The Skinny

My NDP leadership rank-ballot poll mentioned on CTV by Alice Funke from Pundits' Guide

2012-01-03T21:28:00.000-05:00

I was watching CTV Power Play's Don Martin interview Alice Funke from Pundits' Guide. Even though she didn't mention my blog or blog name, she did briefly mention my rank-ballot poll for the next NDP leadership. I will state that I am not working for any candidate in real life. I will not be supporting any candidate on my blog. Ms. Funke did mention that people can track the transfer of votes from candidates dropping out to those remaining.

I will emphasize that the poll is not scientific. I am encouraged that more people are participating--perhaps multiple times. I do limit voting to one per hour.

NDP leadership rank-ballot poll

Did you join the NDP after Jack Layton's death? You might not be eligible to vote for the next leader.

2011-12-27T18:14:00.000-05:00

I just noticed on the NDP's website the early and late cut-off dates that one must obtain an NDP membership in order to vote for the next leader of the federal NDP. While all those who want to vote for the next leader must obtain a membership by February 18, 2012, NDP membership holders will have had to obtain their memberships after different dates depending on the province or territory where they live.

From the NDP website: http://leadership2012.ndp.ca/convention/how-vote

Individuals who take out memberships on or before February 18th 2012 are eligible to vote in Leadership 2012.
See the chart below for the membership cut-off date in your province/ territory. You must have joined or renewed your membership AFTER the following dates:
Newfoundland and Labrador September 15th, 2011
Prince Edward Island January 1st, 2011
Nova Scotia October 1st, 2011
New Brunswick February 18th, 2011
Quebec February 18th, 2011
Ontario September 15th, 2011
Manitoba September 1st, 2010
Saskatchewan September 15th, 2011
Alberta September 1st, 2011
British Columbia February 18th, 2011
Yukon November 20th, 2010
Northwest Territories February 18th, 2011
Nunavut February 18th, 2011

I live in Ontario. I also signed up for a membership on August 24, 2011 just after the death of Jack Layton. According to the membership sign-up requirements, I will not be eligible to vote unless I choose to renew my membership. Since I signed up for a membership 23 days too early, I will not be eligible to vote. I hope that the party will rectify this situation as I may choose not to renew my membership out of principle. There may be a few members who may suddenly realize that they will not be eligible to vote if they joined the party a few days too early.

And here's to you, Attawapiskat

2011-12-06T20:25:00.002-05:00

And Here's to You, Attawapiskat
[Sung to Simon and Garfunkel's Mrs. Robinson]

And here's to you, Attawapiskat

Harper loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)

God bless you please, Attawapiskat

Harperland’s a place for those who pray

(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

I'd like to know a little bit about you for my files

I'd like to see you learn to help yourself

Look around you, all you see are lazy eyes

Stroll around the cruddy shacks that you call home

And here's to you, Attawapiskat

Harper loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)

God bless you please, Attawapiskat

Harperland’s a place for those who pray

(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

Hide it in a hiding place where no one ever goes

Put it in your mind that is far away.

It's a little secret, just the ‘Wapiskat affair

Most of all, you've got to hide it from the kids

Coo, coo, ca-choo, Attawapiskat

Harper loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)

God bless you please, Attawapiskat

Harperland’s a place for those who pray

(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon

Gonna watch the candidates debate

Laugh about it, shout about it

When you've got to choose

Ev'ry way you look at it, you lose

Where have you gone, Attawapiskat

A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (Woo, woo, woo)

What's that you say, Attawapiskat

Harperland has left you, gone away

(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

Participate in my federal NDP leadership rank ballot poll

2011-12-04T11:09:00.000-05:00

Watch the federal NDP leadership debate on CPAC or on the NDP website at 2 p.m. Eastern or 11 a.m. Pacific. At anytime, particpate in my rank ballot poll at Demochoice NDP2012NPD. Rank your preferred choices 1, 2, 3, and so on. Vote once every hour if you wish. The results will accumulate until March 24, 2012. You don't need to be an NDP supporter to vote.

Vote here.

It's time to drink some liquid Ajax down my anti-Semitic throat

2011-11-12T07:13:00.000-05:00

Related blog post: We are anti-Semitic Slime (The Skinny)

Thanks to an anonymous commenter who decided to leave me this kind message (I left out his name and family affiliations):

What about the Jews of Iran,Syria? You are a bastard!

Skip,or Skinny1,or Skinny Dipper-you are a punk and a vile prick!

Here's my menu for you Skinny Dipper:

Soup of the day: cream of raccooon and moles in Ajax and milk of Magnesia with garlic scented moose piss!!

Salad: Pokeweed and ergot,with mice droppings in bear crap with munchee cheese and arsenic!!

Dinner: pan fried roasted wolverine and marmot with skunk cabbage and stuffed with rancid Kommodo dragon crapula!

Dessert: 400 pound Bengal Tiger and Tasmanian Devil pie,with chokecherries and chocolate flavored Elder Berries! Wine: Canada Moonseed and TNT! Unholy BASTARD!

The commenter did decide to delete this comment and offer me a more subdued one. I wished him an enjoyable Sabbath today.

The Ontario election is over for me

2011-09-25T07:53:00.000-04:00

I would like to thank Forum Research for confirming that my vote will not count in the upcoming Ontario non-democratic election. I have tried to estimate the possible margin of error through the use of an automated telephone push-button poll. I have concluded that my candidate and party will have no chance in winning my riding where I live. Therefore, I will not be voting in the Ontario provincial non-democratic election.

Interactive Toronto Star Greater Toronto Area map using Forum Research data: http://www.thestar.com/staticcontent/1058980

Toronto Star: Hudak blasts McGuinty for school ‘credit mills’

2011-09-20T11:18:00.000-04:00

Had John Tory and his provincial Conservatives formed the government after the last Ontario election, they would have introduced funding for private religious schools. Heck, anyone would have been able to start up a private religious school by placing a Christian cross, Star of David, or Muslim crescent on the front door. We would have ended up with more credit mill private schools. Remember that Tim Hudak supported John Tory's proposal to provide funding for private religious schools.
Toronto Star link

Ontario Liberals would double teacher education time

2011-08-31T10:45:00.004-04:00

If the Ontario Liberals win the provincial election, they state that they will require Ontario universities to provide two-year teacher education programs instead of the current one. Included in an extended program would be more practice time in the classroom.

More professional learning by future teachers is very worthy. An extended program could include working with students with exceptional needs (Special Education students), English Language Learners, plus a few extra electives such as Multicultural Education, Media, Reading, Writing, Kindergarten, advanced Physical Education, Music, and French. The universities would love to offer extra courses as they would be able to charge full tuition to second year Teacher Education students. Currently some school boards and unions charge reduced rates to their members to take equivalent Additional Qualification courses.

Student teachers could spend more time in the classroom through practicuums. However, some school boards such as the Lakehead Public School Board can only take so many student teachers as it is a relatively small school board. Lakehead University has a lot of candidates who require teaching placements. Many candidates go to school boards outside Thunder Bay in order to gain practical experience.

If people were required to complete a two-year teaching degree, expect them to receive a Master of Education degree. That would mean every new teacher would be starting at the highest rate of pay for a first year teacher. Expect fewer teachers to take extra Additional Qualification courses since there would be little incentive to take these courses without respective pay increases. This may seem selfish. However, teaching is a profession where few people go into higher level positions. Yes, teachers will still take daily workshops. However, the costs will need to be paid by their school boards.

The Ontario Liberal news release mentioned that people in other countries spend more time in teacher education programs than Ontario's one-year education programs. Ontario does have four-year teacher education programs that include courses in non-teaching subjects. The Liberals did not mention how the programs in Japan, Finland, and Singapore were designed. They also didn't mention that while Finland does well in the not mentioned PISA standardized tests, it does not conduct internal standardized tests like Ontario does with the EQAO's. The PISA tests are given at random schools. I have seen sample question which require more creativity and critical thinking than do the EQAO's among those taking the tests.

If the Liberals extend the teaching program to two years, this may prevent poorer but highly educated Ontarians from going to university to get a teaching degree. I have been supply teaching for several years. I have learned more about teaching through my practical experience than by taking extra courses. Yes, these courses do help me with my teaching. However, they improve my ability to teach by a small margin. My practical experience has made me into a much better teacher. I have learned how things work or don't work in different classrooms. An extra year of a teacher education program would have marginally helped me and the students that I teach.

Doubling Teacher Education

Don't cry for me, Christy Blatchford

2011-08-24T07:41:00.000-04:00

Here's comment about Christy Blatchford I left on Warren Kinsella's blogsite:

I couldn’t agree with Ms. Blatchford more. Come on! Think about those police funerals which seem to get larger every time there are media cameras around. I have to watch the 24 cop funeral news channels every time a cop gets shot or killed in some other way. I hate seeing all those flags a half mast for some dead cop. Thankfully, the cop shops don’t have their flags at half mast for Jack Layton even though he is going to receive a state funeral.

[Maybe] Blatchford doesn’t want to see Canadians cry incessantly for Jack Layton like North Koreans mourning their Great Leader, Kim Il Sung. She didn’t like the poetic crap that Jack Layton wrote in his letter to Canadians. Personally, I wasn’t too fond of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Get real! And what was Gandhi doing prancing around half naked in India? Trying to gain independence for India from British rule? How about that terrorist-socialist-commie-thug Nelson Mandela? Upon his release from prison, he helped destroy South Africa with those bloody vuvuzelas!

The Honourable Jack Layton’s state funeral will be taking place in downtown Toronto this Saturday. There will be plenty of police officers around making sure that there is ample security for Canada’s leaders who will be present. [Those leaders] include Stephen Harper and Dalton McGuinty. With all those police officers in downtown Toronto this Saturday, I recommend that those who wish to mourn the loss of Jack Layton do so in front of their cop TV news channels. If they really need to be downtown, they can get together in the mourning zone behind Queen’s Park. I’m sure Christy Blatchford would agree.

Layton's letter--Wordle version

2011-08-22T15:50:00.002-04:00

Her Majesty’s Loyal Leader of the Opposition

2011-08-06T08:51:00.000-04:00

Rex Murphy, His Majesty's Loyal Conservative lapdog, commented about interim NDP leader Nycole Turmel's status as oppositon leader. If some Canadians are upset about her status as Her Majesty’s Loyal Leader of the Opposition, then we can always get rid of the "Her Majesty's Loyal" by getting rid of the monarchy and making Canada into a republic.

