I
Why do you have no future?
I can see no reason to say that. Sure, a lot of companies do stupid shit which harms the world. As a whole, we all have a future, unless you're talking very subjectively about your own life and that of those around you.
If you're in your 30s and still vandalizing cities, well, that is seriously sad to me. Really sad that a person cannot find purpose in their life other than destructive conflict. Have fun with that, I guess, but honestly, have you reached any of your goals? Do you seriously think society in its current form is going to change because of a bunch of adolescents yelling in the street and smashing some stuff? It boggles the mind that this community boasts such noble causes and yet, despite worldwide coordination, achieves next to nothing.
It boggles the mind that you
It boggles the mind that you expect to achieve something by being condescending. Hope that is not one of your goals because you are as ineffectual of change as the people you scoff at. Who, by the way, do not have worldwide coordination like the whatever department you work for.
Lieber feed
52 year anarchist here. i
52 year anarchist here. i have been living without goals since i failed at building a model car when i was nine. the fucking glue fumes got me all winky and i fell over and smashed the car. i remember at that moment thinking "whatver--i mean wtf was i doing this stupid thing anyway." and then homework became like that, and then going to school, and then working and it just went from there.
as such, "achieving next to nothing" is something. but, i'd just as soon achieve nothing. what should i achieve? the security of a well paying job, a house in the suburbs, a model child, big car, some hemhheroids (or however the fuck you spell that) and then a bright, shiny funeal with a bunch of bored people who are wondering what they'll be drinking later? you keep your self respect and your a-hole problems. i'll be mobbing with a crew somewhere and having some fucking fun.
Mmmmm...Well I went a step
Mmmmm...Well I went a step further. I gave up on the mentality of "Having thus given up,,I,,".
You still have that one last non-intent to nail my friend.
i gave up on that
i gave up on that mentality.
You still have that one last non-intent to nail my friend.
and so on and so on and so on..............
I gave up on,,,I
I gave up on,,,I forgot.Therefore NOT 'and so on and so on ad finitum,,,,'
As I stated before,you have not one,but 2 intents to nail now.(the other intent being to disprove my statement.You are further immersing yourself into an intentionally rich reality.Defer or drown.
i gave up on being
i gave up on being right.
boo yah!
Why did they spend $900
Why did they spend $900 million? Well, so far, it seems it's a good thing they hired a lot of security because your group keep fucking vandalizing shit and attacking people on the street!
Don't want the gvmt to waste money on security? Don't give them a reason to NEED it! Jesus christ.
if they had spent half that
if they had spent half that amount addressing the poverty in vancouver, there would have been no anger and violence.
they are okay with spending that amount on guns and cops, but not on the poor, and that is EXACTLY why people got in the fucking streets and fought back.
the worst thing about these
the worst thing about these articles is the way they always say that not only are anarchists responsible for police violence, it's actually the strategic goal.
if anything real though it points to our need to be clearer about what the strategic goals of such an action are or might be.
captcha = continued clowns. hm....
I've read that in several
I've read that in several mainstream media articles about the Vancouver riots and it seems very bizarre to me. I've been at this anarchy thing for quite some time and have yet to hear ANY anarchist propose doing an action for the sake of eliciting a police response... The police response is always just one possible continuity to plan for.
captch = blaze cameroon
that's just one of the
that's just one of the things the police tell them, and they report everything the police say as if it is truth because they are the propaganda machine for the system we live under.
occupy the media.
Honestly, there have been
Honestly, there have been anarchists in the past whose goals were to do just that. The first that come to mind are black mask and up against the wall motherfucker. But yeah I've never been part of any demo or action where that was the goal, but with the new "IA" crowd who knows.
Many anarchists are in favor
Many anarchists are in favor of a tactical flexibility that does not yield when it comes to the subject of violence as a tactic. When I say I am in favor of violence, I am not saying we should handle life's problems with violence (which is another subject) but rather to not shut down tactics when those tactics can be both desirable and/or necessarily within a given context. The pursuit of subversion is an excellent example where typically "violence" is not militaristic and is more often directed at undermining or gumming up the target's capability of normal operations and is done covertly, sometimes mixed with sabotage.
