CFN – One of the first few things I learned when studying journalism is the importance of being unbiased. You can’t rationally write an objective article about somebody or something if you have an attachment of any kind to the subject. Your opinion will sway the flavour of your article, consciously or subconsciously, and besides that, a journalist’s job is to present the story to the reader so that the reader can make an informed decision about what they think of the situation or subject. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love to read passion-fuelled articles, for they are the most colourful of articles and can really paint a picture that only deep passion can draw.
I also learned many years ago that life is so much easier to take my opinion out of the equation. It really doesn’t matter in my day-to-day life that I hate someone or something, such as Paul Bernardo per se, because people and subjects like him have no immediate impact on me and my daily decisions unless they directly touch my personal life, and nor should they. That is why, as a civilization we pay for law enforcement, so that we don’t have to be personally entwined into every situation. Yes, I loathe people of the likes of him, same with any logical and rational person, but getting inflamed over a person I have never met, to me, is wasted energy, brain space and time.
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One of the wisest people I know once told me “Choose your battles.”, and still to this day, that advice is some of the sagest I have ever received. I mean, ultimately, in the long run, to me and my soul’s path, what does it matter if Joe Blow thinks that Michelangelo’s masterworks are on the ceiling of the Sixteenth Chapel or the Sistine Chapel, I know the truth. This took a while to master, I felt I couldn’t walk away until Joe Blow knew that it was the Sistine Chapel.
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It was as though I took on the tiresome task to educate against ignorance. Like it was my responsibility to educate someone who obviously doesn’t care enough to educate themselves. But, this also introduced to me another too-popular character flaw, people who argue unfounded facts. I am the first to admit when I don’t know something, and to tell you if I can offer advice by means of my own personal experience. Mainly because of the fact that I love learning and sharing knowledge. Don’t get me wrong, I am not perfect and I have caught myself in the past few years being closed-minded, but I make constant efforts not to be. I love to listen to all sides and attempt to see the BIG picture before I allow myself to have an opinion. I keep my mind open to every and any thing. It doesn’t mean I approve or disapprove, it just means I like to know as much as possible about any given subject or scenario. My opinion/judgement doesn’t validate the existence of any situation or subject, so in essence, I see it as wasted energy. I can only use what I know to make the best decisions for myself and to offer advice to those I care about, if asked to.
What has prompted this stream of consciousness is that lately I am alarmed at the rate of people who take sides on issues, instead of taking it upon themselves to educate and form their own opinions. Imagine if all the energy spent on picking sides was spent on mediating? In the grand scheme of things, there is only ONE side, futility of humanity.
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We should all want what is best, not just for ourselves right now, but for everyone in the future. In essence, this theory is like math, there is only one right answer. No excuses. But, it is up to the individual to take it upon himself to work out the problem in complete totality to form an answer. When presented with a question such as “Should we store chemicals in containers underground, along our waterfront?” I feel the answer should be a resounding no amongst all parties, regardless of class or political interests.
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We are all human, we all live on the same planet, how can we differ so much on something that could potentially affect the lives of OUR (being the ONE side) future generation? I mean, seriously, who, in their right mind, and I mean someone of rational, logical thinking, would think that putting chemicals in tanks underground along a waterfront is a good idea? In what dimension could that ever be a good idea? I will be honest and tell you that I have an immediate distrust for anyone who says they think it is a good idea.
Now, let’s look at Mayor Rob Ford. On paper, not including his personal life, he has been one of Toronto’s most successful mayors. He has implemented a lot of positive changes for the city WITHOUT gauging the tax-payers. A true coup if you ask me. But, then you have the whole hoopla about his private life. I am not supporting his faults or habits, but I do support his right to a private life. What he does in his private time is between himself, who his actions affect, his family and his maker. Who is anyone to judge his personal life?
“Let he who is without fault cast the first stone.”
As for his political career, that is open to any and all to opine about, but his personal life is none of anyone’s business but his own. I can’t help but ponder if all the energy that is used to hate him based on his personal life was used to further actual productive things that benefit ALL, such as holding our government more accountable, ensuring that our local governments are transparent or even that the perpetrators behind America’s bank bailouts be held accountable for their role in bankrupting our economy (http://money.cnn.com/news/specials/storysupplement/bankbailout/) (a person can dream…) we would feel a lot better about ourselves and OUR future. Evidence and consequence are the only true substance of any situation.
