Canada

[LFC]

I'm putting this here because it looks like Canada is beginning to experience its own nationalist (likely soon to be fascist) movement.

Canadian far-right and white nationalist groups see the so-called “Freedom Convoy” as an opportunity, with some hoping the protests will be Canada’s version of last year’s Jan. 6 riot in Washington.

Hundreds of truckers and their supporters are making their way from B.C. to Ottawa for a planned protest outside Parliament on Saturday.

The loosely-organized group – has raised almost $4.5 million through GoFundMe since Jan. 14 – and is said to oppose vaccine mandates, particularly a new vaccination requirement for truckers crossing the Canada-U.S. border into Canada.

But a review of the protesters’ online communications, including real-time chatter over walkie-talkie app Zello, suggest a collection of grievances and anti-government sentiment that extends beyond vaccine mandates.

And while the most extreme voices likely do not reflect the position of most protesters, it’s clear that those extreme voices are hoping to capitalize on their anger.

[LFC]

The truckers are now tying up multiple cities.

After nine days of noisy and chaotic disruption, Ottawa’s mayor declared a state of emergency as major cities across the country were hit over the weekend by protests opposed to vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions.

With no end in sight to the protests in the country’s capital, Ottawa police announced that they would begin arresting anyone who attempted to bring material aid, such as fuel, to the protesters, some of whom have set up camp in the city.

On Sunday evening, police stepped up their attempt to choke off the protest’s supplies by removing fuel tankers from a support centre set up by demonstrators in a baseball-stadium parking lot in Ottawa’s east end. Two people in that area were arrested for mischief, adding to the more than 60 criminal cases opened since protests began, most of which involve allegations of mischief, theft, property damage or hate crimes, the department said in a press release Sunday evening.

Mayor Jim Watson said the emergency declaration would allow greater flexibility for the city and businesses to provide essential services for residents and more easily purchase equipment required by front-line workers and first responders.

“Declaring a state of emergency reflects the serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the ongoing demonstrations and highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government,” he said in a statement.

In Toronto, officers, police SUVs and municipal buses blocked all vehicular traffic into Queen’s Park Circle and nearby hospitals, forcing protesters to enter the grounds of the provincial legislature by foot and cluster in a park. The protests abated Saturday night, but police kept certain roads closed Sunday to try to minimize further disruptions.

Notice how the goal is to block everything and constantly. It's not staying localized. It's not targeting specific government buildings. It's meant to strangle but rather the cities and their residents. And I'd like to know how much of the crime is opportunistic (as many crimes during BLM protests turned out to be) and how much can be attributed to the protesters themselves. Imagine if this were a BLM protest under Trump. He'd be calling for major federal troop deployment.

I hope they start impounding trucks. Oh, you want to block up the city? Thanks for the truck. Oh, you needed that? Too bad. You used it to commit a crime. Have a nice day.

[pnwguy]

Feb 7, 2022 17:29:56 GMT LFC said:

The truckers are now tying up multiple cities.

Notice how the goal is to block everything and constantly. It's not staying localized. It's not targeting specific government buildings. It's meant to strangle but rather the cities and their residents. And I'd like to know how much of the crime is opportunistic (as many crimes during BLM protests turned out to be) and how much can be attributed to the protesters themselves. Imagine if this were a BLM protest under Trump. He'd be calling for major federal troop deployment.

I hope they start impounding trucks. Oh, you want to block up the city? Thanks for the truck. Oh, you needed that? Too bad. You used it to commit a crime. Have a nice day.

The Internet has given Putin and other would-be dictators the ability to sow chaos and disrupt democracies the world over.  The Steve Bannon's of the world will gladly play along.  How much do you want to bet these protests were organized on Facebook?  Maybe we should lump Zuck in with other heinous world despots that will be responsible for world wide autocracies in a decade. 

[AnBr]

Putin needs a bullet in his head. He has caused so much destruction and divisiveness in the world.

[LFC]

Feb 7, 2022 22:09:56 GMT AnBr said:

Putin needs a bullet in his head. He has caused so much destruction and divisiveness in the world.

Perhaps a little bit of polonium is in order.

[pnwguy]

Feb 7, 2022 22:09:56 GMT AnBr said:

Putin AND Dumpster needs a bullet in the head. They have caused so much destruction and divisiveness in the world.

