CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-OTTAWA:

SPYING IN OTTAWA:

The following item is from the Ontario platformist site Linchpin/Common Cause. It seems that in the run-up to the upcoming G20 meeting in Toronto that the police in Ontario are doing what police always do ie gather intelligence and try to intimidate protesters. that is hardly "news", though the fact that they have been caught in at least one visit is. One more item about the violation of civil liberties in Canada to add to the tremendous list. I may think that what follows is both very true in some aspects and the result of unsupported speculation in other parts as to how the secret police proceed. The general advise, however, is quite sound. Nobody should answer questions from the usual fishing expedition on the part of the police unless 1)they have at least 40 years experience in radical politics, 2)they are at least 25 or 30 years older than the cop(intimidation factor), 3)they've been visited at least once before, 4)they have immediate access to a hidden recording devise, 5)the cops will agree to come by at a reasonable time of day and agree to the presence of witnesses and, perhaps most importantly, you have a plan in place to say nothing while continually questioning the agent.





To say the least all these items rarely (ever ?) come together at once. Therefore the advise to "say nothing" is the best that can be given. Here's the Linchpin item, corrected for English punctuation ( Don't get me started on this item-Molly ).
LPLPLPLPLPLPLPLP
Heads up: Cops visiting Ottawa activists

On Thursday morning, an Ottawa-area activist was visited at their home by two plainclothes police who said they were RCMP from out-of-town.

The previous night, after a public event on diversity of tactics, some activists present suspected the event was under surveillance when men in a white van were seeing watching from outside the venue.

So perhaps more people will be visited in the future? We've seen these kinds of strategies before, most recently in the lead up to the olympics in Vancouver, where activists involved in anti-Olympics organizing were visited, followed, and surveilled.

The visits are surely intended to gather intelligence and to intimidate.

Ottawa activists should be aware that this is going on. learn how to protect yourself, don't let yourself be tricked. guidelines on how to deal with police visits are posted on the anti-G8/G20 mobilization website, attacktheroots.net: http://www.attacktheroots.net/node/38
During such a visit, they may say that they are there to help you and your group/cause, trying to secure real information which they can distribute to others (cops and non) who may be less appreciative or understanding of what you are doing than they, the visitors, are.

They may say they are supportive of your cause, they know you're not out to do anything bad, they believe that the progressive victories in our society are in large part due to the kind of work you and others are doing and have done.

They tell you they're dressed in plainclothes, no official car, so that people won't see you speaking with the police and think that you're stabbing the movement in the back.

They may ask you to go for coffee or meet in some other way.

They may assure you that they do talk with other activists and that there is no unofficial 'activist policy' to not speak to the police.

They may mention pieces of your personal information, just so you know they know more about you than they should.

They may speak to your interests - the importance of unions, the problems of corporate media, whatever moves you/them.

They say they want to help you in what you're trying to do and that good communication and communication channels will benefit all involved.

They may tell you about their personal convictions, their background, how they agree with your values and about instances of their work where they are modeling these values.

They may be gathering intelligence through observation of you, your behaviour, anything you might say - even if you try and keep quiet.

They may be intimidating (but probably not explicity, they're probably trying to come across as friendly and an ally).

They may not even directly mention the upcoming G8/G20 summit/protests.

Again, see the info/advice posted on http://www.attacktheroots.net/node/38

BLOGGING:

THE POLICEMAN'S CHOICE:

