The idea that Atwood, or any writer, is getting rich off the pennies that come their way because of books being loaned, would make a cat laugh.
Ford Desecration Pt III
Thu, 2011-07-28 12:09
#52
Thu, 2011-07-28 13:21
#53
Catchfire
You don't get paid everytime someone borrows your book. The only money Atwood would make would be the initial royalties from the library buying a library edition of her book. It's a one-off. Even more of a ludicrous idea than you think!
National Post gets off Ford Gravy Train
In the opening days of Rob Ford’s mayoralty, he told me and the Post‘s City Hall reporter, Natalie Alcoba, that closing a library on a Sunday would constitute a “major” service cut, and therefore would not happen. Fast forward to this week, and not only are library hours very much on the chopping block, but Doug Ford sounds downright eager to close branches altogether. He said there’s one in his ward that “nobody uses,” which isn’t true of course, not long after he said there were more libraries in his ward than Tim Horton’s franchises, which also isn’t true. And he suggested if Margaret Atwood has an opinion on libraries, she should get elected or shut up. Concurrently, we learned that Rob Ford may have flipped off a woman who sanctimoniously told him to get off his cell phone while driving — a “misunderstanding,” says the Mayor, hilariously. (He should have just said nothing, but damage control has never been a strong suit.) This really is the sort of low point — spiteful, undignified, pointless — that I and other moderate penny-punchers dared dream we’d never arrive at. And barely anything has even happened yet at City Hall. Anyone want to talk me down off the ledge?
Thu, 2011-07-28 14:47
#54
So what ever happened to "Ford Nation"?? I was expecting to see massive phalanxes of "Tea Party North" types who voted for Ford all packing the public meetings and demanding MORE cuts in service and MORE tax caust and MORE with-hunts for "gravy". Instead they are no where to be seen.
I think that this is a classic case of the emperor's new clothes where at some point someone will cry out that the emperor (in this case Ford) has no clothes!
Thu, 2011-07-28 20:27
#55
M. Spector
You don't get paid everytime someone borrows your book. The only money Atwood would make would be the initial royalties from the library buying a library edition of her book. It's a one-off. Even more of a ludicrous idea than you think!
That was true until 25 years ago.
In 2010-2011, the [url=http://www.plr-dpp.ca/plr/documents/PLR_Annual_Report_final.pdf]Public Lending Right (PLR) program[/url] delivered $9.9 million in payments to 17,487 authors, tanslators and illustrators for the presence of their books in Canadian public libraries.
Thu, 2011-07-28 20:48
#56
Catchfire
No kidding! Well, colour me updated. That Atwood is a hustler after all.
Thu, 2011-07-28 23:16
#57
So what ever happened to "Ford Nation"?? I was expecting to see massive phalanxes of "Tea Party North" types who voted for Ford all packing the public meetings and demanding MORE cuts in service and MORE tax caust and MORE with-hunts for "gravy". Instead they are no where to be seen.
According to Mayor Ford, they're too busy working and earning their keep to attend and depute at such public meetings. Really.
Fri, 2011-07-29 00:48
#58
Wow! I didn't know that either, M.Spector!
Fri, 2011-07-29 01:22
#59
You don't get paid everytime someone borrows your book. The only money Atwood would make would be the initial royalties from the library buying a library edition of her book. It's a one-off. Even more of a ludicrous idea than you think!
That was true until 25 years ago.
In 2010-2011, the [url=http://www.plr-dpp.ca/plr/documents/PLR_Annual_Report_final.pdf]Public Lending Right (PLR) program[/url] delivered $9.9 million in payments to 17,487 authors, tanslators and illustrators for the presence of their books in Canadian public libraries.
Which, if divided equally, would come to a little more than $566.13 cdn per author. So it's still not exactly a goldmine.
Fri, 2011-07-29 08:42
#60
Toronto police revealed Thursday they arrested a man two weeks ago and charged him with threatening the city's mayor.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/07/28/toronto-ford-thre...
Fri, 2011-07-29 11:07
#61
According to Mayor Ford, they're too busy working and earning their keep to attend and depute at such public meetings. Really.
Apparently when people voted for Ford, they approved of everything he will ever say or do while in office, even if he completely contradicts himself or changes his mind on a dime. Strange.
Fri, 2011-07-29 11:37
#62
Apparently when people voted for Ford, they approved of everything he will ever say or do while in office, even if he completely contradicts himself or changes his mind on a dime. Strange.
