Warning signs of Fascism.

# 1 Warning signs of fascism

* 1.1 Patriotism
* 1.2 Disdain of Human Rights
* 1.3 Scapegoats
* 1.4 Supremacy of the Military
* 1.5 Sexism
* 1.6 Controlled Mass Media
* 1.7 Obsession with National Security
* 1.8 Religion and Government are Intertwined
* 1.9 Corporate Power is Protected
* 1.10 Labor Power is Suppressed
* 1.11 Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
* 1.12 Obsession with Crime and Punishment
* 1.13 Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
* 1.14 Fraudulent Elections
* 1.15 Secret Police

Why?

It should be pretty obvious that nothing will stop a determined terrorist.
Certainly not any screening at airports or on the "venues".
Keeping that in mind the only sane approach is to not arrange any events that are controversial (and serve no purpose), such at this staging of people who are performing extraordinaire stunts so they can make their country "proud".
In the scheme of things it proves nothing that a person has spent ages training to say run a millisecond faster than another person.
This is indeed patriotism at its worst; countries hurries to make citizens out of strangers so they might win a medal for instance.
It really comes down to the old theme: My dad can beat your Dad"!
Let us all grow up and quit having silly events that cost a fortune.

criminal protests?

I had the misfortune to walk up to the corner of Robson and Thurlow a few minutes before the riot squad arrived to initiate the Stanley Cup Riot of 1994. I did not witness criminal protest, rather a large milling crowd who, like me, may have been wondering what idiot thought it a good idea to drive an ambulance into the middle of it. There were no broken windows or anything I noticed beyond minor drunken disorder, until the riot squad suddenly arrived and started indiscriminately firing tear gas. The VPD were very successful in controlling the narrative in the aftermath, but to have law enforcement representatives today use that event as an example of criminal protest seems a huge stretch.

The WTO protest in Seattle was a deliberate act of civil disobedience - one could argue similar to the civil rights protests in the 1960s, which were also "criminal protests" - which happened because the trade negotiations, ongoing for a decade a that point, were deliberately shutting out access or input from any groups other than corporate interests.

To distill such disparate events into a vague potion of irrational angry mobs reflects poorly on the analytic skills of those who would protect us.

Sidebar: the King family, having other avenues closed, conducted a civil suit in 1999, in which the jury concluded that Dr King was assassinated by a combination of federal intelligence operatives, the military, and local police. On a similar note, look into the recent "JFK and the Unspeakable" by James W Douglass. Rafe, I think you would find it a good read.

Canada is the free speech zone, doncha know.

"VANOC's position is untenable in a free society, expensive out of all proportion to the risk of serious harm and a huge waste of our money to boot."

If it were truly "untenable", VANOC would not be pulling this crap off.

Apparently, all "free society" means these days is "nobody will listen to your whining, so feel free to say whatever you like."

Remember when it was about sport?

Spoken like a true demagogue. As if the Canucks would allow Free Tibet protesters in GM Place. Or PETA to be invited by the Lions to show pictures of bloody seals. The Olympics are ticketed events and like the Canucks or the Lions, have gained the exclusive rights to use the venues they will occupy. That is business, like it or leave it. How absurd would it be to marshal protestors into Section B4 of GM place so they can get their time in the spotlight? What do you want Rafe? The security people are trying to balance security in a massive theatre of operations with the preservation of rights in a democratic society. Keep them on their toes as a journalist should, but your commentary here is reaching.

Fear is police calling card world over

Police only know FEAR as a tactic - either trying to scare politicians for more and more money or to intimidate citizens into fearing them. These fascist-wannabees are getting more violent and uncontrollable the world over, and now in Vancouver, even senior RCMP and VPD officers are lying in court to push their own moral agenda. We have corruption of values nation-wide and the state and secret police thinking they are above the law. Civilian oversight is needed now before the police become totally militarized and answerable only to themselves.

$1,000,000,000

My "Free Speach Zone" is Canada.

"Criminal Protest" is when the authorities protest my presence in any public space.

The judiciary setting arbitrary conditions on the free movement of free Canadian citizens is unacceptable.

That is all.

What if they had a circus and no one showed up?

Flights to Mexico might be cheap at that time. Reports in the corpse-rate media about drug wars on the Mexican border, Mexican swine flu, visa requirements, etc... the Canadian government's lame attempts to try and discourage travel to Mexico -- sounds like a good time to go traveling away from Canada. Mexico sounds like a great place to spend my money.

sign me up

Sign me up for any protest zone, free speech or not.
How many staplers do you think i'll need to take on 16000 jacked up coppers looking to pound some skulls or zap some old guy?
Can they still taze me in the official protest zone or can i wave my stapler at the establishment without fear??????

When the State Fears it's citizens......

....more than anyone else.......

There are many people I have spoken to, who smile a little at the notion of El Nino ruining the 2010 games -- just the same as there are many people who wish the pipeline bomber(s) well...........

