Rob Ford's Toronto

[MetroMan]

Or maybe the judge can be seen in the background?

Wasn't there mention of Nordheimer appearing shaken after viewing the videos? Or maybe he said they were very difficult to watch.

I thought about Nordheimer but he would have taken himself off this case or the Crown would because they've all viewed the videos at this point.

 

[the lemur]

From the Esquire article - so this is what Doug Ford is up to:

Doug Ford will not be returning to the council. He plans to run for a provincial seat, for which elections will likely come this summer, and from which he will try to legislate fundamental changes to Toronto’s municipal government: a smaller council, and a strong-mayor system more like Chicago’s, like New York’s. Soon after, if all goes according to the Ford family plan, the mayor will be returned triumphantly to his office. The polls remain divided, but most show that he maintains a decent statistical chance of victory. Certain of his supporters have remained loyal, and they always will. “People bring up stuff twelve or thirteen years ago that I did for ’em,” he says. “I’ve done a lot of things and I don’t even remember doing it, but to them—they couldn’t believe that I’d actually come to their front door.” No mayor has been in more living rooms.

Sounds scary, but I think Doug has made himself pretty unpopular to be running provincially and neither he nor Rob has done anything they said they would about reducing the size of council (which might imply redistricting). Also, wouldn't amending the City of Toronto Act involve at least some input from council itself?

 

[dforthandbview]

The Sun's description is consistent with previous, more oblique descriptions by the Crown.

-statement from Justice Nordheimer.

 

[betty183]

Who has seen this video that would want to leak details to the Sun and aid in pro-Ford spin?

 

[rutefoot]

There's the possibility that there are more than 2 tapes. The one the Sun refers to is so inconsequential that perhaps many people aren't even counting it. And the one MetroMan refers to isn't about Rob Ford so may not be counted by other people.

 

[mdash]

I thought about Nordheimer but he would have taken himself off this case or the Crown would because they've all viewed the videos at this point.

What I was thinking is that perhaps Nordheimer found it particularly difficult to watch because he had recognized a colleague. Wasn't there some mention of his seeming personally affected by watching?

 

[rutefoot]

The warrants may only deal with videos related to Ford, specifically. A video with other people in it may fall under a different investigation.

 

[SFO]

The Sun's description is consistent with previous, more oblique descriptions by the Crown. I seriously question MetroMan's 'sources'. But in this crazy snowball of a scandal, I suppose it's possible.

Or MM and the Sun are talking about two different videos.

 

[dforthandbview]

Who has seen this video that would want to leak details to the Sun and aid in pro-Ford spin?

The Bassos?

 

[evvabeing]

What a weird article. It's like someone scraped together everything they could find about the Fords' marriage, good and bad, and decided that the fact they're still together proves it's a good marriage.

totally. i get the impression there`s a pre-nup or something keeping renata there, not love.

 

[betty183]

There was also a rumour (buoyed by Doolittle) of a video or photo with a passed out Ford with guns to his head, but that rumour seems to have died.

The police only have 2 videos. Where are all these rumoured videos if not actually just rumours?

 

[Angelunatic]

Who has seen this video that would want to leak details to the Sun and aid in pro-Ford spin?

I don't know, but if something is coming, it seems like trying to get ahead of it would be helpful to his supporters, they can use it in their arguments for Ford. It would be another he said she said type thing.

 

[tiffer24]

It's magic time at city hall.

ddale8 12:38pm via Twitter for iPhone
I asked Doug Ford if he isn't, like John Tory, part of the "1%." He said he doesn't have time for me, he's talking about David Blaine.

 

[dforthandbview]

We're talking about Rob Ford here not Big Foot. There's probably many videos of him out there.

 

[Dottie]

So the Sun has details of the second tape, including sources presumably in the TPS who are trying to position the crack tape as entrapment by a dealer.

That was my reading as well.

A source stated a female voice was spurring Ford on with her own racial and homophobic comments, including one where she said she would “put my foot up (Liberal Leader) Justin Trudeau’s a--.â€

“My sense is that she is goading him on. They are clearly all high. Is she spurring him to make comments that will make him look bad or is she just saying what she believes,†the source told the Sun.

The underlying narrative here is that a drug dealer got Mayor Ford, who was in "a drunken stupor", to smoke crack and recorded him doing this so that he could later be extorted. The terrible things he said were just Ford playing along with someone who was goading him, and not his own thoughts or beliefs. That story relies on the reader believing that the crack smoking was a one-time misadventure. It also means that the reader has to overlook the fact that the mayor was in "a drunken stupor" and was hanging out with crack dealers.