Judging by some comments on the Toronto Star, that may well be the case for some.. still, I'm really curious that they couldn't dig up at least SOME of their political base. Maybe this meeting was just a circus to give the appearance of public input before going ahead and chopping stuff anyways. Maybe there isn't an organized faction in support of Ford. Hmm..
Fri, 2011-07-29 11:44
#63
M. Spector
Which, if divided equally, would come to a little more than $566.13 cdn per author. So it's still not exactly a goldmine.
No, not exactly. But it's probably comparable to what most Canadian authors get in annual royalty cheques from their publishers.
Fri, 2011-07-29 11:47
#64
M. Spector
Toronto police revealed Thursday they arrested a man two weeks ago and charged him with threatening the city's mayor.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/07/28/toronto-ford-thre...
A police spokesman told CBC News he believes it is the first time anyone has made a threat against the mayor since he took office last year.I'm glad to hear that.
It means my phone's not being tapped.
Fri, 2011-07-29 12:41
#65
It will be now.
Fri, 2011-07-29 22:34
#66
Maybe there isn't an organized faction in support of Ford. Hmm..
No, there is. Honest. But they're too busy earning their keep to bother rubbing cheeks with these social-activist usual suspects who hate their guts, anyway. Honest. Truly. Really.
Anyway, Mary Trapani Hynes' performance demonstrates why she got an astronomical quarter of the vote in Don Valley East federally--surely, Jack doesn't take all the credit there...
Sat, 2011-07-30 13:25
#67
funny old goat 
______________________________________________________________________________________ Our kids live together and play together in their communities, let's have them learn together too!It will be now.
Sat, 2011-07-30 21:32
#68
Anyway, Mary Trapani Hynes' performance demonstrates why she got an astronomical quarter of the vote in Don Valley East federally--surely, Jack doesn't take all the credit there...
Even looking at the numbers nearly 3 months later, I'm still slightly taken aback (in awe, I hasten to add). If the DVE riding association has any nous about them, they should keep Hynes around. I'd be interested in seeing a rematch against Daniel …
Sun, 2011-07-31 12:30
#69
I wonder how much of Ford's electoral momentum was from the icky feeling projected by George Smitherman's campaign?
Rather than disect that water under the bridge, I'd instead move on and look forward to the next election.
Who is being groomed, right now, to run against Ford? It better be someone with bona fides as a progressive, and not another smarmy right winger in Liberal clothing, or we can expect another term for Ford.
Sun, 2011-07-31 14:57
#70
M. Spector
Ford was elected because of the complete and utter failure of the left to mount a serious campaign for a credible leftist mayor or to expose and denounce Ford's lies and his reactionary voting record. There is a serious vacuum in leadership of the left in Toronto; as a result the real issues of the worldwide austerity agenda, which affect Canada at all levels of government, went unacknowledged and unaddressed. The left was sleepwalking while the Ford-Hudak-Harper neocon machine continued to gain momentum in Toronto municipal politics.
Sun, 2011-07-31 19:41
#71
Who is being groomed, right now, to run against Ford? It better be someone with bona fides as a progressive, and not another smarmy right winger in Liberal clothing, or we can expect another term for Ford.
Though in the last Ottawa mayoral election, voters opted for the "smarmy right winger in Liberal clothing" over a rogue hard-right incumbent as well as someone with "bona fides as a progressive"...
Tue, 2011-08-02 12:01
#72
Miller's contract with the polytechnic ends in early 2014.
Fri, 2011-08-05 21:01
#73
Politically incorrect
The Mysterious Case of the Flying Anarchist takes aim at Toronto’s buffoon of a mayor
by NEIL BOYCE August 4, 2011
Fresh off a run at the Toronto Fringe in mid-July, Concordia creative writing grad (and Mirror contributor) Matt Jones takes his show The Mysterious Case of the Flying Anarchist to Théâtre Ste-Catherine (264 Ste-Catherine W.) for a limited run. Dario Fo’s 1970 satire on political corruption and abuse of power is a readily adaptable work—already staged in Britain, China, Pakistan and Zimbabwe—that can be adjusted to fit politician-crooks in any new environment....
http://www.montrealmirror.com/wp/2011/08/04/politically-incorrect/
Wed, 2011-08-10 08:18
#74
Police in Toronto have arrested a second man and charged him with threatening to kill Mayor Rob Ford, CBC News has learned.
Police are not releasing much information, saying they "don't discuss threats against individuals, venues or events." But CBC News has learned there have been other threats against Ford - beyond the two cases that have resulted in charges.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/08/09/toronto-ford-thre...
