Quebec-Israel Committee's Islamophobia on rue St-Denis

Contributor: "PAJU"

From a joint press conference held on October 25 by Palestinian and Jewish Unity (PAJU) and the Montreal Chapter of Independent Jewish Voices (IJV)

MONTREAL: On Saturday, October 22nd, PAJU members were gathered, as we have been doing every week for over a year, on St-Denis Street in front of the Naot shoe store which sells Israeli shoes produced in the occupied Palestinian territories. Our objective is to distribute information in order to raise awareness about the conditions under which Palestinians are forced to live and to propose concrete actions that citizens can undertake in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

"Death to Israel"

Everything was going as usual until three masked men, wearing burkas and imitating women`s voices, presented themselves at our picket line. The men were carrying placards calling for the death of Israel.

You can see the footage of the event on the internet.

The men strategically placed themselves beside us to give the impression that they were standing with us. They screamed things like ''Death to Israel'' and they clearly targeted some of the Palestinian and Muslim members of our group by screaming things like ''he supports Hezbollah''.

These disgraceful acts are nothing more than an expression of hatred against Muslims and display contempt for Muslim women. The men in question obviously intended to express, by way of this ''parody,'' that all Muslims are fundamentalists, all Muslims mistreat women and all Muslims inherently wish the death of Israel.

Moreover, one of the more disturbing elements of this disgraceful act concerns the fact that those who were with them from the Quebec-Israel Committee and from the Réseau Liberté-Québec, and who regularly come to counter our action, were laughing and seemed highly amused as if this were simply some kind of funny street theater skit. In fact, this was without any doubt the obscene expression of xenophobic hatred of Muslims and Arabs in general.

The men also shouted racist epithets at a Palestinian member of PAJU by screaming things like "F..g Arab" and ''He`s Muslim; he`s Hezbollah''.

This was nothing more than a malevolent attempt to demonize and deform the figure of Muslims in Quebec society. The provocative nature of this Islamophobic ‘’theater’’ leads one to see in it a strategy meant to escalate confrontations with Quebec pacifists working for a peace with justice in Palestine and against initiatives for cooperation between Jews, Muslims and Arabs.

Quebec is without a doubt a pluralistic society. Quebecers will not accept such an expression of racial hatred and indeed, there is no room in Quebec society for such an expression of racial hatred toward any group regardless of religion or ethnicity.

After numerous failures to achieve peace through negotiations with Israel, in 2005 Palestinian civil society called on the international community to pursue a boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against the Israeli apartheid regime until such time as Israel puts an end to the illegal occupation and agrees to negotiate a lasting peace with justice as equal partners with the Palestinian people.

PAJU, along with many other groups in many different countries, responded to this call and has been involved in BDS actions for the past 5 years.

Beginning with the campaign to boycott Israeli wines at the SAQ, the purpose of the BDS is to bring political pressure on Israel. BDS is a non-violent instrument meant to bring political and economic pressure against Israel to force it to end its illegal occupation and to sit at the table with the Palestinians to pursue serious negotiations resulting in a lasting peace with justice.

To generalize about Jews in a pejorative manner, as the three men dressed in burkas generalized in a pejorative manner about Muslims, would clearly and rightfully be called anti-Semitism. To criticize the State of Israel for its disregard of international law is not anti-Semitism; it is the defense of the rule of international law and the respect for human rights.

If the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign was good enough for Mohandas Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, then we are certainly comfortable with it as an instrument for the emancipation of an oppressed people as the Palestinian people are today.

IJV appalled by Quebec-Israel-Committee’s parody of Muslim women

Carlos Latuff

This was not an ignorant school kids' prank like the Universite de Montreal students wearing blackface to honour Jamaican sprinter Usan Bolt that was featured and denounced in the media recently. The QIC must have understood their Islamophobic and sexist action would be protected by entitlement.

This despicable incident by the Quebec-Israel Committee - followed by the media, the governments of Quebec and Canada and the Israel Lobby’s silence – points out the obvious. IJV is alarmed and we denounce the QIC's carte-blanche Islamophobia that shows Quebec's elite institutions still tolerate racism and sexism -- as long as it is directed against Muslims and Arabs.

Why has the government not suspended relationships with the QIC? Their silence demonstrates why grassroots activities such as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign are the only viable actions being undertaken now to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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Related on YYC: Zionists' "Theatre" of the dangerously absurd

Libya: Al Qaeda's Black Ops Flag

UPDATE: Lendman: "Libya: War Without End"
Libyans will keep struggling until they're free from NATO's scourge.

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O, 'tis most sweet,
When in one line two crafts directly meet.*

Contributor: "YYC"

Al Qaeda Plants Its Flag in Libya
The guard claimed repeatedly that there is no al Qaeda in Libya, and that the flag flying atop the courthouse is “dark black,” while the al Qaeda flag is charcoal black.

So if there is no "al Qaeda" in Libya - apart from the fact that charcoal is just faded black - what is the guard intimating the flag stands for?

Almost any fool now knows that Al Qaeda exists only in the creative imagination of the dark, slimey side of "intelligence" - a catch-all term for any Black Operation the US/Israel wants to pull, in virtually defenceless countries, under the guise of a "war on terror" and/or "liberation".

It's not much of a secret that the "intervention" in Libya has been a Black Ops endeavour from start to finish and that "Al Qaeda" does not exist as an organization.

My guess is that the Black Ops "rebels" are so delirious at having actually "won" something - finally - they couldn't resist a little undercover brag. Judging from the videos of Clinton's poorly concealed relief at the death of Gadhafi, if given the chance she would have hauled her middle-age spread up to the roof and planted that flag herself.

Time will tell, however, whether these psychopaths will end up hoist with their own flag pole.  Pretty much the only part of the headlined article that wasn't mis/disinfo of some sort was the conclusion:

The war to rid the country of the Gaddafi dictatorship might have ended, but the battle for control of post-revolutionary Libya has only just begun.

* From Shakespeare's Hamlet

Heil Harper: His Radical Rightness

Contributor: "YYC"

Harperization of Canada in full swing with majority, critics say

Heil Harper

In an effort to appear unbiased, the Vancouver Sun spends the first half of its article pointing out some of the "radical right" changes Harper is swiftly bringing about in Canada, and then the second half sort of smoothing it all over.

It's serendipitous that this article came out today, because just yesterday I made a note to revive this one by YYC Contributor "Ron": Harper 2.0: abortion, corporatism, Israel, free speech, secrecy & God -"If you thought things were bad ... you haven’t seen nuthin’ yet!"

It's good to be reminded once in a while of the gross magnitude of the damage to both the image and reality of this country that Harper can and will systematically bring about - so that we don't lose track and become enured through forgetfulness.

