Life In Scarborough: Scarborough Monday Nights

Stuck waiting for my wife t'other night, I hung around the Markham/Eglinton bus stop. The parking lot of our local Metro turns into the neighborhood meeting spot after dark.  Guys toting Goodlife bags get on and off the bus in steady streams, coming and going from the nearby gym and saying hello to one another as they pass at the stop.  There's a long bench against a big stone planter between the stop and the Beer Store where old Sri Lankan men gather on hot afternoons to drink tall-cans under  planted shrubs.  Now they have been joined by rough local kids of various racial persuasions, and an old hippy in the wheel chair who keeps his beer in the side-pocket, and a scrawny old rocker chick who is passed out on the grass when I get there, but who wakes  20 minutes later, sits up, and is welcomed back to consciousness with cheerful hellos from the gathered rummies. This is a Monday night before 9 pm, mind you.

Quote Of The Day

Not about polls or the lousy economy, but newsworthy nevertheless:

“...as  Christian business owners, our personal beliefs will not allow our conscience the freedom to work with a labour union, as we are required by scripture to ‘live peaceably with all men’ and not to use force to gain what we want or for what is required to succeed.”

First a union, then armed conflict...

On The Theory Of The "Sleeping Electorate"

From ONW's Susanna Kelly:

Most people take two, perhaps three weeks vacation a year.

That means that for all the other summer weeks, they're back at work, starting the day as usual by listening to newscasts in their car during commutes, spending lots of time on their computers and Internet-rigged up (CHANGE) devices and chatting around the water cooler - just like they do the rest of the year.

On top of that, even if they are at the cottage, many of those same cottages have now been equipped with the Internet.

And there are fewer and fewer people who live in rural Canada, making their living by working the soil in relative isolation.

So the idea that many people haven't heard of, or heard much of, the Duffy trial is pretty unlikely.

It was the lead story on Internet, television and radio newscasts as well as on newspapers' front pages for many days.

And even if, as is the case with many in the electorate, they only remember the headlines, those very headlines have been very damaging.

I'm about half-ready to buy this.  Today's Forum poll suggest's that the Duffy trial has had a major negative effect on CPC numbers, though these are supposed to be the dog days.  But of course that's only Forum.  There will, however, be an EKOS poll tomorrow and Frank Graves is hinting at some pretty interesting results:

@Mikercorcoran @coreydahl nope. And some real movement. Duffy definitely registering.

— Frank Graves (@VoiceOfFranky) August 26, 2015

So there you have it.

Robert Jago Soldiers On

I think Robert and I were the first two bloggers in Canadian history to force a candidate to step down for things they'd said  on the Internet.  But in '08 Robert only scored one Green (for anti-Semitic comments, I think); whereas I nailed a Tory, a Dipper, and a Tory campaign official.  That's why I've got part of an exhibit devoted to me in the Museum of Civilization and Robert doesn't.

As usual, the Yankees were ahead of us by a decade.  In 1996 one of Bob Dole's campaign staffers had to step down when he and his wife were found to have participated in a listserv for swingers, if I remember it correctly.  Anyway, I've not got time to put the detective work in these days, but Jago is still at it.  He's greased one or two Tories already this cycle, and is promising that there's more to come.

 This is his latest.  Keep an eye on his blog.   By the end of election 2015, someone might owe Robert a Senate appointment.

Coming To An Attack Near You

To go with this.  Not a good day for the CPC campaign.

Not A Communist: Tom & Maggie

Actually this doesn't look bad on him.  Equivalent to finding out that Harper once played drums in a Hendrix cover band (he didn't).  Not sure there was any reason for the campaign to even formally address a clip that old unless they figured it worked in their favor.  And it does; if Tom secretly dug Thatcher  he can't be that bad, some might think. I imagine any real problem will come from the party base.  Mulcair has the delicate task of convincing the nation that the NDP's not  communist anymore while assuring the faithful that it still is.

The Union Pearson Express (UPX)

Have no fear, #Toronto. There are plenty of open seats available on my #UPX train to Pearson Airport. #onpoli #topoli pic.twitter.com/Fruam7LjaQ

— Mark McQueen (@markrmcqueen) August 18, 2015

$27 per trip.  Who knows how many $1,000,000s  to build.  

This means, officially, that every transit line they've built in this town since 1986 when I moved here has been a boondoggle.

(Mind you, maybe its packed during the rush-hour.  But I doubt it.)

Leger Poll Puts Tories in 3rd

The NDP has 33 percent of the vote, up one point since last month, while the Conservatives are polling at 27 percent, down five points, the Leger research group said.

The Liberals, led by Justin Trudeau, the son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, are polling in second with 28 percent of the vote, up three points.

Leger is a solid pollster, though I don't think they work the ROC very often.  Anyway, they confirm one thing that everyone knows; Justin helped himself in the first debate.  You can also infer that the Duffy Trial is beginning to take its toll on CPC numbers.  Sure nobody but the poli-nerds are paying attention, but its kind of like an ugly buzz in the air that you hear whenever the news comes on, whether you're listening or not.

Gruending On Rinks

Because I haven't been writing much lately, yet still like to keep a hand in, here's Dennis Gruending with a nice piece on subsidizing sports teams:

The National Hockey League’s Ottawa Senators want to abandon the club’s 20-year-old arena in the suburb of Kanata and rebuild near the city's downtown. Although the team says that fans don’t want to travel to the edge of town to watch their team, the arena actually draws an average of 96 percent of its capacity for home games. Still, the club's president, Cyril Leeder, says that the Senators would need support from the city before proceeding with their plan. Almost certainly, that's coded language foreshadowing a request for tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in public money to build an arena. There, millionaire players employed by multi-millionaire owners would play before people who can afford to pay $7,700 for a season’s ticket in a good seat. 

Indeed.

1st Debate: So How'd They Do?

Justin Trudeau Our guy did good.  Articulate.  Didn't stumble (though I missed his closing remarks, which I hear weren't so great).  Scored points in the one-on-ones, got off a few good lines:  "And then they were 9.  And so shall that number be 9." and etc.