Jack Layton's choice

2011-08-02T21:51:00.000-04:00

Did Jack Layton make a mistake recommending the appointment of Nycole Turmel as interim leader? Her status as a former Bloc Quebecois party member may not cause concern within Quebec. However, outside Quebec, her recent switch from the Bloc to the NDP will cause discomfort to those who question her Canadian identity even though she calls herself a federalist. Also, until today, Mme. Turmel was a member of the Quebec Solidaire party that is supposedly lukewarm to Canadian federalism. Her membership in this party would be akin to an interim NDP leader from Ontario having a membership in Tim Hudak's Progressive Conservative party. The optics do not look good. Only in a couple of provinces is it OK to be a member of two different parties if they share similar poliical leanings--for example in British Columbia, the federal Conservatives or Liberals and the BC Liberals. Because of Mme. Turmels's recent past affiliation, Mr. Layton made the mistake of recommending that his caucus appoint her as interim leader.

Next, Jack Layton made a mistake in recommending the appointment of a neophyte as leader. While Nicole Turmel has plenty of experience in her leadership position with the PSAC union, a parliamentary leadership position requires an understanding of how Canada's parlamentary institutions actually work. He should have either recommended someone with more experience in parliament or just let the caucus members decide on their own. The fact that he recommended Mme. Turmel's appointment meant that his caucus had no choice but to approve his recommendation or else the NDP MPs would have had to question Mr. Layton's leadership. The caucus could have instead quietly chosen a more experienced MP who did not have recent Bloc baggage.

Finally, Mr. Layton is going through another battle with cancer. I wish him well, and I hope that he recovers soon. However, Mr. Layton should have done the honorable thing by offering his resignation as leader to his party. The NDP cannot afford to have an interim leader on-and-off over the next four years. The party needs a strong leader who can get the party ready for the next election within four years. It cannot afford to have its tires spinning in the snow (even though it is summer).

I wish Mme. Turmel well in her position as interim leader. Not only will she need to demonostrate that she is a strong federalist, she will need to show Canadians living outside Quebec that she is a proud Canadian. Being a proud federalist and a proud Canadian are not exactly the same. I remember the late Robert Bourassa, former premier of Quebec, stating that he was a proud federalist. He had a difficult time stating that he was a proud Canadian.

Racist comments from Toronto Sun readers

2011-07-31T10:31:00.000-04:00

Here is a sample of several racist comments and replies that come from readers of the Toronto Sun based on this story: 1 fatally shot, 2 wounded at carnival

Showing 1-20 of 266 comments

Only_in_Canada 38 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
WOW...a shooting at Caribana....what else is new???? I wonder if the shooter is a male black???
- A Like
- Reply
Steve 21 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
Of course he is! That's quite obvious, huh?
- A Like
- Reply
daycare 14 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
just another ignorant person...stop judging people by their colour and maybe this world one day might be a better place....
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Gavin 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
HAHA

Open your eyes fool.

You are the truly ignorant one if you refuse to see what is right in front of you.

The world will be a better place when people like you either accept reality for what it is or shut the hell up and let the rest of us sane people develop some solutions to our problems.

It's monsters like you who are responsible for these crimes, you enable the murderers.
- A Like
- Reply
Brian Landon 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
ahh, i see, so we have stabbings and shootings at Caribana--but we don't have them at other events------hmm, what does that tell you? Who do you think the gangbangers are in this city?? you know, i'm not one who goes to the Gay Pride Parade but at least the gangbangers are not out shooting someone.
now of course i'm sure we'll see posts on here as the days go on saying that the shooter was just a victim of societal injustice, i'm sure! yeh, right!!
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MikeSmart 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
I don't believe that for a second. I don't believe that people are judged by the color of their skin. Most people try very hard to find good in everyone but when found that many people will spit in your face rather give you the time of day, it's a strong dose of reality and a real eye opener. Every time there's another shooting, and it's done by a young black male it adds another brick in the wall, and how could it not? How can we continue to just shrug these shootings off in the interest in community relations? This is anything but judging someone by their skin color. After all, it's not us "ignorant" people pulling the trigger, is it?
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TOBoy 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
It is very much a cultural thing. You will find the majority of black criminals have roots in or ties to the Jamaican community. It is rare that A Trinidadian or Bahamian gets involved in violent crimes.
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fnc1a1 4 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
Try telling that to the blacks who want nothing to do with whites.
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Brian Landon 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
of course not! but they do want the funding each year for this parade and the whole event! right?
- A Like
- Reply
MikeSmart 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
You're right.
- A Like
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harry_vajina 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
Yeah, but there's also the other 99% of blacks as well
- A Like
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ratspukin 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
stop shooting, people, and, this world is today a better place
- A Like
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IanClunas 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
Try looking up the stats for victims/shooters in the GTA-----get back to us when you get them.
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CanadianMotherGoose 3 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
Non were real "black" but they marred that black festival with bad publicity.
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stimpage 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
Good thing they were only "simulated" black.....
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Brian Landon 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
none were 'real black'??????? what kind of a statement is that??????
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brian johnson 6 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
Steve and Only_in_Canada and the rest in why make such stereotypical statement, it just makes you sound Ignorant.
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shawn0d 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
So the truth is ignorant. Sound logic Brian. Get out of your closed minded politically correct world my friend, you can learn a lot about people & the world if you open up your mind to other opinions & perspectives. Political correctness is inherently intellectual dishonesty.
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fnc1a1 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
Ignorance is strength. That's where we are now.
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stop_the_ignorants 3 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
Why are you censoring them for telling the truth
- A Like
- Reply

Showing 21-40 of 266 comments

stop_the_ignorants 3 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
Why are you censoring them for telling the truth
- A Like
- Reply
daycare 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
truth about what??? making an ignorant comment about stating the person MUST be black???whats the truth about that?what a white man has never done this world wrong?are you serious? crawl back under your blankie
- A Like
- Reply
Brian Landon 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
gees---your problem is what perpetuates the whole thing.
one can tell you are not black yourself but a politically correct person who is not part of the solution, but part of the problem. And the only people who can be the real solution are the black community. now, before we tar and feather the whole community, lets see the identity of the shooter, and where he comes from. 10-1 he comes from Jamaica and not from one of the other islands.
- A Like
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IanClunas 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
Blacks shoot blacks---its fine to them.
White shoots black then its outrage at the whites.
When will the black community get a handle on this??
- A Like
- Reply
H.N.I.C promotions 9 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
Sorry to disappoint you but the shooter was a Metro Police Officer. And when you make your wild accusations about a whole group of people and you later find out you were wrong do you come on here and retract your comments???
- A Like
- Reply
dallas25 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
Actually the Police Officer was only doing his job in protecting the rest of the people watching the parade. He only fired his gun after the idiot had already been firing into the crowd of innocent bystanders. So please do yourself a favour and remember who started shooting first before you begin referring to our boys in blue as the 'shooters'
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H.N.I.C promotions 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
Dallas I'm glad the police were there doing their jobs. My comment was in reference to what was said above and I used the term "shooter" because it was used in the comment before mine.
- A Like
- Reply
Velalakan Mano 4 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
black dudes...if a cop yells at you to get down...GET THE HELL DOWN...i know you are all retarded but use your remaining brain cells to at least follow instructions. Smoking weed doesn't take up too much of anyones brain cells.
- A Like
- Reply
Brian Landon 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
whether you black, white, asian or whatever!! if the police tell you to get down, you get down! Doesn't matter what you are doing. that's the problem today, the entitlement bunch who think they are above the law and everyone else in their politically correct madness.
- A Like
- Reply
daycare 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
like i said your very ignorant and need to crawl back in the hole you crawled out of! maybe its you thats smokin the weed
- A Like
- Reply
Patrick Batemann 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
I reported your fake profile on Facebook. Have a happy Caribana week-end :)
- A Like
- Reply
Brian Landon 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
yep, i knew this would happen. So a man shoots into the crowd and the police draw their guns and tell him to get to the ground. So what are the cops to do? let him shoot more people or the cop? you really are the problem in society. Wonder what you would say if it had been your relative who was in the crowd when the shooter was firing his gun and no one helped. get a real life!!
- A Like
- Reply
Futurecopper 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
the dead male shot first look at the facts
- A Like
- Reply
TorPaul 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
No your wrong as the other right wing extremists on here that liked your comment,No matter the topic you all talk crap.
- A Like
- Reply
daycare 3 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
your very ignorant! pick up the paper more or in fact read a book and you will then see there are white men that do wrong too! do not judge a man by his colour!
- A Like
- Reply
Gavin 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
Why not?

I have found that race is often a very accurate way to determine how someone will act.
- A Like
- Reply
hatethehype 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
You're an idiot.
What race are you, 'Gavin'?
And what atrocities has your race committed that would be a determiner of how you will act?
I really don't expect you to answer the question because cowards like you have a hard time swallowing their own words.
I hear "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down..."
- A Like
- Reply
CanadianMotherGoose 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
He was white and so was the lady carnival dancer. The other guy with the graze was taken to St Michael and he was Indian carribean? (Trini). The lady is in life threatening condition. I was 50m from the scene with a Canadian French singer Sidney The Revolution.
- A Like
- Reply
sbagchee 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
well, we will not know until the special unit tells us the police fella's colour--and they will be mum for ever--as is always the case with police murders. btw, did you know police killings are not counted in homicide stats?!!!!! hooray for the goons in ribbons, shiny trickets and funny clothes that they wear everyday--not not merely as festive costumes.
- A Like
- Reply
oldlondonguy 18 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
Harper would be Prime Minister for life if he

1. put visa restrictions on Jamaica
2. sent the next boatload of Tamils back home before stepping foot in Canada
3. Restrict Muslim immigration so we don't look like Europe does in a few years
4. Gave a license to a Bounty Hunter business to round up the remaining war criminals and 38,000 failed refugee claimants.
5. Had a national database for provincial health cards so he could cancel them if they don't show for a deportation hearing.
- A Like
- Reply

