Harper government supports gross incompetance and rape

Canadian Soapbox: More on Conservative appointed judge who let rapist walk the street...
Harper appointed someone to the position of judge whose experience was only with corporate law and litigation, not criminal law. Now that judge is letting men who sexually assault or rape women go free.
Does the Harper government support rape, or, was his appointment of Dewar just gross incompetence?

Toronto G20: CBC The Fifth Estate - "You Should've Stayed At Home"

Here is the full CBC documentary on the police brutality during the G20 protests in Toronto, Summer 2010.

For more details on the events (it was actually worse than the CBC documentary makes out), watch:

Under Occupation: Toronto G20 Operation

If you can't find a gravy train, make your own

Aptly put, by someone who commented on this Toronto Star article:
City to spend $3 million on consultants.
These consultants will duplicate work of city staff and the auditor general.
This money could go to stop the TTC cuts and cuts to other services.

On another note, Rob Ford was the lone person on city council vote against accepting provincial funding for an anti-HIV/syphilis initiative.

Rob Ford's Gravy Train amount: $3,000,000

Rob Ford hones his skill at not answering simple direct questions

What It Sounds Like When Rob Ford Answers Questions at Council - Torontoist
Transcript of 5 minutes of council meeting - Joe Mihevic asks if one of Rob's campaign promises was to cut water efficiency programs, yes or no. Rob spews out his campaign talking points, but never answers the question.

We are doomed.

A Facebook comment on this news item:

I
would say "Un-f*cking-believable" but it is Rob Ford, so I believe that
this is how he acts and will act as mayor. Anyone who expected
otherwise (like the Oh-just-wait-and-give-him-a-chance people), please jump off a cliff now so we don't get this ass voted in again in 4 years time.

Rob Ford: Reckless and irresponsible

Ford unfazed by looming budget hole - The Globe and Mail
“We talk about what’s in front of us,” Mr. Ford said. “You can’t talk
about 2014 or 2015. We’re talking about 2011 and that’s before us, and
that’s the proper procedures before council. … I’m only focused on
2011.”

For a mayor, this is totally irresponsible. To not be planning ahead is to be asking for trouble in the future. We know that Ford is doing this so that next year he can say "Oh, look, we are short all this money. Okay. I guess we'll have to cut all these services and programs that make Toronto a great city to live in.

There is no Gravy Train. Ford just wants to slash all the services so there are few left. Same thing Mike Harris did. Same thing Stephen Harper is doing. Destroy.

Councillor Gord Perks, who tried unsuccessfully to pass a property-tax
increase, argued Mr. Ford is setting the city up for a slash-and-burn
exercise to balance next year’s books.

“It’s reckless and irresponsible, what he’s doing.”

Toronto Star: Council rejects 2011 tax hike, will consider one for 2012

Excerpts:

Challenging Mayor Rob Ford’s pledge to freeze taxes for 2011, Councillor Gord Perks on Wednesday proposed an increase of 0.16 per cent in residential taxes — amounting to less than $5 for the average homeowner — and 0.052 per cent in non-residential taxes.

The twin hikes, he said, would have raised $3.5 million, enough to prevent many of the proposed cuts to TTC bus routes, keep a threatened library branch open, and allow for enhancements to student nutrition and anti-bedbug programs.

...

Councillor Joe Mihevc told Ford that the tax freeze, the elimination of the $60 vehicle tax and the depletion of reserves would “basically make it almost impossible to balance the books next year.”

Rob Ford's Gravy Train amount: $3.5 milliion (not hiking property taxes by a small amount)

Jabba the Ford - does not compute

Jabba The Ford - This is not the Budget you are looking for,…
He is hard at work creating a huge mess in the near future.

Rob Ford's Gray Train amount: $50 million (eliminating the vehicle registration tax)

Stephen Harper's worst enemy

Straight Goods - Stephen Harper's worst enemy - When Ministers lie and deceive, they do so at the Prime Minister's orders.
... is himself.
Read the article at the link.

Excerpt:

Hold on — we're somewhere between Russia and the good old Canada of
yore? That's some accomplishment in five years. Look at Stephen
Harper's record.

• He silences whistle-blowers and punishes dissenters.
• He treats Parliament with open contempt and brazenly lies when found out.
• He suspends Parliament at the first sign of political risk.
• He makes a mockery of the accountability and transparency he loudly demands of everyone else.
• He makes lying to parliament just another tactical device.
• He fakes his budgets by refusing to cost new initiatives.
• He transforms vital watchdogs of democracy into mushy lapdogs.
• He unleashes ministers to attack judges who make unwelcome decisions.
• He personalizes attacks on his "enemies".
• He blithely smears other parties, groups and individuals as anti-Semitic.
• He is impervious to the democratic spirit that has galvanized hundreds of millions of people to stand up for freedom.
• He makes major economic decisions on the basis of their impact on his electoral fortunes.

Where's the Gravy Rob (again)?

Looking for the gravy - thestar.com
Rob Ford is not finding any gravy train (anything near like he said there was).
Of course I knew that there wasn't any gravy train, and those of you with any intelligence at all knew that. As for the rest of you...

Excerpt:

Worse, with every cut, the mayor seems to add more pressure. Since
taking office, Ford has added more than $100 million to the bottom line
by killing the vehicle registration tax and promising a property tax
freeze in 2011.

To balance his first $9.4 billion operating budget this year, the
mayor relied on $230 million in revenue windfalls and then depleted the
city’s surplus and reserve funds — a combined $370 million — to avoid
major service cuts.

Ford only needed to find $57 million in efficiencies to make the
numbers work. But next year, he will need to come up with $774 million
to balance his books. And with all of the city’s emergency savings
spent, the mayor has no safety net.

“I have no idea what they can do. All I know is they have taken a
problem we were starting to manage and made it much, much worse,” said
Councillor Gord Perks, a key player in former mayor David Miller’s
administration. “Rob Ford sold Torontonians on a fantasy. He argued that
money comes down to city hall and vanishes, and it’s simply not true.”