Stephen Harper  Played defense all night, for the most part well.  Some shots got through on the economy; he admitted we're on the verge of a recession.  And he stumbled re the issue of all of his Senate appointments who are prison bound.  He was weirdly articulate on environmental issues & pipelines, displaying detailed knowledge re Alberta's carbon pricing system.  So, perhaps, a weak point well covered.  Not that I liked his answers on these questions, just that they were relatively well delivered.

Elizabeth May Did well, although at times to me she sounded like she had stumbled in from a wonkfest.  She actually forgave Harper for some of his past-policies.  But if I was in the "throw them all out and vote Green" mood and I stumbled onto the debate and watched her, I would be favorably impressed.

Tom Mulcair had weird body language issues.  I don't think he blinked once the whole debate, and he tried so hard to avoid the "Angry Tom" persona that he wound up sounding sedated.  He took a few hits from Trudeau on Que. Separatism and the SCC (Trudeau's "And Lo!  Nine Judges appeared in the East" line), but later on spoke forcefully (although still in an oddly subdued tone) on the Senate.

The Debate Format Nobody expects CDN political debates to be exciting, but this one was probably as entertaining as it was possible to make it.  The format forced interaction between the candidates, which I think actually worked against Stephen Harper.  He appeared diminished.  A mere mortal among mortals.

Pre-Debate Good News Poll, And That Thing With The Tits

Albeit from a company I've never heard of (or not heard much of):

@RJMcClelland Never heard of those guys.

— Bigcitylib (@Bigcitylib2) August 6, 2015

@Bigcitylib2 They don't poll very often but have been around for at least a few years

— Robert McClelland (@RJMcClelland) August 6, 2015

Might write more about the Trudeau boobs thing later or not.  My first response is this:

@a_picazo Good argument for progressive pols to avoid pride parades, if you ask me. #cdnpoli

— Bigcitylib (@Bigcitylib2) August 6, 2015

Are pride parades safe for LPC candidates anymore or have they been taken over by the NDP?  If so I'd say skip 'em.  Stay away from them queers.

PS. I may tweet the debate tonight, or not.  I may go out and eat chicken wings with my wife and watch old UFC clips on Sportsnet 5.  It doesn't matter.  Its boring and the after-analysis is all about bubble-dwellers trying to guess what folks outside the bubble are thinking, when for the most part they are thinking about the baseball game.

Smart Or Stupid? (Mulcair And The Debates)

Mulcair is threatening to pull out of any debate that Harper ain't at.  Already, a tide of outrage is rising on twitter.  Democracy is being defiled!!! and so forth.  Mulcair would be wise to ignore it. Catering to that tiny sliver of the nation's citizenry  who are immersed in its federal politics is profitless.  Its like trying to service a few thousand high maintenance girlfriends. Exhausting, and a money sucker.  So how will this play to the wider audience of the unwashed and apathetic?   That is, the target audience?  Well, probably not badly.  Mulcair wants to be Prime Minister, not one of the also-rans.  So why waste time arguing with losers over scraps? Fight the guy you're out to replace!  That's the thinking behind the move, as far as I can figure it.  So: smart or stupid?  Right now I'd file it as dirty but effective. As for the LPC response, well I hope it doesn't involve whining about how unfair life is. 

A Short Note On A Long Election

This has risks for all parties.  The risks for the 2nd and 3rd parties are obvious.  They might run out of dough.  But it also has a downside for the CPC.  More is not always better when it comes to bombarding the airwaves with attack ads.  Once you've reached the saturation point you're just wasting money  And, remember, these guys are terrible when they don't have a script.  Now they have twice as much script to write, and airheads like Kory Teneycke are going to be the auteurs.  

Of Sufficient Magnitude: More Excerpts From Ezra Levant Vs. Arman Chak Law Society Of Alberta Appeal Hearing

Ezra argues:

There are tens of thousands of inactive lawyers like me in Canada. They include politicians like Peter MacKay and Thomas Mulcair. Sometimes these politician-lawyers are polite. Sometimes they aren’t. Two years ago, my fellow member of the Law Society of Alberta, an opposition politician named Rachel Notley, compared the Alberta Energy Regulator to a “banana republic”. It’s a quasi-judicial tribunal, like the human rights commission. But it’s unthinkable that the Law Society would have prosecuted her for being “discourteous” to a government agency. Because we live in a democracy and value public debate.

A rebuttal from the proceeding transcripts:

And on Ezra's various misrepresentations:

For example Ezra claimed that Mr. Chak was a "Muslim immigrant ":

And finally, my favorite bit from the decision:

If I can I will upload the entire document later.

And later is now now.

Ezra Meets The Truth, Lies To Its Face

Ezra's back in Dutch with the Alberta Law Society for an alleged breach of their professional standards.  He writes in his own defense:

To my knowledge the decision to prosecute me is unprecedented. ...I’m not even a practicing lawyer. I’m a journalist who happens to be trained in the law. 

Well, no, this is not the case.  From the proceedings of his appeal, some words from R. Sharma on behalf of the complaintant:

I think he's referring to Lund V. Boissoin, which wound up in 2012.

The Golden Age Of Rock & Roll

The world should have ended the next morning.  There was really nothing left to say, rock & roll wise.

It Begins...(The Death Of Rebel Media)

@TheRebelTV @ezralevant @MarissaSemkiw First rat to leave the sinking ship.

— Bigcitylib (@Bigcitylib2) July 19, 2015

Life In Scarborough: The Great Scarborough Storm Of July, 2015--An Eye Witness Account!!

I was sitting in my favorite workin' man's pub in The Scar when it hit!  Sideways rain, hail, patio umbrellas falling over!  The works! Total fuckin' Apocalypse!

Later, making my way South down Markham road through the wreckage, I saw this!

This isn't the tree that fell at Lawrence and Scarborough Golf Club Road that everyone's talking about.  No!  This is ANOTHER TREE!  In a POORER PART OF SCARBOROUGH that the Media Party pays no attention to.  BUT TREES STILL FALL HERE!  whether the CBC or anyone else cares or not!

