Friday, May 30, 2008

It Is Only A Short Walk From Toronto Silly Hall To Queen's Park

One idiot wants new laws and the other idiot won't enforce the laws already on the books......

Gunter: T.O.’s handgun ban defies logic

It never ceases to amaze me how many politicians can convince themselves that criminals who are prepared to murder or beat their victims, steal cars, rob banks and convenience stores, and deal drugs will nonetheless cower in the face of a new gun-control law and hand in their firearms. That's essentially what Toronto Mayor David Miller is proposing, though. [...more]

Turley-Ewart: Sharia by stealth

It’s an issue the Liberal govenrment of Ontario, led by Premier Dalton McGuinty, doesn’t want to deal with — polygamy in the Muslim community. Last week the Toronto Star told the story of Safa Rigby, a 35-year-old mother of five children who recently learned her husband of 14 years had two other wives. Ms. Rigby’s life is in tatters. She followed her husband’s advice that she leave Toronto and live in Egypt for a year on the grounds that it would be better for their children to spend more time in a Muslim country. Now she knows it was a ruse. He used her time there to marry two other women. [...more]

Comments On How did a demagogue like David Miller become the mayor of Canada's biggest city

Fisherman86 might be on the right track and if you want proof you don't have to go any further than read the comments posted on my blog.

Marni Soupcoff: Our best comment ever

We get a lot of insightful and thoughtful comments here at the FC blog, but this one from feherman86 has to be one of the best ever:

It is sad that STUPID IDIOT BLOGGING isn't a competitive event; you would be an international superstar.

Keep it tuned right here, folks. We just may be holding a STUPID IDIOT BLOGGING contest in the near future.

UPDATE: 'Where does this comment come from?' is a good question. It was posted in response to the editorial How did a demagogue like David Miller become the mayor of Canada's biggest city? Scroll through the comments, and you'll find the whole exchange.



		Comments (24)

Thanks GOTR

Another one bites the dust

May 29th, 2008

Just another evening in Toronto.

A man was shot to death last night in an apparent gun battle on a northeast Toronto street corner.

Residents heard as many as five gunshots and the sounds of screeching tires on Bonis Ave. near Birchmount Rd. and Sheppard Ave. E. at about 11:20 p.m.

Police arrived to find the victim sprawled at the rear of the Agincourt Mall.

No word on whether the perp was a duck hunter or a target shooter.

Posted by: Right Girl Category Posted in David Miller, Gangs, Toronto 2 Comments »

If The MP In Question Then Here It Is.......

......my father left my brother and I a small inheritance which was not left to him by anyone but rather he worked at a back breaking job to keep a roof over our head and food on the table. I left school at 15 and went to work and worked a number of jobs until I retired and my brother worked his ass off and mortgaged everything he had to start a company that was and is successful so I don't feel I owe an apology but rather I am owed an apology for the billions given to indians each year and the grants to social in-activists which come from the 30% that I earned each year.

Why I didn't donate a penny after Katrina, part XVII

MP: We have to be honest enough to address the one who says well, don’t hold me responsible for what my ancestors did. But you have enjoyed the benefits of what your ancestors did. And unless you are ready to give up the benefits, throw away your 401 fund, throw away your trust fund, throw away all the money that put away in the company you walked into, because your daddy and your granddaddy and your great-granddaddy…unless you’re willing to give up the benefits, then you must be responsible for what was done in your generation, because you are the beneficiaries of this insurance policy.

HH: You hear the Trinity Church applauding. That’s Barack Obama’s congregation applauding.

# Kathy : 2008-05-30 07:26:18 EDT

Are You Listening Comrade Miller........

.....but I can understand you not hearing the message.

At the same time though I would like to correct The Star's editorial board when they say; "Put simply, municipalities – including Canada's largest city – lack the power to make meaningful regulatory change." Back when Taliban Jack was a city councilor he and his left wing cohorts declared Toronto a "Nuclear Free Zone" and to give credit where credit is due no nuclear bombs have been dropped on Toronto.

Wrong target on guns

May 30, 2008

Toronto officials have misfired with a well-intentioned but fundamentally flawed plan to reduce gun violence. Unfortunately, rather than making a difference on the street, the strategy going to the city's executive committee next week is likely to do nothing but inconvenience target shooters, including at least one Olympic contender.

Put simply, municipalities – including Canada's largest city – lack the power to make meaningful regulatory change that would reduce the number of handguns threatening society.

That hasn't stopped Toronto officials from trying. A staff report recommends invoking land-use rules to block any new effort to manufacture, assemble, warehouse or discharge firearms within the city. The military and police would be exempt, but the measure would effectively ban new firing ranges and gun-making businesses.

Also recommended is the closing of two existing shooting ranges on city property: one at Union Station and the other at the Don Montgomery Community Centre in Scarborough. This has riled recreational shooters, including Avianna Chao, a Canadian Olympic pistol shooter who is to compete in the Beijing Games this summer.

They have good reason to complain, as the city's plan would have virtually no impact on the number of handguns available to criminal gangs and other thugs.

There are several reasons. First, much of the firing at shooting ranges is done with rifles, not handguns. And Chao makes a convincing case that the specialized, single-shot pistols used in elite competition are of limited use to criminals. Finally, closing shooting ranges and banning the creation of new ones wouldn't take a pistol out of anyone's hands. That's because the city cannot force legal gun owners to surrender their weapons.

Despite those drawbacks, Mayor David Miller, citing the bloody toll of death and injury caused by handguns in the city, has strongly defended the proposed firing range shutdowns.

Miller's concern over handgun violence is understandable. Just this week, two teenagers were slain in separate Scarborough shootings. In light of such tragedy, Miller's plan to ease the violence would be well worth supporting – if it worked. Sadly, what's proposed is unlikely to prevent even one person from being shot.

A nationwide ban would be far more effective in keeping pistols from criminals by draining the pool of legal handguns available for them to steal. There are currently about 215,000 legally registered handguns in Ontario, providing a ready arsenal for criminals to tap. There is no indication that the city's plan would, in any way, shrink that supply. Indeed, it appears to do little more than unfairly target a subgroup of licensed gun owners: those who use recreational firing ranges.

Toronto's impotence in this area underscores the need for strong federal action. Ottawa should tighten its border surveillance to cut the flow of pistols into this country from abroad. And it should introduce a nationwide ban on handguns, with room for a narrow exemption for elite competitive shooters like Chao.

