Important News From Turkey!

I just googled it and turkeys don't actually come from Turkey. So no matter what happens, the 1st World should be OK for thanksgiving.

— Bigcitylib (@Bigcitylib2) July 15, 2016

Tim Tebow Says He Ain't Speaking At RNC National Convention

There is a list, and he's on it.  But then there's his Facebook message saying its all a rumor.  But that's a semi-official looking list.  Did the Trump gang stick Tebow on it without telling?  And if Tebow shouldn't have been there, how many other entries are false?

A Brief Note On Dope Regs: Make 'em Now Or Make 'em Never

 As you may know, I spent the last week and change  out on the Left Coast.  Probably the most interesting part was hanging with friends last Saturday at a beach BBQ, discussing the state of medical marijuana.  Half the table owned "green cards" or "compassion club" membership cards, and more than half of those were retired.  Trying to sound knowledgeable, I told them I knew a gal back in Ontario with chronic pain, who got a couple of vials of oil per month from the program.  And she'd told me the price of street weed, which she'd used previously to alleviate pain, had plunged during the last year. They cackled at my simplicity and one little old lady said: "We know that, sonny."

So there you have it.  The elderlies have gone rogue.  So if the Trudeau government plans to get ahead of the issue, they should act soon.  Otherwise Canada will turn into B.C.  Questionably legal pot shops on every corner.  Downtown T.O. smelling sickly sweet with the herb, just like Vancouver.

Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that, other than its pretty clear organized crime has a toe in the business. There's an incentive: open a dispensary and you have a legal reason to be driving around with 30 kilos of weed in your trunk.  And some dispensary owners have responded to $250-a-day municipal fines for being open illegally...by paying $250 a day.  This is suspicious behavior, in my opinion, and not something you would expect from a young hippy couple with shop-keeping ambitions.

And not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that either.  I'm sure there are many west coast bikers who, as they get older, would like to transition into selling a legal product.  Even tough guys dream of an easier life.  But if the federal government wants to shape the market rather than take what is there now,  they should move with more haste than they're currently displaying.   Some leeway seems to have already disappeared.  A too restrictive regime at this point will not supplant the status quo; it will be undermined by it.  Unless Justin Trudeau wants to start busting Vietnam vets, and maybe even his own mother.

What I'm Up To

Wife and I are out on the West Coast for a wedding and some vacationing, which for us has come to be associated with visiting the many, many wineries on Vancouver Island.  This

...is a shot from outside of one of our favorites, de Vine Vineyards on top of Devine Hill.  And this 

...is just a random bunch of wildflowers outside of Sydney By The Sea, an old retirement town that's repurposed itself as a tourist trap.  Note how healthy these flowers look.  The same flowers in T.O. would be gagging on car exhaust and industrial pollutants.

Your Ward News: A Letter The G&M Didn't Print

They got an even shorter version, but so stubbornly persist in their wrongness and hatred of elegant prose that they wouldn't even print that one.  Anyway, I didn't want all my work to go for nothing, so here it is:

Marcus Gee's Free Speech Views Are Painfully Naive

Gee suggests that Toronto citizens respond to Yourward News by  debunking its chief author, James Sears.  But Sears brags about the many women he has "pinned down against their will", and talks up Hitler and Jesus in the same breath.  That rape is bad, and Hitler not like Jesus; these seem self-evident truths and I would personally shun anyone who felt they were at issue.  An attempt to convince them towards sanity would likely prove futile.  It might also result in online death-threats from Neo-Nazis and members of the "seduction community", as some have already discovered.

And I'm not sure  Mr. Gee has read what he is defending.  He supports prohibiting material which incites violence, but  apparently missed  Sears' pro-rape musings and his talk of "eradicating FemiMarxists".  I don't begrudge Mr. Gee his ignorance, but he might show some empathy for the posties who must deliver this vile product, or the locals who receive it on their doorstep.  They can't avoid it so easily.

Marcus Gee's painfully naive piece can be found here.

Cheri Di Novo Is Fucking Nuts

That is all.

Other than maybe this, for now.  THERE IS MORE!

