It was quite the day in Vancouver at the Occupy Vancouver site, and for me, coming off pneumonia and this leg of mine, it has taken its toll. I’ve been on the couch all evening, but will have a full report with photos tomorrow.
For now, I will say that the Vancouver Sun has the most accurate story coverage, in my opinion, of what I have seen so far. The crowd was not the young, left hippie socialist slackers many painted the rally to be attended by, but a really solid mix of young, old, families and for the most part, just a heck of a lot of average people like myself.
There were some real nuts in attendance to be sure, and while the rally could be considered by most accounts a fair success, there were definately some ups and downs. Having watched it from the point of view of being on stage and seeing what was unfolding up there, likely gave me a different perspective than those on the ground, but I will talk more about that tomorrow. Certainly I have never, ever, seen a demonstration organized..( or un-organized? ) quite like this one.
Before I hit the sack, I just want to thank everyone who came up and introduced themselves,from near and far, and it was extremely humbling for me to hear your kind words of support. More than a few brought me to tears, and you know who you are.
Let’s just say I have renewed hope that the tide is turning, and that it is because of people like you, out there at home, reading this right now.
Westcoast Views with Laila Yuile 
Hahahaha.
How about the Sax Man and his lobster!
LMAO
I had the fortune or misfortune of being stuck on the skytrain with that crazy bastard.
He wouldn’t shut up!
I was ready to stop the train, pry open the doors and kick him out.
I guess that is what ear buds are for.
You did a great job speaking and relating the facts, Laila and, while in recovery mode from a spidey bite and the breathing ailment.
Thank you!
Your daughter raised a great Mom.
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Be careful about banking. One woman’s violent arrest:
http://www.twitvid.com/ZUYXO
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Snake, I always advocate switching to a credit union.
Laila, I would’ve liked to be there, but I had an eye consulation and then my eye’s where all whacked out on dilation drops and my vision was messed up…
Looking forward to further articles.
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Liked your speech Laila. Hope is a Beast.
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Just got back. Looks like many will be staying over.
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Looking forward to hearing your words if anyone has a link?
Both the VPD and our unelected premier have shown how out of touch with reality they are with their predictions on this event. Shows how out of touch Christy is with the world arount her and how incapable she is to lead.
Hope you were able to unwind and get rest.
Thanks from all of us for speaking on our behalf Laila.
Don
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Paul Krugman writes in his NY Times article “Panic of the Plutocrats”…..
“What’s going on here? The answer, surely, is that Wall Street’s Masters of the Universe realize, deep down, how morally indefensible their position is……They’re people who got rich by peddling complex financial schemes that, far from delivering clear benefits to the American people, helped push us into a crisis whose aftereffects continue to blight the lives of tens of millions of their fellow citizens.
Yet they have paid no price. Their institutions were bailed out by taxpayers, with few strings attached. They continue to benefit from explicit and implicit federal guarantees — basically, they’re still in a game of heads they win, tails taxpayers lose. And they benefit from tax loopholes that in many cases have people with multimillion-dollar incomes paying lower rates than middle-class families.”
The gap between the rich and the poor is rising faster here in Canada than in the U.S.
here at home, there is approx. 80 Billion in P3 contracts in BC unaccounted for, according to the provincial Auditor-General John Doyle. Shadow tolls, shady deals and no accountability.
I think we all know why the Occupy movemnet is causing the plutocrats to panic.
First they ignore you.
Then they ridicule you.
Then they attack you.
And then you win.
M. Gandhi
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I finally found you! I was in the crowd in front of you and never could I stop listening to your words. You were so powerful and so full of fire and thank you! If you remember, I came up to you after and waited to talk in the crowd around you, and you made time for me to hear my thoughts. No one ever took time to do that before. Thank you and I wish you were our leader!
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Ghandhi cared about his people, Harper does not. Harper only cares about Harper’s own selfish goals, and to hell with his people.