The COPS Are Doing A Great Job......

.....and I don't have a problem with giving them more money but I would think the $$$ could be used more productively to provide balls for the left wing members of the judicary, judges and crowns, who refuse to impose sentences appropriate to the crime.

10 years urged for Bandido
But defence wants break
A Bandido biker who killed a member of the Hells Angels should receive a 10- to 12-year prison term instead of the minimum sentence being asked for by the defence, the Crown said yesterday.

10-12 years for killing another human being?????????

Mayors: Cops require $500M in fed funding
Canadian cities want the federal government to give them more than $500 million in funding to provide better police services.

Holy Shit! Designing A New Washroom?

Your tax $$$ at work!

Go to Home Depot! The designing is FREE and they will work with you to get a $60-75 rebate from the City of Toronto for the low consumption toilets although you would think that when you look at the antics at Queen's Park they would be installing high consumption toilets to look after the volume of crap generated by the politicos and beauracrats.

Queen's Park is looting the treasury to buy itself some fancy new loos.

Confidential minutes of an April meeting of the Board of Internal Economy, obtained by Sun Media, reveal the legislature will spend $150,000 just on the "design component" of planned renovations to eight washrooms in the north wing of the building.

Building staff have asked for another $400,000 to renovate the two washrooms on the first floor, which have leaky pipes and peeling paint.

There are six more washrooms on three other floors scheduled to be updated in the north wing, although final approvals have yet to be given.

Documents viewed by Sun Media also reveal a $57,500 estimate for the repair of a "leaky" shower in the Speaker's office. The new north wing toilets will feature marble walls, new stalls, wood work restoration and low consumption toilets and sinks.

STATELY BEAUTIES

The estimate includes the $60,000 cost of replacing pipes in the basement.

A recently completed renovation on the first floor in the west wing of Queen's Park turned two ugly duckling public washrooms into stately marble and wood beauties.

An official with the Speaker's Office would not release any cost details.

However, Sun Media has learned the average cost of renovating a pair of his and her washrooms at Queen's Park is about $350,000.

"I know it was a hell of a lot of money," said a source familiar with board discussions. He said the posh toilets were meant to fit with the historical grandeur of the building.

A 1998 renovation of a washroom at Queen's Park, which included marble and solid wood doors, cost $131,000, Sun Media reported. The motion to spend the $150,000 on designing the new project was moved by Liberal MPP Wayne Arthurs and seconded by Attorney General Chris Bentley.

A Conservative and NDP MPP were also present, and Speaker Steve Peters chaired the meeting.

At the same meeting, the board approved $400,000 to upgrade lighting in the Legislative Chamber by "replacing the outdated electrical wiring, ballasts, indicator lights and incandescent bulbs to provide a more energy efficient lighting system."

The board of internal economy, which is comprised of members from all three main political parties, manages the expenses of the provincial parliament building.

Its deliberations and decisions are usually confidential.

The Charge Is Unsafe Storage

Man Arrested After Major Gun Seizure In The East End

Reported by City TV but it is amazing the information not included in their sound byte......

125 guns seized, 1 charge laid

By TAMARA CHERRY, SUN MEDIA

An avid but "harmless" Toronto gun collector is before the courts after police cleared more than 100 guns from his Beaches apartment.

Emergency Task Force and 55 Division officers stormed through Peter Sedge's Queen St. E. and Kingswood Ave. area apartment around 1 a.m. yesterday after being tipped off about guns in the home, Const. Wendy Drummond said.

About 125 firearms were found, a "good portion" of which were registered. But, unlike many seizures of this extent, Sedge was charged with only one count of careless storage of a firearm as of yesterday afternoon, Drummond said.

"He was a legitimate gun owner and he did have a licence and registration for the firearms, but safe storage is key in being a legitimate gun owner," Drummond said.

"There are laws and regulations that you must abide by aside from having the right paperwork."

"He's a nice, harmless guy," Dale Sutton said of his neighbour, adding Sedge, 56, has lived alone for at least 10 years. "This (arrest) is probably more of a shock to him."

Sutton assumes police were tipped off after apartments in the building were shown to potential buyers on Wednesday.

While Sedge mostly kept to himself, his gun collection was no secret, Sutton said. He even invited Sutton along to his gun club and was careful to point out the importance of keeping the firearms safe.

While Sutton thought the heavy police presence wasn't necessary, he said he understood why the situation was taken so seriously -- especially considering two fatal shootings in the city on Wednesday.

"This is not that case," Sutton said. "The guy collects. He's very conscientious."

Mayor David Miller has often cited the fact that lethal weapons are routinely stolen from legitimate owners.

This week he endorsed a proposal to shut down two gun clubs at city-run facilities.

I am waiting for the next headline dealing with violence on our streets.......

CHEF ARRESTED WITH A COLLECTION OF KNIVES IN HIS POSSESSION!

Another Great One Passes

Comic actor Harvey Korman dies at 81

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Don't Hold Your Breath Marni.......

Marni Soupcoff on Al Gore and Czech President Vaclav Klaus: There's a debate I'd like to see

Czech President Vaclav Klaus says he's ready to debate former U.S. vice president Al Gore about global warming . That's a verbal sparring contest I'd like to see. Klaus does a very good job of articulating the skewed priorities that many environmentalists embrace (Earth first, humans and liberty second):

Klaus, an economist, said he opposed the "climate alarmism" perpetuated by environmentalism trying to impose their ideals, comparing it to the decades of communist rule he experienced growing up in Soviet-dominated Czechoslovakia. "Like their (communist) predecessors, they will be certain that they have the right to sacrifice man and his freedom to make their idea reality," he said. "In the past, it was in the name of the Marxists or of the proletariat — this time, in the name of the planet," he added.

So, when's the smackdown? And where can I go to put my money on Klaus?

Pardon Me, Are You A Terrorist Or An Illegal With A Criminal Record.....

......None of your f^%king business.....Comrade Miller has given us a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Amnesty.

Since Toronto is the foremost destination for immigrants, it makes sense that this is where incremental improvements have occurred. Miranda points out that in 2004, David Miller made a series of changes so that 21 community organizations would prohibit city staff from asking the public about immigration information. As well, Toronto Police don’t ask victims or witnesses for this information and the Toronto District School Board passed a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy ensuring that schools are considered a sanctuary. “Toronto is the first city in Canada to adopt these policies,” she says. The only problem is that there has been little education about them. Scott says that although people should be able to go to food banks or shelters without fear, there are many instances where people are denied based on their status.