Life In Scarborough: Anti-Union Sentiments Overheard Being Expressed In Scarborough Pub!

I hear a guy at the bar today, talking.  He says:  "Hey, you know what a union is, don't ya?  It's a bunch of drunk guys fallin' off a roof."

The guy's in construction.  He's management.

The Odds Of Me Voting NDP Just Went Down

I admit they they weren't high to begin with.  But IMHO Nathan Cullen was one of their most charismatic, sharpest MPs, and if he ever grew some hair on that bald head I think he could have led the NDP, if not to power, than at least to one or two levels above the level of haplessness which they now occupy.  And I'm a bit surprised at his decision.  Maybe Nate figures its not worth running for Leader o'  the Losers.  I hear the offices they stick the 3rd party in have roach and rat infestations, depending on the season, and the cafeteria serves moldy bread, and all the taps drip.  

But if Nathan Cullen ever wants to floor cross, he should just slip me an email.  I know a couple of LPC heavyweights, and I donated $5 to the party one time.  I might be able to pull a few strings and get him a ministry.  Something small.  "Minister of String, Cans, And Jars"; something like that.  The rest is up to him.  Work hard and he could get ahead.

Mann Vs. Steyn: Who Is The Dead Denier?

Mark Steyn is complaining that the defamation case launched against him by climate scientist Mike Mann has taken forever.  Well, on the face of it, the first response must be that he should suck it up. In Canada, at least, waiting four years for a defamation case to unfold is pretty standard;  I doubt the U.S. court system is significantly less clogged.  And of course much of the delay is a result Mark's various stalling tactics after the initial judgements went against him, tactics which included the promotion of arguments so novel as to be, as they say, "unknown to law".

Also, there's this from his request for an expedited hearing:

Many of Steyn's expert witnesses are emeritus professors and comparatively advanced in years, being of an age and eminence that enables them to stand against the bullying and intimidation that prevails in climate science. Therefore, the passage of time is not an unimportant thing. Indeed, one of Steyn's proposed witnesses has, in fact, died while this interlocutory appeal has been with the appellate court. 

I've been trying to figure out who the old dead scientist might be.  Maybe Bob Carter or Bill Gray. If anyone knows for sure, please say in the comments. In any case, Steyn only confirms what John Mashey showed several years back, which is that deniers with scientific credentials tend to skew towards the elderly end of the demographic scale.

Finally, you don't have to read Mark's brief if you don't want to, but it sounds as though he wrote it himself, or took a draft from his lawyer and spiced it up with Steyn-style rhetorical flourishes.  Its best to look at it as a fund-raising tool more than a legal document.  And its worth noting that judges typically don't approve when you use the legal system to win in the court of public opinion. Sometimes they make this fact known in their judgements against you.

On Being An Asshole in Politics, Part 1.1037

This was indeed somewhat assholish.  Not very, because Bob Rae couldn't have known (though he should have suspected) that the cameras would have been on him.  And I get the sentiment.  If it had been me up there I would have talked about how Evil had fled the land after the ring had been cast into the fires of Mt. Doom, and so forth.  But the PM has to lay on the cheese and pretend to love everyone, even Albertans.

On a related note, apparently Justin Trudeau has redefined masculinity.  He can punch out Big Indians, and yet he cries at gawdawful chick flicks. Whatever.  New definition; old definition.  I rate about 5.3 out of 10 either way.  So this news does not directly effect me.

The Sad Sad State of the Conservative Menace: On Derek Fildebrandt & Being An Asshole In Politics

I met Derek a couple of times on one of Michael Coren's old shows.  You talk before, afterwards, and during the breaks on these things.  He seemed a decent enough chap, chatting away about how the CTF PR-team handled its  responses to various issues as they arose.  And when you listened to him speak  on the show, he seemed coherent:  broadly conservative, but not without a wee tad o' nuance and empathy.  So what the fuck happened?  Politics, man, it was politics.  He thinks he needs to throw out boob-bait to the bubbas back in his riding.  But he is acting in a manner that is untrue to himself.  I mean, look at the guy's hair.  He's a city-boy; metro-sexual all the way down, if not gayer.   Yet trying to act like a prairie wild-man.  It's just sad.

