As Occupy Vancouver got under way on Saturday morning, B.C. bloggers and tweeters were tracking events from a number of perspectives.
The hashtag #OccupyVancouver was getting numerous tweets, including several from the Vancouver Police Department.
Among local bloggers supporting Occupy Vancouver were Laila Yuile, who was expecting to speak to the protesters today, and Mr. Been N. Hockey at Dope City Free Press, a professed anarchist who asked his colleagues: "Will you please behave yourselves?"
Raincoaster, reporting from the VAG on Friday night, found everything quiet. Brian Revel at Maple Leaf Rag has posted a long endorsement of the need for a movement like Occupy Vancouver.
Other bloggers were less supportive. Red Tory wrote: "Unless the turnout is absolutely massive (highly unlikely) and/or the activist group(s) involved have the weather-resistant dedication to make themselves a persistent nuisance in downtown Toronto in the same kind of way that the folks currently entrenched in NYC’s 'Liberty Plaza' have done, it's hard to see what conceivable impact this protest will have."
Scary Fundamentalist dismissed the Occupiers as "a case of Tea Party envy." Alex G. Tsakumis asked: Occupy Vancouver? What For? He dismissed the movement as " little more, for now, than a bunch of unwashed, smelly, tie-dyed, unsavory degenerates and reprobates."
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation attacked the BCGEU, saying it "needs to 'occupy' common sense." Jordan Bateman, B.C. director of the CTF, said among other things:
"If 99% of the population is not benefitting from the current political and economic system it’s because nearly half their incomes are taken in taxes. Those taxes are largely driven by the demands of public sector unions—they want to cut everybody else's pay to increase their own. As the president of the BC Teachers Federation said recently, teachers want BC’s income tax cuts reversed so they can increase their own pay and benefits by $2.2 billion."
Meanwhile, the media are covering the Occupy movement online. CBC is liveblogging Occupy Canada. CTV is running a number of reports with video clips. Canada.com has a number of video clips also. The Province is blogging and tweeting from the VAG.
Crawford Kilian is a contributing editor of The Tyee.
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Frank
31 weeks ago
Jordan Bateman
Rememeber when he used to hang around the Tyee forums and could never defend a point and proved himself irresistible to the forces of logic?
I see nothing has changed :)
Blaming the problems of the 99% on teachers... My god, I hope he donates his brain to science.
Fiat lux
31 weeks ago
The Taxpayers Federation is a
The Taxpayers Federation is a Reform party outcrop and gets paid to say such things. What these people are trying to wipe out from people's minds that :
"Profits are taxation without representation"
People can scream and fight against taxes, hold the authorities responsible for where and for what they're spent, but what recourse and questioning are they permitted against obscene profits and executive salaries, without the threat of lawsuits for defamation ?
I can question our medical services but what right do I have to question when my dentist's office charges me over $500. for 20 mins work, or when the prices of certain items double within 2 weeks in our supermarkets, or when the price of a barrel of
oil goes down but up at the pumps ?
Does the Taxpayers Federation know the answer? Or willing to say so, without losing "funding" from the privatizing powers ?
The Occupy movements are the beginning of an unstoppable trend, when humanity finally wakes up to the robbery, enslavement and fraud by certain elements.
Nobody knows how long it will take, but this is the coming end of the idiot twins of communism and capitalism.
The derision against them was expected and predictable to the last word.
Ed Deak.
Frank
31 weeks ago
David Dodge and Bob Rae
Both support the protests. Rae even attended the Toronto one and said there's a lack of democracy in our economy.
Sask Resident
31 weeks ago
Occupy supports big corporations
Looks like the "Occupiers" are using the smart phones sold by the largest US company, Apple. Apple makes all their equipment in China and Vietnam. sending jobs over seas, then makes the largest profit per phone than any other company. Then rich guy from a rich family who has a huge house in Toronto's Rosedale stops by to offer his "support". The other really, really rich TO family has their reporters out in the TO demonstration to sell more papers and advertising.
The voters had a chance to make a change over the last 6 months but either didn't bother to try or kept the same politicians in power. Not even half of the eligible voters in Ontario even cast a ballot. Vancouver has a chance in a few weeks, let's see what happens.