Showing 21-40 of 266 comments

stop_the_ignorants 3 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
Why are you censoring them for telling the truth
- A Like
- Reply
daycare 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
truth about what??? making an ignorant comment about stating the person MUST be black???whats the truth about that?what a white man has never done this world wrong?are you serious? crawl back under your blankie
- A Like
- Reply
Brian Landon 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
gees---your problem is what perpetuates the whole thing.
one can tell you are not black yourself but a politically correct person who is not part of the solution, but part of the problem. And the only people who can be the real solution are the black community. now, before we tar and feather the whole community, lets see the identity of the shooter, and where he comes from. 10-1 he comes from Jamaica and not from one of the other islands.
- A Like
- Reply
IanClunas 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
Blacks shoot blacks---its fine to them.
White shoots black then its outrage at the whites.
When will the black community get a handle on this??
- A Like
- Reply
H.N.I.C promotions 9 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
Sorry to disappoint you but the shooter was a Metro Police Officer. And when you make your wild accusations about a whole group of people and you later find out you were wrong do you come on here and retract your comments???
- A Like
- Reply
dallas25 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
Actually the Police Officer was only doing his job in protecting the rest of the people watching the parade. He only fired his gun after the idiot had already been firing into the crowd of innocent bystanders. So please do yourself a favour and remember who started shooting first before you begin referring to our boys in blue as the 'shooters'
- A Like
- Reply
H.N.I.C promotions 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
Dallas I'm glad the police were there doing their jobs. My comment was in reference to what was said above and I used the term "shooter" because it was used in the comment before mine.
- A Like
- Reply
Velalakan Mano 4 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
black dudes...if a cop yells at you to get down...GET THE HELL DOWN...i know you are all retarded but use your remaining brain cells to at least follow instructions. Smoking weed doesn't take up too much of anyones brain cells.
- A Like
- Reply
Brian Landon 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
whether you black, white, asian or whatever!! if the police tell you to get down, you get down! Doesn't matter what you are doing. that's the problem today, the entitlement bunch who think they are above the law and everyone else in their politically correct madness.
- A Like
- Reply
daycare 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
like i said your very ignorant and need to crawl back in the hole you crawled out of! maybe its you thats smokin the weed
- A Like
- Reply
Patrick Batemann 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
I reported your fake profile on Facebook. Have a happy Caribana week-end :)
- A Like
- Reply
Brian Landon 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
yep, i knew this would happen. So a man shoots into the crowd and the police draw their guns and tell him to get to the ground. So what are the cops to do? let him shoot more people or the cop? you really are the problem in society. Wonder what you would say if it had been your relative who was in the crowd when the shooter was firing his gun and no one helped. get a real life!!
- A Like
- Reply
Futurecopper 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
the dead male shot first look at the facts
- A Like
- Reply
TorPaul 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
No your wrong as the other right wing extremists on here that liked your comment,No matter the topic you all talk crap.
- A Like
- Reply
daycare 3 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
your very ignorant! pick up the paper more or in fact read a book and you will then see there are white men that do wrong too! do not judge a man by his colour!
- A Like
- Reply
Gavin 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
Why not?

I have found that race is often a very accurate way to determine how someone will act.
- A Like
- Reply
hatethehype 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
You're an idiot.
What race are you, 'Gavin'?
And what atrocities has your race committed that would be a determiner of how you will act?
I really don't expect you to answer the question because cowards like you have a hard time swallowing their own words.
I hear "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down..."
- A Like
- Reply
CanadianMotherGoose 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
He was white and so was the lady carnival dancer. The other guy with the graze was taken to St Michael and he was Indian carribean? (Trini). The lady is in life threatening condition. I was 50m from the scene with a Canadian French singer Sidney The Revolution.
- A Like
- Reply
sbagchee 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
well, we will not know until the special unit tells us the police fella's colour--and they will be mum for ever--as is always the case with police murders. btw, did you know police killings are not counted in homicide stats?!!!!! hooray for the goons in ribbons, shiny trickets and funny clothes that they wear everyday--not not merely as festive costumes.
- A Like
- Reply
oldlondonguy 18 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
Harper would be Prime Minister for life if he

1. put visa restrictions on Jamaica
2. sent the next boatload of Tamils back home before stepping foot in Canada
3. Restrict Muslim immigration so we don't look like Europe does in a few years
4. Gave a license to a Bounty Hunter business to round up the remaining war criminals and 38,000 failed refugee claimants.
5. Had a national database for provincial health cards so he could cancel them if they don't show for a deportation hearing.
- A Like
- Reply

Google Canada from A to Z in English and French

2011-06-30T11:02:00.000-04:00

Happy Canada Day tomorrow!

From Google.ca auto-search, here is a list of all things Canadian that appear in the search bar when one types the first letter of each letter of the alphabet:

In English:

Air Canada
Best Buy
Canadian Tire
Dictionary
eBay
Facebook
Google
Ikea
Job Bank
Kijiji
LCBO
MapQuest
NHL
OSAP
Porter
QWOP
Rogers
Skype
TD
UPS
Via Rail
Walmart
Xbox
YouTube
Zellers

In French:

Air Canada

BMO

Canada 411

Dictionnaire

eBay

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I wonder if Zellers will make it on the list next year.

Last year's list: 2010.

Cathie from Canada gets it on the G20 Toronto weekend

2011-06-25T11:16:00.000-04:00

I am not able to comment on Cathie from Canada's blog. I'll just reply be stating that Police Chief Blair doesn't get it that the failure of the G20 weekend was that Chief Blair, Premier Dalton McGuinty, Stephen Harper, and other officials violated the Constituion Act, 1982 which includes the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They turned Canada into a dictatorship. They took away Canadians' civil rights and freedoms.

I understand that there are a few lawsuits against the Canada's police forces and governments. I do hope that the plaintiffs whose rights were violated will be successful with their lawsuits, and that they receive an ample amount of financial restitution from the city of Toronto and the governments of Ontario and Canada.

Link: http://cathiefromcanada.blogspot.com/2011/06/star-phoenix-gets-it.html

A reformed House of Commons and Senate

2011-05-31T16:31:00.003-04:00

Houze of Commons seats apportioned based on provincial/territorial populations and party seats distributed through some form of proportional representation.

House of Commons seats: 330.

Senate seats apportioned based on the square roots of the provincial/territorial populations and party seats distributed through some form of proportional representation.

Senate seats: 50 x 2 = 100.

Older post about Senate reform

Older-"er" post about Senate reform

My quick post-election predictions

2011-05-03T06:22:00.000-04:00

Harper will still run the government like a control freak.

The vote-subsidy will disappear.

Abortion will be slightly tightened, but not banned. Harper still needs leverage with his religious extremists while not pissing off a majority of Canadians. Yes, he can get feminists and their immediate supporters upset. He knows not to get suburban Conservative supporting moms and dads mad at him.

The Bloc will effectively be gone. Four seats in parliament makes the party the Blip Québécois. However, separatism will not be dead. The focus will be at the provincial level. If Pauline Marois and her Parti Québecois form the next Quebec provincial government, and if Harper imposes laws that upsets Quebeckers, then the threat of separatism could rise again. Harper will have very few Quebec Conservatives to support federalism.

Elizabeth May may cross the floor to the Liberals. She will want to influence a liberal leadership race.

The Liberals will pick a young or middle aged leader whose task will be to rejuvenate the Liberal Party by increasing donations and memberships. Bob Rae will not become the leader. With the right leader, the Liberals can bounce back to respectable results.

Back to Harper: expect austerity. However, the military, prisons, Conservative ridings, and Conservative supporting industries will be exempt from any austerity program. Expect more gazebos to pop up in every Conservative riding.

If you have Rogers cable, this might work for early coverage

2011-05-02T17:54:00.001-04:00

Turn to a Newfoundland or Nova Scotia TV station before 7:30 Eastern. Keep the station on after 7:30. You may get multiple freeze frames. The results may come in. Just don't change the channel and return, or else you'll be blacked out.

To those on Rogers Cable: how to watch the election results early

2011-04-24T11:58:00.000-04:00

On election night in 2008, I switched my channel on Rogers Cable to one of the Newfoundland stations before Rogers had a chance to black-out the signal. When the election coverage started in Newfoundland, the TV image became multiple freeze-frames with crappy audio. However, I was able to get a visual of what was happening in Newfoundland & Labrador and the Maritimes. At 15 minutes before the polls closed in Ontario, I changed the channel, and changed back to the Newfoundland station. The Rogers Cable block had worked.

If you are on Rogers Cable, turn to a Newfoundland or Atlantic Canada station first before the election night coverage starts. The video and audio will freeze. However, the freeze-frames will change every few seconds. You may see the results if you are lucky. Just do not change the channel, or that station will be blacked-out if you do return to it.

Ottawa Citizen: Elections Canada to muzzle Twitter

2011-04-24T07:56:00.000-04:00

Fascists 3
Visitors 3
Commies 3
Traitors 1
Ewoks 0
Hermits 0

Will the Fascists be wiped out in Port Edward, New Bear, New Scotland, and Newfreeland?

Rise up videos. Ah, the memories.

2011-04-23T23:35:00.000-04:00

Video:

Video (Obligatory 15 second ad first):

Faux News North starts tomorrow (Monday 6 a.m. EDT)

2011-04-17T22:36:00.000-04:00

It looks like the old Sun TV comedy/drama programs are disappearing, and the new Faux News North is starting at 6 a.m. Monday. Since, this is an over the air station in Toronto, Rogers customers will have no way to avoid Faux News North.

Channel 15 on Rogers in Toronto.

Toronto Sun: Facebook ban is social nutworking (Rachel Sa)

2011-04-17T08:48:00.000-04:00

Toronto Sun's Rachel Sa writes:

In a shortsighted move, the Ontario College of Teachers has instructed its members to refrain from connecting with students through social networks.

Word went out in an advisory issued to the college’s 230,000 members this past week. The order is non-binding, but it will still be influential.

Ms. Sa also writes:

In addition to connecting with students on their own turf, and using Facebook as part of the educational process, teachers can also use Facebook to monitor situations that could develop into cyberbullying. And to get information on other potential problems outside the classroom.

First, I will write about the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT). The OCT is not a teachers' organization; it is a public organization that includes teachers as elected and appointed members. Teachers do hold 23 of the 37 elected positions. Of those 23 positions, 18 are elected by teachers; the other four are elected by principal/vice principals, supervisory officers, private school staff members, and those who work in faculties of education. The other 14 positions are appointed by the provincial government. People who complain that the OCT is union controlled must understand that unionized teachers have a bare majority of one on the OCT council.

Next, the role of the Ontario College of Teachers is to set the professional standards and practices of all teachers, and to investigate if a teacher may fail to meet those standards and practices. Teachers as professionals must meet the standards and practices 24 hours per day--not just the seven hours teachers are with students each school day. That means that teachers cannot go a restaurant with his/her secondary school students, and order a beer for him/herself. Secondary school teachers may not have sexual relationships with students who are at least 18 years old even though those particular students are legally adults. Thankfully, women-teachers are now allowed to go into saloons. They were not allowed in the 19th century. Within the classroom, teachers must use the best teaching practices using the resources that are available within their schools.