Rob Ford's new TTC subway fantasy

Newsstand: February 17, 2011 - Torontoist
Rob Ford's really maybe if seventeen unlikely things fall into place doing it: the mayor's office put together a private financing proposal for the Sheppard subway extension.
City hallers speaking on behalf of the mayor say he doesn't want to
burden tax payers with the cost of a subway, so he's proposing private
investors foot the bill in return for a cut of future development in the
area. But critics, like Shelley Carroll (Ward 33,
Don Valley East), charge that development along Sheppard would have to
be dense and tall—radically changing the existing neighbourhoods—if the
plan is to work, not to mention that there would still be pesky
repayments to those private investors. Design, building, and (maybe)
maintenance would all be handled by the private party. No word on who
that party might be, or what else we can sucker them into doing for us
in return for as yet non-existent money.

Crooks and Liars: Harper's Conservative government

Walkom: Oda's attempt to mislead is part of Tory strategy - thestar.com
They invent facts to support their aims. Not news to 2/3 of Canadians, but the article is worth reading.

Update:
Globe & Mail: Opposition steps up pressure for Oda resignation over altered document
Excerpt:
“The Prime Minister condoned forging documents and condoned misleading the House,” NDP Leader Jack Layton told the House of Commons. “How can Canadians trust a Prime Minister who would have such contempt for this place?”

Ontario Liberals put an election-hold on wind power

Ontario scraps offshore wind power plans - thestar.com
It looks like the Ontario Liberals have put a hold on off-shore wind power projects for no other reason that to win a few NIMBY seats in areas where the wind power projects were to be built. The anti-wind power people have made numerous unsubstantiated claims, which especially hold no validity with the wind turbines being placed 5km offshore.
There are thousands of on-shore and offshore wind turbine installations around the world, especially in Europe, which have proven that there is no validity to the anti-wind power side's claims.

We need to start taking green energy seriously to reduce our reliance on energy sources that are actually harmful to the environment.

Toronto G20 protests - More police to be investigated for brutality and illegal arrest

Police open criminal investigation into G20 arrest - thestar.com
Excerpt:
According to her statement of claim, Gray was protesting peacefully near
the temporary detention centre on Eastern Ave. on June 27, 2010 — the
final day of the G20 summit — when an officer shot her with two rubber
bullets, causing her to fall to the ground. She was then forcefully
arrested by two other officers and taken to the detention centre, where
she remained for 30 hours with minimal medical attention

Shades of the Mike Harris Agenda

Doug Ford denies 'get a job' quip during protest - thestar.com
Excerpt:

Standing on a hallway desk, OCAP leader John Clarke denounced
council’s proposed cuts to bus routes and Mayor Ford’s privatization
plans, saying Ford was advocating a “re-run of the Mike Harris agenda.”

Other protesters criticized federal cuts to immigration settlement
services — council voted not to write a letter to the federal government
protesting those cuts — and an alleged shortage of beds in homeless
shelters. City spokesperson Rob Andrusevich said no such shortage
exists.

“This year they’re only delivering the first blow,” Clarke said.
“Much worse is to come. The vision that Ford has of this city is a
police force and a few privatized services operated by non-unionized
cheap labour. If we’re gonna stop that, we better fight . . . if you
don’t fight back, they will crush you.”

Fox news makes stuff up - no surprise at all

FOX NEWS INSIDER: “Stuff Is Just Made Up” | Media Matters for America
And this is why Stephen Harper stacked the deck of the CRTC and is pushing for changing our broadcast regulations so he can have his own station of lies - Fox News North - be able to broadcast bald lies and propaganda.

If Ford wasn't such an idiot at math, we might not be facing such a shortfall

CBC News - Toronto - Toronto facing $774M shortfall in 2012

If, they had kept the land transfer tax, the vehicle registration tax, increased the property tax this year by 2% and allowed a 10 cent increase in TTC fees, we might not be facing such a shortfall in 2012. Instead, Ford and council will have to increase taxes and fees by much more to make up for his idiocy in the 2011 budget.

Rob Ford's Gravy Train amount: $204 million (abolishing the land transfer tax this is how much money it brought into the city in 2010)

Bill Blair: big liar or most useless police chief ever?

YouTube - Bill Blair: "I have not seen any videos of Officers using excessive force".
watch the video
This is mind boggling. I've seen numerous videos filmed during the Toronto G20 protests that show police officers using excessive force. Most of these were put on the Internet the same day they were taken. ... Cops on horseback, in a tight group, trampling a non-threatening protester, cops coming up behind people sitting on the ground and beating them on their heads with no warning, and much more.

The shaping of a New World Order

The shaping of a New World Order - Opinion - Al Jazeera English
What is happening in Egypt, and other nations of the region, could result in a major shift in the world order.
Read the link for Mark LeVine's views on what is happening and what could happen.

Democracy in Israel is in real danger

The death of Israeli democracy - Features - Al Jazeera English
What little democracy there is in Israel is in further danger of erosion.

Excerpts from the article (link above):
"A country that must force people to call it democratic, on pain of imprisonment, is not a democracy."

the Knesset is debating one of a slew of anti-democratic bills. Some of
the legislation targets Palestinian citizens of Israel - people like
this man and his wife, who is quick to offer me coffee and her opinions.

If
the Admissions Committee law passes, for example, this young couple and
their three children could find themselves barred from living in
certain communities and villages, even those built on public land. If
the Nakba Bill is approved, organisations that commemorate the 1948
expulsion of Palestinians will be ineligible for public funds. This is a
"watered down" version of the bill. The original version sought to
imprison anyone who publicly marked the Nakba Day. Other legislation
aims to silence individuals and groups that criticise the government.

The
Israeli Democracy Institute (IDI) says that such bills pose "serious
threats" to the country. Explaining that the death of democracy is "a
gradual process," the IDI, a non-partisan think-tank based in Jerusalem,
warns: "People who are concerned but are waiting for the 'moment of
real danger' to abandon their routines and take steps to defend
democracy are making a mistake. The moment of real danger is now."
...
Some critics might say that Israel was never a democracy in the true
sense of the word. Arab citizens of the state were under martial law
from 1949 to 1966. A year later, the decidedly undemocratic occupation
of Palestinian territories began.

Knesset member Dov Khenin, of
the Jewish-Arab party Hadash, puts it like this: "In Israel there is a
specific democratic space. It's not big, and in connection to the topic
of Arabs, it's even smaller. But the space is important to us because
it's the space we're standing in."