This is an anarchist blog, and even more so it is a "labour blog". As such it attracts the attention of those who oppose it. Whatever it may be, the Royal Bank, Walmart, the Hudson's Bay Company, and, of course, governments x,y and z, (and many others) they all drop by here to snoop. Quite frankly their efforts are pretty futile, but it is all the old "putting in time" in any bureaucracy. I've mentioned some bizarre stuff before on this blog where the RCMP was searching down the phone number of one of the kitchens at UBC. The RCMP in Ottawa and the 'Defense Research Establishment' there are pretty good fans of Molly's Blog. I certainly don't catch all their visits because my checking is restricted because of the large number of visitors to this blog. Still, I always hope to catch them in the act of relieving their boredom by clicking on to such things as "Julie Coulard's Tits" ( a favourite amongst bored bureaucratic employees here). Not that I'd squeal on the poor bastards. The Defense Research Establishment (so-called military intelligence) has been caught before accessing porn when they were supposed to be keeping track of the great, grave, serious, overwhelming threats to the Canadian way of life. Exaggeration is hard to maintain when it reduces down to the nitty gritty of mindlessly reading half-witted leftist or Islamic rhetoric over and over and over.

I imagine that the poor bastards who are assigned to check on "the anarchists" must be particularly bored. Quite frankly the greatest threat to the growth of anarchism as a political philosophy is not the evil rotten no good secret police. It's simply some people who adopt the anarchist label and proceed to disgrace it to the maximum of their ability. I have no doubt that the various police forces in Canada have a large number of agents implanted in anarchist groups, and I also have little doubt that, besides the gathering of information, that their tasks often involve the "pushing" of such groups towards violent actions that will disgrace not just the participants, not just anarchists in general but also others that anarchists have made alliances with. The latest example happened out in Vancouver. The political bosses are very happy with such work, and, if done right, it gets a commendation on your record. Still...it's a waste of money from the "opposition's" point of view because there are always more than enough so-called anarchists willing to do the police's work for them for free. As I said above...the greatest threat to anarchism and its growth is...some anarchists.

OK enough sectarian arguments. Back to the police. The other day (night actually-they have these poor bastards sitting in front of a screen 24/7) one guy from the RCMP in Ottawa came here to Molly's Blog and did his due diligence. That's all OK, though I've often thought of sending such people a bill for my services.

Anyways, just because he was bored, he went over to our sister site, Molly's Polls. He decided to vote in the poll 'What Is The Freest Country In The World'. Now if your salary is being paid by a government that hires you as a "spook", even if only an internet spook, you would expect that your first loyalty would be to said government. NO !!! This guy voted for the USA as the "freest country in the world". I guess that his idea of "freedom" may indeed include the "freedom to waterboard" or maybe the "freedom to fly somebody to Syria for torture". Ah, the different meanings of "freedom".

OK, here's what Molly wants. I'd like to see this guy being forced to lie in front of his superiors when he is questioned about where his "first loyalties lie", whether to the country that has given him a security clearance or to the only country that has ever directly threatened and invaded Canada in all of history. I wouldn't want this guy around if "peak oil" comes to be a reality. Can we say "quisling" ? Canada would be occupied anyways, but it wouldn't help any resistance to have those who favour the Empire to the south over their own country in positions of power.

Anyways keep em coming spooks. I love you too. What I cannot comprehend is how you cannot realize that visiting this blog is useless and a waste of time.

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.

õõõõõõõõõõõõõõõõ
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-VANCOUVER:

MORE ON OPPOSITION TO THE 2010 VANCOUVER OLYMPICS:

Opposition to any Olympic Games always has justification in terms of the residents of the city where it is held. To a large (exclusive ?) it is a "revenue transfer" scheme whereby ordinary taxpayers are required to subsidize the segment of the business community that does benefit from such events. The debt is passed on to the public while the profit is given to a small segment of the private sector. The following, from the No 2010 site gives a few more news items about opposition to the Olympics out on the west coast and the real cost of same.

My own personal favourite amongst these items is the story of the 73 year old "mail demon" who was visited by the police because of a mailing that he had done to the Vancouver Olympics organizing committee. That is his photograph, military medals included, above. One can only imagine the transcendent joy that the guy had when the bastards showed up at his door at a ridiculously early hour of the morning to question this incredible security threat. I wonder how many seconds it took him to be on the phone to the media after they left. Molly would pray for such an occurrence, though it would be pretty hard to get her to answer the phone at 6:00 am like when they visited a relative of hers. He was "buzzing" and told them to fuck off , thinking it was a prank call. When they did arrive about 1/2 hour later he kept the idiots from CSIS waiting until he had done all his morning routine. Ya wanna do your job you gotta pay your dues. Full shower. Make breakfast. Eat breakfast. Now, let's talk. Want any coffee ? Mind if I have a smoke ? Gotta clean the cat box. Ooops. gotta trim my toenails. So on and so forth.