Rachel Sa writes that teachers and students should be able to communicate with their students using different social media instruments. I understand that new technological tools make it easier for students and teachers to communicate with each other outside school. That does not mean it is better. As a teacher, I do not give students my phone number, email, or make them my Facebook friend. Even though the students are adorable (sometimes), I do not have a personal relationship with them. I must maintain my professionalism with them all the time. With respect to technological tools, school boards provide teachers and students with programs such as Moodle that allow both to communicate with each other about curriculum content.

Outside school, I do not need to spy on my students through their Facebook sites. I do not need to go to ratemyteacher.com just to find out that I rate highly because I am a kool teacher, or rate poorly because I am a jerk who gave a student a failing grade on his/her report card.

Yes, students do sometimes bully each other outside of school. However, my job is not to solve students' problems, but to work with students at school by teaching them the curriculum, having them learn it, and to facilitate in issues that they may present to me or that I observe. When I mean facilitate, I mean that I do not solve the students' issues, but help them to solve their own problems. If I must discipline a student, it is not because he/she has bullied someone. It is because he/she has broken a school or classroom rule such as "no hitting" or "no teasing anyone." The issue of bullying can be dealt with during a period of discipline such as detention or loss of privileges. I may deal with the prevention of bullying through story-telling and having students role-play in the classroom. However, I do not spy on the students on Facebook; I do not follow them as they go home at the end of the school day. Teachers have a lot of work to prepare for the next day. Teachers have lives of their own outside of school.

I need to go have some cactus-juice. (Cue to 15:47.)

My dad and politics

2011-04-16T18:11:00.000-04:00

I just finished having a conversation on Skype with my dad. He and my mother live in Helena Guergis's riding. My dad mentioned that he will be voting for the Liberal candidate. He does have a beef with Michael Ignatieff which is that Mr. Ignatieff is not going after Harper's poor economic record hard enough. My dad talked about the Mulroney years when the deficit and debt went up. He talked about the Chrétien/Martin years when the deficit was eliminated, and the debt started to decline. He mentioned how the deficit and debt started back on their inclines once Harper got into power. Ignatieff needs to vigorously attack Harper on his poor economic record.

My dad is a fairly small-c conservative guy. He would likely vote Conservative if that party could manage the country fairly well. He won't voting for Harper's Conservatives this time. As a small-c conservative guy, today was the first time that I heard my dad call Harper "a dictator." It's one thing when a middle-aged guy like me calls Harper "a dictator." It's another when my dad does the same. My dad feels that if Harper gets his majority, we Canadians will be on the road to losing our democracy. His opinions are of his own making, and not of my influence.

How will I vote? As some of you know already, I will probably not be voting unless one of the major opposition party leaders advocates for some form of proportional representation. I know that the NDP has voting reform in its platform. However, I have not heard Jack Layton mention anything about proportional representation. I want to know that Jack Layton and the NDP are serious about voting reform. So far, I don`t sense it. In my riding, I don`t have the fear that the Conservative candidate will win. The local Liberal candidate will likely be re-elected. If the NDP or another major party wants its $2.00 vote subsidy from me, then that party needs to advocate proudly for voting reform.

Fortunately for the Liberals, my dad will be voting for the local Liberal candidate in his riding.

Fraser Institute school rankings

2011-03-27T09:45:00.002-04:00

The Toronto Sun has some stories about the Fraser Institute school rankings. As a supply teacher who has taught at most of the elementary schools in my board, what can I interpret from the Fraser Institute rankings? I know that schools in well-off neighbourhoods ranked high; schools in poorer neighbourhoods and communities ranked low. Schools that have gifted programs also ranked high.

Based on my general observation, the quality and consistency of teaching is high in my board. Many of the best teachers work in schools that ranked low on the Fraser Institute ranking. Yet, these same teachers face the challenge of motivating their students to value the importance of education when many of the students' parents lack higher education. Teachers work with students to create a sense of community so that the students can participate in extra curricular activities where they feel accepted by others. Beyond the usual volleyball and basketball clubs, teachers and other staff create outdoor skating rinks in the wintertime. Teachers get students to participate in African drumming. Note: most of the students are white. Schools provide low cost karate classes so that students can participate in activities that children in well-off neighbourhoods would do in the evenings in their communities.

One could transfer the teachers between the highest and lowest Fraser Institute ranked schools, and one would likely not see any differences in improvement. In fact, the schools would likely display poorer Fraser Institute results because the transferred teachers would likely not understand the needs of their new students (at least not right away).

If one reads the Fraser Institute Report Card, one will receive little information about student success in learning. The only information one can interpret is where the good neighbourhoods are located, plus where there might be programs for gifted students.

Harper thinks this election is unnecessary

2011-03-26T12:28:00.000-04:00

The Liberals, Bloc, and NDP voted against the HarperGovermnent (TM) on a motion of non-confidence.
Duration between October 14, 2008 and May 2, 2011 elections: 930 days.

Harper called for an election that took place on October 14, 2008.
Duration between January 23, 2006 and October 14, 2008 elections: 995 days.

Harper's Conservatives voted against the Paul Martin Liberal government in December 2005 on a motion of non-confidence.
Duration between June 28, 2004 and January 23, 2006: 574 days.

According to Harper, it's not OK to have an election after 930 or 995 days. However, He thought it was OK to have an election after 574 days after His party helped defeat the Paul Martin Liberal government.

I guess according to Harper, elections are unnecessary (and expensive) unless He thinks they are necessary. To think, I almost supported Harper's Senate reform proposal, but I changed my mind because Canadians would be forced to have more unnecessary elections. Actually, when I think about Harper's Senate reform proposal, I should have added a Bev Oda "NOT."

The Star: Parents must witness their children's murder to receive compensation

2011-03-15T09:08:00.001-04:00

I'm wondering if the young man who had been beheaded on a passenger bus in western Canada had been beheaded in Ontario, would his family not receive victim compensation because the family members had not actually seen the beheading?

The provincial agency that is supposed to compensate crime victims has denied “pain and suffering” payments to three grieving mothers because they did not witness the killing of their children.

Liz Hoage, whose 16-year-old son Joey was stabbed to death; Wendy Flanagan, whose daughter Alexandra's partial remains were found in two places; and Claudette Lalonde, whose bricklayer son Corey was killed while breaking up a fight, have all been told they do not meet the criteria for the compensation.

Toronto Star article

Fire those lazy teachers!

2011-03-13T08:45:00.001-04:00

The governor of Tennessee, Bill Haslam, wishes to change teachers' working conditions in that teachers can be evaluated based on their students' standardized test results. He wants to delay granting tenure to teachers until they have worked five years. He also wants to teachers to lose their tenure status if their students perform poorly on the standardized tests.

One would need to assume that different kinds of teachers would need to have their students perform standardized tests. Those students could come from all grades including kindergarten, Special Education, and ESL. Subject specific teachers would need to have their students tested in Physical Education, Music, and another subject language such as Spanish or French.

Fire all those bad teachers! That would be nice. However, are those teachers supposedly poor teachers because their students performed poorly in standardized tests, or is it due to poor teaching and learning strategies? One can be an excellent teacher, and still have students performing poorly on standardized tests. Even if one takes into account socio-economic factors such as neighborhood average family income and levels of education, a teacher may work with a different group of students from one year to the next. One group may be high achievers, while next year's group may have some extra behavioral needs.

Teachers do employ different teaching and learning strategies with their students. However their administration (principals and vice-principals) set the tone and direction on what teachers should emphasize. Administrators also set the weekly timetables. I have seen administrators make teachers teach Language Arts to students in the afternoon. Language Arts is probably the most serious subject which sets up the students for success on standardized tests. It is very difficult to teach students literacy skills through Language Arts when students are tired in the afternoon. Administrators who make their teachers teach Language Arts in the afternoon set up their teachers to have their students "fail" on standardized tests. The teachers will get blamed for the poor student performance because the administration has made a poor scheduling decision on the timetable, or because teachers were told to emphasize different teaching & learning techniques or content areas.

Once teachers lose tenure protection, that means it will be extremely difficult for their unions to protect them. Teachers who lose this protection will be the ones whose students perform poorly one year on standardized tests. Who decides the aggregate success or failure on those tests? The state or provincial governments? Administration? Through negotiation with the unions? Teachers at most risk under new rules will not be the ones whose students perform poorly. The teachers who are at risk will be the ones who challenge their administrations. Those teachers are the ones who voice their concerns most expressively (even within professional parameters). Administrations will not only be able to fire the so-called bad teachers; they will be able to fire the good teachers. I know this is only a movie, but if one watches Lean on Me, there is one scene where Principal Clark fired a good music teacher for being insubordinate in his opinion.

In terms of tenure, one must note that tenure does not mean that a poorly performing teacher cannot be terminated. It just means that administration must justify its reasoning for firing a teacher, and must prove that it had taken steps to ensure that the teacher had received up-to-date training so that the teacher could improve his or her teaching abilities.

Tennessee Governor Haslam's proposal to change teacher tenure based on standardized tests results and by delaying the right to tenure will mean that fewer qualified people will seek teaching as a profession. Within five to ten years, there could be teacher shortages because people will not want to enter the teaching profession where teachers will not be valued both monetarily and socially by the government.

SD BEd
Ontario

Doris (Stockwell) Day to quit politics

2011-03-12T08:14:00.000-05:00

Will D.S. Day run for the leadership of the Conservative Party?

Montreal Gazette: Day to quit politics.

Foster's ad: please, don't look gay

2011-03-05T08:13:00.001-05:00

What's next? Don't wear pink T-shirts?

Pink News: Is the new Foster’s ad homophobic?

Parent Central: Is Dalton McGuinty afraid to talk about sex?

2011-03-04T07:03:00.000-05:00

A Parent Central/Toronto Star article wonders if Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is afraid to change the Health curriculum that deals with sex education. Conservative groups do not want sexual orientation to be discussed at primary and junior grades (kindergarten to grade-six). Social conservatives and teachers must know that teachers already have the right to discuss sexual orientation at any grade in any subject because the Ontario Human Rights Code includes prevention of discrimination of services based on sexual orientation.

PART I
FREEDOM FROM DISCRIMINATION
Services
1. Every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to services, goods and facilities, without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family status or disability. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, s. 1; 1999, c. 6, s. 28 (1); 2001, c. 32, s. 27 (1); 2005, c. 5, s. 32 (1).

Perhaps social conservatives tolerate Black History Month, Chinese New Year, South Asian Month, Hanukkah, disability awareness activities, general multicultural activities, and boys and girls track and field. They cringe when something so gay as sexual orientation is mentioned in the classroom. However, the social conservative must know that because of the Ontario Human Rights Code, teachers do have the right to discuss topics that includes sexual orientation at any grade just like they can include discussions about race, gender, ethnicity, and religions. Currently, most public school teachers do not exercise that right.