Wed, 2011-08-10 10:12
#75
M. Spector
Great.
We now have a "populist" mayor who, when he attends large public gatherings, is "surrounded by a ring of police officers" for protection from the public.
Thu, 2011-09-15 15:13
#76
M. Spector
First, they hired a corporate assassin in KPMG to do their dirty work, a futile attempt to distance themselves from the planned sacking of Toronto.
[i]End subsidized daycare. Close libraries. Sell the zoos. Padlock museums.[/i]
“Don’t blame us,” they protested. “These are just recommendations from the consultants.”
Pulling a Pontius Pilate and washing its hands, KPMG said, “These are not recommendations; they are a list of opportunities….”
The carefully crafted image is one of positive ventures; investments. Instead, by the end of the month, Toronto could face:
[i]Fewer medical calls from fire fighters. A smaller police force. Reduced TTC service. Death of the “Hardship Fund” that provides medical services for the city’s poor.[/i]
City manager Joe Pennachetti came clean Monday and dipped his hands into the blood. When he pulled them out, few city services remained untouched by the axe. Ah, yes, Joe P is recommending many of the very cuts, er, opportunities, KPMG listed in July.
Now, the bleeding mess has been dumped in the mayor’s hands, where it belongs.
It is the same mayor who looked voters in the eye a year ago and swore on their votes that he could find close to $2 billion in savings at city hall without chopping a single service. Waste, he said, littered the city hall corridors like the leaves of autumn.
Rob Ford, of course, found teaspoons of “gravy” where he pointed to vats of waste. So, [b]next Monday his hand-picked executive committee of 12 sycophants must vote on Pennachetti’s recommendations[/b] and advise city council where to cut:
[i]End the very popular community environment days. New “minimum standards” for snow removal, grass cutting. Chop $6 million from community and arts grants — affecting TIFF, AGO, ROM, and tiny community groups.[/i]
[url=http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1052639--james-budget-mess-finally-l... on...[/url]
Thu, 2011-09-15 15:33
#77
If KPMG is Pontius Pilate, Ford is Nero.
Thu, 2011-09-15 16:50
#78
OnTheLeft
Meanwhile Royson James led the Toronto Star's crucifixion of David Miller and Adam Giambrone.
He talks out of both sides of his mouth, and everyone at City Hall can't stand him nor take him seriously.
Thu, 2011-09-15 23:15
#79
yeah, James reminded me of back in 1994, when the left took Rae and the gang at Queen's Park to the wood shed, we got Harris, and we know how well that went! 
Fri, 2011-09-16 00:01
#80
M. Spector
Jesus fucking Christ!
A newspaper columnist takes on the neoliberal austerity agenda of the mayor of Toronto and all the social democratic peanut gallery can muster is ad hominem attacks on the columnist!
Paid agents of Rob Ford couldn't do any better than these twits.
Fri, 2011-09-16 00:24
#81
RevolutionPlease
Well Spector, it does at least bring to light the hypocrisy and therefore the "quality" of MSM journalists.
It's just a shell game my friend. Pockets will always be lined as long as we don't fight back.
What do we do Spector? You always pop into these political threads with criticisms but I never see much of your electable platform? And that's all we've got at the moment isn't it?
I'm all for the callls for the NDP to push Prop. Rep. I will vote for the federal candidate with the best plan in this aspect.
Is there love, hope or optimism? 
Fri, 2011-09-16 07:24
#82
Massive poll shows Toronto is united against Ford's proposed cuts
Published 47 minutes ago
In a Forum Research telephone poll, only 27 per cent of residents say they would vote for Rob Ford if an election was held tomorrow.
CARLOS OSORIO/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO Robyn Doolittle Urban Affairs Reporter
More about
One of the biggest polls ever conducted in Toronto shows residents from every corner of the city are overwhelmingly against Mayor Rob Ford's cuts.
From Doug Ford's ward in Etobicoke to budget chief Mike Del Grande's in Scarborough, the results will serve as a sobering warning to councillors within the Ford voting bloc.
A Forum Research telephone survey of nearly 13,000 people reveals that more than three-quarters of Torontonians want their local councillor to protect services rather than comply with the mayor's wishes. And only 27 per cent of residents say they would vote for Rob Ford if an election was held tomorrow.
More significantly, because of the poll's size, Forum was able to provide the first authoritative assessment of support on a ward-by-ward level.