Recently there was a discussion on assassination started by some banner holders. If the game is "assassin", the only thing one can do is kill targets. But if the game is "police subversion", assassination might require more justification or purpose than just "sometimes enemies deserve to die". Even then, police subversion would require many other tactics than just killing if the goals are to undermine police power.
But there is no single game that is being played (one could say that all this is serious business and not a game, which is also true). All this means is that remaining in an experimental frame of mind and not acting as if the anarchist model of resistance has already been built can bring forward the types of success we'd like to see.
people occupied TV and radio
people occupied TV and radio stations in oaxaca, and that is a major factor in what spread the revolt beyond just the teachers' protest, into a generalized insurrection.
people also did this is greece during the riots following Alex's murder, and i think they had the right idea.
occupy the media.
"doing an action for the
"doing an action for the sake of eliciting a police response"
Seriously. That's how leftists roll. Laying down in the missionary position, giving themselves to a noble, humanitarian cause, and making sure the video cameras are rolling as the cuffs go on and their martyrdom is complete. It's a honeymoon for their future of selling out, giving themselves to the strong, righteous police men.
The comments on the CTVBC
The comments on the CTVBC website make me cranky.
Most people who see us in
Most people who see us in action on TV are taught to believe no matter how unjust the system may be, it is unacceptable to break the law to change ones circumstances even if that law was written to favor the ruling class so that one may never be pull them selves out of their circumstances and that's how the ruling class always wins.
Let's not get it confused people! We anarchists know that these laws were put into place for very good reason, that is to keep us all oppressed by the rich banking and financial system. Our resistance has been criminalized and the conformist insists on keeping us in that hopeless position we are in and do not want to be in. Let me repeat my self. "FOLLOWING THE LAW IS NO WAY TO REBEL AGAINST THE SYSTEM."
Only fake rebels decry our un-permitted rallies and marches because rather than exposing the law for what it really is they would rather be 100% a slave obedient. Most so called activists are being manipulated into working against their own interests for fear that they will be labeled as criminals and this is how they control our actions. They control our thoughts so we will be afraid to act.
Fuck being afraid all the time. Stop giving power to the elites who have a strangle hold on your ideas, perceptions and there for your very actions in the street. If obeying the law would only change the system, there would be no need for direct action in the first place. Conforming is setting a bad example for everybody to be slaves and there for emboldens the system so that one may never have the chance to break free from it's clutches.
Rebels always lead the way while conformists always help the government to drag everybody down thanks to media indoctrination running all 24/7. They may be fooling everyone else into giving up on freedom and resistance but we absolutely refuse to be victims and will not sit back just because everybody else is willing to bend over take it up the ass. We will not live in total denial for the rest of our lives nor be anybodies cattle.
“It is impossible to be non-violent in the middle of the most violent society history has ever created” by Bernadine Doran of the Weather Underground.
How is smashing things going
How is smashing things going to change things for the better? It achieves nothing whatsoever. But have fun risking jail time and/or criminal record so you can, what, let out some anger? Look like an idiot on TV? Have hundreds of thousands of people look at your group in pity?
Yeah, sure, rebels lead the way. Violent assholes don't. The people who really change things are those who can elicit influence and change upon the society they're in , via some CONSTRUCTIVE method.
Unless you plan to recreate society wholly on your own, you need to cooperate with others and bring people to your cause by explaining things rationally and NOT by kicking peoples' asses on the street and smashing shop windows. Being violent assholes will only get you so far. Being well-read rational people will get you wherever you could dream.
Frankly I think it boils down to no one wanting to really exert the mental and physical effort to make positive change in a way that isn't destructive and sensationalist.
