>DOUGH
>NEVER let the military build robots. It always ends badly.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/08/canada-ottawa-trucker-protest-extremist-qanon-neo-nazi
5G and QAnon: how conspiracy theorists steered Canada’s anti-vaccine trucker protest
Ottawa’s occupation was a result of unrivaled coordination between anti-vax and anti-government organizations
Thousands of demonstrators have successfully occupied Canada’s frigid capital for days, and say they plan on staying as long as it takes to thwart the country’s vaccine requirements.
The brazen occupation of Ottawa came as a result of unprecedented coordination between various anti-vaccine and anti-government organizations and activists, and has been seized on by similar groups around the world.
It may herald the revenge of the anti-vaxxers.
The so-called “freedom convoy” – which departed for Ottawa on 23 January – was the brainchild of James Bauder, an admitted conspiracy theorist who has endorsed the QAnon movement and called Covid-19 “the biggest political scam in history”. Bauder’s group, Canada Unity, contends that vaccine mandates and passports are illegal under Canada’s constitution, the Nuremberg Code and a host of other international conventions.
Bauder has long been a fringe figure, but his movement caught a gulf stream of support after the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, announced last year that truckers crossing the US-Canada border would need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. The supposed plight of the truckers proved to be a compelling public relations angle and attracted an array of fellow travelers.
Until now, a litany of organizations had protested Canada’s strict public health measures, but largely in isolation. One such group, Hold Fast Canada, had organized pickets of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s headquarters, where they claimed that concentration camps had already been introduced in the country.
Another group, Action4Canada, launched legal challenges to mask and vaccine mandates. In one 400-page court filing, they allege that the “false pronouncement of a Covid-19 ‘pandemic’” was carried out, at least in part, by Bill Gates and a “New World (Economic) Order” to facilitate the injection of 5G-enabled microchips into the population.
Both groups are listed as “participating groups” on the Canada Unity website, and sent vehicles and personnel to join the convoy.
Other organizers joined Bauder, including Chris Barber, a Saskatchewan trucker who was fined $14,000 in October for violating provincial public health measures; Tamara Lich, an activist for a fringe political party advocating that western Canada should become an independent state; Benjamin Dichter, who has warned of the “growing Islamization of Canada”; and Pat King, an anti-government agitator who has repeatedly called for Trudeau to be arrested.
Since they have arrived in Ottawa, the extreme elements of the protest have been visible: neo-Nazi and Confederate flags were seen flying, QAnon logos were emblazoned on trucks and signs and stickers were pasted to telephone poles around the occupied area bear Trudeau’s face, reading: “Wanted for crimes against humanity.”
The official line from Bauder and his co-organizers, however, has remained focused; in a Facebook live broadcast, Bauder instructed his supporters to “stop talking about the vaccine” and instead stick to message of “freedom”.
Such strict message control has attracted mainstream support. Numerous members of the Conservative party, Canada’s official opposition, have come out to meet the protesters. Elon Musk and Donald Trump have both endorsed the convoy. Fox broadcasters Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson have provided glowing updates on the continuing occupation.
Bauder vowed the convoy would camp out in Ottawa until their demands are met, insisting to his followers that a “memorandum of understanding” would force the government’s hand, possibly even triggering fresh elections, if enough people sign.
A Canada Unity organizer went further, saying it would require the Senate to “go after the prime minister” for “corruption” and “fascism”. There is no legal basis for those claims.
King has laid out a more direct plan of action to the occupiers: “What we want to focus on is our politicians, their houses, their locations,” he said in a January Facebook stream. If political pressure doesn’t work, King said, blocking major supply chains “will be later on”.
Soon after, the head of security for parliament issued an extraordinary warning to members of parliament to avoid the protest entirely, for their own safety.
The occupiers have deliberately made life difficult for anyone in Ottawa’s downtown core. Trucks have been laying on their air horns throughout the day, often well into the early morning hours. An Ottawa court granted an injunction on Monday afternoon, ordering that the honking must cease.
In the shadow of parliament, a flatbed truck was converted into a stage – functioning as a speaker’s corner during the day, where far-right politicians and occupiers took the microphone to decry Trudeau and Covid vaccines. At night, the stage functions as a DJ booth for raucous dance parties.
Technology has made the occupation even easier: drivers share information on routes and the best ways to evade police barricades via the walkie-talkie app Zello. Organizers in other cities use the secure messaging app Telegram to share information, coordinate messaging and plan solidarity protests.