Yes Rick, when the State fears it's citizens......

Thank you for your post, Telus Employee. I remember your excellent posts re Mr Entwhistle & Co on another site a while back.

Fascism, like any other oppressive programme, cannot be put in place all at once, for that would frighten the sheeple. Instead, it has to be done incrementally, roughly as per your outline.

As Rafe and commenters here note, the security overkill we see with Vanoc is more the doing of seniot govt's than them, and is more a training for future exercises than anything else.

I think Jeffc - and others - have already said the rest for me, so I'll leave it there.

Sam Steele has left the building

and the boys left behind cry out :

' I feared for my safety '

while they attack the stapler-armed

http://www.nationalpost.com/related/topics/story.html?id=1321394

and pizza-wielders:

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,26278,24719370-5013560,00.html

Maintiens Le Droit

Laughable...

Bring in a few brigades or regiments of soldiers to patrol, restrict to a small area the movement of anyone who might say something unwelcome, plant fear to justify oppression...

Sounds like the lead-up to the Bejing Olympics.

Is our freedom now equal to communist China?

Fear of Embarrassment more likely!

While terrorism is always a threat (how do you stop a determined terrorist anyway?), I think officials are more worried about being embarrassed or upstaged!

one billion $ to further disenegage citizens

What will this protect us from other than ourselves? In a different world maybe poverty, treatment and housing for people with mental health issues, schools with great teachers and opne minds , libraries. What will it not protect us from - campbell's ego, swime flu, no snow and more un-manned drones.

A Quick Correction from a Friend to the South...

The text you've cited as being a part of the third article of the US Bill of Rights is actually the language of the First Amendment to our Constitution, and is thus the first "article" of our Bill of Rights (which consists of the first ten amendments to the US Constitution). :)

One can frequently hear Americans screaming about their "First Amendment rights!" to free speech when they feel someone has too forcefully tried to tell them to shut up. :D

thanks lekoman!

We'll make that correction. Appreciate the civics lesson!

Sure to be the Biggest Cluster $*[& Ever

It's just so odious that those sorry, bumbling hacks, the RCMP, are trying to construct this meme about "criminal protests". As Rafe points out above, the right to peaceful assembly is enshrined in our Charter of Rights & Freedoms. This is all just nonsense. Are these people actually proud of hassling their own citizens for doing nothing other than participating in their civil rights, writing books and participating in democracy in Canada?

It's not like police forces aren't going to pay the cost for all of this too, with everyone ponying up members from their own detachments and forces. They're going to be worked hard and stupid like the rest of us, because we've all got a lot of stupid on our hands in VANOC and their ilk.

I can't think of a place least to be considered a terrorist spot than Vancouver, irregardless of welcoming the world to the Olympics. BC is a friendly, decent place to be, we don't do that kind of crap (terrorism) and the people we're inviting to the Party don't either.

However, I'm beginning to be concerned that the drastic militarization, "securitization" and intell gathering etc. is laying the groundwork for something altogether much more sinister and I don't like _that_ one damn bit. I'm rather a fan of my civil and human rights, I was hoping to keep them for a while longer.

Shock Doctrine

Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine in action here and now, in Vancouver BC.

Obviously, all those security protocols and surveillance systems will remain in place after the Olympics.

Their purpose and the rationale for their staggering (non budgeted) $1bn cost -- in addition to enriching the surveillance-industrial complex -- is not prevention of hypothetical terrorist attacks but crowd control, in anticipation of growing civil unrest in the face of more and more unpopular neoliberal policies, such for example as the slashing of our cherished public health care system, recently announced by Health Minister Kevin Falcon.

Welcome to the brave new world of corporatism.

Commerce and Terrorism

Olympic security is primarily concerned with two issues Rafe, commerce and violent protest.

1.) The IOC and VANOC do not want their sponsors like Coca-Cola, McDonalds and RBC embarrassed.

2.) Olympic security experts lose sleep wondering how to protect dignitaries from renegade terrorists, both homegrown and international.

excerpt from my book www.LeverageOlympicMomentum.com

"Local protest is very rarely peaceful. Most of the time it starts out that way, but the police and military in Olympic regions are extremely sensitive and often have zero tolerance to any type of protest. When they react to a protest they often instigate violent reactions. Most people around the world still don’t have a clue that violent protests erupted in Athens during the 2004 Games only blocks from Olympic traffic and hotels hosting politicians and Games officials. Thousands of people clashed violently with police and military, but the media downplayed it. Reporting about it after the fact when tempers abate doesn’t happen either because there is no financial incentive for media to do so. Go ahead, search online for ‘riots protests Colin Powell Athens 2004’ and see what you find. I’m betting you had no clue this was happening during the 2004 Summer Games, or if you did you dismissed it as a non-event. When it hits your city you’ll soon look at it with a different perspective."

You can read more here . .
http://www.olyblog.com/f/08/PoliticsF08012008.shtml