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blitzkrieg66

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A longer duration of relatively lowever exposure as they would be subjected to next to a tailpipe can be more harmful than a short duration of moderately higher levels of exposure that one may receive during a off to the side, one block walk down the 600-1000 West Georgia Street, during rush hour.

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Agree or disagree with the protesters, I don't understand how these tactics are not deplorable. It seems whenever people disagree with a group on something, the only means of dealing with the said group should be through the harshest means available by law. Kids blocking a path in a university? Pepper spray, and mace 'em good! McGill students linking arms in peaceful protest? Baton them in the ribs! History teacher joined the protesters? Pull her by the hair and lock that harpie up! Hippies on the White House lawn? Rifles at dawn. It's absurd. No sense of proportionate force anymore.

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I never said it's not petty or deplorable - even I have to say that this seems troubling in my opinion. I'm merely saying that this is a legal loophole which the officers used, and they're smart for doing so.

Look at both my posts - "It's a smart and legal move, IMO" as well as "But there's no legal documentation that says they aren't. | Inversely, I can say that the cops are there to protect the protester's safety and are creating an area where the protesters are allowed to protest." I'm talking about the legalities of this action, as well as providing an alternative commentary on the photo/video

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Can you guarantee constant winds conditions removing particulate matter away from these people? If not, then the police are neglecting their inherent duty to protect the citizenry by exposing them to toxins and placing their health at risk. Their neglect could be mitigated by moving a few meters away.

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Man Behind Occupy Movement Criticizes Canadian Counterpart

thecanadianpress_logo.gif

TORONTO - Protesters hail it as a life-changing experience while pundits acknowledge it as a driving force in the national conversation, but the man who helped launch the Canadian incarnation of the "Occupy" movement says his adopted home country didn't execute his vision the way he hoped.

Kalle Lasn, co-founder of the Vancouver-based magazine that touched off the international campaign, said the protest against fiscal imbalance and corporate influence suffered from media misrepresentation and a comparative lack of energy during its first month on Canadian soil.

Canada's activists first took to the streets on Oct. 15, three months after Adbusters Media Foundation published a provocative ad exhorting readers to "Occupy Wall St." They were a month behind protesters in New York who took that call to heart by setting up camp in Manhattan's Zuccotti Park. While protesters from Halifax to Vancouver emulated their global counterparts by pitching tents in public spaces and brainstorming ways to challenge the status quo, Lasn said the efforts he witnessed lacked some of the passion that characterized rallies in the United States.

"I must admit, there is something kind of special about Canada," Lasn said in a telephone interview. "Somehow I found that many of the things that were happening in the U.S., there seems to be more vigour and spunk in some of the occupations there."

Lasn's impressions of the comparative lassitude stemmed from visits to the Occupy site in his adopted home town of Vancouver, which _ along with other urban campsites in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec and Edmonton _ was forcibly shut down by city authorities earlier this week.

While the site attracted its share of energized, politically engaged youth who the Estonian-born Lasn describes as "the new left," he also noted a stronger presence from fringe elements that has given left wing movements a bad name in the past, he said.

"I just had a feeling that there was a little bit too much of the loony left there," Lasn said. "I had a feeling that we needed more of the young, new-left spunk that I felt was happening in Zuccotti Park. I didn't see all that much of it here in Vancouver."

Lasn is quick to lay much of the blame on mainstream media, who he accuses of depicting the protesters as lawless rebels and their camp sites as dens of iniquity.

By zeroing in on incidents of drug use and crime _ which take place in staggering numbers every day _ Canada's news outlets failed to communicate the key message at the heart of the "Occupy movement," he said.

"The Canadian media really dropped the ball on this one," Lasn said. "Instead of seeing it as a movement of young people fighting for a different kind of future, which is so beautiful and so valid, they basically saw it as a pesky irritation that had to be got rid of."

That negative coverage may have motivated authorities to crack down on occupation sites in recent weeks and forced protesters themselves to lose focus as they fretted about when eviction notices would be handed down, he said.

"It's been a bit of a dismal few weeks for the movement, especially in Canada," he said. "In Zuccotti Park and other places there's still a lot of positive feeling, but here in Canada, somehow we did lose the high ground. . . . we finished up defending ourselves against people who didn't like us."

Protesters themselves concede that putting an end to the urban occupations may revitalize the dialog at the heart of the movement.

Jamie Klinger, who spent a month producing works of art at the Montreal protest site, said many of his fellow activists had to devote their time to ensuring the camp site was sanitary and stocked with food.

Now they're free to refocus their efforts, and Klinger said they've put together an extensive to-do list.