And I actually sat down at the bus shelter that this tree had fallen on top of, and I could hear ominous creeking and cracking noises.  This sucker could give way any time!  And its laying across live wires, so innocent bus riders underneath could get crushed and electrocuted all at once!  OMG!!!  OMG!!!  OMG!!!

But we're tough out here in The Scar, which we also call The Bro (for reasons I won't elucidate at the moment).  We'll come back from this!  We will rise again!!!

PS.   That's me in the picture.  I've got a few shots without, but it provides scale (my head is about nine inches wide) and my wife said I looked sexxxy.

Your Ward News Update

I wrote about this back in May.  I said:

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.

Your Ward has published a few more issues since then, and it remains nasty stuff.  You can go look through the links above if you want; or you can read this post by WK, which shows a few of the worst bits.  One thing that's changed, though, is the space devoted to ads.  May had over two pages of color ads and two more pages of classifieds.  This issue is down to one page of color ads and no classifieds.  So the campaign a number of people have undertaken to contact advertisers and inform them of the paper's contents seems to have paid off.  In fact it appears that some of the remaining advertisers are there against their will:

Some progress at least, then, even if Canada Post is still carrying the thing.  I find it hard to believe that lawyers have told them it doesn't contain hate-speech. 

Does Mother Canada Monument Run Afoul Of Aboriginal Title?

A stub of a story here:

A report by a Mi’kmaq scholar denounces the controversial Mother Canada statue.
The statue is part of a war memorial proposed for a national part in Cape Breton, N.S.
Critics say the statue will pave over a pristine part of the Cape Breton Highlands.
The Mi’kmaq say it will also pave over Aboriginal rights and title.

The full study here.  From it:

 If the proposed Mother Canada development were to proceed, any future use of the area and any future exercise of any Aboriginal and Treaty Rights by the L’nu would be extinguished. This would have a tremendous impact on the aboriginal and treaty right of the L’nu to hunting, fishing, gathering of medicines and practicing their culture in a place that is clearly significant both culturally and spiritually for the L’nuk.

And my favorite bit:

• If the project is to proceed, a starting point in accommodating the concerns of the L’nuk people would be to change the design of the Mother Canada statue. Most L’nuk would see the current design as an image of an oversize, dominant Catholic nun. Given the recent release of the Truth & Reconciliation report, the design needs to be reexamined so as not to remind L’nu’s of the cultural genocide and rampant abuse practiced at the Shubenacadie Residential School.

I find Ms. Young's level of expertise hard to assess, but if there really are legal issues with local FNs to be settled before this thing can proceed, I would think that its future is not bright.

Countdown To Her Grovelling Apology

Its' your time, CPC MP Wai Young.  5...4...3...2...

Toronto's Pan-Am Games: First Impressions

Was hanging around downtown today, and I will say that South American women really really know how to stuff a tight t-shirt.  That is all.

The CPoC War Room, or: Did Kory Teneycke Strike Again?

Mother Canada Monument In Perspective

I think this graphic (which looks much better when you click on it) puts the whole "Mother Canada" statue debate in its proper perspective.

Chris Selley is right!

Funny How Things Go: Reflections On Fallen Heroes

No word of a lie, two of my biggest child-hood heroes were Bill Cosby and Woody Allen.  In grade four my teacher played an  LP of Cosby's stand-up routine on the last day before summer break because  he had nothing more to teach us and it kept us quiet.  That's what got me into him; I think it was The Chickenheart story.  So I bought a copy of "To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With" a week later (I was nine), and within a year I had collected all his LPs. Woody Allen of course I knew from his early movies, and later his New Yorker pieces.  He did stand-up a  bit as well, and I collected one or two of his albums, but it was never his thing.

They were, I thought at the time, the two funniest men who ever lived.  I still think that.  And Cosby's racial philosophy was intriguing.  And Allen once wrote the truest thing anyone has ever said about the world of post-secondary education: "Don't take anything where they make you read Beowulf."

But of course over the years it's been revealed that both of these men are monsters.  This is a little harder to process with Woody.  Cosby hasn't done anything in decades.  All the best bits of The Cosby Show were recycled from his stand-up routines.  The show's ideology didn't bother me so much as the fact that I could see most of the jokes coming.  But Woody still produces the occasional masterpiece.  Boycotting him would mean not watching Blue Jasmine, and everyone should watch that movie.

Funny, though, how afterwards you keep running into things that make you think you should have suspected.  Here's Bill Cosby from 1969:

PS. Something  I forgot in the post is that, due to those records being played in school, Millstream Elementary's official game when I was in grade five and six became Buck Buck. We had several teams. And though there was no Fat Albert, we did have "Big Ben".  This is a little school on Vancouver Island back in 1973 or something.  Buncha little white kids, playing a game Bill Cosby had told us about playing during in the 40s and 50s in the Projects of Philadelphia.

Thar She Blows? Greece Seems To Be Voting No

If Greece says no, then expect negative growth in Canada for the remainder of 2015.  If Greece says yes, expect zero to negative growth in Canada for the remainder of 2015.

If either Greece says no or Greece says yes, and Chinese stocks continue to tumble, expect negative to really negative growth for the remainder of 2015 and into 2016. Get out the old shot-gun, and be prepared to eat your boots for the extra calories.

QuAIA At Pride?

They said they that this year they were going to throw in the leather trunks and the feather tickler, as it were.

But old Meir says they're there today:

@JohnTory @TorontoPFLAG @PrideToronto You made a promise that if the antisemitic gang QAIA marched that you would not support Pride Parade

— Meir Weinstein (@MeirWeinstein) June 28, 2015

So I  asked:

@Bigcitylib2 We have pictures and video

— Meir Weinstein (@MeirWeinstein) June 28, 2015

And he points here, among other places, which does look like them.

Rather poor form on their part, if so.

You're Not Helping, Kory Teneycke

From Global, earlier today:

He's got to be someone's useless cousin, right?  "Please, sir, if he can't get a job with the party he'll either end up in jail or in real estate."  Right?  Here's the full Kory file on BCLSB, for kicks.  And my favorite bit from it.