He gestures to the room in
Jaffa, where he is giving a talk under the banner of "The Danger of
Fascism". There are about 20 people present - a sad number considering
what is at stake.

"What has happened in recent years - and it's a
process that's very dangerous - is that the space is being attacked and
clamped down upon," Khenin continues.

"One of the attacks is coming in the form of racism," he says.

He explains that while Arab Knesset members have always been regarded with suspicion - the vicious verbal assault Haneen Zoabi faced in the Knesset
after she participated in the flotilla comes to my mind - the
government is "now attacking not just the Arab Knesset members but all
the Arab population".

"The process is spreading," Khenin adds.
"And if we look at the past two years, it's not just the Arab
population, [the government is] also attacking Jews who think
differently."
...
The Anti-Incitement Bill criminalises those who publish anything that
denies Israel's Jewish and democratic character. Because I have authored
articles calling for a bi-national democracy, this one could land me in
jail. (And, if I'm already headed for the clinker, I might as well
state the obvious: A country that must force people to call it
democratic, on pain of imprisonment, is not a democracy).

And the
Knesset is considering the creation of committees that will investigate
the funding of left-wing civil and human rights organisations - most of
which are critical of the Israeli occupation. Critics have likened the
move to a political witch-hunt as right-wing groups will not be
investigated. They also point out that such an investigation, which is
the responsibility of the legal branch, would exceed the Knesset's
power.

So the question remains: Will Israel become out-right fascist?
...
'Sliding towards fascism?'

At an October protest
against legislation commonly referred to as the loyalty oath - a bill
that would require non-Jews seeking Israeli citizenship to pledge
allegiance to a "Jewish and democratic" state - Gavriel Solomon, a
prominent academic and peace activist, likened Israel to Nazi Germany,
circa 1935.

That was the year that the Nuremberg Laws - racist
legislation that led to the systematic and deadly persecution of Jews -
were created.

"There were no [concentration] camps yet but there were racist laws," he said. "And we are heading towards these kinds of laws."

Speaking
to Al Jazeera by telephone, Solomon softened his message, remarking
that: "The question was really if we are not sliding towards fascism."

"Even
though we very clearly have people like [Avigdor] Lieberman [the
foreign minister] who are not sensitive to the issue ... there [are]
enough people on the right not to allow such Lieberman laws to go
through," he says, pointing to members of Likud like Dan Meridor.

But Haaretz
recently revealed that right-wing activists are working in Jewish
settlements to recruit Likud voters who would push Meridor out of the
Knesset.

And rightists are taking other moves to silence dissent. Haaretz reports that they have successfully shut down the Facebook pages of several left-wing groups.

Depending
on how these right-wingers spin their projects - are they trying to
silence dissent or are they taking necessary measures for Israel's image
and security - the Israeli public may be willing to march lockstep with
them.

A recent poll, conducted by the Geocartography Knowledge
Group, found that more than half of Jewish Israelis are willing to limit
press freedom if the media poses a threat to the state's image. And
nearly two-thirds would clamp down on freedom of speech for the sake of
security.
...
"We need to understand that fascism isn't an expression of power, it's an expression of weakness."

Khenin
points out that not long before Netanyahu became prime minister he
called Palestinian citizens of Israel a demographic threat. "And now
he's head of the government," he adds.

And because the death of
democracy is tied up with the occupation, "a people who oppresses
another people cannot be free," Khenin says, paraphrasing Friedrich
Engels.

Worth Repeating: CRTC Becoming Conservative Central

Let Freedom Reign: It's not just the courts Harper is stacking with partisan hacks: CRTC becoming Conservative central.
Excerpt:

NDP heritage critic Charlie Angus noted that the job notice for the vacancy listed a range of qualifications that Pentefountas does not have.
"This appointment stinks," he said.

"This government has intervened and undermined again and again at the CRTC. In the case of Mr. Pentefountas, they not only broke the vetting process, they did it with the direct intervention of the PMO. So now we have the political strings of the prime minister directly at the senior level of the CRTC."

Harper government would like to be able to lie to you even more

Globe & Mail: CRTC plan to lift ban on false news prompts political investigation
Excerpt:

NDP MP Charlie Angus noted that the proposed change precedes the start of Sun TV, a network that has been shepherded in large part by Kory Teneycke, the former director of communication to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

“We all know our Prime Minister well enough to say we don’t have to be in the realm of conspiracy theory here,” Mr. Angus said at a news conference on Monday. “We can draw our conclusions and they are pretty clear.”

Behind the scenes, officials say the timing is purely coincidental, the PMO had nothing to do with it, and that the CRTC simply realized it eventually had to answer the concerns of the regulatory committee.

But Mr. Angus persuaded the Commons committee on Canadian heritage to initiate a study of the CRTC proposal. And he urged Canadians to let the commission know how they feel about it before the Wednesday deadline.

“What’s disturbed us with this [proposed] regulation change is that it’s happening very quickly and there’s very little awareness of it,” Mr. Angus said.

“It seems astounding that the CRTC would consider such a move at a time when we see the growing backlash in the United States to the poisoned levels of political discourse in the American media.”

This may be why the Conservatives overturned the UBB ruling by the CRTC

Canadians demand more than “truthiness” | NDP
The Conservatives may have overturned the CRTC ruling on User-Based-Billing to take our minds off another CRTC decision that they WANT to stay - to allow misleading or inaccurate news to be published so long as it did not "endanger the lives, health or safety of the public." The Conservatives want this so their new Fox News North station can broadcast lies to the public, like Fox News does in the USA, where the news publishing standards allow this already.

Internet billing decision in the right direction

Ottawa to reverse CRTC decision on Internet billing - thestar.com
Due to immense pressure from citizens across the country and from all the opposition parties, the Canadian government said it will overturn the CRTC ruling that would have forced the smaller ISPs to impose usage-based billing.

Now, all we have to do is to force the big ISPs to go back to having unlimited plans like they used to and to stop gouging consumers for internet usage.

Reality to Ford: There is no "Gravy Train"

City budget: Ford keeps gravy train rolling along - thestar.com
Ford is increasing the budget and staff (both of which he promised to reduce), despite his cuts to services (that he promised not to cut). He is finding out that due to inflation and an ever increasing population, the budget needs to keep increasing.