"The people who really
"The people who really change things are those who can elicit influence and change upon the society they're in , via some CONSTRUCTIVE method."
the method is not what matters when our lives are on the line.
as part of the anti-globalization movement, i saw firsthand the substantial effects on policy that black blocs and disruptive protests could achieve. without those, none of those IFIs would have even paid lip service to the global poor. because of our movement, almost all their power was stripped and they became shunned and ineffectual in the global power arrangement.
"Being well-read rational people will get you wherever you could dream."
god dam this is some fucking liberal BS. anyone who is poor can tell you that it is not WHAT you know, it is WHO you know that determines where you end up in this world, you fucking moron.
Does it make you feel better
Does it make you feel better to know your taxes pay for those comments? Look closely, you'll notice half of them are written in the exact same writing style.
As and environmentalist that
As and environmentalist that would generaly support protests against the Vancouver Olympic greed I think these black block idiots are a bunch of pussies and at best gutless partys. I would have no problem physically confronting these cowards if I were on the streets of Vancouver. You are hurting our cause and if by some unfortunate accident you get killed by the cops, so be it. You are a bunch of worthless motherfuckers that make the rest of us look bad. You deserve the worst and I hope you get it.
Arbutus T. Swindel-( A real eco warrior.)
Since no one controlling the
Since no one controlling the world is listening to hippy tree huggers, it is up to the worthless partys you wish dead?
It would be more effective to physically confront the source of the cause you fight for.
A real warrior knows who to attack, therefore you are not a "real eco warrior", just another troll pig.
Yeah well suck my dick. At
Yeah well suck my dick. At the end of the day scum like you turn the world against us. If you dont like tree huggers then it just prove what worthless jet trash people like you are. Im against violence but not when it stomps out partys like you.
Where would you like to meet your coward scum?
Arbutus T. Swindel.
you're a fucking joke.
you're a fucking joke.
Is that all you have to say
Is that all you have to say pussie?
Arbutus T. Swindel
LIBERALS: failing to
LIBERALS:
failing to understand that radical action makes them look more legitimate and gives them more leverage with those in power for the last 100 years.
I believe you mean "pussy"
I believe you mean "pussy"
Really, where?
Really, where? Pussie?
Arbutus T. Swindel
2639 Cherokee Street St
2639 Cherokee Street
St Louis, MO 63118-3129
High Noon.
Im in Vancover you fucking
Im in Vancover you fucking idiot. How come you arent breaking windows here? Didnt CocaCola give you a plane ticket?
- Arbutus T. Swindel
CocaCola: sponsoring
CocaCola: sponsoring summit-hopping since 1892.
pure genius Artie. pure gold.
Well it doesnt take a genius
Well it doesnt take a genius to see through this smoke screen. Coke, Pepsi, you name it are hiring the dumb fuck so call anarchists, libertarians to do their dirty work.
At least Ted Kazinski was the real thing. He actually believed in what he was doing and wasnt on anybodys payroll.
- Arbutus T. Swindel
i can see why you'd like Ted
i can see why you'd like Ted K., you are both schizophrenic.
-Arbutus T. Swindel
Well at least 'ol Ted wasnt
Well at least 'ol Ted wasnt on the Corporate payroll like you fucks are.
- Arbutus T. Swindel- Eco Warrior
You're not an Eco Warrior
You're not an Eco Warrior Artie. GTFO of my club.
-Dave Foreman
So Mr. Swindel is against
So Mr. Swindel is against violence against the institutions that are destroying the planet, yet he is for violence against groups and individuals that he disagrees with tactically! Interesting. I think I smell a hypocrite! Or maybe just a liberal with a hard-on for ineffectuality.
i think it smells like
i think it smells like butthurt canadian bacon.
You guys are working for the
You guys are working for the Corporations whether you know it or not.
-Arbutus T. Swindel
you taliban are working for
you taliban are working for the defense contractors because you give the government an excuse to pay those corporations billions of dollars. duh!
-Swindel T. Arbutus