Governments always count on short memory and easy distractability.

While we're at it, and on the subject of Harper's turning war into "the highest calling" and Canada into a "warrior" state, here's a group of videos of US veterans who state honestly and graphically the evil effects of the criminal, amoral wars they have been asked to fight. (Thanks to a family member for bringing these to my attention.)

You might also want to consider if the final statement in the Sun article is true in light of so many reports that suggest the last federal election was rigged.

And finally, you may also want to re-familiarize yourself with the definition, concept, and indicators of "Fascism".

See also: 14 Points of Fascism

Image borrowed from here.

Low mental acuity in Canada's Senate

Contributor: "YYC"

Canada urged to swap beaver emblem for polar bear
... [Senator Nicole Eaton] derides the lowly beaver as a "19th century has-been," a "dentally defective rat," a "toothy tyrant" and a nuisance that wreaks havoc on its environment.

Symbol of Canada?

This woman lounges in the Senate of Canada, yet another media twit rewarded for her work on behalf of the Conservative government by being allowed to siphon off millions of dollars from the taxpayer trough, while demonstrating an abysmally low level of mental acuity.

No doubt she believes in her heart that white skins are superior to brown skins, but is that any reason to change Canada's symbol?

The beaver, had she paid attention in elementary school, is known for being industrious, productive, a small, unpretentious creature who can nevertheless build powerful structures, fulfill huge dreams.

The polar bear is purportedly a dying, cannibalistic species. Is this really the image we want for ourselves?

If, however, the senator has inside information, perhaps she is unconsciously leaking the fact that polar bears are not endangered at all and will last forever as a "majestic" symbol of "dignity" no matter what oil spills and other toxins wreak upon them in the Arctic.

Or is she confirming the secessionist prediction that Canada is dying too?

Either way or both, she's just not thinking. With all that's going on, especially with Canada wading in innocent human blood up to its neck in countries where we have no morally legitimate business, this is what a Canadian Senator wants us to focus on?  This is what she considers her "new challenge"?  She's challenged, alright. Mentally challenged.

Image borrowed from here.

Canada’s Unconstitutional Extradition Law

Stop Unjust Extradition Proceedings

Contributor: "diabsupport"

Ottawa Citizen: "Diab Speaks"

On June 6, 2011, an Ontario judge committed Ottawa sociology professor Hassan Diab for extradition based on a French handwriting analysis report that alleges similarities between Hassan’s handwriting and five words appearing on a Paris hotel registration card in 1980. The judge described the French report as “very problematic”, "very convoluted", "very confusing", “pseudo-science’, and "with conclusions that are suspect". However, the judge stated that his hands are tied by Canada’s extradition treaty, and that he had no choice but to order Hassan’s extradition.

Canada’s extradition law allows foreign countries to seize any Canadian citizen based on a mere summary of the allegations. The foreign state can cherry-pick its case and suppress exonerating evidence. Hassan’s palm and finger prints do not match those of the suspect, yet that information was suppressed from the Record of the Case. The extradition court must treat the foreign state’s evidence as presumptively reliable, and the burden is placed on the accused to prove that the case is “manifestly unreliable”. In practice, however, it is almost impossible to demonstrate “manifest unreliability”.

If extradited, Hassan will be tried in France’s anti-terrorism court which places severe limitations on the ability of the defence to challenge the handwriting analysis, and allows the use of un-sourced secret intelligence that may be the product of torture.

Hassan is in a Catch-22 situation. In Canada, the “evidence” used against him is presumed reliable, even though it does not meet Canadian standards of evidence. At trial in France, defence evidence will not receive full and fair consideration, because it was furnished by the defence rather than by the investigating magistrate.

We must demand that Canadian standards of evidence apply to extradition cases, and that Canada not extradite its citizens to countries that allow secret intelligence — including intelligence obtained from torture — to be used as evidence.

Hassan continues to live under very strict bail conditions and is saddled with hefty legal fees and paying $2,000 per month for the GPS monitoring he is required to wear.

Please help us challenge the fundamental unfairness of Canada's extradition law and prevent a gross injustice.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

(a) Donate to Hassan Diab’s legal defence fund and/or help relieve the cost of his GPS monitoring. To donate, visit: http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org/donate

(b) Write to the Minister of Justice, Mr. Rob Nicholson (Email: rob.nicholson@parl.gc.ca), and urge him NOT to surrender Hassan. Please share your letter with diabsupport@gmail.com. A sample letter is available:

* English: Letter to the Minister of Justice (.doc)


* Français: Lettre à la ministre de la Justice (.doc)


(c) Circulate a brochure outlining the injustices of Hassan’s case

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REMINDER:

“J’Accuse” - Toronto Fundraiser for Hassan Diab - Details

VIDEOS:

October 19, 2011 public lecture about Hassan Diab’s case held at Carleton University covering the following topics:
* Why exonerating evidence was not allowed in court
* How Canada’s extradition law is fundamentally unfair

Q & A segment of the lecture.

Media hint on how to end Occupy movement

Contributor: "YYC"

Clearly the Occupy movement is having more effect the longer it persists. The gloves have come off in the media and are beginning to be doffed by enforcement officials. Now's when the real persistence will have to begin.

The Natural Compost leaves this statement to the end of its trash piece thereby revealing the importance of it as a strong suggestion of what should be done in Canadian cities:

In the United States, officials have been more aggressive in dispersing protesters. In Oakland, California on Tuesday, a downtown protest camp was cleared in less than 15 minutes by an early morning raid of police armed with tear gas and sound cannons.

Tear gas can kill

The Compost carefully omits that an Iraq vet is in an Oakland hospital with a fractured skull from having been slammed in the head by a tear gas cannister, and that police then tried to prevent friends from coming to his aid by means of a "flash grenade".  (video)

Occupy Oakland is calling for a strike and for the mayor to step down.

NYPD were forced to investigate one of its members in a vicious pepper-spraying incident, and docked him a few days pay as punishment. I wonder what kind of penalty Oakland would deem sufficient for a cop who sees someone lying unconscious on the ground and tosses a flash grenade anyway.

I don't really know what to think about the Occupy movement. If they're serious they'll hang around until they have to risk life and limb to stay there. So far the cities have been tolerant, but the real test will come when municipalities decide the fun is over.

The Vancouver Sun has photos of various confrontations locally and abroad.

Here's a reasonably objective article about the Occupy Ottawa scene, and I kind of liked this exchange between a Queen's radio (CFRC) broadcaster and an Occupy Kingston participant:

Broadcaster: "I would love to do a quick 10-15 interview about Occupy Kingston to broadcast on radio with the lead organizer or head of a sub-committe. Can you help me get in touch with somebody?"

