Rob Ford's Toronto

[grey]

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/07/28/peter-kuitenbrouwer-citizens-pack-city-hall/

Normally at City Hall when hundreds of citizens show up to speak at a committee, the city moves the meeting from Committee Room 1, which seats about 100, to the City Council chamber, which seats hundreds of people. On Thursday morning the city chose instead to stay in Committee Room 1, and put the overflow in committee rooms 2 and 4.

“It’s a bizarre way to treat the citizens of Toronto,” said Franz Hartmann, executive director of the Toronto Environmental Alliance, who is No. 31 on a list of 302 deputants registered to speak to Mayor Rob Ford’s Executive Committee about its Core Service Review. He said he has been coming to City Hall for 22 years and in every case where Room 1 couldn’t accommodate the crowds, the city (even under Mel Lastman) bumped the proceedings to council chambers.

“They are scared s—less of this process and they don’t want the image of hundreds of people coming down to get their voices heard,” one City Hall watcher remarked in Committee Room 2, normally used for TTC meetings, which was also standing-room only, and which featured two flat-screen TVs at its front showing the proceedings in the room next door.

Councillor Norm Kelly, a member of Mr. Ford’s executive committee, said the idea of moving the proceedings to the council chamber, “never came up. This is where we always hold committee,” he said. “You’d have to ask the clerk about” why the meeting isn’t taking place in council.

City Hall bristles with police and security has locked the building’s back door to the public, allowing access only to those with security passes. Mayor Ford said the committee will meet all night long to hear all the deputations

It looks like THE Kevin Clarke will be deputing today!

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2011/ex/2011-07-28 Registered Speakers.pdf


Also, Ford keeps saying liberry, not library.

 

[tkip]

Tkip, do you listen to yourself? First you say that the woman who reported seeing Ford give her the finger isn't credible because there is no one to corroborate her story, therefore it's just a story.

Then you defend Doug Ford by saying you know someone whom you think knows someone who heard DF say something, therefore you know that his comment was cheeky.

If the woman reporting what she herself saw isn't evidence, then your twice-removed hearsay means squat.

I made it a point to say "apparently" Doug was kidding when responding about not know Atwood was. Did you miss this part?

 

[tkip]

Interestingly, a friend told me today that apparently Irishmonk was actually being cheeky when he said "The lady in question was just featured on The National with her story intact. What more evidence is needed? ; )"

Seems he was having some fun and then tkip came along.

Very hard to tell if someone is being cheeky online at times. I would suggest next time, people use smiley faces to avoid confusion.

 

[tkip]

Interestingly, a friend told me today that apparently Irishmonk was actually being cheeky when he said "The lady in question was just featured on The National with her story intact. What more evidence is needed? ; )"

Seems he was having some fun and then tkip came along.

Next time, people can use a smiley face to avoid being taken seriously when they're being "cheeky" online.

 

[tkip]

you're right, not knowing Atwood isn't a requirement for running a city.
however, considering everyone who's gone through high school should know who she is, it's quite disturbing we have elected officials who don't.

have you changed your mind on any of the above after RF and staff have admitted to the driving while using cellphone and the story was confirmed by the passenger of the driver in other car ?!!

time to admit to yourself, you're an RF fanboy and NOTHING he'll do is wrong.
you'll find every excuse you can to brush it off, and then attack everyone who criticizes as being a 'hater'

Not a fan. I posted a while back though that the Ford haters here and elsewhere are usually never balanced with their attacks which usually involves making very personal comments that borderline mud slinging and character assassinations. That's why I post. I know others get defensive but life is tough. Deal with it....

 

[ReThink]

Interesting that people can be cheeky elsewhere including other politicians but apparently the Fords can't make a playful comment or tease without breaking laws. You guys are making a mountain out of a molehill issue here. The question is legit. Do we need all these libraries open? Are they all necessary now in a digital age?

"With more than 18 million visits to our branches and more than 32 million items borrowed, 2010 was again our busiest year ever."
Source: http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/annual-report-2010/library-2010/stats.html#panel1

If Toronto's library system having its busiest year ever isn't proof of the continued need for libraries in this 'digital age', what is?

 

[tkip]

a passenger in this lady's vehicle confirmed the events.

Did this passenger actually testify themselves because the story I've heard through the media is that the drive is saying her passenger witnessed this which isn't evidence? It's called hearsay.

