HA!

Well, look who finally got caught with their hands in the cookie jar:
Undercover cops tried to incite violence in Montebello
youtube

I dunno, is all this Web 2.0 revolution crap finally paying off? When I caught this article on CBC, I was excited. For years they've pulled this stunt.

More likely, however, is that Canadians in general will respond with their characteristic passivity. I was a little disappointed to hear the 'estimated' protest numbers coming from the media. A safe calculation is to take their number and double it. Even so, not very compelling, considering that the SPP is something that presses a lot of nationalist buttons. You can count on Canadians being proud of not being American, and not much else. (Geeze, I'm sounding judgemental... it's because I've away for too long.)

Meanwhile, in Korea, the famous South Korean protester has been keeping a low profile. The media here is even more controlled than in my native land, and I was away during the last big anti-FTA demo. The good news there is that the Korean regime was able to extract some concessions from the Americans, due in no small part to the influence of the street. Still, I've been keeping my eyes open so I can participate in some activist tourism.

I've been pondering a long 'Korea vs. Canada' comparison, but I become all too aware that I probably don't understand either place very much. Every time I come across a 'cultural observation' in a tour guide or messageboard, it gets deflated once I encounter it myself. Countries are only people, fenced off, minding their own business. How do you translate that into thoughtful observations? You don't, obviously. You twist it into shitty stand-up comedy.