Should stay indoors if you are close. If not, get out of the area. It is absolute madness over there.. burning cars, riot cops...alot of violence

Christina and split, please check in.. i know you guys are in ontario!

[lynn P.]

I live in Ontario across from Detroit - what's happening?

http://www.ctv.ca/gallery/html/g8-g2...26/index_.html

[Amanda_1981]

I live in ontario.. 2 hours away from all the madness! eeeek!

[lynn P.]

Wow thanks for letting me know Rainbowzz. I haven't watched the news today. I'll turn it on right now.

[Naturefreak]

So glad I moved from there years ago. Humans can be vicious at times.

[sanityseeker]

I just don't get why they have those meetings in the middle of major cities or even at all. They invited this violence with their stupidity. Very sad but way to predictable.

[splitimage]

I'm safely huddled in my North York apartment safe away from the insanity. Yesterday was a pain in the but as there were massive road closures every time someone importans calvalcade went through, I had a massive detour to get to work as a result, making me 2 hours late, and then the entire Gardiner expressway was closed so I had to take city streets to get all the way downtown to my shift at the hospital. They guy who I was working with at the hospital lives a couple of blocks north of the red zone, and he says it was like a total police state - no people but tons of cops. Why they had to hold it in TO is beyond me.

--splitimage

[JayS]

I have to go there on Monday, I hope the G20 is over by then.

[Amanda_1981]

wow I was watching the news earlier and it is BAD. There were at least 4 police cars that were set on fire and burned down.. store windows smashed, people getting beaten up, tear gas and rubber bullets used.. RCMP now involved. Yikes!! I hope no one was seriously injured!!! It's sad that it has to be like this What ever happened to peaceful protests?

[Timgt5]

Originally Posted by Amanda_1981

wow I was watching the news earlier and it is BAD. There were at least 4 police cars that were set on fire and burned down.. store windows smashed, people getting beaten up, tear gas and rubber bullets used.. RCMP now involved. Yikes!! I hope no one was seriously injured!!! It's sad that it has to be like this What ever happened to peaceful protests?

most of these so-called protestors, have no interest in intelligent and reasoned dialogue, it is just an excuse to commit mindless destruction.

There is no point in any of this stuff, what policies are really going to be changed by destroying property?

[splitimage]

I agree with Timgt5

There were lots of peacefull protests in the days leading up to the G20 and even the one the day of the G20 started out peaceful. There was a march of about 10,000 organized by the canadian federation of labour, no problem - cooperation with the police, heck people had even brought their kids. Then the group splintered with some smaller groups trying to make it to the security fence. All the damage was done by about 300 people that called themselves the "black... something" They were there for one reason only, violence. They give all protestors a bad name and have no interest in real dialogue.

I totally support peaceful demonstrations, but can't stand when the so called anarchists have to destroy things simply for the sake of doing so.

--splitimage

Was the black bloc they are called.

[JayS]

Originally Posted by Timgt5

most of these so-called protestors, have no interest in intelligent and reasoned dialogue, it is just an excuse to commit mindless destruction.

There is no point in any of this stuff, what policies are really going to be changed by destroying property?

There is a reason to commit mindless destruction.... All those so-called protesters were put there to cause trouble by the police, that way the police could ramp up security and put up hundreds of new security cameras around the GTA to take more of our freedom away.... those cameras will never come down now.

[Timgt5]

Originally Posted by splitimage

I agree with Timgt5

There were lots of peacefull protests in the days leading up to the G20 and even the one the day of the G20 started out peaceful. There was a march of about 10,000 organized by the canadian federation of labour, no problem - cooperation with the police, heck people had even brought their kids. Then the group splintered with some smaller groups trying to make it to the security fence. All the damage was done by about 300 people that called themselves the "black... something" They were there for one reason only, violence. They give all protestors a bad name and have no interest in real dialogue.

I totally support peaceful demonstrations, but can't stand when the so called anarchists have to destroy things simply for the sake of doing so.

--splitimage

I with you, I have no problem with people who march and demonstrate, it is part of the rights that come with a free nation, but the small group of people you mention are part of a group of "professional agitators" who fly arround the world to stir up people to committ acts of destruction. None of these professionals have done a day of anything productive or meaningful in their lives.

And to all you people who call yourselves Anarchists:

I will be happy to pay to send you on a one way trip to Somalia and see Anarchy in the real world, up close and personal, then come back and tell me how much better the world would be under anarchy. I doubt I will get any takers.

[sanityseeker]

We saw these guys in Vancouver during the Olympics. I too support peaceful protest and getting messages out to people but when it turns to violence and distruction any messages of value are lost. That may well be some people's intentions. To divert our attention to the violence the real voices of reasonable protest are lost. It all starts to feel very conspiritorial. A strange and uneasy time in our social evolution. Trust and truth are becoming lost illusions.

[Amanda_1981]

I agree with sanity, split and tim. There's no reason at all to get violent. Violence doesn't achieve anything, it only creates more violence and doesn't solve anything.

[sanityseeker]

I wonder Amanda if it isn't actually serving some people's intentions to fuel conflict and thereby keep the focus off legitimate resistance to how world leaders are making decisions that impact our lives.

It just kills me to see people used as pawns in a game they don't even know is going on. Many of those young protesters believe passionately about something important to the them and perhaps to all of us but those who just want to make trouble get the spotlight and hijack the messages the protestors intended to raise awareness about. Poverty, employment, women's issues.... all lost to the insanity of distruction.