CRTC set to water down the truth even more

Truth, lies and broadcasting in Canada - thestar.com
Excerpt:

Earlier this month, the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), without fanfare, posted on its
website a potential game-changer in the world of broadcast journalism.
The CRTC is seeking to relax restrictions concerning the broadcasting of
specious information on radio and television.

Currently, the law stipulates that broadcasters “shall not broadcast any false or misleading news.”

Sounds reasonable enough — and straightforward — as it should, since it concerns the integrity of news reporting.

But not apparently to the CRTC. It is proposing to soften the
regulation, banning “any news that the licensee knows is false or
misleading and that endangers or is likely to endanger the lives, health
or safety of the public.”

In short, with the new wording, broadcasters could air false or
misleading news with impunity, provided that it does not endanger the
lives, health or safety of the public.

Unfortunately, the CRTC does not specify who will judge whether or not such disinformation poses a danger.

This is not set in stone yet. It is a proposed change. To submit comments on this to the CRTC:
visit http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2011/2011-14.htm.

The most disrespectful government in Canadian history - Harper's last 5 years

Harper's five years as prime minister | rabble.ca
Excerpt:
It's worth pausing for a moment to marvel at how Harper has managed for five years to get away with this sort of ludicrous, misleading, deceptive statement. Rather than showing disrespect for parents, a government child-care program -- like the ones common in Europe and Quebec -- is the only way to provide millions of Canadian parents access to decent child care.

By setting up a public program paid for through taxes, we can bring down costs and ensure high quality, thereby providing a vital service for people unable to afford it privately. In cancelling the child-care program upon taking office and replacing it with a $100-a-month payment to parents of young children, Harper was throwing a tasty bone to conservatives who believe a woman's place is in the home.

But he risked alienating the vast majority of Canadians who no longer live in the Father Knows Best patriarchal world of the 1950s. Today, 73 per cent of Canadian mothers of young children work outside the home and need child care, but $100 a month won't cover it.

The fact that early childhood education programs have also been shown to benefit children enormously -- and that Canada ranks last in spending in this area among developed nations -- created a powerful case that would have allowed opposition leaders to seize the high ground and push Harper onto the defensive.

Instead, they largely abandoned the issue and allowed Harper to proceed as if he had a mandate to push rightward, even though post-election polling showed the Conservative victory was due to voter anger over Liberal corruption.

With a meek and often cooperative opposition, Harper went on to introduce policies out of sync with values held by most Canadians. He's favoured war-making (over peacekeeping), investing $16 billion in fighter jets (rather than social programs), locking people up (despite reduced crime), clamping down on dissent, weakening gun control, abandoning even-handedness in the Middle East.

He's also turned a blind eye to torture and the rights of a Canadian in Guantanamo, shut down Parliament (rather than risk defeat), refused to tackle climate change, irresponsibly cut taxes (especially for corporations), while recklessly squandering $1 billion on G20 "security."

Make anti-vaccine parents pay higher premiums

Make anti-vaccine parents pay higher premiums - CNN.com
People wilfully putting their children, who they are responsible for, and the community at risk should be forced to pay, or, at least held accountable to the community.

Under Occupation: Toronto G20 Operation

Under Occupation: Toronto G20 Operation | Watch Free Documentary Online
Originally titled G20 Exposed, this is the final finished version.

Under Occupation: Toronto G20 Operation is an educational documentary
that shows, in chronological order, the events that transpired over the
G20 weekend in Toronto, Canada. While the mainstream media repeatedly
broadcast images of burning police cars and broken windows, the cameras
on the ground captured a far more terrifying story. Eyewitness video
footage and firsthand accounts featured in this film tell a horrific
tale of police brutality, mass arrests, secret laws and outrageous
violations of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"Ford claims that he listens to people but he doesn't"

Riders dismayed at bus route cuts - thestar.com
One of the main planks of Rob Ford's mayoral platform was that of service. He also promised that he would not cut service in his pursuit of penny-pinching. He said "I assure you services will not be cut. I will guarantee it."
Well, his first budget aims to cut service. 53% of Torontonians who voted know that he was lying and didn't vote for him. 47% of Torontonians who voted, fell for his obvious lies and voted for him.

One service that will be greatly felt will be reduced TTC services - mainly on a number of bus routes - service will be either totally cut after a certain time, or reduced. One area that will receive less service will be his old ward in Etobicoke.

More details at the links.

Here is a map that one blogger created showing the specific routes that will have reduced service:
http://299bloorcallcontrol.com/
Click on the small map to view the larger map.

One of the service cuts planned would be the total elimination of the 101 Downsview bus from May to September. This puts the Toronto Roller Derby League in jeopardy.
http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/01/10/eliminated-bus-route-may-cripple-toronto-roller-derby-league/

http://www.thestar.com/news/transportation/article/919082--ttc-fare-hike-riders-lose-what-motorists-gained?bn=1

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/919044--ford-reveals-minor-cuts-puts-agencies-asking-for-more-on-notice?bn=1

http://blunt-objects.blogspot.com/2011/01/rob-ford-already-hitting-that-brick.html

http://torontoist.com/2011/01/library_board_votes_to_keep_the_urban_affairs_library.php

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/916820--chief-bill-blair-says-proposed-5-cut-to-force-impossible?bn=1

http://torontoist.com/2011/01/but_what_does_status_quo_mean.php

Rob Ford's Subway Plan vs Transit City - as we've been saying - Do The Math, Rob

Subways would cost more and serve fewer, group says - thestar.com
Excerpts:

Penny-pinching Mayor Rob Ford’s subway plan would cost three times as
much as the proposed Transit City light rail lines and attract only
half as many riders, according to a study released Wednesday by a
sustainable energy think tank.

Although Ford hasn’t officially endorsed a transit expansion plan,
the study suggests the mayor would be spending about $344 million per
kilometre on subways that would attract about 65 million rides annually.

The light rail plan Ford has disparaged would accommodate 126
million rides annually at a cost of $111 million per kilometre, says the
report, Making Tracks to Torontonians, by the Pembina Institute.

...

