Standing at the podium at City Hall, Mayor David Miller whips out his BlackBerry, his fingers dance around the keypad, and he faces the crowd.
Monday, August 31, 2009
You Are Not Legally Obligated To "Join" Facebook
......so let's quit bitching if you chose to become a member of that community.
Opportunity To Wake Up Toronto Social In-Activists
Just use your imagination
By BILL LANKHOF
Toronto 2015 kicked off its two-day bragfest to win the Pan Am Games yesterday with breakfast at the CN Tower.
Full Story
There's nothing like a little uncivil disobedience to spice up the Games
rmickleburgh@globeandmail.com
For those expecting a barrel of fun on the streets of Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Games, the Olympic Resistance Network's latest video helpfully details "direct actions" taken so far to protest against the coming event. And I quote:
March 12, 2007: "Another VANOC event is disrupted when more than 200 protesters drown out the event with chanting and foghorns."
April 24, 2007: "A VANOC volunteer recruitment event in Halifax is disrupted when dozens of Olympic resisters rush the podium yelling 'No Olympics on Stolen Land!' "
May 22, 2007: "Members of the Anti-Poverty Coalition trash the offices of Ken Dobell, a member of VANOC and adviser to the B.C. Premier."
Aug. 19, 2007: "In Ottawa, a group of anarchists smash the windows of Bell Canada, national partner for the 2010 Olympics."
Dec. 10, 2007: "In Vancouver, the windows of a REMAX office were smashed ... in solidarity with all those fighting the Sun Peak ski resort and the 2010 Olympics."
Feb. 18, 2008: "Members of Native 2010 Resistance disrupt a press conference held by the Assembly of First Nations. The indigenous women pour bags of apples on the podium where Phil Fontaine is speaking. They claim the chief is a sell-out. Red-skinned, but white on the inside."
March 11, 2008: "One of many actions against Royal Bank of Canada occurred in Ottawa when a trashcan was hurled through their window."
May 7, 2008: "A Peter Klewitt and Sons truck was torched."
June 24, 2008: "Several military vehicles are set on fire in Vancouver against the Olympic police state. That same night in Toronto, another 13 vehicles were destroyed by fire at a General Motors dealership."
Ah, the delights of free speech and protest, hallmarks of a civil society.
By BILL LANKHOF
Toronto 2015 kicked off its two-day bragfest to win the Pan Am Games yesterday with breakfast at the CN Tower.
Full Story
There's nothing like a little uncivil disobedience to spice up the Games
rmickleburgh@globeandmail.com
For those expecting a barrel of fun on the streets of Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Games, the Olympic Resistance Network's latest video helpfully details "direct actions" taken so far to protest against the coming event. And I quote:
March 12, 2007: "Another VANOC event is disrupted when more than 200 protesters drown out the event with chanting and foghorns."
April 24, 2007: "A VANOC volunteer recruitment event in Halifax is disrupted when dozens of Olympic resisters rush the podium yelling 'No Olympics on Stolen Land!' "
May 22, 2007: "Members of the Anti-Poverty Coalition trash the offices of Ken Dobell, a member of VANOC and adviser to the B.C. Premier."
Aug. 19, 2007: "In Ottawa, a group of anarchists smash the windows of Bell Canada, national partner for the 2010 Olympics."
Dec. 10, 2007: "In Vancouver, the windows of a REMAX office were smashed ... in solidarity with all those fighting the Sun Peak ski resort and the 2010 Olympics."
Feb. 18, 2008: "Members of Native 2010 Resistance disrupt a press conference held by the Assembly of First Nations. The indigenous women pour bags of apples on the podium where Phil Fontaine is speaking. They claim the chief is a sell-out. Red-skinned, but white on the inside."
March 11, 2008: "One of many actions against Royal Bank of Canada occurred in Ottawa when a trashcan was hurled through their window."
May 7, 2008: "A Peter Klewitt and Sons truck was torched."
June 24, 2008: "Several military vehicles are set on fire in Vancouver against the Olympic police state. That same night in Toronto, another 13 vehicles were destroyed by fire at a General Motors dealership."
Ah, the delights of free speech and protest, hallmarks of a civil society.
American Style Health Care....
Bill Clinton tells CNE crowd he hopes U.S. will adopt Canadian-style health care
Canadian Style Health Care......
Take Your Pick.
It reates A Lot Of Traffic On Queen West
When MuchMusicMattered
It was never just about music, John Doyle writes, as he recalls "that there was time when MuchMusic was glorious TV"Who In The F^&k Is This Guy Bettman?
He must be someone important and powerful otherwise MSM wouldn't be giving him this much attention. Oh, I forgot! Jackson, Kennedy, etc. have had their 15 minutes......
Is Bettman prepared for next round with Balsillie?
Scott Stinson: Gary Bettman finally seeWho In The F65s the light. Sort of.
Is Bettman prepared for next round with Balsillie?
Scott Stinson: Gary Bettman finally seeWho In The F65s the light. Sort of.
Give Me A "Lumbercamp" Cook Over A Haute Cusine "Artiste"
Bonnie Stern: Franks so fancy you can call them Francis
First came gourmet burgers, then gourmet french fries. Now fast food is going upscale once more, as hot dogs become the latest foodie delight
People Helping People NOT.....
....bureaucracy to bureaucracy building walls of red tape.