Fiat lux
31 weeks ago
During Vancouver Olympics the
During Vancouver Olympics the Maple Leaf mittens were the hot item, waved by Campbell and all the VIPs
Made in China.
Just as most if not all, Canadian flags are now Made in China.
Where are the Nike slash pieces of clothing and caps made?
Who and which are the companies that feed these trends?
Ed Deak.
BC Mary
31 weeks ago
It's Bob Rae's constituency
Hi Frank,
Where you say " Rae even attended the Toronto one ..."
The park where the Occupy Toronto crowd is assembled is part of Bob Rae's constituency ... it would've been shockingly bad taste if the sitting MP hadn't shown up at least to do a bit of listening.
He made a lot of sense, too, when asked the weasel questions about how pointless the Occupying crowds are. "There's unrest in the world today ... "
Damn right to that!
Frank
31 weeks ago
Sask Resident
You think its hypocritical for people protesting corporate greed to use cel phones? I would love to know why that is since a phone doesn't have to be a status symbol, sometimes its only a tool.
Do you also think its hypocritical for a right-wing Harper supporter to be posting comments to an alternative lefty newsmagazine like the Tyee instead of calling up Roy Green?
Fiat lux
31 weeks ago
Just saw a news item with
Just saw a news item with Carney, the head of the Bank of Canada, who agrees with and supports the protests.
Wonder if Harper will fire him next week ?
Ed Deak.
offended
31 weeks ago
Bateman's anti union tweets
from a supposedly non partisan organization is a perfect example of ; yes, Jordan, union members pay taxes, too, including us union folks out in Coleman country.
We're more than a little fed up with workers being blamed for taxes going up (as if his buddies in government had nothing to do with it with their profligate spending and policies that aid and abet his friends in high places).
A mouthpiece for the 1%.
offended
31 weeks ago
Bateman's anti union tweets
from a supposedly non partisan organization is a perfect example of why folks have had it; yes, Jordan, union members pay taxes, too, including us union folks out in Coleman country.
We're more than a little fed up with workers being blamed for taxes going up (as if his buddies in government had nothing to do with it with their profligate spending and policies that aid and abet his friends in high places).
A mouthpiece for the 1%.
chrissyissy
31 weeks ago
The Hotel and man I work for
The buisness owner of Hotel 760, Robin Kimton, is providing showers and blankets to the protesters and supports the cause. The Hotel I work for is ONLY KNOWN for cleaning up the block from drug trafficing etc.. single handedly. We help the misfortunate who have,loss of hours cant make rent, no job ( we provide them with employment, if able) and in exchange give them a room. The Hotel owner gave the ok and I think its great a buisness owner is getting involved on a street level and isnt thinking selfishly how it will hurt his own buisness.When I came to live at the Hotel my life had just turned around I had previously lost my hours at my job, I lost my apartment . I soon after was homeless for a month staying at a local shelter previously couch surfing before getting a first paycheck to move into Hotel 760. There was no judgement there was leaneancy when I didn't have all the money for the room and now after living here 3 months I have been givin a job as a housekeeper. I have shelter and job security finally and it took 20 years and I was going to give up on Victoria.
chrissyissy
31 weeks ago
The Hotel and man I work for
The buisness owner of Hotel 760, Robin Kimton, is providing showers and blankets to the protesters and supports the cause. The Hotel I work for is ONLY KNOWN for cleaning up the block from drug trafficing etc.. single handedly. We help the misfortunate who have,loss of hours cant make rent, no job ( we provide them with employment, if able) and in exchange give them a room. The Hotel owner gave the ok and I think its great a buisness owner is getting involved on a street level and isnt thinking selfishly how it will hurt his own buisness.When I came to live at the Hotel my life had just turned around I had previously lost my hours at my job, I lost my apartment . I soon after was homeless for a month staying at a local shelter previously couch surfing before getting a first paycheck to move into Hotel 760. There was no judgement there was leaneancy when I didn't have all the money for the room and now after living here 3 months I have been givin a job as a housekeeper. I have shelter and job security finally and it took 20 years and I was going to give up on Victoria.