Sugar delivery
Posted on October 27th, 2011 – Be the first to comment
Offloading sugar at the Redpath refinery, Sugar Beach, Corus Quay
Archive for 2011
Lightning strikes
Posted on October 26th, 2011 – Be the first to comment
Lightning bolt art at Corus Quay
City Hall banning press? Free speech?
Posted on September 16th, 2011 – 3 CommentsAn astute twiterrer noticed a motion by Councillor Adam Vaughan to not ban press or journalists from City Hall. The full text of the motion reads:
No media conference, no media event or news release by The City of Toronto and/or any agency, board or commission of the City, and/or any staff, hired consultant or elected official of the City of Toronto shall exclude by name any individual journalist or news organization.
The twiterrer in question alludes to this “ban” referring to the Toronto Star which has been quite critical of Mayor Rob Ford — as have many people and organizations. And Robbie doesn’t hide his disdain for the paper so this is certainly believable.
Here’s what I find extremely troubling; freedom of press and freedom of expression are ensconced in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [section 2 (6)]. For Councillor Vaughan to have to pass a motion to guarantee this freedom at City Hall suggests a very troubling trend of silencing dissent, criticism, and opinions that are not directly shared by Ford and his cronies.
If this motion does indeed turn out to be a response to Ford’s attempt to exclude the Star from reporting on City Hall, his claim that the paper is “openly working against the democractic process” would be beyond hypocritical. Criminal, even. And again, this isn’t unimaginable — Ford has been accused of backroom dealings in things like the Port Lands redevelopment project; even some of his hand-picked Executive Committee are distancing themselves because of the public outcry.
The vote on this motion is supposed to take place next week on September 21 and 22. I’m sure many Torontonians would love to hear the details of why Vaughan thought it was necessary to make the motion. It may turn out to be a simple case of political grandstanding so passing judgement is definitely premature. However, I wouldn’t put it past Robbie to be trying to silence his critics, and if this is the case then we’ve got a serious problem at City Hall.
Jerry Agar speaks!
Posted on September 9th, 2011 – 10 CommentsHere’s a brief collection of some of Newstalk 1010’s resident loudmouth Jerry Agar’ quotes. I’m starting to see why he lost his job as a radio host in the states in 2009.
Jerry on who should make up Congress (he’s not being ironic here):
Just imagine a day in Washington D.C. when the new Congress shows up and it’s all new people. They don’t have any deals in place…they arrive in Washington not knowing what they’re doing. How good is that?!
Thanks, Jack (part 3)
Posted on August 28th, 2011 – 1 CommentJack Layton’s casket at City Hall being viewed by the public on Friday evening, one of the last chances that the general public had to pay their respects before the funeral on Saturday.
Thanks, Jack (part 2)
Posted on August 27th, 2011 – Be the first to commentJack Layton, former Toronto Councillor and deputy mayor (and most recently leader of the NDP), lying in state at City Hall on Friday night was surrounded by an outpouring of support.
Thanks, Jack (part 1)
Posted on August 27th, 2011 – 2 CommentsSarah and I went to see Jack Layton on Friday evening as he lay in state at City Hall. The outpouring of support was impressive.
Oakley and the compassionate tat
Posted on August 26th, 2011 – 1 CommentSo there’s this guy I’ve been chatting with on Twitter over the last couple of days named Troy Oakley (@OakleyInc) who convinced me that maybe, just maybe, not all conservatives are heartless jerks.
Okay, so it might seem like I’m name dropping here — Troy did after all manage to land country-wide headlines today over this little bit of body art:
…but that’s not the case. You see, our discussion started around the awful direction that the conservatives seem to be heading in in this country. Everyone from Rob Ford to Steven Harper come across as callous axe-wielding maniacs bent on destroying every vestige of humanity in this great country.
Then, almost as if by magic, Troy stepped out of the Twitterverse and agreed with me, all the while claiming he was also a conservative. He even admired the recently departed Jack Layton of the NDP party (the mainstream Commies of the Canadian political spectrum) — someone almost anathema to the Progressive Conservatives.
I was, like, come again?
Yup, seems like you can still believe in not wasting money, being responsible, and all that other stuff without being a bloodthirsty bureaucrat. In fact, the final words Layton wrote as he was on his deathbed resonated with Troy so much that he had them tattooed on his arm. And I gotta say, despite being generally averse to marking up my own flesh, this is something I could never fault anyone for etching on their skin. Beats the hell out of meaningless Chinese symbols or fancy geometric patterns.
And holy fuck if it doesn’t give me hope for the future.
If you happen to be around tonight, tune in to Newstalk 1010 at around 9:45 to hear an interview with Troy, or just pick up a paper tomorrow and read about how the world may not quite be ready to go to hell in a hand basket just yet.
Rob Ford on Day of Mourning for Layton. Kind of.
Posted on August 23rd, 2011 – 2 CommentsHere’s what the mayor’s office has to say about a national day of mourning for the recently departed Jack Layton:
Thank you for your email.
As I promised during the mayoralty election, I am dedicated to delivering customer service excellence, creating a transparent and accountable government, reducing the size and cost of government and building a transportation city.
I will continue to work on behalf of the taxpayers to make sure you get the respect you deserve.
This note is to confirm that we have received your email and that we are looking into your matter.
Please feel free to follow up to check the status of your email.
Thanks again and have a great day.
Yours truly,
Mayor Rob Ford
City of Toronto
Brimming with commitment! Contextually insightful! Not an automated response at all!
But if you doubt these statements, perhaps enough people signing on to the petition might do the trick:
Minute Over Toronto
Posted on August 20th, 2011 – Be the first to commentA pleasant view from work.
... with pictures
... with sounds
... with videos
... with opinions
... that's shorter
... that's longer
