!HOT! !WARNING!
| Thanks “Management”…For !Warning! us to use “Caution” because the food might be !Hot!
!And for the entirely new ways to use exclamation points! !And for creative grammar! |
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8/26/2007
8/24/2007
8/23/2007
On Becoming an Agent Provocateur
If you haven’t been following this news, I recommend the ongoing discussion at Canadian Cynic. In a nutshell, it appears that the RCMP planted three of their people in the crowd of protesters at Montebello last week, with the intent they get people to move in a violent direction.
Those of us with long memories will not be surprised, since we fondly remember revelations about the Horsemen burning down barns among other insane things.
And lest you think that our own police are the ne plus ultra at such things, take a few minutes to enjoy this three part video report from the New York Times.
How about the NYPD using police helicopters to secretly videotape innocent citizens – people who actually support(ed?) police surveillance – making out on their rooftop? Or the NYPD who routinely infiltrate crowds of cyclists during Critical Mass rides in NYC!
Seriously though, twenty-five years ago in Vancouver it was assumed that cops (and even the CIA) were infiltrating activist groups, and that you would be videotaped and photographed if you took part in any march. Nothing has really changed, except that we can now record the people recording us.
The thought for the day is this: when we have lost all expectation of privacy, what are our expectations with respect to our own behaviour?