The people around the globe are on their own, to fight corrupt politicians and corporate greed. In BC we can catch politicians in all kinds of lies, thefts and corruption. We have to fight corporate greed and corruption in our judicial system, Elections BC, police, and the Campbell/Clark BC Liberals. We have to cope with the media, who are just a propaganda machine for our corrupt governments. Our media actually spreads the politicians lies.
We are living in a corrupt dictatorship. I have thought this for a very long time. Other country’s have said so in their media…How badly Harper is destroying democracy in Canada. Canadians don’t see this and neither does our media, but Australia’s media does????
I
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Hello all!!
Lovely comments and yes I am working on a post, with hundreds of photos to go through. Hope to have it up tonight !! And the photos will speak for themselves.
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Laila:
This is not on subject but I would like your take on this. I tried to get Alex to look at it but he is not interested. I guess to busy with rail scandle. I wrote him the following.
Alex:
I write this only because you said nothing is done about China.
China is the biggest guy in the school yard so we stay clear of him. They commit atrocities every day there in China that would curdle your milk but nothing is said or done about it. But we can gang up on Kaddafi and his government as they are too small to fight back. Libya HAD! The cleanest cheapest oil in the world, they HAD! Their own bank and owed no other country squat. They HAD! Less than 5% poverty rate. (BC has 10.4 of its children living below poverty for God’s sake.)They had! An underground man made river that supplied 70% of their civilians with good water. They were ready with this water supply to irrigate enough land to feed not only Libya but the REST of Africa. I said HAD! As We Canadians have bombed the hell out of Libya. We have destroyed this man made river of theirs and to make sure they don’t repair it we have boomed the hell out of the cement factory that build the huge cement pipes that makes up the river.(was this just a fluke or coincident?) Libya HAD! Free health care, HAD! Hospitals, Had! Schools, 85% literacy. Had! Homes and cars for most all families. What right does Canada have going in to bomb hell out of a country like this. It makes my blood boil as I know it is only for the oil barons and the international banker s that we are doing this. Those fighting Kaddafi are the same guys we are accusing of bombing the twin towers and now they have misplaced 10,000 shoulders to air missiles. I’m glad I do not use commercial air anymore??? Anyhow Canada has become the aggressor, no longer the peacemaker. I pray that when the first Airplane is shot down by the so called liberators that Canada is helping take over Libya, that this plane is full of our politicians. Anyhow China we will not say a word too, but the small guys we can gang up like the bullies we are and kick the shit out of them. All this and more on Libya can be found if interested, Got to love today’s technology. As usual, the MSM only reports the bad that Kaddafi has done, they say nothing of the last 40 years of building one of the best self sufficient countries in the world under Kaddafi. Our bombs will take out far more Libya civilians than Kaddafi did in his 40 years..
Answer:
Without question, this must be one of the most convoluted, bizarre mish-mash of conspiracy theories I’ve ever read.
Entertaining though….
My reply:
Yea right. brighter minds than mine know what is going on here.
John Baird brought Canadian funding for efforts to build democracy and control weapons in Libya, but it was the guest list for his trip to Tripoli that pointed to another priority: Executives from big Canadian companies travelled with him.
The foreign minister flew to the Libyan capital with heavy security and secrecy, but also executives from Montreal engineering giant SNC-Lavalin, Alberta oil giant Suncor and Calgary-based pipeline-technology firm Pure Technologies.
His final answer:
Right and we bombed them Ghaddafi.
Grab a braino.
MY MEANING WAS THAT THE VULTURES LED BY OUR POITITIONS WERE MOVING IN FOR THE KILL
When he said WE bombed I assume he agreed with the bombing.
I knew it was not worth replying with! BUT WE MISSED GADDAFI AND AMONG OTHER THINGS WE HIT A HOSPITAL, WE HIT THE MAN MADE RIVER, WE HIT THE REPAIR FACTORY FOR THE RIVER TUBES. tHE REBELS ARE KILLING ANYONE WHO IS BLACK.
