The Bramalea Insurgent

Just doing some experimenting here.

Originally posted on thestar.com

OTTAWA – Protesters are accusing police of using undercover agents to provoke violent confrontations at the North American leaders’ summit in Montebello, Que.

Such accusations have been made before after similar demonstrations but this time the alleged “agents provocateurs” have been caught on camera.

A video, posted on YouTube, shows three young men, their faces masked by bandannas, mingling Monday with protesters in front of a line of police in riot gear. At least one of the masked men is holding a rock in his hand.

The three are confronted by protest organizer Dave Coles, president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada. Coles makes it clear the masked men are not welcome among his group of protesters, whom he describes as mainly grandparents. He urges them to leave and find their own protest location.

Coles also demands that they put down their rocks. Other protesters begin to chime in that the three are really police agents. Several try to snatch the bandanas from their faces.

Rather than leave, the three actually start edging closer to the police line, where they appear to engage in discussions. They eventually push their way past an officer, whereupon other police shove them to the ground and handcuff them.

Late Tuesday, photographs taken by another protester surfaced, showing the trio lying prone on the ground. The photos show the soles of their boots adorned by yellow triangles. A police officer kneeling beside the men has an identical yellow triangle on the sole of his boot.

Kevin Skerrett, a protester with the group Nowar-Paix, said the photos and video together present powerful evidence that the men were actually undercover police officers.

“I think the circumstantial evidence is very powerful,” he said.

The three do not appear to have been arrested or charged with any offence.

Police confirm that only four protesters were arrested during the summit – two men and two women. All have been charged with obstruction and resisting arrest.

Veteran protester Jaggi Singh, who is helping to circulate the video as widely as possible, said all four of those arrested are known to organizers and are genuine protesters.

“But we see very clearly in that video three (other) men being arrested . . . How do (police) account for these three people being taken in, being arrested? Where did they go?” Singh said.

“I have no hesitation in saying they were police agents . . . and they were caught red-handed.”

Singh, a member of the Montreal-based No One is Illegal, believes the agents were meant to provoke a confrontation and give the police an excuse to use some of their “toys,” such as tear gas and rubber bullets.

“To a certain extent it’s self-fulfilling logic. You provide police with this kind of equipment and they end up using it and one way to justify it is to plant some people that toss a rock or two.”

Neither the RCMP nor the Surete du Quebec would comment on the video or even discuss generally whether they ever use the tactic of employing agents provocateurs.

“I cannot answer your question because I don’t have the information,” said Const. Kane Kramer, a spokesman for the RCMP at the summit.

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Facebook is ubiquitous across educational institutions across North America. The potential for the Facebook application is still largely untapped. Watch this documentary and you will see why. I’m putting on a geek warning here as this video goes beyond just poking your friends.

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Strategy Informer has unleashed 14 new screenshots for Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles.

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I’ve was never much of a Resident Evil fan.  I never gave consideration to the earlier releases of the game.  Apparently Resident Evil 4 was an exclusive title for the Game Cube for much of 2005.  A version was released for the PS2 with additional content a little while later.  Then Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition was released. 

It takes a lot for a video game to impress me.  Destroy all Humans 2 I thought was good.  Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory had me up till 4 in the morn.  I would have finished Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic if my game disk wasn’t scratched.  But now that I’ve played Resident Evil 4, the proverbial bar has been raised.

Quite simply, Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition, is the best game for the Wii.  If you want a game that will immerse you in the survival horror experience, this is it.  If you want to see why the Wiimote is not a gimmick, this is it.  If you want to see blood and guts in way never before seen on the Wii, this is it. 

Details

You start off as Leon S Kennedy, a secret service agent assigned to rescue Ashley Graham.  Shortly after Leon’s arrival he finds him self neck deep in zombies (Well not really zombies but just as menacing).  While there is no shortage of enemies to kill, there seems to be a shortage of ammunition.  That is to say that there is no armoury for you to raid, but enough unused ordinance such as grenades and 9 mm bullets stashed in cupboards, vases, night stands, and other  places that are child accessible.  

