Best way to monitor police conduct during an international event

They were highly visible at protests during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Their orange shirts declared who they were: legal observers. Armed with cameras and notebooks, these volunteer human-rights monitors trained by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association and Pivot Legal Society kept an eye on how security officials interacted with demonstrators and ordinary citizens. (But they were asked to stay away by organizers of an anti-Olympics demonstration on February 13. The event saw black-clad youths trashing newspaper boxes, mailboxes, garbage
receptacles, and store windows.)

Most enticing protest chant

Although “Whose streets? Our streets!” and “No justice! No peace! Fuck the police!” are enough to get many activists’ blood pumping, these protest chants aren’t necessarily crowd pleasers with the Robson Street set. However, one protest on May 1 featured a slogan that was sure to please activists, amuse shoppers, and even convert a few to its cause. The protest in question was the Vancouver leg of the Global Marijuana March. “Come smoke pot” was the chant heard as marchers travelled from the Vancouver Art Gallery to English Bay. Once there, they sent a “smoke signal” at 4:20 p.m. to governments that pot prohibition must end.

Best protest sign from the left
The protest at New Westminster’s Braid Station on March 21 had a message, and one sign said it best. Sporting a crossed-out swastika and the slogan “Nazi scum fuck off!”, the banner was borne by protesters who wore masks and hoodies to the antiracism demonstration. As a rumoured neo-Nazi rally didn’t materialize, the protest and the sign could be deemed a success.

Best place to roll a joint

Your MP’s office

Normally in Vancouver, any horizontal surface will do when twisting up a fattie. However, a group of pro-marijuana activists found the ideal spot in the office of Heritage Minister James Moore on May 13. The group brought its entirely legal medicinal stashes to the Conservative MP’s office and rolled joints in protest against Marc “Prince of Pot” Emery’s extradition to the U.S.