While both plans would serve Downsview, Agincourt and the Scarborough
Town Centre, the light rail scheme would serve an additional 22
communities stretching across the city.

...

The four light rail lines would bring transit within a six-minute walk of 290,000 people, compared to only 60,000 on subways.

...

The Pembina Institute suggests that subway would take only half as many
cars off the road and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than
200,000 tonnes by 2031, versus a 75,000 tonnes reduction for the subway
plan.

Sheppard Subway vs Transit City - Do the Math Rob

Sheppard subway extension: A quarter the stops for three times the cost - The Globe and Mail
During the campaign, and now, the numbers haven't really changed. Rob Ford wants to cancel a huge network of rapid transit across Toronto, connecting thousands of people, and replace this with a few new stops on the Sheppard subway line - a line that has been carrying less people than the Spadina-Harbourfront streetcar.

Ford seems to think he has a mandate to halt progress and waste money. If you voted for Ford, is this what you voted for?

Read the article. Do the math. Write to Ford and your councillor and say Yes to Transit City and No to Ford's plan of failure.

1 policeman charged in G20 assault

Toronto Star: Police Officer Charged in G20 Beating
One down, hundreds to go.

Key oberservations on the first big day of the new Toronto City Council

Observations from Rob Ford’s easiest day: Senior Editor Edward Keenan gets a first look at Toronto's new council
Edward Keenan makes some key observations about what happened and didn't happen at the first big meeting for the new Toronto City Council.

Note about Nunziata saying she didn't think they were being televised at one point. - I was watching the meeting at that time on-line via Rogers, and that moment was televised.

Wishful thinking regarding the Toronto Police Services Board

Reining in the unaccountable chief - thestar.com
The Toronto Star is hopeful that Rob Ford will adjust the board so it will guide the police with a firmer hand instead of the afraid-to-give-orders-to-the-police-chief board that we currently have.
This IS their job - to direct the police chief. For the most part, if he is doing his job properly, then they don't need to give him direction. But, when he is not doing his job properly, like when, during the G20 protest weekend, he misdirected police to break the law by assaulting peaceful protesters and to illegally detain peaceful protesters, and when he told the police to allow vandals to damage property and when he told the police to leave vehicles for the vandals to torch and to let them burn, HE NEEDED TO BE DIRECTED!
And, he needed direction after the fact to, as the Star points out.

But, if anything, Rob Ford will not do anything to give the chief direction. Rob Ford thinks all the innocent people during the G20 protest weekend should have been assaulted and detained. Rob is into that, same as he is into not knowing the facts about pretty much everything. He will do quite the opposite to the board - he will make sure that they do nothing to direct the police, even more so than the previous board.

We DO need a strong chair on the board, and a strong board, but, in my opinion, we won't see one for at least another 4 years.

Miller vs. Ford: Who Excluded Whom?

Miller vs. Ford: Who Excluded Whom? « Spacing Toronto
As you can see from the make-up of the exec. budget and TTC committees formed by Miller and now formed by Ford, Miller INcluded councillors of ALL the areas of Toronto on all the committees. But, Rob Ford has EXcluded councillors from Toronto & East York District on all of these 3 committees.

Doesn't seem like a very smart move on Ford's part if he wants to govern properly by representing all the city and including input from all the city.

Adam Vaughan on Metro Morning: "It's not an ideological thing, or a cultural thing," Vaughan told Metro Morning.
 "It's just that the lived experience of people who live in particular
parts of the city are what comprise our civic intelligence and our
institutional memory.  And if they've chosen not to have that around the
table...it's gonna be a difficult time to work together, not on
ideological issues...but just on how to manage the physical realities of
Toronto. You need everyone's input to make good, smart decisions."

Conservative senators passing bad bills that the Liberals let through in the House of Commons

Conservative senators bulldoze through worrying bills - Hill Queeries
We are hearing a lot about what the Conservative senators are doing now that they have a virtual majority in the Senate. But half of what they are doing that people are upset about is passing bad bills that the Liberals allowed to pass in the House of Commons (either by voting to support the bill, or abstaining/not showing up).

It is one thing to complain about a bill, that you backed (like the Climate bill that all the opposition parties supported fully), that had the support of the majority of the House of Commons, being shot down by the Conservative senators. But it's another thing to complain about the Conservative senators passing bills that were supported by a majority of the House of Commons (Conservatives and Liberals).

Now, maybe if the Liberals in the House actually voted against bills they did not agree with in the House we would not have this situation.

Something to think about next election.

What would Light Rail be like?

What Would Light Rail Be Like? - Torontoist
Underground, LRT it would be about as fast as the existing subway trains. Above ground, where there are more frequent stops, it would be slower (as would the subway if it had more frequent (meaning close together) stops).
It would not reduce the number of car lanes (where it looked like it would, they put it underground so it wouldn't).


From comments to the article:
Rich1299: Transit City lines would not take away any lanes for cars, none at all,
two car lanes in each direction before an LRT line and two car lanes
afterwards, plus there won't be dozens of buses constantly stopping in
those car lanes so car traffic will flow much more smoothly on routes
with an LRT on them. In fact the reason the section on Eglinton is being
buried is because they would have had to reduce car lanes if they
didn't so the myth that LRTs take away from cars is just that, a myth.


xtremesniper:
Subways are great. I don't think anyone would actually
take LRT over subway if they had a realistic choice. But given what we
have learned over the past 50 years, I think I'd rather have something
that has a chance for completion in my lifetime over mystical subway
lines that will forever haunt political history files for decades.

Ford is only pushing so hard for subways because he knows that there
won't be ANY ground-breaking on any subway project while he's still in
office. He'll do what he actually wants (to kill Transit City) and the
actual task of starting real subway development will be left for the
next mayor or the one after that.

Toronto needs expanded and improved transit. Doesn't matter how or in
what form, so long as we can get people moving sooner rather than
later. The whole excuse of "do it right the first time" is just hurting
everything even more because it's a simple fact that the TTC wastes a
huge chunk of their budget on union wages and so our government does not
take public transit seriously because they just view it as a cash cow.

I'll take what I can get. Maybe I'll be able to take transit to work by the time I retire. Maybe.