As the game progresses, enemies become increasingly more difficult.  The good news is that most are susceptible to special techniques.  For example combatants behind shields tend to go through your ammo reserves faster then a Marine in a firefight in Iraq.  What’s a secret service agent to do?  Well those shields don’t protect his feet, so you shoot out the toes.  He’ll stumble over and will not have the protection of his shield.  Put the poor chap out of his misery. 

Aim for the toes?  Yup.  Here is where the game really excels.  The wiimote brings with it an analog quality of aiming a gun.  It’s second nature to use the wiimote in this way.  At first the simplicity of drawing your weapon and aiming will confound you.  You’ll draw you weapon and your cross hairs will fly up to the sky or dart left and right.  It’s because you’re not used to this set of controls.  After liberating the guts of a few a zombies thought, you’ll get the hang of it and wonder why game controls can’t be this fluid for any game.

I’ve played through this game once already and I’m going through a second round.  Why?  Because there are some parts I want to play again for the gore.  Ever want to see Leon get crushed by a bolder?  How bout decapitated by a chain saw?  Scalped by a bug?  Dragged into some lava?  There is some sweet eye candy to being killed and I found my self playing over and over again just to see all the different gore included in this game.  One of the most satisfying moments in the game is to be able to take a zombies head clean off with a well aimed shot from your trusty sniper rifle.  One of the most terrifying moments is when they sprout some sort a second head with razor sharp tentacles and keep advancing to kill you. 

If killing zombies is your thing, one of the unlockables in the game includes a mini game of sorts called mercenaries.  This is an action pack frenzied survival against the clock and zombies.  Zombies to the left of you.  Zombies to the right of you.  You can hear a chainsaw buzzing somewhere and it’s getting louder.  Ahhh, good times.

Verdict

I don’t believe in the 5 star rating for video games.  There are only really 3 choices for me that I can do for a video game.  You can buy it, rent it, or leave it on the shelf.  This game is a no brainer.  Buy it!  For 29.99 this game is a steal.  It’s by far the best game I’ve played for the Wii.  It took me 20 hours to run through the game the first time and I’m running through it a 2nd time so don’t worry.  It won’t sit and collect dust.  Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition FTW!

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Well the first thing you need to do to drive fast at Formula Kartways is to make sure your kart is in tip top shape. There are a few ways to do this. First way is to do this is find out which car had the fastest time of day. This method is not always reliable, but can work for you. Be aware that the condition of the karts change dramatically during the course of a day. Just because the kart was excellent during the morning does not mean it’s going to be great for the night crowd. The second way involves taking a look at all the current lap times at the karts on the track. This is not a great way to find out. Sometimes a fast kart may be in the hands of a bad driver. The third way is asking one of the staff for which kart is fast. They will usually be straight forward to you and tell you.

Another thing you need to do is know the track. There are 3 or 4 areas that you will have to go part throttle. The rest is WOT. To get fast times (At least in my experience) the driving line needs to be clear. I’ve never seen a fast lap while someone was passing. All of my fastest times were with cars far enough ahead of me that I did not have pass them on the same lap.

But the thing you need most to be fast at Formula Kartways is skill. Look ahead! Any good racer will tell you that. At least 1 turn ahead. If you are looking where you are going, a strange phenomenon happens. You drive were you look. If you look ahead, you will hit your apexes no prob and set up for the next turn no problem. Also there is carrying speed. From a power stand point, these karts suck. There is no torque at all. So you have to carry a lot of speed in turns as to not bog the engine when exiting. If you are drifting through the turns you are going to fast, or taking the wrong line, or both.

Despite this, if you really want to gauge how good of a driver you are, there are a few benchmarks you can check. You average lap time should be within a 1 second of your fastest one. That will tell you, that you are consistent. If there is a lot of traffic, look at you 5 fastest. They should also be within .5 secs of each other. Again, consistency. Also look at you fastest lap time and compare it with that dates fastest time. if you are within 1 second, you’re cooking. Within 1.5 you’re good. Within 2 and you are average. Typically I can get a 34 second lap times. 33 on the right track conditions and car. 32 if I’m lucky. I’ve been told that the fastest time ever there was 29 seconds. The lowest I’ve seen is 31.

I’ve hope this has been helpful. See you on the track. And good luck.