Freedom Festival and March 2011

At first I thought it was going to rain in Queens Park as the storm clouds grew thick and grey. I slowly came to realize it wasn't rain clouds at all, it was the copious quantities of medicinal herb and resulting smoke that hung low to the ground during Freedom Festival 2011 (see 2010 pictures here). The pied piper, or bong smokers, drew young and old alike, but mostly young, to the north yard of Ontario's political heartland where they protested some of the current laws and their voices rang out in support of free speech. Starting before noon the venders began to set up and get the food and merchandise ready for the onslaught of festival attendees. In a little under two hours the sparse group in the park began to number in the thousands.

Streams of people came to Queens Park from bus stations, subways and other points and the park began to bulge at the seams. People seemed to be pretty mellow.

At 2:00pm an extremely large group gathered and headed out of the park (the front of the parade pictured below), north on University, then east on Bloor, south on Yonge and finally west on Wellesley.  The people were well organized by orange shirt volunteers and well supported by the Toronto police.

The police mounted unit waited at Wellesley and Yonge and helped to keep the protest on track and away from the Yonge-Dundas area.

The organized march was very peaceful and and was escorted by plenty of bike police who ensured that the route would keep away from the Eaton Centre area and back to the small forest of Queens Park. Tired marchers (there was a lot of coughing) returned to the bathrooms and snacks that so many craved (for some reason) they could also listen to some great music from some local bands scheduled until 7pm.

See lots more pictures after the jump (click Read More >>, below).

Friends on the way to the festival. Rapper Belsito is 3rd from right

Going south on Yonge Street

Tattoo

Zombies

Stage and festival banner

There seemed to be a lot of solid doggie support.

Mohawk

Two thumbs up from mascot

Free Love sign

Playing with a bubble pipe

The cleanup crew follows the parade

Bell still sucks!

I sit here, lonely and sad, in the lovely Roxy Cafe in small town Acton enjoying a tasty large latte and enjoying the free wireless. My internet loss continues now, I am sure, into its third week. Bell cannot seem to get their act in gear and get the vital part out to me. I call every second day, angry white man, disappointed and blue, and they tell me things that are less than the truth. The last guy finally admitted they hadn't sent anything out - but they will this time!

Maybe their crappy service and high prices are why there are a number of sites on the world wide web such as http://bellcanadasucks.com/, http://www.bellcanadasucks.ca/, and the ever popular post "Dear God I hate Bell Canada".

Because we've had enough - Slutwalk Toronto

The 'because we've had enough' Slutwalk Toronto 2011 begins with 1:30pm speeches and the 2:00pm march from Queens Park South on Sunday, April 3rd and finishing at Toronto Police Headquarters (40 College Street). All these photos are from talented photographer and blogger Joe Hamilton of 'Your Average Joe' blog - you can see more of his photos on his post here.

The Toronto Police representative's suggestion that how women dress contributes to their victimization has galvanized many women to correctly point out that the perpetrator is at fault, not the victim. The well attended Slutwalk was a chance for people to publicly show their support for women and their right to dress as they please.

Heather Jarvis, co-founder of the walk.

The Slutwalk in front of Police Headquarters.

Jane Doe addresses the large group of marchers.

See more photos of the protest march after the jump (click on Read More >>, below).

Protests at Yonge-Dundas Square

The heart of downtown Toronto continues to be the Yonge and Dundas intersection and when people want to celebrate or protest the first place they go is the busy roadway and the adjacent public park - Yonge-Dundas Square. With so much turmoil in the world there always seems to be plenty of people ready to gather to protest something. Today it was no different as the middle east has so many countries that are pressing for changes.

Countries like Bahrain, Libya where the UN has started to enforce a no-fly zone over the country with rebels  in a battle against the leader Muammar Gaddafi and Egypt where protests have already forced changes in leadership.

Protest against Bill C-15 at Old City Hall

There was a small group of people at Toronto's Old City Hall/ Courthouse protesting in the rain against Bill C-15 which would introduce mandatory minimum sentences penalties for drugs. It is interesting to note that the government studies show that almost 45% of Canadians have tried cannabis in their lifetime.

Bill C-15 information from the Parliament of Canada website: "Its intention is to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act(1) (CDSA) to provide for minimum penalties for serious drug offences, such as dealing drugs for organized crime purposes or when a weapon or violence is involved.  Currently, there are no mandatory minimum penalties under the CDSA.  The bill also increases the maximum penalty for cannabis (marihuana) production and reschedules certain substances from Schedule III of the Act to Schedule I."


They also provide some of the potential downside of the bill which include "Much of the negative reaction to the measures in Bill C-15 centres on opposition to the expansion in the use of mandatory minimum sentences.  Mark Ertel, president of the Defence Counsel Association of Ottawa, has said that the measures would strip judges of the ability to apply discretion for mitigating circumstances and could turn Canadian correctional institutions and penitentiaries into US-style inmate warehouses.(72)  Mr. Ertel argues that automatic jail sentences, with no allowance for mitigating considerations, will inevitably prompt the kind of appeal that led to a 1987 Supreme Court of Canada decision (R. v. Smith) striking down a seven‑year mandatory-minimum sentence under the now-repealed Narcotic Control Act as cruel and unusual punishment.  He also argues that the bill targets the wrong problem as almost all violent crime is alcohol-related, yet liquor manufacturers will not be prosecuted.(73)"

Also "Some opponents of the mandatory sentencing that is a feature of Bill C-15 have noted that the increase in costs to operate prisons will draw funds away from social programs, like those addressing improved education, health care and child poverty, which reduce crime.(74)  Incarceration is seen as poor stewardship of both money and human resources." This is interesting because this is what the protesters were pushing - the economic cost of the proposed Bill, while the homeless sitting right beside the protest were uninterested in the event. The nearby pigeons (below) hid from the rain and also seemed to care less about pretty much everything - damn flying poop machines.

Come On Star; crisis in the Yonge-Dundas Square?

There is a crisis in the square - there is stuff there. OMG, wtf! The Toronto Star has run out of crap to think about. "There are more garbages there than an army can use", "a ticket selling booth over there", "the main stage is fenced off"; what the hell is Christopher Hume talking about? He also claims that the Yonge-Dundas Square stage canopy is never used - well here are the hash protesters huddling, pictured above, under that mysterious canopy.

It's f*cking winter out and no one hangs in the square!

PS Another crisis: there is some snow on the sidewalk!

Kit Kat and other sights

I think that we are on the good side of winter now, heading slowly into spring as the days get longer and hopefully warmer. Our streets remain quite with none of the massive protests that fill so many cities around the world, in fact the cows continue to hang out at Kit Kat overlooking King Street West. Of course the cows (or maybe just one cow cut in half) are not real.

Speaking of protests the last protests I remember, besides the recent gatherings in support of the Arab awakening, were the mildly violent G20 protests and the much more mellow hash protest (or the G-420 march and later snack protest) which took place at the Yonge-Dundas Square.

The old Toronto Stock Exchange building on Bay Street now holds the Design Exchange and maybe they should hang a few cows off the Art Deco facade, or maybe just chip in a new name on their large sign.

The old Toronto Stock Exchange Building.

I started listening to CHUM radio when I was growing up and I occasionally listen to it in the car, but I miss the old Roger, Rick and Marilyn combo in the morning. At the end of their run I think they were all mad at each other, now Rick has left and Darren fills his spot.

Chum Building.

Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre

Hockey Hall of Fame.