Adler, Et Al Puts Bernier Sexcapades In Perspective

Mad Max Bernier and the Black Widow

Mad Max and the Black Widow. It sounds like another “Made in Quebec” horror flick haunting yet another government. Julie Couillard isn't just the Black Widow because she lived with a Hells Angel extortionist in the nineties who became.. MORE...

Brown Bag Or Go Hungry Or.......

......support your local restaurateur who has invested his $$$ , pays taxes and fees, hires local people, etc. etc.

Street food burned by red tape

May 29, 2008

Royson James

What a great idea. Why is the city bent on messing it up?

Councillor John Filion should be commended for trying to add spice and variety to Toronto's street food fare. Put a little jerk in the chicken, add some bite to the dog, and toss in some salads for the vegans and crepes for the sophisticates.

But oh, how they've wrapped and trapped the spring rolls in red tape and bureaucracy at city hall.

You'd have thought this to be a simple matter: Change provincial laws that prohibit the sale of anything but pre-cooked meat; establish testing and inspections; announce the new regime; watch enterprising vendors enter the marketplace. And Torontonians are smiling in their samosas and crying in their hot curry.

But no, too easy. The meddlers had to engineer it into delay and confusion. First, the city wanted to borrow $700,000 to buy 35 carts and lease them out for $450 a month. Why not just set the cart standards and leave it to the private sector to provide and sell? Because the city wants to block "conglomerates" from taking over this new venture.

The goal is to have the little guy get a fair chance at making a living, Filion and others said. Think how many residents from Toronto's at-risk neighbourhoods could get on the gravy train, advocates said.

When the public didn't buy the idea of the needless cash outlay from a cash-poor city, Mayor David Miller short-circuited the lease plan. But the micromanaging philosophy remained – as seen in a report to the executive committee next Tuesday.

For one, we won't get the new foods until next spring at the earliest, not this summer as hoped, because of the confusing and complicated start-up plan.

Secondly, the bureaucratic, legal and financial requirements are so lengthy and strangling that the little guy will surely be turned off and turned away. Consider:

You must lease or buy a cart from the lone city-selected provider. Cost is $26,100 for a non-refrigerated cart and $32,300 for a refrigerated one. Lease rate is between $7,056 and $8,796 per year. Minimum interest? 12.5 per cent.

That preferred rate is good only for vendors with food business experience and above-average credit. Others – remember the poor guy from the at-risk neighbourhood that we are trying to shelter from the cart conglomerate cartel? – will pay more.

That hurdle cleared, does the vendor now hit the street and start selling and if people like what they taste they'll return for more? Not the way the city sees it.

Vendors are to be selected based on the diversity and quality of food, nutritional content and use of local food where appropriate. An expert panel from George Brown and some guy from Whole Foods will sample and choose the winners.

How did we get ensnared in such an involved, time-consuming, entangled, bureaucratic web? All a guy wants is a patty and coco bread, without the taste testers and fancy carts and lease plans.

Some 3,557 people responded to a city online survey regarding their preference for expanded street food and, apparently, suggested the following menu, in order of popularity: Chicken/pork souvlaki, spring rolls, corn-on-the-cob, noodle dishes, hot beverages, samosas, tacos, fruit salads/skewers, dim sum, baked potatoes, falafels, roti, rice dishes, fish and chips, jerk chicken, salads, crepes, pretzels, curry dishes, soups, empanada, waffles, enchiladas, sushi, kebabs.

We're starved already. Can city hall just let us eat? Please.

I Support Spending Money On Education.......

.......but cyclists need to be educated, no let's make that mandated, that they must follow the highway traffic act in the same way motorists must or suffer the consequences. What would happen to a motorists driving on the sidewalk, or driving the wrong way on a one way street, or making a lane change without signaling, etc. Death is a tradegy......

Cycling activists demand safer roads

Dan Robson
May 29, 2008

Somewhere in this city a family is fighting against the weight of an...

David Be Nimble, David Be Quick.....What A Joke

Office expense report delayed

Council talks about being nimble, but new rules for office budgets were due last month

By SUE-ANN LEVY

It was most amusing to hear our would-be strong mayor and his minions echoing the mantra at council earlier this week that they and their officials must be "nimble(r)" when it comes to luring new business investment to Toronto.

Frankly at Socialist Silly Hall -- where foot-dragging is the norm rather than the exception -- there are dozens of issues and programs which could use a far nimbler response, in my humble opinion.

Still, I found all their talk about acting in "rapid time" (cheap as it was) especially ironic given the fact that just minutes earlier Coun. Doug Holyday had been rather nimbly cut off by Her Royal Speakerness, Sandra Bussin, for daring to ask when we might see a long-delayed report containing new rules for how councillors can use their $53,100 office budgets.

Holyday -- who along with colleague Rob Ford was subjected to a petty review last year (with Mayor David Miller's blessing) for spending too little of his office budget -- had every reason to ask. The review was ordered last Dec. 12 and the report containing the new rules was due out last month.

But it was like the frugal councillor set off a time bomb when he suggested if councillors don't act in a more timely manner (to clean up their expense policy) they could find themselves in the same hot water as trustees at the Toronto Catholic District School Board -- slammed just weeks ago by a provincially-ordered investigator for countless expense account abuses.

Getting on the ban wagon

by MICHAEL DEN TANDT

Breakfast sausages have no place in a modern democracy. Ban them.

You can't open your morning paper any more without reading about one level of government or another calling for a ban on something.

The federal government proposes to ban Canadian filmmakers from making movies that bureaucrats consider naughty. They also intend to crack down on medicinal herbs. Trafficking in St. John's Wort is out of control in the inner cities.

OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino, who's not in government but at times behaves as though he is, proposes to ban drivers from sliding off the road into the ditch during winter storms.

Moderate, responsible speeding -- that is, driving at 15 km over the limit on a clear highway in good weather, is banned. The OPP used to look the other way, as long as you drove safely. No longer.