If there is a reaction to every action, let us try to focus on positive action. If every person did one good deed a day, each person would change 365 lives in a year.
Intelligent lady!
Toronto Star shows how wrong this article is
I repeat that a true journalist would use their real name on this article
1. Frequent meetings between Ford and Lisi are “indicative to that of drug trafficking.”
2. In the video, Ford holds a glass cylinder to his mouth, slowly moves a flame around the bottom of the pipe, inhales and exhales. He is “consuming what appears to be a narcotic.”
3. Mohamed Siad, who tried to sell the video to news organizations, “surreptitiously” recorded Ford and, on a second video, brags about how to “catch a mayor smoking crack.”
4. The police investigation of Ford and Lisi “is ongoing.” Police have tried and failed to get Lisi and Ford to answer their questions.
5. Police offered to show Ford the video; he declined. Lisi is charged with extortion for an alleged attempt to recover the video.
Seems many are using Standard Freeholder site to make charges against CFN
Someday public pressure will force the system SF uses…DISQUS to make people provide names and address like this site does.
That being said I agree with Pete that anybody claiming to be a journalist should post using a real name
Garden Girl sign in allows anybody from Rob Fords momms to a sun media hack to write this column
Just watched video of Mayor Ford being chased thru city hall by a gang of reporters because he would not stop to explain all these new allegations..it was like a frickin circus show…so sad for Toronto but it will make Jimmy Kimmel happy
What a bunch of nuts at sf site some clown named cornwallstillsmells writes this an it stays up..awful
“Gonzo journalism means i can print whatever i want…i guess
This clown wrote that a man should check to see whether his child was his own
He wrote the words…I didn’t
By all means SF lets not hurt his feelings”
I can’t believe what I just read. Rob Ford is the mayor and chief magistrate of the largest city in Canada. His very public “private” life that we all know about, has everything to do with his suitability for high political office. Would Garden Girl defend a prime minister or premier who was a crack-smoking out of control alcoholic clown who hangs out with criminal gangsters? How about a prime minister who get’s so hammered (on whatever) that he has to be escorted out of public functions?
Garden Girl was making some sense, but it all fell apart with the Rob Ford BS.
Peter Jenkin nails it again.
Jane Doe- Thank you! I appreciate the positive feedback 🙂
Peter Jenkin- 1- my actual name has nothing to do with the point of this article. Meaning whether you know my real name or not makes no difference to validate this piece I wrote.
2-My article had nothing really to do with Rob Ford, just the fact that on paper, his job was filled, and better than past mayors.
3- I also specify that I was NOT writing about his personal life (it is none of my business, and if he is guilty of anything, I trust that our law enforcement will hold him accountable based on evidence and facts (such as the video evidence that you are referring to that I know for a fact neither you or I have seen in it’s entirety)
4- You have missed the point of this piece. (You do seem to know the points of Ford’s case; I recommend you apply to be part of the crown attorney’s team on this, your energy will be better spent there than commenting here about things unrelated to what I have written about.)
5- Please define a “true journalist” in your opinion, as my colleagues, friends and I are very interested to hear your definition.
6- When you say “I repeat…” what exactly are you repeating? I only see one comment by you, and this has piqued my curiousity.
Author’s note~ I appreciate all feedback, especially (on-topic) constructive criticism. Thank you for taking the time to read 🙂
I have said it a number of times before that Rob Ford is doing an excellent job for TO and I have heard him speak about taking priorities first. He spoke about having good roads, good transit system, good infrastructure rather than spend on frivolous things like a golf course or whatever. I stand up for the important things as well. It is an idiot who goes and puts chemical tanks in the ground and where the water table is located. Where there re no brains there are no feelings. Let the cops deal with Rob Ford and the rest involved with his crazy antics.
@ Admin. Is Garden Girl Rob Ford’s sister or mother?
There has to be a family connection.
No Furtz. GG is a talented local writer.
Stringing words together in a reasonably coherent and articulate way is a good skill to have.
Using that skill to sing the praises of a train-wreck isn’t what I’d call talent.