Meanwhile, after Justin Trudeau's poll ratings soared when he accidentally punched an NDP MP in the tit, the CPC figures its time to stop comparing him to a rapist.

You start thinking that stomping Conservatives when they're down is unseemly, like kicking a puppy.  And then they pull shit like this and  you realize its not a puppy, but some loathsome, giant, vaguely puppy shaped bug.  And your resolve to stomp even harder is only increased.

O HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN! JASON KENNEY IN PARTICULAR!

Former cabinet minister Jason Kenney gets into a brief twitter brawl with guy who claims to be a giant chicken on the internet, and loses:

Something I'm learning tonight: a lot of Trudeau supporters are like Trump supporters. They defend the indefensible, including bullying.

— Jason Kenney (@jkenney) May 19, 2016

And of course now he has blocked me...

The Bump Seen Around The World

Meh.  He bumped some people.  Who were stalling a vote on a bill that is literally a matter of life and death for some very sick people.  And if Don Cherry had got hold of this tape he'd've mentioned "Ellen The Diving Duck".  But whatever.  It doesn't look particularly good conceptually for the PM to do something like this, but actually the tape shows a tall good looking fellow in a nice suit hustling along some puffy little CPC dough-ball back to his seat so as to facilitate the passing of important legislation.  When people see it, they will rally to his side, twitter crowd not withstanding.

Ezzrata: "It Looks Like There's An Attempt To Decieve There"

Ezra Levant has appealed the defamation case brought against him by Khurrum Awan.  He lost that case.  Given Richard Warman's account of the appeal, I suspect he will lose it too.  That is all.

PS. Title is my favorite line from one of the judges during the appeal.  Other favorite lines, directed at Ezra's lawyer, include "Why this is important?" and "Why is this relevant?"

Life In Scarborough: Jobs That Won't Exist Tomorrow, In Scarborough

I was sitting in my favorite Scarborough workin' man's pub today, listening to a couple of truck drivers talk. They had just got off shift and were discussing an accident on the 401.  "Scrape 'em off and get it clear" was their general attitude (although I should note it doesn't look like anyone was injured in this particular incident).

They're both nearing 60; they talked of when Kingston Road was called Highway 2, and York Road before that, conveying traffic from Toronto to the Eastern settlements a century ago.  Because they drive, and this kind of history is important to them.  Then they got talking about "self driving vehicles" for a bit, skeptically and cautiously.  But they're fine.  They'll retire before that wave of innovation hits.  But after them comes a vacuum.  Because a self-driving car won't "know" anything; it will just store data.

On The Earl's Thing: A Brief Note

From an employee's Facebook page:

The intention of this post is NOT to state my opinion or upset anyone but simply make a plea. That plea being that no matter what your opinion is on our beef program or really any other subject, that you take a minute to think about who you're voicing your concerns or opinions to and the way in which you're going about it. I'm a strong believer that everyone is entitled to their own opinion but over the last couple of days I have seen far too many people that I care about who work for Earls be yelled at or degraded for something that is much bigger than them. Today I was yelled at in a public parking lot and then ridiculed at the gas station just for wearing my chef's jacket with the Earls logo, something by the way which I am very proud to wear. All I ask is that before you yell at a 16 year old hostess or tell a server that they're are stupid you take a moment to consider the big picture. We're all human and most of us are in the industry we're in because we love people! For those who have any questions or concerns about this I'm always more than happy to answer them, feel free to message me!

In short: This is Canada.  Keep the public discourse civilized, people.

Some background here.

Wente Back At It

From the Media Culpa blog, is it plagiarism or something just short, like lazy journalism?

Your Daily Nazi: Important News On Your Ward News

I wrote last year:

So there's an T.O. East End Newspaper called Your Ward News.  From what I gather its mostly a direct mail affair; the publisher, a guy named Leroy St. Germaine, has Canada Post deliver it to folks down in Ward 31 (The Beaches).  It has apparently always been a bit flaky/racist, but the last couple of issues have seen a guy named James Sears gradually taking over, until recently he was appointed "Editor in Chief". And he has taken the publication "Full Nazi": articles promoting holocaust denial by old Heritage Front members; articles praising Adolf Hitler; articles promoting "white pride". The works.