Titus Andronicus Is Back

This one should be a mega hit:

And this one, combined with one above, makes me think there might be a bit of drug-type influence on the album.

Still pretty good, though.  But  Patrick Stickles is the best candidate for boy genius out there these days.  Stay well , kid.  The world needs you.

Short Musical Quiz: Chimp Vs. Sumerian Zither

A Midi recording of the oldest known musical composition (from 1400 BC), which originally would have been played on some kind of dorky harp instrument:

The first known drum solo by a chimp:

Which do you like better?  So far I'm leaning chimp.  He reminds me a bit of Mickey Waller, who played for Rod Stewart back in the day.

Actually, if you have the chimp drum along to the zither it isn't bad either.

The Fourniers Will Fight On!!!

Update (21 June 2015) – Connie Fournier and Mark Fournier, the only remaining defendants in this action have rejected an offer to settle of $1 in damages plus $2,500 costs each that I would donate to charity (outlined below). I suggest people remember this next time they ask for $.

Everyone else surrendered last week.  The Fourniers, however, want to throw away even more money. Because they're royal fuck-heads who think losing a string of legal decisions will secure them a place in history.  And, by the way, if you wonder why I wonder at all the panic over C-51: why I suspect resistance to it might be spearheaded by a coalition of gassed-out but unfortunately not yet overdosed hippies and white supremacists getting too old for their leathers...its because C-51 is The Fourniers latest windmill to charge at.  Read the gist of their opposition to it here: its nutz.  But The Left has embraced it.  So maybe they're nutz too.  That's my line of reasoning.

The Media Should Be Talking About This

It was in Frank, apparently the one day last month when I was not on the Internet.  It's seedy, a sex scandal, although everything between the two parties appears to have been consensual.  And the Minister is a "nice guy", and anyway it turns out he's leaving politics.  For the time being. Nevertheless, it seems an important Conservative  has been caught violating the moral code he and his ilk would like to impose on the rest of us.  We don't really know because nobody, nobody has demanded a response from Mr. Moore. And I don't like the idea of the MSM just turning a blind eye, which appears to be what has happened.  It reeks of being trapped in the same Ottawa bubble for too long with the people you are supposed to be covering, of Stockholm Syndrome, of  mistaking prey items for friends. In any case just think of what the coverage would have been if it had been  someone like Justin caught out this way.  It would have been a feeding frenzy. 

You Are Not Above The Law, Tom Mulcair

The NDP should pay its bills just like anyone else.  Until they form government, and then we all ride free until the banks kill the party.  But seriously.  Complying with Law would show folks that the New Democrats knows how to pay off debts like responsible people, rather than just racking them up like a union negotiator handed the company credit card for a night by a half cracked manager as a gesture of good will. Right now the impression you get is that the NDP has done as official opposition what it took the LPC and CPC years in power to achieve: they've become arrogant,  and out of touch.

Ezra Levant: The Final Failure?

After years of stalling, Ezra Levant, KKKate, and Five Foot have all thrown in the legal towel and issued grovelling apologies to Richard Warman over the infamous Cools Post.  No word on costs and etc., but in Ezra's case they will likely be huge, for he insisted  that a ton of forensic work be done on Warman's various computers in a vain attempt to find evidence Richard had even used them on the relevant day. Ezra found nothing, not surprising as  his claim was bullshit on the face of it. As a result he, or more likely his dad, will have some rather large bills to pay.

As to the timing, well, Ezra's work situation becomes more tenuous with each passing day.  There are already rumours of The Rebel's impending demise.  Staffers fighting over used tea bags and half eaten muffins, for example.  And remember that picture behind Ezra in the network's early videos?

I hear its sitting in a pawn shop on Queen East.

So Ezra needed the thing wrapped up quick. And the two gals who followed him were just moons of his, swept up in his death spiral towards the black hole of debt and humiliation, and now crashing and burning in the wake of his smokey demise.

But is this really Ezra's final failure?  Well, possible downward moves in his journalistic career are limited by the fact that, at The Rebel, he is  pounding his head on the bottom.  But no fear: other lawsuits are still due to be settled!  And when Ezra goes to court, he loses.

BCLSB EXCLUSIVE: Taped Secret Convo of Evan Solomon With Art Client

The following is a transcript of secretly taped phone conversation between Ex-CBCer Evan Solomon and one of the art collecting guys he was doing deals with.   Gives an exclusive look at the whole "high-end" art community and the shit they get up to.

ES: This one here is a Jan Weenix, from the Dutch Golden Age.   "Still Life With Dead Parrot", they call it.  Note the bright colours. Almost to Group of 7 levels, and they claim the  bird stands for Jesus.  Whatcha say? Guy's contemporary with Rembrandt, but Rembrandt commands major scratch. This I can get you for 20 large, with a 5% off if you buy a second Weenix, maybe "Still Life With Dead Snake".

JB: It's a bit dark for my pool room; do you have something that will go with puce?

ES:  I can get a version of it where the parrot is yellow.

JB: Fair enough.  And...do I get points?

ES: Bring your card and we can swipe  it on delivery.

JB:  OK.  What else you got?

ES:  Looted Aztec death masque.  From wherever it was they were from.  $2,000 apiece, 6 for 10 cubed.  Hang 'em in places you don't want the wife to go.

JB: I need to look.  Send me a .jpg.

ES: See attachment.

JB:  Oh yuck.  Reminds me too much of The War Pig.

ES: Who?

JB: My sister-in-law.  No thanks.  Anything else?

ES: Folk crafts from the Ukraine.  A plinkerino.

JB: Of fuck one of their ancient 3 string guitars? Sounds like a busted Uke?  No chance.  

ES:  Well, I got nothing.  

JB: We're done then.

Ezra's Calgary Anti-Tims Protest: The Money Shot

24 heads clearly visible; one other soul, maybe, holding up the sign next to "#Boycott Tim's" sign. Ezra has claimed 50 attendees, but he must be seeing double.  Get those glasses checked, Ez!