Occupier: "There is no lead organizer. All participants have equal standing."

Well, I like the idea of it, but from my experience with egalitarian activist groups there's always a top dog anyway. That's the typical nature of groups, unfortunately.  I hope this item is a pack of lies, though.

Digressing a bit, but not really since we're talking about risk-taking for a cause:

Not sorry says man who threw shoes at GWB

When asked what he thought about the impact of Osama bin Laden's death, Iraqi broadcast journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi, who spent time in prison for his effort to change things, replied in a vein that relates just as easily to the death of Gadhafi and to protests in general:

Killing a person cannot change the world. What will is ending every kind of human rights violations and the whole idea of killing. As for the actual assassination, i don't trust what US sources say about it. They've propagated several lies, starting with the reason for invading Iraq, that we had WMD. It's on the basis of this lie that they continue to wage war on us.

I personally know the West lies. After i hurled the shoe at Bush, the media of the supposedly free world reported that i apologised for the act and considered it was a crime. I never did this. I have no regrets at all about what i did.

Al-Zaidi says he fully expected to die for what he did. (video)

NATO innocent of Gadhafi's death

Contributor: "YYC"

Found here, a poll showing which of the wildly conflicting media reports has proved to be the most convincing.  NATO is certainly well off the hook for the death of Gadhafi.

How do you think Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi did die?

Died from injuries sustained in attack on his convoy
6%
Died from injuries sustained in ensuing crossfire
0%
Was executed by his captors
66%
Immaterial, Libya must now look to the future
26%

Libya: Liberation ain't what it's cracked up to be.

Contributor: "YYC"

Residents of ravaged Sirte angry, distrustful

"Our house is destroyed. … Everything is gone, the televisions, the blankets, jewelry, mobile phones, all the electronics."

"Now, there is no place to sleep, no place to eat. Where is Europe? Where is the USA? They have to come and see this," he said. "Gadhafi was here for 42 years, there was no war, and I don't know if the new government is good or not. I have to see first."

Sirte: Gadhafi's "dream capital"

Well, for starters, the new government has allowed civilans to not only be bombed but also looted, and the so-called "investigative committee" is already showing bias in trying to pin Gadhafi's death on "his own supporters to prevent him from implicating them in past misdeeds".

This despite that a rebel is openly taking credit for Gadhafi's death (video) which seems credible in that Gadhafi's ring was missing in the death photos, but also pretty incredible that he would go public like that unless his job was to whitewash NATO.

The new government will also implement Sharia law, a move that hardly sounds like the western idea of "democracy", but the US is already rationalizing this away because they don't care as long as the oil revenue flows in the approved direction. I wonder how Sharia law, which considers intentional murder to be a first degree offence, can be bent to justify killing country leaders in cold blood.

But just a minute ... aren't the people saying all this merely "Transitional"? Won't a "democratic" system present more than one ideological premise so the people can choose what kinds of laws they want operating in their country?

How long will it take for a fair and honest election to be held? Forever?

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Cartooon image borrowed from here.

WWF in bed with "Killer Coke"

Contributor: "YYC"

Coca-Cola and WWF team up on “Arctic Home” campaign
Coke can will turn white to raise awareness about polar bears and WWF's Arctic programs

Killer Coke

In 2009 I blogged about a media myth that "climate change" was starving polar bears, causing them to eat their own young. In it, I linked to a WWF page that admitted that the only thing polar bears were in any danger from was hunters. I wish I had saved the text from that WWF page, because it has been completely altered since then.

The Star, however, published an article around the same time that in effect corroborated the earlier WWF statement, confirmed by Inuit hunters, the people closest to and most knowledgeable about polar bears, who said putting polar bears on the list of endangered species due to "climate change" was a bunch of malarkey based on "computer models" and not facts on the ground - er, ice - and that in fact the polar bear population was thriving and growing.

Interesting that now both the WWF and the Star have changed their tunes in favour of the "endangered" theory. From whence cometh their motivation?  Well, we now know the WWF is getting money from Coke, and one would do well to wonder how much Coke pays the Star to write glowing articles about its products?

Just last July I posted about the scientist who issued the fantastical warning that polar bears were drowning due to ice melts. Either he was so eager to support the "endangered" theory that he just babbled inanities in the hope they would be believed, or else he wanted to actually back-handedly discredit the theory by stating "facts" that were so obviously not facts the government had no choice but to appear to be disciplining him. This is precisely why I stress wariness of articles or headlines that include the words "scientists say ...", and why any charity funded by multinational corporations should be considered compromised.

There's a reason why Killer Coke needs to soften its image by identifying itself with the protection of cute, white, fluffy creatures.  Both Coke and the WWF claim a sincere interest in the welfare of animals, though not of the human kind (see: WWF -  Land Grabs "for the environment")

The headline makes the Coke/WWF marriage sound like a new association, but the admission comes later that actually:

WWF has a “longstanding partnership” with Coca-Cola based on the company’s efforts to lower their climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions and manage their water use, said Martin von Mirbach, the director of WWF’s Arctic program.

It's worth noting that below the article, a commenter with the handle: "Can you say: BOUGHT" quips:

So, is Coca-Cola going to stop putting carbon dioxide into its drinks?  Every can and bottle of Coke adds that “nasty greenhouse gas” to the atmosphere.

The WWF goes where the money is, and the Arctic, above all, is where it's at, so it works out well that:

“... scientists have identified these areas as likely to have a high conservation interest in the future,”...

They've also identified areas likely to have a high oil interest, not to mention locations of future oil spills which Canada reportedly has no method of addressing.

In fact, the WWF agrees that "weather conditions in the Arctic would make it impossible to deploy an emergency oil-spill response 84 per cent of the time".

But nobody is saying "stop"; they only suggest a little more planning:

"If we are going to continue to rely on the fossil fuels, we are going to punch a hole in the bottom of the Arctic Ocean ... But we need to think about how we are going to do it."

And first of all we have to get that pesky ice melted while at the same time showing the world we care about the denizens of the North, and oh yes, sell a lot of Coke to support those highly-paid WWF execs (the WWF CEO reportedly is paid almost half a million annually, and who knows how much in bonuses and perks).

Zionists' "Theatre" of the dangerously absurd

Contributor: "Ron"

Quebec neofascists disguised in burkas disrupt Montreal anti-apartheid demo

Masked members of the Québec-Israël Committee and of the Réseau Liberté Québec attack Palestinian and Jewish Unity members at their weekly picket for the boycott of israeli apartheid. The perpetrators of the attack, dressed in burkas, also made death threats. Montreal police dismiss the attacks as ''theater''.

See the footage!