If you would all take a long breath and think about all the nuts that we have as politicians and they do not do a good job like what Rob Ford is doing. Yes he is nuts in his private life but he is doing well for TO and is keeping the taxes down which is a great deal more than what I can say for a lot of mayors and is putting priorities first. Just look at Pamela Wallin, Brazeau, Harb, Duffy and many others to cheat, lie, steal, etc. We got rid of “McGuilty 1” and not we have “McGuilty 2” and Ontario is now a have not province because of mismanagement – we are in very deep doo doo. You don’t know what the other politicians are up to in their private lives. I haven’t heard of an honest and good politician in a mighty long time and this world is all mixed up and getting much worse.
Real Journalist
Marie Colvin and Tim Hetherington Canadian pulitizer prize winner Paul Watson
Edward R Murrow and Tim Russert
My friend Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale, who made Rob Ford apologize
for his DISGRACEFUL lies against this brave young reporter and last but not least
Kevin Donovan of Torstar who exposed multi-million dollar Ornge Air Ambulance scandal
He saw and described the Ford Crack Video which Toronto Police described in matching detail
today.
By all means talk to your colleagues at SLC
My best friends and colleagues covered the Prime Minister of Canada ,Three Olympic Games, The Royal Visit 1976 and wrote the book Life On A Press Pass
Tim Hetherington (RIP)one brave man who died trying to bring us the true story from around the World
Marie Colvin(RIP) one brave woman who died trying to bring us the true story from Homs Syria
With Tim’s work we intend to help students, artists and those in need here and in the developing world, so that his commitment to highlighting the truth and humanitarianism will continue. We are in the process of setting up a charity in Tim’s name to make it easier and more efficient to implement that objective. We are sure that this is what he would have wanted.
Peter Jenkin- Thank you for naming the roster of your friends and providing examples of journalists, but again, you have missed the point. I specifically asked you for the (your) definition of a journalist because you inferred I was not a real journalist. Again, my name matters not to the validity to my piece. I was neither standing up for Ford or putting him down, just stating facts.
Furtz- I am not a relative to Ford by any means, (Which is too bad because I hear Ford has never taken a paycheque for himself, so they must be well off as a clan). I wish everyone would stop focussing on the Rob Ford part as if I was commending him, which is not the case. I simply said that if he is guilty (No one is guilty in Canada until formally charged by a court of law. Until that moment, all charges are alleged. THAT DOES NOT MEAN I THINK HE IS NOT GUILTY- I am simply not jumping on the “team” yay or nay, I am just writing a point of view.)
As for Harper, before he came into power we had well over 2000 protected waterways in our country, now I believe the number is way under 1000, not to mention, Canada now has an embarrassingly low rank on the world’s list of environmental leading countries. Just because Harper hasn’t participated in illegal acts (-that we know of- key importance) does not mean that man is a saint and ALWAYS has OUR best interests at heart.
Another infamous scandal pops into mind right now, and that is President Clinton. That man receives a rather large salary for the rest of his life, paid for by citizens, and he is known as the man who basted a cigar…(SMH) There is no such thing as a perfect human, but there are those who do their job (which is the key point) better than others, regardless of their personal life scandals.
Also, I have never claimed to be a journalist, I have stated that I studied journalism, and to state again, my real name has no relevance to arguing anything that I have written.
I agree that people who hold certain jobs in life have and should have an expected higher standard of behaviour to adhere to, and they should, such as people in politics, the law enforcement, health care and the likes, but that does not mean that each person lives up to it. I believe the headlines today are that Alberta Premier resigned. Why? Because she was “criticized” over her leadership “style” and “questionable” expenses. Brazeau is now the manager of an Ottawa strip club. And don’t even get me started about “journalist” turned “politician” Duffy. I shake my head.
My piece was my personal overview of current affairs, and it was not meant to form your opinion, or stand up for or put anyone down, it was meant to start a thought dialogue about the problems in today’s society, and how much energy is wasted on things that really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things, such as my personal opinions about people I have never personally met. I honestly believe we all should focus our energy on more beneficial things. If he is guilty of anything (again Peter, I am not stating he is innocent) he will be appropriately charged by our country’s competent law enforcement.
