Hu's On 520

Chinese President Visits Seattle - Protesters & Supporters Gather

While hundreds of protesters and supporters gathered in downtown Seattle, Chinese President Hu Jintao met with Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire this afternoon to talk about bolstering trade and other issues.

Have you seen this car? Well I haven't, but I certainly felt the impact of its presence around 5:30 this evening as I sat waiting for a motorcade consisting of 20 automobiles, various SUVs, helicopters and probably every motorcycle cop in the state of Washington to make its way from the Microsoft campus in Redmond back to downtown Seattle DURING FRIGGIN' RUSH HOUR. This jackass exercise in "international feel good business diplomacy" resulted in my ten mile commute taking over an hour and a half to complete. Good news! I can expect these shenanigans to disrupt my life for the next three days. I just don't yet know how.

The 520 Bridge is a two-lane exercise in futility which tries the patience of thousands of drivers twice a day as they travel back and forth between the Eastside and Seattle proper; living on one side, working on the other and never quite managing to reconcile in their minds the glaring differences between the two. It's basically the land of the have-nots versus the haves. At least the have-nots on my side of town presented him with an appropriate welcome when he arrived...Yeah, you go - Falun Gong. You go. (Don't get me started on them).