Teachers do act in loco parentis where teachers have the authority of a parent in a classroom. Teachers decide in the best interests of their students as a parent would decide in the best interests of their children. If teachers to wish to discuss sexual orientation with their students, it is extremely unlikely that they would discuss particular sexual activities between same-sex couples. In the primary grades, class discussions may occur after a teacher reads a story about two daddy penguins, two moms, or a sissy duckling. Discussions may include different kinds of families. There may be a discussion about the use of the word "gay." as in "That's so gay!" Primary students do use this phrase.

Concerned parents may wish to ask the teacher to inform them if discussions or a story being read about sexual orientation may take place so that they can withdraw their children from the classroom for the day or period. As mentioned previously, a teacher acts as a "parent in the classroom" and he/she is a professional. The teacher does not need to have parents vetting/censoring books and other materials in the classroom. A good teacher may mention to the parents through a monthly class newsletter units of study that will take place. However, the teacher does not need to list specific resources such as books about sexual orientation or other topics.

Social conservatives, teachers, and students must know that the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is not a half-right, but a full-right like the other rights under the Ontario Human Rights Code. While parents, teachers, and students do need to have good relationships, everyone must know that public schools serve the public good. They are microcosms of society. If we do not discriminate based on sexual orientation outside our schools, then we must not discriminate based on sexual orientation within our schools.

R-r-r-roll up the price increase!

2011-02-24T06:10:00.000-05:00

As usual, I expect a price increase in Tim Hortons products during the R-r-r-roll up the Rim contest. Customers do not complain during the contest period.

Whose Pride?

2011-02-20T09:21:00.001-05:00

Toronto Sun's Sue-Ann Levy wrote,

"Yet the [Pride community advisory] panel members conveniently ignore the fact that all the mainstream press, the major mayoralty candidates and most city councillors were in agreement last year that QuAIA and its hateful messaging does not belong in the parade."

Is the mainstream press gay? Mainly no.

Were the major mayoralty candidates gay? One (possibly two) out of six, five, four...

Were the former and are the current city councillors gay? Mostly no.

Other than deciding on city and corporate financial support for Pride, the LGBT community can decide on its participants in the parade and week's events. The LGBT community doesn't need to be controlled by outside individuals and groups.

One year without looking at Blogging Tories

2011-02-02T15:25:00.000-05:00

I've gone one year without looking at the Blogging Tories website and its related websites. Yay!

Also, Rogers cable customers in Toronto can enjoy a free preview of Al Jazeera English on channel 176. I don't know how long the preview will last.

Groundhog Day cancelled due to excess snow

2011-02-02T07:13:00.000-05:00

Groundhogs in the Toronto area will not need to report to work as Mayor Ford has proclaimed today as an official Snow Day. Instead, Mayor Ford will be sending his weasels to monitor weather conditions around Toronto.

Detroit vs. Windsor

2011-01-10T06:02:00.000-05:00

Number of murders in 2010:

Detroit: 308
Windsor: 0

Accused killer, Jared Loughner, "Christano-fascist influenced?"

2011-01-09T08:45:00.000-05:00

I doubt that Jared Loughner who is accused of killing six people (at last count) in Tuscon, Arizona could be described as a Christian. However, he could have been influenced by Christians who hate everything secular about the big government society of the United States of America.

Would we call someone who is white and celebrates Christmas in one way or another a Christian terrorist? I doubt it. People will call that person a terrorist or insane, but not a Christian terrorist.

What's wrong with Christianity?

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T16:41:00.000-05:00

Accoring to the XE currency converter, 1.00 Canadian dollar equals 1.00244 US dollars.

I hope the City of Windsor, Ontario can celebrate by being murder-free for 2010. There's only a few more hours to go.

I do hope for a federal election in the Spring of 2011, and that Harper is defeated. If not, at least I hope that his Conservative Party does not get a majority of the seats.

I do hope that some of the federal parties actively supports voting reform in the next election. I know voting reform is not a bread-and-butter issue. I will accept voting reform as being one of the important items in a party's campaign platform.

Happy New Year everyone!

On the lighter side: Is Tarek Fatah an Oompa Loompa?

2010-12-29T15:53:00.001-05:00

Compare the photos:

My apologies to the original Oompa Loompa.

G20 officer charged--not his first confrontation in the weekend

2010-12-21T20:33:00.007-05:00

Global Television court reporter, Alex Pierson, had a previous verbal confrontation with the officer who was charged with assault with a deadly weapon in the alleged Queen's Park assault. According to Ms. Pierson in an interview on Newstalk1010 CFRB, the same officer confronted Pierson because she was carrying a gas mask that had been issued by her television station. She asked him if it was against the law to carry a gas mask. He didn't answer the question. However, he did take away her gas mask and G20 government issued accreditation. She also mentioned that he was not wearing any police issued identification.

Newstalk1010 December 21st podcast should be ready the next day. Friendly Fire with Ryan Doyle and Tarek Fata: the Alex Pierson interview takes place in the second hour.

The Pooled Registered Pension Plan is a glorified RRSP

2010-12-20T08:47:00.000-05:00

Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, writes an interesting commentary in the Calgary Herald about federal finance minister Jim Flaherty's proposed Pooled Registered Pension Plan. The banks prefer this over an increase in the premiums to the Canada Pension Plan because the banks would be guaranteed funds for investment. They would also be able to charge contributors to the proposed PRPP. Businesses will like the PRPP since they may not be required to contribute the same share as they do for the current CPP.

The [banking and financial] industry fears that if Canadians are able to invest more of their money through CPP then they'll put less money into things like private mutual funds.

And reduced investment in mutual funds would mean fewer bonuses and fewer and BMWs for bankers and mutual fund managers (heaven forbid!)

Imagine if Don Cherry had been our governor-general

2010-12-07T19:32:00.002-05:00

"Stephen Harper is the greatest guy in the world! He knows how to deal with the pinkos in the Liberal and New Dummocratic Party. He'll body check the Bloc Qweebecwaas back to their brothers in da Taliban in Afghanistan!"

Don Cherry gave the Frank Drebin speech about Rob Ford to Toronto's city council. He certainly gave a silly speech. Listen to Lt. Frank Drebin speech (as played by the late Leslie Nielsen).

Help control the red poppylation--Should news journalists and people in general wear the red poppy?

2010-11-06T14:39:00.000-04:00

A British television viewer criticized a news presenter for not wearing a red poppy to honour fallen soldiers. The news presenter, Jon Snow of Channel 4 News, blasted back by stating that he will honour the soldiers in his own way at church and not on the telly.

"When you wish to wear yours is your business. Compelling people to wear poppies because YOU think they OUGHT to is precisely the Poppy fascism, or intolerance, that I have complained of in the past."

Anyone may choose to wear a poppy or not. I choose not to wear one. It's not because I do not wish to honour those soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for Canada. I have attended several Remembrance Day ceremonies throughout Ontario. I have observed them on television. I choose not to wear a poppy because the red poppy is a trademarked symbol or the Royal Canadian Legion. The current red poppy does not belong to all Canadians, but to an incorporated entity. I refuse to wear a trademarked logo on my jacket or shirt (if it not already imprinted). It doesn't matter if it is the Royal Canadian Legion's poppy, McDonald's M or some other corporate logo.

Yes, I will remember the dead and injured Canadian soldiers who participated in World War I to the current Afghanistan War. I just refuse to wear a trademarked logo.

After eight minutes...

2010-10-25T20:11:00.001-04:00

...Rob Ford is elected mayor of Toronto. See CP24 news for more coverage.

Oh dear, boycotting Israel really hurts the Palestinians

2010-10-25T13:32:00.000-04:00

Sooner or later, I knew someone would raise the argument that boycotting Israel will really hurt the Palestinians. I remember during apartheid South Africa era, a similar argument was promoted by white South Africans stating that a boycott of South Africa would mainly hurt the non-white South Africans.

Gil Troy, author of a Montreal Gazette commentary, states that a boycott of Israel would really hurt the Palestinian cause. Israelis would be less inclined to support a two-state solution. I argue that they may support a two-state solution. However, how much of the territory would these Israelis propose that the Palestinians rule? If we were to fully support Israel, would the Israelis be more inclined to accept a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 line of control boundaries? I doubt it. The Israelis would have no need to accept a two-state solution of the world fully supported Israel.

Mr. Troy gives the usually argument that we should devote a boycott of truly repressive dictatorships of Iran, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia. I will agree that we can call out these particular countries for their human rights abuses. That does not mean that Israel should be let off the hook. As a consumer, I very rarely see goods on store shelves that come from Iran, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia. It's difficult to boycott something that is already absent. The last time I bought something from North Korea was in 1991 in the former Czechoslovakia. It was a cheap towel that I needed. There wasn't a great selection of towels back then. All the Czech towels at a particular store came from North Korea. There wasn't a great selection of anything. This was just after the Iron Curtain came down.

Back to Canada and Saudi gas. It's difficult for me to go to my local Petro-Canada station and ask the attendant what percentage of oil comes from Saudi Arabia. I could drive to the local Esso and Shell stations and ask the same question of where their oil comes from. Those attendants wouldn't know either.

A boycott by Canadians against Israeli products and services such as travel will probably have little effect on Israel. However, if the Europeans and Americans support a boycott, the combined effect will put a lot of pressure on the poor Israelis to get their government to support a mutually agreed peace settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Office Tiny Bubbles is back to business

2010-10-19T14:24:00.001-04:00

Welcome back Officer Bubbles. Enjoy the videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/MisterOfficerBubbles

My choice for the next mayor of Toronto: I will not be voting

2010-10-17T13:00:00.001-04:00

The City of Toronto uses the undemocratic and antiquated First-Past-the-Post voting system for choosing the mayor and councillors. Since no major mayoral candidate nor my council candidates support changing the voting system to something that is proportional and democratic, I will not be voting in the Toronto municipal elections.

I will not participate in an election that is not democratic, nor advances in the direction toward democracy.

To Officer Tiny Bubbles: It's a cartoon. It's a piece of fiction!

2010-10-17T07:45:00.002-04:00

[A comment I posted on Dawg's Blawg:]

Officer Tiny Bubbles claims that the cartoon videos and some of the YouTube comments are defamatory. [According to] Tiny, the video is slanderous, and the comments are libelous. I can't comment about the comments because the cartoon videos and related comments are no longer posted on YouTube. I will comment about the cartoon videos which are posted elsewhere on the internet [but are also being deleted].

