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Rob Ford's Toronto

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Ramako said:
Ouch, I kind of feel bad for him. That team really did mean a lot to him.
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Agreed, he is a dreadful Mayor and was apparently not the perfect football coach but he did clearly care - at least sometimes. Frankly I would rather have seen him fired as Mayor and given extra coaching duties - apart from anything else he might well have been much happier.
 
bobbob911 said:
There are two differences:

1)This is not just "any" drug use - its crack. Pretty much the lowliest drug out there, and almost as bad as something like being a paint huffer.

2)It's not just that he uses drugs - its that *he uses them while hanging out at his drug dealer's place*
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Well, at least Rob Ford is being consistent. I wouldn't expect a "man of the people" to be snorting coke in some high-end hotel suite with a bunch of investment bankers.

But more seriously, I don't think that the cultural association between crack cocaine and poverty is a legitimate consideration here - though the media has definitely been playing it up.
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
There is also the issue of impact - an average joe working a job with an average level of responsibility smoking crack and acting under the influence of is very different from an individual tasked with providing leadership to a city of 2.6 million citizens.

AoD
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Except there are a lot of jobs where someone under the influence of any drug is a big deal. Any sort of professional driver or operator of heavy machinery could potentially cause the deaths of him/herself in addition to others - perhaps dozens - in their vehicle/what that vehicle collides into or others in the workplace (a factory or a construction site). Average Joe could have a very big impact.
 
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It's interesting that Doug Ford says "To the folks at Gawker: what you are doing is disgusting and morally wrong. Giving away prizes to try to give away money to drug dealers and extortionists is disgraceful."

Drug dealers asking Gawker (or the Star) for money in exchange for the video would not make them extortionists. But if they asked Rob Ford himself for money in exchange for the video, then that would be extortion (blackmail). Has that happened, perchance? Was Ford unwilling to pay up in order to cover up the scandal? You put yourself in a bad situation if you chum around with drug dealers (and smoke crack on their property).

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Toronto Star: Mayor Rob Ford dismissed as football coach at Don Bosco
 
dt_toronto_geek said:
With respect to TOareaFan this is what many people believe, that he denied the allegation. People have busy lives, they read or hear a bit of news here and there and it gets bent out of shape, and the media is a big part of the problem here. Almost every article the first couple of days last week after he said the "allegations were ridiculous" went on to state that the Mayor had denied the allegations, which of course was not true though most articles used his "ridiculous" quote - even my trusted and beloved CBC.
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I can only tell you/speak to how I heard those words......if he were ever to try and come back and try and twist/wordsmith what he said and suggest that calling the allegations ridiculous was not a denial then I would simply dismiss it as a lie. "Ridiculous", in that context, is a denial and I think he would have a hard time selling anyone that his intent was not to deny the allegations.

Best example I can think of is the Chretien GST promise.....he spent a long time after his re-election trying to convince people that he did not promise to get rid of the GST....I don't think a single person believed him.
 
Except there are a lot of jobs where someone under the influence of any drug is a big deal. Any sort of professional driver or operator of heavy machinery could potentially cause the deaths of him/herself in addition to others - perhaps dozens - in their vehicle/what that vehicle collides into or others in the workplace (a factory or a construction site). Average Joe could have a very big impact.
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Of course, that's what I meant when I said average - average, harmless job that doesn't have the potential to cause mass destruction, casualties, conflicts, etc. In this case, let's put it this way - would anyone else smoking crack garner international media attention? The damage to the reputation of his seat of power is clearly correlated to his position and not him as a person.

AoD
 
Never mind the video, people want to know more about the picture that was released: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...ain-photo/article12055001/#dashboard/follows/
As Toronto Mayor Rob Ford continued to avoid speaking to issues surrounding the alleged crack video for a fifth straight day, more questions are being raised about his relationship to a man that was gunned down on Toronto’s streets in March.

While the contents of the video have not been made public, a picture of the mayor in a sweatshirt standing beside 21-year-old Anthony Smith also surfaced last week as news of the video broke. The picture was posted on the American website Gawker.