Mayor David Miller wants all guns banned. Also he would outlaw gun-making, ammunition, and target-pistol ranges. It doesn't matter to him that most gun crime in Toronto is perpetrated by criminals, wielding illegally-obtained handguns. Guns are bad. Ban them.

Premier Dalton McGuinty banned smoking in cars in which children are passengers. That's because untold thousands of Ontarians are simply too dumb to know second-hand smoke causes disease, and too irresponsible to care properly for their own children.

A ban on cellphone use in cars is next: McGuinty didn't used to like that idea, but lately he's come around to it.

He's developing a taste for bans.

WE'RE STRICT, WE'RE SAFE

Now, here's a conundrum: Last we checked, we were already rather safe, relatively speaking. Compared to say, the '90s, when you could drink beer in a boat, or the '70s, when parents threw their kids in the backs of station wagons without seatbelts, or the '20s, when you could fly a plane without a licence, we're awful strict.

In fact, Canada has to be one of the safest places on Earth. We are an orderly, prosperous people in a country blessed with good roads, universal health care, the rule of law and respect for human life. We have no enemies on our borders. The cold? It's good for us. Brings colour to our cheeks.

Maybe the Norwegians are safer, with their spas and their kelp diets. Or perhaps the Swedes -- they have such nice complexions, and they exhibit good manners even when playing hockey. Amazing. But still, we have to be right up there on the safety scale.

Our political leaders don't think so. They think we need more rules -- always and everywhere. Fine.

But let's be consistent. Which brings us to breakfast sausages.

Have you ever tried to eat just one? Or even two? It's not possible. Cook a pack and the next thing you know, they're half gone -- then all gone.

And don't get us started on the ones flavoured with maple syrup or honey. Those are criminal.

They must be banned.

With luck -- and the best intentions of politicians who have nothing better to occupy their time and our money -- they soon will be.

MICHAEL.DENTANDT@SUNMEDIA.CA

The Same Component Is Missing At Silly Hall.......

.....where unionized workers have jobs for life and politicians aren't subjected to recall when they screw up and they make end runs around the rules like in the Bussin legal fees.

The homeless: All carrot and no stick

Any sensible policy for dealing with the homeless/beggars/squeegee kids/street people in Toronto would have two equal components.

First, it would tell people they can't live and/or beg on the street.

Second, it would provide them with a safe and humane place to stay and, ideally, initiate a process to get them off the streets, permanently.

Mayor David Miller and the majority of Toronto's city councillors have always been enthusiastic about the second part of this policy, cool about the first.

But the problem won't be solved until both parts are equally applied.

This despite all the back-patting Miller and his allies gave themselves this week as they threw a few million dollars more at the second part of the policy, while crowing that even the business community is now on side.

Of course it's on side. Business people can count votes as well as anyone.

Thus it's hardly surprising they consider half a loaf -- more social programs -- better than none, since that's part of the solution. But it's only a part.

To argue, as Miller and his allies do, that ticketing and fining the homeless hasn't worked, is laughable.

Of course it hasn't worked.

Why would people pay a fine if not paying the fine carries no real consequences?

The consequence should be that if someone insists on living/begging on the street, despite repeated and genuine offers of accommodation and help, he or she should be removed and detained in a humane but firm fashion.

All carrot and no stick doesn't work. Never has, never will.

Further, it will not help those most in need -- those too sick, confused, addicted or mentally ill to know they need to get off the street for their own good.

Meanwhile, we continue to send out exactly the opposite message from the one we should be sending.

We should be telling people that in Toronto, you cannot live or beg on the street.

Instead, when all is said and done, we tell them they can.

Which is why they do.

Clear And Present Danger

Only the left wing would be naive enough to believe that "our enemies" don't already have access to this "NATO stuff." Bernier let his small head cloud the judgement of his large head and he has paid for that mistake......

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

We Had Our Verbal Kick At The Can So Lets Give Someone Else A Turn

Take time to read comments......

Court watch: California gay marriage ruling…Upholds SF licensing scheme, 4-3 decision in a favor of a “fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship”

May 15, 2008 12:11 PM by Michelle Malkin

604 Comments | 12 Trackbacks

State of the union.

Thank The Unions, Waterfront Condo Owners, Island Squatters.....

....social in-activists, environuts, bike riders and that 40% of the potential voters that don't think municipal elections are important.

The Post editorial board: How did a demagogue like David Miller become the mayor of Canada's biggest city?

Let’s see if we have this right. Toronto has a problem with young gang members using smuggled handguns to kill one another in rave clubs and warehouses — and in order to fight this trend, mayor David Miller wants to … take away target pistols from Olympic shooters and close down law-abiding gun clubs.

Mr. Miller’s logic is so bizarre, it’s hard to know where to begin to dismantle it. He either completely misunderstands the causes of crime in his city — or, worse, he is cynically redirecting public anger from criminals to law-abiding gun collectors and target shooters. Whichever the case, Torontonians ought to be outraged.

Brandishing a report from city bureaucrats that claims “up to” 40% of gun crimes in Toronto are committed using firearms stolen from their rightful owners — RCMP and Ontario Provincial Police estimates are closer to just 10% — Mr. Miller said shooting sports are a “hobby … that creates danger to others.”

The mayor’s choice of language is telling: He insisted many of the crime guns used in his city “are stolen from so-called legal owners.” But there is nothing “so-called” about the legal status of rightful owners. They are law-abiding Canadians — unless of course you are a spin-doctoring politician out to demonize them.
As usual, the mayor is too timid to take honest action necessary to curb gun crime, namely beefing up police in neighbourhoods where most of the crimes occur. That might get him labelled “insensitive” or even racist, and that would never do. So instead, Mr. Miller has latched onto gun owners as convenient whipping boys, knowing that in our urbanized culture most voters cannot understand the allure of shooting sports.

In short, Mr. Miller is counting on the public’s ignorance about guns to give his useless proposals the look of a real effort to tackle crime. His recommendations, though, will do nothing to prevent murders, shootings and other gang-related violence. Nor will they prevent the influx of illegal handguns from the United States, which are the weapon of choice in almost all violent Canadian gun crimes.

In Britain, after the tragic elementary school shootings at Dunblane, Scotland in 1996, all private handgun ownership was banned and all handguns confiscated. Even England’s Olympic shooters, for a time, were forced to shuttle across the Channel to France for practice. Since then, though, New Scotland Yard and the Home Office estimate that the inventory of illegal handguns in Britain has expanded by 3 million. Gun crime has nearly doubled. And many cities now have more gun crime than comparable U.S. cities. Police refer to Manchester as Gunchester.

