INTERNATIONAL POLITICS ITALY:

EMBASSY BOMBINGS IN ROME; ANARCHISTS OR ?????:

A little while ago I mentioned how a so-called "bomb" found on the Rome Metro lacked a detonator and how this easily have been a 'plant' by the Italian government itself. More recent news has revealed that the "bomb" not only lacked a detonator but it even lacked explosive material, being made up of concrete dust.

Now it seems that whomever planted such a devise is getting a little more bold, as two letter bombs have recently gone off at the Chilean and Swiss Embassies in Rome. These actually contained explosives and actually injured people. News media immediately jumped on a supposed claim by a shadowy "anarchist" group supposedly named the 'Informal Anarchist Federation', (FAI, named with perhaps deliberate intent to create confusion with the aboveground Federazione Anarchica Italiana FAI who vehemently oppose such terrorist actions).

Now I won't discount the remote possibility that the authors of these actions were anarchists. After years of experience I know that there a few anarchists stupid enough to think that such things are a good idea. Mercifully they constitute a tiny minority of anarchists in most countries. But the so-called 'Informal Anarchist Federation' has an interesting history in Italy as the following article from The Nihilist makes more than plain. This history is intimately connected with the "strategy of tension" that has long been a favourite of the Italian state and its fascist co-conspirators.

Read what is printed below and then ask yourself the question, "Why the Chilean and especially Swiss embassies ?". Could it be that other more likely targets such as the US Embassy (or even the French, German or British embassies) would be far more likely to get "disturbed" over a black-ops operation and actually be able to do something about it ? Why the Embassy of Switzerland for God's sake ? Here is the story of the 'Informal Anarchist Federation' who have been barely heard of (let alone ever arrested) since 2006 (except for one incident last year).

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Beware of the State’s Anarchists
In the end of December 2003, various European Union (EU) institutions received a number of letter bombs. One of them is said to have exploded in the hands of the president of the EU Commission, Romani Prodi, but without causing any injuries. The press was quick to announce that this was the work of anarchists. The proof of this was a letter sent to the paper La Repubblica, where a so far unknown group with the name Informal Anarchist Federation claimed responsibility for two earlier bombs left near Prodi's home in Italy. Italian anarchists, however, take a very different view of whom are to blame: This was a provocation, they are convinced, meant to put Italy's anarchist in disrepute, and to give an excuse for increased repression against the country's strong extra-parliamentary left.

While no one had heard about the Federazione Anarchica Informale before the mysterious letter surfaced, there exists in Italy an established anarchist group with a similar name: Federazione Anarchica Italiana (FAI). FAI was established in 1968, and is active in above ground activities such as organizing public meetings and demonstrations, and publishing newspapers and journals. In a statement, the organization's coordinating committee states that FAI "asserts once more its condemnation of bombs, exploding parcels and such devices, that may strike without discrimination, and in any way look - at best - to be functional to logic of provocation and criminalization of dissent through the media, in a moment in which anarchists are among the protagonists of social conflicts - from strikes, to initiatives against war, etc."

In its statement FAI also points to the contradiction in speaking of an "informal federation," and claims that an organization must always be formal in order to guarantee "a libertarian and egalitarian method of assuming decisions." Other parts of the anarchist movement in Italy believe in informal organizing, but these groups do not use the word federation. The name therefore seems picked for its similarity to FAI's, and thereby associate this organization with bombs and terror. And FAI believes that "whoever points out a group of comrades to repression is a police or one that cooperates with them." (1)

If these letter bombs actually were sent by provocateurs, this would not be the first time in Italy's history. On the 12th of December 1969, a bomb exploded at Piazza Fontana in Milan, which killed 16 people and wounded more than a hundred. Then too, the anarchists were blamed, and several local anarchists were arrested. Three days after the explosion, one of the arrested, Giuseppe Pinelli, died from falling from a window of the fifth floor of the city's police headquarters - while five police officers were present in the room. The police first announced that it was a suicide, then quickly changed their story and claimed it was an accident. This event was later immortalized in Nobel laureate Dario Fo's burlesque theater play, Accidental Death of an Anarchist.

Another anarchist, Pietro Valpreda, was convicted of the bombing, and sat several years in prison before his conviction was overturned in a new trial. It has been proven that it wasn't Milan's anarchists who were responsible for the bomb plot, but a group of neo-fascists. The bomb plot was the beginning of the so-called "strategy of tension" put into action by Italian fascists in consort with the CIA and Italy's intelligence services. At the end of the 60's, it looked as if the Italian Communist Party might be admitted into the government for the first time. At the same time, a new and more radical left emerged, who rejected the whole parliamentary game. A campaign of destabilization was therefore started, where fascists conducted terrorist acts, which were then blamed on the left. In the span of 15 years, 150 individuals were killed in eight bomb explosions; the worst of which was the massacre at the railway station in Bologna in August 1980, where 85 was killed and 200 wounded. Fascists and intelligence agents also infiltrated small communist and anarchist groups where they tried to incite violent acts, at the same time as they were helpful in procuring weapons and explosives. During this time, there were hatched several plots where the fascists, together with their allies in the military and police, would take power in a coup d'etat. It was assumed that the Italian people would accept a "state of emergency," in order to save the country from chaos and to "reestablish law and order." However, as the political situation in the country stabilized during the 70's, a fascist coup ceased to be an option.