Stells Bells: I'm staggered by Doug's claim that he has been to "every single city in
North America". Surely that claim alone proves that he is full of sh!t
and one need go no further.

Nick: I think Doug's polling question would have to be
examined. For instance, you can ask the question "Does Toronto need more
subways and fewer streetcars?" (obviously, yes) or "Does Toronto need
7.5 km of subway serving a small percentage of its population or 75 km
of right-of-way separated LRT that serves 80% if its population and
frees up space for cars on the road and that's already funded by the province" (obviously, yes!!).

I wish Toronto had votable propositions like US states do, which
allocate specific funds for specific purposes, and which can't be
overturned by the latest dullard to take office. I don't think Ford got a
mandate to forge ahead with some half-baked subway plan but rather to
stop some ill-defined gravy train.

Ford and suburban-only Exec Committee ignore questions and unanimously pass unrealistic initiatives

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/904923--rob-ford-gracious-to-critics-at-inaugural-meeting?bn=1
- Not!

How did they expect Ford to be able to answer any of their questions when he doesn't know anything to start with?
He was asked how will he freeze property taxes without cutting services?
The council will vote on all this next week. That will show the real picture of how Ford's bulldozing tactics will fare in Toronto's government.

Notice in the map in this article, that Miller had 6 members of his committee from the suburbs and 4 from downtown (the writer at the Star calls the 4 "many" while actually, in this case, it would be more factually correct to call the 6 "many"). Meanwhile, Ford's committee has all members from the suburbs and none from downtown (where a third of the population of the whole city lives).

Rob Ford voted 3 times in support of Transit City

Ford cast three votes in favour of LRT strategy - The Globe and Mail
Excerpts:
June 16-19, 2007: City council unanimously adopts a
broad climate-change strategy that encompasses a range of measures such
as energy retrofits, renewable energy projects and tree planting, as
well as a sustainable transportation plan that includes Transit City,
among other moves. Mr. Ford votes in favour of the plan.

Nov. 14, 2007: TTC receives staff report confirming
that the proposed Transit City lines satisfy range of evaluation
criteria and decides to move ahead with first four priority projects –
Finch West, Eglinton Crosstown, Sheppard East and the Scarborough Rapid
Transit replacement. The report is forwarded to city council and the
Greater Toronto Transportation Authority (now Metrolinx).

The report says it is “premature” to draw conclusions about community
and political support for Transit City, but notes that TTC staff has
received “strong support” from city councillors for Etobicoke-Finch LRT.
As well, the report notes, “All City councillors through whose ward the
Sheppard East light rail line would pass, have expressed strong support
for proceeding with this line.”

Jan. 28, 2009: During a debate on subway expansion,
council votes to ask Metrolinx to prioritize a “downtown relief line”
while acknowledging that Transit City remains the “first priority” for
the TTC and the City. Mr. Ford votes in favour.


Nov. 30, 2009: City council approves Eglinton LRT
environmental assessment study by a 37-1 vote (Ms. Stintz votes in
favour; Mr. Ford votes against)


Jan. 26, 2010: City council approves Finch West LRT
environmental assessment study by 40-2 vote (Ms. Stintz votes in favour;
Mr. Ford votes against)


June 8, 2010: City council approves conversion of Scarborough RT to LRT by a vote of 38-1 (both Mr. Ford and Ms. Stintz vote in favour).



Note: Nov 30, 2009 - How was Rob Ford representing his constituents by voting against a rapid transit line into/through Etobicoke?

Rob Ford - a man who has never really understood the issues

Globe & Mail: Ford starts as he means to go on - unfortunately
Rob Ford is already revving up his bulldozer to turn years of progress into rubble.

If he wants to get things done, he will have to learn to work with other people, even people who don’t share his views. If he truly understood that, he might have thought twice before inviting the man in pink to the very first meeting of his term as mayor.

Cherry's "pinko" speech sets the tone of Ford administration

Cherry’s “pinko” speech sets the tone of Ford administration | rabble.ca
Excerpt:

Before Grapes could stand and deliver, he got his game face on by
noting that he was happy to see the ass-end of the artsy elites and it
was time for some lunch-pail, blue collar workers to run Toronto.

Cherry and Ford are millionaires. Hardly blue-collar but every inch the elite.

In today's speech to City Council
(go to the 38 minute mark to see Cherry), Cherry actually outdid
himself. He wore one of his garish suits. This one resembling satin
sheets from a 19th century bordello. Fitting.

He used the word "pinko", a term as outdated as Cherry, four times.
He said he was wearing "pinko" for "all the pinkos out there that ride
bicycles and everything." Then he referred to left-wing pinko newspapers
and left-wing pinkos who oppose Ford (unlike Ford, at least he didn't
call anyone a "right-wing communist bastard").

Cherry finished his crazed, incomprehensible diatribe with the classy: "put that in your pipe you left-wing kooks."

This will be news for a few days as Torontonians and Toronto media
attempt to figure out what happened to this city. One day we had a man
who was Harvard-educated and well-spoken, now we have a Mayor who
struggled with polysyllabic words during his swearing-in and thought
Cherry a wise choice to deliver an address to the opening of council.

But I'm pleased, in a schadenfreude way, that Cherry got to shine in
all his troglodytic glory. He has set the tone of the Ford years. Where
all who disagree with Ford's misstep du jour will be labeled a kook and
any time the media scrutinizes a Ford decision, they will be derided as
pinko left-wing newspapers (never mind the MSM is not remotely left-wing
and never has been).

In a meandering three-minute stand-up routine, Cherry neatly
expressed the rigid ideology of Ford and his cronies. The loathing they
feel toward anyone who questions or protests or criticizes.

Toronto, we are the nerds and city council is run by the football
team and for four years they're going to punch us in the gut, steal our
lunch money, and stuff us in a locker.

Transcription of Don Cherry's speech

More commentary:

National Post: John Moore: Don Cherry's 'swaggering performance by a classic bully'

Globe & Mail: Left-wing councillors lash out after Cherry speech

Canvassers Debate Transit City and Light Rail, Door to Door

Canvassers Debate Transit City and Light Rail, Door to Door - Torontoist
Excerpts:
On Saturday, supporters of the provincially backed plan gathered to
canvass homes in the Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue area, in an
attempt to raise awareness of the plight of light rail in Toronto. Yonge
and Eglinton had been chosen because it falls within the jurisdiction
of councillor Karen Stintz (Ward 16, Eglinton-Lawrence), Ford’s pick for the next chair of the TTC.
...
"The only person I know who's against it is Rob Ford," he said.