And Britain, remember, is an island — and all its neighbours have tough gun-control laws. If even the UK cannot keep guns out despite a universal prohibition, what chance has a single city such a Toronto, whose criminals have easy land access to the United States and its guns?

Municipal gun control is useless. In cities where handguns are banned or severely restricted — Chicago, Washington D.C., London, Tokyo and others — gun crimes remain common. As they do in Toronto, criminals in these cities merely go underground, or to a neighbouring jurisdiction, and buy an illegal weapon. Only in New York, which implemented much more aggressive policing in the early 1990s, has gun crime fallen significantly.

Instead of following New York’s lead, though, Toronto Mayor David Miller is intent on replicating the failure of Britain. In the process, he threatens the enjoyment of reputable gun hobbyists without any chance his ideas will do a thing to stop shootings in Toronto. Can someone please tell us how this ignorant demagogue became the mayor of Canada’s biggest city?

What Goes Around Comes Around

Cuba: Police break up dissident meeting

May 27 06:54 PM US/Eastern

HAVANA, May 27 (UPI) -- Cuban authorities broke up a meeting of dissidents last the weekend, leaving at least two people injured, opposition groups said Tuesday.

Two of those in attendance at the meeting reportedly were hurt by police and received medical treatment for their injuries. Thirty others were detained by Cuban police though later released, The Miami Herald reported Tuesday.

While Cuban authorities regularly break up meetings of political dissidents on the communist island, the use of excessive force reportedly has not happened for the last several months, as the administration of new Cuban leader Raul Castro approved several reforms and appeared more tolerant of Cuba's voices of opposition.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

Phase Two In Dion's Carbon Tax Legislation

Every adult in Britain should be forced to carry 'carbon ration cards', say MPs

By David Derbyshire
Last updated at 1:08 AM on 27th May 2008

Every adult should be forced to use a 'carbon ration card' when they pay for petrol, airline tickets or household energy, MPs say.

The influential Environmental Audit Committee says a personal carbon trading scheme is the best and fairest way of cutting Britain's CO2 emissions without penalising the poor.

Under the scheme, everyone would be given an annual carbon allowance to use when buying oil, gas, electricity and flights.

Solving Burma's Fiscal Problems

I am sure anyone who studies fetishes knows that woman's panties are in high demand by perverts and if this campaign works the "donations" could be put on eBay to raise much needed $$$$ for the country.

Women asked to send panties to Burmese embassy

Updated Tue. May. 27 2008 9:07 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Canadian human rights groups are calling on women to take part in a unique protest against Burma's military junta.

The Quebec Women's Federation and the activist group Rights and Democracy are coordinating the Canadian edition of "Panties for Peace!" -- an international campaign to pressure the Burmese government towards democratic reforms.

Organizers say the idea began after the Burmese government cracked down on pro-democracy activists. Last fall, pro-reform demonstrations led by monks garnered international attention after the military attacked protesters and arrested their leaders.

The idea behind the campaign has to do with the superstitious beliefs of Burma's military leaders. Human rights activists say the leaders believe that contact with women's underwear will sap them of their power. Women -- and by extension their clothing -- are considered inferior by powerful men in Burma, say campaign organizers.

Marni Soupcoff on 'Panties for Peace' in Burma

Our editorial about aid to Burma being a waste of time and money should have made an exception for panties. A creative international campaign called 'Panties for Peace' is playing on the Burmese military junta's superstitious belief that "contact with women's underwear will sap them of their power" and asking women to send panties to Burma's embassy in Canada. Why not? If speaking truth to power isn't working, then freak power out with some undergarments. It's an effective way to get the message out about the junta's abuse of women.

"I think (underwear) that has already been worn will be most effective to put them to shame," a Burmese activist says in the CTV article. Um, OK. But if that thought gives you the creeps, I'm sure newly bought and laundered panties would work too. (It'll be your secret.) Speaking of which, I wonder if Victoria's Secret or La Senza or any other women's lingerie company will have the guts to get involved and start shipping over a load of thongs or boy shorts. That would certainly help raise the campaign's profile.

I Am A Little Confused

The article talks about "quietly using meeting rooms" and "discrete visits" and "taking questions from journalists!" This is oxymoronic.......

Critics blast visits to city hall to sell immigration changes

JEFF GRAY

May 27, 2008

Immigration Minister Diane Finley has quietly used Toronto City Hall meeting rooms to sell her controversial immigration changes to local ethnic communities, even while ignoring a plea from Mayor David Miller to consult the city about the changes.

The discreet visits to city hall by the Conservative federal cabinet minister are inappropriate, critics say, because they fly in the face of the federal government's commitment to consult Toronto - the country's main magnet for immigrants - contained in a deal signed by Ottawa, Toronto and Queen's Park.

The proposed amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act are aimed at streamlining the immigration process and would allow the minister to give priority to certain groups of immigrants.

In a press conference exclusively for local Chinese news media held this month in a room beside Toronto City Council's chamber, Ms. Finley outlined the amendments and took questions from more than a dozen journalists. In March, Ms. Finley also held what her officials said was a consultation session at city hall.

As Usual City Goes After Victims Not The Perps...

How many orange vested taggers do you see cleaning up the litter on our streets?
How many checks arrive at Toronto Silly Hall from the parents of taggers?
How many tagging violations have been reported by social in-activists who are paid by Toronto Silly Hall to be out on the streets at night catering to the homeless and panhandlers?

City draws on grafitti problem

Tell kids to can it, cops tell community meeting

Jason Balgopal says there's at least one silver lining to the problem of graffiti.

I Wonder If The Report Covers These Obstacles To Tourism

* Comrade Miller
* Clown Council
* Affluent panhandlers
* Can join gangs without being a registered owner of a gun
* A one hour/$50 ride from Pearson to where the action is.....
* No major casino
* Add your own.........

Tourist report exposes city's flaws
A report highlighting Toronto's flaws as a tourist destination and recommending improvements was approved by city council yesterday.

The Facts Come Out........

....although this won't stop police bashing.