Building a bridge to northern children
August 31, 2009
Carol Goar
Sandy lake first nation
It began with a box of sweaters. Micheal Hardy, executive director of the North-South Partnership for Children, remembers the moment clearly.
He was working in his office in Sioux Lookout. At the time, he headed Tikinagan Child and Family Services, the aboriginal equivalent of the Children's Aid Society. The phone rang. It was Maurice Brubacher, director of family and children's services for Guelph. "Do you want a box of sweaters?"
Hardy was puzzled. The children in the 30 remote communities served by his agency were properly clothed. They didn't need second-hand sweaters.
But because the offer was made in a spirit of generosity, he said yes.
That was nine years ago. Out of Brubacher's kind, but clumsy, gesture grew a remarkable partnership between the First Nations in the northern third of the province and a small – but growing – circle of individuals and organizations in the south dedicated to working with them to create a better future for their children.
"We really didn't think anybody cared about us," Hardy said. "This has created a new sense of hope and possibility for our communities. A lot is going to change in the next 10 years."
A lot has changed already. The driving force was Judy Finlay, Ontario's former Child Advocate. (She is now a professor at Ryerson University and co-chair of the North-South partnership.)
When Brubacher told her about the link he'd forged with his northern counterpart, she invited Hardy to come to Toronto and tell others about the conditions in which children in the far north lived. "She made a year-long commitment to advocate for us," Hardy recalled.
But when the year ended, Finlay was more passionate than ever about tackling the poverty, isolation and lack of opportunity that were holding First Nations children back. "My job was to ensure that all children had access to rights," she said. "Canada sends money and resources to Third World countries, but we have a Fourth World country in our backyard."
Finlay knew advocacy wouldn't be enough. She also realized she had to earn the trust of First Nations before speaking for them. Through Hardy, a former chief of the Rocky Bay First Nation, she met other chiefs and elders.
She flew to their communities and listened while they outlined the needs of their people and showed how failed government policies and lack of resources were constraining them. She made it clear that she was there to help, respecting their beliefs and practices.
Over time, Finlay became a welcome visitor. Working with Hardy in the north and Brubacher in the south, she widened the circle, reaching out to people and organizations with skills to share (building contractors, water experts), goods to donate (everything from disposable diapers to used ambulances) and funds to build the partnership.
Initially, the voluntary coalition concentrated on meeting the physical needs of First Nations, sending shipments of food, clothing, blankets, school supplies and sports equipment north. But as the partnership deepened, the focus broadened. It is now helping First Nations build on their strengths and find ways to achieve their priorities, while educating southern Ontarians about the realities of the north.
In 2006, the partnership was formalized, following a resolution of the 30 chiefs at their annual assembly. Its two co-chairs are Finlay and Chief Donny Morris of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation. Hardy is its executive director.
From 12 original organizations, it has grown to 102. It has arranged site visits for numerous southern partners. Last year, it raised more than $300,000.
But, according to everybody involved, it remains a "developing partnership." It will proceed at the pace needed to ensure First Nations are fully involved in shaping its mission and operations.
One people-to-people bridge-building effort won't solve the problems of Ontario's far north. But it's a start.
Next: The coroner visits
Building a bridge to northern children
August 31, 2009
Carol Goar
Sandy lake first nation
It began with a box of sweaters. Micheal Hardy, executive director of the North-South Partnership for Children, remembers the moment clearly.
He was working in his office in Sioux Lookout. At the time, he headed Tikinagan Child and Family Services, the aboriginal equivalent of the Children's Aid Society. The phone rang. It was Maurice Brubacher, director of family and children's services for Guelph. "Do you want a box of sweaters?"
Hardy was puzzled. The children in the 30 remote communities served by his agency were properly clothed. They didn't need second-hand sweaters.
But because the offer was made in a spirit of generosity, he said yes.
That was nine years ago. Out of Brubacher's kind, but clumsy, gesture grew a remarkable partnership between the First Nations in the northern third of the province and a small – but growing – circle of individuals and organizations in the south dedicated to working with them to create a better future for their children.
"We really didn't think anybody cared about us," Hardy said. "This has created a new sense of hope and possibility for our communities. A lot is going to change in the next 10 years."
A lot has changed already. The driving force was Judy Finlay, Ontario's former Child Advocate. (She is now a professor at Ryerson University and co-chair of the North-South partnership.)
When Brubacher told her about the link he'd forged with his northern counterpart, she invited Hardy to come to Toronto and tell others about the conditions in which children in the far north lived. "She made a year-long commitment to advocate for us," Hardy recalled.
But when the year ended, Finlay was more passionate than ever about tackling the poverty, isolation and lack of opportunity that were holding First Nations children back. "My job was to ensure that all children had access to rights," she said. "Canada sends money and resources to Third World countries, but we have a Fourth World country in our backyard."
Finlay knew advocacy wouldn't be enough. She also realized she had to earn the trust of First Nations before speaking for them. Through Hardy, a former chief of the Rocky Bay First Nation, she met other chiefs and elders.
She flew to their communities and listened while they outlined the needs of their people and showed how failed government policies and lack of resources were constraining them. She made it clear that she was there to help, respecting their beliefs and practices.
Over time, Finlay became a welcome visitor. Working with Hardy in the north and Brubacher in the south, she widened the circle, reaching out to people and organizations with skills to share (building contractors, water experts), goods to donate (everything from disposable diapers to used ambulances) and funds to build the partnership.