The person who created and posted the cartoons is a brilliant cartoonist who has definitely insulted Officer Bubbles. This cartoonist is much like political cartoonists who sometimes post insulting cartoons at political leaders. One example is by cartoonist Theo Moudakis of the Toronto Star who drew a picture of Stephen Harper at the UN General Assembly trying to get a seat for Canada on the Security Council. Behind Harper was a row of G20 riot squad officers. Were these officers really with Harper when he actually spoke to the Assembly? No. Was it insulting to Harper? Probably. Was it actually Stephen Harper in the cartoon? I don't know. The same ideas hold true for the A. Josephs "Officer Bubbles" video cartoon. Is that actually Adam Josephs in the cartoon? No. It's a cartoon. It's a piece of fiction. Is Wile E. Coyote actually Adam Josephs? Should we ban "The Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote?"

Have people threatened his family because of the cartoon and some of the comments? I did not see anything in the cartoon that told people to attack his family. I hope none of the commenters said that his family should be attacked. If people threaten to attack Adam Josephs' family, then he and his family should go after the people who actually make those threats.

Finally, I am wondering why Officer Bubbles is just going after the commenters who posted possible defamatory comments on the cartoons and not the live video of Adam Josephs. I'm guessing that the live video comments would be as nasty as the ones posted under the cartoon videos.

Remixed cartoon and video for those who want to see the cartoon version.

How low can Rocco Rossi limbo?

2010-09-30T09:09:00.000-04:00

In the 2006 Toronto mayoral election, candidate Stephen LeDrew got 1.38 % of the votes.

In the 2000 mayoral election, candidate, candidate Enza "Supermodel" Anderson got 2.25 % of the votes.

In 2010, will Rocco Rossi get a greater percentage of votes than Stephen or Enza did?

Baird to Torontonians: "They should f--- off." (June 2009)

2010-09-16T20:58:00.003-04:00

Today is not the first time that Conservative John Baird has said something nasty about Toronto.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/647684

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2009/06/09/john-baird-drops-the-f-bomb-on-ttc-streetcar-request.aspx

I'm finally on Twitter

2010-09-14T15:57:00.000-04:00

I'm still trying to figure out this Twitter thingy. My address is skinnydippercdn.

Here's a story that I left in the comment section under Norman Spector's blog

2010-09-05T17:08:00.006-04:00

Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus were walking down Sesame Street. All of the sudden, they saw a strange character who called himself Kory Teneycke.

Standing in front of Oscar the Grouch's trash can, Big Bird asked, "What is that thing with numbers on a line, and why are you holding it against Oscar's can?"

The Teneycke replied, "It's a measuring tape, and I'm going to build a new TV news station."

Snuffy asked, "Do you want to use Oscar's trash can because your new station will be full of CRAP?"

Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus were so excited to see their new friend, Kory, that they told him to wait so that they could introduce him to their other Sesame Street friends. Away Big Bird and Snuffy went in search of others.

A few minutes later, the Sesame Street gang came back to Oscar's can. Oscar even woke up after a long miserable sleep and popped his head out of his trash can.

"Hey, what's going on?" Oscar grumbled.

Big Bird explained that he and Snuffy saw a new friend named The Teneycke. He wanted to use Oscar's can for a new TV news station. It would be called, "Sun TV News."

Oscar shouted, "I don't like anything that has a sun in it! I don't like that CRAP! There won't be any Sun TV News crap in my trash can! I only accept good crap--not crappy news CRAP!"

Big Bird shouted, "Kory! Where are you? My friends want to meet you!"

The Teneycke didn't appear. Except for Mr. Snuffleupagus, none of Big Bird's Sesame Street friends believed that Big Bird had a new friend. He must have been using his imagination.

Disappointed, Big Bird decided to head to his bird's nest. As he opened the side door, he discovered that his nest was missing. Instead, new arena seats and an ice rink were installed. Would Big Bird's home be the new home of the [new] Quebec Nordiques?

This episode has been brought to you by the letters, K, T, and by the category 2.

The Globe and Mail: Norman Spector: The real deal behind Fox News North

See page 54 of the latest comment section.

Kory Teneycke states that Canadians will not be obliged to pay for "Faux News North"

2010-09-03T18:45:00.007-04:00

This what Kory Teneycke mentioned on CBC's News Network Power and Politics (September 3, 2010):

"We are not nor have we even asked for mandatory carriage of this station where Canadians would have to be obliged to pay."

TVA Group Inc. is seeking a Category 2 licence with "an exception to Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2009-562 by applying for mandatory access."

The applicant argued that Sun TV News requires short-term and time-limited mandatory access by broadcasting distribution undertakings for a maximum period of three years to effectively expose and promote its programming to viewers across Canada.

The applicant stated that it was not seeking mandatory basic distribution, but only to be made available on cable and satellite distribution undertakings, allowing the public to have access to Sun TV News without any obligation to choose it.

As TVA Group Inc. defines mandatory access, broadcasting distribution undertakings (cable and satellite distribution companies) would be require to carry the SUN TV news channel for a period of three years. It is my opinion that BDU's would be required to carry it, but they would not be required to have it on their basic services. They do have to offer SUN TV News to subscribers if they want it.

Kory Teneycke did not mention that when BDU's (cable/satellite companies) distribute broadcast signals, they are obliged to pay a per subscriber rate to each broadcaster of a signal. If the CRTC accepts the TVA Group Inc.'s proposal, the CRTC will also set the rate that BDU's must pay to TVA Group Inc. It might be 10, 15, or 25 cents per subscriber per month. That means that even if we subscribers do not want to have Faux News North on our cable/satellite services, we will be required to pay for it anyway because of TVA Group Inc.'s request for mandatory access.

Under Kory's proposal, BDU's will be required to carry SUN TV News/Faux News North. Cable/satellite subscribers will not be forced to watch it unless the BDU's decide to offer Faux News North on the basic service, or subscribers decided to order FNN as single channel or part of a package. However, all subscribers will be forced to pay for Faux News Network for a period of three years whether we like it or not. I will not like it!

Kory Teneycke is misleading Canadians when he states that Canadians will be obliged to pay for "Faux News North."

Interesting Links:

Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2010-649 (Sun TV News licence application notice)

Broadcasting Act (1991, c. 11)

Note: I could not find in the CRTC glossary any official definition of mandatory access.
.
UPDATE: Under Broadcasting Notice of Consultation, click 2010-1182. Save or open file DOCS-1420709-v1-2010-1188-2. On page 7, one will find the following:

We believe that the appeal of CNN for Canadians comes from its program formats and it’s on air personalities.

Canadians do not watch CNN for hard news, but more for interview style and more opinioned programs like Larry King Live, Anderson Cooper 360 and Campbell Brown. These 3 programs are CNN’s most watched shows in English Canada.

Essentially, SUN TV News will be a news/entertainment channel where conservative shock jocks will spew their pro-Harper and pro-Conservative CRAP. If one lives in Toronto and listens to CFRB radio (1010 AM), one can hear the news shock jocks spew their garbage. SUN TV is not going to have news journalists; it is going to have news entertainers who will interpret the news so that the channel can entertain Canadians, but not inform them.

Sarah Palin's "I have a dream" speech (Satire)

2010-08-28T21:07:00.003-04:00

From the word's of Sarah Palin's mouth:

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five years ago, a great American by the name of George W. Bush, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed some document. This momentous degree came as a great flashlight of hope to millions of African American who had been burnt in the flames of some kind of injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the African American still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the African American is still sadly crippled by the manicures of segregation and the necklaces of discrimination. One hundred years later, the African American lives on a lonely island of Hawaii in the midst of a vast ocean of a lot of things. One hundred years later, the African American is still eating linguini in the corners of American society and finds himself an Excel in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shampoo conditioner.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote big words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promise keeper note to which every American was to fall here. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men...you know, those African American men... as well as white men and women, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happyness." I saw that movie. It was really great! It is obvious today that America has defaulted on that note, on a sofa as her citizens of color (you know black people—I mean those Africans) are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the African people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." I’m not sure what that means, but it seems pretty bad.

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. I think this sounds pretty good!

We have also come to this hollowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the bad drug of slowism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desso-late valley of splitting people apart to the sunlit path of Rachel justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of Rachel injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the African American's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. These are big words! Twenty-ten is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that those Africans needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor trankwilly in America until the African is granted his citizenship rights. The tornados of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice E-merges. I like computer talk.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice—I think it’s Wal-Mart: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of Starbucks coffee. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of niceness and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence like the Muslims are doing—not all of them, just the bad ones. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with sole force.

The marvellous new militancy which has engulfed the African community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextr... bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn black.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the African American is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of bad brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the African's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a African in Alaska cannot vote and a African in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and to the right of us like a mighty stream."

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. I love those tribbles on Star Trek. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of bad brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Alaska, go back to those other places, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not swallow in the valley of this pair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”—unless they are gay. I have gay friends. They’re great so long as they don’t want to get married because I am for traditional marriage between a man and a woman.

I have a dream that one day on those hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. IKEA has great tables!

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with a lot of heat, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my poor little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vick-see us racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with those sex words “intercourse” and “Nelly f*ckation”-- one day right there in Alabama little African boys and African girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers just as long as the boys don’t hold hands with each other. Same with the girls.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be extra salted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the gay places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South of Alaska with.

With this faith, we will be able to hoe out of the mountain of the pair of stones of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling of the cords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to Alaska together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the big hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alphaghettis of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the bikini slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, African men and white men, Jews and good Muslims, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old African American song:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

Persichilli: Prime Minister aims to give his caucus more influence

2010-08-15T11:08:00.000-04:00

...or less.

Prime Minister Harper wants to have six Conservative MPs and three senators assigned to each cabinet minister for consultations on future bills. While this may appear to be an improvement in democracy, this takes away from each cabinet minister and Conservative MP to consult with each other. Under Harper's proposal, I will assume that Harper will appoint the MPs and senators to sit on each committee. Essentially, a Conservative expert on the environment (sounds like an oxymoron) may be appointed by Harper to work under a cabinet minister responsible for transport or veterans affairs. That MP or senator won't be able to consult with any cabinet minister of his or her choice. I also wonder if this is a way to lessen any influence of parliamentary committees by having Conservative only consultative bodies which will probably be a one-way monologue from the Prime Minster to the cabinet ministers and then to the Conservative MPs and senators.

