Dec
24
This is an interesting conversation on AJE about the growing militarization of the police. Of interest to people in Toronto because the G20 is part of the conversation. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has granted $34 billion over the last 10 years to state and local police departments to combat terrorist threats and drug trafficking. But critics …
Jul
02
As I take people like Oscar Wilde, Cicero and Friedrich Reck-Malleczenwen as my models of political dissent, I think it’s important to remember that even in horrible times, especially then, beauty, dignity and basic human decency are of paramount importance. Although they are the first things to become improbable, you must never allow your better parts to …
Jul
01
It’s Canada Day and I usually like to mark the occasion with some flag vandalism, a rant against the nation state in general and this one in particular, and then spend the next six months sifting through a selection of insults, threats and various other comments. I’m not in the mood this year. Usually, my …
Jun
29
Friday was George Orwell’s birthday. We have an odd way of celebrating such things in Toronto. We like to mark occasions like this with large art installations featuring performances by the local police. There was a moment,when I thought of the old fellow. Not in a This is so 1984 sense (that got old about …
Jun
28
On the twitter, I’ve recently heard many people declare that “Toronto has become a police state.” If you’ve said something along those lines, you need to take a deep breath. You are only experiencing clarity. It will pass. Canada has been a police state for years. Over the weekend, we just saw how a police …
Jun
28
Peaceful G20 protest at Queen & Spadina from Meghann Millard on Vimeo. Peaceful protesters sing Canada’s national anthem, riot police respond with force.
Jun
27
In all the hub-bub about burning police cars and smashed up Tim Hortons, we’ve missed something rather important: Our police officers are impolite. Forget enforcing the rule of law, many of these “gentlemen” do not even subscribe to the rules of manners. Just today, I was in Queen’s Park with the wife and there was …
Jun
26
G20 T-Dot from Ryan Oakley on Vimeo. A short video about the G20 Summit (Copstock) in Toronto featuring never before seen footage of my sock.
Jun
25
Jun
23
Jun
21
g20-fortress-new.jpg (1000×1663).
Jun
17
Jun
09
Recipes For Disaster: An Anarchist Cookbook: Download as PDF Not sure if I’m breaking any laws by distributing this book, but if I am, it’s probably a good idea to say I don’t condone any of the practises in it. Not even the nice ones or the stuff about turning a bike into a record …
Although Ryan Oakley began his career as a simple rake (drunk) he has since become Toronto’s most renowned flaneur (no car) and notorious dandy (overdresses). A misanthropic composer of psycho-geographical fictions (sci-fi), he is also a server of food, a tender of bar and a washer of dishes. While performing all these functions with efficiency and elegance (disdain and malice), he somehow finds the time to publicly criticize friends, strangers and cultural crap.
