The one and only reason I have so far remained "silent" on the SPPNA/Montebello protests and all that has happened is very simple: many Canadian bloggers did an excellent job at covering the events and developments there (nice list of them here). Hence, I felt that my adding to this would not have contributed much more than what was being superbly written and exposed already.

However, now that the SPPNA summit in Montebello is over, I would like to reflect on a few things.

This is going to be very brief as information is just now breaking, but after explicitly denying the use of undercover agents at the SPP protests at the Montebello North American summit, the Surete Quebec, the provincial police agency, has admitted having undercover agents..

Quebec provincial police admitted Thursday that their officers disguised themselves as demonstrators during the protests at the North American leaders summit in Montebello, Que.

The police came under fire Wednesday when protesters accused the force of planting undercover officers in the demonstration to provoke violence. A video surfaced on YouTube that appeared to depict disguised police in the crowd.

Cross posted at A Creative Revolution

More to come

I stopped online today for only a few moments and stumbled across the most incredible video of a Canadian protest.   What I saw was so stunning that I had to write a quick diary and share it with you immediately.

The police in Montebello, Canada were squaring off in a line against the peaceful demonstrators when 3 men wearing bandana face masks approached the police line in a threatening manner with large rocks in their hands.  The Union leader immediately intervened and began yelling at the men to put down their rocks and leave because it was a peaceful demonstration.  The 3 masked men did not relent, but the Union leader kept on them.  And then someone in the crowd realizes that the 3 men aren't protesters, but rather cops acting as provocateurs.  The demonstrators begin calling the men out and demanding they remove their masks.  Once it began clear that the jig was up, the 3 men pushed their way into the police line where they promptly (and rather gently) arrested and hauled away.

Where's the proof they were police?  Jump below and watch the stunning amateur video for yourself.

As the embarrassing tale of the latest "terror plot" unfolds, it becomes clearer and clearer that this was yet another government-provacateur "terror plot" and not any kind of organic movement.

When the news of the JFK plotters came out, I commented: Look for the FBI informant/instigator.  Today we see in the Washington Post and other papers:

The ringleader believed the informant "had been sent by Allah to be the one" to pull off the bombing, according to a federal complaint.

Once again we have an FBI informant providing critical support to a fringe group of nutcases with little apparent capacity to do much harm.  The informer/instigator drove forward a plot that was then "foiled" by the FBI.  

Apparently several sources are revealing that a small group of people were allowed by U.S. Capitol Police to rush the Capitol building during Saturday's Rally and even allowed to pose for photos after spray painting graffitti.

From the article in The Hill :

Anti-war protesters were allowed to spray paint on part of the west front steps of the United States Capitol building after police were ordered to break their security line by their leadership, two sources told The Hill.

More below the fold

Into the 20th Century, foreign intelligence services and financial markets would continue to be linked as a tool of powerful competing military-commercial syndicates, a feature of modern political warfare and strategic finance the Okhrana and the Paris bankers spearheaded in tandem. Shifting alliances between lenders and states, and between old and new elites, would set the stage for the 20th Century, and the world wars that followed.

MORE below the fold . . .

When you put the pieces together, the following picture emerges about the liquid explosives conspiracy:

*  It was first penetrated by Pakistani intelligence in June 2005.
*  British intelligence have been actively involved for more than a year.
*  British intelligence had at least one double-agent inside the cell.
*  U.S.  intel was first made aware of the surveillance operation at   least several months ago.
*  The Bush Administration decided the timing of the arrests a few weeks ago.

That makes this terrorist conspiracy nearly as much a conspiracy of state as it is a real terrorist plot.

Furthermore, the timing of the arrests, as the article immediately makes clear, was chosen for political reasons.   That is simply an abuse of the intelligence process, one that should result in the cancellation of the security clearances of those US officials who interfered with what had been a UK and Pakistani counter-terrorism operation.

MORE Below

Not very often, true.  Good for us.  But occasionally, and that means still too often.

Today, again, I heard some brave talk from people about taking it to the streets, about the need for liberals to stockpile guns -- the kind of wishful thinking about the efficacy of force that one usually hears coming from the Right.  And I got into an argument about it, as I often do.

My feeling is: go talk about it somewhere else.  Not here.  More after the jump.

In Part I, we look at Nixon's curiously timed announcement of the Cambodian invasion and the May Day rally at Yale University. Part II examines the events of that weekend at Kent. Part III explores the events of Monday, May 4. Part IV deals with the immediate aftermath of the shootings. Part V looks at the various investigations following the shootings. Part VI examines the federal grand jury and criminal trial of eight guardsmen. Part VII concludes the series by examining the years of civil proceedings.

In memory of Jeffrey Miller, Allison Krause, Bill Schroeder, and Sandy Scheuer, join me in exploring the events of May 4.

(Cross-posted at Democratic Underground and Booman Tribune)

In Part I, we look at Nixon's curiously timed announcement of the Cambodian invasion and the May Day rally at Yale University. Part II examines the events of that weekend at Kent. Part III explores the events of Monday, May 4. Part IV deals with the immediate aftermath of the shootings. Part V looks at the various investigations following the shootings. Part VI examines the federal grand jury and criminal trial of eight guardsmen. Part VII concludes the series by examining the years of civil proceedings.

In memory of Jeffrey Miller, Allison Krause, Bill Schroeder, and Sandy Scheuer, then, join me on the flip to explore the events of that, the last weekend of their lives.

(Cross-posted at Booman Tribune and Democratic Underground.