Ed Note: I have to agree with the commenter in the video that this is not merely theatre. These cowardly, immature crackpots are impersonating Muslim women - even mocking their language as inane gibberish - to cast them in the role of murderers. I respect their right to counter-protest, but it's hard to have any respect for their methods.

Gadhafi not dead?

Contributor: "YYC"

Check out all the opinion pieces saying that Gadhafi is not dead.  There may well be a lot of wishful thinking among loyalists, but this particular site offers a credible analysis of the photos and videos we posted earlier here and here.  I haven't yet had time to investigate the rest of the sites.

Take a look also at comments from a fellow blogger on the subject of the timing of Hillary Clinton's announcement about Gadhafi's capture.

Last night I started to wonder why (supposedly in the interests of sensibilities) we were not shown official photos of the dead Bin Laden, yet have been regaled with all sorts of images of Gadhafi's humiliation and death.  Is it more important to the Obama administration to "prove" the death of Gadhafi than that of Bin Laden?  Already the most popular, most sensationalist voices are saying (Alex Jones video) that Gadhafi's life has been spared because of the "divine right of kings", and suggests that even Saddam Hussein did not die, that this is all a "psyops technique".

Unfortunately, the reasons given for preserving Gadhafi's life while saying he is dead - that he knows too much and therefore can't be brought to trial - are also reasons for killing him.

Palestine: now a full-fledged member of UNESCO

Contributor: "PAJU"

PALESTINIAN VICTORY AT UNESCO

Palestinians reaped a first diplomatic victory Wednesday, October 5, 2011 in their quest for international recognition as a state, with the approval of a recommendation at the Executive Council of UNESCO, where they have observer status, to make Palestine a full-fledged member of the UN. The vote was 40 out of 58 in favour. Among the four countries which voted against were the US and Germany. 14 states abstained. Unfortunately for the US, in UNESCO America has no right of veto, as it does in the UN.

The recommendation will be submitted at the end of the month at the UNESCO general conference where it will have to be approved by a two-thirds majority of the 193 members. This session will be held from October 25 to November 10 in Paris, the organization’s headquarters.

The US has called upon all delegations to vote against the recommendation, in a communiqué from the American Ambassador to UNESCO David Killion. At Ramallah, the Palestinian Foreign minister, Riyad al-Maliki, has denounced the "enormous pressure" against the Palestinian request for membership on the part of the US and Israel.

After the vote in the executive council, the American Secretary of State, scorning democratic procedure, "strongly recommended" that UNESCO revise its vote, alleging that it was confusing and inexplicable that organs of the UN take a position on the status of Palestine when the matter has been submitted to the Security Council. She then evoked the possibility of suspending the US’s contribution to UNESCO, as certain members of the US Congress are demanding, if the vote at the Executive Council is confirmed by the General Assembly later this month.

This upgrading of status at UNESCO would allow Palestinians to ask for recognition of heritage sites in territory occupied by Israel in order to preserve Arab heritage against the constant encroachment of the Israeli occupiers. Palestinians, for example, could call for recognition of Bethlehem as the birthplace of Jesus, the cave of the patriarchs at Hebron, the Mosque of Abraham, and Jericho, as world heritage sites.

Adapted from "Victoire palestinienne à l’Unesco"

Do we really need more junk science on global warming?

And why the big rush to get this into the media?

Contributor: "YYC"

Global warming study finds no grounds for climate sceptics' concerns
Independent investigation of the key issues sceptics claim can skew global warming figures reports that they have no real effect

Is there such a thing as an "independent" scientific study these days?  And can a study be unbiased when it sets out to prove a conventionally-accepted theory?  Do the following excerpts sound unbiased to you (emphasis mine, of course)?

"My hope is that this will win over those people who are properly sceptical," Richard Muller, a physicist and head of the project, said.

Muller sought to cool the debate over climate change by creating the largest open database of temperature records, with the aim of producing a transparent and independent assessment of global warming.

The initial reluctance of government groups to release all their methods and data, and the fiasco over emails from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit in 2009, gave the project added impetus.

So impetuous in fact are these guys that they can't even wait for proper peer-reviewed publication. What's so urgent, anyway?  Are we being set up for something?

The media report itself reveals an agenda when it uses the cynical word "claimed" instead of argued or stated:

Nevertheless, one prominent US climate sceptic, Anthony Watts, claimed to have identified a "basic procedural error" concerning time periods used in the research, and urged the authors to revise the paper.

Canadians have been taught by Stephen Harper to beware of constant prating about "openness and transparency". Suspect also is the rush to make headlines.

As a skeptic (or "denier" - I couldn't care less what I'm called) I've always considered the possibility that the earth may be warming - though I've never personally observed evidence of that - but isn't the issue whether or not the cause is human activity?

I doubt any scientist would dispute that the earth has gone through previous warmings - and coolings - when there were few, if any, humans to cause it.

Here's something to really worry about: Climate Change Could Impact Starbucks. That is, if you're socially unconscious enough to frequent the joint.

Image borrowed from here.

Credible video of dead Gadhafi

UPDATES:
→VIDEO: "Humanitarian war in Libya: there is no evidence!"
→NATO weasels out of responsibility for Gadhafi's death
NATO earlier said its commanders were not aware that Gadhafi was in a convoy that NATO bombed as it fled Sirte.

Contributor: "YYC"

If you can take it, scroll to about 3:40 in the below AfriSynergy video to see what seems to be a bona fide image of the Libyan leader, dead in the hands of the "rebels".



The rest of the video is a call-out from "Anonymous" for a November 5 run on the banks. I don't know how they hope to succeed at this when they tell the bank the date in advance. The bank will simply close up.

If you've ever seen the excellent documentary film "The Take", you'll get some idea of the futility of trying to get your money out of a bank that doesn't want you to.

I now understand the reason for the limit on how much you can withdraw at an ATM.

(Thanks to a family member for drawing my attention to AfriSynergy, and this video in particular.)

Related: Wicked Witch of the West Goes to Libya
Quote: "If I had a magic wand, I would leave it here." Well she has the broom she flew in on, she can leave that there. How utterly disgusting.
US: Megabanks Trying To Prevent Bank Runs – Customers Cannot Close Their Accounts – ‘Anonymous’ Announces ‘Operation Bank Run’ (Video)

Libya: Yep, just like Iraq

UPDATES:
►Video: Steve Lendman doesn't believe the reports surrounding Gadhafi's death, and thinks Hillary Clinton should be charged with a war crime for advocating his death.
►Mathaba: No proof provided
►Video: Libya Truth
►Reuters' latest report confidently confirms the drainage culvert (but no "grabbing" there), the flight in a convoy, the leg wounds plus the head wound - but does not mention any ambulance. NOTE:  Reuters has now changed its story, saying that Gadhafi was killed in custody and died of wounds to his head and abdomen.