The occupiers now have the resources to stay for an extended period of time: they have raised more than C$6m (US$4.7m) through various crowdfunding platforms, in cash and bitcoin, despite having been booted from GoFundMe’s platform after raising over C$10m.
The Ottawa occupation is proof that a few thousand determined protesters can overwhelm police and shut down major cities with enough vehicles and coordination. Solidarity convoys have shut down the busy Coutts border crossing between Alberta and Montana, strained police resources in Toronto and Quebec City, and activists as far away as Helsinki, Canberra, London and Brussels have taken note. On the convoy channels, protesters warn this is just the beginning.
https://givesendgo.com/FreedomConvoy2022
Raised : USD $6,378,496
>https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/politics/feds-ready-to-act-should-foul-play-be-detected-in-trucker-convoy-funding-says-public-safety-minister-1.5771551
Feds ready to act should 'foul play' be detected in trucker convoy funding, says public safety minister
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says the federal government will be in a position to act should law enforcement detect nefarious financial support of the “Freedom Convoy.”
His comments come amid speculation that the convoy received American-backed financing as it pursued its occupation of the nation’s capital in an attempt to convince elected officials to remove all vaccine mandates and other public health restrictions.
American crowdfunding platform GoFundMe, where the convoy’s more than $10 million were raised, removed the group’s fundraising page last Friday after stating it violated the platform’s terms.
“We now have evidence from law enforcement that the previously peaceful demonstration has become an occupation, with police reports of violence and other unlawful activity,” a statement from GoFundMe reads.
One million dollars had already been released to the organizers of the protests with the intention of being spent on fuel, food, and lodging costs. The rest of the money will be refunded directly to donors.
While information about donors, their location, and their intention remains limited, Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly indicated in a press conference last week that there may be U.S. ties.
“We are now aware of a significant element from the U.S. that have been involved in the funding, the organizing,” he said.
Mendicino said on Monday that Canada has a “robust” intelligence community that will flag to the government concerns of national security, as well as a separate branch within the RCMP that looks into these types of issues.
“That’s why I’m certainly confident that wherever there’s foul play of the sort, that we’ll be in a position to act appropriately,” said Mendicino.
The public safety minister added that there are laws in place that prohibit anyone from contributing to an initiative that undermines national security.
“If, for example, someone was contributing with the intent of either causing public harm of trying to undermine public safety, that would be something that would be against the law and there would be appropriate sanctions for that, if proven in the court of law,” he said.
Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair added that it is necessary to cast a light on the sources of funding who are endorsing “illegal activity.”
“I think when [Canadians] understand the source of some of this funding, it helps them understand the motivation of this protest – who is actually behind it – and I think it also reveals some of the false nature of claims being made and the positions being put forward,” he said on Monday.
MPs on the House of Commons Public Safety and National Security Committee have called GoFundMe to testify about the funds raised.
“Important questions remain about how such a huge sum of money could be raised by anonymous donors and what their motivations were. People are rightly worried about American interference and what sort of standard is applied when donations are accepted,” reads a statement from the NDP’s public safety critic Alistair MacGregor.
“It's not enough for GoFundMe to cancel the campaign as though there's nothing to see here.”
Tamara Lich, one of the protest organizers, said in a video last Friday that they are redirecting donations to U.S.- based GiveSendGo, which describes itself as a free, Christian crowdfunding platform.
Co-founders of the platform said in a statement Monday the Freedom Convoy has become GiveSendGo’s largest campaign ever with more than US$4.5 million raised in less than 24 hours.
“In light of allowing this campaign we have seen an overwhelming outpouring of support from across the globe,” said Heather Wilson.
However, they also make note of recent attempts of “bots” seeking to overwhelm their system.
Some U.S. Republicans, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, have criticized GoFundMe for its conduct amid the events.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also tweeted out that “patriotic Texans” donated to the “worthy cause,” and that he has assembled a team to investigate potential fraud.
“Texas donors will get justice! #GoFundMe,” he said.
Responding to these comments, Mendicino said it’s not the concern of the attorney general as to how Canada operates in accordance with the rule of law.
“We have rules, we have laws, we have principles, we have values, those are all enshrined in the Charter and where those rules are broken there is an appropriate way to address that through law enforcement,” he said.
Blair simply added: “We’re all entitled to an opinion, and in my opinion he’s wrong.”
The protests have gained the attention of former U.S. president Donald Trump who released a statement last week applauding the movement.