Not until 2001 was a group of fascists brought to trial for the bombing in Milan over 30 years ago. In this trial, a former chief in the Italian military intelligence agency SID gave testimony. General Gianadelio Maletti explained that SID had discovered that right wing terrorists in the 70s had been equipped with military explosives from Germany, possibly with the help of American intelligence agents. "The CIA, following the directives of its government, wanted to create an Italian nationalism capable of halting what it saw as a slide to the left and, for this purpose, it may have made use of right-wing terrorism," Maletti explained. (2) Maletti himself needed a temporary court amnesty in order to testify, as he for the last 20 years have been living in South Africa as a fugitive from Italian justice. He had been convicted in absentia for obstructing the investigation of an attack on the Italian Minister of the Interior in 1973. Four people were killed and 45 injured when the "anarchist" Gianfranco Bertoli threw a bomb at group of people outside the police headquarters in Milan. Bertoli actually had right-wing sympathies, and was a long time informer for SID. SID supposedly knew about the plot against the minister in advance, but did nothing to warn him, and neglected to tell investigators what they knew after the crime was committed.

Before the protests against the G8 summit in Genoa in 2001, Dario Fo published an article called Beware of the State's Anarchists, where he warned that the strategy of tension was about to be revived. In the article he wrote: "What we are witnessing is an incredible repetition of what happened back then. In the face of the growth of a deeply peaceful world protest movement, the system replies by trying to drag it into a spiral of violence. Therefore we get bombs, and people look for excuses to beat up and arrest demonstrators, hoping that some young people will engage in violent confrontations. And to make sure that this happens, you can bet your bottom dollar that agents provocateurs are already at work." (3)

Fo was to see his dark premonitions come true, and during the summit protests, one could find extensive evidence of both provocations and excessive police violence. The most tragic event was when the young activist Carlo Giuliani died after first being shot and then run over by an armed police vehicle. The next night, the police raided a school that was used to house some of the demonstrators. Dozens of sleeping activists were brutally beaten by the police, and several of them needed to be sent to the hospital. It has later been proved that the cops themselves planted the Molotov cocktails they showed to the press to justify raiding the school.

There were also several instances of homemade bombs going off in Italy in the days before the Genoa summit. One of these was claimed by a group calling themselves Cooperativa Artigiana Fuoco e Affini (Occasionalmente Spettacolare). This is one of the groups who, according to the anonymous letter to La Repubblica, have joined together to form the Informal Anarchist Federation. Another of the four groups mentioned in the letter, Brigata XX luglio, claimed responsibility for two explosive devices set off in the vicinity of the police headquarters in Genoa in December 2002. Again, many Italian anarchists and leftists are convinced that all these incidents were the work of agents provocateurs.

Whoever is behind these letter bombs: fascists, intelligence services, anarchists, or perhaps lone individuals - one thing is sure: The Italian police and prosecutors are itching to use these events as an opportunity to crack down on a troublesome oppositional element. While the rest of Italy have never heard of the mysterious Informal Anarchist Federation, and are even questioning whether it actually exists, the Italian prosecutors claim to have full knowledge of the organization's structure and ideology. The city prosecutor of Bologna, Enrico Di Nicola, has told the press that this is an "insurrectionist anarchist organization" which consists of "individualists who don't accept any type of organization, structure or centralization of decision-making." Di Nicola further claimed that membership of the organization "may be about 350 in all of Italy." (4) The question that naturally arises, is why these shady individuals would establish a federation, considering that they don't accept any type of organization?

To be fair, there actually does exist an insurrectional anarchist milieu in Italy. In issue one of The Nihilist, we wrote about the last time Italian prosecutors tried to crack down on this milieu. This was in the late 90s, after some anarchists were caught robbing a bank. 58 anarchists were then accused of being members of a subversive, paramilitary organization, a group called ORAI (Organizzazione Rivoluzionaria Anarchica Insurrezionalista). However, there was no evidence that this organization actually existed, and after a long and farce like court case, these accusations had to be dropped. (Although a number of the accused anarchists were convicted of other criminal offenses.)

There are signs that a new crackdown on the insurrectionalists is being planed. This time it seems that the authorities are trying to link the insurrectional anarchists with the remnants of the Marxist-Leninist armed groups of the 70's, such as the Red Brigades. The latest example of this came in August 2004 when someone placed a bomb in a Sardinian village, near a villa where the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi were entertaining his British counterpart Tony Blair. An anonymous caller who claimed to represent the Proletarian Nuclei for Communism, a local Marxist separatist group, warned the police about the device. Despite this, interior minister Giuseppe Pisanu did his best to implicate anarchists, claiming that "the Sardinian terrorist milieu has now brought together remnants of the Red Brigades, separatists and anarchist-insurrectionists." (5)



Sources:

1: The statement can be found on FAI’s website: http://www.federazioneanarchica.org/

2: The Guardian, 26 March 2001

3: Quoted in Socialist Worker, 4 August 2001

4: The Guardian, 9 January 2004

5: Associated Press, 18 August 2004

CANADIAN POLITICS-VANCOUVER:



ANTI-OLYMPIC DEMONSTRATIONS IN THE OPENING DAYS:



