Trucker Protests in Ottawa and Elsewhere

[LD0506]

Just now, tshile said:

I’ll never understand why people want a device that has to ship what you say off to another companies servers to parse the audio into computer commands, running 24/7 in their house. 
 

or on a thing in their pocket they carry with them everywhere they go. 

 

And then throw a tantrum about Big Brother watching them!!!

[Bang]

Shoot, i don't even like that my TV remote listens to me now. 
The idea behind Alexa and such is sensible progress and convenient, the problem is there's people behind it and you can't trust people at all.
As it is, I can easily open a browser and order what I want from Amazon without just speaking into the air to a device that is constantly listening to my house... and that is convenient enough for me. I don't mind all of the meta data that lets ads for the stuff I shop for appear all over the websites I look at. Retailers have long been collecting info about our shopping habits and trying to market specifically to each of us.
But there is a limit,, and to be reasonably secure that people are not monitoring my private conversations at home is definitely past it.

 

~Bang

[China]

Names of Canada Truck Convoy Donors Leaked After Reported Hack

 

A website devoted to disseminating leaked data says it has been given reams of information about donors to the Canadian anti-vaccine mandate truckers after the fundraising platform popular with supporters of the movement allegedly suffered a hack.

 

Distributed Denial of Secrets announced on its website that it had 30 megabytes of donor information from Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo, including names, email addresses, ZIP codes and internet protocol addresses.

 

At the same time, GiveSendGo appeared to be offline.

 

Visitors to the website were met with a message that it was under maintenance and "we will be back very soon." Messages seeking comment from the site's operators were not immediately returned.

 

A journalist at the Daily Dot digital news outlet said on Twitter that the site suffered a hack overnight and had its front page briefly replaced by a clip from the movie "Frozen" and a manifesto accusing it of supporting "an insurrection in Ottawa."

 

Reuters could neither immediately confirm the hack nor the leak claims, although Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoS) has a long record of hosting leaked data from right-wing organizations, including the far right Patriot Front and the Oath Keepers.

 

DDoS said that, because the donor information contains sensitive personal information, it would not be making the data available publicly but will instead be offering it to "journalists and researchers."

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

So protesting restrictions is going to result in things getting stricter...sounds like their protest has backfired in a major way:

 

Canada's Justin Trudeau preparing to declare 'martial law', per report

 

Sources say Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plans to invoke “martial law” to give the nation’s federal government greater authority to quell anti-vaccine mandate protests taking place across the country.

 

Anonymous sources who reportedly could not speak on the matter publicly told the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) Trudeau indicated to his caucus Monday morning he will invoke the never-before-used Emergencies Act.

 

The Act authorizes special powers to the prime minister’s cabinet to respond to emergency scenarios which impact public welfare or public order, such as threats to national security.

 

The law defines national emergencies as a temporary “urgent and critical situation” which "seriously endangers the lives, health or safety of Canadians and is of such proportions or nature as to exceed the capacity or authority of a province to deal with it, or seriously threatens the ability of the Government of Canada to preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada.”

 

Once enacted the law allows Trudeau’s cabinet to "take special temporary measures that may not be appropriate in normal times,” the Act says.

 

Domestic travel restrictions, distribution of essential goods, decision-making power on what is considered an essential service, and the ability to levy fines for violations of the act, are among the measures able to be taken by Canada’s federal government once the Act is invoked, according to Reuters.

 

Invoking the Act requires a parliamentary review, and any temporary laws are still subject to Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, according to CBC.

 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[TheGreatBuzz]

I’m sure that won’t add any fuel to the crazy, right-wing, conspiracy theorists.  This is going to become another rallying call for the, both in Canada and the US.

[China]

'Freedom convoy' fails to make a splash in Brussels as police thwart demonstration

 

An attempt by the self-proclaimed "freedom convoy" to disrupt Brussels, the EU's de-facto capital, failed on Monday as a coordinated police deployment put the brakes on the protest movement.

 

Belgian authorities had previously issued a ban on the Canada-inspired demonstration, fearing the sudden entrance of hundreds of trucks and vans could bring the capital to a halt.

 

The movement opposes anti-coronavirus restrictions and vaccination mandates, as well as soaring energy prices and the rising cost of living, and has already already reached Paris and the Netherlands.

 

In choosing Brussels, the city that hosts most EU institutions, as their next destination, the "convoi de la liberté" intended to make a splash similar to the headline-making chaos that recently took over Ottawa.

 

Over 1,300 vehicles gathered on Sunday in Lille, France, close to the Belgian border, to prepare for their journey towards Brussels.

