Idiots Saboteur or Provocateur?

Early Tuesday morning an act of calculated civil disruption and arson, now claimed by a purported anarchist group, took place in Ottawa.

A very short video, taken by an accomplice of the perpetrators of the incendiary device shows two individuals leaving the ATM area of the RBC branch in the Glebe, a quiet residential area within a few kilometers of Parliament. The video footage was posted online, followed by a written statement scrolling up the screen and read aloud by a computerized voice.

Various media are spinning the story, on the basis of limited information released by the group claiming to be responsible for this criminal action and what the police are disclosing about their investigations.

As well, Radio Canada is reporting that the posting is linked to a community-based centre that provides unsupervised access to its computers and the internet. The centre is located in Montebello Quebec where demonstrations and confrontations happened when Harper met the elected leaders of the US and Mexico to discuss border securityand free trade. Presumably anarchist groups as well as the RCMP and CSIS would have scouted out such facilities, back in 2007.

It would be irresponsible not to speculate, in view of headlines such as these:

Anti-terror laws could apply

Firebombing of Ottawa bank is escalation of fringe extremist tactics

Bank blast could be taste of G-8, G-20 troubles

In one report, witnesses say they saw a group of men fleeing the scene and taking off in an SUV. While the exploitation of SUVs and sophisticated technology is not limited to those who support the established "world order", I find it quite interesting that these self-proclaimed anarchists - an obscure group that has conveniently emerged as a champion of First Nations rights, among other hot button causes - chose a neighbourhood known for its residents' progressive leanings rather than a Royal Bank branch located at a strip mall in a Conservative suburban stronghold.