The 2010 Winter Olympics have begun, and so have a series of demonstrations, each with different locals, goals and tactics. The one that has garnered the most media attention is, predictably, the one on Saturday morning where there was some minor property damage and where several arrest took place. This was graced with the term "violent" and luridly portrayed as such across the world. All that I can say, from watching it on the tube, is that it was a pretty piss poor excuse for a riot if that was what the participants intended. What with the ritualized dancing and all in front of the police line. These things, of course, are more than slightly mere ritualized combat, with the participants on both sides are suffering from more than a slight share of delusion. The trouble is that their happenings can be worked up into some fantastical symbolic myths, once again by both sides, but with the mainstream media as the main offender in creating the greatest fantasy. Should side A (let's call them "the anarchists") seem unwilling to play their part of violent threat to a sufficient degree there are (always ?) police agents sent to stir them up. The following article mentions one such individual. In their appeal for "jail support" the Olympic Resistance Network uses the term "several" when referring to provocateurs. sadly it often doesn't take too much of a push for 'Side A' to do exactly what the police want them to.



Here's what happened on Saturday according to one observer. The following is originally from Rabble.ca . It came to Molly's attention via the No2010 website. Note the appendix of photos and videos from the event.



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2010 Heart Attack: Riot 2010 Becomes a Reality:

2010 Heart Attack: Vancouver Olympics Opening Day
By Scott Harris February 14, 2010, Council of Canadians Blog
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/council-canadians/2010/02/2010-heart-attack-vancouver-olympics-opening-day
The major mobilization on Saturday, dubbed the "2010 Heart Attack" began in the early hours of the morning, with around 300 activists gathering at Thornton Park under a heavy police presence to march through the streets of Vancouver in an attempt to disrupt "business as usual" on the opening day of competition of the 2010 Games.



The march departed from Thornton Park just after 9:00 am, with the goal of reaching the intersection of Denman and Georgia, where buses destined for the Whistler venues have to pass.


Police on bicycles ringed the march as it snaked its way through the streets towards the upscale downtown, turning up Hastings Street and moving into the heart of the city, nearly abandoned streets giving way to larger crowds as it progressed.



Early on an apparent agent provocateur moved into the crowd, pushing and taunting marchers before darting to the sidewalk, at times stopping to talk with police before running forward to taunt the crowd again. As the protest moved through the streets, some participants overturned mailboxes and newspaper boxes, pulling them into the street in an attempt to block traffic.



Minor property damage occurred along that march, and as demonstrators reached the shopping district of Georgia Street, a group of protesters broke one of the display windows of the Hudson's Bay building, one of the national sponsors of the Games, and one which has come under criticism for both its long history of colonialism and its sourcing of Olympics sweaters from China rather than the Cowichan nation. A ball of red paint was also thrown at the window. Despite a heavy presence at the scene, no arrests were made.



As the march continued through the downtown, with chants of "No justice, no peace" and "Whose streets? Our streets!" echoing through the buildings, the police presence intensified.


Vans full of police in full riot gear descended on the march, and the number of police on bicycles increased markedly. With those on bicycles forcing onlookers and some of the marchers to the sidewalk, the riot police moved in from behind the marchers, with numerous police cars and wagons following closely behind. There were scuffles as the police moved to isolate the main body of the march from legal observers and onlookers who were filming, and one woman was arrested after being wrestled to the ground by a number of officers.



The marchers were eventually surrounded by riot police, some of whom were armed with automatic weapons while others brandished plexiglass shields and batons. After police on bicycles stopped a group of onlookers from proceeding, separating them from the march by about half a block, police moved in and made a number of arrests. Some in the crowd fought back or attempted to "un-arrest" those targeted by the police. Both riot police and police on bicycles forced observers and legal teams to the sidewalks as they put those arrested into wagons. As the police moved in and divided the crowd by creating wedges between different groups of protesters, some smaller groups split from the main march, some of them pursued by groups of police.



Smaller groups spread throughout the downtown core were split off by police and surrounded by riot police at a number of locations. One group of about 30 people, which included a marching band and a number of dancers, were surrounded on all sides by riot police as supporters were kept at a distance by heavily armed police and police on bicycles. The crowd, which was forced to the sidewalk by police by threats of arrest chanted "Let them go!" as those surrounded by the police held their hands in peace signs and attempted to negotiate their way to the sidewalk. As the standoff between trumpets and truncheons continued, some in the crowd turned to chants of "This is weird. Let them go." After being surrounded for over half an hour and prevented from leaving, the police eventually allowed the band and its supporters to disperse.



In all a total of 13 arrests were reported by the legal support team, and five are being held and may be charged. Protesters have begun jail support at the police station at 222 Main in support of those arrested.



By 4:00 pm, the most heavily damaged window at Hudson's Bay Co. had been replaced.
Scott Harris is the Prairies Regional Organizer for the Council of Canadians
Video from VMChttp://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/video/2743
Photos fro VMChttp://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/photo/2741
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Here, from the CBC is a report of an earlier protest in Vancouver, one that got far less general media coverage because it was as spectacularly confrontational as the one described above. I've decided to leave the comment link in because it may give the reader a feel about how the general population of Vancouver is reacting to the protests.
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Police clash with anti-Olympics protesters:
Last Updated: Friday, February 12, 2010 9:27 PM PT Comments773
Anti-Olympics protesters clashed with police in downtown Vancouver on Friday night as the marchers tried to approach BC Place, where opening ceremonies for the 2010 Games were underway.