PS: Here's another shot.  I count 23 people in this one:

NDP On A Roll

They deserve this result:

The EKOS poll: @ThomasMulcair picking up all the marbles as @JustinTrudeau fades http://t.co/g8KcxAgEJo #cdnpoli #NDP pic.twitter.com/2bLoHWFDUE

— Chris Markevich (@cmarkevich) June 5, 2015

 They've done a few smart things, and had some good luck.  And of course, they are the only party not getting caught in the spatter of the Senate scandal.  The deal breaker for me with the NDP has always been environmental policy (and incompetence in office, but leave that aside for now).  They've always dumped their green wing when their brown wing (unionistas) complained.  BCers will remember the sell-out at Clayoquot Sound.  So they would have to assure me they won't go all pragmatic if elected.

As for the LPC, some might advocate panic.  My own opinion is that the "sunny ways" thing has gotten old and Justin and Co. need to show a few teeth.  Angry Tom is catching on because people think there are legitimate causes for anger out there.   I would forgo the communist beard and the pop-eyes and the gritting teeth, obviously.  But something has to be done.

And for those people wondering about the solidity of the CPC base.  Nobody pre-2011 figured the Libs would ever fall under 30%, then 25%, and then...  Of course Iggy was like King Midas in reverse...But still.

Sackings At The Sun today

Or Postmedia, or whatever it is.  Details here.

Life In Scarborough: The Gangs Of Scarborough

When I moved out here my car insurance went up about thirty bucks a month.  As one of my co-workers said at the time: "They're worried someone is going to pop a cap in your ride!"  So, in the past couple of days there's been this, and this. And today driving by Cougar Court there were squad cars out front; they had a guy bent over the trunk, hand-cuffed behind his back.  Young black male. Who knows if he had anything to do with anything?  But it's starting to look like I'm living at the edge of an incipient gang war.  And I've found a really nice  Halal pizza place just across Eglinton. They actually have sun dried tomatoes as a topping.  I love those.  I look forward to the summer.

Life In Scarborough: The Barflies Of Scarborough

So I was sitting in a "Workin' Man's" pub in Scarborough.  The old East Indian guy by the window was a regular; he occupied my favorite table the whole time he was there, the only table in the place where you could plug in your netbook.  After having Vivian the bar-girl (not her real name) call him a cab, and just as the cab pulled up outside, he pissed himself and staggered away and buggered off in it. Later the owner came by with some paper towels and rubber gloves and cleaned up, but nevertheless I was not ready to claim my usual spot.  I exited the place unhappy, my computer uncharged.

And it reminded me of years gone by, when I lived in a ritzier part of Scarborough (Central Scarborough, by the car dealership), and would hang out in the Workin' Man's pubs in that part of town.  My favorite place had this old German guy.  He would spend the whole evening grabbing ass off the various waitresses, and when it came time to go he would piss down his stool and leave a lousy tip.    According to Vivian, the old East Indian also tips poorly.  So the problem appears to be endemic to "The Scar", as we locals call it, or "The Bro", as we also call it for reasons I won't go into.

The barflies of Scarborough really must up their game.

On Such Issues Are Elections Won And Lost

Canada’s economy shrank between January and March, the first contraction in four years and the largest since the 2009 recession as collapsing energy prices prompted a plunge in business investment.

The other stuff is trivia.  Although this sparked quite a bit of water-cooler talk yesterday afternoon.

Public Enemy In The Morning

A fine way to start the day.  Love the fact they're using a live band.

New Poll Suggests Ignoring Hippies On Bill C-51

That's my takeaway, at least.  All the raging away on twitter is merely the caterwaul of elderly scenesters trying to relive that golden time when they flipped the bird at a traffic cop and ran away, freak flags lifted in the wind.

Also, Scott says this.

When You've Lost The Prison Guards...

...or at least their union....well. I don't know what happens.  But this surely can't be good news for the Harper gov.:

KITCHENER, ON, May 22, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Dozens of correctional officers working in Ontario penitentiaries who are affiliated with the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers (UCCO-SACC-CSN) will be going door to door in the riding of Kitchener-Centre on Saturday, May 23, to urge voters not to support the Conservative Party of Canada in the next election. 

My favorite bit:

"The Conservative government claims it's tough on crime. This tough on crime agenda is nothing but smoke and mirrors aimed at reassuring voters," said Robert Finucan, UCCO-SACC-CSN's Ontario regional president.

The Conservative government cut $355 million from the Correctional Service's budget. Hardest hit by these cuts is the inmate training program. One of the consequences of this decision is that penitentiaries have become more dangerous for correctional officers.

That's Stephen Woodworth's riding.  An NDP win might be a stretch, but it used to be LPC...

Rachel Notley Does A Smart Thing

No real budget until fall.  Until after the federal election, Alberta treads water.  And the federal NDP takes no heat for any unpopular measures said budget might contain.  The politics of it can be criticized.  Nevertheless its pretty clever.

Sunday Morning Thought

The Real World also drips. https://t.co/zBAEFSfP47

— Bigcitylib (@Bigcitylib2) May 17, 2015

That is all.

NDP Governments Are Always Fun!

Gawd! This gal from the new  Alberta provincial NDP government is giving me flashbacks to Rae Days. Although I don't think Bob Rae had a death-metal chick in caucus, just some guy that posed topless.   Anyway, six months from now her federal counterpart might be Finance Minister. Who knows?  Life is like a box of chocolates, or assorted nuts, when the Orange Wave washes into town.

Your Daily Nazi: PCPO MPP Monte McNaughton In Nazi Leaning Local Newspaper?

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.

Back in March several mail carriers complained to Canada Post about having to deliver the publication, but company lawyers told them it was legal.  Since then the language in Your Ward News has grown more extreme, the Nazi references more obvious.  CP might want to revisit their decision.

In any case the thing is full of ads.  If the post office doesn't reconsider, a move against the publication would surely involve trying to convince some of the people behind these ads to discontinue them in future.