Initially, the voluntary coalition concentrated on meeting the physical needs of First Nations, sending shipments of food, clothing, blankets, school supplies and sports equipment north. But as the partnership deepened, the focus broadened. It is now helping First Nations build on their strengths and find ways to achieve their priorities, while educating southern Ontarians about the realities of the north.
In 2006, the partnership was formalized, following a resolution of the 30 chiefs at their annual assembly. Its two co-chairs are Finlay and Chief Donny Morris of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation. Hardy is its executive director.
From 12 original organizations, it has grown to 102. It has arranged site visits for numerous southern partners. Last year, it raised more than $300,000.
But, according to everybody involved, it remains a "developing partnership." It will proceed at the pace needed to ensure First Nations are fully involved in shaping its mission and operations.
One people-to-people bridge-building effort won't solve the problems of Ontario's far north. But it's a start.
Next: The coroner visits
They Talk A God Schtik BUT......
.....for many social in-activists gang violence has become another cottage industry.
We need to be 'disgusted'
A dominant force in the battle against gang crime has expressed disappointment over the low turnout at an anti-violence rally that took place over the weekend.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Isolated Incidents Don't Add Up To A Conspiracy.....
Black congresswoman says opposition trying to destroy president 'who looks like me'...
PAPER: Chairman of tax-writing committee failed to report millions...
Race-baiter Democrat Rep. Diane Watson praises Cuban health system, Castro & Guevara who “kicked out the wealthy”
Longtime readers of this blog will be quite familiar with race-baiting Democrat Rep. Diane Watson of California.
She attacked Ward Connerly for marrying a white woman.
She bragged about Washington, D.C. being a “chocolate city.”
She polluted the Hurricane Katrina aftermath with race card-playing nonsense.
Thanks to KABC, there’s audio of Watson heaping praise on Castro, Guevara, and the Cuban health system at her town hall meeting last night — as well as injecting her usual racial poison into the health care debate. (For a reminder of what Cuban health care is really like, click here.)
PAPER: Chairman of tax-writing committee failed to report millions...
Before Putting On The Cammos And Taking To The Ramparts.......
....take the time to read McCullagh's article to get an insight into the powers President has right now.
BILL WOULD GIVE OBAMA 'EMERGENCY' CONTROL OF INTERNET...
BILL WOULD GIVE OBAMA 'EMERGENCY' CONTROL OF INTERNET...
Do Your Tech Homework First......possibly a glorified BlackBerry?
Netbook sales surge, but can the furor last?
At first blush, these lightweight or “mini” notebooks lend themselves perfectly to student life.
- From chic and pretty to fast and powerful, a round-up of laptops to start the school year
- From chic and pretty to fast and powerful, a round-up of laptops to start the school year
- Laptop shopping guide
I Am Moving From Fairbank To Glen Park......
| map of over 200 Toronto neighbourhoods. |
We define ourselves by our neighbourhoods
by Christopher Hume
....which is a two minute walk. Am I going to have to make chages in attitude, life style, etc.?
Harper DID Put Forth Senate Reform Bill.....
......what happened to it? Where do the loyalty of the majority of Senators lie......Canadians will choose senators under new bill
13 Dec 2006 ... Prime Minister Stephen Harper introduced a Senate reform bill Wednesday that gives all Canadians a say about who represents them, ...
www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/12/13/harper-senators.html - Similar
www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/12/13/harper-senators.html - Similar
Canada's Government Moves Forward with Senate Reform - News ...
28 May 2009 ... The November 19, 2008 Speech from the Throne reaffirmed the government's commitment to Senate reform: “Legislation will also be introduced ...
www.democraticreform.gc.ca/index.asp?lang=eng... - Cached - Similar
www.democraticreform.gc.ca/index.asp?lang=eng... - Cached - Similar
Put Things In Perspective.....
.....the vast MAJORITY of the people in these neighborhoods are honest and hard working people but we are spending the vast majority of our resources on the minority who blame "whitey" for their problems.
High levels of poverty, unemployment
What do Toronto's 13 priority neighbourhoods have in common?
Cash doesn't solve all the problems, but it helps
Cash won't paper over all the problems in Toronto's 13 priority neighbourhoods.
Let's Stop Kissing Ass And Start Kicking Ass
* No bail for gangstas and/or gun offences* Mandatory sentencing
* No concurrent sentencing
Cleaning up the streets
On any given day, the piercing shriek of police sirens echo through Toronto's neighbourhoods.
In some, it's background noise
Knife fights, robberies, gang violence, drug busts, gunfire, sexual assaults, even murder if not routine are common.
'They are making a difference'
Two men jumped out of a white minivan in the Driftwood Court townhouse complex last September and started shooting.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Let's Not Judge Him & Be Fair...Millett is a Member Of The Green Party
Erik Millett, principal of Belleisle Elementary, ran for the Green Party in the last federal election.Minister won't be fired for anthem comments: PMO
Updated Sat. Aug. 29 2009 2:35 PM ET
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper is rejecting calls from a former New Brunswick school principal who stopped the daily playing of "O Canada," to oust a member of his cabinet.
Erik Millett said Friday that Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson should be fired unless he apologizes for comments made earlier this year criticizing the anthem decision.
PMO spokesman Dimitri Soudas told The Canadian Press that Harper stands by Thompson and does not intend to dismiss him from cabinet.
