Toronto Goes Insane, Racks Up Largest Mass Arrests in Canadian History
The arrests in Toronto have been, shall we say, sweeping. Given the history in Canada of police officers working undercover as instigating protesters, lots of folks were skeptical about some of the sources of the property violence at the G20 protests this weekend in Toronto. Like, why are some of the protesters and police, as these folks point out, all wearing the same brand of boots? I know Canada is a terrible poor country with very few choices in footwear, but, really? Of course, lots of the sign- and window-smashing contingent are clearly people who believe in going out and smashing things. But here's the ultimate in protester failure.
Yup. Calvin Klein! Smash the multinational imperialist branding corporation state… just not in your pants. I feel safe in calling this protester the king of the hypocrite morons.
But more seriously! The mayor of Toronto has been busy on his Twitter, repeating things like "these people cannot be true Torontonians…" Right. Well, we'll see what he's saying when the city, having gone totally Giuliani-style, has to settle millions of dollars worth of lawsuits to actual Torontonians over the indiscriminate arrests.
This also seems worth noting:
Spokeswoman Catherine Martin of Integrated Security Unit would not offer any details on why police appeared to allow violent protesters to smash windows and burn police cruisers on Saturday, yet quickly cracked down on apparently peaceful protests held on Sunday. She said it "depended on what circumstances were being faced."
You dumb kids and you're nipple rings.
your
Jesus, I'm an idiot.
It was funnier the first way.
seconded
After dating a guy who only wore combat boots, I can assure you that several different brands of boots feature soles made by Vibram.
http://www.vibram.us/products/default.asp
Come to think of it, I recall they were the official sponsor of the black bloc this year.
I should've checked here first before going off on a Google search for "yellow boot sole logo."
@Tuna Surprise: By the same token, how many are duct taped, like the cops?
When the Canadian police were asked about the footwear they countered with "what's this a boot?"
You are my new hero.
Never trust an outie.
It is pretty fucked up.
http://lexgill.com/2010/06/28/urgent-conditions-at-629-eastern-ave-illegal-immoral-dangerous/
Back in the day, Dr Martens were worn by the IRA, the UDA, and the British Army.
Game respect game. ;]
And Dr Martens are from Germans, in WWII. Respect!
After WWII, but whatevs.
Almost every time there's a Black Bloc protest, people start circling photos pointing out how both police and the anarchists are wearing Doc Martens, like it's some big conspiracy.
Yeah I'm less than impressed by blowups of photos claiming that a shiny belt is part of a uniform. More likely: there are always assholes who like to break things. There are always other assholes who like to arrest people. And on and on.
Funny story from that Bruce Weber thing:
Alec Baldwin said he was talking to Calvin Klein's daughter once, and she said the worst thing ever was when she was in bed with some dude and he took his pants off and she just saw her father's name in big letters headed for her poon tang.
His underwear said "Ralph Lipshitz"??
Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren are different people, so probably not.
I have some very convincing photographs of their boot soles that suggest otherwise.
Sweet! My friend's video is featured on The Awl.
That's my intersection right there, but after I saw two burning police cars when I was walking by on Saturday, I decided to go visit my parents yesterday.
Lets sing our national anthem!
Lets do it!
Canadians always fight at the end of their national anthem. It's called the NHL.
That photo with the boots is from a protest in Montebello Quebec in 2007. I blogged about this here http://blogs.ci-fi.net/chaf/archives/146 .
Here is the original CBC article: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/08/22/ot-police-070822.html?ref=rss#skip300x250 .
I declare shananagans on this article!
Check your sources.
Ok, yes, let's all laugh at the communists, but people are right to be upset at the police taking over half the city. I am not even especially leftist, but this is one of many times Harper has ignored legal rights when they personally inconvenience him.
This whole thing is a joke.
The University of Toronto, having decided it is not really into free speech, has banned everyone from campus in order to "protect students from protests." [link]
Nice belly parts.
I don't get it. Your comments about identical boots say you have no idea what you're talking about, but then you post the video of the incident in Quebec in 2007. So you must know that the Black Bloc scandal didn't just happen last weekend in Toronto.
Or you think perhaps space-time doesn't apply in Canada…
nothing applies in canada, eh.