Contributor: "YYC"

How more like Iraq could Libya have possibly become?

Moammar Gadhafi dies of wounds after capture: report 
An anti-Gadhafi fighter said the ex-dictator had been found hiding in a hole in the ground and had shouted "Don't shoot, don't shoot" to the men who grabbed him.

It's always very important for the "victor" to make the "conquered" look like a coward. For instance, Zionists love saying that the Palestinians "ran away" and that's the reason they deserve to live forever as refugees. And Hitler was such a coward he too holed up underground and then committed suicide.

One wonders that, if Gadhafi was such a coward, and they had "grabbed him" and he pleaded don't shoot, why he had to be killed? Why wasn't this cowering wreck hauled away to be put on trial and really humiliate him? After all, he's supposedly wanted by the International Criminal Court. Maybe not wanted all that badly?

One wonders a whole lot more if one examines the contradictions in these disparate paragraphs (emphasis mine, of course):

Mlegta had told Reuters earlier that Gaddafi, who was in his late 60s, was captured and wounded in both legs at dawn on Thursday as he tried to flee in a convoy that NATO warplanes attacked. Mlegta said Gadhafi had been taken away by an ambulance.

"He (Gadhafi) was also hit in his head," National Transitional Council official Abdel Majid Mlegta told Reuters. "There was a lot of firing against his group and he died."

So, they find him in a hole; they "grab" him. But he gets away and tries to "flee" in a convoy, so NATO bombs him in both legs, and the rebels, or his "group" scoop him into an ambulance.  So when does he get hit in the head? In the ambulance? And was his whole "group" in the ambulance with him?  Or were they all in the hole in the ground with him?

Here's the "hole". Does it look as if a "convoy" would fit in there?

From the Globe and Mail

Do you get the feeling this is all a fairy tale?

I guess the plodding CBC isn't up to being inventive. They report:*

There were conflicting reports on the details of the capture. One indicated he was captured in a convoy trying to flee Sirte, while another report said he was captured in the city while hiding in a hole.

Okay, yes. We are being fed garbage, and yes, if it isn't becoming exactly like Iraq then somebody sure wants it to be. Imagine, if you will, that this below is Gadhafi wounded in both legs in an ambulance. Because that's what somebody wants you to do. His leg wounds have apparently bled all over his head and face. (See also: Aljazeera video of "dead" Gadhafi look-alike with no apparent blood on his face. Was he hauled out of a hole, or out of a convoy, or out of an ambulance for this video?)

Image from the Globe and Mail

* The CBC has sinced removed this statement from its article and now states flatly that Gadhafi is dead, and no longer appears to care whether he was in a hole or a convoy.  The statement still exists on Google, however.

Yo! Brzezinski's Bamboozle Road Show

"You won’t hear Brzezinski tell you that some people no longer deserve to live, not unless you listen very carefully." LINK

Contributor: "Yo Momma"

Click on the link above and see the video part way down the page.

What I see is that Brzezinski, past advisor to US presidents including Obama, is doing two things:

1) He is distracting the public, keeping them focused on the super rich that are IN the system and keeping them from looking at the super rich who are NOT IN the system - the likes of Rothschild, Rockefeller, the Queen, the Vatican and the various lesser known banking families and members of the aristocracy - the people who are really behind the schemes that extract wealth from the masses.

2) He is using the threat of class war to encourage the super rich (on paper) to turn over substantial chunks of their wealth to charities and foundations that finance the elite agenda. He uses blackmail to get blood money out of the 1% in order to finance the expansion of the empire (under the guise of "humanitarian intervention"), the creation of global government and the means to "change the world" and mold it into what suits the self-proclaimed elite.

I have to wonder, how can the public possibly trust the motives of ANYONE who has made him or herself mind-bogglingly rich through speculation, a system that clearly is based on cheating the public and manipulating the markets? He mentions Warren Buffett as someone who used the system to become rich but it's OK because he gives a large chunk back to charity.

How can anyone believe that a self-serving scoundrel wouldn't put his money into charities that are equally self-serving and not at all related to any real public good?

Moreover, why should the public be satisfied with a redistribution scheme that relies on the "charity" of the super rich scoundrels? Why can't the system simply be reformed and made fairer so that people can look after themselves with dignity?

Related video: Brzezinski: "Its easier to kill a million people...than it is to control them"

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Ed Note: The bulk of Warren Buffett's philanthropic gifts goes to the Gates Foundation, and is then funnelled by investments into "69 of the worst polluting companies": Democracy Now video.  Buffett reportedly disowned his adopted granddaughter "after she participated in the Jamie Johnson documentary, The One Percent."

Image borrowed from Toon Pool

"Occupy" beginning to make inroads?

Contributor: "YYC"

One sign that the Occupy movement may be making some inroads is that instead of the media quoting sympathetic key financial figures - a tactic meant to take the steam out of the sails of the protesters - they are now poking sticks at it from various angles.

For starters, what's being done is what Crowd Control always does: attempts are being made to identify the leadership and take it out - in this case, however, having to invent a leadership of a kind that would negate the whole premise on which the Occupy movement is based.

Reuters, the font of all disinfo on behalf of the power structure, suggested George Soros as the key instigator and funder, then, when that was denied, pointed to the rabble-rousing Adbusters, saying that it was supported by Soros, and Adbusters shot back that they could only wish to have bucks like that. Now Reuters is suggesting that Soros "indirectly" supports Adbusters through dubious foundations that do fund it.

Business Insider is now literally threatening Obama with disaster due to his lipservice (video) to the Occupy complaints: Obama Is Playing A Very Dangerous Game Supporting 'Occupy Wall Street'  - although that same publication, a week earlier came out in support of the movement (check out the sign: "One day the poor will have nothing left to eat but the rich") providing charts to prove the protest has a legitimate beef.

Motley News has created its own set of charts that show it isn't all Wall Street financiers in the top 1%, but in fact Occupy is condeming people (occupations) one doesn't usually consider to be enemies of the poor - such as teachers, farmers, blue collar workers. Ouch, eh?

And the New York Times is having a ball ridiculing the whole poor/rich concept with Class Action War Toys. The "Jobless Joe" doll is particularly contemptuous: "Pull the string and he says his trusty catch phrase 'I'm Hungry!'"

The NYT cartoons also make it clear that Obama is supporting Occupy only because he is campaigning - which of course is true and that's how the poor got hooked on/by him at the last election, but this time it's making the string-pullers very nervous.

Click on photo to enlarge
"Occupy Toronto" still hanging in at St. James Park
Photo snapped today at lunchtime by YYC Contributor Brian H.

