Exotic Car Wallpaper

One of the most surprising turn of events arising out of the whole G20 weekend was the saga of Police Constable Adam Josephs who became known as "Officer Bubbles". Overly stern he was roasted for saying he would arrest a protester named Courtney Winkels who was blowing bubbles "If a bubble touches me, you're going to be arrested for assault."
With so many cameras on hand it was not surprising that the episode was filmed and put up on YouTube. Soon cartoons appeared on the net making fun of the whole bubble situation. The officer soon launched a lawsuit against YouTube, the cartoons and those that made comments about the officer.
I ran into Constable Josephs on Friday, June 25 during the gathering of protesters and marchers in Allan Gardens Park and before he became famous. It's also the first time that I saw members of the Black Bloc hiding behind their large banners.

You can tell they were members of the violent Black Bloc because of their distinctive all black outfits and the headgear which covered their anarchist faces. You have to be careful though because not everyone wearing all black, including masks, are bad guys. And some people actually have unusual last names like "Nobody".

Ontario Ombudsman finds "massive violations of civil rights" by police during the G20 Summit which started with the Toronto Police request for the regulation in the Public Works Protection Act. The Ontario Government led by Premior Dalton McGuinty acted upon their request. The potential for trouble was compounded by the Ministry's decision not to publicize the regulation, the Toronto Police miscommunication and misinterpretations of the regulation and the police forces' apparent zeal to curb civil rights in Toronto to "keep the criminals out". The Ombudsman also found that the regulation was providing "war measures" in peacetime. I applaud Ontario's Ombudsman Andre Marin for his review and finding and am glad that we have in place such an office that is allowed to review and make public such a report.
Chief Bill Blair's handling of the Adam Nobody issue also seems to continue shocking misinformation that has come out of the police on many of the G20 Summit problems. These statements include allegations that rubber bullets weren't used by police and that seized weapons the police displayed were all from the G20 protesters. The National Post had an article entitled Bill Blair's trouble with the truth.

I was also dismayed to find that a few police seemed to have removed their nametags and engaged in alleged excessive force against two men. Nearly 100 police were found to have removed their nametags and will be disciplined according to this article.
I wish the massive amounts of fully equipped riot police would have arrested the few people damaging property during the protests. Heaven help us when they react this way for approximately 100 black bloc yahoos.

The Ontario Ombudsman (Andre Marin) started a review in early July of the "origin and subsequent communication" of changes to the law known as the Public Works Protection Act used during the G8/G20 Summits. The Ombudsman has twittered that he has finished his report and will present it to the Ontario Government and that it will be made public before the end of this year.

"@Ont_Ombudsman: Our #G20 investigation: evidence gathering complete, draft report to b finalized within next 10 days and provided to Ont gov't for comment."




The photo above shows two lone riot police officers at the north west side of Queen's Park just minutes before long lines of riot police drive people from the south yard of the legislature property while at the same time another large contingent of riot police are sweeping in from the north east.
As many of us know the police explained to the public that within 5 metres of the fence they could stop and arrest people that did not provide identification. This soon extended to unreasonable searches and demands for identification in areas that were outside that 5m distance and in fact were far away from the secure, fenced area down by the Metro Convention Centre. When I saw the police searching backpacks along Yonge Street I asked them why they were searching bags, it didn't take them long to intimidate me and ask for my identification, which they wrote down.
The Toronto Police website states that "Officers may stop pedestrians on the street if they observe an offence, if they are investigating a complaint, or if they believe the person has committed or is about to commit a crime. These interactions usually involve the officer asking for your name, address and identification, and other questions that are appropriate to their investigation." The large amount of police cameras installed through out the downtown core didn't seem to help the police control the black bloc.
It has subsequently been widely reported that the police did not actually have the power they claimed or used so widely. They could only require identification of people trying to enter the secure, fenced area. And if you didn't want to show identification you could leave the area. Here is a picture of Global news reporter Alex Pierson covering the summit.
I feel the Black Bloc was wrong, that this country is peaceful and democratic and that violent protests were not warranted by anyone. I also feel that the many thousands of police could and should have stopped the Black Bloc when they were committing the vandalism, without searching everyone's belongings and asking for identification and even arresting so many peaceful protesters and innocent spectators of the weekend's events.
Interestingly enough a National Post article has a quote from a G20 security spokesman saying "Although Constable Wendy Drummond, a spokeswoman for the G20 Integrated Security Unit, would not address the Black Bloc movement specifically, she said the unit is “prepared for any eventuality.”
Read more: http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/06/14/the-black-bloc-a-look-at-the-anarchists-who-post-the-biggest-g20-security-threat/#ixzz11v8cugFG"


See more pictures after the jump.

The G20 Summit security zone fences and barriers have been put away and the streets of Toronto are returning to normal. It turns out that the police did not have the power to search people and check IDs 5m outside the fence after all.

CityTV reporter Pam Seatle, gas mask at the ready, reports on the frontlines of the G20 Summit protests on the south yard of Queen's Park. This was just before the riot police started moving northwards to take over the south yard and the north yard which was Summit's official protest site.
There were many people with gas masks including the police, some protesters and some media. Actually there were some media with helmets on, just in case. I understand from the reports that the police were arresting people carrying gas masks (which they may have found during illegal searches) so I hope Pam didn't end up in the pokey.

The many thousands of people engaged in the democratic principle of free speech and protest gathered on the streets of Toronto and marched to spread their awareness about their causes - which for the most part centered around union solidarity and helping others, in fact the title of the march was "People First".
Some came looking for a fight and violent confrontations but the vast majority wanted to take part in a typical Canadian protest - which includes bright flags, colourful costumes, funny signs and friendly smiles. Many more gathered and joined in the march to witness the day's events and to add their voices in protest as there were some that found the G20 police presence and loss of freedom was something to be concerned about. We saw one hothead grab some bricks and the crowd around him told him to drop the bricks - which he did.

My favourite group was the clowns who joined in a small group and in an intriguing fashion moved closer and closer to the line of police blocking Bay Street at Richmond Street. They moved everyone out of their way by saying they weren't looking for us, they were looking for the police. Each one moved from the back to the front, posed and then another from the back took their place. They finally get to the police line, bring a smile to the police, were refused passage and carefully backed away in the same manner as how they arrived.
Some people wore funny outfits or had funny sayings on their shirts - like the ever popular "Don't Taze me Bro" or "Free Hugs". Many of the friendly faces were even those of the police after the main groups of protesters pass they quickly relax and even joke around with people.

You can see more pictures of the protesters after the jump.