The Czar is going to reveal something that really should not surprise you. In fact, he has been saying it quite a lot over the last 48 hours, and no one who has asked the Czar has been surprised.

The question begins the same: what does the Czar think of the Vancouver riots? The Czar sighs and says there is nothing alarming here. As residents of Vancouver wonder that the heck happened to their Canadian civility, the answer is simple: nothing happened to them. They were played by anarchists.

Ready? Shortly before the end of the game, it was clear that Vancouver was going to lose. The city, already in a festive atmosphere, was in the streets to cheer on the Canucks. Perfect. Cell phone calls and text messages went out from and to a select group of people. Go time.

They donned hockey apparel—some of which had nothing to do with the Canucks; they just grabbed whatever they could in a limited time—and took positions around the streets. They brought their supplies with them. They got their local members to play their part, although recruits can be found throughout Vancouver, Seattle, and even as far south as Portland.

At the end of the game, when Canadians groaned in defeat and began to think about writing apology letters to Boston fans about momentarily wishing ill upon them, the key players issued their instructions. The local recruits donned masks, lit their incendiaries, and got to work. It takes very little to turn a crowd into a mob. A little yelling, plenty of fire, and the sense that you can get away with it.

Yeah, the local, honest, hard-working Vancouverites took off, not wanting any part of this. Know who else left? The key players.

And well they should. Their faces and names are already well-known to the Vancouver police. And the Seattle police. To the Copehagen police. And to anywhere a WTO meeting or G-7/8/20 meeting has been held. Because it is the same crew of people starting the trouble. They leave, letting the local goons take the fall.

And now Vancouver is starting to respond: they are identifying faces in photos, and spotting acquaintances in videos. Local Vancouver news is horrified to learn one of the bigger offenders is a local university student. Really, croaks the Czar. And let us guess what he studies in school, and what his extracurricular activities include.

Vancouver was ripe for the taking. Fortunately, the city is in Canada, and the better nature of its residents (bearing in mind there is more crime in Vancouver than in most American cities) came out and limited the destruction.

And this will happen again. Because the same people are behind it. They show up, start the rioting, and take off to let the new recruits and unwitting assistants take the blame.

These people can be found. And dealt with. We just have to realize it is never a random mob activity.

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.