The Hook

laughing out loud...

yes, you made me laugh out loud, Frank.In spite of Isabella's shocking vulgarity...

Damaged property and someone is offended by vulgarity?

Protestors damage property and cause crime
and someone is offended by vulgarity?

Give it a rest. If there are fools out there that think this kind of protesting -
that is damaging property - is legit, the fools need psychological help and fast.

The citizens may revolt against the protestors (not being offensive here
but as a parallel to the idiotic statments from the ORN that they support any means
of protest.

Perhaps the ORN's leader and Chris Shaw should be held legally responsible for the conduct of the ORN. That would change things.

and WTF are these Legal Observers actually supposed to do? They certainly aren't recording the criminal acts committed by these protestors are they?

BC Boy

Calling for violence against the protesters again buttercup?

Stupid thinking from one poster

"Calling for violence against the protesters again buttercup?"

This person doesn't get it. An obvious
protection of those protestors who did damage to property.

Obviously. If a person is shoved hard by a protestor what would be expected.

"Oh sorry, I did't mean to get in your way"?

Or would the person being shoved back off and then turn around and head for the protestor who did the shoving like a heavy quarterback with the ball wanting a ground scraping tackle of the protestor?

Seems this person likes the silliness of
the protestors being the "dominant ones"
on the street.

Pathetic.

There needs to be a return to peaceful
protests, people such as what was seen last night (Friday) not empty helmeted protestors who figure they have a divine right to damage property as we saw Saturday.

One does wonder if the previous poster would tolerate a messy spraying on his car or the glass shattered in his business by an OLR protestor?

If he does, it would be interesting to be the adjuster on his insurance claim to hear

"Oh I support the protestors, even though
they damaged my car (or smashed the glass
in my store). Can I have my insurance policy cover the cost of damage?"

BC Boy

"Obviously. If a person is shoved hard by a protestor what would be expected. "

And obviously if people's plight and what they have to say are ignored for 9 years frustration will mount and they'll push back.

I think the Pentagon calls it "blowback".

blame the media

unfortunately Frank, people understand the waste of the olympics, because it is so in their face.
But the damage that our governments have inflicted is hidden by the media, and the average citizen really believes that Gordo is doing the right thing feeding money to the rich.

Vandalizing Protesters

The Vandals were organized,but the question is by who?

Like the RCMP playing dirty tricks in Quebec,it happens all the time...The viscious protesters have been organized by the same people charged with stopping protesters...

All in the name of propoganda.

Things aren`t always as they seem.

But one thing for sure,the olympic protest is a protest about "class"....In other words Gordon Campbell has created Class warfare in BC and Gordon Campbell is the one who fired the first 1000 salvo`s

What did you expect,a fraudulent election, from an election promise of a $495 million dollar deficit that turned into $4billion two weeks after the election,Campbell promised no HST only to shove it down people`s throat...Massive cuts to health,cuts to education,cuts to amateur sports,Campbell illegally cancelled gaming grants, cuts to legal aid,cuts to the environment...

Gordon Campbell has lied his face off,cut everything in sight except the tax cuts to foreign corporations,tax cuts to oil n gas,tax cuts to the banks.....

So Gordon Campbell expected everyone to roll-over and play dead...Well, this is Campbell`s protest, these games are bad Karma....And from what I saw on TV..The pro-olympic crowd was ready to incite and commit violence..."One man`s freedom fighter is another man`s terrorist"

Cheers-Eyes Wide Open

Aaaaargh!

Does this mark the beginning of an infinitely recursive set of counterprotests?