Related on YYC: Hijacking the Occupy Movement

Shalit Live, complete with propaganda

Contributor: "YYC"

The Telegraph is live blogging the return of Gilad Shalit to his family. There is plenty of talk about how cruel it was of Hamas to imprison him:

Shalit may have been taken in a war but the way he was held reminds us of the kidnapping of Terry Waite, Brian Keenan and John McCarthy.

Just as we remember the long agony of that crisis, we ought to understand something of what the Israelis have been going through on behalf of Gilad Shalit. This shows that Hamas is quite prepared to use cruel methods to advance its cause, whatever that cause may be. Cruelty is surely never to be condoned. This behaviour of Hamas ought to chill the blood of all humane people.

...  but nothing about how cruel it was to imprison indefinitely Palestinians who, admittedly, were not considered to be the most serious offenders, and many of them very young when captured:

But when the jail doors open - probably next Tuesday - and people begin going home to their families, it will be clearer that key political Palestinian militants, seen as heroes by many people in the occupied territories, will still be behind bars.

Is the following statement proof of a sign of cruely, or is Shalit just as painfully scrawny as the average malnourished Palestinian youth?

"AFP is reporting that Galid Schalit shows signs of malnutrition and lack of sunlight."

You don't see any fat kids among Palestinians; not like in Israel. Shalit will now have a chance to fatten up; unlike his Palestinian peers.

Not to mention that Shalit was armed with a gun when he was captured, and will no doubt have access to one again now that he is free, but his Palestinian peers will still have only pebbles to throw at invading military tanks and vehicles.

It's too bad these things have to be said instead of being able to cheer for the families on both sides of this issue. But Shalit will be used as a propaganda tool to the hilt. One can only hope he may have gained some humane perspective while in Gaza. Or will he simply be "deprogrammed" and "rebrainwashed"?

Image borrowed from here.

Harper tries to prove hell exists

... by creating it himself.

Contributor: "YYC"

Texas conservatives reject Harper's crime plan
'Been there; done that; didn't work,' say Texas crime-fighters

"Republican governors and state legislators in such states of Texas, South Carolina, and Ohio are repealing mandatory minimum sentences, increasing opportunities for effective community supervision, and funding drug treatment because they know it will improve public safety and reduce taxpayer costs," said Tracy Velázquez, executive director of the Washington-based Justice Policy Institute.

"If passed, C-10 will take Canadian justice policies 180 degrees in the wrong direction, and Canadian citizens will bear the costs."

See informative post by Beesting on this very topic.

Harper knows exactly how the American system has failed, but he also knows it's not about getting criminals off the street - especially in Canada where the crime rate has been steadily dropping - it's about corporate profit. He plans to hand over well-filled prisons to private contractors once they've been built/refurbished with tax dollars. To hell with what the people want; he works for Big Biz.

The more hellish the prisons become, the more recidivism will occur, and the more fat government contracts will be awarded to the minions of hell. The increased danger to the public is only an issue for the public, not for Harper, not for the profiteers.

The money game is Harper's "highest calling" - for all others it's prison or the military.  His only problem was not being able to achieve a majority - until now - so he could get the agenda rolling.

Related:
►Video + Links: CANADIAN ELECTION TAMPERING (Click on "Show More" for links to items about vote fraud in Canada.)
►Crimes committed in Canada were down five per cent in 2010,
following a consistent four-year downward trend.
►Ottawa's crime rate drops again

Image borrowed from The Suffering, a video game about hellish prison life.

Zionism's ridiculous obsession

... to delete the historical existence of Palestine

Contributor: "PAJU"

This is a story about a Ben-Hur blurb which appeared in the L.A. Times. A Zionist organization asked its supporters to complain to the Times  about its use of the term "Palestinian nobleman" to describe Ben-Hur, since the Romans didn't rename Judea 'Palestina' until a hundred years after the death of Jesus.

As a result, the L.A. Times apologized and  printed a correction: "The character Ben-Hur was a Jew from Judea who lived long before the place now known as Palestine was given that name." The allegation is not only false; it is a deliberate lie. The paper should have checked some primary sources rather than to rely on the flurry of emails and phone calls from misinformed and biased Zionists.

The name Palestine in History

References to "Palestine" date back nearly five hundred years before "the time of Jesus." In the 5th Century BC, Herodotus, the first historian in Western civilization, referenced "Palestine" numerous times in his chronicle of the ancient world, The Histories. He wrote: "...they live in the coastal parts of Syria; and that region of Syria and all that lies between it and Egypt is called Palestine." Godley (1920) and Waterfield (1998) give similar translations from the Herodotus text.

In the mid-4th Century BC, Aristotle made reference to Palestine and the Dead Sea in hisMeteorology. "Again if, as is fabled, there is a lake in Palestine, such that if you bind a man or beast and throw it in it floats and does not sink, this would bear out what we have said," ... "They say that this lake is so bitter and salt that no fish live in it."

Polemon, a geographer of the 2nd century BC spoke of a place "not far from Arabia in the part of Syria called Palestine". The Roman poet Ovid mentioned Palestine in his works the Metamorphoses and The Art of Love. Another Latin poet Tibullus wrote of "the crowded cities of Palestine".

Palestine has existed for millennia and continues to exist today. Try as they might, Zionists cannot obliterate either Palestine’s past or its future.

Adapted from an article written by Nima Shirazi and published online on September 30, 2011. Full text

Libya videos: "It will be worse than Iraq"

Contributor: "YYC"

Live Coverage from ArRai tv Libya -Gadhafi speeches, photos and videos from the conflict and music. There's also a good deal of support for Palestinians on that channel.

This is the general website for ArRai tv and includes links to videos that lend credibility to the Morris videos (as noted in an earlier post by Lucilla) which have given a very different picture from what NATO tries to present.

The following seems to be the latest video direct from Libya, from which the headline quote is taken: NATO Crimes In Libya.  Below it are links to various supporting news items (click on "show more").

Today's the day for "Occupy Canada"

UPDATE: SUNDAY, Oct. 16 - All the latest Occupy news on Google.
UPDATE: BBC photos worldwide

Contributor: "YYC"

Canadian Dimension has a comprehensive list of Canadian events, times, places, websites.

There was a plan to provide live Toronto streaming video here: http://occupyto.webs.com/livestream.htm but the account's been frozen.

Here's a livestream site for the Toronto event. Occupyto.org has articles and Twitter updates. Here also is the Facebook page.

The Star is live blogging the Toronto event. CP24 is also covering Toronto with video reports. City TV Toronto is live blogging.

Livestream seems to be broadcasting the Canada movement in general (although there's a lot of American content at the moment) - Naomi Klein was on a few minutes ago, and she seemed to be making the same criticism as the mainstream media - that the demands should be clear and some solutions should be offered.