Cops were responding to an emergency when they used disabled parking at Timmy's. And they have the proof.

by Joe Warmington

We Are Going To Have To Take The Heat Stephen

No shelter from Bernier fallout
By PAUL BERTON

For better or worse, we are all judged by the company we keep. Nowhere is this more obvious than in politics. It doesn't mean people should be hired or fired based on personal relationships, but it cannot be ignored either.

Full Column

Two Walls! Will Both Be Subjected To Same Consideration?

Bussin says it's all or nothing.

Art Or Crime? T.O. Declares War On Graffiti

Tuesday May 27, 2008

CityNews.ca Staff

It's an age-old question: is graffiti art, or merely colourful vandalism? These days it seems like the Toronto's powers that be are leaning towards the latter.

Toronto business owner Darlene Richards-Loghrin isn't so sure. She commissioned a spray-painted mural on the side of her establishment after years of trying to fight less creative work.

"This is definitely different because it was put here purposely," she says.

And that's the crux of the issue. It seems graffiti, like beauty, is all in the eye of the beholder.

Still, in City Councillor Sandra Bussin's eyes, there's no room for any of it. Bussin and Toronto Police are now enlisting the public's help in their battle against graffiti.

"We don't like this, we don't want this and it doesn't meet our community standard," she said at a meeting Tuesday night.

It turns out her constituents agree, at least for the most part. In Ward 32 Beaches-East York, a study suggested people's top crime concern was what was decorating or defacing their public surfaces.

"It is a crime and it's not victimless," charges Toronto Police officer Rob MacDonald. "Somebody has to spend the time to clean it up or paint it over and it'll cost them not only financially but in their valuable time."

But Richards-Loghrin and those that share her perspective argue the city is failing to make a distinction between art and vandalism.

"Tagging is something that is done in the middle of the night ... it's ugly, it defaces the wall," she explains.

Bussin says it's all or nothing.

"If you allow that one to go forward when other people call in to complain about a similar-looking image, how do you deal with that?" she asks.

At least for right now, Toronto's dealing with it simply by asking people with graffiti they want gone from their neighbourhoods to call Access Toronto at 416.338.0338.

How Many Gang Members Hold Membership In A Registered "Gun Club?"

Comrade Miller Looking For Registered Weapons
And Waiting For McGinty To
Answer Him

Gun owners fired up

by BRIAN GRAY, SUN MEDIA

The duel is on.

A group representing legal gun owners has vowed to hit Toronto where it hurts the most -- in the economy -- because Mayor David Miller has targeted them in his ongoing battle against gun crime.

"Our goal is to hurt the City of Toronto," said Tony Bernardo, of the Canadian Institute for Legislative Action, which speaks for the Canadian Shooting Sports Association. "You can only take being defecated upon for so long."

He accused Miller of going after legal gun owners because he has no other ideas on how to solve the gun-crime problem in Toronto.

NOT BACKING DOWN

Miller announced Monday he would support recommendations going before the next meeting of the powerful executive committee to shut down two gun clubs that operate out of city-owned facilities.

Miller did not back down yesterday.

"Guns are so unsafe that we, as a city, are not going to treat it has a hobby anymore," Miller said. "We're going to treat it as the serious safety hazard that it is."

There are 13 proposals before the committee next Tuesday, including a call for a bylaw that would prohibit the creation of new gun shops and shooting clubs.

Councillor Michael Thompson called Miller's actions "political junkfood."

"It's all cosmetic," Thompson said. "He's not willing to deal with the major issues; he deals with all things around gun violence which are very minor in nature."

WANT COOPERATION

Thompson said the mayor would be better off co-operating with the federal government to curb illegal guns at the border and encouraging stiffer jail sentences for those who use guns in the commission of crimes.

Bernardo's group launched the website, torontothebad.com, to let gun owners know exactly where they stand when they set foot in the city.

"Don't go where you're not wanted," the website says in urging a Toronto boycott. "Let (Miller) know that we, our loved ones, our friends and anyone else we care to influence will choose another place to spend our money."

The group will also place ads in the U.S., where Bernardo said there are 80 million registered gun owners, urging they spend their tourist dollars elsewhere.

Why these exceptions?

Toronto mayor David Miller wants to make all handguns illegal in the city, except for police and provincial or federal government facilities.

National Post, May 27, 2008

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Objects Don't Commit Crimes People Do

May 26, 2008

First it was guns, now it’s knives, then forks and spoons. When do we get to hands?

Filed under: Government Idiocy, Lost Rights, Crime, Government Incompetence — Jerry @ 2:29 pm

Murdered Harry Potter actor’s family call for end to knife crime epidemic

Hey, Britain: Before there were guns and knives there were evil people, some of whom used rocks to kill, It’s not the tool it’s evil intent. Those people need to be removed from society some for a period of years or decades and others in a more permenent way. You get crime waves when the penalty for crime is less than the damage inflicted. The British judicial system is a prime cause of the problem. Police inefficiency and hamsreinging PC rules don’t help either. It’s the liberal mindset that is bringing Britain to the Clockwork Orange stage.

Freedom Of Expression Isn't Free

Students Learn: Nothing Comes Without a Price

A fascinating nugget came out of TVO’s Steve Paikin’s appearance on Dennis Miller’s radio show the other day. It seems that the three Osgoode Hall Law School students fronting radical Islamist Mohammed Elmasry’s Human Rights Commission complaints against Maclean’s magazine - Khurram Awan, Naseem Mithoowani, and Muneeza Sheikh - confided to Paikin after their appearance on his show, that they are having trouble finding articling jobs, because they are being seen as anti-freedom-of-speech. Listen to the fine 8-minute interview from Miller’s show here .

When they signed up to be the media-friendly faces of Elmasry’s Canadian Islamic Congress in its assault on our centuries-old tradition of freedom of expression, perhaps they never considered that there may be consequences to their fun little adventure. What they ended up with was a very expensive learning experience, one that has already hurt their careers before their careers have even begun. Tough for them. Meanwhile, Mr. “every Israeli citizen is a legitimate terrorist target” Elmasry should be ashamed of himself, for exploiting impressionable young people to further his own agenda. Then again, he can’t help himself - that’s just what his ilk do.

Let's Look At Dion's Carbon Tax

Billions wasted on UN climate programme

Energy firms routinely abusing carbon offset fund, US studies claim

Billions of pounds are being wasted in paying industries in developing countries to reduce climate change emissions, according to two analyses of the UN's carbon offsetting programme.