In an email, Soudas also said the government "makes no apologies" for being proud of the national anthem.
Earlier this year, Thompson told the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal that Millett is "proving he has no appreciation for the sensitivity of some issues."
Millett said if Thompson fails to apologize within a week, and Harper refuses to fire him, he'll sue the veterans affairs minister for defamation of character.
Good Question!
Where were the Mothers of Confederation?
And why was Macdonald on that low step? We might know if we studied the daily details of our historyTicket Sales Would Have Been Greater IF....
- ....organizers had arranged a saxophone concert with Bill's buddy Ronnie Hawkins as part of the event
- Marni Soupcoff: Why are taxpayers funding a Bill Clinton speech no one wants to go to?
-
The original sad story: A portion of a $3-million “tourism stimulus” grant from Ottawa was used to partially finance a Bill Clinton speech at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. The even sadder update: No one’s coming. All right, that’s an exaggeration. Some people are coming. The organizers have sold about 7,000 advance tickets for the event, and a handful others may be sold at the door to impulse buyers already visiting the Ex. (“Honey, it just occurred to me — you know what would make this funnel cake taste even better? A Bill Clinton speech.”) But the organizers originally expected to sell more like 25,000 tickets, and have now had to scramble to change the layout of the venue to make the anticipated small crowd look... well, less small.
And that would be perfectly fine if this were a completely private venture financed by anyone but government. But with the addition of the feds’ stimulus money, the speech becomes a huge billboard advertisement for why such “stimulus” is a joke (not in the “ha ha” sense, but rather in the complete waste sense).
Toronto Silly Hall
Carts off track in street food pilot
Polls, Bloody Polls
The end of the age of our social cohesion?
Discrepancies in recent poll results may be a symptom of increasing fragmentation in Canadian society, rather than of any fault in the methods of data collectionObama Will Have To Stock Molsons
Harper makes ‘cunning' choice in sending Doer to U.S.
Outgoing NDP Premier's impact will depend on his ‘personal relationship with Stephen Harper,' says Lewis, a former Canadian ambassador to the UN- Sheldon Alberts: Wilson cites protectionism as Doer's premier challenge
-
As Canada's ambassador to the United States for the past three years, Michael Wilson mostly went about his business quietly.
He was not Frank McKenna, who loved to press the flesh during his time in D.C., enjoyed stirring things up with the Bush administration when he felt Canada was being done wrong, and rarely met a microphone he didn't like. And he certainly wasn't Allan Gotlieb, the party-throwing diplomat who raised Canada's profile in the U.S. capital by wooing lawmakers and lobbyists alike with grand soirees that made him and his wife, Sondra, regulars in the society pages of the Washington Post.
Instead Wilson has been a workmanlike envoy, never flashy and certainly not seeking to make headlines. For Canadian reporters based in Washington, it was sometimes hard to tell whether Wilson actually liked the job -- he just never seemed to relish the glad-handing and schmoozing inherent to the position. And there was a sense that the Canadian media, especially, was to be tolerated but not courted -- though suspicions were the approach came on orders from Ottawa.
Defeating Liberals From Within.......
56 min. ago
After sauntering to the Liberal leadership unchallenged, Michael Ignatieff perhaps had reason to think he could coast just as easily to the prime ministership. Weary of the economic downturn, Stephen Harper's heartlessness ...
After sauntering to the Liberal leadership unchallenged, Michael Ignatieff perhaps had reason to think he could coast just as easily to the prime ministership. Weary of the economic downturn, Stephen Harper's heartlessness ...
Are The Silent Majority Regaining Their Voices?
Anti-Millers get nasty
Yard signs resort to name calling in early start to 2010 election campaign
Residents unhappy with Mayor David Miller's reign are taking it to the streets with a not-so-subtle sign campaign.The bright yellow signs with black letters that shout "David Miller is an idiot!" have been springing up around the city this week.
Although the people behind the signs are on the mailing list and attended some organizing events of the Toronto Party, they claim they're acting as individuals trying to spur a "silent majority" against the mayor.
"I think (the signs) speak for themselves," said a woman who has the sign in her Heath St. W. front garden.
The woman, who refused to give her name, said she's a life-long Torontonian but disagrees with Miller's tenure.
"He's made our city dirty," she said. "He makes me ashamed of my city."
The couple posted the sign in their neighbourhood, northeast of Avenue Rd. and St. Clair Ave., on Thursday. They say about two dozen people cheered their protest or shouted "Hooray!" as they passed by.
Many even asked where they can get a sign of their own.
A spokesman for Miller's office did not return a request for comment yesterday.
Later in the day, a man who refused to give his name said he was part of the group of individuals behind the sign campaign.
"We're not organizers of the Toronto Party, it's just a group of us who are on their mailing list and attended some of their organizing events," he said.
According to its website, the Toronto Party was created in 2006 as a non-partisan, civic electoral organization dedicated to contesting all 44 council seats and the mayoralty in the 2010 election. It makes no secret of its opposition to Miller.
Despite much outrage over this summer's civic workers' strike, the man said the 200 signs were ordered well before CUPE 416 and 79 went on strike for 39 days.
"This has been long simmering," he said. "This is a number of issues ... the garbage strike ... is really just symbolic and a convenient excuse to bring the signs out finally."
While the man said no one in the group wants to run for mayor, they do want the movement for an alternative candidate to get underway.