Some protesters sprayed vinegar in officers' eyes, threw sticks, and spit on officers, police said.



Two officers were injured with flying objects and one was sent to hospital with a shoulder injury but was treated and released, said Const. Lindsey Houghton.



The 125 officers assembled in two rows, along with six police officials on horseback and managed to hold back the crowd, estimated at 1,500.



No protesters were injured.



One man was taken into custody and is facing a charge of assault, Houghton said.



Protesters got as far as the corner of Robson and Beatty streets before being stopped at the police lines, about 200 metres from BC Place stadium.



The protesters rallied outside the Vancouver Art Gallery at 3 p.m. before starting their seven-block walk to the stadium. They marched along West Georgia Street to Homer Street, where they turned south then east on Robson toward BC Place, where the ceremonies began at 6 p.m. local time.


Placards carried by the demonstrators suggested many disagreed with spending taxpayer money on the Games instead of targeting social problems.



Organizers said they wanted the protest to remain peaceful.



About 200 protesters forced organizers to reroute the Olympic torch relay twice early Friday as the runners made their way through the Downtown Eastside.
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Molly Note:
The first article above speaks of one police provocateur. In emails sent out to their supporters by the Olympic Resistance Network they speak of several at the second demonstration described in the first article. This may or may not be the case. It certainly has happened before here in Canada, and the most recently proven instance of police agents intercepted while they were trying to provoke violence was at the Montibello summit outside of Ottawa. This is neither here no there. I mention it because there is a congratulatory description of the events at demo #2 now making the rounds on the 'anarcho-net'. The interesting thing about that is that it makes no mention of such a possibility, even though it is apparently quite the buzz out in Vancouver (and not just amongst supporters of the protests). It also paints an incredibly rosy picture of how other protesters viewed the actions of demo #2. I seriously doubt that others are all entirely pleased with what happened.

CANADIAN POLITICS/CANADIAN LABOUR:

A MILE OF BULLSHIT FOR AN INCH OF TRUTH:

You could not imagine my joy when I came across the following at the CEP Union website. It beautifully ties together the last two posts, one about undercover police and one about a branch of the CEP union. The photo above would be a true cold water bath to try and shock certain 'fashion anarchists' who disgrace the name into some sort of realization of what they are doing. Flick it in front of them and ask, "who are the good guys and the bad guys in this picture".

The answer. The three masked hoods to the right are actually three undercover policemen who were caught red-handed at the 2007 Montebello summit trying to get the rock throwing going. What they were has long since been independently verified, though their identities and who gave the orders for their actions are still a deep dark secret two years later. The grizzled old guy in the suit at the left (an appropriate position ) is Dave Coles of the CEP Union, one of the unionists present at the demonstration who intercepted the 'Police/Black Bloc' before they could put their plan into action and sent them skittering behind police lines for protection. Since that time the CEP Union has taken a somewhat personal interest in getting to the bottom of this incident. Here, from their website, is their latest news on the subject.

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Union dragged through bogus process to find out who gave undercover police orders at Montebello:
OTTAWA (December 3, 2009 ) -- As Canada prepares to host the G20 summit next spring, the president of one of Canada’s largest unions is committed to ensuring that protesters won’t be baited by undercover police, as they were at the North American Leaders Summit in Montebello, Qc.

“We are being dragged through a bogus process to get to the bottom of what really happened at Montebello,” says Dave Coles, president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, “but we are determined to leave no stone unturned to find out who gave police their orders.”

“It is crucial,” he says, “that as the G-20 meeting looms for next spring, that Canadians can confidently exercise their free speech rights, free from the threat of police intimidation and violence.”

“At the same time, world leaders must know that they can come to Canada without having to worry about violence instigated by police agents to discredit those who want to assemble peacefully to express their views.”

Coles made headlines two years ago when his attempts to stop undercover police officers from infiltrating the peaceful protest were posted on YouTube.

CEP immediately called for an independent judicial inquiry to find out who ordered the police to try to turn a peaceful protest into a violent one, but was told it had to take the case through the Quebec Ethics Committee, established under the Police Act.

That committee has now agreed to a public hearing, but is seeking to hand prosecution of the case over to a public official who has already concluded that the police involved should be excused of wrongdoing.

“So the guy who is prosecuting, is the same guy who has already whitewashed the whole affair,” says Coles. “It’s a total charade.”

CEP today took the precedent-setting step of applying for standing as a party to the hearing before the Ethics Committee with the right to call evidence and conduct cross examination.

“CEP is committed to getting to the bottom of what really happened at the Montebello Summit in 2007, says Coles. “We will continue to push for an independent judicial inquiry into this whole cover up, and take whatever steps we need to get there.”
MORE INFORMATION: Dave Coles (613) 299-5628

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-BRITISH COLUMBIA:

THE SPY AT THE FRONT OF THE BUS:

There's a bit of a scandal going on out BC way. As if spending billions of dollars of taxpayers' money uselessly on the 'Corporate Olympics' wasn't scandalous enough. According to a press report (see later in this blog) Victoria Police Chief Jamie Graham admitted that protesters coming from mainland were driven to the October 30 protest in Victoria by an undercover police officer posing as a bus driver. One wonders about the guy's qualifications to drive a bus, and one also wonders whether he obeyed all traffic laws during the trip, including those that say even the police must use their signal lights to turn or change lanes. Old habits can die hard. One more example of an overly paranoid police force spying on its citizens ? Spending money just because it's there ? You be the judge. Here's the press release response to the incident from the Olympic Resistance Network.