Read the top link for the full story.

Parliamentary committee on the Toronto G20 police actions uncovers more skullduggery by the cops

Toronto journalist witnessed ‘police brutality’ at Toronto G20 - thestar.com
Excerpt:

“One officer held one arm, The other officer held the other arm and a
third officer came up to him and basically told him to shut up three
times, punched him in the stomach. He doubled over. The same officer
brought his elbow down on the small of his back and flattened him. It
seemed to me that that was a massive overreaction to try and check to
see whether somebody was who he said he was.”

Two University of British Columbia students Kirk Chavarie and
Grayson Lepp told the committee of their treatment by police after
attending a peaceful protest earlier in the day, including having to
stand in urine and feces for hours on end in a temporary holding cell in
Toronto’s east end only to have charges later withdrawn.

“Despite what some pundits would have you believe . . . I am
neither a thug nor a hooligan,” said Lepp, who is to graduate from the
UBC’s Okanagan campus.

NDP MP Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway) told a news conference on
Parliament Hill earlier that not to hold a public inquiry is to accept
that Canada is becoming a police state where the toe of an officer’s
boot or punch in the gut is the rule of law.

Davies said not only has it been proven that police falsified
evidence to justify widespread arrests — the largest in Canadian history
— they also manufactured evidence, including so-called weapons seized
from completely separate incidents.

“What we need is a full public inquiry . . . if not, one of the
most shameful and largest mass violations of Canadians’ rights by police
and the state in Canadian history will go totally unredressed,” he said

Rob Ford - Crime rate down 30%? Budget tight? Lets's start the Gravy Train and hire more cops!

Ford's plan to hire more police, only cops don't want them - thestar.com
Rob Ford wants to hire 100 more cops for Toronto. Yet, he has not talked to anyone in the Toronto Police Service or the board to see if this is necessary or feasible financially.

Excerpts:
those in high-ranking circles are questioning why the tight-fisted mayor
made the costly pledge without consulting the service, its union or its
board, about whether more officers are needed.
...
Since 2005, crime is down across Toronto by about 30 per cent. Over that
same period, the force has been struggling to get hold of its worsening
financial crisis.
...
Wages and benefits account for 90 per cent of the police budget, which
is also the largest item in Toronto’s $9.2 billion operating budget.
...

The number of police officers on the Toronto force is decided by city council.

In late 2005, following a record year of gang homicides, council
agreed to increase the complement to 5,510 strong. There are sometimes
slight fluctuations due to the lag time between when officers retire and
new classes graduate, but the Toronto force is legally required to keep
its numbers within that range.

When asked if he felt the current staffing levels to be sufficient,
Mukherjee said, “We have obviously felt that the numbers that this
council approved were adequate for what we were using police officers
for.”

If Ford does decide to hire 100 more police officers — a commitment
he reaffirmed to Jerry Agar on Newstalk 1010 in mid-November — council
would need to agree.

Once finalized, it would be politically difficult to reduce the complement, creating permanent budget pressure.

...

The officer debate is playing out just weeks before the association
and board enter contentious bargaining talks. During the last round of
bargaining in 2008, the two sides were forced to enlist the help of a
provincial arbitrator for the first time in a decade. This followed nine
months of negotiating, which ended in a deadlock.

The arbitrator controversially awarded officers a 10 per cent raise
by 2010. Critics, including vice-board chair and councillor Pam
McConnell, lamented that cash-strapped Toronto could not afford the
decision.

The American And Canadian RIGHT Are Taking Us To A Place We Shouldn't Be

Buckdog: The American And Canadian RIGHT Are Taking Us To A Place We Shouldn't Be
Excerpt: - by Dan Gardner, Ottawa Citizen:
"--- A Few Questions We Wouldn't Be Asking In A Sane World---
On Wednesday, in response to a question from the opposition, a minister of the Crown stood in the House of Commons and assured the honourable members that neither he nor the Prime Minister of Canada advocates the murder of Julian Assange.

Which is nice, I suppose. But it's also troubling.

How is it possible that in this most civilized of nations, in 2010, a member of Parliament felt the need to raise the matter? And while we're asking rhetorical questions that would not need to be asked in a sane world, how is it possible that the Republican party has so completely embraced aggression and brutality that almost all its leading figures feel the near-drowning of suspects is a valid interrogation technique and imprisonment without charge or trial is a legitimate practice that should be expanded?

Why is it that most people in the United States and elsewhere are not disturbed in the slightest that, despite abundant evidence, American officials who apparently committed heinous crimes in the war on terror will not be investigated and held to account, while WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who apparently did nothing illegal this week, is hunted to the ends of the Earth? And how in hell is it possible that when a former president of the United States of America admits he authorized the commission of torture -- which is to say, he admits he committed a major crime -- the international media and political classes express not a fraction of the anger they are now directing at the man who leaked the secrets of that president's administration?

I marvel at that paragraph. It would have been inconceivable even 10 years ago. Murder treated as a legitimate option in political discourse? Torture as acceptable government policy? No, impossible. A decade ago, it would have been satire too crude to be funny.

And yet, here we are. The question in the Commons Wednesday was prompted by the televised comments of Tom Flanagan, political scientist and former chief of staff to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. "I think Assange should be assassinated, actually," Flanagan said Tuesday.

This was the hard-right id laid bare.
...
Read the link for the full post.

Ford's plan for West Toronto - what is it?

Ford’s plan for West Toronto – what is it? — Valentine Makhouleen — interactive art director

We all know Rob Ford’s stance on streetcars and transit. It bothers me.

Under the proposed Transit City
plan, my neighborhood lies right on the path of Eglinton Crosstown LRT.
Which was great news at the time of the initial announcement of
Transity City – we might have a chance of finally getting to a subway
line without spending up to 45 minutes in the rain waiting for a bus.
Not to mention, it would greatly reduce congestion in Scarlett & St.
Clair area by providing a better transit alternative to the unreliable
bus service. It will also make the neighborhood more accessible to most
vulnerable of our residents – those who can not afford a car, or are
simply not capable of driving one. No wonder most residents in my ward
drive – living in our ward without a car sucks. And there is no better
alternative.