Molly prays on bended knee for such publicity as has been given to the guy in Vancouver, for herself. Please, pretty please with sugar, try showing up at my door at an hour when the sun isn't even up at midsummer. I need the publicity desperately.

Anyways, here's what the people opposed to the Vancouver Olympics have to tell to you.

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ANTI OLYMPICS NEWS AND ANALYSIS:

* Olympics Resistance Network downloads available at:

http://web.resist.ca/~orn/blog/?page_id=8

* Anti Olympic merchandise available at:

http://no2010.com/node/298

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* Statement of Solidarity from Anti-2016 Olympics movement in Tokyo *

"Nagano which experienced the Olympic Games, Vancouver where the games will be arriving soon, Tokyo which has completed its bid for 2016 and is now part of the selection process. Citizens dealing with the problems of the Olympics from different cities reported on what they have experienced and we understood each other. Here we clearly recognized who profits most from the Olympics: those who are able to use the commercialism of the Olympics for their own ends, meaning, the developers, construction businesses, multi-national corporations, nationalists, the media, and the group which makes the most money, the IOC.

" For full statement:

http://no2010.com/node/956

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* Olympic security costs concealed for 18 months *

by Bob Mackin in 24 Hours

"B.C. and federal government officials knew in July 2007 that the RCMP budget for securing the 2010 Winter Olympics would cost taxpayers at least $466 million. RCMP Access to Information documents obtained by the WorkLess Party show a new estimate was presented by the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit to a joint federal-provincial security committee on July 6, 2007. Then-B.C. 2010 Winter Games Secretariat CEO Annette Antoniak was in attendance."

For full story:

http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Olympics2010/2009/05/15/Olympic-security-costs-concealed/

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* IIHF investigating president over kickback scheme *

CBC News, May 10 2009

The International Ice Hockey Federation is investigating allegations of IIHF president Rene Fasel accepting kickbacks involving the IIHF's marketing partner and Fasel's childhood friend. The Zurich newspaper Sonntags Zeitung reported Sunday that Fasel benefited financially from marketing contracts awarded to Infront, which handles the television and marketing rights to the world hockey championship until 2017....Fasel has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1995 and last year was elected to its executive board to represent winter sports federations. He is also chairman of the co-ordination commission for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics."

For full story:

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2009/05/10/sp-hockey-fasel.html

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* Surrey man, 73, gets police visit after writing Vanoc *(Here is Molly's favourite story)

By Jeff Lee, Vancouver Sun

"Two police officers from the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit showed up at his Surrey home. In their hands was a photocopy of the envelope he’d sent to Vanoc recently. Scott knew he’d sent it because his name and return address were on it, but doesn’t recall which clipping the envelope contained. He thinks it had something to do with Vanoc going after a restaurant for using the word “Olympic” and wanting it to take down its signs. He admits he’s never been in favour of the Olympics and probably made that clear in his writings. “When I have policemen coming into my house because I wrote a letter, a non-threatening letter, I am absolutely disgusted,” he said."

