The Ottawa Sun's Sue Sherring writes about the shocking news that Ottawa mayor Jim Watson has blocked the Twitter account of the CasiNO advocacy group. This of course isn't shocking to us. Watson blocked us way back when he began campaigning for his latest job. Dozens of people have often complained of being blocked by him. He once responded that he only blocks people who are rude. I guess by rude he means having an opinion different than his.

It's an odd strategy. It doesn't cost anything to tolerate divergent opinions on Twitter. By blocking people so readily, he does risk to be seen as intolerant to folks not agreeing with him. Some in the Twitterverse have even remarked that it's another sign of his "autocratic" ways.

What's also surprising is the speed at which Watson blocks people. The CasiNO tweeps got blocked after only two tweets.

As far as we know, Calgary's Naheed Nenshi has used Twitter to a remarkable political advantage without blocking dissidents.