Leading academics and watchdog groups allege that the UN's main offset fund is being routinely abused by chemical, wind, gas and hydro companies who are claiming emission reduction credits for projects that should not qualify. The result is that no genuine pollution cuts are being made, undermining assurances by the UK government and others that carbon markets are dramatically reducing greenhouse gases, the researchers say.

Predicting Stephane Dion's carbon tax

Saturday, May 24, 2008 at 09:38 PM Comments: 31

Stephane Dion is going to roll out a carbon tax plan. Canadians are praising it or denouncing it, without any idea of what the plan is actually going to be.

Let's try and figure it out. Just the base carbon tax rate and nothing more. It's not really all that hard to do.

Elizabeth May to Jack Layton: "Leave Stephane Alone!!!"

"And how fucking dare anyone not jump on board with Dion after all he didn't do to curb climate change?"

Why Would Opposition Oppose Giving Human Rights To Indians

Native law loophole to be closed

BILL CURRY

From Monday's Globe and Mail

May 26, 2008 at 4:52 AM EDT

OTTAWA — A 31-year-old loophole exempting native reserves from Canada's human rights laws will be closed after the Conservative government and the opposition reached a rare truce in the House of Commons over proposed legislation.

Bill C-21, which amends the Canada Human Rights Act so that it applies to native reserves, has been in limbo for weeks after the Conservatives said opposition amendments made the bill unsupportable.

It looks like promoting Toronto in New York, to increase tourist traffic, in one of the ideas being put forward by Councilor Kyle Rae and he is to commended for joining those who support the Toronto Island Airport. Anyone flying in from New York would more likely fly Porter to the Island Airport, where they are right in the middle of the action, rather than the boondocks of Pearson. Thanks for joining Kyle.

McGinty A Poor Judge Of Character

He sees merit in giving Comrade Miller, who has no problem doing an "end run" around the rules in order to reward his flunkies......

City Hall a poor model for Board

May 27, 2008

Royson James

Further evidence that the discredited Catholic school board trustees should not be looking to Toronto city hall for moral guidance on spending:

An item now before city council again shows how councillors protect themselves and use their built-in advantage, buttressed by tax dollars, to insulate their positions against attack or scrutiny.

Citizen LeRoy St. Germain took Councillor Sandra Bussin to court, alleging she failed to comply with rules governing campaign financing in the 2006 municipal elections. We don't know if the charges would've stuck because Bussin's lawyer argued the citizen missed the deadline to seek an audit of her expenses and the judge agreed. Still, Bussin's legal bill is $7,308. She wants the taxpayer to pay it.

Now, on one level, this seems reasonable. Any person with an axe to grind can take legal action against a councillor that costs thousands of dollars.

But on further review, a different picture emerges.

The city's legal department reviewed this and other cases and clearly concluded it was illegal for city council to cover such costs. For one, the matter occurred while Bussin was a candidate, not as a councillor. To cover Bussin in such a circumstance is to cover every other candidate, whether citizen or incumbent councillor, from vexatious or baseless complaints.

City legal also rejected a plan to establish a legal defence fund for councillors. So the executive committee, led by the mayor, did an end-run.

Council has an indemnification policy. The policy is funded from a general account. All the politicians have to do to get a legal bill covered is to claim a councillor faces exceptional circumstances. Armed with that self-designed loophole, executive committee tapped the fund.

What's exceptional about Bussin's case? Oh, the citizen waited too long to complain against her. As such, the way ally Councillor Howard Moscoe sees it, the action of the citizen is somehow "vexatious" or "baseless" and demands the taxpayer pay her legal costs.

It's inevitable council will back the executive committee. It's in the councillors' own interests. Bussin is the council speaker, akin to chair of council proceedings, the one who can sideline a perfectly good initiative by ruling it out of order and have her ruling backed by the mayor's allies, she being one.

Besides, there is precedent. Earlier this year Councillor Maria Augimeri had her $6,381 legal bill paid for, despite howls of protest from council's integrity commissioner.

In Augimeri's case, Integrity Commissioner David Mullan ruled she had been "irresponsible and reckless" in alleging another councillor, Peter Li Preti, was under "active police investigation." Li Preti, the Ward 8 incumbent, lost a close election race to Anthony Perruzza, a former assistant to Augimeri.

"Members of council need to be protected from frivolous and vexatious legal actions," Mayor David Miller said when the issue came up at executive committee. That's the leader's pronouncement. You can expect the others to fall in line.

The integrity commissioner, hired to be council's conscience, gives a clear indictment of a councillor's behaviour and calls for the councillor to issue a written apology. And city council moves to provide succour and strength to the offending councillor.

City lawyers say they can't recommend the city pay the legal bill for a councillor because it is illegal to do so. Not to worry, there's more than one way to bilk the taxpayer.

Now, are these the guys and gals who should be assisting the big and discredited spenders on the Catholic school board? Rather, they should be kept far apart.

Royson James usually appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Retail Jobs Are REAL Jobs........

......regardless of what the NIBYers in Leslieville and the local councillor would have you believe. I don't disagree with Rachel about the quality of service in many cases is less than expected but I would say it is the product of our society rather than the bricks and mortar of a box store.

My aversion to the 'big box'

It's not the size of those cavernous stores, it's the inept service I often encounter

by RACHEL SA

Call me crazy, but when I think "big box store," the idea of stellar customer service doesn't automatically pop into my mind.

That's what makes the latest twist in a battle over a proposed big box complex so interesting. In the first day of hearings before the Ontario Municipal Board that will decide the fate of the proposed SmartCentres complex in Leslieville, Dennis Wood, the lawyer for SmartCentres, called opposition to the development "snobbery" and accused the local community of denigrating retail jobs.

"Their counsel said 'a retail job is not a real job,' " Wood told the media. "I was astonished he would say that, given the amount of retail employment we have in this city -- how important it is to a lot of people who work very hard."

The proposed SmartCentre, which may have a Wal-Mart as its anchor store, estimates it will create 2,000 such retail jobs. The city's lawyer, Brendan O'Callaghan, argued the land should be used for more film and new media outlets that will lead to quality jobs for the city of Toronto.

Wood's outrage at the so-called "snobbery" of east-enders is a bit disingenuous. Of course a retail job is a real job. But the idea that the public ranks retail jobs in a different level than, say, lawyers and doctors, should come as no surprise. Retail is often a relatively low-skill, low-paying job. For a majority of people, it is viewed as where you start off, not where you end up.