Since then various people have taken various actions to make these guys stop publishing or get Canada Post to stop delivering them.  For example, local businesses advertising in the paper were contacted and asked to pull their classifieds.  This worked, more or less;  Sold space within the publication has declined.  But Your Ward has continued, and Canada Post has continued to distribute it.

Last week Canadian Civil Rights lawyer Richard Warman filed a human rights complaint against Canada Post, supported by numerous other luminaries.   You can find the actual paperwork at WK's place through the last link.  My favorite bit from it is:

It looks better if you click on the image, I think.

Anyway, this may be an interesting lesson in how to file this kind of complaint after the repeal of Section 13 of the CHRA.  Lets do a quick walk-through of the sections invoked.

Section 5:

5 It is a discriminatory practice in the provision of goods, services, facilities or accommodation customarily available to the general public

(a) to deny, or to deny access to, any such good, service, facility or accommodation to any individual, or

(b) to differentiate adversely in relation to any individual,

on a prohibited ground of discrimination.

This is invoked, as I understand it, to cover the discriminatory treatment of members of the public who are forced to receive the hate mail in question.

Section 7:

7 It is a discriminatory practice, directly or indirectly,

(a) to refuse to employ or continue to employ any individual, or

(b) in the course of employment, to differentiate adversely in relation to an employee,

on a prohibited ground of discrimination.


1976-77, c. 33, s. 7; 1980-81-82-83, c. 143, s. 3(F).

This suggests an infringement on the rights of the letter carriers forced to deliver the hate-mail.  It's worth noting that CUPW supports Warman's complaint.

Sections 12 & 14:

12 It is a discriminatory practice to publish or display before the public or to cause to be published or displayed before the public any notice, sign, symbol, emblem or other representation that

(a) expresses or implies discrimination or an intention to discriminate, or

(b) incites or is calculated to incite others to discriminate

if the discrimination expressed or implied, intended to be expressed or implied or incited or calculated to be incited would otherwise, if engaged in, be a discriminatory practice described in any of sections 5 to 11 or in section 14.

1976-77, c. 33, s. 12; 1980-81-82-83, c. 143, s. 6.

&:

14 (1) It is a discriminatory practice,

(a) in the provision of goods, services, facilities or accommodation customarily available to the general public,

(b) in the provision of commercial premises or residential accommodation, or

(c) in matters related to employment,

to harass an individual on a prohibited ground of discrimination.

12 concerns discriminatory notices.  If you are willing to publish/distribute this level of anti-semitic, anti-black, anti-whatever hate, its basically indicating to the people you deliver it to that you will likely discriminate and that they should too.

And, again, he various subsections of 14 cover discriminating against those members of the public who receive and must deliver this hate literature.

*

So it will be interesting to see how this all plays out, in the absence of the now repealed Section 13 of the CHRA.  Richard does not instigate frivolous complaints.  As for Your Ward, finding the on-line version is easy enough if you want to take a look.

I imagine getting it delivered to your mailbox is like recieving uncovered, unsolicited pornography (indeed some of the images in the publication shade towards porn).  Its basically a sick joke being played by a few white supremicists on the folks down in The Beaches.  Hopefully this will put an end to it.

Some News Re Dr. Dawg/John Baglow

This happened yesterday:

John Baglow — a former vice-president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada — was taken to hospital on a stretcher Thursday afternoon from his Simcoe Street home with stab wounds to his hands and head. He was in stable condition.

Last I've heard, John has spoken to a couple of people in the blogging world and everyone involved in the incident will be OK.  That's very good news.  John is a class act: good to argue with over the finer points of The Dialectic; good to drink beers with.  Here's hoping he and his partner and step-son have a full and complete recovery.

Federal NDPer Defects To OLP

OTTAWA — One of the federal NDP’s former rising stars has decided she wants to run for the provincial Liberals in Ontario.

Good luck to her.  And it shows that Wynne's OLP is still attracting talent, so good news for them too whether she wins that nomination or not.

And, yes, she is still hot.