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Editorials
This morning, I was reading the Ottawa Sun and happened upon Earl McRae's regular column. His views are pure uneducated propaganda baring noresemblance to the truth. I know this because I was with the "squatters" in order to report on the event for IndyMedia Ottawa and ourmedia.8m.net. I know what went on at the squat, I know the squatters themselves, and I know how the police handled the situation. Let me take a minute to tell you the real story of what happened from someone who did not need to rely on a two-minute news clip for his information.
When I went to see the squatters on Saturday (June 28), I was invited inside to cover what was going on. I had my little 35 mm camera and the twenty
bucks that I donated to the cause. Once in the house, I was given a tour of the place where I saw something that no media saw: a room under renovation. The old paint had been removed and the wall was being repainted. Outside, more occupants were composting, cleaning the front, and installing two recycling boxes.
I left at 5:00 p.m. promising to return later with batteries and duck tape. When I returned on Monday (July 1), I was surprised by the progress. It was
incredible! The room was now completely painted and the front yard was in the best shape it has probably been in seven years.
At 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning (July 3), the situation changed dramatically. Riot police moved into the building using a fire ladder with
two foot spikes on to break the second floor windows at the back. The spike smashed the windows, with no concern demonstrated for the real possibility that someone could be just on the other side. If any squatters would have
been standing there, I am quite sure they would have been seriously injured by the action.
Once the police gained access to the building, a significant amount of pepper spray and tear gas were deployed in the squat. According to one
neighbor, "The cops went in and I could see the pepper spray flying out of the hole made by the police." One squatter said simply: "The pigs went in and just spray everything and everyone." When I went to the 256 Gilmour street at about 1:00 p.m, I could still see the spray falling down for the
back windows.
During the police intervention, 21 people were arrested and 86 changes were laid. A 22nd individual was arrested later when he asked to go inside to pick up his belongings. But I was particularly troubled that, during one of
the arrests, one squatter (Rusty) was beaten so badly he needed to be carried out by stretcher, a situation for which the police were later quoted
as attributed to "a fear of heights." Because media and witnesses from Global Democracy Ottawa were watching, police put Rusty in an ambulance and
took him to the corner of Elgin and Argyle, where he was removed and arrested. Rusty did not receive medical attention in jail, and no one even
bothered removing his chemically-soaked clothes. Rusty had to sign a parole sheet before being released of the prison, before he could take himself to the hospital for treatment.
Despite the reality, the following paragraph, again in the Ottawa Sun, appeared on Page 5 of the Friday edition (July 5)quote : PSAC regional
vice-president had the vapors over the, uh, "exaggerated police response" because "these were kids... who had no weapons." Oh really? The hammers, screwdrivers, shovels and hoes some of them had were not possible "weapons?"
In my dictionary, a weapon is an instrument of attack or defense in combat. I am trouble by this definition of a "weapon." If an item is not used in an action designed to cause harm, it is not a weapon but a tool, in this case a tool for renovation. This version of events is supported by the Ontario Provincial Police themselves, who informed me following my inquiries with them that no police officer had been attacked on the Wednesday in question. So maybe Mr. McRae should consult another dictionary the next time he uses
such complicated two syllable words.
Rhetoric of the McRae's of the world aside, let me tell you that I have stood in front of the PSAC building for three days following the police
action in closing the squat, an action for which PASC regional Vice-President John Baglow had given permission. When I was sitting in front
of the squat on PASC grounds, a woman approach me. While she supported our cause, she said the mess in front of the house was a shame. So I need to set
the record straight on the conditions of the house. The squatter did not destroy it and, during their time there, the front was clean and the inside painted. The conditions of the premises were better than they had been for many, many years. Police officers, blindly looking for weapons while tear gas and pepper spraying everything that moved, left the house as it has
Since appeared. It is a situation that has persisted despite the efforts of a number of squatters to volunteer to clean up after the police action, a request that was denied by the "landlord," Mr. Davis.
Clearly, we need to know more. We need to ask the City of Ottawa to formally and fully investigate not only the action of the police in this instance and their use of force, but also the disinformation that they freely have provided to the media of the city. And we need to know now!
In solidarity!
Yannick at ourmedia
Editorials
BUSH GUIDE TO START A WAR
Read this closely because we will all see this way used in our lives. It can be used on a society of the most ignorant to the most highly educated.
1 step: Create the enemy. Sometimes this will be done for you.
2 step: Be sure the enemy you have chosen is nothing like you. Find obvious differences like race, language, religion, dietary habits, fashion. Emphasize that their soldiers are not doing a job, they are heartless murderers who enjoy killing.
3 step: Once these differences are established, continue to reinforce them with all disseminated information.
4 step: Have the media broadcast only the ruling party's information. This can be done through state-run media. Remember, in times of conflict all for-profit media repeats the ruling party's information. Therefore all for-profit media becomes state run.
5 step: Show this enemy in actions that seem strange, millitant, or different. Always portray the enemy as non-human, evil, a killing machine.
6 step: Eliminate opposition to the ruling party. Create an "Us vs. Them" Mentality. Leave no room for opinions in between. One that doesn't support all actions of the ruling party should be considered a traitor.
7 step : Use nationalistic and/or religious symbols and rhetoric to define all actions. This can be achieved by slogans such as "freedom loving people vs. those who hate freedom" This can also be achived by the use of flags.
8 step: Align all actions with the dominant deity. It is very effective to use terms like, "It is God's will" or "God Bless our nation."
9 step: Design propaganda to show that your soldiers have feelings, hopes, families, and loved ones. Make it clear that your soldiers are doing a duty; they do not want or like to kill.
10 step: Create an atmosphere of fear, and instability and then offer the ruling party as the only solution to comfort the public's fears. Remember the fear of the unknown is always the strongest fear.
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