FIFY

[AnBr]

No, I want tRump to suffer terribly. Putin just needs to removed as quickly as possible from ever being able wreak havoc in the world ever again.

[LFC]

Here's the lowdown on the truckers who are now screeching about all COVID restrictions. TPM presents 5 points.

A trucker protest in Ottawa, initially over vaccine requirements, has inspired copycat demonstrations and attracted the hearty support of right-wing figures across the United States.

It’s day 12 of the protests, which attracted thousands of people over the last couple weekends.

These people are a minority and have minority support. I wonder what the country's conservative politicians are saying. America's right-wingers are all in on supporting their stupidity.

A national poll conducted last week shows that 68 percent of Canadians say they have “very little in common with how the protesters in Ottawa see things,” while 32 percent say they have “a lot in common.” One of the pollsters attributed the one-third’s support to a general wearying of the pandemic and its accompanying restrictions.

Canada is relatively well-vaccinated, with 88 percent of citizens over the age of four having received at least one dose.

Bold mine. This mirrors Republicans very well. There's an endless stream of things they're angry about and if they get their way and it doesn't magically produce the results they demand they'll be mad about that too.

Canada’s far right has not yet assimilated into the mainstream as well as the faction has in the United States.

They have been less successful in getting a toehold in their country’s government, and, as evidenced by the much higher vaccination rates and lower relative casualties from COVID-19, have largely taken protections in stride. The Canadian government has said that nearly 90 percent of its truckers are vaccinated, making the protesters a small minority.

The protest now is a hodgepodge of discontent with no clear set of demands. But the movement is certainly attracting the interest of its dangerous, and more electorally powerful, United States cousin. Conversations about a copycat protest across the southern border are happening online; whether that energy will make the jump to the trucks and streets or fizzle out in the endless Pong game of the right-wing echo chamber is still unclear.

[LFC]

The right-wingers have decided to shut down Canada's cross-border trade with the U.S. Several U.S. auto plants announced shutdowns for lack of parts due to the blockades. That means instead of a localized protest these assholes have decided to take money from the pockets of people on both sides of the border.

Tensions from protests in Ottawa that were started by truckers opposed to a new vaccine requirement have now spilled over the U.S.-Canada border, with Canadian truckers clogging key routes between the neighboring countries.

On Thursday morning, police in Manitoba province confirmed that the Emerson crossing into North Dakota was “shut down” after a convoy of vehicles and farm equipment blocked traffic heading both north and south.

The “shut down” of the Emerson crossing kicks the number of blocked U.S.-Canadian throughways up to three, amid ongoing protests. As of Thursday morning, two other major ports of entry — the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit to Windsor, Ontario, and the Coutts crossing linking Montana to Alberta — have also been closed or partially blocked.

Earlier Thursday, a convoy of trucks with passengers shouting “Freedom!” and “Fake news!” flooded the Ottawa International Airport, prompting traffic disruptions and delays.

In a press release issued Wednesday, police in Ottawa warned that those participating in the so-called “Freedom Convoy” protests blocking the city’s streets “could be arrested without a warrant.”

“The unlawful act of blocking streets in the downtown core is resulting in people being denied the lawful use, enjoyment and operation of their property,” the department wrote. “We are providing you notice that anyone blocking streets or assisting others in the blocking of streets may be committing a criminal offence.”

“You could be arrested without a warrant for this offense if you are a party to the offense or assisting others in the direct or indirect commission in this offense,” it continued.

In addition to multiple road and border crossing closures, the ongoing protests have forced operations by major auto companies to scale back or halt operations as supply chains are disrupted.

[AnBr]

Feb 10, 2022 22:10:31 GMT LFC said:

The right-wingers have decided to shut down Canada's cross-border trade with the U.S. Several U.S. auto plants announced shutdowns for lack of parts due to the blockades. That means instead of a localized protest these assholes have decided to take money from the pockets of people on both sides of the border.ack or halt operations as supply chains are disrupted.

More of this may outrage and alienate more people from these MAGAts. It seems as if more Republicans are finally starting to move to distance themselves from them, even to a slight degree Moscow Mitch. If and at what point critical mass will be reached... who knows.