"This is just the beginning, I can't wait to see what happens a month from now. Occupy Montreal is going to be everywhere," Klinger said.

Klinger's enthusiasm was widely echoed among the youth who Megan Boler encountered during the week she spent at the Occupy site in Toronto.

The University of Toronto media studies professor surveyed protesters across North America as part of a project analyzing young people's engagement with social movements and found similar sentiments on both sides of the border.

Half the protesters she interviewed said they have become deeply engaged with politics for the first time in their lives, saying the movement was the cause they'd waited a lifetime to support, she added.

"I actually felt there was a very similar sense of commitment and spirit and analysis of the impact of globalization and corporate greed," she said. "The 'I've had it" feeling is quite similar between the rallies I attended in Toronto and the rallies I attended in New York and San Francisco."

The Canadian protesters were motivated by issues unique to their country such as rising levels of student debt and concerns for those who have fallen through the social safety net, she said.

Bob Hackett, professor of communication at Simon Fraser University, said that could help account for the more mellow mood Lasn sensed.

The political polarization and economic turmoil that helped galvanize the movement south of the border is lacking here, Hackett said, adding Canadians have more political options and likely feel less disillusioned as a result.

"I don't think the same degree of alienation exists here politically, and I would say the same economically," he said. "You don't have millions of people losing their homes because of the regulations in the banking system and other strengths of the economy."

That comparative calm has its bright side, Hackett said, adding none of the Canadian urban occupations descended into violence as they did in U.S. locales like New York and Oakland.

Lasn himself had previously said he anticipated the Canadian "Occupy" movement would be more low-key than its U.S. cousin, which has begun to spawn concrete policy changes that show no sign of gaining traction here. Seattle city council unanimously passed a resolution to revisit its municipal banking practices, while Occupy protesters joined in a large-scale push to defeat anti-union legislation in Ohio earlier this month.

Still, Lasn has no doubt that the Canadian movement has done great good by stimulating debate and forcing a new generation of citizens to think critically about the world they live in.

"It's thrown a curve ball into the young psyche of Canada," he said, adding the people who slept in parks this month will spend the winter brainstorming to launch the movement's next phase in the spring.

Klinger agreed.

"Whether it physically occupies in tents or does it in some other manifestation isn't relevant _ it's our message that's relevant."

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There's nothing wrong with roving protests and looking for ways to increase awareness. I think much like the critical mass protesters, the Occupy Vancouver has the right message, just the wrong way to get public sympathy. For example if Critical Mass rode on the bike lanes and showed everyone that they don't tie up traffic, obey the traffic laws, and that cycling is not only healthy for the riders but good for the environment. But no. They ride to block traffic and transit. So as both a cyclist, motorcyclist and driver, why would I sympathize with them? From what I can see they are painting a bad image of cyclists. (Sort of like the idiot who rides his bicycle the opposite way on a one way street in Vancouver)

If the folks in the occupy movement simply protested at Banks, Financial institutions, Large Box Stores like Wal-Mart, that would send a message, and inform the public of their concerns.

Camping out at a court house, or in front of an art gallery, or a park does nothing. Except make them look like fools.

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Police say the man had chained his bicycle several feet off the ground on a fence and refused to clear out. He was taken to jail. :picard:

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Protester arrested at Vancouver Art Gallery

A protester was arrested Tuesday at the Vancouver Art Gallery for allegedly breaching an injunction barring Occupy demonstrators from the site.

Police say the man had chained his bicycle several feet off the ground on a fence and refused to clear out. He was taken to jail.

On Nov. 18, more than a month after a tent city was established at the art gallery, a B.C. Supreme Court justice granted the city's request for a court order forcing Occupy Vancouver protesters to clear out their encampment.

The order also included a provision allowing police to arrest anyone impeding visitors trying to access art gallery property. Protesters complied with the order, only to move to the provincial courthouse one block away. A second court injunction forced the Occupy demonstration out of that site the next day, and protesters have not set up a new encampment since then.

City officials were on site at the art gallery Tuesday to clear out tarps, garbage and personal items they say have recently appeared in violation of the injunction. About 15 protesters were at the gallery around 12 p.m., according to police.

The group continues to hold general assemblies every night at the art gallery.

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Two more arrests Friday at the VAG.

Two men were arrested outside the Vancouver Art Gallery — the former encampment site of Occupy Vancouver — Friday for allegedly threatening a city worker.

Vancouver police spokesperson Const. Jana McGuinness said a City of Vancouver male employee had been putting up “No Trespassing” signs on a newly erected fence when the two men “allegedly took exception and verbally threatened the man.”

Both men were taken to jail and police will be recommending charges of uttering threats, said McGuinness.