"The Freedom Convoy is peacefully protesting the harsh policies of far left lunatic Justin Trudeau who has destroyed Canada with insane Covid mandates," Trump said.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman says while Trump’s comments are unsurprising, elected U.S. officials shouldn’t be weighing in.
“There is no role for a sitting U.S. senator, a congressperson, a governor, a state's attorney general to involve themselves in what is happening in Ottawa today. They shouldn't be a part of this. Specially they're encouraging raising money, this is ridiculous,” he said.
>https://twitter.com/RepTroyNehls/status/1491065696335560708
>https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1491102755439759365
>https://twitter.com/menina_anjo74/status/1491100910302666752
watermelon head pencil neck
https://ottawasun.com/news/provincial/warmington-arrested-78-year-old-great-grandfather-meant-no-harm-by-honking/wcm/20d246d5-5ae7-44d4-9d5b-4521fd6268c3
WARMINGTON: Arrested 78-year-old great-grandfather 'meant no harm' by honking
“He’s just 4-foot-10,” said his son Steve. “He wouldn’t hurt anybody.”
The 78-year-old great-grandfather arrested and handcuffed by Ottawa Police after honking his horn in support for a protesting trucker said he was not a protester and was not looking for any trouble.
“I meant no harm,” Gerry Charlebois told the Toronto Sun in an interview. “I just gave the trucker a thumbs up and a honk.”
At the same time as concerns over honking in the city reached a fever pitch, Ottawa Police pulled over an elderly, retired Ottawa-area high school janitor.
He was not charged criminally but given a $118 bylaw ticket for “unnecessary noise.” But he did receive a physical takedown he won’t soon forget.
“I’m so sore,” said the father of four children, grandfather of 11, and great-grandfather of four. “It hurts so much.”
The cuts and bruises on his arms and hands, shoulder and knee are evident. A shade of black and blue is more evident Tuesday, say his family.
Video footage of Sunday’s disturbing arrest, and agitators yelling at police during the incident, is being shared around the world.
Charlebois, who is double vaccinated and planning to get his booster shot, said he was “confused” during the incident at the corner of Besserer and Friel Sts., about four blocks from the main protest. “I was in shock,” said Charlebois. “When (the police) pulled me over, he told me I was in trouble for honking the horn.”
While the video shows he cussed at the officer, Charlebois said he respects police “but I was just upset with him.” He said he had never before been arrested or on the wrong side of police.
“Never,” he said. “He just pissed me off when he said that about the honking. It upset me.”
Things deteriorated from there.
After attempting to get his identification from his wallet in the back of his minivan, Charlebois was taken down with the twisting of his arm and hand, and landed on one knee on the ground before being pressed against his van and then, with the help of a second officer, handcuffed behind his back.
His family is horrified.
“He’s just 4-foot-10,” said his son Steve. “He wouldn’t hurt anybody.”
His sons can’t understand why, with all of the rhetoric about it being a fringe minority from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, it was their father who ended up being the one scapegoated.
“They didn’t seem to arrest any of those big truckers like that,” another son, Gerald, said.
The size and age difference with the much younger and larger officer further angered both Gerald and Steve.
“I find it disgusting,” said Gerald. “There was no need to be so rough with him.”
With a “very messed-up shoulder” and having difficult moving his arm, Steve said of his dad: “We may have to take him to the hospital for an X-ray.”
On Tuesday morning, Gerald said, “He is more sore today than yesterday.”
Neither Ottawa Police nor Mayor Jim Watson have commented so far.
Charlebois said he just drove into the area to take a look at the trucks and was originally planning on getting out of his van and walking to Parliament Hill.
“That’s why I put my wallet in the back of the van,” he said. “I was hoping to go in there but when I got there I saw all of the commotion. I decided it was too much so I just looked from the van and then started to head home.”
Now he wonders if it would have been better if he had not gone to the protest zone instead.
However, the history is written. This was a senior citizen born in 1943 forcefully arrested and ticketed for unnecessary noise after honking his horn in support of a trucker.
>US, Canada, and others are concerned about "freedom of speech" in HONK HONK.
>https://twitter.com/RobSchneider/status/1491049666976239619
https://twitter.com/AC360/status/1490863954700210178
"The science has changed." @DrLeanaWen explains why she supports lifting some pandemic restrictions and thinks the decision to wear a mask should shift from a government mandate to an individual choice.
>free speech is absolutely forbidden here
HONK the OLYMPICS
Where Uyghurs One Uyghurs All