[JayS]

Originally Posted by sanityseeker

I wonder Amanda if it isn't actually serving some people's intentions to fuel conflict and thereby keep the focus off legitimate resistance to how world leaders are making decisions that impact our lives.

It just kills me to see people used as pawns in a game they don't even know is going on. Many of those young protesters believe passionately about something important to the them and perhaps to all of us but those who just want to make trouble get the spotlight and hijack the messages the protestors intended to raise awareness about. Poverty, employment, women's issues.... all lost to the insanity of distruction.

I agree with you.

[sanityseeker]

Hi Jay. It is so frustrating too. I don't get why the police can't figure out how to manage these groups without massing non-offenders into the fray. And why so many slips in the security. Manholes not locked. Police cars unattended. Too weird. I guess a billion dollars wasn't enough money to ensure people in charge would use common sense. Geesh!

[JayS]

Originally Posted by sanityseeker

Hi Jay. It is so frustrating too. I don't get why the police can't figure out how to manage these groups without massing non-offenders into the fray. And why so many slips in the security. Manholes not locked. Police cars unattended. Too weird. I guess a billion dollars wasn't enough money to ensure people in charge would use common sense. Geesh!

I believe the people in charge wanted this to happen, that way stricter laws can be made while taking away our freedom.

I feel bad for the legitimate protesters- destruction starved folks show up to the protests and use it to just wreck havoc, tainting the image of the peaceful ones who only showed up with their posters and placards. I've been to protests before with very well-mannered folks who have been nothing but respectful to the surrounding law enforcement. We waved our posters, said our slogans, and no one tried to start any fights or destroy any property- we all knew that would only alienate people from our cause and get us in trouble. It's sad to see that their cause has been hijacked by maniacs.

I had a good few friends who were considering going and protesting peacefully- I'm glad they ended up not heading out. They had some buses over here heading out to Toronto for people who wanted to protest and were part of an organized group. They have things they would certainly have loved to protest at the G20, and not by lighting cop cars or smashing windows in.

It only takes a few hooligans to make an entire protest go bad. We've seen that with smaller hockey riots in my city. A good number of resentful fans milling around the town after a game... and it takes it one person to throw a rock into a window, and then all hell will break loose. And that's not even for a cause!

The rotten apples in the bunch give the majority a bad name. It's terribly frustrating for those who are only there to protest peacefully- their cause and their names have been tainted and derailed.

[Amanda_1981]

Originally Posted by Fenrir

I've been to protests before with very well-mannered folks who have been nothing but respectful to the surrounding law enforcement. We waved our posters, said our slogans, and no one tried to start any fights or destroy any property- we all knew that would only alienate people from our cause and get us in trouble. It's sad to see that their cause has been hijacked by maniacs.

And that's exactly how it should be done, in a respectful, peaceful manor without violence. It's sad that 99% of people do protest in a peaceful way, whereas the 1% ruins it for them with their violent actions which inevitably causes them to lose their whole point of issue that they're protesting, as the focus is now turned to their actions.

[sanityseeker]

Originally Posted by JayS

I believe the people in charge wanted this to happen, that way stricter laws can be made while taking away our freedom.

I am not sure I agree with you on this in terms of police manipulating things to justify heightening security with an aim to imposing tighter laws.... but maybe it is just that I don't want to believe it. I will accept that there is likely some truth to the idea that some people are definately almost parinoid about so called homeland security. I remember when all the cameras moved in on London and how concerned people were about the violation to privacy issues with Big Brother watching. Now they seem pretty accustom to the cameras and no doubt it is just a matter of time before cameras are here too.

It may be a wave we can not avoid. Ever since 9/11 our world has been changed. The fear that dominates people's thinking has cost us our freedom and right to privacy. People responsible of security are naturally going to look for easy fixes and no doubt cameras make a lot of sense to them even if it feels like and is in a real way an invasion of our personal privacy.

I think both security and privacy are a illusion anyway. No amount of security will prevent bad people from doing bad things. Youtube and social media is doing more to erode our privacy than any public cameras will ever do. One never knows who is filming them with a phone camera only to discover it on youtube.

[JayS]

Originally Posted by sanityseeker

I am not sure I agree with you on this in terms of police manipulating things to justify heightening security with an aim to imposing tighter laws.... but maybe it is just that I don't want to believe it. I will accept that there is likely some truth to the idea that some people are definately almost parinoid about so called homeland security. I remember when all the cameras moved in on London and how concerned people were about the violation to privacy issues with Big Brother watching. Now they seem pretty accustom to the cameras and no doubt it is just a matter of time before cameras are here too.

It may be a wave we can not avoid. Ever since 9/11 our world has been changed. The fear that dominates people's thinking has cost us our freedom and right to privacy. People responsible of security are naturally going to look for easy fixes and no doubt cameras make a lot of sense to them even if it feels like and is in a real way an invasion of our personal privacy.

I think both security and privacy are a illusion anyway. No amount of security will prevent bad people from doing bad things. Youtube and social media is doing more to erode our privacy than any public cameras will ever do. One never knows who is filming them with a phone camera only to discover it on youtube.

You could be right, maybe I'm overly paranoid but we shall see.... I think we're heading towards a Policed state with no rights.... look how many people have been arrested so far, over 500, I mean they all can't be bad people. but who know.