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Release: ORN Responds to Police Allegations of Undercover Cop Driving Protest Bus to Victoria:‏
TO ALL NEWS EDITORS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OLYMPIC RESISTANCE NETWORK RESPONDS TO POLICE ALLEGATIONS OF UNDERCOVER COP DRIVING PROTEST BUS TO VICTORIA

December 3, Vancouver Coast Salish Territories - According to reports by 24 hours news, on Monday Victoria Police chief Jamie Graham alleged that an undercover police officer was driving a bus organized by the Olympic Resistance Network to transport protesters to Victoria for an anti-Olympic Torch Relay protest on October 30. Graham stated "You knew that the protesters weren't that organized(Is renting a bus "disorganized"? -Molly ) when on the ferry on the way over they all rented a bus, they all came over on a bus, and there was a cop driving the bus."

In response, the Olympic Resistance Network is making the following statement:

"This latest revelation of police infiltration and surveillance reinforces the notion of an Olympic police state that anti-Olympic activists have long been warning about. Infiltration tactics, in conjunction with ongoing harassment of activists and a $1 billion police,security and military budget including high-tech equipment like the LRAD sonic gun and close circuit TV cameras, have created a chilly climate for the right to protest and the protection of basic civil liberties. Our organization and our activities are public. With allies in Victoria we organized a successful and disruptive protest with over 400 people. While the police will increase their surveillance activities and their attempts to divide us, we are seeing increasing resistance across the country with additional protests planned against the Torch relay in Quebec and Ontario.

We encourage more residents who are enraged and affected by the impact of the Games to get involved and to express their right to dissent against this five ring circus of oppression."

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Here, from Global TV BC, is an article originally published in the Vancouver Sun on the matter. What strikes Molly the most is the "offhand" way in which this admission was delivered. More on that later.

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Victoria cop infiltrated anti-Games group:
Civil liberties advocates unhappy with police, call undercover officer’s actions ‘invasive’
Darah Hansen,

VANCOUVER SUN: Thursday, December 3, 2009
Victoria police chief Jamie Graham was lying low Wednesday after reportedly disclosing that an undercover police officer, posing as a bus driver, had infiltrated a group of anti-Olympic activists on their way to a rally.

“You knew that the protesters weren’t that organized when on the ferry on the way over they all rented a bus … and there was a cop driving the bus,” Graham told an amused crowd attending the Vancouver International Security Conference on Monday.

The revelation was made public Wednesday in an audio recording posted on the 24 Hours newspaper website.

The voice on the recording is attributed to Graham.

In it, the chief can be heard saying that police initiated the undercover operation in an effort to quell potential violence stemming from a planned anti-Olympic rally in Victoria.

About 300 people converged on the city’s core Oct. 30 in a coordinated effort to delay the Olympic torch relay from its scheduled arrival at the legislature.

Very few arrests were made.

“Everyone left upset that not very much action happened,” Graham said. ( Is "everybody" the protesters or the police ?-Molly )

He declined The Vancouver Sun’s request for an interview Wednesday.

Victoria police did not issue a denial of the report. Spokesman Sgt. Grant Hamilton responded via e-mail that the chief “will not be commenting any further on this.”

The story broke the same day that a new Olympic watchdog group warned police against planting plain-clothes police officers in protests at the Olympic Games.

The Civil Liberties Advisory Committee (CLAC), in a media statement, said that plain-clothes officers should be allowed to observe protests but not participate in the demonstrations.

Tensions between Olympic resisters and security forces — including municipal police, RCMP and national security personnel — have been building as the Games approach.

Protesters have made repeated claims that police are stalking their movements to deter them from participating in events that are considered to be anti-Olympics.

“They’re treading so close to intimidation,” Olympics critic Chris Shaw said of police tactics, which have included officers questioning family and friends of people involved in Olympics resistance.

Police say they are just doing their job. By keeping tabs on protesters, officers can better maintain public safety while ensuring protest messages are still heard.

“We will use all lawful tools at our disposal to ensure we all enjoy safe and secure Games,” said Staff Sgt. Mike Coté of the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit.

CLAC spokesman Michael Byers said that having an undercover policeman drive a protest bus isn’t a clear violation of civil liberties because it falls into a “grey zone” between police officers observing and participating in protests.

“I’m not happy about the [bus] incident, but I don’t regard it as fundamentally in contravention of our recommendations,” Byers said.

Meanwhile, David Eby of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association said news of the undercover operation will likely be unwelcome among activists who already feel threatened by police leading up to the Games.

“It makes it very difficult for police and activists to have a constructive relationship with each other when activists know that they can’t even book a bus without potentially engaging a police officer in the middle of their planning,” he said.

Eby called the police decision to place an undercover officer among the protest group “invasive.”

“This is not al-Qaida,” he said. “This is a group of activists whose most serious threat they present is potentially delayed traffic.”