[LFC]

Feb 11, 2022 2:29:36 GMT AnBr said:

Feb 10, 2022 22:10:31 GMT LFC said:

The right-wingers have decided to shut down Canada's cross-border trade with the U.S. Several U.S. auto plants announced shutdowns for lack of parts due to the blockades. That means instead of a localized protest these assholes have decided to take money from the pockets of people on both sides of the border.ack or halt operations as supply chains are disrupted.

More of this may outrage and alienate more people from these MAGAts. It seems as if more Republicans are finally starting to move to distance themselves from them, even to a slight degree Moscow Mitch. If and at what point critical mass will be reached... who knows.

A lot of centerish people were turned off by the BLM protests. Let the MAGAts bring down the wrath of the suburbs.

[AnBr]

A comment from a Canadian trucker.

[LFC]

Feb 12, 2022 22:51:10 GMT AnBr said:

A comment from a Canadian trucker.

<button disabled="" class="c-attachment-insert--linked o-btn--sm">Attachment Deleted</button>

[LFC]

One blockade down.

Canadian police who succeeded this weekend in clearing “Freedom Convoy” trucks from the Ambassador Bridge began arresting blockaders who remained on foot Sunday morning.

Only about 30 demonstrators had remained overnight in freezing temperatures, and police had set up cement barriers to prevent vehicles from getting back on the bridge.

Authorities had said they were trying to avoid any kind of violent clash as they slowly pushed the anti-vaxx, anti-lockdown demonstrators further from the bridge that accounts for one-fourth of all trade between Canada and the U.S.

“The priority is still on protecting human life and that includes the demonstrator, despite anyone’s feeling that it might be gratifying to escalate the actions unnecessarily,” a top police official told the CBC on Saturday night.

By Sunday morning, however, it seemed their patience had worn thin, and officers began arresting those who were blocking roads to the bridge either with their vehicles or their bodies.

On Sunday afternoon, the mayor of Windsor, on the Canadian side of the border, tweeted, “Today, our national economic crisis at the Ambassador Bridge came to an end. Border crossings will reopen when it is safe to do so and I defer to police and border agencies to make that determination.”

[LFC]

Looks like Canada has some fascists in their military as well.

Two Canadian special operations soldiers serving in a counterterrorism unit took part in the “Freedom Convoy” protests against COVID restrictions that have roiled Ottawa, the Ottawa Citizen reported. Military officials confirmed the two highly members of Joint Task Force 2 were under investigation—along with a third service member no longer with that unit and a fourth who allegedly brought supplies to demonstrators occupying downtown. “The Canadian Special Operations Forces Command does not condone its members supporting and/or actively taking part in causes that jeopardize the apolitical imperative associated with their functions,” Maj. Gen. Steve Boivin said. It was other Canadian military members who raised the alarm about active soldiers joining the protests. Canadian police cleared convoy truckers off the Ambassador Bridge this weekend.

[pnwguy]

Feb 14, 2022 1:12:06 GMT LFC said:

Looks like Canada has some fascists in their military as well.

There probably isn't a military in the world that doesn't have a General Jack D. Ripper in the ranks somewhere.

[AnBr]

Feb 14, 2022 3:53:50 GMT pnwguy said:

There probably isn't a military in the world that doesn't have a General Jack D. Ripper in the ranks somewhere.

Oh my god! What about our precious bodily fluids?!!

[pnwguy]

Feb 14, 2022 21:43:14 GMT AnBr said:

Feb 14, 2022 3:53:50 GMT pnwguy said:

There probably isn't a military in the world that doesn't have a General Jack D. Ripper in the ranks somewhere.

Oh my god! What about our precious bodily fluids?!!

In Canada, that would either be beer or maple syrup.

[LFC]

Feb 14, 2022 21:59:52 GMT pnwguy said:

Feb 14, 2022 21:43:14 GMT AnBr said:

Oh my god! What about our precious bodily fluids?!!

In Canada, that would either be beer or maple syrup.

With a properly brewed stout it could be both.

[LFC]

The trucks were removed in Windsor but blockaders are still gumming things up. I've seen and read several things about this situation lately and it sounds like the majority of Canada is getting fed up with these people. This could backfire badly on them.

The departure of vehicles blocking the Ambassador Bridge on Saturday raised hopes that the crossing would finally open after five days, but by evening the crowd protesting against mandatory vaccination for trucks grew near the bridge.

The demonstrators are continuing despite a massive law enforcement presence that has included making arrests, writing tickets and towing vehicles, as they have vowed they would. But as Day 5 of the blockade neared its finish, a stalemate lingered between protesters and the police.

