Understatement Personified

There is a global economic summit going on in Toronto. That means protests. Lots of security in riot gear and lots of bearded and braless idiots confronting them and I honestly don't know what for. There will be rants against "globalization" which I assume to be bad, although I've never figured out why a bigger market, broader selection of products and higher productivity would be bad, especially if accompanied by lower prices for consumer goods. There will be a smattering of anarchists running around turning over cars, breaking windows and throwing Molotov cocktails for the sheer joy of it. And there will be a bazillion breathless press-drones recording it all for the nightly news.

I thought I would go to get some information on what the protestors are protesting this time. Here's a report that should illustrate a lot of things but few of them have anything to do with the rationale for the protests:

Canadian Definitions Needed

I guess in a society in which the rugged Yukon and the pioneer culture has been replaced with abhorrence for guns you get this:

Police fired at least half a dozen rubber bullets at protesters

Wow, at least six!

The rally, promoted as a "festive parade" in support of rights for cyclists, was one of several afternoon anti-G20 events.

Tim Middleton and his wife were seen towing their children, Emeth, 3, and Istra, 5, in carts behind their bikes. Middleton told CBC News that a police officer had warned his family to "stay back" in case of tear gas, but he and his wife thought the situation was safe and decided to ride on.

The cyclists eventually wound up at the G20 detention centre, where they chanted, "Let them go, let them go" and "Wasted billion dollars."

There are some problems with that episode. "Rights for cyclists" has very little to do with chants of "Let them go" and "Wasted billion dollars." And how heart-warming that Tim and wifey with two toddlers choose to disregard police advise and ride on to their eventual arrest. That should teach the children what a Canadian jail looks like inside.

Black clothing, weapons found
About 70 people were rounded up in the morning after police found street-type weapons and black clothing hidden in bushes. It's believed the bricks were to be used by anarchists

Gosh, those Canadians have funny laws! Black clothing is apparently frowned upon and bricks are defined as weapons. I can see the bumper stickers: "When Bricks Are Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Have Bricks."

But, maybe this one is the most frightening:

Four other people were arrested in the early morning after they were caught coming out of a city sewer in the financial district on Queen Street West between Yonge and Bay streets.

Toronto police spokesman Sgt. Tim Burrows told CBC News that the four were arrested 2:25 a.m. ET "while leaving a maintenance hole cover, after being in the underground infrastructure of the tunnels."

Burrows said no explosives were found and "the security plan is well intact."

Excuse me? Four people are roaming around the foundations of the downtown buildings in a tunnel system, only to blunder into the police upon popping out of a manhole cover and the "security plan is well intact"?

I'd say if people are burrowing around in caverns beneath city center without authorization during a G20 summit meeting without detection that the security plan is not intact, it is pathetic.