Neither Rob Ford, nor his brother Doug
(who is a councilor in my ward) have put forth a specific plan for the
West LRT line. Based on Rob Ford’s “less streetcars, more subways”
rhetoric I am going to make an assumption that they plan on scrapping
the West LRT line and instead focusing on a subway line. In all honesty,
Westbound Eglinton subway line would be a dream come true. But,
realistically, I do not see a subway line crossing the Humber river
within the next few decades. LRT is a cheaper, and more acceptable
alternative.

...

Read the link at the top for more

More news about the clown prince of Toronto

Newsstand: December 3, 2010 - Torontoist
Excerpts:
Rob Ford plans to set an appropriately clownish tone for his mayoralty by having Don Cherry introduce him at his first city council meeting on December 7.
...
Also on the Fordwatch, our miserly mayor is moving on his campaign promises,
asking his executive committee to approve proposals that would reduce
councillor office budgets by 40%, cut the mayoral office budget by 20%,
and offer guidance for a 2011 operating budget no greater than this
year's $9.2 billion without major service cuts. He'll also look to
repeal the city's $60-a-year vehicle registration fee and have the TTC
declared an essential service, limiting TTC workers' right to strike.
Of course asking for stuff is the usually the easy part, while doing stuff can be tougher. Any recommendations out of the executive committee would have to be approved by city council vote.

If he drastically slashes office budgets, how does he expect the level of service to citizens to also improve? The level of service will drop drastically too.

By making the TTC an essential service, the workers will have to end up being paid much higher (that's how it works when you make something an essential service). This will cost the city, and the riders (fare increases) much more. How is this good fiscal management Rob?

...
It remains to be seen whether all stakeholders will buy into the mayor's
vision of a city where residents and awestruck Pan-Am Games athletes
can travel from Sheppard station to Scarborough Town Centre underground,
as long as they drive cars everywhere else.

A good point and this sums up Fords plan exactly. With Transit City, large areas of the city will be serviced by new rapid transit. With Ford's plan, all that is cancelled and only a tiny piece of Scarborough will be serviced by rapid transit.

Rob Ford has to face reality on public transit funding

Not so fast, Wynne warns Ford on transit - thestar.com
Transit City isn’t dead just because rookie Mayor Rob Ford has decreed
it so, warns Ontario Transportation Minister Kathleen Wynne.
...

OCAP challenges the Rob Ford agenda

OCAP challenges the Rob Ford agenda | rabble.ca
Listen to the interview at the link.
As Rob Ford began his first day as the new mayor of Toronto, OCAP
wasted no time in accusing him of embarking upon a Mike Harris agenda.

“It’s going to happen on an enormous scale and it’s
going to happen very, very rapidly,” said John Clarke, an organizer
with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), during Wednesday’s
rally at City Hall.

See also:
Give Rob Ford and his new council the welcome they deserve
Excerpts:
Ford personally complained to the College of Physicians and Surgeons to try and prevent Dr. Roland Wong providing the Special Diet to people in poverty. The basic needs of poor people in this city forced to try to survive on inadequate OW/ODSP rates were are un-affordable in his eyes. However, the cops can expect a whole reservoir of gravy from Rob Ford
...
In his campaign speeches and his public statements, Ford has called for cuts to fair wages, a dismantling of the already inaccessible public transit
system, supported Toronto's police brutality during the G20, and repeatedly expressed racist anti-immigrant sentiments and outright hatred for poor people.

While claiming to speak on behalf of the 'majority', Ford actually believes in a Toronto for the few. He believes in a Toronto divided into suburbs and the downtown. A Toronto divided into streetcar riders, bikers and drivers. A Toronto divided into immigrants, refugees and citizens. A Toronto where the homeless are driven out of sight as social housing is sold off to developers. A Toronto where police budgets grow and cops act with impunity. A Toronto that is open for business, but closed for the public.

Toronto - Transit City - Will it survive?

Where Toronto councillors sit on the future of Transit City - The Globe and Mail
After reviewing the article and adding things up, I see 16 votes definitely for keeping Transit City, 8 votes for scrapping Transit City, and 21 undecided or haven't revealed their views. If 8 more can be convinced to keep Transit City, it will survive. I think when the council sees the cost of cancelling the plan, they will come around to keeping the Transit City plan.

Rob Ford's first day as mayor

Rob Ford's Press Secretary with one of the gravy packets (see the National Post story below for details about the gravy packets).

Global News: Janet Davis and other cllrs say they're ready to fight Ford on Transit City

Toronto Star - Hepburn: Rob Ford and the risky politics of dashed hopes
Excerpt:

First, Ford has done nothing to dampen his supporters’ overly optimistic expectations of what he might actually be able to accomplish. He is still talking as if everything is possible and that it can happen fast.

Second, he has once again shown that he is unwilling to try to work with his opponents on city council. This week he froze out downtown and left-wing councillors when he announced his executive committee and his senior political team.

That’s a recipe for failure because Ford will need their support when it comes to tackling the truly important issues, such as budget cuts, contracting out garbage collection and forging ahead with his plans to build subways.

Third, Ford is already staring at major hurdles in his quest to reshape this city. The most obvious is the pending showdown with the Ontario government over his plans to scrap Transit City. Premier Dalton McGuinty said Tuesday there’s no more transit money for Toronto and that the city would have to eat the costs of cancelling hundreds of millions of dollars worth of contracts already awarded.

If that happens, say goodbye to Ford’s self-described image as a good watchdog over the use of taxpayer dollars.

Torontoist: Day One for Mayor Rob Ford's Toronto, from gravy packets to subway rackets

Rob Ford: the illusionist - EYE WEEKLY

Rob Ford will do everything in his power to halt progress

Ford silently promises a big raise in property taxes in 2012

Ford's war on public transit and bicycles has begun

National Post: Gravy for Mayor Rob Ford

Torontoist: For Rob Ford, A Zero's Welcome At Nathan Phillips Square Protest

See also:
Rob Ford to cut off rapid transit to his supporters