Now before you all freak out, I have done the retail thing. My stints include being a Wal-Mart greeter and cashier (I still keep the blue vest tucked under my bed for some odd reason), and a bookstore clerk.

The public perception, however, doesn't mean retail jobs are useless. Far from it. No one can deny that retail workers play an immensely important role. We couldn't function without them. And, rather than being the last bastion of the career-challenged, many people actually enjoy working in retail.

With that said, if SmartCentres -- and all big-box style stores -- really want their workers to be treated with more respect, then they should train them to provide excellent customer service. As it is, I find I have to spend a good half hour meditating just so I can be Zen enough to deal with the often inept service I frequently encounter at big retail outlets.

Untrained, sometimes downright rude staff, and customers with more product knowledge than the employees have become the norm of big box shopping. Do you ever wonder why it's such a joy to encounter great customer service? It's because it happens so rarely that it's become a cherished event rather than a daily expectation.

SOUNDS OLD, HUH?

I'm not saying every staffer in every big box retail store is inept. But it's rare -- almost unheard of -- to get quality customer service in those cavernous stores these days. (And yes, I am aware I sound about a billion years old when I say that. Next I'll be complaining about "these kids today." Argh.)

Smaller shops may cost a bit more, may take a bit more of our time, but chances are you're more likely to deal with someone who is knowledgeable about what they're selling -- and, heck, maybe they'll even be pleasant to boot!

Working retail, dealing with the public day in and day out, is hard work -- when it's done well, with pride. But a retail model that allows for a massive decline in customer service on a grand scale does more to tarnish the image of retail workers than a few snobs ever could.

At Least The Panhandlers Will Have A Subsidized Home...

.....that they can retreat to and there are opportunities for them to expand their enterprise. I am sure the city would supply them with a internet connection and a computer so they could beg online and be dependent on the weather and expand their begging base.

Filling the panhandlers' cup
City adds $5 million to help beggars, but promises no improvement to scene on our streets
When asked yesterday how many fewer beggars we'll see on Toronto's streets a year from now as the result of the city's new $5-million panhandling plan, homeless bureaucrat Phil Brown was typically evasive.
Full Column

Toronto Silly Hall...McGinty Says Merit - I Say Demerit

I agree that the "leader" of a large urban center needs more power but there has to be built in safeguards.....something like a simple recall motion that can be initiated by the voters.

Pumping up the mayor

Premier: 'Merit' to power boost

Updated: 61 minutes ago

Full Story

McGinty wants to give more power to a doofus like Comrade Miller who wants to place restrictions on citizens who are involved in a legal activity.

Miller out to disarm gun clubs
Zoning would restrict pastime
Mayor David Miller is turning his sights on shooting clubs and gun manufacturers.

Toronto mayor seeks to ban guns with bylaw

...staff report doesn't distinguish between handguns and rifles and shotguns used in hunting

Miller aims to shut down sport shooting ranges
John Spears 24 min. ago
Mayor David Miller wants to close recreational shooting ranges in Toronto, along with giving the city power to block gun manufacturers and wholesalers from opening new plants or warehouses.

When was the last time anyone applied to build a plant in Toronto?

Why isn't Comrade Miller using those powers he already has to kick butt at Silly Hall to ensure that reports, especially those that relate to the activities of elected officials, are completed and published quickly.

Where's report?
Holyday itches to fight expenses
Councillor Doug Holyday wants to know why a long-delayed report on new rules for how city councillors spend their office budgets remains buried in bureaucracy.

Small Convience Store Owners Screwed By THE CHANGE

Cigarette Power Walls To Be Gone By Saturday

The nicotinenazis have won another battle and they are to be congratulated but at the same time you have to wonder why they are not setting up barricades on reserves where cigarettes are being manufactured, without any oversight on product ingredients, there are no taxes on cigarettes, cigarettes are being sold illegally to some convience shop owners, et. etc.

Another McGinty Screw Up

The problems with the Catholic Board, and the Toronto Board, did not develope overnight. Mike Harris recognized the problems with school boards and his attempts to bring them under control got lost in The Change brought in by McGinty, Kennedy and Wynne. Their refusal to deal with the problems, in the name of harmony, has come home to roost.

Wynne moves on Catholic board

Time for Wynne to move in
Toronto Catholic board needs a provincial supervisor to stabilize stumbling school system
By MOIRA MACDONALD

Will she or won't she?

Full Column

A Well Deserved Honor-Us Folks At Possum Lodge Are Very Proud

He believes that all of life's problems, big and small can be solved with several well placed sticks of dynamite. "Your wife left you? Blow up the stove. Otherwise you'll start cooking for yourself and that's dangerous." Edgar is hard of hearing, short several fingers, and not really big on safety, but he remains confident that with enough explosive you can overcome anything life throws at you.

Graham Greene to get honorary doctorate degree

Bio

Monday, May 26, 2008

Toronto Is Turning Green.......

......hopefully this will cover the blood red.

John Oakley: Toronto City Hall's misguided climate crusaders

Posted: May 25, 2008, 4:40 PM by Yoni Goldstein
Filed under: John Oakley

Never missing a beat to cast themselves as conscientious stewards of the environment, the climate crusaders at Toronto City Hall are proposing ways the city can address global warming in the upcoming budget. But even those behind the obvious ideas of planting trees and refitting the city’s fleet to be more fuel efficient seem to recognize the limited impact from what they can do.

So instead, they’re proposing strategies to adapt to climate change. For something as seemingly serious as global warming, it’s hard to take some of these proposals seriously: For citizens, they suggest you have a cool place to go during heat waves. Heed severe weather and smog warnings. And, oh yeah, buy locally grown food. typically obvious motherhood stuff.

Never mind that buying local may not always be the most cost-efficient or energy-conscious way of sourcing food, the point is the progressive thinkers at City Hall feel good about themselves for being on the vanguard of fighting climate change. Now, if they were really sincere about wanting to curb harmful gas, they’d cut their own ranks in half. That would relieve the taxpayer of 22 unnecessary carbon footprints.

John Oakley can be heard from 5:45 a.m.-10 a.m. EST Monday to Friday on AM 640 Toronto Radio. His Facebook page can be found here.