G20: Toronto in Flames

[Ark2]

The "legit protesters" don't even know why they are there. Protesting to "make poverty history" is about as reasonable as protesting for "no more crappy weather". Instead of standing on a corner with a sign and screaming like an idiot, how about actually trying to come up with a reasonable solution?

[algernon]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

Absolutely brutal. Just went out for a walk with my dog just as a gang of protesters were passing by on Yonge Street. Was inside a privately owned variety store to pick up a pack of cigarettes when one of the protesters hurled a rock through the ma and pa's store window. Nicely done idiots.

Could he have been trying to save you from the ravages of smoking?

With the average G-20 Summit now costing one billion dollars, why not try out GOTOMEETING.COM? Free 90 day trial, then only $49.95!

[MelBridgeman]

I for one welcome our new police overlords.

[LGA]

I wonder if this was their stream of logic:

Step 1: Wanting to bring light to the fact that there are many countries in the world that could use some financial aid. While we're trying to save the world, we should also look at, well, saving the world, try to raise more awareness to saving the environment.

Step 2: Gather a bunch of protestors.

Step 3: Violently attack the city of Toronto, destroying several stores, endangering innocent people and basically shutting down a large part of the city.

Step 4: ???

Step 5: You piss off a bunch of people, no one listens to your message because of the way you portrayed yourselves as violent civil terrorists. Not to mention the whole save the world thing doesn't work when people need to spend money to fix the problems you have created through your vandalism and violence, and more resources are needed from our environment to reconstruct things you have destroyed.

Their version of saving the world would be like someone protesting the Nazi's during WWII while also blaming all their problems on the Jewish.

[Flames89]

Fairly good blog/account of ongoing events here.
http://thestar.blogs.com/g20/

[Pinner]

Just watching on the TV, right in the middle of a big ruckus nearly everybody is holding a camera up, it seems like a handful of protesters with hundreds of spectators in the way.

[algernon]

G-20 cops watchin' some ball at the ACC

[Flames89]

Another good account:
http://www.coveritlive.com/index2.ph...fb1d11e&ipod=y

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Rejean31

So what. If you aren't doing anything wrong or anything to be ashamed of why should you care if you are caught on a security camera?

You're kidding right?

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Murder as the appropriate response to a broken window.

Idiotic opinions like that is why the US is what it is, and I have no desire for Canada to go down that path.

If the rioters know that shop owners are protecting their businesses with guns maybe they won't throw rocks.

[HPLovecraft]

It's the damn French protesters. They're animals!

[SeeBass]

Originally Posted by Azure

If the rioters know that shop owners are protecting their businesses with guns maybe they won't throw rocks.

Or pephaps the protesters will bring guns too!

Now that would be a great solution an arms race in TO.

Well thought out, of course it makes sense to risk a gun battle over broken windows.

[Azure]

No it makes sense being able to protect your own property considering the cops can't do it all.

[HelloHockeyFans]

Bike rally going on right now at Queen and Bay. No violence thus far and fairly peaceful. See what happens when you protest peacefully and refrain from smashing store windows?

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Why would any country or city want to host an event such as this one? They should just hold all future G20 meetings in some mountain in Switzerland.

[HPLovecraft]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

Why would any country or city want to host an event such as this one? They should just hold all future G20 meetings in some mountain in Switzerland.

That's what I was thinking. Host it in the middle of the woods someplace in the Yukon.

[SeeBass]

Originally Posted by Azure

No it makes sense being able to protect your own property considering the cops can't do it all.

So you think that destroyed property=untrained people with guns in downtown TO with freedom to shoot

As much as it would suck to have my property destroyed the risk of hitting innoccent people should be more important...no?

This is downtown TO not a farm

[SeeBass]

Just host it on some aircraft carrier at sea

[algernon]

You could send all the leaders to the space station cheaper than what they're spending. Hell, they could upgrade to first class, and it'd be cheaper.

[Bownesian]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

Why would any country or city want to host an event such as this one? They should just hold all future G20 meetings in some mountain in Switzerland.

The G20 has to be held in a major resort area (think Cancun) or in the middle of a big city because the press/personal security/political delegations number upward of 20,000; you need a lot of hotel rooms for that many people. That's why the G20 was moved from Muskoka to Toronto and why it can't be held most army bases.

If it was moved to the UN Headquarters in New York the US would bear all the costs for security every year, which isn't fair either.

Rest assured that part of the projected 1 Billion dollar cost is earmarked to reimburse property damage (despite officials claiming otherwise). The government would not admit to such a fund because it would encourage property destruction.

Nobody asks Sweden's opinion on a bank tax or asks New Zealand what developed nations should be doing to help the third world, much less leading such a discussion, as Canada is doing now. Hosting this kind of event periodically is the cost of being a world player and one good thing about this is that we won't be due to host one of these for a good while.