There needs to be a return

There needs to be a return to peaceful
protests,
=========

Nope. Those days are over. People have tried and no one listens so naturally things get stepped up a notch and the very very end of this escalation is usually some sort of revolution...

mocking

This is sweet. I've known this gal for many years and is a good friend. Left wing, compassionate, very intelligent and..oh yeah, very dangerous to ones' ego if you pull a stupid in front of her. er.. I would know.
What is so funny about this is that she is a very private person, nothing in particular to hide, just finds that today's constant need for self promotion kinda weird. So something really, really irked her to put her name and face out there, hold a small sign and use her super powers to [and as per usual, effectively] mock some douchebags.
See, she had no intention of doing any of this on her wander through our neighborhood, I think she scammed the cardboard off some clerk in Staples, she [a veteran %&*-disturber] got pissed off watching a peaceful, if mostly aimless, protest march get highjacked by Langara art student dropouts [I'm guessing :] out to prove how much they hate their parents.
Seriously, busting stuff up for the moral high-ground is what you do to get laid if you can't play guitar. You get to wear black, tight commando gear, swing a hammer and brag agout getting gassed... and post riot sex... ah, the good old days. Yep, I was once a douchebag. But I did not ever whinge about police brutality.

Anyhoo, don't be a bunch of babies. Because you [I mean ORN] decided to invite the imbeciles, a protest march got taken over and wrecked to the point where if you now march in this community on this subject there will be no support. None.
And you got effectively mocked by one woman with one small sign.
Live and learn.
Seriously, LEARN!
ps
Frank,
You're a DOUCHEBAG.
No.
YOU'RE a douchebag.
Am not!
You're A douchebag.
nevermind...

Pushing back with violence? Give it a rest

"And obviously if people's plight and what they have to say are ignored for 9 years frustration will mount and they'll push back."

This is an interesting comment. So if the left wingers out there (and in this comment
comic strip) actually did something about
this so-called plight and frustration in the provincial election last May, and get the NDP elected with a majority. the NDP would have been elected as government, but the Olympics would still go ahead.

The NDP began the Vancouver 2010 Olympics story. No question.

Then what do the left wing such as the commentator do? Protest against their own government? Nice.

Should have worked to get Carol James and the NDP elected last May.

and there was plight and frustration in the downtown east side during the 10 years of NDP.

Remember folks, the NDP did not totally eliminate the problems of homelessness and drug dealing in the downtown east side, not even a sizeable start to end it. Just
a little bit for show from Harcourt and Clark and not much beyond that.

If these left wingers had any real passion for the homeless, they would tell those protestors to get busy and work with them to provide showcases of solutions for the world to see, the downtown east side would be a better place to live.

But guess not. It's come back to supporting damaging property, and the left not really accepting critical comment of the antics of these protestors.

Nice goin, boys. Missed a positive opportunity. Good job.

Next time in 2013, get your ass in gear
and help get the NDP elected.

But leave the nutty notion that damaging property is good, ok?

Thank you.

BC Boy

"Then what do the left wing such as the commentator do? Protest against their own government? Nice."

Yes

"Should have worked to get Carol James and the NDP elected last May."

We did, but there were too many of you.

"and there was plight and frustration in the downtown east side during the 10 years of NDP."

And medicare didn't prevent people from getting sick so Campbell is right to dump it.

"Nice goin, boys. Missed a positive opportunity. Good job."

What positive opportunity? The Olympics were going to be halted because the protesters followed Campbell's protesting rules?

"Next time in 2013, get your ass in gear
and help get the NDP elected."

We will but there will still be far more of you than us so I'm not expecting victory.

"But leave the nutty notion that damaging property is good, ok?"

Sure, its okay to damage a river, damage an ecosystem, but not a bank window because we need more bank windows. Got it.

Just a total crock.

The posts by BC Boy are getting stranger by the day. Now the protests are the NDP's fault because they somewhere in 1998 supported a bid. They didn't eradicate homelessness and poverty (I guess they didn't leave Campbell a big enough surplus to play with), they didn't find a way to control wasteful spending by the Campbell liberals and his appointed VANOC ten years later and now they must be behind the violent protesters. What a crock. I doubt many of the protesters are affiliated in any way with the NDP. What is almost wacked out is the notion that because one is opposed to all this waste, on must be a card carrying member of the NDP. Wrong again.