For full story:

http://www.vancouversun.com/Sports/Surrey+gets+police+visit+after+writing+Vanoc/1527478/story.html ------------------

* Applications for 2010 Olympic torchbearers falling short *

May 09, 2009 05:47 PM by Stephanie Levitz, Canadian Press

"It seems the attempt to light the Olympic flame in the hearts of all Canadians has so far produced only a flicker. With only a few weeks left to apply to carry the torch for the 2010 Winter Games, applications are nowhere near the level of the 1988 Games in Calgary, when six million people vied for a spot along a much shorter route." (Hey, I volunteer, but I'll do whatever I want with the flame-nothing obscene of course-Molly)

For full story:

http://www.thestar.com/sports/olympics/article/631903

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* Marine security plans for 2010 unveiled *

Canadian Press. Tuesday, April 29, 2009

"Marine security units will patrol waterways associated with the 2010 Olympic Games around the clock and will designate certain areas as restricted to the boating public. Among the security zones will be Vancouver's False Creek, which houses the Olympic athletes' village, and Burrard Inlet, which features the Games' broadcast centre."

For full story:\

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Olympics/2010Vancouver/News/2009/04/29/9284246-cp.html

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* Report criticizes Olympic organizers for lack of transparency *

Georgia Straight, April 22, 2009

"Drafted by the Impact on Community Coalition, the report reviews decisions made by Vanoc, the City of Vancouver, the Province of British Columbia, and Canada in regards to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. A focus of the report is actions which the ICC claims “prevent public access though Freedom of Information requests”. The report notes that the B.C.2010 Olympic and Parolympic Winter Games Secretariat—a branch of the B.C.Economic Development Ministry—decided to stop recording minutes of its meetings. And also that Vanoc stopped forwarding its minutes to the B.C.Secretariat."

For full story:

http://www.straight.com/article-215512/report-criticizes-olympic-organizers-lack-transparency

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-GREECE:

REPORTS FROM GREECE AND A CALL TO ACTION:

As Molly has said before on this blog events have returned to "normal" in Greece, but the word normal is quite relative. Even in "normal" times the country of Greece is in a state of perpetual ferment. A group of those infamous "outside agitators" are calling for an international day of action this coming January 25. Here's the callout, copied from the Polish anarchist news site Centrum Informacji Anarchistycznej.

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A CALL FROM GREECE - 24 January day of action:

As a group of people who came from many countries and who took part in the struggles in Greece over the past weeks, it is now clear to us that there is no such thing as a "Greek problem", that the situation that sparked the intense riots here is the same that the people are facing everywhere abroad. The murder of Alexandros Grigoropoulos on December 6th was not the source of this conflict, it only opened and made more clear a conflict that was already ongoing not only here but everywhere around the planet.

In these unstable times, fearing the threat of a deeper, more global movement of insurrection, the authorities have shown their weaknesses in their protection of the dominant capitalist order. Through the enforcement of anti-terrorist measures, tightening of social control, crackdown of different areas of resistance, mass arrests, targeted assassinations, the illusion of democracy is falling and the veil of social peace is starting to burn.

The more the State is taking a defensive stance, the more it is time for us to stop fearing its retaliation and to go on the offensive. It is not the time to withdraw into fear, which would lead us further into a dangerous social peace, but the right time for multiplying the offensives and intensifying the struggle against capitalism and its State, coordinated with the revolt that is happening here.

The core of these events being that we are in a state of war, the only way to get through it is to assume it and to take the offensive even further. That is why we are calling for a global day of actions on January 24th for you to carry out and perpetuate the revolt, to increase the instability. It is NOT a call for you to support the Greek people, but for you to take action where you are.

The 24th of January will be a day of demonstrations and actions all around Greece in support of the prisoners who fell into the hands of the system during this struggle. Wherever you are, let's attack this system that is oppressing us all !
From Saloniki, Greece

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Molly doesn't agree with the general thrust of what is said above. There is an old word for it- "triumphalism", and such an attitude is particularly inappropriate in conditions where you should be reviewing reasons for a defeat rather than trying to sustain an illusion that the defeat never happened. In any case, here from Athens Indymedia, is a report of recent actions in Greece, with at least a realization that the struggle will be longer and certainly broader than that imagined by those who rarely speak to anyone outside of their small circle of friends.