Coté said no one from the ISU was present to hear Graham’s remarks and so he was unable to confirm the accuracy of reported statements. ( I smell male cow manure here. Nobody from the security unit was present at the security conference ? Come on now ! What exactly were they doing ? Keeping their appointments with their audiologists perhaps. They seem to have a bad problem with their hearing.- Molly )

Coté said that generally, “we do not comment on specific investigative techniques that we may or may not be using.”

The ISU’s portion of the $900-million Olympic security budget is just over $490 million.
dahansen@vancouversun.com
With files from Doug Ward, Vancouver Sun

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So what can you make of this ? Molly has already reprinted an article, originally published at the Nanaimo based Porkupine Blog about how it is a distinct possibility that any violence that could happen at such demonstrations just might be at the instigation of the police themselves, especially undercover infiltrators. Even though there will always be some idiots who get their jollies from riots, it is a proven fact that police agents have been caught in the past attempting to initiate violence. The Montibello Summit stands as a recent example. The Olympic Resistance Network is insistent that it is a public group, and their activities bear this out fully. See the numerous reports I have published here at Molly's Blog on the resistance to the 2010 Olympics.

So what are the possibilities ? Let's count them out. Note that, from the above article Chief Jamie Graham has been "laying low" about his admission. One wonders if his political superiors haven't been twisting his ears hard.

A) The statement was made deliberately in order to intimidate people who might protest the Olympics. Highly unlikely. The various police forces involved in spying on the anti-Olympic protesters have made all sorts of much more visible moves, moves that have been far more intimidating. One doubts that this extra fillip had to be added to the salad. The security services have made it quite plain that they don't give a "number 2" about how visible some of their efforts are. This is partially because they want to cover their collective ass against any future charges that might result from any illegal actions on their part. It's mostly because what they have done so far, in public at least, really doesn't require any secrecy at all. See the complaints in the press release from the Olympic Resistance Network.

B)Chief Graham is a braggart who happened to find himself speaking at a conference attended by the "big boys", and he wanted to highlight the efforts of his own minuscule force. VERY likely. He could probably have kept his self-congratulations to boring everyday details about the efforts of the Victoria City Police, but he felt the need to sex up his speech with a "ha-ha" about how the other side was deceived. Apparently the comment did get a laugh (see the article above). In addition to being a braggart Graham may also be a fool. The two conditions are not mutually exclusive. God knows we have enough of such people here in 'anarchyworld' who are often referred to as the "summit hoppers".

C) The guy was drunk as a skunk and maybe has been in that condition for years. Note to organizers of any conference. Do not, I repeat do not, allow any speakers to get liquored before they climb the stage. One wonders what sort of hangover the guy had as his betters in the political world came down on him. This possibility is not as self obvious as B) above, but it shouldn't be discounted. The liquid anaesthetic does flow freely at most conferences, whatever they are about. Next time I suggest a cash bar rather than free hooch.

D)A combination of B and C above. Who knows. One wonders how the Chief is going to wiggle his way out of this one beyond issuing "no comments". After a decent interval I see early retirement in this man's future.

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-VICTORIA:

THE POLICE HAVE LOST THEIR MARBLES:

It's been almost 3 weeks since a highly successful anti-Olympics protest in Victoria BC (see No2010 Victoria for more news on what's happening out that way). At the time the local media picked up on some "marble throwing incident" to, they hoped, spice up their coverage and also incidentally discredit the protesters. Since then this incident has become the "incredibly shrinking story". Here's Larry Gambone of the Porkupine Blog on how the incident was far less than what was reported at first, and how it may have a totally different implication than what was originally implied in the media.

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Olympic Torch Protest - the so-called marble throwing incident.:
I have waited 3 weeks to do this story to see if anything new came up – so far nothing, so here goes...

On the night of the anti-Olympic protest the Victoria TV station was screaming about “cowardly protesters throwing marbles at police horses” and that “a young man with a back pack full of marbles had been arrested.” This way they drummed up hate among the sheeple against a rather successful protest.

Then the Times Colonist got in the act too with a similar line. Funny thing, the story then dropped out of sight.

Even odder was the fact that no one was arrested. Surely if the police had gotten their hands on someone who tried to throw marbles at them, they would be dragged off bleeding to the hoosegow.

Odd too, is the idea that NO2010 would somehow endorse such a stupid, counter-productive tactic. Of course they didn't.

Turns out no one actually threw any marbles, rather they were dropped. But then it gets muddy. Who did it and why did they do it?

There are a number of different viewpoints. First two letters to the Times Colonist:

"Just a note on the 'marble fiasco'. Maybe the media could take a second and follow-up on their so-called 'sources' (the police, and a woman who found a handful of marbles on the street) on marble THROWING. Being at the protest, I saw what happened with the marbles. None were thrown. Someone had them in his pocket (I would like to know why, but since carrying marbles is not a crime, I didn't feel it necessary to ask), his pocket broke and they FELL OUT. A number of us stopped to pick them up, and because we were afraid of being separated from the group, we weren't able to get them all. Many thanks to the woman who got the rest. I would like to see one person step forward that actually SAW anyone throw anything at the horses, because from my perspective, it didn't happen. Stop being lazy reporters, and do your job.

Lover of Horses

Nov 2
"Protesters also threw marbles at the feet of horses used by the Vancouver police mounted squad."

