Rob Ford's Toronto

[John_Dee]

It was probably part political. Ford's a Con and Blair's a lefty, and I don't think it's been written about but Ford was pushing to oust Blair from early on in his term but buying out his contract proved to be too expensive. Also, there's an element of "not in my city". Blair was embarrassed that the mayor was being so brazen on his watch.

Characterizing Blair as an out-and-out leftie is almost certainly overstating things, IMO. He may be somewhat socially liberal (especially for a cop), but I'd say he falls squarely onto the middle of the road/centrist side of the political spectrum, which is where most of our supposedly 'reasonable,' 'respectable' politcos tend to hang their hats nowadays. Much in the way that, say, Kathleen Wynne is willing to work with someone like John Tory as opposed to the likes of the Ford brothers.

Mind you, it's part and parcel of the Fords' shtick that they're unwilling to work with "commies," which is to say anyone who's not a social Neanderthal. That's what their fanboys love about them, whether due to being reactionaries themselves, or just angry & pissed off at business as usual. See Donald Trump for a more recent example. Then again - and as we've been discussing here lately - it's not like the Fords wouldn't pivot on a dime if they saw any profit in doing so. It's not like they have any true political principles. Really, their only genuine ideology is self-promotion. Again, just like Trump.

But yeah, there was definitely something not right with the ridiculous mess that constituted that entire investigation of Ford. God knows what was really going on behind the scenes.

 

[riffraff]

Go figure. It was Rob who suggested that Doug run and he didn't rule it out, yet they blame the media...

I thought it was just the Ford Bros trying to remind their federal cohorts that Deco is open to give them deals on campaign signs, leaflets and buttons.

 

[riffraff]

I was going to post this. For some reason I associate The Wire with Ford and his scandals.

The Wire was often touted as the best TV series ever. Also, it isn't a comedy, or rather, a farce.

 

[riffraff]

Interesting "News" item posted on Canadaland yesterday by Jake Kivanc : Crime Scene Coverage Suffers as Police Scanners Go Dark. Cops don't want journos getting in the way of investigations, so now its "newsworthy" when the cops say it is. No "unauthorized" photos or videos to get in the way of their version of events either.

 

[JWBF]

Ford's fascist police state... ahhh, memories, like the Steak Queens of his mind...

 

[EagleEye]

View attachment 53352

Just drove by poor old Bruno hobbling along Islington, eyes closed and talking to himself.

The guy who was punched in the face with big macs and fries?

 

[evvabeing]

Police have "detected a pattern" - well they have the stats, right, but an "overall surge" every 4 years like its got nothing to do with TPS activities, right? I predict another round of raids coming up.

The fact is, gangs are the symptom, not the disease. We need policing, true, but we also need parenting, schooling, mentoring, jobs, affordable housing, and maybe even legalized drugs to starve street gangs of their bread and butter.

http://www.quillandquire.com/review/young-thugs-inside-the-dangerous-world-of-canadian-street-gangs/

 

[rbt]

I thought it was just the Ford Bros trying to remind their federal cohorts that Deco is open to give them deals on campaign signs, leaflets and buttons.

Deco can't really do any of those things. They print sticky labels like you find on retail product bottles like shampoo or ketchup. They'd give a great deal on sticker rolls or magnets.

Wouldn't have printers big enough for signs, or the machine for assembling buttons, or the right inks for cheap paper leaflets.

 

[evvabeing]

Meanwhile, he was smoking crack with street gangs at the time. The lying and hypocrisy!

i love how he thinks the salary of 22 councillors would cover 100 police officers

 

[evvabeing]

Broken dreams in Little Mogadishu
Canada's Somali community continues to struggle with higher-than-average levels of violence, unemployment and discrimination
http://www.ucobserver.org/justice/2015/08/somali/

 

[Jimmi T]

The guy who was punched in the face with big macs and fries?

The one and only! He looked pretty stocky and off his rocker--I wouldn't want to mess with him lol.

 

[Jimmi T]

A few days ago I chatted with a guy who was close with Lisi when the crack scandal hit. He says he and others bailed on him when things hit the fan. He'd been wanting to get Lisi out of his life for a long time because he says he's a low life and the stuff with Ford provided the perfect opportunity.

 

[pud99]

 

[next_to_herb]

i love how he thinks the salary of 22 councillors would cover 100 police officers

Do you really think he believed that the salaries of 22 councillors and their staff would cover the costs of 100 police? When public documents show that lots of police officers make the same overall salaries as one councillor, and those same public documents show that most councillors' staff make less than that?

Or that it was simply a great sound bite for a lot of disaffected people who never have or take the time to check on a fact like that, and he knew that he could say anything as long as he kept talking?

Stuff like that is how I started coming here...

 

[pud99]

http://draftdoug.ca