By Alison@Creekside Just a 2% increase in the popular vote took the Cons from 143 seats in 2008 to a 167 seat majority tonight, thanks to our fucked up first-past-the-post system and because of what happened in key ridings in Ontario where presumably the Lib voters moved over to the Cons: ie., in Toronto the […]
Ontario
Doing the Orange Wave
By Montreal Simon As you know I have always tried to be as non-partisan as possible. All I want is ANYONE but Harper. But these days, like most people in my neighbourhood, I’m also hoping for an orange wave. I’m hoping for that because I honestly believe that what Jack Layton has managed to achieve […]
The Cons’ G8 legacy: $100,000 gazebos
By Alison@Creekside When the G8 leaders stayed for one night at the Deerhurst Resort as part of the G8/G20 $1.2-billion bunfest, their one-night stay probably didn’t afford them the opportunity to fully appreciate all the benefits of the G8 Legacy Infrastructure Slush Fund spent in Industry Minister Tony Clement’s riding. “32 projects that received funding, […]
Revisited: “How I Got Arrested and Abused at the G20 in Toronto, Canada”
On Friday, the CBC’s The Fifth Estate broadcast “You Should Have Stayed at Home,” about police tactics at the 2010 G20 Summit. Among those appearing in the documentary is Toronto playwright and director Tommy Taylor, whose harrowing account of his arrest and detention appeared on his facebook page (log-in required) within hours of his release. […]
“Lay Off Officer Bubbles”: the video
By Frank Moher Last week we reported on the ongoing saga of Officer Bubbles, the Toronto cop who became infamous during the G20 for threatening to bust a bubble-blowing protestor. Constable Bubbles, you will recall (or maybe not), has launched a 1.2 million dollar lawsuit against YouTube for hosting cartoons and comments deriding him, while […]
Officer Bubbles: the poem
By Frank Moher The saga of Officer Bubbles continues. The Toronto Police Services constable (aka Adam Josephs) became notorious during the G20 for threatening to arrest a particularly pacific young woman if she continued to blow bubbles in his vicinity. “If the bubble touches me,” he growled, “you’re going to be arrested for assault.” “Bubbles?” […]
Silencing Alex Hundert
By Alison@Creekside Alex Hundert was arrested on June 26th and held for three weeks in advance of the G20 Summit for alleged involvement in organizing the protests. He was released on bail conditions which precluded participation in any public demonstrations, and on Sept. 13th the government lost a court challenge to his release. Three days […]
Anatomy of a G20 mishmash
By Frank Moher The massive article, “Anatomy of the G20,” published by the Toronto Star last Friday, is a curious document indeed, especially coming from a newspaper that has taken a hard editorial line against the police’s actions that weekend. It feels like one of those articles that has gone all wonky as higher-ups got […]
How I Got Arrested and Abused at the G20 in Toronto, Canada
(Editor’s note: On Tuesday, June 29th, 2010, Toronto resident Tommy Taylor published, on his facebook page (log-in required), an extraordinary account of being arrested and caged at the G20 for 23 hours. At the time of his arrest, he and his girlfriend were watching a group of peaceful protestors, and had joined in when they […]
G20: Thought the phony arrests were over? Not for Charlie Veitch.
By Frank Moher Charlie Veitch, one of the first activists arrested at the G20 in Toronto, was arrested a second time on Tuesday as he attempted to catch a plane home to England. According to a Toronto Police Service media release (pdf) issued on Tuesday night, Veitch has been charged with impersonating a police officer. […]