"There's lots of people out there who are upset but not a lot of people who are politically active and we've got to get those people," he said.
DON.PEAT@SUNMEDIA.CA
Friday, August 28, 2009
Possibly A Person Who Doesn't Have A "Life"....
.....or little insight into the people of Toronto. We elected Comrade Miller and His crew of clowns so it shows many people have a sense of humour but jokes about mothers, women in general and our pets are done at personal risk. Hmm! Description sounds familar. Possibly he is a window blind blogger.
Dog menu prankster annoyed with critics, police
Updated: Fri Aug. 28 2009 2:09:30 PM
A prankster who left a fake menu on car windshields in High Park, a place where dog poisonings have occurred, professes himself annoyed with what he sees as an over-reaction.
Mel Glickman created a flyer for the Dog Liver Café, a fictitious restaurant that offered "authentic Asian canine cuisine" and more than "100 ways to wok a dog."
This outraged some real dog owners. They called the police.
"They have to do some explaining as well about why they are so paranoid," Glickman said of his critics. "And the police -- what's up with them? Why did they think a guy who secretly poisons dogs would go and do something like this?"
Glickman noted he put his real phone number on the fake menu, so it's not like he was trying to hide.
The menu wasn't intended to insult either Asian people or dog owners.
Glickman, a 68-year-old retired architect, said he's a dog-lover and has helped deliver litters of kittens.
"I have nothing against dogs, and in a way, as some people are outraged by my actions, I'm outraged as well. Because how anyone can take something as farcical and satirical and obvious and extreme as this and say 'this guy is a secret poisoner of dogs' is a real stretch."
He described himself as "very proud" of some of the wordsmithing in the flyer. For example:
- garlic husky hot paws
- barbecued beagle tongue
- General Tao's terrier
- Cantonese collie with noolde
The 'company' behind the restaurant was described as a "subsidiary of Dog FU'D Inc."
In June 2008, eight dogs were poisoned in High Park's off-leash area. Two died.
However, the person who left the antifreeze may have been targeting raccoons, not dogs.
Please Add Comments(11)
Fido from Dogtown
Where's there's smoke there's fire. He says he has nothing against dogs but he deliberately draws attention to himself with bad taste menus of dog meat. When the provinces started cutting funds to mental institutions there had to be consequences like this. Me thinks he doth protest too much! Sounds like a pending CSI show.
pinkster
WOW...this guy sais he's just a prankster? Fantastic. He's the poster boy for stupidity... the disease there's no cure for.
Seriously?
Yes, by the way, I am a dog owner...
Wow people.
I'm not a fan of this guys sense of humour, but Torontonians need to get a grip. If you felt half as much angst to help your homeless, you'd be doing a greater service.
Doggonit
I think this is stupidity at its finest, though not directed at the author but rather at all those who can not take a step back and laugh off something so simple. Why are people so damn uptight that they fail to see the humour? There is no harm being done; no crime committed...
I for one think the only problem here is that someone actually called the police one man's harmless joke!
Erin
It's a joke! Really! Why sweat it? I would have laughed had I found this on my car. Life is too short to get bent over such things. Find the humour in each day and your soul will be better off for it.
And yes, I am a dog owner! She's the sweetest yellow lab in the world but then, I am biased.
:o)
Homer J
I think it's pretty funny. I already know what Beagle tongue tastes like from all the lick's I get from my hound.....he forgot to mention German Sheppard's Pie in his menu....
Outraged in Ont
I believe that Mr. Glickman should be prosecuted for hate crimes. Clearly his "joke" was racist and aimed at Asian people. It feeds on the Urban Legend that Asian restaurants serve dog meat. This flyer could damage the reputation of any Asian restaurants in the area.
The Chairman
The Ku Klux Klan didn't exactly keep to themselves either. Keep to architechture and leave comedy to the professionals Mel. I support your freedom of speech but this went a little too far? Why Asians? Why not Muslims, or Jews or Blacks? I think you picked on a group that you felt wouldn't fight back. Too bad you're wrong.
Jay-TO
His attempt at humour really isn't. They guy himself says he made it to show how uptight Torontonians are so he never intended to be funny from the start. His intention was to be offensive. The guy himself is just an obnoxious a-hole. He himself said in interviews that he despises Tamils, hates Cupe members and then makes up a menu with chinese sounding meals made of dog. He is offensive. You can tell he's obviously one of those new conservative types. Just a jerk. A rich overly entitled conservative jerk. His time would be better spent away from real humans. I hope he gets charged with mischief or worse just so he gets a criminal record.
Rob from NB
Perhaps Mel has a little too much time on his hands, but this is a satire with a slightly (or more) twisted sense of humour.
Therefore, it's a joke; people need to get over it.
Adam from Mississauga
I think this menu is sooo funny! People should just take a chill pill and relax..have a laugh
We Have A Lot Of Travelling To Do Before This Happens.....
......left, right, right, right.
Playing The 53rd Card
August 28, 2009
Are you an Islamophobe?
Do you suffer from this malady that is the worst form of terrorism?
Take this simple test. Consult your local Reeducation Camp Supervisor to discuss results. And don't worry. There is a cure. You, too, can learn to love Big Brother.
"Are You An Islamophobe?," by Phyllis Chesler in Pajamas Media, August 26:
Are you an Islamophobe? Here is a simple test.Posted by Robert at 2:37 AMLorna Saltzman’s Test
Do you favor equal rights and treatment of women and men?
