riot – mackaycartoons

Tuesday March 13, 2018

March 6, 2018 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday March 13, 2018

Organized mob used G20 tactics in Locke Street attack

An organized masked mob that wreaked havoc on the Kirkendall North neighbourhood over the weekend strategies similar to those used during the 2010 G20 riots in Toronto.

The group of 30 people, brandishing a banner that read ‘We Are The Ungovernable,’ donned black clothing and face coverings to conceal their identities — a tactic called “black bloc,” said Insp. Paul Hamilton on Monday.

After smashing a handful of storefront windows with rocks, lighting fireworks and setting off smoke bombs, they fled — some on foot and others by vehicle — from Locke Street South Saturday night, ditching their clothing after the unprecedented attack.

“They’ll strip off their black clothing and now they’re wearing something orange, and then they go down another street and they strip that clothing off, and it becomes very difficult,” he said. “Our immediate concern was for the public safety.”

Police believe they have recovered pieces of clothing, including some tucked at the top of neighbourhood driveways, as well as information about some of the getaway cars used, but no arrests have been made.

Who is responsible for the attack and what their motives are is not clear, but police have said they are investigating a possible link to the anarchist book fair that took place in the city over the weekend.

Later Monday, a sheet of plywood boarded up the window of The Tower, the meeting place of Hamilton anarchists on Cannon Street East at Victoria Avenue. A message was written across it in black letters: “We are not the least afraid of RUINS for we carry a new world here in our hearts” followed by the letter A in a circle, the anarchist symbol.

An anonymous poster on the website Anarchistnews.org claims to have taken part in the rampage, saying ” all my worst bosses have been small business owners — the problem isn’t the size of the business, it’s that the relationship is exploitative.” (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

SaveSave

Saturday July 18, 2016

July 18, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday July 18, 2016

Republican National Convention: Security officials brace for ‘anything and everything’

About 150 anti-Trump protesters marched along the streets in an unscheduled demonstration Sunday in downtown Cleveland, a peaceful event that law enforcement officials likely hope will be the standard over the course of the next four days.

Slowly followed by dozens of officers on bicycles, the demonstrators, many who supported the Black Lives Matter movement, held up large banners that read “Stop Trump and the RNC” and “Stop Trump and stand against racism.” And when it was over, the crowd quietly dispersed.

July 18, 2016

Police Cmdr. Keith Sulzer said the protesters did not have one of the official protest permits that have been handed out to dozens of groups who have come to the city, the site of the Republican National Convention.

Still, police allowed them to march. “We’re letting them voice their concerns and that’s completely fine,” Sulzer said.

The city was given a $50-million grant to boost security specifically for the Republican convention. Officials have been wary to provide information on security, but anywhere between 4,000 to 5,000 law enforcement officers including state, local and those from other jurisdictions will be on hand for the event. Officers have undergone hours of comprehensive training, Williams said.

Debate Night, September 26, 2016

Extra equipment includes 2,000 sets of riot gear with body armour and batons, 2,500 steel barriers and 16 police motorcycles, CNN reported. Meanwhile, security cameras have been placed throughout the city.

“Trust me. There will be enough video coverage both on the ground and in the sky,” Williams told reporters.

Around 3,000 personnel, including members from the U.S. Secret Service, Homeland Security and the Coast Guard, are dedicated to the security of the convention itself, Johnson said.

Security officials drew up a list of prohibited items within the event zone that include items as diverse as water and pellet guns, knives, sledgehammers, ladders, coolers and ice chests, canned goods, umbrellas with metal tips and tennis balls.

But Ohio is an “open carry” state, meaning gun-owners will be able to carry firearms, except within the security perimeter that surrounds the convention venue, dubbed “The Q.” (Source: CBC News)

Saturday October 13, 2012

October 13, 2012 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Saturday October 13, 2012

EU Nobel peace prize: No minor achievement

Europe’s officials could scarcely believe their good fortune today. Unexpectedly, the EU was given the Nobel Peace Prize. The citation praised the EU for “over six decades” contributing to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.

Europe’s leaders fell upon this rare piece of good news with an almost desperate embrace. If there is a core justification for the European project, it is to make war impossible again on the continent. That has been the EU’s outstanding achievement. When under attack, Europe’s leaders fall back upon 60 years of peace in Europe. It is no minor achievement.

Secondly, after and just before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the EU acted as a beacon for democracy, for human rights and a civil society. Many Eastern European countries rejected communism because they had before them a clear example of an alternative. Young people wanted to be part of a normal European society. Eastern Europe today is testimony to the spread of democracy.

It is also true that the existence of the EU enabled countries like Spain, Portugal and Greece to make the transition from dictatorship to democracy. Even today, in the midst of hardship and austerity, there is a deep attachment to belonging to Europe. That is the legacy of history.

But the Nobel committee’s decision will puzzle many. Despite the EU’s successes, it failed in the Balkans. It lacked the will and determination to intervene and save lives. The massacre at Srebrenica happened in Europe’s backyard.

And the prize comes at a moment of violence and tension on the streets of many European capitals as a young generation endures years of hardship and high unemployment. For them the European dream has not delivered. (Source: BBC News)