This is a lie. I was there when the marbles were released, at one of the intersections on Cook Street where we stopped for ten minutes or thereabouts. My friend and I commented on what a stupid thing that is, dropping marbles onto the street so that the horses, already enslaved and wishing they were in a warm barn somewhere, might slip on them. Others nearby expressed similar comments. We were at the back of the crowd, where I stayed for most of the route, and there were several police officers within earshot. It was clear that the officers were made aware of the marbles. The horses passed without incident.

It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the marbles were released by agents provocateurs, who have been proven (and those from Montebello may actually go to jail for inciting violence) to be planted into crowds for the purposes of disrupting otherwise peaceful acts of civil disobedience. Janine Bancroft

Nov 2

Global Television weighs in on Nov 3:
"Anti-Olympic protesters say it was not them, but the police themselves, who threw marbles at police horses during the Olympic torch rally in Victoria Friday. They say a police "provocateur" planted among the demonstrators did so to discredit them.
The police, meanwhile, say the allegation is ridiculous.
"The public saw marbles coming from the crowd -- and Victoria police officers saw it," said Sgt. Grant Hamilton of Victoria police.
Tamara Herman, an organizer for the group No2010, said one of the protesters saw someone who was not part of their group drop marbles in the roadway.
Herman said she could not name the witness or offer other details. Nevertheless, she contends that a plainclothes police officer was trying to discredit the protesters.
"The Integrated Security Unit [responsible for Games security] stated they wouldn't rule out using provocateurs. Organizers at the back of the march saw someone they didn't recognize dropping a bag of marbles," Herman said. "

The Martlet (U Vic paper) gets it partly wrong:
"Despite fears of a potential police crackdown on protesters, there were no arrests. The only visible attempted violence came when some protesters- who were not known to No-2010 organizers- threw marbles at the feet of the seven horses being ridden by the mounted squad The Martlet

Nov 23

What really happened? Some kid who plays marbles had his pocket split? Police agent provocateur? Or could it be a free lance provocateur? Don't put it past the far right to do such a thing. One thing for certain is that the media will seize upon any incident real or imagined to intimidate and discredit the forces of progress.

MONTEBELLO PROVOCATEURS:

MORE SQUIRMING FROM THE QPP AND, OF COURSE, FROM 'ROCKWELL DAY':

The attempts on the part of both La Surete du Quebec (the QPP) and Public Security Minister Stockwell Day have descended further into comedy. As reported on the Big City Liberal Blog the QPP spokesman, Marcel Savard, said, "One of the extremists gave the rock to one of our police officers and he had a choice to make. He was asked by the extremists to throw the rock at police, but he never had any intention of using it." Are these the same "extremists" who confronted the trio of police agents demanding that they put down their rocks and unmask ? Jesus, how things can change in a heartbeat.

According to the Big City Liberal Blog Stockwell has coughed up this line as well. The protesters who confronted the police agents at the Green Zone and demanded that they disarm were, according to Stockwell, "three people in question were spotted by protesters because they were not engaged in violence". Nope- merely armed with a generous "rock gift", and merely asked to discard it by people who wanted no part of any violence. Speaking of "gifts" the Big City Liberal Blog comments on the open beer in the back pocket of one of the agents. Is this also a "gift" ? Perhaps part of the disguise ? Or maybe, as is increasingly becoming obvious, the trio caught in the act were not just goofy plants but also violating regulations about drinking on the job. Maybe a few beer are good for relieving job stress.

Molly wants to institute the 'Rock Award' for the clumsiest excuse ever devised for a government action. This is the first entry. Yep...they're playing "musical rocks" at these demos. Too silly for words.

POLICE PROVOCATEURS AT THE MONTEBELLO PROTESTS: LA SURETE COMES PARTLY CLEAN:

After previously denying any connection with three rock carrying protesters at the demonstration at Montebello, Quebec who other protesters claimed were police agents infiltrated into the demo to provoke violence the Quebec Provincial Police/La Surete du Quebec admitted that the three were indeed police officers this evening. Reports on what was said can be found at the website of the CBC and at the website of the Toronto Star. The news release for the Surete claimed that the officers were planted in the crowd to locate any violent protesters and that their cover was blown when they refused to throw their rocks.

COUGH,COUGH,COUGH,GAG !!!. That's the sound of Molly expelling a mammoth sized hairball. If this story is true then my asshole chews bubblegum. If your agents were out to locate violent protesters why were they planted in the 'Green Zone' where it was agreed that no violence would occur, a zone populated by families, union members and others whose politics make them highly resistant to the idea of using even non-violent civil disobedience, let alone violence ??? Seems that the violent protesters that you were supposedly "looking for" would be far away near the front lines of the demo. Hmmm ? Rather than "refusing to throw their rocks" it was said that the union members who confronted the trio and tried to unmask them were demanding that they put their rocks down. "Throw your rocks away" is NOT the same as "throw your rocks". Besides, if the police spokesmen originally denied that the trio were undercover agents and then retracted that lie when they were confronted with the magnitude of the proof, why should they be believed when they come up with the 'Plan B' story ? The whole cover-up story stinks.

Besides, the fact that the Surete claims responsibility for the men caught in the act is more than slightly convenient for the federal government. When questioned about this matter after making a crime prevention announcement in Winnipeg today Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said that he'd "made the inquiries and there was no RCMP that were involved as those three individuals go". Gotta love Stock's clear grasp of English grammar. Maybe the three were really dinosaurs that still walk the Earth with humans. But Stockwell at least knows which direction this river flows. He went on to metaphorically thumb his nose at the public by saying,"If people have concerns ...there is a complaints process for the RCMP. There is also one for the Surette du Quebec. This incident happened in Quebec, so I imagine people could also file under that complaints process". Those uppity Quebec nationalists can be convenient at times of buck passing under stress.