Police enforcement of injunctions has become a point of controversy across Canada. Critics are questioning whether police have been proactive.

In Edmonton, the capital of the province of Alberta, honking continued despite an injunction against protesters. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi told the Edmonton Journal Saturday that "while I can’t direct police, I do encourage them to enforce the injunction."

Paula Simons, an independent senator from the province of Alberta, asked Saturday night on Twitter: "At what point does the failure or unwillingness of a police service to enforce a court ordered injunction cross over to contempt of court?"

[LFC]

This on the ground reporter says that part of the crowd in Ottawa are generally anti-government rather than specifically anti-mandate, and that multiple authorities view them as dangerous. Canada is trying to defuse this without a violent conflict that would make a MAGAt / Oath Keeper / Proud Boys / 3-Percenter touch themselves.

Are there good, frustrated people just trying to be heard in the crowd? Yes. Are there bad people in the crowd, including some who've waved hate symbols and harassed or attacked others? Yes. Are there people taking careful care of the roads, sweeping up trash and shovelling ice and snow off the sidewalk? Yes. Are there hard men milling about, keeping a wary eye on anyone who seems out of place? Yes. Is it a place where some people are having good-natured fun? Yes. Is it a place some other people would rightly be afraid to go? Yes. And so on.

But it's even more complicated than it looks. And Ottawa Police Services chief Peter Sloly wants you to know that.

They have created a barricaded encampment.

Before I came to Ottawa, I spoke with a few people who were sympathetic to the protest: I was advised to stay away from this secondary encampment site, or at least to approach it with caution. I wasn’t feeling particularly heroic on Tuesday, but I figured it wouldn’t make sense to travel all the way from Toronto and then ignore one of the main sites. I drove over, parked my car nearby and walked the rest of the way to the parking lot.

It was clear well before I even arrived that this was something different. There was absolutely no visible police presence. Not a single uniformed officer or marked cruiser. (Note my careful phrasing there: I have no doubt this place is under watch. Just not overtly.) This site, for lack of a better term, has been fortified. There are many trucks parked in the parking lot, but some of them have been arranged to form outer walls. These walls have been augmented with wooden sawhorses and what looked to me to be stacked pallets of some kind. There was an entrance with a tent marked Reception (see photo, below). I wish I could give you a better description of the site, or tell you what was inside, but as soon as I began to approach it on foot, someone very quickly fell into step behind me. A series of others, four or five, met me before I made it to the reception tent. We chatted briefly, and I got the distinct impression that it would be way, way better for me to be somewhere else. I left.

[LFC]

This is another on the ground view of what it's like at two border crossings near each other in Alberta. This jumped out at me as sounding utterly bonkers, utterly MAGAt, and utterly dangerous. Apparently when fascism comes to Canada it too will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross.

I went to one of the protesters identified to me as an organizer; a slender, bearded man who had initially refused to speak to me.

Why Coutts, I asked? Why was this the first border crossing to be blockaded?

"Because God initiated it," he said, although another standing nearby acknowledged that it was also a major commercial crossing.

"What does winning look like to you?" I asked.

"Winning looks like getting our current failed government system out of power."

The organizer, who would only give his name as Peter, did not seem to be clear about whether the current government was the problem, or rather the entire parliamentary system.

He said he would be content with a government by "any party that is currently in place that is not attached to the World Economic Forum. And there are other attachments as well."

He would accept the PPC, however, as Maxime Bernier’s populist party was not attached to the WEF.

"If it were the PPC as a government under our current system of parliament, that would be winning because they're against the current mandates. They are pro-life, pro-gun, pro-everything that this government needs. And pro-freedoms, pro-Charter of Rights and Freedoms."

Peter didn't know if I was a Christian, but he said that there was a battle between the righteous and the unrighteous, and the current government is on the side of the unrighteous.

"They are taking the freedoms of the people away. God is about having people free. God is about love and peace. And the current government system is all about coercion and forcing people into something that they don't really want."

It wasn't just about vaccines and mandates, see. And the blockaders would clear the border "once this whole system is changed over," Peter said. But what of the fact that the PPC had managed to put no elected members in parliament?

"We know for a fact that this last election was rigged. It's that simple. But I'm done with my comments now," he said.