Do you oppose stoning of women accused of adultery?
Do you favor mandatory education of girls everywhere?
Do you oppose slavery and child prostitution?
Do you support complete freedom of expression and the press?
Do you support the right of an individual to worship in her chosen religion?
Do you oppose government- and mosque-supported anti-Semitic publications, radio, TV and textbooks?
Do you oppose the wearing of burqas in public places, schools and courts?
Do you oppose segregation of the sexes in public places and houses of worship?
Do you oppose the death penalty for non-Muslims and Muslims who convert to another religion?
Do you oppose “honor” killings?
Do you oppose female genital mutilation?
Do you oppose forced sexual relations?
Do you oppose discrimination against homosexuals?
Do you support the right to criticize religion?
Do you oppose polygamy?
Do you oppose child marriage, forced or otherwise?
Do you oppose the quranic mandate to kill non-Muslims and apostates?
Do you oppose the addition of sharia courts to your country’s legal system?
Do you disagree with the quran which asserts the superiority of Islam to all other religions?
If you answered most or all of these affirmatively, you are a vile Islamophobe and deserve to be beheaded as the quran instructs.
If you answered one third or more of them affirmatively, you are a borderline Islamophobe and need to receive brainwashing to become a full-fledged dhimmi.
If you answered a quarter or fewer affirmatively, you need a few private lessons in dhimmitude to scrub yourself clean of those remnants of Islamophobia.
If you answered affirmatively to NONE of these, Congratulations! You are a worthy observant (radical–PC addition) Muslim and have a bright future vilifying Jews, torturing women or, inshallah, becoming a suicide bomber.”
Thank you Lorna for laying it all out.
FYI: Lorna Saltzman has been a environmental writer, lecturer and organizer since the early 1970s and was a candidate for the US Green Party’s presidential nomination in 2004. Her articles on evolution, energy, Green politics and secularism can be found on her website:
www.lornasalzman.com
You Can Pick The Descriptives in Commenting On This BUT...
...lets not condemn the whole system and the providers based on this incident. I have had angioplasty done twice on an out patient basis, done in the morning and discharged the same day, and within the last year was admitted to hospital for a possible stroke and the care and attention from the 911 call to final discharge was more than adequate.
Tommy Douglas: Not Dead Enough
Treatment you'd only wish on Jack Layton;
We waited nearly an hour for a resident to finally stop by and enquire what the matter was. Appallingly, she had no prior knowledge of why my Mother had been admitted. My shock increased after she asked, in all seriousness, if the angioplasty had been a success. I can only assume that the look on my face caused her to retreat and summon the physician on duty. Exhibiting Solomon like wisdom, the attending doctor suggested that a physical examination was in order. She then disappeared with the resident in tow. A nurse was dispatched who informed us that my Mother would have to be undressed for the examination. Since this Angel of Mercy made no offer to assist, I took it upon myself to undress my bedridden mother in a public corridor, in full view of the passing parade of visitors, patients and staff. (Truth be told, the homeless guy was pretty discrete, or at least preoccupied.)
Mom was eventually examined, in the public corridor, and an ultrasound ordered, all while a street person dumped a filled adult diaper on the floor and replaced her own soiled bed linens in the ward next to us.
Read the whole thing.
Posted by KateI See Headlines Like This And Wonder......
...what colour shirts and type of footwear the organizers will be wearing? (my comment)
Gays against Israeli Apartheid to march in Ottawa...
Gee, you can even celebrate the city of Tel Aviv without ridiculous protest...posted by GayandRight
Post Mortem (Delayed....)
- by: Chris Bilton
The garbage is being removed from the streets, but with an election pending, there’s more crap than usual going around City Hall ...more
Called In Out Of The Cold
Left out in the cold
No $$$ For Affordable Housing BUT.....
TIFF's new home to get $10-million upgrade
Public money comes at crucial time for cash-strapped festivalWho Opposed Senate Electoral Reform......
- ...I believe it was the Liberals So why not take avantage of the system and reward your supporters. It isn't right but that is how the game is played.....
Everybody Into The Senate Pool!
Posted 8/27/2009 12:00:00 PM As a resident of St. Paul's riding I'm stuck in a provincial by-election campaign and I've already had two seniors at the door from Elections Ontario. I talked to them in halting language through a crack in the door as though I was dismembering a corpse in my living room. Hey, it was a Sunday afternoon and I was bored. Probably gave them something to talk about at their United Church campaign to repatriate Omar Khadr the next day.I've also had a door tag from the Liberal candidate and the NDP has called twice. We're only a week into the mini-campaign and the Conservatives haven't contacted me yet.
In the middle of this wonderful example of democracy I have to deal with the latest news out of Ottawa, where the folks in the Harper government have once again tossed everything they've stood for over the side for political expediency.... [ READ MORE ]
- Gerry Nicholls: Please make me a senator, please, please
-
Despite what I have written or said in the past, I firmly believe Stephen Harper is the greatest, most magnificent, most brilliant Prime Minister in the history of the universe.
And I look forward to one day serving the Great Leader with unthinking, blind obedience and with complete loyalty.
(There, if that doesn't get me a Senate appointment, I don't know what will.)
