Sunday, June 27, 2010 2:43 PM EDT
Worship of god and football undeterred by protests
Saturday’s raucous protests downtown have left many Torontonians feeling shell-shocked and unsure of what comes next. But even in the midst of that unease, some activities are just too steeped in tradition and meaning to shut down because of a half-dozen canisters of teargas.
When the G20 security fence went up just half a block away, St. Andrew’s Church on Simcoe Street looked even more out of place among the high-rise office buildings surrounding the perimeter.
Most business owners around the 200-year old church boarded up their windows and closed for the weekend. But St. Andrew's Reverend William Ingram opened the doors for the 10:30 a.m. Sunday sermon without hesitation.
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Sunday, June 27, 2010 4:35 PM EDT
Hundreds of cyclists join ‘bike block’
Protesters on bicycles have blocked the entrances to the detention centre holding those arrested during the G20 protests.
This was the second time today that protesters had demonstrated outside the Eastern Ave. facility, a former film studio converted to a holding area for those arrested.
About 60 police arrived to meet the protesters and began pushing them back from the entrance. The demonstrators remained peaceful, handing out jujubes and cashews.
Sunday, June 27, 2010 5:49 PM EDT
Canadian journalist arrested, possibly beaten
Jesse Rosenfeld, a Canadian activist journalist who has written opinion pieces on the G20 for the Guardian newspaper, has been arrested and possibly beaten, his friends and father say.
His girlfriend, Carmelle Wolfson, called Mr. Rosenfeld late Saturday night, only to have him tell her he was in police custody at the Novotel, where dozens of protesters were arrested en masse after a protracted sit-in.
“He said, ‘The cops are telling me that they’re going to arrest me. I’ve told them that I’m a journalist, but they’re not recognizing my press badge and they’re telling me that they’re going to arrest me,'” she said.
“Then he told me to get on the phone with his editor.”
Mr. Rosenfeld, a Canadian activist journalist based in Tel Aviv and Jaffa in Israel, was in Canada for the summer. Ms. Wolfson said he was on assignment from Britain's Guardian to cover the G20. He was also helping to organize the summit’s alternative media co-op, whose coverage has been sympathetic to protests.
He hadn't received official media accreditation, despite applying for it long ago and making repeated inquiries, Ms. Wolfson said. When he was swept up in the melee at the Novotel protest, police didn’t recognize his alternate media badge.
Saturday, June 26, 2010 9:24 PM EDT
Protest tourism
Observers practice a little protest tourism at Queen and Spadina. They pose and take pictures of wag other as close to riot police as they can get. "Just because it's freaky. I just wanted to get cool pictures. This is insane though," said Deanne Morrison after taking a picture of her friend. They'd just come from a pow wow at na-me-res, a native men's shelter at Dufferin and St. Claire.
Saturday, June 26, 2010 8:10 PM EDT
Police union chief sees 'very long night' ahead
Police fear the worst may not yet be over.
"It's gonna be a very long night," said Mike McCormack, head of the Toronto Police Association.
He said fresh officers are poised to take the night shift.
Saturday, June 26, 2010 7:49 PM EDT
Queen Street West storefronts fall prey to protesters
The crowd that swelled Queen Street West roared when a thin man dressed in black, with a bandana covering his nose and mouth, jumped on a police cruiser and started beating it with a baseball bat. The man was relentless - when he was done, the windows, the lights and the siren were scattered in shards on the street.
By the time the crowd started to thin out, Queen Street West had received the same treatment. Almost all windows were smashed. A Starbucks - ironically the only one in the area that had been open that morning - was completed gutted, its windows cracked and broken. Several CBC vans and some TTC streetcars were similarly vandalized.
Saturday, June 26, 2010 12:22 PM EDT
G20 house raid, arrests
A house at 114 Westmoreland Avenue was reportedly raided by police last night. A press conference is being held at the house as we speak, so more details to follow. But Twitter reports say that there were numerous arrests.
