"Sadly, Rob Ford epitomises what Canada has become"

[applegrove]

Sadly, Rob Ford epitomises what Canada has become

by Matthew Hayes at the Guardian

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/13/crack-smoking-toronto-mayor-rob-ford-epitomises-canada

"SNIP........................................


As some critics have pointed out, our prime minister, Stephen Harper, has remained remarkably silent on the Ford debacle. Harper needs the support of much of Ford's pugnacious voter base, many of who remain staunchly loyal despite the snowballing scandals and gaffes. (Last week, in a TV interview that can only be described as ludicrously sycophantic, ex-con Conrad Black spoke to Ford, who insinuated that a reporter covering his story might be a paedophile. The reporter has served him with a libel notice.) While different in their public demeanour, Harper and Ford are flip sides of the same hard-right coin.

And that makes the image of Ford all the more unsettling. What was once Canada the cool, the country a 1991 Economist cover story called the "post-modern nation-state", has now devolved into a rightwing hellhole. Ford was elected in 2010, one year prior to Canada's Conservative party winning a majority in the national parliament. Since then, Harper, a man who once referred to global warming as "a socialist conspiracy", has pushed Canada's policies sharply to the right.

Canada now has tough-on-crime legislation that includes strict minimum sentences – enacted despite the advice of some American Republican lawmakers, who pointed out that similar legislation south of the border has been expensive and ineffectual. Harper moved to dismantle the long-gun registry, which was brought in after a brutal 1989 mass shooting left 14 women dead at the hands of a deranged gunman. The registry was ended despite the pleas of victims-rights groups and police officers, who almost unanimously supported it.

But Canada's ideological reversal of fortune is perhaps most devastating when one considers environmental issues. Under the previous Liberal government, Canada had been one of the key architects of the Kyoto protocol; Harper's Conservatives officially withdrew Canada from the protocol, and instead are championing Alberta's tar sands, a development many predict will have a catastrophic impact. In an announcement in November that was eclipsed by the Ford soap opera, the Washington, DC-based Center for Global Development ranked 27 countries in terms of their commitment to environmental protection. Canada came in 27th.





.......................................SNIP"

[DonCoquixote]

1. when people insist we need to compromise

this is what we need to throw in their face. Conservatives are vermin, let them in, and they will ruin and destory everything.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

2. This ain't the Canada I grew up in,

and of all the possibilities of how great it could have been... we find ourselves here.

[Saviolo]

3. Rob Ford is the very image of the worst parts of white privilege

Rob and brother Doug were born on third base and insist they hit a triple. It seems to me (from their behaviour) that they've never not gotten their way in life. They have no boundaries, accept no consequences, and when caught out in a lie, double down and insist that demonstrably and obviously false statements are true. They become furious when the smallest push-back is given to anything they say. They're both ridiculously in over their heads at this point.

And let's not pretend that even 1/10th of Rob Ford's behaviour, if it was a poor person or visible minority, would not be grounds for arrest, questioning, and jail.

[arthritisR_US]

4. They remind me if that rich brat that killed

4 people while driving drunk and got away with it. Now we know what it is when they run a city... A joke that no one is laughing at

[Saviolo]

5. Sometimes you have to laugh...

...to keep from crying.

A lot of people are laughing at it, really. From the outside, I can understand how absurd it all looks. If I weren't living in it, I'd find it pretty funny myself, I'm sure. But living in Toronto right now is stressful and saddening. There are things that need urgent attention, but all of the attention is on the side show. The Rob and Doug Ford Show.

At least this was worth a few good laughs:

&feature=player_embedded

[arthritisR_US]

6. That was cute. I can't get over how heavily

represented the right wing are in Ontario. I hope this government's conduct over the past years will sink them in the next election.

[MAD Dave]

7. I love your sig line....

......It is one of Matthew Good's best lyrics.

[Saviolo]

9. White Light Rock and Roll Review

remains one of his most underrated albums, though my favourite is still The Audio of Being

[laundry_queen]

8. Everything you said. That's exactly it. nt