Partisans and sober second thought
Stephen Harper was right to fill nine vacancies in the Senate, though he should also work harder toward making it into an elected chamberThin Skinned Individuals At Silly Hall
- Matt Gurney: The legal perils of attacking city hall
-
There are strange rumblings out of Toronto city hall. Toronto's most left-leaning politicians have approved a lawsuit against a newspaper, and surprisingly, it's not against us here at the Post. The city's general manager of solid waste took exception to a recent Toronto Star story claiming solid waste collection was suffering from serious flaws. The city is funding his suit.
Setting aside the oddity of Toronto's politicians suing their cheerleaders at the Star, there are serious issues at play here. Despite having recently voted down a proposal that would have let city councillors sue citizens on the taxpayers' dime, it is still permissible for the city to fund lawsuits approved by various officials at city hall. What could be more chilling to free speech than a thin-skinned politician or bureaucrat with a taxpayer-financed legal team? Remember, folks – even asking reasonable, fair, and completely valid questions might bankrupt you, if you can't afford to pay for your defence.
The Thin Edge Of The Internet Control Wedge
Canada wins Facebook fight
by Joanna Smith
57 min. ago
Nicole Lace wants to be the one in charge of how much the rest of the world knows about her life.
Putting a price tag on cyber-bullying
Kathleen Parker Aug. 27, 2009 When Oscar Wilde observed that the only thing worse than being talked about is ...
Lawyer fights to unmask City Hall blogger
A Winnipeg privacy lawyer is attempting to unmask the author of a controversial city hall blog -- potentially ending a mystery that has surrounded Ottawa politics since 2008.
Lawyer fights to unmask City Hall blogger
A Winnipeg privacy lawyer is attempting to unmask the author of a controversial city hall blog -- potentially ending a mystery that has surrounded Ottawa politics since 2008.
Those Who Voted For Change Will Say It Is Only $3500.....
....but it says volumes about the attitude of many politicians, bureaucrats and civil servants.
A $3,500 exercise in flawed symbolism
A $3,500 exercise in flawed symbolism
August 28, 2009
Jim CoyleThis week, Premier Dalton McGuinty summoned his Liberal caucus in from their summer frolics to attend a daylong meeting on, among other things, how to market his proposed harmonized sales tax.
Oddly, though Queen's Park is a summertime ghost town, its corridors an echoing emptiness, McGuinty did not hold this meeting in the government caucus room so generously provided in the Legislature building by taxpayers.
Nor did he find adequate to his tastes any of the many other rooms vacant around government precincts, which if not quite up to the Palace of Versailles are at least the equal of most hotel conference centres on the airport strip.
Instead, the caucus meeting was convened at the Toronto Board of Trade down on Bay St.
In the real-estate biz, the holy trinity is said to be location, location, location. In the image-obsessed political racket, it's symbolism, symbolism, symbolism.
So just what did the premier's choice of setting say?
First, for an initiative frequently billed as "bold," this was hardly a courageous expedition. The harmonized tax has long been a fond cause of the business community. It's doubtful that Liberals arriving in the heartland of HST support had a single chance encounter with a mind that needed changing.
How much bolder would it have been, say, to have met in the conference room of a suburban hockey complex, or the party room of a seniors' residence – the better to show a willingness to make the case for the new tax to folks who seem to have the deepest misgivings about it.
But there was a higher imperative at play. The McGuinty brain trust wants to demonstrate its pro-business bona fides. It also appears to be a little twitchy at the skittishness over the tax among government MPPs.
It was probably to keep potential caucus grumblers a little farther from meddlesome reporters that the meeting was held off site, and that the diversionary tactic of a premier's event was scheduled uptown at about the same time MPPs were arriving downtown.
Whatever the goal, it was apparently worth paying for. As the Star's Robert Benzie learned yesterday, the Liberal caucus paid $3,500 for the privilege of using the Bay St. space.
Which brings us back to the Choco-Bites.
That dubious $3.99 confection that one eHealth Ontario consultant already billing the province for $2,700 a day saw fit to also expense to taxpayers. The junk food that became shorthand for the spending fiasco for which the premier came to take ultimate responsibility.
What McGuinty said when new rules were announced for contracting and expense procedures was that "common sense" was called for in these matters. In fact, he set a new gold standard for appraising expenditures.
"If you couldn't sit down in front of a family at the breakfast table and say, `I'm submitting the bill for this or for that,' and look them straight in the eye then maybe you shouldn't be submitting that bill."
As it happens, the $3,500 bill to rent the Board of Trade space while government meeting rooms were vacant could have covered a lot.
It would cover about 350 hours' pay at minimum wage. It would cover the proposed HST rebate to several Ontario families.
It could even have covered the daily fees of an eHealth Ontario consultant, or about 14 per cent of a speech by the agency's former CEO, or a Willy Wonka-worthy mountain of Choco Bites.
But one thing's clear. Odds are the premier didn't vet the room rental past any Ontario breakfast table.
Bon Appetite!
City Hall butchers sidewalk eats
Toronto A La Cart has quickly simmered down to Toronto a la flop.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
We Are Getting New TTC Buses, We Have Ethnic Food Carts Finally And So On......
Can We Get A Few $$$$ More to fix potholes
Union Station gets $137M makeover
I Will Let Stafford Wrapup The Kennedy Legend
The Cowardly Lion
Posted 8/26/2009 12:00:00 PM Leave it to "The Onion" to make it easy for anyone to write anything negative about the late Ted Kennedy, liberal "lion" of the U.S. Senate.The on-line satirical newspaper headline this afternoon reads:
"Kennedy curse claims life of 77-year old tumour-riddled binge drinker".
