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Rob Ford's Toronto

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The U of T grass issue is a straw man anyways (pardon the pun) - There is no evidence to suggest that more important issues don't get tackled because council is busy with smaller issues. All issues of merit, big or small, get addressed.
 
I really wish we could have had this debate in person, sometimes the internet isn’t the best way to have these kind of discussions especially when words can be so easily twisted or taken out of context. For the record I came too and have lurked on this forum for years because of an enjoyment of seeing my city grow, and hearing the opinions and views of like-minded development buffs. But somewhere along the way the city that I love has become divided, I grew up in an area of Toronto that’s been long forgotten by politicians, that did nothing but neglect our needs and take our tax money and throw into a black hole of waste. The fact that someone actually stood up and acknowledged that waste was revolutionary.

I grew up in the 'burbs too, if the needs of my community were not being met I'd be on top of my City Councillor - not the Mayor, the Councillor isn't doing his/her job if the needs of her constituents are not being met. As for waste ("the gravy train") that's such a pile of crap I can't believe anyone out there still believes that. Remember when he couldn't find the waste that he campaigned on so KPMG was hired to the tune of $400K (that we taxpayers had to pay) only to find around $10M in efficiencies?
Somewhere along the line, before the end of 2010, Ford managed to divide the city like it has never been before. It didn't "just happen", his policies, lies, hatred of the urban dweller and support for all things suburban did it. Successful leaders bring people together, they don't divide them - and he's been anything but successful.

But then why not buy the tape then and there? The Star would have LOVED to nail Ford, and for 200k they could have. You’re going to expect me to believe they passed on that opportunity for what...moral reasons? The Star is nothing more than a tabloid, I don’t buy that for a second. Unlike you, I don’t trust everything people in the media (such as those belonging to a very biased “news†organization) claim to have seen, buy it, make it public and show it. Anything else is hearsay.

I don't always trust everything I read in the media either, it's not what it used to be so I read several media reports on an issue of interest to fact-check myself and try to find the real story in there somewhere. In this case your own world of truthiness clouds your facts. The negotiator of the recording was initially looking for a million dollars, then the price was dropped to "six figures" when the story first broke on Gawker and the Toronto Star. Nowhere did the Toronto Star claim that they were asked for $200K, that came later and then Gawker setup the account to raise the funds. It's annoying how those nasty "facts" get in the way isn't it?
 
Just a meta-comment: I think it's hugely encouraging that, once we begin talking about specifics, the heat tends to drain away from the conversation and we get more light. While I strongly disagree with malvern2's position on Ford, I think kudos are deserved for malvern2 moving to engage in the substantive issues, and enumerating specifics -- it really helps to foster genuine communication.
 
Hate to break it to you, but Ford did more to help the unions than Miller ever did. I'm a member of 416 and I can tell you the vast majority of he union was very happy with the deal. Modest raises, job security for all and really no changes in benefits.... Ya he really stuck it to em. Not to mention the police getting 12%, fire due to get the same from arbitration. The only ones to get the shaft were the city's lowly 850 Paramedics, but that was more to do with 416's incompetence, didn't save the city a dime.

Why do these people think there was a garbage strike in the fist place?

Miller refused to cave to their demands

Is it really that hard to put two and two together?
 
Hollywood was amalgamated with Los Angeles in 1910. Its considered a neighbourhood these days of 77,818 people (out of a city of 3,857,799). So such a small elite community is of little consequence to Rob regarding this news.

Um, Hollywood Reporter is one of the most powerful and widely read entertainment magazines in the world.

What does the 'population' of Hollywood the burg have to do with anything?
 
what is becoming increasingly clear is that people like CNTower, malvern, future builder etc. aren't even following the story anymore. they tuned it out weeks ago, when they knew the battle was lost. they have no idea what's going on and are still ragging on about stuff that just seems irrelevant at this point. 'proof of aliens'? whatever.

Nope - and the worst part is, none of them are even interested in having a discussion. They just want to repeat the soundbites they've heard, and when you challenge them or present a strong argument that they may not have thought of, they just disappear and avoid answering for a while, then reappear as if they had never been questioned.

And you would convict on circumstantial evidence at best? Innocent until proven guilty.

I think you'll have to define what you think circumstantial evidence is. Because as the commenter you were responding to said, you have basically asserted that unless an unimpeachable video exists, there's no way you can ever convict anyone of anything.

I live downtown but still keep close ties to my old neighborhood and the anger in burbs is very real, tell me who can come forth and bridge that gap and I will gladly vote for them, until then I stand firmly by the one guy who took on the unions, championed subways in the burbs, tries to cut taxes (i.e. land transfer tax), saves money with things like privatized waste collection and cutting excess jobs at city hall

Here's the thing - if money was no object, everyone would champion subways everywhere and we would probably already have a lot by now. But because of finnicky real-world limitations like "ridership" and "budgets", real-world achievable compromises have to be made. It's amazing that you want to get rid of the land transfer tax but you also want subways in the suburbs. How do you think they get paid for? Do you think money comes from the government or city out of thin air? Where do you think all of the city's revenues come from???? Do you realize that nearly everything in the public realm is being paid for by tax dollars or consumers of some kind?

Without taxes being paid, nothing happens. Some would say that it's far more important to build an amazing city before getting bogged down with "efficiencies" - if cutting staff at city hall saves a bit of money but slows down development and city-building, in the long term that's actually a bad thing. Personally I'd rather they double the number of people on the transit file if it will get the DRL built twice as fast (huge boon to the city and easing congestion), whereas Ford and his ilk would sit around championing a subway in a part of town where even the buses aren't used that much.

Just a meta-comment: I think it's hugely encouraging that, once we begin talking about specifics, the heat tends to drain away from the conversation and we get more light. While I strongly disagree with malvern2's position on Ford, I think kudos are deserved for malvern2 moving to engage in the substantive issues, and enumerating specifics -- it really helps to foster genuine communication.

Not sure if sarcastic or genuine... pretty sure sarcastic.
 
Nope - and the worst part is, none of them are even interested in having a discussion. They just want to repeat the soundbites they've heard, and when you challenge them or present a strong argument that they may not have thought of, they just disappear and avoid answering for a while, then reappear as if they had never been questioned.
Why even bother on coming to UT then? This is a place were discussions happen and views are challenged. If you're not going to keep an open mind, it's kind of pointless being here. Just my 2 cents.
 
I stand firmly by the one guy who took on the unions, championed subways in the burbs, tries to cut taxes (i.e. land transfer tax), saves money with things like privatized waste collection and cutting excess jobs at city hall, brings in people to actually run the TTC effectively, and actually gets traffic moving with signal harmonization.

...and votes to deny funding to Pride, TIFF, AGO, TSO etc. i take it that he's "your kind of man"?
 
Um, Hollywood Reporter is one of the most powerful and widely read entertainment magazines in the world.

What does the 'population' of Hollywood the burg have to do with anything?

Rob Ford considers "downtown Toronto" elitists. Why would he want to listen to any elitists from Los Angeles?
 
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