One post says 10-13 clac mtl, 2 noii toronto, 6-8 soar member. CLAC is e Montreal's Anti-Capitalist Convergence, who posted a YouTube video earlier this month featuring various Toronto landmarks indicated on a map with skulls and crossbones. Many of those locations are boarded up right now, and police at the time said they were aware of the video.
SOAR is the The Southern Ontario Anarchist Resistance, who sent out a pre-G20 rallying call saying that they "feel that the time has come to stop talking, and to start causing some shit!"
Saturday, June 26, 2010 1:33 PM EDT
32 arrests so far
Tim Burrows from the Integrated Security Unit says that 32 people have been arrested in connection to the G20 so far, and 51 charges have been laid. But police have not been forthcoming with details.
When asked for details of the arrest of a deaf man at Friday night's demonstration, Burrows said he had neither a name or the charges.
"Very rarely do we ever release information unless it's a major arrest, major charges, big investigation or something like that," he said. "That's our standard practice. This guy was arrested last night, there's nothing major about it. we'd never put a release out about that."
And yet, the police regularly release information about minor incidents, ranging from lost property to suspicious behaviour. Surely, the arrest of Toronto citizens exercising their right to protest during a major international event warrents some transparency?
Here is a selection of releases I've been emailed by police over the last month. I would say they are all less impactful than the security protocol surrounding the G20. But maybe that's just me.
June 18: "Police request assistance in regards to recently found urn, Update, Police have located family friend"
June 18: Public Safety Alert, Safe internet pactices for children
"Recently, there has been a rash of investigations involving children who have engaged in online communication with other kids via social networking sites and various chat programs. Although the internet and various the social media have created another medium for youngsters to communicate, some kids are making bad decisions about what type of personal information they share and who they share it with."
And this is my favourite:
June 17: Public Safety Alert, Suspicious man
"It is reported that: - a man has been approaching women in these parks, attempting to start conversations with them, while not criminal in nature, the conversations have generally consisted of the women’s physical characteristics, asking them their names or invitations to attend restaurants."
So teenagers sending sext messages, a lost urn and some guy trying to pick up Toronto women are worthy of police updates, but details of arrests made during the G20, when police have been given huge powers, aren't worth releasing?
Saturday, June 26, 2010 11:21 AM EDT
Saturday traffic delays
Well folks, the big day is here. Can you feel the excitement? No, me neither. The city was quiet on my way in to work but police are still anticipating traffic issues today as leaders make their way to Toronto.
Brad Ross, of the TTC, advised his Twitter followers to expect significant delays in the downtown core today, especially on streetcar routes. So use the subway, if possible.
The security perimeter surrounding the Metro Toronto Convention Centre was closed last night, so motorists can no longer get through. Police are advising of delays and also warning motorists not to park downtown, as their cars will likely be towed. City News also reports that the Eastbound Gardiner is closed this morning due to arriving motorcades.
So stay in bed everybody!
Friday, June 25, 2010 3:47 PM EDT
A great day for yoga in Toronto
One clear advantage of the drastic reduction of traffic and people in the downtown core Friday: It’s quiet. Quiet enough, in fact, for a yoga class.
Around noon, about 25 people with yoga mats quietly assemble in the park behind Metro Hall on Wellington Street West for what they called a “Yoga happening.” One of the many small groups of police officers patrolling downtown looked on from a polite distance.
Organizer and yoga instructor J.P. Tamblyn, in sun glasses and blond dreadlocks, says the event, organized like a “flash mob” via Facebook, aims to project a peaceful mood downtown as the G20 summit.
Speaking in a soft semi-whisper, Mr. Tamblyn said the quiet downtown would make for a serene yoga session: “It works for me ... It want to ensure that everyone’s safe ... If there’s no tear gas or police officers who are angry, it will be better for everyone.”
Student David Good, 39, said the event billed on the Internet as a chance to “show your asanas [yoga moves]” to the G20, was about spreading a positive vibe. “There’s going to be so many protests for pecae but we just wanted to practise yoga in the park and spread some good energy.”