What did the people in Vancouver expect from those excluded in society for whatever reason. If they have had their services cut and have at least been inconvenienced by an event and then see no benefit nor can they participate except as cheerleaders or puppets on a string for the corporate interests, why would they care.

Why would they care about the image BC Boy and his ilk are trying to portray to the world. Their life won't change! That is what is so pathetic about the notion than circuses and extravagant displays will distract from the everyday struggle with increased costs, extra fees, taxes, HST and what not. And, they are coming.

I don't support violence either but give the rubbish about everything bad being left and everything good being Campbell Liberal a rest. It is so dumb. It is because of attitudes like BC Boy's that some protesters probably feel the need to go over the top.

dan the socialist wrote:

"Nope. Those days are over. People have tried and no one listens so naturally things get stepped up a notch and the very very end of this escalation is usually some sort of revolution..."

I'm not so sure about that Dan...

The very end of violent escalation might be some sort of revolution, but--admitting that your hypothesis is a possibility for the moment--the question you're not addressing is 'what kind of revolution?'

The revolution you're imagining could be waged from either end of the political spectrum and there is no reason to think that the force of the so-called revolution would necessarily come from the political left. Here the change in the political situation in Europe (circa 1918-1930) comes to mind. At one point, a socialist Europe seemed inevitable yet resulted in the spread of fascism (not to mention the accompanying regress of soviet socialism into totalitarian barbarism).

As such, there is no reason to think that violent protest will not (in the long run) result in a kind of revolution whereby liberties such as freedom of speech and assembly are replaced by a police state working in the interest of corporate capital with efficient social control directed to that end--we may be part way there already but things could swing much further to the right than they have already. This is not to say that the current state of affairs in Canada stand as a reason not to demand better but we should be very careful that we don't incite regress. Finally, don't forget that the soviet system ultimately collapsed under the weight of its own inefficiency (and a war in Afghanistan) and then only later with popular support.

Ultimately, what is needed is peaceful protest wherein popular support and confidence can be drawn to a movement dedicated to the liberation of people from the toil and misery imposed by the system as it exists. People won't support something that frightens when a much larger militarized force offers security (if not freedom). The experience of the 20th century has already shown that people are rarely on the side of dangerous justice and usually support stable injustice regardless of their ultimate interests. Anyway, I sympathize with the frustration felt by all the protesters... even the violent ones. These are sad totalitarian times.

Skywalker

"Now the protests are the NDP's fault because they somewhere in 1998 supported a bid."

Just can't deal with it can you.
As much as you constantly try to imply the NDP had little, if practically nothing to do with the Olympics, its well documented the original proposal was floated in 1995 and the NDP grabbed it and ran with it.
And here we are today.
Andrew Macleod just wrote a Hook article on this very subject. I notice you skipped that one.

Didn't skip it at all.

The point being that just because the BC liberal and their appointed VANOC people f&*%ed up everything about these games including the wasted spending and phoney accounting, any other group would have done exactly the same is just silly and you know it. Repeated references in the debate here that it was, after all the NDP government which supported an application, inferring that every faux pas and moronic decision by Campbell and VANOC is just correcting an earlier NDP action is the height of stupidity. That you think it should silence all critics just shows how politically bankrupt most of the Liberal cheerleaders are.

By the time the accounting is finished on this extravagance, people will know who is responsible for all the bills.

@Happy

Wow Happy....Your turning into ...I hate to say it...A Wilfred.

I hope it`s not too late for you.

Cheers

As I suspected Skywalker

As usual you just can't admit to my one simple point and instead fire your shotgun off in all different directions. (those are lawyer tactics, is that what you do?)
All I've said all along is that the NDP was responsible for taking the first step and officially-with government funds-applying to the IOC for the Games.
That is undisputable.
Admit it.

Quarry - I'm sure by your defintion it already is "too late" for me.
But I have major differemces of opinion with other people I knwo too....that doesn't stop us from being friends.

Cheers