What interests me in particular is their February issue.  At this point they hadn't gone entirely mad yet, but for example Sears' Neo-Nazi New Constitution Party has already taken out a full page ad (back page), and there's an article about the perils of "uncontrolled mass immigration" which concludes:

A peak at their website tells you these folks are crazy.  Apparently, they're the people who recently distributed racist pamphlets up in Brampton.

And then there's this, an anti-wind piece from MPP Monte McNaughton, MPP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex and one time contender for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario:

So, a question that one might put to Mr. McNaughton, or indeed to his new boss PCPO leader Patrick Brown, is: what the hell? McNaughton's campaign was all about catering to the hard right, but this is crazy.  Did he actually pay money to have campaign lit appear in this rag?

I should note that yesterday evening I sent Mr. McNaughton a tweet asking about his relationship to Your Ward News. As of this morning I have not heard back from him.

That Poll...

Its just one poll, and a preliminary result as well.  But pretty damn interesting.  And not entirely surprising given Notley's victory out West.  It will be important to see the regionals.  Given my previous analysis I would not be surprised if the NdD national number depends heavily on gains in the Western provinces.  

The problem for both the LPC and CPC is that the Notley effect--for surely Mulcair and the federal NDP has little to do with this sudden surge--will probably last until after election day, especially if the new Alta. gov. doesn't do anything crazy in its first budget next month.  Not that they won't get attacked by the usual suspects anyway, but they would do well by their federal cousins to present as small a target as possible.  Save the mass beheading of tar-sands executives until next year.

As for the LPC, well, being in a statistical tie a few months out from E-Day is hardly a disaster, and now the Tories may have to start spreading around some of their attack ad money.  Some are advocating panic.  On the other hand my counsel is to maintain a stiff upper lip and plow onward.  

Right Wing Mag Sacks Michael Coren!

His problem?  The Interim could no longer countenance the guy's heterodoxy!  So: Boom!  Coren's outta there, and apparently being replaced by some dude who will natter on endlessly about Free Speech for unborn babies.  Man, its that heterodoxy gets you every time!

Is CBC Hate Speech Story Bullshit?

WK thinks its bullshit, and he's mostly right.  It would be really, really difficult to use CDN hate-speech laws to go after the BDS movement, for reasons he cites.  And there is a long chain of inferences leading from the actual facts as stated in the CBC story to the writer's conclusions.  But on the other hand, why would the ministry explain what "zero tolerance" of the BDS movement meant by referencing "a detailed list of Canada's updated hate laws"?  That is rather odd.

PS.  I had similar concerns as those expressed in the story a few years ago.  I am enlightened in the comments section.

PPS. Reading the thing more closely, I note:

But in response to specific questions about what "zero tolerance" of BDS means, and how it will be enforced, Blaney aide Josee Sirois gave CBC News a much clearer picture of the government's intent.

"I can tell you that Canada has one of the most comprehensive sets of laws against hate crime anywhere in the world," wrote Sirois.

She highlighted what she termed "hate propaganda" provisions in the Criminal Code criminalizing the promotion of hatred against an identifiable group, and further noted that "identifiable group" now includes any section of the public distinguished by "among other characteristics, religion or national or ethnic origin."

She also referred to Criminal Code provisions requiring that a judge consider hate, bias or prejudice when sentencing an offender.

"We will not allow hate crimes to undermine our way of life, which is based on diversity and inclusion," she concluded.

OK now that does sound as though the governments does intend to use our nation's hate speech laws as per the CBC story's assertion.  If so, that's insane. It also won't work; the barriers to moving a case forward are incredibly high and the BDS movement simply does not employ the kind of extreme language that would make the cut.

Patrick Brown's Piss Poor Prospects

Kid's already got issues.  A PCPO exodus has already started:

I’ve been a member of the Ontario PCs more or less continuously since about 1972 and have voted for them in every general election, and in the odd by-election, since then. But I must admit that the selection to lead the party of an obscure federal back-bencher with little or nothing in the way of accomplishments is just too much for me to swallow.

I’m a conservative and will only ever vote for a party which promises fiscal conservatism, so I can’t say I’ll never vote for a Brown-led Ontario PC party. I will not, however, remain a party member.

On the other hand, there's this:

— Steve Paikin (@spaikin) May 9, 2015

OMG!!!  Look at all them brown-skinned folk!  But really:

This will be his problem.  He's reaching out to certain minority groups by pandering to latent homophobia in them.  https://t.co/wZv521hCOd

— Bigcitylib (@Bigcitylib2) May 10, 2015

The problem is Brown's "outreach" in this direction will prevent outreaches in other equally necessary directions.

Has Stats Canada Screwed Up job Numbers?

#ldnont has never had a month where 4000 people left the labour force. This month's data? 5000 gone. It's an error. @LFPress @KevinLabonte

— Mike Moffatt (@MikePMoffatt) May 8, 2015

Same day we got new warnings about bad data in the census.

Alberta: What It All Means

1) Its not great news for the LPC.  Though federal NDP leader Angry Tom is entirely without The Notley Charm, some residual glow from her victory will surely fall upon him.  Trudeau's Liberals now face a reinvigorated party on their left.  Although see below.

2)  Its not great news for the CPC.  In parts of the West federal voters swing from NDP to CPC without ever stopping at Liberal.  There its the Harper Tories who are most likely to see their vote siphoned off by a newly relevant federal NDP. The good news is that one can even see the possibility of a Liberal coming up the middle in a riding or two...  

3) Its great news for the NDP.

Life In Scarborough: Today, A Curse Was Laid Upon Me...

...by a little old lady in Sunday-Morning-Churchy gear.  She was walking towards my bus shaking her fist at the sky.  When it slowed to pick her up, she pointed and began hurling imprecations. Naturally, the driver accelerated away.

In spite of this, I hope to have a pretty good day.

Ontario Sex Ed Curriculum As A Federal Issue

When I first read that Team Trudeau was blaming its recent slide in the polls on the new Ontario Sex Education curriculum, I didn't buy it.  But Lo!, here is Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne suggesting that this is indeed the case:

"That, by the way, is going to be an issue in the federal election," Wynne said Thursday during a speech in Ottawa where an audience member congratulated her for overhauling the program for Ontario's schools.