As the mayor avoided reporters Tuesday, many councillors, including at least one member of his own executive, said he needs to address the allegations. Councillor Paula Fletcher, a critic of the mayor in the past, said Mr. Ford needs to explain to Toronto residents why he is pictured during what appears, by his clothing, to be off hours with Mr. Smith.

“If the allegations are true, I think many people will be bitterly disappointed because of course he’s been outspoken against guns and gangs and if these allegations are true it appears he’s been hanging out with the guns and gangs crowd and that’s a very serious matter,” Ms. Fletcher said.

Ms. Smith was gunned down with a friend, Mohammed Khattak, 19, outside a downtown nightclub in the early-morning hours of March 28. Mr. Smith died, but Mr. Khattak recovered from his injuries.

The shooting sent bullets flying through the intersection of King Street West and Portland at a time when the streets were packed with club-goers.

In a community bulletin, Toronto Police stated the gunfire was “not a random act of violence” but a targeted hit and eventually charged 23-year-old Nisar Hashimi with first-degree murder.

Mr. Hashimi’s lawyer, John Struthers, said on Tuesday he was as surprised as anyone to learn of his client’s tenuous connection to the Ford photo and is awaiting disclosure to bring him up to speed on the Crown’s allegations.

Asked about the photograph, Mr. Ford’s lawyer Dennis Morris told The Globe and Mail that as he understands it the picture has nothing to do with the video and was taken on another occasion.

“The photo is a photo and apparently one of the individuals in the photo has passed away,” Mr. Morris said. “That photo is just like if you stop the Mayor on the street and say ‘Can I have a photo with you?’ That’s all that was.”

A growing number of councillors say the mayor cannot refuse comment and expect these latest allegations to go away.

“He needs to say something,” said Peter Milczyn, a member of Mr. Ford’s executive committee. “If he chooses just to ignore it, everybody in the city is left hanging and questioning his judgment.”

The longer the mayor remains silent, the more his response becomes the story, Mr. Milczyn said.

But Councillor Frances Nunziata, one of Mr. Ford’s most loyal allies, said the press needs to leave the mayor alone.

“He’s not on the run. He has spoken to the media. He has spoken to the media three times,” she said. “To have the media constantly, constantly harass him. It’s really unacceptable.”

On Friday, Mr. Ford spoke briefly to reporters, first outside his home and later at his office. In both cases he dismissed the stories as “ridiculous” and refused to answer questions.

Councillor Josh Matlow said he is dismayed by the damage the incident is doing to the city’s image. “I’m upset about how our city’s reputation had been dragged through the mud,” he said. “I want the mayor to put Toronto before himself.”
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FYI - from Twitter:

Daniel Dale ‏@ddale8 2m

The Catholic school board clarifies: Mayor Rob Ford is not allowed to coach at any school in the Catholic system.

AoD
 
Over $116,000 raised. I see someone claimed the dinner.
 
Roy G Biv said:
I disagree, in that I don't care if he uses drugs recreationally, but I do care that he is reckless and stupid enough to get caught. You are the mayor of a city and you think you're being discrete smoking crack with a bunch of dealers? He should have several degrees of separation between him and his dealers, and would be better off smoking alone in his basement. I am sure prominent drug users are shaking their heads at his incompetence.
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But shouldn't an elected official at least refrain from breaking the law? I know I know - lots of responsible citizens smoke a little weed now and then. But this case involves crack.
 
CN Tower said:
Or Bill Clinton. Or Sarcozy. Or Weiner. Or.......

This too shall pass.
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Ummm... Clinton was subject to impeachment hearings and the truth about Lewinsky came out.

Sarkozy was run out of the Presidency despite the WORST French politician in history as his opponent.

Weiner had to resign due to his idiocy.

So, your point is that Ford will also resign, be run out of office, and face an inquiry where he'll have to admit to his crack use?

Excellent.
 
Tar-baby effect is clearly in motion here. The more the Fords struggle and try to escape from the media, the worse it gets (meaning more funds are collected)
 
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