[LFC]

On the lighter side...

Ottawa residents who are sick of a group of anti-vaxx truckers clogging up their city have found a novel way of driving them off.

They’re using an explicit heavy metal song about gay cowboys having sex to overpower the group’s communications and broadcast it to anyone listening.

Related: Anti-vaxx “Freedom Convoy” protestors shouting slurs & using hate symbols against residents

“Ram Ranch,” a song by Canadian performer Grant MacDonald, is being blasted over several Zellow channels dedicated to the convoy. Truckers and their fans have been using the walkie-talkie style chat app to communicate.

The rightwing activists would frequently start to sing songs like the Canadian national anthem and it gave the folks behind #RamRanchResistance the idea of turning patriotic into pornographic.

Over and over the activists interrupt the various channels to broadcast the 2012 tune that starts with “18 naked cowboys in the shower at Ram Ranch.” And then signs started popping up all over town telling the truckers, “Welcome to Ram Ranch.”

MacDonald, who has written several similar songs like “Prince Harry’s 12 Inch Cock” and “Halifax Cumwhore,” is thrilled to be part of the protest.

“I’m just elated, totally elated that my song could be used to stand up for science,” MacDonald told Rolling Stone.

[pnwguy]

Feb 15, 2022 21:39:01 GMT LFC said:

This on the ground reporter says that part of the crowd in Ottawa are generally anti-government rather than specifically anti-mandate, and that multiple authorities view them as dangerous. Canada is trying to defuse this without a violent conflict that would make a MAGAt / Oath Keeper / Proud Boys / 3-Percenter touch themselves.

Are there good, frustrated people just trying to be heard in the crowd? Yes. Are there bad people in the crowd, including some who've waved hate symbols and harassed or attacked others? Yes. Are there people taking careful care of the roads, sweeping up trash and shovelling ice and snow off the sidewalk? Yes. Are there hard men milling about, keeping a wary eye on anyone who seems out of place? Yes. Is it a place where some people are having good-natured fun? Yes. Is it a place some other people would rightly be afraid to go? Yes. And so on.

But it's even more complicated than it looks. And Ottawa Police Services chief Peter Sloly wants you to know that.

They have created a barricaded encampment.

Before I came to Ottawa, I spoke with a few people who were sympathetic to the protest: I was advised to stay away from this secondary encampment site, or at least to approach it with caution. I wasn’t feeling particularly heroic on Tuesday, but I figured it wouldn’t make sense to travel all the way from Toronto and then ignore one of the main sites. I drove over, parked my car nearby and walked the rest of the way to the parking lot.

It was clear well before I even arrived that this was something different. There was absolutely no visible police presence. Not a single uniformed officer or marked cruiser. (Note my careful phrasing there: I have no doubt this place is under watch. Just not overtly.) This site, for lack of a better term, has been fortified. There are many trucks parked in the parking lot, but some of them have been arranged to form outer walls. These walls have been augmented with wooden sawhorses and what looked to me to be stacked pallets of some kind. There was an entrance with a tent marked Reception (see photo, below). I wish I could give you a better description of the site, or tell you what was inside, but as soon as I began to approach it on foot, someone very quickly fell into step behind me. A series of others, four or five, met me before I made it to the reception tent. We chatted briefly, and I got the distinct impression that it would be way, way better for me to be somewhere else. I left.

It sounds much like the No Police Zone that evolved in Seattle during summer protests after the Floyd killing.  Of course RW media and politicians were decrying this "lawless anarchy" for weeks.  Funny how they are quiet now.

[LFC]

Feb 15, 2022 21:43:38 GMT pnwguy said:

Feb 15, 2022 21:39:01 GMT LFC said:

This on the ground reporter says that part of the crowd in Ottawa are generally anti-government rather than specifically anti-mandate, and that multiple authorities view them as dangerous. Canada is trying to defuse this without a violent conflict that would make a MAGAt / Oath Keeper / Proud Boys / 3-Percenter touch themselves.

They have created a barricaded encampment.

It sounds much like the No Police Zone that evolved in Seattle during summer protests after the Floyd killing.  Of course RW media and politicians were decrying this "lawless anarchy" for weeks.  Funny how they are quiet now.

It's even worse than being quiet. I just put this up on the Faux News thread. Hannity is saying if "confronted" they might "defend themselves." The violent fascism is just blatant at this point.