One of the men arrested on Friday had also been taken into custody three days ago. On Tuesday, city officials had moved in to remove new tarps that had been put up in front of the Art Gallery, which violated a Supreme Court injunction that prohibited structures from being erected on the site. Police said the arrested man had chained his bike to a fence and refused to clear out. His case is currently before the courts.

http://www.theprovince.com/news/arrested+former+Occupy+Vancouver+site+alleged+threats/5804422/story.html#ixzz1fWWvZtS8

And the BC SC Justice who issued the injunctions against Occupy Vancouver has been raised to the BC Court of Appeal.

B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Anne MacKenzie, who recently handled the Occupy Vancouver injunction case, was appointed to the B.C. Court of Appeal Friday.

Madam Justice MacKenzie was admitted to the bar in B.C. in 1978 and was a federal Crown prosecutor until 1990.

She was appointed to the Provincial Court in 1990 and elevated in 1996 to the B.C. Supreme Court, where she became Associate Chief Justice in 2010.

The federal appointment is effective Dec. 31.

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Occupy+Vancouver+injunction+judge+heading+Court+Appeal/5804396/story.html#ixzz1fWXeBDhc

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"It's all a lie; look into the events of 9/11." It's a shame that idiots like this guy have to lump conspiracy theories in with legitimate issues. She was just doing her job.

On the other hand, it's ridiculous to tell them that they can't interrupt a broadcast. Sure the guy might be an a-hole, but he has every right to do what he did. If we aren't allowed to inconvenience people, how can we protest? Is the point of a protest not to raise awareness for an issue and ultimately spark societal change?

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The BC Federation of Labour continues to support the desires of the Occupy Wall Street movement for a more fair and just society and an end to the growing gap between the extremely wealthy and everyone else.

In the past few days, the BC Federation of Labour has learned that an Occupy Vancouver group plans to obstruct the operations of one or more Vancouver area ports on Monday, December 12, as part of a coordinated west coast action.

The BC Federation of Labour does not support this action, or any action by the Occupy Vancouver group at Vancouver area ports that seeks to prevent our members from carrying out their assigned duties and working safely, and notes that the demonstration will not constitute a picket line as defined in the B.C. Federation of Labour’s picket line policy.

The BC Federation of Labour encourages Occupy Vancouver and its supporters to find a means of protesting that highlights the disparity in economic wealth without preventing our members from working safely and earning their incomes.

http://bcfed.ca/node/2170

Huh...here's something for ya. So what's OV going to do? Stand in solidarity with other west-coast Occupiers, or in solidarity with BCFed unionists?

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"It's all a lie; look into the events of 9/11." It's a shame that idiots like this guy have to lump conspiracy theories in with legitimate issues. She was just doing her job.

On the other hand, it's ridiculous to tell them that they can't interrupt a broadcast. Sure the guy might be an a-hole, but he has every right to do what he did. If we aren't allowed to inconvenience people, how can we protest? Is the point of a protest not to raise awareness for an issue and ultimately spark societal change?

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Exhaust fumes contain high levels of CO and are considered dangerous when one is subjected to direct exposure. I don't see any legal argument that shows authorities are allowed to subject citizens to potentially dangerous carbon monoxide poisoning asa way to discourage those citizens' constitutional rights to peacefully assemble in public.

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I agree.

Except for the "constitutional rights to peacefully assemble in public" - yes, people have the right to protest - as long as it doesn't break any laws.

It's against local by-laws to camp over night in a non campground designated park or square.

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An attempted anti-fracking occupation of a couple of energy companies in downtown Vancouver resulted in an arrest.

Police moved in on a group of protesters Friday afternoon as they tried to occupy the offices of energy companies linked to the controversial use of fracking.

The protesters, some wearing masks, tried to occupy the Apache Canada offices in a building in the 200-block Burrard Street.

Police blocked access and some pushing, shoving and yelling ensued.

The marchers then set off for 1040 W. Georgia, where Horizon Industries oil and gas company has its offices.

The protest group managed to get into the lobby for a short time before setting off for the Vancouver Art Gallery, said VPD spokeswoman Const. Jana McGuinness.

"Nearly a dozen protesters were masked, dressed all in black, and were carrying black flags," said McGuinness in a release. "Protesters dressed in this manner have been linked to violent and criminal acts in the past."

One man was arrested for breaching the peace after he allegedly tried to break into one of the offices, which had been locked down.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a method for extracting oil and natural gas by forcing water and chemicals deep into rock formations. The process has been criticized for its impact on the environment.

http://www.theprovince.com/news/arrested+protesters+march+Vancouver+energy+firms+linked+fracking/5842111/story.html#ixzz1gAbAFdQV

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