 

But police moved decisively to thwart the operation: officers carried out checks at key entry points between Brussels and Flanders to identify and filter out possible disruptors. Those identified as agitators were re-directed to the site of the Brussels Expo, in the north of the city, where a "static demonstration" was allowed.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[TradeTheBeal!]

42 minutes ago, The Almighty Buzz said:

I’m sure that won’t add any fuel to the crazy, right-wing, conspiracy theorists.  This is going to become another rallying call for the, both in Canada and the US.

Considering that these are folks that want doctors tried for murder for not prescribing Ivermectin, I don’t think it really matters what Trudeau does.  They’ll make up whatever insanity they need, whenever they need it.

[skinsmarydu]

9 hours ago, Bang said:

Shoot, i don't even like that my TV remote listens to me now. 
The idea behind Alexa and such is sensible progress and convenient, the problem is there's people behind it and you can't trust people at all.
As it is, I can easily open a browser and order what I want from Amazon without just speaking into the air to a device that is constantly listening to my house... and that is convenient enough for me. I don't mind all of the meta data that lets ads for the stuff I shop for appear all over the websites I look at. Retailers have long been collecting info about our shopping habits and trying to market specifically to each of us.
But there is a limit,, and to be reasonably secure that people are not monitoring my private conversations at home is definitely past it.

 

~Bang

If you'd really like to know how all of this can turn a genius into a paranoid schizophrenic, I'm here.   

All of his clothes were stuffed up to the tv speakers.   When I pulled them all out, I realized that I didn't need the volume on 85...10 works just fine.  

I'm sure he's rolling in his urn that I have wifi.  

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

 

[tshile]

We are the Russians 

[China]

Anti-mandate protesters are holding a twitter space “emergency meeting” in response to the state of emergency.

 

 

 

Protesters were using Zello, a live communications app. The problem was counter-protesters were spamming their channels with the gay cowboy anthem Ram Ranch. 
So they moved to a new channel. The problem was the moderator of the channel turned out to be a double agent. “This person gained our trust. We trusted them as a moderator,” the guy says.

 

“Traitor! Traitor!” another person yells. 

That moderator who turned out to be “part of the resistence” apparently shut things down and ruined their ability to communicate, allowing the police to roll up the blockade. “It’s a morale blow,” he said.

 

Another guy adds: “What a cluster****." 

Aaaand someone started playing Ram Ranch on this feed.

 

“Christ on a cross!” one protester yells. 

 

Click on the link for more
 

[China]

 

[Captain Wiggles]

[Ball Security]

1 hour ago, China said:

 

How can I subscribe to this man’s newsletter?

[Llevron]

32 minutes ago, Ball Security said:

How can I subscribe to this man’s newsletter?

 

Its called cheap, plentiful whisky

[China]

Blockade Backlash: Three-in-four Canadians tell convoy protesters, ‘Go Home Now’

 

Two-thirds say Justin Trudeau’s conduct has “worsened” situation; several public figures condemned
 

If the goal of the Freedom Convoy was to capture the attention of millions of people in Canada and around the globe – mission accomplished.

 

If, however, the goal was to build support for their demands to end pandemic-related restrictions – it has backfired utterly.

 

New public opinion data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute shows after more than two weeks of unrest, Canadians are now more likely to oppose measures sought by protesters.

 

Overall, more than two-in-five now say Canadians say the protests have made them more inclined to support ongoing restrictions related to masking indoors (44%) and vaccination requirements to cross the Canada-U.S. border (44%).

 

As the country rolls into another week of uncertainty, nearly three-quarters of Canadians (72%) say the time has come for protesters to “go home, they have made their point.”

 

As to how the situation should be resolved – most feel the time for talking is done. Nearly seventy per cent either think local police need to step in and send people home (45%) or that the military should be summoned (23%). One quarter (26%) say it’s up to politicians to negotiate a dénouement.

 

However, those same politicians, including the prime minister and the leader of Canada’s official opposition, are roundly criticized for harming, not helping events. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Cooked Crack]

 

[Ball Security]

7 minutes ago, Cooked Crack said:

 

What a world we live in when the Canadian Mounties can come down to Montgomery, AL to make arrests.  Thanks a lot NAFTA.  It all comes back to the Clintons.

[China]

‘Freedom Convoy’ Truckers Struggle to Cash Out Bitcoin Worth $1 Million

 

After authorities issued an order to freeze millions of dollars in donations sent to anti-vaccine protesters in Canada via a Christian crowdfunding site, Bitcoin has taken up an unexpected starring role in the saga of the so-called “freedom convoy.” 

 

Bitcoiners scrambled to seize the unprecedented opportunity to prove the value of the digital currency, which is a peer-to-peer protocol that (like torrents) cannot be censored except for at key centralized points such as exchanges. When the Trudeau government announced new emergency powers to quell the protests on Monday, including targeting cryptocurrency donations, Bitcoiners’ zeal was redoubled. 

