Pay Attention: This is what the Police State looks like…
Tag Archives | G20
What Is The Black Bloc?
Photo: The Schumin Web, September 24 Protests (CC)
At this weekend’s G-20 summit, small bands of protesters wearing black clothes broke off from the main protests to rampage violently in what is known as Black Bloc tactics. Kristen Chick reviews just what that means, for the Christian Science Monitor:
The Toronto Star reports that the tactic, common in international protests, involves protesters dressing in black and moving as groups to perform violent acts, then removing the black clothing to blend in with the larger protest crowd to avoid apprehension by the police. On Saturday, dozens of such protesters huddled together in a park to change into their street clothes, leaving the black garments behind and disappearing into the crowds.
The Star reports that many of the “Black Bloc” protesters Saturday were anarchists. Many have attended protests peacefully throughout the week before their rampage Saturday, reports the Star.
Expressed through an assortment of chants, the group’s causes are many: They’re anti-capitalist, anti-police, anti-colonial.
Police State Lockdown In Toronto For G20 Summit
Photo: Sherurcij
Here we go again, another suspension of civil liberties as the elite nations of the world gather in Toronto. Why do we put up with it, and if Canada, usually a bastion of human rights, allows it, who’s going to call a foul? Report from the Globe & Mail:
At City Hall, employees arrived at work to find a burly security guard demanding their access pass before they entered the normally unlocked doors. At a downtown law firm, lawyers were told to leave their suits and high heels at home and dress casual-like to avoid being set upon by anti-capitalist rioters. At one provincial government office, bureaucrats were told in late afternoon that the building was going under “lockdown” because protesters were in the neighbourhood. Many scooted for exits to avoid being trapped in the closed-up building.
All of a sudden on Monday, our calm, mild, pacific city took on a changed feel as the security noose tightened in advance of this weekend’s G20 summit.
