[food not bombs feeds the fire.]

[pre-march speeches at college and university.]

[information and background. click to enlarge.]

[these camera-guys were there from a couple of the major news stations. when they noticed me taking pictures, they struck some poses, which i said looked nice. "don't worry," i told them, "you'll be on the cover of the star tomorrow." they laughed and said they didn't believe me. then the one on the right piped up and said "yeah, more like the communist star." nice one, buddy.]

[as the dozen-or-so police realize that this protest isn't going to stay put, or stay on the sidewalk, they scramble to figure out what to do. on their bikes, they attempt to box us in at college and elizabeth.]

[just when things seem to be dying down, we find a hole in the armor and spill out and down elizabeth, heading towards yonge and gerrard.]

[protestors spilling everywhere. cops confused as all hell.]

[a cop carved out of wood. another temporary blockade of police bikes. click to enlarge.]

[we arrive at yonge and gerrard to see that the protest is having an effect. there are about 50-75 police, on bikes and in cars, blocking yonge and gerrard going south. to the north, yonge street is empty and people line the streets as the  torch makes it's way down.]

[standoff at yonge and gerrard. click to enlarge.]

[the improvised police "blockade" at yonge and gerrard. click to enlarge.]

[we determine the location of the torch and head north to yonge and college. the police are unable to catch up and retain us, so the intersection turns into a complete clusterfuck and blocks the torch's path. at this point, the torch is up around yonge and wellesley, and has to be "split in two" and diverted. apologies for the lack of focus. most of the time, i'm barely even looking through the viewfinder.]

[it's a weird scene at yonge and college. some people boo us, other people join us, and others just whip out their camera phones and start snapping photos. in a weird way, we've become just another aspect of the olympic spectacle for these people. a strange feeling to say the least. click to enlarge.]

[reinforcements arrive in the form of cars and horses. the spectators there to see the torch seem bewildered by the whole thing. click to enlarge.]

[the mounted police always piss me off most. i think if the horses knew that the work they were being forced to do was so unjust, they would be pissed too. click to enlarge.]

[some people there to see the torch are indeed quite... charming, as jeanette put it. in this bad photo, a man in a cowboy hat gives me the finger and calls me an asshole. off-camera: i return his sentiment.]

[we make our way up towards college and wellesley, even closer to the torch, and the mainstream media is swarming at this point. unfortunately, they aren't terribly interested in talking to the protestors. instead, this reporter asks dozens of spectators what they think of the protest ("it's ridiculous! these bums should go home!"), a nice "balanced" view.]

[somewhere around yonge and maitland, the cops bring in serious reinforcements and start being more serious about pushing people around. the intersection fills with somewhere between 150-200 cops, some of them looking like they just rolled out of bed and still putting on their uniforms. they fall into various formations and split the protest up on either side of yonge street. two minutes after this photo was taken, one of the apparent "leaders" of the squad said quietly to the cop in this photo "that guy over there (referring to one of the aboriginal protestors in a bandana), if something happens, take him out first." i ask loudly "who are you going to take out." the cop who said it says "we're not going to take out anybody" loudly. i ask her to repeat what she said to the other officer. she refuses.]

[at this point, it's impossible to move forward. but some of the protestors that have been split off make their way down to nathan phillips square and drop a banner to disrupt everyone's "good time."]

this blog post is pieced together from my recollection and documentation of the fast-moving events from last night. for a more articulate and complete retelling, check out the official torch block blog.

also, for an eyewitness report from someone who wasn’t actually a protestor, but who provides some good insight, check out nealj’s livejournal entry.

PLEASE NOTE: reposting of photos is welcome, but MUST be credited – “photos by karol orzechowski / decipherimages.com”