Forum's poll, which was paid for by CUPE Local 79, one of two major unions at city hall, questioned 12,848 Toronto residents on Tuesday using a random dial, push-button response, phoning system. The margin of error is plus or minus 0.9 per cent, 19 out 20 times.
Fri, 2011-09-16 08:42
#83
Paid agents of Rob Ford couldn't do any better than these twits.
Keep the insults out of the discussion please.
Fri, 2011-09-16 09:07
#84
Maysie
Adam Vaughan pwns KPMG. Super wow.
Wait for it.....ka-POW!
Fri, 2011-09-16 14:01
#85
Adam Vaughan pwns KPMG. Super wow.
Wait for it.....ka-POW!
That was super-cool. Thanks for the link!
Fri, 2011-09-16 14:09
#86
M. Spector
And now I suppose we'll hear from some social-democrat about how Adam Vaughan can safely be ignored because he was one of the most vocal critics of David Miller...
Fri, 2011-09-16 19:11
#87
OnTheLeft
Well Spector, it does at least bring to light the hypocrisy and therefore the "quality" of MSM journalists.
Exactly, and thank you.
Sat, 2011-09-17 10:57
#88
Adam Vaughan pwns KPMG. Super wow.
Wait for it.....ka-POW!
That was amazing!!
Ford: "Your 3 minutes are up"
Sun, 2011-11-13 20:43
#89
M. Spector
The City of Toronto has 10 museums, connecting its citizens with their rich local history. About 250,000 people visit these museums every year. They provide rental facilities for public events and have educational programs for thousands of school children.
Rob Ford wants to close 4 of those museums, in order to save something less than $1 million a year. That's less than 40¢ per capita per annum - about .01 of one percent of the City's budget.
These are the four museums:
• The [url=http://www.toronto.ca/culture/the_market_gallery.htm]Market Gallery[/url], located downtown in the St. Lawrence Market, was founded in 1979 as the official exhibition space and storage of the city’s permanent art collection. It's in an historic building that was once the City Hall of Toronto from 1845 to 1899.
• [url=http://www.montgomerysinn.com/]Montgomery’s Inn[/url], built in the 1830s and restored to its 1847 state. The museum allows visitors and school tours to glimpse life in the mid-19th century. It serves as a community meeting space, and is the headquarters of the Etobicoke Historical Society. It was also Etobicoke's civic museum until 1998 when Etobicoke was forcibly amalgamated into the City of Toronto by Ford's pal, Mike Harris.
• [url=http://www.syriatoday.ca/Toronto-Museums-Zion.htm]Zion Schoolhouse[/url], a one-room school built just two years after Confederation, and restored to its 1910 state. Students on school tours re-enact lessons and games from that time.
• [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_House]Gibson House[/url], a red-brick 1850s Georgian revival mansion, is on land that was rural farmland when Scottish immigrant David Gibson built it. Gibson was a supporter of the 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion. Visitors get to see a glimpse of life in rural Ontario in the mid-19th century.
Wed, 2011-11-23 08:41
#90
The government shouldn't be in the housing business, the Fords say...except when it's luxury waterfront condos.
Wed, 2011-11-23 11:50
#91
Northern Shoveler
Build Toronto, the city-owned company charged with selling surplus property, is teaming up with residential developer Tridel to invest in a new skyscraper on a pie-shaped city lot at York and Harbour Streets. If approved as planned, the project will join a cluster of nearby skyscrapers, part of a wave of development on land south of the railway tracks and will rival a new building at College Park as the city’s tallest condo tower.
In Vancouver we've already seen this movie. At ever stage of the process the development crowd, as individuals, make fast bucks for little risk and if the project fails the City gets left holding the bag as the Limited development companies fade away into asset less "sue me if you want" corporations.
Mr. Meggs said he didn’t know what the impact would be of the city providing a $46-million loan guarantee on top of the other debt it is carrying on the Olympic village.
“No one’s assessed that at this point,” he said.
The city is currently carrying $1.6-billion in taxpayer-supported debt, triple the level it was carrying in 2006. That debt load, which works out to $2,623 per city resident, which is higher than in most Canadian cities, rose dramatically last February when the city took over the construction loan for the private developer building the 1,100-unit village.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/vancouver-...
Wed, 2011-11-23 12:09
#92
It's a shame when the first time you hear about these museums is when they want to shut them down.
Wed, 2011-11-23 12:39
#93
SOWWY BUT I COULD NUT REZZIST DAT PITCHER OF HIZZONER!