Ouch.
That's a real counterpunch to the 13 minute hagiography that led NBC Nightly News tonight. Fans of big government and the dummies who've followed the Kennedy family saga with all its Camelot nonsense and revisionism got their fill of Saint Teddy today. Of course the infotainment shows were there with the stories of the Kennedy wives and the Kennedy "curse".
You've heard of the Kennedy "curse". Every time a family member died or faced rape or murder charges, the "curse" was pulled out of the shadows and that explained everything.
Like most so-called supernatural occurences, the "curse" could be explained by reckless behaviour and bad ... [ READ MORE ]
Couples Getting Laid But Guess Who Is Getting Screwed....Once Again
Ontario should fund in vitro fertilization: report
Expert panel on infertility and adoption finds OHIP covering some IVF for women under the age of 42 may end up saving millions; single cycle can cost ...
Time To Update Canadian History Books IF....
510-year-old royal letter points to early English contact with Canada
......there is anything left in the books after "educators" did revisions to appease Quebec and diversity dunderheads.If You Are Working Regularly and On The Books You Are eligible
- Stephen Gordon: Employment insurance isn't broke. So why fix it?
-
If asked, people might say something along the lines of this Toronto Star editorial:
The rolls of the unemployed in Canada continue to grow... Many or most of them won't be eligible for employment insurance (EI), due to the program's Byzantine eligibility requirements.
Very alarming - especially that word "most". But how do we know that a large fraction - let alone "most" - of the newly-unemployed are in fact not eligible for EI? Isn't that something we'd like to know?
I know it's something I'd like to know, so I decided to do some digging. It turns out that the EI system is holding up pretty well - in fact, much better than one might have expected.
Would You Like A Shopping Bag?
Guess who picks up the cost of product lost thru shoplifting? Right! You and I.
Tough to tell customers from thieves with bag ban
Tough to tell customers from thieves with bag ban
August 27, 2009
Joceline AndersenOur new ban on plastic bags has caused minor inconvenience for people who have long taken free grocery bags for granted. But a rise in spurious shoplifting accusations is an unintended side effect of this city bylaw.
A plastic bag serves as a marker of payment; anyone who has shopped at a major record store knows a sealed or stapled plastic bag was until recently the only ticket to leaving the premises without drawing the unwelcome attention of security. The 5-cent surcharge for a plastic bag means that wandering in and out of stores with a handful of goods is increasingly the norm, a situation that can lead to more than a few confrontations based on misunderstanding.
A slump in the economy may understandably put shop owners on the defensive in anticipating theft, but the plastic bag ban has made it much more difficult to pick out a shoplifter from an environmentally concerned shopper or, for that matter, a frugal one. Since the bag ban, I have witnessed an increasing number of incidents at stores where staff have confronted people leaving with a carton of milk or even walking by the storefront with a pint of strawberries. I have been challenged for the price of bread purchased at a nearby store and safely tucked away in my own canvas bag.
Shaming the shoplifter is one thing, but shaming the innocent customer is another. While stores have been relying on the plastic bag as a de facto proof of purchase, not to mention as mobile advertising, the bag ban requires shop owners to think of a new way of separating patron from perpetrator.
For the customer, becoming more diligent about saving receipts is one strategy, although at many stores these are not itemized and offer little proof of anything. Stickers are another option, where every item purchased is duly marked at the cash register. And not everyone seems to run into this problem – from what I've seen, merchants could save on stickers by offering them only to young people, who are, as usual, the most frequent victims of unwarranted suspicion.
And then there's the issue of trust. Vigilance is understandable, and the cloth bag does offer a ready-made alibi to wily shoplifters. However, if plastic bags are slowly being phased out, it means there needs to be a change in thinking about security. Catching a glimpse of someone with a peach in her purse doesn't imply the surreptitious activity it used to.
On the one hand, this might require that shoppers be watched more carefully from entrance to exit, their possessions searched and backpacks retained upon entry – a total surveillance scenario that seems nearly as unpleasant as a future of degraded ecosystems. On the other hand, can we ask for a little less suspicion and more benefit of the doubt?
Protecting the environment is not just about saving the rainforest or freeing the whales, it's about making Toronto a place that produces a little less waste. For their part, merchants must learn to scale back too – on accusations of shoplifting they have been making of late against customers who are trying to do their bit for the environment.
Stores that have long benefited from the free advertising emblazoned on their plastic bags would do well to consider how much more they will lose at the till from chasing consumers away, compared to their losses from shoplifting. They may well have to get more creative in policing their customers, but it's hard to believe that the plastic bag ban has made thieves more daring, or that the canvas bag has turned legions of shoppers into shoplifters.
Joceline Andersen is completing her master's degree in cinema studies at the University of Toronto.
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About Me
- Unhypentated Canadian
- I lean to the right but I still have a heart and if I have a mission it is to respond to attacks on people not available to protect themselves and to point out the hypocrisy of the left at every opportunity.MY MAJOR GOAL IS HIGHLIGHT THE HYPOCRISY AND STUPIDITY OF THE LEFTISTS ON TORONTO CITY COUNCIL. Last word: In the final analysis this blog is a relief valve for my rants/raves.