 

“We've been waiting for the level-end boss for this cycle. I think we finally have one with the Canadian government,” said Bitcoin programmer and commentator Jimmy Song in a tweet. “If they can't stop #Bitcoin from going to the truckers, I think we easily triple in price.”

 

It does indeed look like Bitcoin may be a final financial lifeline to the protests, which have caused disruption across Canada while boosting far-right groups and inspiring copycats around the world. But now, they have to cash out.

 

“None of us know how to use that goddamn bitcoin,” said one participant in a viral Twitter Spaces organized by convoy participants that was overrun by trolls on Monday night, Paul McLeod of BuzzFeed News reported on Twitter. 

 

One fundraising effort, called HonkHonkHodl, raised over 21 BTC worth nearly $1 million. On Monday night, the campaign announced in a tweet that it was finished raising funds and would be handing things over to convoy organizer Benjamin Dichter and “NobodyCaribou,” a pseudonymous self-described “professional orange-piller” who has been making the rounds in crypto-world talking about Bitcoin and the convoy protest on shows like What Bitcoin Did. 

 

“To mitigate choke points, we will immediately begin decentralizing the bitcoin and getting it to truckers,” NobodyCaribou tweeted on Tuesday morning. “Fact: It is legal to give bitcoin to law-abiding citizens. This is what we will do.”

 

“Plan: Give the bitcoin to 200 truckers in a verifiable way,” he continued. “Distribute seed words pre-loaded with 10,000,021 satoshi and instructions for truckers for securing/using the funds.” Bitcoin wallets can be accessed by seed phrases (kind of a master password), and so it's possible to simply write a seed phrase down on paper and use that to restore a Bitcoin wallet full of funds. If that made your head spin, hold on tight. 

 

The planning for how to distribute the 21 BTC occurred throughout Tuesday morning and was led by someone going by JW Weatherman, a Bitcoin advocate (and likely pseudonym, referencing the TV show Arrested Development) whom NobodyCaribou said in a tweet was consulting on the plan to distribute the cryptocurrency to truckers. The plan would be put together “completely in the open” Weatherman tweeted, posting a link to a Google Doc. So far, that plan is wildly complicated.

 

If the distribution is to more than 50 people, the planning document states, then volunteers will follow a complex process of creating a wallet on a smartphone, recording the seed phrase, sending a small amount of Bitcoin to it, and then erasing the wallet, with another volunteer restoring the wallet and following the same procedure, transferring the full amount, and erasing it again. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Donation site used by Freedom Convoy suffers 3rd data leak in two weeks

 

GiveSendGo, the Christian crowdfunding service used by the Canadian trucker protest, has suffered yet another leak of internal data.

 

The journalism collective DDoSecrets announced on Tuesday that it had been provided with five gigabytes of new data related to the Freedom Convoy’s fundraising efforts as well as a separate campaign known as “Adopt a Trucker.”

 

The Freedom Convoy, which has led to blockades along the U.S.-Canada border, began in late January in protest of COVID-19 health measures. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked on Monday the country’s Emergencies Act, which can be used to temporarily suspend citizens’ rights to assembly, in an effort to thwart the movement.

 

The new leak, which reportedly came after GiveSendGo was targeted by hackers, also includes “a full 2.5 GB MySQL database dump, source code for their Bitbucket repo, information from their customer service systems” as well as limited credit card data from donors.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

How the 'Battle of Billings Bridge' attracted hundreds of volunteers, trapped convoy for hours

 

Shortly after 10 p.m. on Saturday night, Sean Burges made a suggestion that spread like wildfire.

Burges, a senior instructor in global and international study at Carleton University, had learned  that a convoy of trucks would be travelling on Riverside Drive on Sunday morning, heading west to Bronson Avenue, where the trucks would turn north and join protesters downtown.

 

Burges’ plan was posted on a neighbourhood Facebook page usually dedicated to arranging  playdates and dog walking: a group of volunteers would block the corner of Bank Street and Riverside Drive, detaining the convoy for a short time. Just long enough to make a point: You are disrupting the lives of people in Ottawa. Please stop.

 

On Sunday morning at 9 a.m, about two dozen people were at the intersection.

“I just hopped on board,” said Andrea Harden. “Some people had markers and posterboard. There was some talk about whether we should bring a hockey net to block the intersection.”

They didn’t use the hockey net. There were enough volunteers to corral about 35 vehicles in the convoy, mostly pickup trucks. Local traffic was waved through.

 

Police arrived within minutes. Dozens more volunteers showed up, then hundreds, relieving those who were getting cold or needed a break.