And, Peter, I see you have named off some brilliant journalists, and I envy your connection to those people, but I do not appreciate you putting my work down because I am not one of them, “a true journalist”, in your eyes.
I will leave on this note, I will praise anyone I wish if they have done deeds worth praising, in my eyes, and that is my personal right. I strongly feel if you have read my piece in the context it is meant, you will not see that I am singing praises, simply stating facts. And because this piece was not about Rob Ford, I see no reason to write his whole life story.
@Peter Jenkin
You love to live dangerously Peter, bringing up people from big, bad Toronto and praising them – phew!
@Garden Girl you had my interest until you equated the results of rationality as a theory some how comparable to math. That is where you lost me. You ask how…rational, logical thinking…is a good idea? Rationality and perception are the key to your enigma. I will use a visual illustration to explain.
A teacher held up an rubber ball one side was blue, another side was red and a band of white encircled the ball separating the red and blue. When he asked the class what colour the ball was some stated that it was red others blue and some suggested that it was multi-coloured. Everyone was right, it was a matter of rationality based on perspective.
The most defining moment in a discussion, argument or debate is that point when you can clearly see the rationality being used. While I do not agree with our leadership falling asleep at the wheel and allowing the situation with the tanks to take root in our community I do understand that from Trilliums perspective it was a sound business choice of location and perfectly legal. There is a viable remedy to the situation, however I am not a politician nor am I likely to be asked to broker an amicable solution. So I channel my energies on those areas where I can make a difference and I let the rest go.
@ Jules. You can’t be serious. The only people who say that Ford has been good for Toronto are the Ford brothers and the few remaining nut-bars of “Ford Nation”. Services have been cut in Toronto, while the costs for those services have risen. Apart from that, and all the above mentioned illegal and bizarre behavior, there is a very active criminal investigation headed up by the TPS top homicide detective.
There’s never been a Canadian politician so unfit for office.
The Rob Ford “thing” is still very much alive in TO. He is going to be a serious threat to repeat in office. It’s crazy, but he is solid with most of his so-called “nation” and now has become a symbol of humanity for a different type of cynical Torontonian “no more of a hypocrite than the rest of those no good politicians”
Those who think he’s sunk are giving the collective intelligence of the city of Toronto far too much credit.
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Michael Clifton…..I agree, he has a good chance of being re-elected. With 40 candidates for mayor in The Big Smoke the vote will be fractured, giving Rob Ford a good chance of repeating. And with at least 3 quality candidates the fracture will happen.
On the other hand, the election is seven months away, and a lot of people close to the situation are saying that the cops are closing in on Mayor Crackhead. It’s quite possible, if not probable, that he’ll be arrested and charged before then.
Garden Girl I find you have a superb writing and I don’t mind what you call yourself and it is your business just like I keep my fake name as well for myself. You are a writer whether you write for a living or do journalism or any other field that is your choice and you are a good writer and I have read what you wrote. I am not a writer but a blogger but I can see good writing and keep it up.
Furtz do you recall a Washington DC mayor who was a crack user and he was elected for the second time and his name was Marion Barry and we don’t know what the outcome of Rob Ford will be. I do know that Rob Ford is an embarrassment as far as what he is doing in his private life that has hit the American talk shows and their news and not just in the US but all over the entire world.
Rob Ford is doing everything he can to put in good infrastructure and to have a good subway system in place and that costs tons of money. Cuts have to happen so as not to go overboard. I would rather see those projects done than to have a polluted arena built with stolen money and put up the taxes to oblivion.
You would be mighty surprised Furtz what goes on after the hours of the job of mayor, senators, MP’s etc. Even Justin Trudeau has admitted to smoking pot and even his own mother was stopped for driving while impaired. Many things happen and many things that we don’t even hear about. If any of us were to put things into print about the dirty things that politicians and their families do it would fill the papers. Look at what that former PM of Newfoundland’s son did to go and get hammered and then backed up his truck and killed his friend and it wasn’t even his first offence and got off. There is no law at all and only JUST US and how many times did I say that here on CFN where the rich get off and the rest of us get thrown into the clink.