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Actions Report from Greece, 14 January:
Translation of the main articles in the Athens IMC Newswire, on today's events and actions

Arrests

More than 270 people have been arrested in connection to actions, since the beginning of the insurrection, on December 6th, in 15 cities. 67 of them have been detained, while 50 immigrants that were arrested the first 3 days, were rapidly condemned to 18 months of imprisonment and are being deported. 19 arrestees in Larissa face charges under the anti-terrorist law. Countless of people were brought to the police departments but were released with no charges in the end. ( 969401 )

On Saturday 17/01 there will be a nationwide demonstration in Larissa, for solidarity to the arrestees.

One person has been arrested and detained since yesterday in Thessaloniki. He is being accused for explosion (felony) and for organising a gang (minor offence, luckily not connected with the anti-terrorist law), related to the effort for arson for a police department. There was a solidarity demonstration, on Tuesday night, outside the Police Headquarters, where he is kept. He is going in front of the Interrogator and the Public Prosecutor on Thursday noon.

Liberated spaces

The building of the Journalists' Union is still occupied by young people and employees in the media. In solidarity to the revolt of December, they also focus on employment problems, pushing the mainstream media for alternative coverage of the actions, etc..

A municipality cafe on a central street of Zografou district, has been occupied by antiauthoritarians, in order for it to function as an open space for counter-information, discussion and co-ordination of actions.

Solidarity to Konstantina Kouneva

Employees and workers from 27 first-grade unions, had a sit-in in the office of Evangelismos hospital, where Konstantinta Kouneva is being treated. This hospital is also using cleaning services by subcontracting agencies, similar to the one Konstantina was hired by.

The Worker Unions' Center in Volos, after having been occupied by activists for 2 days, was released in the morning. It was an action of solidarity to Konstantina Kouneva and the arrestees of the revolt in December .

*Konstantina Kouneva, a woman, immigrant and unionist, was violently attacked with acid on her face, due to her political action against the employers.

Universities and High schools

A lot of general student union meetings have been taking place in Universities all over Greece, 62 faculties are currently occupied, while many of others stay open, due to the support by the communist, the social democratic and the pro-government student parties.

An education-wide demonstration will also take place on Thursday in many Greek cities.Parents of a high-school in Pireas, protest against the authorities of the schools, who terrorise the students that took part in the school occupation in October, where a lot of students were beaten up and sent to court.

The students of the 3rd High-school of Ilioupolis, Athens, have occupied their school, against the decision of the teachers to move 4 students to another school and not allow another 5 to attend courses, for 5 days (969734), as a punishment. They are also protesting against the surveillance cameras outside their school building.

Workers' struggles

120 people were sacked, last month, from the iron-nickel factory in Larimna. 3 people were fired from a local Athens TV station.

The employees of the water supply company in Thessaloniki are on a strike, staying in the building (despite being terrorized by their employers), making sure that there will be no problem with the water supply. They are against the privatization of the company. the inner corruption and they ask for more personnel to be hired.

The Higher court decided for the second time against the construction of a mall in Eleonas.

War in Palestine

A demonstration against the war in Palestine is being organised for Saturday 17/1. Arion, the ship of the Free Gaza movement, that transfers doctors and food towards the Gaza people, is threatened to be stopped by the Israeli authorities. The Greek government and the mainstream media didn't pay attention to the issue.

Meanwhile, people, student unions and organizations of the left have mobilized for a demonstration on Thursday, in order to prevent transfer of US weapons towards Israel, through the private port of Astakos, on the Aegean Sea .

Mainstream Media reports

Mainstream media published the results of the official police ballistic report on Alexis Grigoropoulos' shooting, stating that the bullet hit a marble ball (functioning as a barrier in the edge of the sidewalk) which was next to Alexis, and then turned towards his body. Commenters think that this proves that the cop actually fired towards the young persons. (Molly comment-this is highly credible. having seen the Greek police in (in)action Molly would have serious doubts about their marksmanship)

Mainstream media announced that the so-called "terrorist organisation" named "Revolutionary Struggle", (as it had been suspected by the police) issued a communique for the shooting against three police officers in Athens, resulting into the serious injury of one of them.