Wed, 2011-11-23 14:42
#94
M. Spector
It's a shame when the first time you hear about these museums is when they want to shut them down.
The shame is all yours, if you live in Toronto.
Wed, 2011-11-23 15:34
#95
Of Course M. Spector, as you know everything and I know nothing. They were not advertised anywhere and did not feature in anything I ever saw, until I read about them on this post. The shame is yours for your snide remarks. I have heard much worse from much better than you.
Sun, 2011-12-04 00:50
#96
Maysie
Doug Ford suggests schools explore UFC-linked program.
No I'm not fucking kidding.
Councillor Doug Ford's office has suggested Toronto schools look into a community service program backed by the violent mixed martial arts league, Ultimate Fighting Championship.
In an email obtained by the Star, Ford's constituency assistant, Anna Vescio, asked a Toronto District School Board trustee to circulate a brochure touting an initiative called UFC Community Works.
According to the brochure, the program promotes "the development of discipline, respect, teamwork, honesty, time management and physical fitness" through mixed martial arts training and meetings with UFC fighters.
UFC has become notorious for its brutal, bloody, no-holds barred fighting. Mixed martial arts events were banned in Ontario until this year.
.........
In an email to TDSB trustees early Saturday morning, Chris Glover, trustee for Etobicoke Centre, stressed that he adamantly voiced his disapproval to Ford's office: "I have responded that I will not be promoting fighting in our schools under any circumstances," he wrote.
"We have all kinds of initiatives to prevent fighting in our schools . . . to teach kids how to resolve conflicts without fighting," he said in an interview. "[Mixed martial arts training] speaks against the goals of public education."
............
Reached by phone, Doug Ford declined to comment, citing Mayor Rob Ford's policy of not talking to the Star.
That last bit is priceless. The mayor's "policy", which is facing a Charter challenge by the Star, is about the mayor's office only. You aren't mayor yet, Dougie. In the meantime, go fuck yourself.
Sun, 2011-12-04 11:55
#97
Maysie
Disabled community left in the cold
...after Rob Ford cancelled an annual celebration of International Day of Persons With Disabilties that was to be held on Dec 3.
In the past the International Day of Persons with Disabilities - a United Nations event held around the world - has been supported by the city at locations like Variety Village and the CNIB, and attended by city officials, including former Toronto mayor David Miller.
This year the City of Toronto posted a notice to its website saying the annual Dec. 3 event, which honours unsung heroes who struggle against adversity, would not be held.
Instead, the event will be recognized with a proclamation by Mayor Rob Ford, on Dec. 8, at an evening event celebrating Human Rights Day in the council chamber of city hall, according to the city website.
......
City Councillor Adam Vaughan said he had no idea the event had been cancelled even though he is chair of the accessibility advisory committee, one of 21 citizen committees Ford tried to shut down this summer.
Ford had to back away from shutting down the accessibility advisory committee after it was pointed out to him that having one is a requirement under provincial law, said Vaughan.
"There's been a drift, if not a concerted effort, to move away from support of people in this city with disabilities," said Vaughan. "The mayor's office has been silent on this stuff. They're walking away from democratic input and they're walking away from supporting people that have needs."
Vaughan said he is trying to get the committee back up and running.
Bold added.
This bullshit has to be stopped.
Mon, 2011-12-05 20:07
#98
That last bit is priceless. The mayor's "policy", which is facing a Charter challenge by the Star, is about the mayor's office only. You aren't mayor yet, Dougie. In the meantime, go fuck yourself.
[/quote] ______________________________________________________________________________________ Our kids live together and play together in their communities, let's have them learn together too!
Mon, 2011-12-05 22:34
#99
RevolutionPlease
Who's picking up the mantle from Miller? Someone has to start presenting an alternative to Ford.
Mon, 2011-12-05 23:05
#100
Vaughan is certainly among the most vocal and visible on a host of issues. I'm a Joe Mihevc fan and think he's got what it takes to be mayor although winning an election (for anyone) won't necessarily be a cakewalk.
Tue, 2011-12-06 00:47
#101
RevolutionPlease
Looks like most folk will be happy. Ford's kncking $10 off your tax bill and hundreds are out of jobs. C'mon Toronto. We used to be called "Toronto, the good". Keep thinking about greater self-interest more than the greater good.
Ford will knock a couple dollars off your bill. Welcome to Detroit.
Can anybody really defend this guy anymore? Obviously he still has supporters? WHY?