There's also a Livestream blog of videos from the worldwide movement, but it's very slow to load.

The CBC has live, national Twitter commentary.

Media Co-op is covering Montreal, Halifax and Vancouver.  Occupy Ottawa has a web page with Twitter updates.

Reuters is trying to stir up some controversy over the origins of the movement:
Who's behind the Wall St. protests?

... and our border guards have reportedly been told to keep out "hard-core" protesters from the US and Europe who want to join the Canadian activities.

Jolie: Oh, it's a lovely photo-op!

Apologies to the creator of "Oh it's a lovely war" (video)

UPDATE: New fighting breaks out in heart of Libyan capital
Friday's violence in Tripoli and fierce resistance on two other fronts set back the new rulers' stated goals of declaring total victory

Gosh, and Ms. Jolie missed it all!

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Ed Note:This seems to bear out assertions made in the news updates uploaded to YouTube by 108morris108. (See Also: Libya: Rebels' Tragicomedy)
-----

Contributor: "Lucilla"

Angelina Jolie visits Libya to see "a country in transition"
Angelina Jolie is visiting Libya outside of her role as goodwill ambassador for the UN refugee agency, to "express solidarity" and meet with aid agencies.

Wherever Jolie goes, disinformation follows ...

"I have come to Libya for a variety of reasons, to see a country in transition at every level and to witness efforts to fully realize the promise of the Arab Spring,"

"The country faces a host of challenges, including internally displaced people, refugees, rule of law, security, sanitation, education, health and other humanitarian needs. All of these pieces must be delivered and coordinated properly in an environment of reconciliation and justice" ...

It is interesting that she shows up just as people are begging for medical help in Sirte (Gadhafi's home town) which is being brutally bombed by NATO forces. She's visiting Tripoli and Misrata and will not witness the carnage in Sirte.

The public is led to believe that the worst is over, that the Libyans have freed themselves from tyranny and now it is time to rebuild. The worst of it is that she actually believes the propaganda.

Pepe Escobar:
"The war is beginning"

Truthfully, as time goes on I am finding it harder and harder to deal with the strikingly polarized versions of reality that seem to be going on all throughout the world. Following the invasion of Libya and knowing that men women and children are suffering terribly from hunger and severe wounding from bombs and lack of medical resources ... knowing this and also knowing that there is nothing anyone can do about it ... I feel lost. I'm not surprised that people give up and fall in line with the NWO; it's hard going against the grain all the time.

They've been begging the public to contact the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders to help civilians in Sirte, but I seriously doubt that any one of them would even be allowed (or would want to risk) to enter a NATO bombing zone.

Video: Jolie in Afghanistan

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Ed Note:  Re: Jolie in Afghanistan - she repeats all the same rhetoric we've been hearing since the onset of the destruction of Afghanistan. The role of UN Ambassador appears to be just another movie script for her, and the poor Afghan kids have been co-opted for her photo-op.

Flatulent Finance Finagler Flaherty

Contributor: "YYC"

Is the public service ‘a higher calling’? Or a sinecure?

The answer is "yes".

Yes, public service is a higher calling. And yes, the activity Finance Finagler Flaherty fondly calls "public service" is almost entirely self-service.

He didn’t mention the benefits package, both visible and hidden.

Flaherty reminds me of an old, red-faced, whiskied-up general, fondly fictionalizing the glory days of war between belches and farts.

Image borrowed from here.

Shopping for Shalit

Contributor: "YYC"

Israel: Prisoner Swap is Best Deal Possible

Basically they are haggling over the worth of Gilad Shalit - I wonder if he feels flattered or insulted by the deal. But I don't think the Palestinians are getting their money's worth - there are about 7000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

The deal shows who operates in good faith, however, and it's not the Israelis. Hamas is forced to take a 450-prisoner downpayment, and has to hope the rest of the allotment will follow later on.

Why two months later? Maybe because Israel is magnanimously handing over people whose prison terms are up anyway.

Shalit's family are not celebrating yet. The Palestinians shouldn't celebrate too soon either. Not only is it a lousy deal in itself, but also, according to FOX news, many of the released prisoners may not be allowed to set foot in the territories, but may instead be kicked out of the country.  This has reportedly been corroborated by the Palestinian Authority.

It will be interesting to see what kind of adult Gilad Shalit has become in the interim, and what his view of Israel now is after so stubbornly leaving him to languish all these years in a Palestinian jail.

Limits to free speech

... mean no free speech at all

Contributor: "YYC"

Where do you draw the line on free speech?
Arguments begin Wednesday at the Supreme Court of Canada in a case that pits freedom of speech against laws that prohibit the promotion of hatred.

The fact that the question is asked reveals that hate laws are in themselves discriminatory.

Anyone who can demonstrate that s/he has been deprived of livelihood and/or access to public amenities due to someone else's words or erroneous beliefs already has the right to seek compensation through the courts.

Otherwise, vigorous counter-education should be the only answer to dis/misinformation.

We are all responsible for our own emotional reactions to words we'd rather not hear; that's what being grown-up is all about.

Image borrowed from here.

Support the Irvine 11

In America, not everyone has the right to protest injustice.

Contributor: "YYC"

The following is text from an email sent by Jewish Voice for Peace:

When we disrupted Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu's keynote speech at the Jewish Federations of North America's annual general meeting last November in New Orleans, we were met with hisses, boos, verbal harassment and even physical attacks from other members of the audience. But criminal charges were never so much as mentioned. Yet just weeks ago, ten students who interrupted Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren's speech at UC Irvine in February 2010 were convicted of two misdemeanors for their participation in that protest. Irvine 11website

Today is a national day of action to protest those unjust convictions. We’ve started a [photo] blog to show our support for the Irvine 11. We also think this day of action is a perfect opportunity to look at the similarities and differences in these two protests.

In both protests, each person who stood up to bring attention to the Israeli Occupation and other violations of international law committed by the Israeli government acted non-violently, and cooperated fully with security personnel and the police. So why were we not arrested, charged and tried while the Irvine 11 were? Logically, the opposite should have been true: our target was bigger—the Prime Minister of Israel; our venue was bigger—the largest Jewish event in North America; and our protest came later—inspired in part by the brave actions of the Irvine 11.

Can you spot the difference?

The fact that the Irvine 11 were charged and tried while we were let off without a mark (as were other non-Muslim protesters in Orange County who later interrupted Dick Cheney and George W. Bush) is testament to the influence of Islamophobia, anti-Arab racism and blind support for Israel on contemporary American society and political discourse.

Everyone has the right to speak out for justice. Join us today [photo protest] in saying: "We stand against Islamophobia, for justice, and with the Irvine 11!”