[...]

Wynne said she has heard federal Conservatives might try to mobilize opposition to the Liberal sex ed. program in attempts to hurt federal Liberal candidates on the campaign trail later this year.

One federal Conservative who has unquestionably tried this approach is Brampton–Springdale MP Parm Gill;  he has sent out letters to his constituents on the topic.  And if one were to infer, one would infer that the CPC thinks it has identified a streak on anti-gay sentiment in several of the ethnic communities around the GTA, and intends to exploit it federally in the months ahead.

Something to be prepared for, as our dear Premier notes.

The New Abacus Poll...

...gives the Tories an 8 point edge nationally.  This can be won back, but given the CPC's $ advantage pre-campaign, I wouldn't be surprised if it holds up until the writ drops and its worth the LPC  returning fire with advertising of their own.  And when I say it can be won back, that is not to say it will. When the election is called the score is reset and it all comes down to one month where everyone gets equal time on the television, and all that money LPC supporters have been giving the party over the past four years fuels a very bonfire of ad spending, back-slapping and baby kissing from sea to shining sea.  And in the end, we will find glory here on Earth, or drink with our  ancestors again in the halls of Valhalla.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT! Rob Ford To Run For CPC Against Bill Blair?

OMG!!!  OMG!!!OMG!!!

Sooo @towhey says that Doug Ford talked this morning about Rob Ford running against Bill Blair for Scarborough Southwest federal seat
— Siobhan Morris (@siomo) April 26, 2015

So the CPC would counter Justin's marijuana legalization position by running a crack smoker?  Hard to imagine.  But we can always hope.

Alta Liberal Leader David Swann: I'll Just Lay Here And Bleed, Thank You Very Much

If you can't vote Liberal, vote for someone else?  That's his message?  Not: we're Liberal and we've got great, progressive ideas?  No!  It's:  WE'RE LAME!  KICK OUR ASS!  PLEASE!  BETTER YET: KILL US! WE'RE TIRED OF THE WHOLE FUCKING TAWDRY SPECTACLE!!!  And that's the kind of message that gets your party mentioned in paragraph 19 of a 22 paragraph story.

A Hard Luck Campaign For Minister Penis...I Mean Denis

Just some notes recycled from twitter:

@davecournoyer @a_picazo Prentice to self: "I'll just call an early election.  What can possibly go wrong?"
— Bigcitylib (@Bigcitylib2) April 25, 2015

And:

@a_picazo @davecournoyer This is same guy had to deny he defaced his own signs to read "penis" for "denis".  Rather poor luck this campaign.
— Bigcitylib (@Bigcitylib2) April 25, 2015

And:

@pierrebourque @bourque This is this guy: http://t.co/nk2lU8eslJ  He's had a rough campaign. #cdnpoli
— Bigcitylib (@Bigcitylib2) April 25, 2015

Just to come clean here.  I thought the Prentice budget was an honest attempt by Albertans to enter the modern world of governance.  But it went over like a drowning duck off the top of Niagara Falls.  But whatever.  I hate Alberta the way everyone else in Canada hates Toronto.  So let Chaos reign!  Either the NDP or WRP rule OK by me.

New LPC Ad Is Pretty Clever

They've bought space during some of  tonight's hockey games, apparently.  Probably for just a night or two, and then they'll hope The Net spreads word a bit further.  They'll get good media coverage out of it.  It's clever and positive and on point.  Just one shot in the battle, but nicely aimed.

NEW NANOS NEGATES NERVOUS NELLY-ISM!!!!

As you may know, Nanos does internal ballot tracking every week. Based on the four week rolling average, the Liberals are at 34 per cent, the Conservatives at 29 per cent, the NDP at 25 per cent, the Greens at eight per cent and the BQ at four per cent. Please take note of the bonus chart in this specific release. Ballot preferences are part of the Nanos Party Power Index weekly tracking study.

Someone be sure to tell this guy.  He the nervous nelly-est of them all these days.  

Of course the budget's just come out; the gov should get a positive bump out of that.  But it's all about positioning, baby.  And the LPC is positioned not goddamn bad if I do say so myself.  Not goddamn bad at all.

Ostrander Point Wind-Farm Case Goes Back To Tribunal

The decision is here.  Put briefly, the case will now get bounced back down to the Ontario ERT, where Ostrander Point Wind Energy will have a chance to convince the tribunal that their proposed remedy, a series of fences and gates that will block public access to the roads around the wind-farm, are enough to prevent "irreversible" harm to the local population of endangered turtles.

Some background can be found here, here, and here.

The Brown Retort

Since Patrick Brown looks set to become PCPO leader, its good to start looking for sources of intel on him now.  The Brown Retort has material on the PC MP that I hadn't heard.  From the latest post (a couple of months old now):

In a photo submitted to The Brown Retort...a criminally convicted supporter of Barrie MP Patrick Brown, is pictured at the opening of Brown's provincial leadership campaign headquarters in Brampton.

Good to get in on the ground floor, so when Oppo Leader Brown goes up in flames like an oily bag full of greasy rags, you can say: "I helped do that."

Oh Alberta! NDP Way In Front?

Even the pollsters involved don't quite buy it.  And they are using "google surveys" to compile their results, so make of that what you will. 

As an aside, sure he's wildrose but I've met Derek Fildebrandt once or twice and he seems a decent enough fellow.  

What's Going On In Alberta (Federally)?

From that EKOS poll:

And of course we pros form the base of the Liberal Party.  Lawyers, doctors, hit-men (and women!), dentists, Real Estate Agents, private security specialists,  Where the local culture is not rich enough to support a large professional class, the LPC does poorly.

Die Media Die: Toronto Sun Rumors

Sun Staff outta 333 King by end of '15.  National Post to become a tabloid:

I remember serious rumblings 2-3 years ago that PM management wanted to turn the Post into a tabloid. One of the hurdles, of course, would have been that Canada already has a chain of urban tabs....