Toronto Star: Persichilli: Prime Minister aims to give his caucus more influence

Stephen Harper and his Conservatives support nudists

2010-08-15T09:33:00.006-04:00

Stephen Harper and his merry Conservatives are returning to their progressive roots. I, Skinny Dipper, am very proud that the prime minister and his Conservative government are spending Canadian taxpayers' money on the bare-essentials such as providing a great recreational environment for the nudists of Canada. I strongly believe that Canadians including fellow skinny dippers like myself who support nudists going au naturel should vote for Stephen Harper's Conservatives in the next federal election. This is all thanks to Stephen Harper's Canada's Economic Action Plan! See photos (G rated).

All immigrants face mandatory language test...

2010-07-20T22:27:00.001-04:00

...Even if English or French is your mother tongue.

The Toronto Star has an article about immigration minister Jason Kenney using "ministerial instructions to circumvent public scrutiny and consultation, ramming through changes without parliamentary oversight."

Dodi Robbins is an immigrant and Harvard educated lawyer whose first language is English. She is required to pay $285 for an exam fee to take the IELTS tests. Previously, immigrants could get a submission attesting that their first language is English or French. That is no longer possible.

Kulanu and QuAIA at Toronto's Pride Parade 2010

2010-07-04T21:24:00.001-04:00

Here are two videos of Kulanu and QuAIA at Toronto's Pride Parade 2010:

Excuse the video quality as it was bright north on Yonge Street but darker looking south.

Kulanu:

QuAIA (Queers Against Israeli Apartheid):

Google Canadian Alphabet in English and French

2010-06-30T11:26:00.001-04:00

Happy Canada Day tomorrow!

As a tribute to all things Canadian, I present to you the Google Canadian Alphabet. At www.google.ca, I typed the first letter of every letter of the alphabet in the search box. Google comes up with suggested topics beginning with each first letter I type. For example, when I typed 'a', the first suggested search topic was Air Canada.

Here is the Google Canadian Alphabet:

Note: I have adjusted the words for proper capitalization and spacing.

In English:

Air Canada
Best Buy Canada
Canadian Tire
dictionary
eBay
Facebook
Gmail
Hotmail
IKEA
Job Bank
Kijiji
Lotto 6/49
MapQuest
NHL
OSAP
Plentyoffish
quotes
RBC Online Banking
Scotiabank
TD Canada Trust
Urban Dictionary
VIA Rail
Weather Network
XS Cargo
YouTube
Zellers

En français:

AccèsD
Best Buy
Canada 411
Desjardins
Emploi Québec
Facebook
Google map
Hotmail
IKEA
Jean Coutu
Kijiji.ca
LesPAC
MétéoMédia
NHL
Orléans Express
Poste Canada
Québec Loisirs
RDS
SAAQ
traduction
UQAM
Vidéotron
Wikipédia
XE
YouTube
Zellers

Thankfully, we had the police to stop those violent black people

2010-06-27T22:51:00.000-04:00

Yes, you read that right. The police would not allow peaceful protesters to legally protest anywhere near the fence because there could have been violent black people within their midst.

On Saturday afternoon, black people were hiding among peaceful marchers who were walking west along Queen Street. As the peaceful protesters went north along Spadina, the black people got together and headed back east along Queen Street. They started vandalizing businesses such as Starbucks and banks. Eventually, the black people went north on Yonge Street, and vandalized more stores. Some of those violent black people were able to destroy a few police vehicles. The Eaton Centre had closed its doors because of the fear that black people would destroy property inside the shopping centre.

There were very few people enjoying the downtown on Saturday and Sunday. Perhaps they feared the black people. Maybe it was because of riot cops in black. Whatever the case, let us be thankful that our finest police force in Toronto and the visiting forces across the country were able to keep us safe from all those criminal black people. Because of those black people, the police had to curtail the freedom of expression, the freedom of movement, and the right to protest peacefully from every Canadian.

I don't know why the police had to demand the identity of people getting too close to the security fence. It should have been easy for the police to spot violent black people from others. Because of a few black people, the police had to treat all Canadians like criminals instead of citizens.

"[The police] were just doing their job": Carlton from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

2010-06-26T09:09:00.002-04:00

If this guy in Toronto had only brought a map, he wouldn't have been arrested. Sarcastically writing, he should have cooperated with the police and given his ID.

"Papers, bitte!" (bit-tuh)

More recent info.

Seriously, who need this s---?

2010-06-23T07:06:00.000-04:00

Lorrie Goldstein from the Toronto Sun:

How absurd that today, the Group of 20 (G20), whose forerunner was the Group of 8 (G8), meaning the world’s leading industrialized DEMOCRACIES, inevitably turns large portions of any city unlucky enough to host it into an armed camp, the same as you’d find in any Third World, tinpot dictatorship run by a psychotic military general.

Wow! Our Stephen Harper is a psychotic military general running a Third World, tinpot dictatorship!

Even the Ontario Lottery and Gam(bl)ing Corporation prize office is closing early for the G20

2010-06-19T10:54:00.000-04:00

From the OLG:

Please be advised that you may experience delays when travelling to the Prize Centre between June 21 and 25, 2010, due to the G20 economic summit being held in Toronto. Information on affected routes is available at www.g20.gc.ca. Please see our How to Claim Prizes section for additional prize claim options.

Please also be advised that the Prize Centre will be closing at 1 p.m. on Friday, June 25, 2010, due to anticipated traffic delays and demonstrations associated with the G20 economic summit. The Prize Centre will reopen at 9 a.m. on Monday, June 28, 2010; however, there may be a longer than anticipated wait due to the previous week's closures and traffic delays.

Let's hope that no one has a 2009 winning ticket that expires on June 25.

Roger Waters: We shall overcome (H/T Dawg's Blog)

2010-06-06T20:55:00.008-04:00

H/T from Dawg's Blog: We shall overcome.

"End the Blockade of Gaza."

When did the Israeli blockade of Gaza start?

2010-05-31T07:16:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

I would like to know when the Israeli blockade of Gaza started. Did it start when Israel accused Hamas of firing rockets into Israel, or did it start when Hamas assumed control over Gaza?

Skinny Dipper

Toronto's Desifest: Thanks Vijay and his friends

2010-05-29T13:56:00.000-04:00

It was great to see fellow Progressive Blogger Vijay Sappani at Desifest in downtown Toronto today. The event is being held on the southeast corner of Yonge and Dundas. I only saw some of the stage events because I went to a few Toronto Doors Open attractions. The few events that I saw on stage at Desifest were youthful and upbeat. I encourage anyone in Toronto to go downtown today to Desifest. Thanks for your great work, Vijay.

Skinny Dipper

Click Desifest, then About Desifest, Vijay's photo is fourth from the right. Click it for some biographical information.

The less than honorable Jason Kenny, PC MP LIAR

2010-05-27T18:22:00.001-04:00

Send viral! YouTube video:

H/T: The Galloping Beaver, Stageleft, and Canadian Cynic.

Would the inclusion of Queers Against Israeli Apartheid in Pride Week violate Toronto's declaration of a non-discrimination policy?

2010-05-24T08:52:00.001-04:00

Would the inclusion of Queers Against Israeli Apartheid in Pride Week violate Toronto's declaration of a non-discrimination policy? I don't think so.

From the City of Toronto:

Declaration:

On behalf of and with the authority of the organization named below, I hereby declare that this organization adopts and upholds the City of Toronto’s policy statement which prohibits discrimination and harassment and protects the right to be free of hate activity, based on age, ancestry, citizenship, creed (religion), colour, disability, ethnic origin, family status, gender identity, level of literacy, marital status, place of origin, membership in a union or staff association, political affiliation, race, receipt of public assistance, record of offences, sex, sexual orientation or any other personal characteristics by or within the organization.

City of Toronto anti-discrimination policy (pdf)

Would Pride Toronto be violating the declaration if it admitted Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) and let this group use the words "Israel" and "apartheid" together? While there are the words "place of origin," I believe that refers to criticizing individuals or groups or individuals because they come from another country or from another place in Canada. I haven't read or heard anything from QuAIA that made fun of or criticized someone for being Israeli. "Religion" is also in the declaration. That doesn't mean that organizations can't criticize the Roman Catholic church. It means one cannot ridicule someone because of his or her religion. As for Israel, it is a country--not a religion. "Family status" is also listed. Does that mean that no one may criticize the group Focus on the Family?

I think the Pride Week organizers do not want QuAIA to participate in the event, not because QuAIA discriminates against Jews or Israelis (it doesn't), but because of political reasons of possibly losing funding from the City of Toronto. The optics of accusations of anti-Semiticism look bad from the city's point of view.

G&M: Toronto’s Gay Pride parade will exclude contentious group

2010-05-22T09:38:00.006-04:00

Pride Toronto will be excluding Queers Against Israeli Apartheid in the upcoming Pride Week parade and festivities. I personally don't have a problem if the decision was based on QuAIA not being gay-focused enough. If the decision was based on QuAIA's perceived anti-Israel or anti-Semitic biased, then I would be against Pride's decision.

Kyle Rae mentioned that "he has no problem with a group supportive of gay Palestinians. But 'it’s my personal opinion that the Pride event is about fighting homophobia, and the group was not doing that. What they were doing is bringing in another issue into a queer community event.'(G&M)" I have no problem with Rae's opinion. I do wonder if Pride Toronto is going to ban QuAIA because it is not advocating for gay rights or against homophobia, should it do the same for those who support Israel but don't really mention gay Israelis?

Here is a photo of last year's marchers from Kulanu which is affiliated with Hillel. I see a few rainbow flags, some Canadian ones, and lots of Israeli flags. I wonder if this parade group was supporting Israel or gays in Israel. If it is mainly supporting Israel, then aren't these marchers just adding the "gay" tag to their group like others question about QuAIA? Bernie Farber marched with Kulanu/Hillel.

Update: Dr. Dawg writes his comments: http://drdawgsblawg.blogspot.com/2010/05/discrimination-that-must-not-speak-its.html

Celebrate Whoop-Up Days with Harper: help define what it is

2010-05-10T21:04:00.000-04:00

The Harper Conservative régime refuses to provide funding for the Toronto Pride Week event through the 2010 Marquee Tourism Events Program. The government is also not funding any other Pride event across the country. The Harperites are funding Whoop-up Days which are taking place in Lethbridge, Alberta.

Here is my challenge to readers: describe in your own words what Whoop-up Days is/are. No cheating! No, you may not do an internet search before commenting. I want to read original comments.

I think Whoop-up Days is a celebration of beautiful bosoms. The climax of the festival is the annual milk-off! Whichever femme can squeeze the most milk out is crowned "Queen Whoop-up." Note that femmes need not be human. There's the usual square dancin' music, horseshoe competition, and steak-off. No vegetarians are allowed.

Please provide your thoughts about Whoop-up Days.