I don’t know if anyone here reads The Economist (one of the world’s most respected newspapers), but stories almost never carry a journalist’s byline, real or engineered (consider Nelly Bly or Mark Twain).
And whether we agree with anonymity or not, in the perpetuation of ideas, the Economist’s stance is that: “collective voice and personality matter more than the identities of individual journalists.”
In the meantime, everyone should consider reading John Ralston Saul’s: Voltaire’s Bastards.
Yes Jules. I actually have a file of cases I hear of here in Cornwall where someone allegedly got specialized treatment and essentially was let off the hook by police including one horrible case where a drunk driver killed a young girl.
@ Jules. There are all kinds of fiscally conservative politicians elected to public office in Canada, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’ve never heard of another one who drives drunk, buys and consumes crack and other illegal drugs, hangs out with known criminal gang-bangers and drug and gun dealers, has the police repeatedly called to there home to deal with domestic disputes, is being investigated by the police for serious criminal activity, and on and on…
What is it about Ford that you find so attractive or worthy? Is he a good Christian man like Vladimir Putin whom you also admire?
Furtz I would much rather know who is who ahead of time than to find out their dirty, low life, underhanded schemes after they get into office and think that these are good people when all the time they are only scum bags. I know that Ford is dirty in his lifestyle and maybe one day we will find out that he died of an overdose.
Ford is open about himself and yes he is a mighty big embarrassment and believe me there are plenty like him. As for Putin he is a very strong leader and I don’t agree with the things that he does I like the way that he is a very strong leader and he has people’s fear of him but he is a strong personality and leader. You don’t know what a lot of these people are up to until something dreadful happens.
Jamie I wouldn’t be surprised at all about who was driving drunk among Cornwall’s so called elite and killed a young girl and got off the hook. Many things go on down there that the people don’t even hear about and like I have always said it is JUST US and not justice. I mean that fully 100% and way beyond that. My mom used to babysit for Cornwall’s “so called elite” and knew plenty of things from them and one man got his own son off the hook for a crime that he did in the US. I have absolutely no respect at all for any of these rich people and that is the truth. I never had an ounce of respect and never used their names as reference nor even looked at them on the street – that is how disgusted I was of the entire bunch. I know plenty but for a big mouth I am silent on a lot of things but one thing that I do promise everyone is that I would never ever set foot in Cornwall to ever live there again. I feel so very sorry for all the good people who have to put up with so much but that is something that I can never put up with ever again.
@ Jules. You’d rather vote for a known crackhead/drunk driver/etc in order to avoid the disappointment of finding out later that the person you voted for is a crackhead/drunk driver/etc? Seriously? You seem to be saying that we should elect low-life trash like Ford so we wont have any high expectations of our elected politicians. Set the bar as low as it can go, and things can’t get worse…
Hey, the author is a virtual “first-timer”.
Yeah, it’s a rambling anecdotal piece, and the ex S-F barfly McIntosh would probably say the author is just another blogger, but what the heck… if she can take the abuse, and take a little of the advice and criticism that has been so generously given, who knows?
At least the grammar and spelling is above par, and the abuse of caps and exclamation marks is well below the worst contributor ever… Mike Bedard.
@ Simon. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO MIKE??!!! I MISS HIS ENTHUSIASM!!!! ARE YOU SAYING THAT CAPS AREN’T COOL????? OR MULTIPLE EXCLAMATION MARKS?????!!!!!!!
THANK YOU
Michael Cliftoni
What exactly is your problem?
Sorry but I have been under fire from real bullets in my work as a photojournalist
I was asked to name people who were real journalists
I named many people that it was my pleasure to work beside and learn from
that none of them live anywhere near you isn’t my problem
Garden Girl seems to feel I was attacking her..why…because i felt her real name should be on the story?
Her whole story seemed to be about being positive and claimed “you inferred I was not a real journalist.”
My friends and their work spell out exactly my definition of a good Journalist…check out their work
If your going to continue in Journalism I would suggest editors will demand your real name and byline
thats all
Peter as others have stated it’s not always necessary to have a byline.
Furtz Rob Ford’s family is not from the gutter but what has gotten Rob Ford where he is now as well as his family is what society today is ready to accept. Take a good look at the celebrities and see the lifestyle that they live and people take them serious and copy what they do and then become hooked on the drugs and alcohol and wonder who to blame. People want to vote for Justin Trudeau so as he can legalize the garbage which will only make things worse. In Holland drugs are legal and they have just as many problems as what we have with drugs.