But what if you made the Post a tab and used whoever is left from the Suns in each market (a skeleton crew of a couple editors and maybe half a dozen writers) to fill the local news and sports pages within the Post?

With the TO Sun staff being moved into a broom closet at the Post building by the end of the year, that would make a lot of sense. 

Other rumors have 333 being turned into a radical mosque slash paintball facility, and have The Post building down to one set of bathrooms for the entire staff to save money.  Employees have been asked to bring their own toilet paper.  Some have taken to crapping out open windows so as to avoid the interminable line-ups.

Update:  The first rumor is in fact fact.

Gruending On Canada's Role In The War Against The Islamic State

Despite the warrior rhetoric from some of our politicians, Canada is not a robust military power. We do, however, have experience and credibility —  although it has been diminished recently — in diplomacy, humanitarian assistance and the resettlement of refugees. 

There's about 26 or 27 nations in the anti-ISIS coalition, and about half of them are dropping bombs. IMHO Canada would be more useful to what is clearly going to be a multi-generational conflict by being one of the coalition members not currently dropping bombs.  There will be lots of roles to play in the years and yes decades ahead.

Is Ezra Pulling Down His Duffy Interviews?

This fellow thinks he did:

@davidakin Why did Ezra delete his 2012 Sun interviews with #Duffy? e.g. http://t.co/69klWXtzp9
— Deep Climate (@DeepClimate) April 9, 2015

I was skeptical, so I asked:

@Bigcitylib2 @davidakin Neighbouring episodes from 2012/07 are still there http://t.co/tMDbCqX1n8 e.g.http://t.co/fBCr2ILiTk
— Deep Climate (@DeepClimate) April 9, 2015

The interview he's talking about concerned the CBSC (Canadian Broadcast Standards Council), which Ezra typically had issues with because he lacks standards.

Meanwhile, more interesting connections between Ole' Duff, The Ez, and Vivian Krause continue to emerge:

@Bigcitylib2 @MikePHager From #mikeduffy diary on Jan 8, 2012: "Email exchange & telcon - Ezra re: Vivian Krause"
— Mike De Souza (@mikedesouza) April 9, 2015

It's in late January of 2012 when Ezra begins to work Ms. Krause' research into his Sun News diatribes.  During that same month his astroturf group launches its "Our Decision" website, speaheading a campaign to "expose the foreign lobby groups working to sabotage and paralyze the hearings into the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline".  There is talk of "helping" Ms. Krause, though she has claimed to have received no money from them:

Who? Ezra Levant as well as the folks behind http://t.co/lsIlNluaii They obviously used my work but I was never paid a cent. @BrettMineer
— Vivian Krause (@FairQuestions) November 19, 2014

Ezra Levant Out 72 Large

...for costs brought about by losing the defamation case brought against him by Khurrum Awan:

Meanwhile, some interesting bits of info emerged from the Duffy trial.  One is this daily itinerary for
February 8, 2010:

A meeting for pizza with Ez and the PM's wife.  Also this:

Repeated appearances in the Duffy Diaries to helping Vivian Krause (@FairQuestions), who researched enviro charities such as Tides.
— Glen McGregor (@glen_mcgregor) April 8, 2015

Vian Krause originally did some pretty shoddy research purporting to show that Canadian enviro groups were taking foreign money to aid Alaskan salmon fisherman at the expense of B.C. aqua farmers.  Ezra Levant later repurposed this research to argue that enviro groups were taking foreign money to aid U.S. oil companies, not entirely with Ms. Krause' blessing.

So: connections...

Best Thing I've Read On ISIS

It's run by Saddam's old gang from the Baath party.  The best bit:

Rayburn questions whether even some of the foreign volunteers realise the extent to which they are being drawn into Iraq’s morass. Some of the fiercest battles being waged today in Iraq are for control of communities and neighborhoods that have been hotly contested among Iraqis for years, before the extremists appeared.

“You have fighters coming from across the globe to fight these local political battles that the global jihad can’t possibly have a stake in.”

Speaking of Old Saddam, he's looking downright gentlemanly these days.  My tribute to him can be found here.

BCLSB Exclusive: James Lunney's Principles Of Evolution

CPC MP James Lunney has quit the party so as to more freely pursue and elaborate his own theory of biological change.  He spoke in the HOC yesterday afternoon, but was rudely cut off before he could fully state his beliefs.  However, an opposition "source" found the full text of his presentation in a trash-can outside the East wing.   I have reproduced some excerpts below:

The question is not: did Jesus ride a dinosaur?  The question is: what kind of dinosaur did Jesus ride? Reasonable men may differ, but I lean towards Carcharodontosaurus.  It was hardy and even-tempered.  Also damn fine eatin'.

[...]

The wheel of Ezekial was in fact a UFO, which brought the dinosaurs to Earth, including Stegron and Barney. Also, Ezekial was  called "Easy" by his friends.  Not many people know this.

[...]

The Id forms the very ground for the SuperEgo, always and everywhere permeating the structure of it.  Oops.  That's Freud.  Wrong theory.

[...]

There is no theory of evolution.  There are only the animals that Chuck Norris has allowed to survive.

[...]

The lower back supports the spinal column and brain-case.  It also supports the chiropractor.  But I am rambling now.

[...]

When the End Times come, and they are coming, those who scoff will find themselves swept into a lake of burning fire, while believers ascend to Heaven and a life of infinite happiness.  Personally, I look forward to playing ping-pong with Jimi Hendrix.

So there you have it.  Our government appears to have lost a thinker of the highest order.

Just A Forum Poll

Takes them until par 8 to finally, grudgingly admit that the LPC is still slightly ahead:

The Liberals under Mr. Trudeau were the first or leaning choice for 34 per cent of the survey’s respondents, compared to 31 per cent who said they would or would likely vote Conservative and only 23 per cent who favoured the NDP, the poll found.

Instead they prefer to spend a ton of ink talking about how Mulcair's fortunes have improved without much moving the gauge on the horse-race question.  Which is sort of like losing, but winning a moral victory.  Which means losing.