The Liberal Party has called for a police probe into the matter. It might be hard, however, to find a non-involved police force in Canada that has both the resources for such a thing and is independent of the events. The ever helpful Molly suggests the federal police force of Venezuela. You gotta admit that they had nothing to do with it and have nothing to hide. The NDP has called for a public inquiry on the matter. After their brief news release on the matter the QPP refused to comment further on the matter. The Quebec government also refused comment, as has the RCMP.

Some time ago there was an online petition asking for signatures demanding that Stockwell day change his first name to Doris. Stock paid no attention to the voice of the people then. Molly suggests another petition for Day to change his first name, this time from "Stockwell" to "Rockwell". In line with the mounting pebbles of evidence about how little the government respects the right to free speech one might suggest that you have to have rocks in the head to believe the official story...or perhaps be really stoned. "Rock of Ages, cleft for me; let me hide the facts in thee". And so on...

Stay tuned to the Ottawa Indymedia site for further updates on this story.

MONTEBELLO PROTESTS:
AGENTS PROVOCATEURS CAUGHT IN ACT:
When an afternoon of sporadic tear gassing and the occasional clubbing of demonstrators failed to provoke an incident it seems like the police present at the Montebello protests had a Plan B. As has recently been reported on the Ottawa Indymedia site and now even in the website of the Toronto Star the crowd had been infiltrated by officers disguised as demonstrators.

Three balaclava wearing "demonstrators" prominently carrying rocks were confronted by Dave Coles, President of the Communications, Energy and paperworkers Union when they took up position near the 'Green Zone' of protesters, a zone that was supposed to be free of any confrontation with the police. As the confrontation developed many onlookers began to suggest that the three were really police agents and tried to snatch the masks from their faces.

Rather than deny this the three moved towards police lines and seemed to engage in conversation with them. They then pushed into the line and "seemed" to be wrestled to the ground, handcuffed and taken away. None of the three were listed as "officially" arrested by the police. All told four people were arrested at the demo at Montebello on Monday. Ottawa Legal Support and Montreal Legal Support are organizing solidarity with the four who were "really arrested". Further details will be updated on the Ottawa Indymedia site.

The failure of the agents' cover was well documented by both photos and a video on YouTube. The funniest part was when a photo taken when the three were supposedly arrested shows that both the "protester" and a police officer kneeling beside him have the same identification mark, a yellow triangle on the soles of their boots. Well...I guess it is a prudent precaution to have some sort of visible ID because it is easy to attack "one of your own", and anyone hit in the head by a baton can easily be too incoherent to identify themselves. Better to have a signal that will show up when the one who is hit is laying down on the pavement. Molly can see only one problem with this. If a riot squad member approaches the prone person from behind the mark is visible. If, however, he wants to kick him in the head instead of in the balls then the yellow mark won't be seen. Ouch ! Molly proposes the following. Any future agents should be required to shave their heads bald- sorta puts them right in fashion. Then they should paint a big glowing yellow triangle on top of the head and hide it beneath a ball cap. When they assault a riot baton with their head the cap will fall off and the owner of the baton will know to stop. That's Molly...always kind and helpful.

In addition to the above video a series of photos has now been posted at the Canadian Union of Public Employees website. You can see the yellow mark on the soles of the boots there. Oh yes, the Ottawa Indymedia site continues to accumulate more photos as well. Drop on over there and to the Toronto Star site to read more about this developing story.

One last thing before Molly signs off. Seems that the locals in Montebello were as pleased as punch about the protests. Besides the fact that local snack food merchants did a roaring business the consensus was that the town got publicity that no amount of money could have bought.

There's an interesting article in the latest 'Straight Goods'- an on-line magazine of social democratic slant ( http://www.straightgoods.ca )- on the final results of the "Ippenwash Inquiry". This concerns a government inquiry into the shooting of native protester Dudley George during a police attack on a native occupation/protest almost 11 years ago in Northern Ontario. The inquiry "whitewashed" the role of the provincial government of Ontario at the time.
Lest you think that this is a "one-off" event I pull the following from memory. Many years ago an Indian was shot- THREE TIMES IN THE BACK- in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. One man was convicted of "manslaughter" in the murder. He was sentenced to a very short time in prison, and actually served less than a year. The CLINCHER was that the convicted murder was an agent for CSIS, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. He said, on his release, that he would take up a career as a speaker against "racism" as his original mission was to infiltrate the neo-Nazis in Saskatchewan. Of course he disappeared into the witness protection program upon his release.
Do inquiries EVER convict the guilty. Yes, rarely. The inquiry into the above case of Dudley George couldn't reveal anything as incriminating as the inquiry into the Air-India bombing here in Canada where there was more than a slight suspicion that CSIS collaborated with the Indian Security Service to "let a terrorist event happen". Of course nothing was proven in that case so why should it be any different here. RARELY is the operative word ie ONLY in the case of situations that do not carry implications that have "political consequences. False convictions, no problem. Collaboration of politicians or security services in murder- a great gross problem.