What's the point of hosting these G8 and G20 events in big cities? Toronto was transformed into a police state for the duration of the event, the losses in terms of tourism revenue and productivity were/are large, and the list goes on.I can see that there is an argument to be had that democratically elected heads of state should be able to meet even if there's violent protesters threatening to disrupt their meeting. In Canada, what was odd were marketing exercises (like a - get this - fake lake) that might have been of interest to tourists (who saw mostly violent protests on TV) but that were certainly of no interest to the attending heads of state (they got their own lakes). The photo shows an artist rendering of the lake ...
So, my question is this: if these heads of state believe it's worth meeting - the official results along would suggest that perhaps they might be mistaken - why can't they meet in some out-of-nowhere place? You know, all things considered, it might be cheaper building them a hotel in some place in the sticks and have em take their helicopters or planes there. Should be cheaper than shutting down multi-million people cities. What a waste!