10,000 SHOULDER TO AIR MISSLES HAVE DISAPPEARED AND ON AND ON. Only the civilians will die here, if not by our bombs and or the rebels then they may well die of thirst without Gadaffis river?
See for yourself at, Libyan rebels killing blacks, Libyan hospital massacre, Libyan hospital bombed by NATO, Libyan man made river bombed by NATO. Libyan river repair factory bombed by Nato.
Long wined I know but I hate Canada be the aggresor and killing 1000’s apon 1000’s of innocent people.
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Hi
Julie do you have any good links to share for Australian media ?
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Laila, it was good to meet with you face to face at last. You gave a great speech on Day 1, Occupy Vancouver. Like you, what impressed me most was the mix of people who attended and either voiced their opinion or carried signs. And those signs – what a mixture of great messages. While the media is searching to pin down the reason and direction of the #OWS protests (it makes life easier for them), it’s so obvious that there are so many grievances. Yes, it’s about Wall Street greed and bad Bankers and Bailouts. But it’s also about the Alberta Tar Sands, the Keystone XL Pipeline, fracking, the expansion of the Port of Kitimat, supertankers down our coast to Kinder Morgan in Burnaby, Atlantic Salmon fish farms, Sasketchewan wheat board and the farmers, the Mega Quarry in Ontario, and so much more. But mostly, I feel, it means the governments of the day not listening to us, the people – and we aren’t taking it any more!
Looking forward to your next blog.
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Hey Blondie,
Great speech! You need to run for election next time.
Love ya.
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By the way, was that Donald Sutherland that I saw in the crowd? He had shoulder length white-grey hair….
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Isn’t it funny how the media is searching and trying to pin down a reason for the protest.
Quietly sending a message to the viewer that the 99%ers are disorganised (we are just getting started, fellas).
If they had been doing their job in the first place the protest wouldn’t have been needed.
As far as I’m concerned the mainstream media are co-conspirators. The media aided in the covering up of the corruption by failing to follow the money. By failing to ask hard questions.
Even now, rather the covering protest messages of the economic imbalances and corruption in politics, the broken institutions they focus their microphones at the crazies while madly jotting down sound bites in their note books.
Huddled in the remote news vans laughing and trying to establish their own consensus: which nut bar should we allow the viewers to see?
Why did the msm not report the deregulation of the banking industry? Why did the msm not report the fact that those same bankers and ceo’s resigned their private positions and took up jobs in the white house? Sitting as department heads and avisors. Why didn’t the msm report that those individuals were ensuring the rip offs were going to be maintained?
Why didn’t our own local msm report on the silent deals made in reference to the p3’s?
Why didn’t our local msm report on the conflict of interests in reference to the smart readers?
Nobody is doing their job.
It is time we ignored the msm like they have ignored the crimes perpetrated by the political and corporate criminals.
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‘No Banker left behind’ – Ry Cooder
Posted by the amazing Norman Farrell:
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Lynn, you really nailed it. I get angry every time I watch the ‘news reporters’ seek out the weirdos in the crowd at the protest. Do they think we’re so stupid that we can’t see through their politically motivated stories?
Unfortunately, they do fool the viewers that don’t take the time to do their homework, and those people are likely the ones who show up at the polling booths on election day.
How are you doing, Laila? Sure hope you’re back in tip-top shape, health-wise.
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Gini,
Thank you.
I have a suggestion. Consider not watching them anymore.
Same for print.
No wonder the Province and the Sun is giving away newspapers at train stations.
They aren’t worth buying anymore.
Poor reporting unless you count the advertisements.
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Hi all, sometimes I overestimate my own abilities and have not been able to post for a bit because of it. I spent a wee bit of time in hospital and am home but taking it easy, so I will post here and there while I catch up on rest and take care of my health. Sorry to have teased but I thought I could get the new post done, but just too much right now. Hold down the fort for me, will you?
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Take care of your health Laila. Seems to have been lots of downs lately. Here’s to a health New Year.
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