Harper invades Cro-Asia (14+ photo)

2010-05-08T08:54:00.001-04:00

Enjoy (or not) the photo of Harper getting reading to show his excruxiating bling and ding-a-ling to the Archbishop of Zagreb, Croatia. Harper appears in Adriatic attire. (14+)

This is Alabama. Wonly giving that test in English

2010-05-01T13:02:00.008-04:00

Tim James, Alabama Republican nomination candidate in his own words (You Tube):

From Rumisouth at YouTube: Dear God: please, oh please let Tim James win the Republican nomination for [Alabama] governor in 2010.

If you need hilp (sic) with the translation:

Tim James: "Why do our politicians make us git (sic) driver's licenses in twelve different languages? This is Alabama. We speak English. If you wanna (sic) live here, learn it. Wonly (sic) giving that test in English...It makes sense. Does it tyew (sic)?"

Perhaps 'Labama nids a draver's lassense tist in Redneck.

UPDATE:

I don't think Tim James would want foreigners such as these dravin' on the roads of Alabama. They drav like commies from an ex-Soviet republic.

ANOTHER UPDATE:

LeDaro has a blogpost about this topic: http://ledaro.blogspot.com/2010/05/alabamas-tim-james-english-only.html

Ban all extremist head coverings in Canada!

2010-04-25T14:08:00.005-04:00

There is no reason why westerners should have to put up with this extreme fascist clothing and behaviour. Head coverings do not belong in Canada!

See video:

h/t: LeDaro

How to solve Ontario's sex-ed impotence:

2010-04-24T06:28:00.002-04:00

Have Japanese-style penis parades through the streets of Toronto, Ottawa, and Burlington. Chuck McVety would make a great master bator of ceremony!

For more information, see Wikipedia: Kanamara Matsuri.

Added Comment:

Seriously, I do think that any city in Canada can hold a similar type of festival to promote safe and healthy sexual choices. Yes, that includes abstinence. Such a festival would not necessarily promote sex. It would promote healthy living. The oversized penis (and vagina) are symbolic of getting past the prudishness of thinking that sexuality is bad and immoral.

My prediction for the next goveror-general

2010-04-17T10:48:00.003-04:00

Graham Fraser, Commissioner of Official Languages and author of the book, Sorry, I Don't Speak French.

Poll: vote for the mayor of Toronto

2010-04-10T11:19:00.001-04:00

Vote in my poll for mayor of Toronto. You will use a rank-order preferential ballot to select your preferred candidates for mayor. One to be elected. The order of candidates' names on the ballot have been randomly placed by the internet program. You may vote once per day.

http://www.demochoice.org/dcballot.php?poll=Tor2010a

Select the next governor-general of Canada

2010-04-06T10:06:00.000-04:00

Have fun selecting the next governor-general of Canada.

We have some fine canadidates. In no particular order, they include Skinny Dipper, Balbulican, Louise Arbour, Graham Fraser, Dr. Dawg, Rick Hansen, Joe Clark, Frank McKenna, Bobby Orr, Paul Henderson, Wayne Gretzky, Betty Fox, and a category for Someone Else.

This is a rank-order ballot with one person to be selected. Rank your ballot choices 1, 2, 3, and so on.

Enjoy! The results are on-going. You may vote once per day.

http://www.demochoice.org/dcballot.php?poll=GG2010

Nominate your nominee for the next Governor-General

2010-04-05T12:40:00.000-04:00

Do you know any interesting Canadians who might be interested in becoming the next Governor-General of Canada? You may nominate a well known Canadian, a not-so-well know Canuck, or a fellow Canadian blogger. That person must be at least 18 years of age but not in dog years. That person should own at least $4,000 of property in Canada, or have racked up a $4,000 Visa or Mastercard credit card bill. He must be living; she must not be dead. I don't know if that would disqualify Céline Dion. I don't like her wailing/whaling music.

Feel free to nominate your Canadian for GG. Give a reason or two if you want. Next week, I will place all the nominated candidates on a preferential ballot for people to choose. If you do not want your name on the ballot, that is fine by me so long as you agree to pay my $4,000 Visa bill. Feel free to use your Mastercard if you have to.

Michael Ignatieff stars in Diary of a Wimpy Kid

2010-03-16T19:14:00.001-04:00

See Michael Ignatieff as the star of the movie Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Be patient with the Michael Ignatieff link. It takes about 30 seconds for the link to work.

Israel = Apartheid: your thoughts

2010-03-16T15:28:00.000-04:00

Dear fellow bloggers and commenters,

I have some questions for anyone to answer:

Why do people feel offended when others equate Israel with apartheid?

Do people feel offended because equating Israel with apartheid is false?

Do people feel offended because equating Israel with apartheid is true?

Are there other reasons?

Feel free to comment.

Message to Ontario NDPers: do not be an activist within the party

2010-03-11T08:50:00.000-05:00

Do you care about the Middle East or want the Catholic and public schools systems to combine? If you are a member of the Ontario NDP, do not bring these ideas to the party. If you support other causes, your concerns may not get heard in Andrea Horwath's party (unless she gives approval).

In about a year and a half, Ontario will be having an election. I think the hidden message that Ms. Horwath has sent to her party members and supporters is that she will be setting the party's agenda--not the activists.

http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/778152--ndp-divided-over-mideast-schools

NDP divided over Mideast, schools

New Democratic leader urges MPPs not to attend debate on cutting funding for Catholic education

How much does a carton of Tropicana orange juice cost on a regular day in Inuvik?

2010-03-06T10:11:00.005-05:00

Personally, I think that the Tropicana commercial that was filmed in Inuvik, NWT looks cool. It was nice that the inhabitants were given free cartons of Tropicana orange juice on and around the day that Tropicana was shooting the commercial.

I just wonder how much a carton of Tropicana orange juice costs on a regular day in Inuvik.

Breakfast Television (Toronto) video and Tropicana commercial on Facebook

Update: A carton of orange juice will cost approximately $20.

The appeal of junk food became clear, though, while grocery shopping: $1 for a can of pop, bag of chips, or chocolate bar versus a shocking $20 for a carton of orange juice, milk, or rotting produce.

CFP

Another Update:

Tropicana also gave every household in the town (1,200) a carton of Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice, which retails for about $12-$13 in Inuvik. In addition to filming 30-and 60-second TV spots, BBDO also filmed a documentary short to run on a Facebook page and Tropicana.ca.The sites will also feature blogged commentary as the "brighter mornings" campaign visits locations across the country in a partnership with Breakfast Television.

Circumpolar Blog

The perfect anthem

2010-03-05T21:39:00.001-05:00

Originally, I thought Harper should have sold the Canadian anthem to CTV. Then, the CBC could have held a contest for a new Canadian anthem with the prize for best anthem being $100,000.

Here's something better. (Courtesy of Ren and Stimpy)

Isræl

2010-03-03T21:31:00.000-05:00

Someone named Larry Derfner writes in the Jerusalem Post the following:

Another brightly-lit sign that Israeli Arabs aren’t living under anything like apartheid is their wall-to-wall opposition to becoming citizens of a Palestinian state – even, as Israel Beiteinu proposes, after a change of borders that would allow them to remain on their land. Israeli Arabs aren’t Zionists, and they have altogether legitimate complaints aboutdiscrimination , but the overwhelming majority are not out to dismantle the Jewish state, only to make it more fair and equitable. (As much as I wish foreign anti-Zionists knew this, I wish even more that Israeli Jews did.)

When I read the words Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews, I feel that there is a sense of division--that these two groups of peoples do not belong in the same universe. Arab Israelis live in Israel; they don't seem to belong in Israel. When I envision Israeli Arabs, I see them being compared to Egyptian Arabs, Syrian Arabs, and Algerian Arabs. I envision Israeli Jews being compared to Russian Jews, French Jews, and Canadian Jews. In my opinion, there is no commonality between Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews unless they are redefined as Arab Israelis and Jewish Israelis. The difference in using Israeli as an adjective instead of a noun may not seem like much. The semantics are very different.

I do find in interesting when I read Larry Derfner, who I assume is Jewish Israeli, state that the Israeli Arabs are in opposition to bcoming citizens of a Palestinian state. That may be true. I just wish I could read or hear Arab Israelis tell their own stories about living in Israel rather than just getting the information from Jewish Israelis and their overseas Jewish kin.

You know that things are bad in Vancouver when...

2010-02-20T13:08:00.000-05:00

...Hanukkah gets cut from eight to four days.

See larger photo of the Olympic cauldron.

Happy early or late Hannukah to my Jewish friends! Let's hope for more days and move Hannukah back to December.

1-866-564-2427: Rogers, stop calling me!

2010-02-19T20:10:00.000-05:00

I wish the Rogers telemarketer would stop calling me. This number 1-866-564-2427 has called me three times today! I finally called the number and a recorded message told me to leave my number if I want it off Rogers' list. Unfortunately, the recorded mailbox was full so I could not leave my number. Aghhhhhhhhhh!

What's on TV?

2010-02-17T15:28:00.001-05:00

Let me see.

CTV is showing the Olympics.
So is TSN.
I get CTV in high definition,
But not TSN.

I get all the Rogers SportsNet channels in high-def.
They're all showing the Olympics.
I get RDS, the French version of TSN
I do get the French version of TSN in high definition.

APTN is showing the Olympics in English, French, Oji-Cree at different times of the day.
I do get APTN in high-definition.
OMNI1 and 2 from Toronto show the Olympics in English, Italian, Portuguese, Cantonese, and I think Mandarin.
I get these in high definition.

I get some V channel from Quebec showing me the Olympics in French,
In high definition.
I get CPAC English and CPAC French showing me the Olympics in French.
They also broadcast the V channel in French,
But not in high definition.

OLN has Olympic stuff,
But not CityTV in Toronto and Vancouver.
CityTV is airing UEFA soccer that would normally be aired on Rogers SportsNet.
I am getting the soccer game in high definition.

NBC usually has delayed coverage of highlights of the Olympics.
The coverage is in high-def.
Fox Buffalo has Olympic caliber coverage on the Jerry Springer Show.
It's on a high definition channel,
But not in high-def.

There's so many choices.
I've made up my mind.
I choose the Olympic events of different men and women all fighting for first.
Or is that men and men?

It's Springer for me.

Happy 45th birthday to the Canadian flag

2010-02-15T11:45:00.000-05:00

I want to wish the Canadian flag a happy 45th birthday!

I also want to wish a happy Family Day to families living in Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. I just wish this day were a federal holiday called Canadian Heritage Day.

Links for flag info:

Canadian Heritage

Wikipedia