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Molly Comment:

Molly has mentioned before the suspicion in Greece that the shooting of three police officers in Athens was an act of provocateurs. The fact that this has been "claimed" by one of Greece's tiny Maooid sects doesn't deny this accusation any credibility. Like most such sects, anarchist ones unfortunately included, such collections of 1/10th educated true believers are easy prey for police manipulation. Their acts never have any positive consequences anarchism-wise, socialism-wise, or any "wise" in terms of any social struggles outside of the struggle in the minds of their perpetrators to "prove themselves". They usually, but not always, serve the interests of the powers that be as one of their greatest advertisements. If a group that is certainly infiltrated by the secret police and may be controlled by same claims an action it merely moves the index of suspicion to a higher level rather than obliterating it. Let those who deny such a thing study history, especially Russian and French history (and American history too).

Greece is full of such nonsense, both "anarchist" and the decaying remnants of Maoism. The USA (and unfortunately my own country Canada) also has such bullshit. Take the US example, subtract the ridiculous bows to politically correct guilt (truly bizarre actually). Make the tiny armed struggle groups 10 times as effective (even if there still is no point to what they are doing), and you have the situation in Greece. The problem...even increasing the efficiency of those who think they can bomb and vandalize their way to social change by one order of magnitude still leaves 4 orders (X 10,000) before such actions can be something other than useless or merely serving the interests of the state.

Czech Police and Border Guards:
Like Canada the Czech Republic has two main police forces. These are the state police and the municipal police. The municipal force is divided into regular police units. The actual amount of crime committed in the Czech Republic is minimal compared to the average North American city, so I assume that the traffic unit is actually the busiest. In the week that we stayed in Praha I not only saw no crime, but there wasn't even any evidence of the usual "disorderly conduct" that we see pretty much anywhere in public places here in Winnipeg. I certainly saw such things in Barcelona and in Athens when we were there at other times, but it was at a far lower level there than here, and in the Czech Republic is is pretty well microscopic. Even the Little Stalin Cottage where we stayed was actually quite safe.
The tourist areas of Praha are pretty regularly policed by foot patrols, despite this lack of something to do. The unsettling part was the appearance of patrol teams that looked nothing like ordinary cops. They were dressed head to foot in black and looked altogether more like commandos than cops. This was right down to the assault rifles they carried and the fact they had none of the other usual police gear such as visible handcuffs, clubs, etc.. The semi-automatic weapons they carried looked like they wouldn't make decent clubs. So I guess that if get on their wrong side they basically have one major option. These guys would usually come out when the sun went down. Hey, we are close to Romania after all. They did nothing that I could see except walk around and look intimidating. Well, I guess that you can sum it up by saying that they were just doing nothing, but they definitely were doing it with a sense of style.
Unlike Spanish police they didn't even have to make a serious effort to do nothing. The objective situation carried them along quite well.
The Czech Republic also has a large number of rent-a-cops. Increasingly so do many other places I guess. One section of these actually "does something", the subway ticket checkers. The subways in Praha, like those in Vienna and the public transport in Venice (boats actually) run on the honour system. You are required to buy tickets, but nobody actually checks you at the door to the train, and there are no electronic barriers to entrance. But there are rent-a-cops roaming the system doing spot checks. If you get caught the money for the fine is handed over on the spot. Needless to say the subway systems probably only sees a fraction of what is extorted under these conditions. These guys I actually saw doing something, mostly harassing younger people. What impressed me about them was their size- much bigger than 90% of the Czech cops you see on the street, and more intimidating in their own way than the guys with the assault rifles. When Gary the friendly Gorilla tells you to give him money you fork it over in hopes he won't lose his adjective. Never had a talk with these guys. Never wanted to.
More on public transit and "border guards" in Europe later. That's another great reason to love Praha as is the do nothing nature of the police and the circumstances that lead to same.
Molly

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.