 

[tkip]

Wow, spinning it every way possible.
Cheeky with the crowd? Ah, let me see, i'm a politician and one of the most popular cultural icons in my country makes a comment regarding my decisions and i go around telling people "i don't know her", "she should get elected" and so on. And that was cheeky?
I see ignorance is bliss in your world Tkip.

Oh, cry me a river Thanos. You guys have the thinnest skin on the planet.

Doug has to know who she is, and if he doesn't then he's automatically unqualified to be at city hall or if he was kidding, then he's some kind of oafish monster, like his brother. It doesn't matter. You guys hate the Fords for what they stand for(cuts) and anything that's reported is treated as the gospel and a justification for making comments that usually involve nasty and personal insults/attacks.

If Ford or his brother were reported to have jaywalked or didn't make eye contact, then the media and people here would still cry for their blood.

 

[Tulse]

The question is legit. Do we need all these libraries open?

The question is indeed legitimate, but my overall concern is that the Fords' behaviour suggests they aren't interested in looking at the question dispassionately, but are instead intent on pushing their anti-intellectual, anti-poor ideology no matter what the rational answer might be. (And I think that usage figures indicate the rational answer is that libraries are needed now more than ever.)

Are they all necessary now in a digital age?

But we had bookstores even before the "digital age", so why were libraries needed then? Just as not everyone can afford to buy books, not everyone can afford internet access. Libraries serve a very important purpose in the digital age by providing access to books and the internet for those who don't have other means. And that is especially critical in a down economy for getting the unemployed back to work.

And that's what's especially troubling about the Fords' attitude -- they do not care about services that are targeted at helping out the economically disadvantaged, even if those services might help turn such folks into employed taxpayers. Their perspective is small and petty and irrational.

 

[tkip]

I now know several people that bought book readers. They aren't buying books anymore.

Care to take a guess what this ultimately means for book stores? The same thing happened to stores like Blockbuster. Internet and Netflix came along and the industry died off. How long before music stores like HMV go out of business as well? The digital age is changing everything. Everything is going digital. So it's not unreasonable to ask about libraries.

What this ultimately means for libraries is unknown. But I'd take a guess their days are numbered as well to a certain extent.

 

[Bruvyman]

Very hard to tell if someone is being cheeky online at times. I would suggest next time, people use smiley faces to avoid confusion.

He did use a smiley face, but confusion still happened. Any other ideas?

 

[grey]

I asked a legitimate question. I now know several people that bought book readers. They aren't buying books anymore. Care to take a guess what this ultimately means for book stores? The same thing happened to stores like Blockbuster. Internet and Netflix came along and the industry died off. How long before music stores like HMV go out of business as well? The digital age is changing everything.

You'd fit right into Ford's upper circles of management with your talent for rejecting facts and stats in favour of anecdotal evidence and limited personal observations.

 

[Tulse]

I now know several people that bought book readers. They aren't buying books anymore.

Of course, but why do you think that those people who couldn't afford to buy books will be able to buy book readers and e-books? (And did you know that the TPL does lend out e-books?)

The digital age is changing everything. Everything is going digital. So it's not unreasonable to ask about libraries.

Yes, I agree it is not unreasonable to ask about how the digital era will affect libraries. But that is different than declaring them irrelevant by fiat, without doing the appropriate research.

What this ultimately means for libraries is unknown. But I'd take a guess their days are numbered as well to a certain extent.

Unless the city is going to provide free e-readers, e-books, and internet access to everyone in their home, there will always be a need for physical libraries. Are you suggesting that the city should instead give away e-readers, e-books, and internet access to everyone?

 

[tkip]

He did use a smiley face, but confusion still happened. Any other ideas?

The smiley face didn't display on my computer. But then again, lately this site isn't loading properly and pages start to load then stop. Not sure what the problem is.

 

[Bogtrotter]

I now know several people that bought book readers. They aren't buying books anymore.

Care to take a guess what this ultimately means for book stores? The same thing happened to stores like Blockbuster. Internet and Netflix came along and the industry died off. How long before music stores like HMV go out of business as well? The digital age is changing everything. Everything is going digital. So it's not unreasonable to ask about libraries.

What this ultimately means for libraries is unknown. But I'd take a guess their days are numbered as well to a certain extent.

The e-reader is a great tool, and quite revolutionary in the monograph industry but let's not get carried away and say the Library's days are numbered- that's a big leap. Libraries and Archives have been around since Ancient Egypt, my feeling is that civic libraries will redefine themselves as knowledge, culture and heritage centres and will still play a key role in communities. The stats don't lie, they are used... quite heavily actually and to the point that some require more staffing.