G20 leaders fail to accomplish anything

POLITICS - In what is sure to be derided as a complete failure G20 leaders who met in Toronto this weekend have agreed to disagree. Arriving at this non-agreement cost Canadian taxpayers approx. $1.5 to $2 billion CDN for the renovations to local venues and the whopping $1.1 billion security budget (which we've already determined is a complete fraud and a waste of time and resources).

The G20 leaders have agreed to:

1. Handle their own debts independently.

2. Cut back on their deficits, if they feel like it, and to do so in whatever manner the individual country sees fit.

3. Ignore the environment a little longer.

There's also no deficit cutting targets, there's no debt reduction targets, no action on climate change and there's no greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Oh and the proposed bank taxes that the USA and Europe want? Well, that will have to be handled within their own country. There will be no "international bank tax".

So its basically the status quo. Nothing has changed whatsoever. The G20 wasted all that money on what was essentially a few photo shoots of leaders shaking hands/etc, a lot of angry activists in downtown Toronto and photographers looking on, and the Toronto police getting to flex their muscles and smash a few skulls.

And the anarchists that everyone was so worried about did nothing but torch a few police cars and break some windows. That was hardly worth all the extra security. Oh and there was also a fake bomb art project and a guy who happened to have a chainsaw and crossbow in the trunk of his car (suggesting nothing more than someone who happens to enjoy camping and hunting up north).

Seriously, a chainsaw? Woooo... that's totally not the first choice of weapon for a terrorist. I doubt it would even make the list.

And for those who care there was also a suspension of civil liberties as police conducted raids (without warrants) against anyone suspected of being an anarchist. Police were arresting people just for wearing black pants or t-shirts... or living in a duplex next to a suspected anarchist.

ie. Local veternarian John Booth was woken up in the middle of the night with police guns in his face, told to keep his hands where they could see them, produce ID and then dragged out to his front lawn and questioned about a man he didn't even know. Police said Booth would be charged with the crime of conspiracy to commit mischief.

The officers sidestepped repeated requests to show him a warrant. They alternately promised to produce it later, claimed to have showed it to someone else, or simply said no. (Raiding someone's house without a warrant and attempting to arrest someone is grounds for suspension and a review of police misconduct, even dismissal if a crime was committed.)

Eventually the police realized they had raided the wrong half of the duplex and let John Booth go. This is just one example however. Over the past 3 days Toronto police went overboard, attacking people singing O Canada, shooting rubber bullets and tear gas at peaceful civilians... and totally ignoring other streets where the real anarchists were lighting fire to unguarded police cars and smashing windows on Yonge Street.

So lets tally the accomplishments of this G20 meeting... our leaders accomplished nothing, but Canadians learned that our rights as Canadians can be ignored whenever our leaders dictators see fit.

In other news Stephen Harper is praising the Toronto police force.

See Also:
Toronto Police attack people singing O Canada
G20 Police Overdo It On Security
Is Protesting Obsolete? Perspective on the G20