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Ed Note: Here is an excellent video discussion involving two members of the Irvine 11. They talk about their motivation, and they answer to allegations that they were preventing the speaker's right of freedom of speech.

"Welcome to the future of the entire world"

Contributor: "Lucilla"

While watching this video - 4 p.i.g.s. and a square - I realized that the same pattern is emerging in Spain: elections in November, the socialist party to be blamed for all of Spain's economic woes, the media helping to elect the conservative People's Party (PP) and in the first months of the new government the president will say that the socialists left the Spanish books in ruin and there is no other option but to borrow from the IMF.

Predictive Programming?

Actually, since Germany and France have agreed on creating some kind of European bail-out fund (did they borrow from the IMF I wonder), Spain will likely be bailed out by that, maybe to make it look like the IMF was not involved.

I feel especially strongly about this because Aznar (ex PP president), after being virtually absent from Spain since his presidency, is suddenly back supporting Mariano Rajoy, the PP candidate.

Aznar is in the club and will do his part; he is on the board of directors of News Corporation, the global media conglomerate founded by none other than Rupert Murdoch - who, according to this profile: is a far-right partisan who has used his empire explicitly to pull American political debate to the right. He is also an enabler of the oppressive tactics employed by dictatorial regimes, and a man who admits to having hidden money in tax havens.

Good grief, they're even fear mongering (video) about a market collapse in 2 to 3 weeks. The UK and US claim that the European banks and markets will crumble because of a Greek default that will create some kind of domino effect on the major banks and lead to (scary music please...) GLOBAL ECONOMIC MELTDOWN!!!!

Now the UK and US are always fear-mongering about the EU because it's a way to drive down the Euro and inflate the US dollar. So, again, who knows? There is a lot of currency "warfare" going on.

BTW: Greece has pretty much slid back to the middle ages - people are bartering for goods in open-air markets. While this seems empowering I think it's a really bad move for the public to divorce itself completely from the money system. This only encourages the authorities to convince the public that a cashless society is better for everyone, when in truth, it is simply an effective way to ensure the public cannot gain private wealth and so are no better than serfs.

Related video: Obama says no punishment for big banks and corporations, actions "not necessarily illegal".

Hijacking the Occupy Movement

UPDATE: The Daily Mail steps in to help trash Occupy Wall Street:
"Protesters accused of living in filth as shocking pictures show one demonstrator defecating on a POLICE CAR"

The photo shows nothing of the sort, of course. Do you see any poop? Can you see the guy's face? Can you say "provocateur"?

Obama "Strumming [Occupy's] pain with his fingers" Video Link

Contributor: "YYC"

Suddenly the song "Killing Me Softly" takes on a whole new meaning. I'm thinking now that the reason for the absence of police riot gear and the strange expressions of sympathy coming from federal reserve and government officials is a pre-arranged, psychological management process designed to inhibit further growth of the Occupy movement. Eddie Bernays must be spinning in his grave - correction: spinning from his grave.

Politicians already attempting to Hijack Occupy movement created fake website.

This is the fake website they have created already: http://occupyparty.org/
According to Occupy wallstreet they have nothing to do with that site, or whoever is behind it.

The website is just a page full of "news" items, with no ownership displayed (or available through a WhoIs DNS lookup), no contact information. Here's one of those "news" items:

Daily News Editorial: Rebels without a point in Occupy L.A. protests

They've got a lot of signs and slogans. But when a Daily News reporter talked to participants in the Occupy Los Angeles camp on Monday, she found that they couldn't articulate a clear message. What they noted were vague, unrelated and sometimes uninformed ideas of how things could be better. They want jobs and justice and maybe some nice roosters for the yard. OK, but it's hard to rally the masses without a specific goal.

Even the camp's location is puzzling. If you want to make life uncomfortable for financiers who have to step over unemployed campers, why hang out on the lawn at City Hall?

Occupy Toronto Exchange

That final question is one that I have as well. I wonder too why the Toronto demonstration is going to take place on a day when the Market Exchange is closed. I also wonder why the Toronto logo contains a website address that doesn't yet exist - even their advertising video (if it IS theirs - it was uploaded by a User named "Operation Maple"; does that sound military or what?) contains the referral URL that goes nowhere.

(Here is Occupy Toronto's Facebook page.)

But I see nothing wrong with participants presenting a wide variety of issues, because there really are many things wrong with the current system(s), with all sorts of repercussions accruing to "the 99%".

The trouble is that all sorts of suspicious political alternatives are going to surface in attempts to factionalize the movement. A brand new Facebook page has just appeared announcing "The Smart Party", but so far all it says is this:

The Smart Party seeks to implement to wisest possible forward-looking policies based upon reason, sound judgement, and common sense. We believe that innovation can thrive alongside smart regulation, that individual liberty can thrive alongside social responsibility, that national defense can thrive alongside active diplomacy, that government can thrive alongside efficiency and accountability, that the economy can thrive alongside a healthy environment, and that best interests of the people can thrive alongside our representative form of government.

Could that be any more vague, yet enticing to someone hoping for another road to the "change" Obama promised?

According to a Real News video, Obama himself is trying to hijack the Occupy movement while at the same time it is his intention to reduce wages by 30% and take money away from social programs to give to the banks (see related video below). Obama is basically backing a government-wide "decriminalization of fraud".  (See ABC video where Obama says "a lot of that stuff wasn't necessarily illegal.")

The interviewee reiterates that the so-called lack of focus is a clear indication of how deeply messed up the system really is. But too many of the people marching were literally hypnotized in 2008 by Obama's manipulative election rhetoric, which means they are suggestible, and this trait will continue to be played upon by master manipulators.

Related Video: IMF advisor says we face a Worldwide Banking Meltdown
The clip was aired October 5, 2011 on the popular News show Newsnight with the corporation's top interviewer Jeremy Paxman.

REALITY CHECK VIDEOS:
Currently: Michael Moore whips up Occupy Now
Rewind: Michael Moore Filets Obama
Rewind further: Michael Moore wants Nader to bow out in favour of Obama

Related on YYC: Occupy but beware of official help and sympathy

ADDENDUM:The Occupy Ottawa movement has finally come together and had its first organizing meeting. As usual, there's a faction that wants to coordinate the whole event with the police. It also appears they are voluntarily caging themselves in Confederation Park. I hate to seem so negative, but  I have attended far too many purely symbolic protests to feel positive in advance of an Ottawa rally.

If the so-called Ottawa Peace Assembly grabs the reins, this will be a non-event.They haven't assembled since early April, and that was only a lethargic afternoon of general ranting against Harper.They have a good relationship with the Ottawa Citizen, however, which alone smacks of infiltration.