 

Minutes turned to hours. They chanted and marched around in circles to keep warm. Supporters brought so much pizza, coffee and doughnuts that the surplus was diverted to a shelter downtown.

 

“People were organically engaging where we needed them,” said Harden, who has training in de-escalation techniques and non-violent civil disobedience. “It just happened. I have never seen anything like it.”

 

Decisions were made by consensus. As the hours rolled by, “discussion circles” were held to decide the conditions for releasing the trucks. No one wanted the trucks to be able to turn around and go downtown using some other route, or to head back to the supply base on Coventry Road, said Harden.

 

As the sun was going down and the temperatures dipped, the truck drivers in the convoy were permitted a “negotiated retreat” — they were allowed to leave one at a time, but only after their trucks had been stripped of flags, and “Freedom Convoy” stickers, and surrendered any jerry cans.

 

“The look on their faces when they were taking down their flags was one of defeat, not of pride,” said Harden.

 

Sean Devine went to the blockade with the intent of speaking to as many people in the convoy as possible.

 

“I don’t want to take away anyone’s right to protest, but I wanted them to hear that they’re having a negative impact on the citizens of Ottawa,” said Devine, who said about two-thirds of drivers in the convoy agreed to talk.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

'You must leave the area now,' police warn remaining protesters

 

As the pandemic protest closes in on a third full week in Ottawa, the injunction against honking loud horns in Ottawa has been extended and there are again warnings to protesters of the possible consequences of staying in or coming to the capital.

 

On Wednesday, Ottawa police began distributing written notices to remaining protesters.

 

"You must leave the area now. Anyone blocking streets, or assisting others in the blocking streets, are committing a criminal offence and you may be arrested," it said.

 

They also posted them online, in part because they had a message for people thinking of coming to Ottawa to protest under new federal powers.

 

"The Federal Emergencies Act allows for the regulation or prohibition of travel to, from or within any specified area. This means that anyone coming to Ottawa for the purpose of joining the ongoing demonstration is breaking the law."

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Coming to a city near you...

 

‘People’s Convoy’ Says it Has 1,000 U.S. Truckers Organized and Will Soon Head to D.C. to Protest Covid-19 Mandates

 

Eric Bolling announced on his show Tuesday that a convoy of 1,000 U.S. truckers will drive to Washington, D.C. before the end of the month to protest Covid-19 vaccine mandates.

 

This convoy, unlike Canada’s so-called “Freedom Convoy,” claims it will be able to protect funds raised to help those participating by placing donations into an escrow account.

 

Canada’s truckers were of course undermined in their efforts after issues with the crowdfunding platforms GoFundMe and GiveSendGo.

 

The former dropped a campaign for the convoy, while the latter was hacked — leading to the names of those who donated becoming public.

 

On Newmax TV’s The Balance, Bolling shared an exclusive announcement that the U.S. convoy has not only organized, but that it will be cash-independent.

 

Bolling was joined by guests Dr. Ryan Cole, pilot Josh Yoder, and organizers of the convoy Brian Brase and Maureen Steele.

 

Cole represents a group of physicians who oppose mandates, while Yoder represents airplane pilots who intend to participate in what is being called the “People’s Convoy.”

 

Brase told Bolling he expects the moving protest to swell in size as it traverses the country toward Washington.

 

“I think you’re going to see it grow as we move across the country,” Brase said. “Initially, we’ve projected potentially a little over a thousand trucks right out the gate to start.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Cooked Crack]

 

[China]

Police advance on protest convoy in central Ottawa

 

The police presence in downtown Ottawa grew Thursday as efforts to begin clearing a three-week long occupation around Parliament Hill appeared imminent.

 

Many antigovernment demonstrators with large trucks showed no signs of moving on but one person said there was agreement among them not to cause an uprising should police move in.

 

“If they come at us, we've all been instructed and agreed that - take a knee and allow the officers to do their job, thank them for doing their job and be non-confrontational,” said Glen Harris, a mechanic from Melbourne, Ont.

 

Harris was hanging out beside a speaker's stage on the back of a flatbed truck, while people danced around in front. Others were chanting “freedom” and singing O Canada, as fences were erected around buildings and police continued to warn people to leave or they would be arrested.

 

“We have to keep this non-violent,” said Harris. “We have to keep this peaceful because the minute we cross that line, we become the issue.”

 

Harris said the hope is any children in the group would be moved to a safe place, such as a truck, or removed completely from the area if the police begin making arrests.

 

Police estimated last week that as many as 100 kids were part of the convoy with their parents, though it was unclear Thursday how many remained. The Children's Aid Society of Ottawa has advised parents who have children with them to make alternate care arrangements for the period “following potential police action.”

 

Click on the link for the full article