What I said was that I would like to know about the person before voting for them. I would rather know that they are a bunch of drunks, druggies, or pedophiles or whatever before I would go and vote because I myself want nothing to do with any of them and I learned a heavy and good lesson not to vote for anyone.
Rob Ford is not perfect at all but has done more for TO than most people have done. I am not at all for Rob’s drug and booze habits at all and like I said I am a straight arrow. How many politicians out there are on drugs, alcohol abuse, pedophilia, etc. and everything is covered up. Not just politicians but in the ordinary every day middle and lower classes have horrible habits even among the wealthy and money isn’t everything and behind many closed doors life can be a real hell. Many people vote back into office a person like Rob Ford who has both drug and alcohol problems and one such mayor was Marion Barry in Washington DC and the people knew about him and put him back into office but at least they knew about what kind of a person that he was and not someone who does dirty things behind closed doors and pretends to be otherwise. People like Rob Ford end up dead or something bad happening to their families. I have seen it happen to a prominent family in Cornwall and I am trying desperately to hold up about the punishment that this man had because of what he did to good people and lost a lot that was very dear to him. What goes around comes around.
Admin people who get drunk or on drugs and get behind the wheel of a car or a pilot in an aircraft or a boat or whatever is no better than a person who literally takes a gun out and shoots someone because a car or whatever that person is driving is a lethal weapon.
What I was trying to tell Furtz is that I would rather know what kind of a person is before voting them into office. I was also trying to tell him that society is accepting these scum bags and the drugs and alcohol that goes with it. People keep getting themselves stung over and over again and don’t learn. Rob Ford has done pretty good for TO and the taxes could be a great deal more than what they are at present. Many people cannot afford to live in TO and many cannot even stand the life that is chaotic and leave for more quiet areas for themselves and their families. If Rob Ford is behind the wheel of his vehicle then he should be charged. The cops in TO have their hands full. Rob Ford is one of TO’s elites and that is the problem just like you spoke about Cornwall’s elites who get into trouble but get off because of who they belong to. It is not fair at all and I myself am one of the very first people to protest that. You would not believe what happened to the family of a prominent man in Cornwall and believe me what goes around comes around. Money does not buy happiness nor ones life.
@Peter _Jenkin
Wow! Relax man. Have you ever heard of a literary device called “irony”.
I was born in Toronto and have lived here in Toronto for more than 30 years. It’s a wonderful place in many ways – it’s my city!
p.s. I can only assume you aren’t Peter Jenkin, he’s not that hair-trigger!
Sorry Jules. Way too many words for me to be bothered reading.
Enjoy your time in Ford Nation.
So your not the sea lion that kept hitting your head on the edge of the pool while the old YMCA lady screamed at you???
Their is another that help make a documentary…now thats irony for you
Sorry mikey Conrad Black and Mayor Rob Ford tried to destroy the career of my close friend accusing him of being a pedophile and when faced with having to go to court to back up their lies they caved.
They are both gutless cowards..one did time in USA jail i can only hope the other jacknut will spend time in a Canadian jail
So I am in no mood for your gd ffen irony
Jamie could you please point out examples of any major Canadian newspaper running an opinion story without a byline
Garden Girl this is not an attack on you but every young reporter I know is doing everything in their power to get noticed and get a job by spreading their names far and wide
Mr Jamie are you not allowed to report court story which other so called media seem to be spreading with glee especially Billy K????
Mayor Rob Ford private life matters…he was made the fool by a common street thug who knew seconds after he caught the Mayor of Toronto smoking crack he might just have been able to blackmail him
Mohamed Siad, the man who allegedly made the infamous video, brags about recording the mayor’s wrongdoing. Police report him saying that this is how to “catch a mayor smoking crack.” his camp has taken to saying what the mayor does in his off-hours shouldn’t matter. The folly of such claims is exposed by Siad’s gloating. Committing an illegal act in the presence of such a man, even in private, would expose any public official to risk of blackmail. And Ford walks right into the trap, too deep in what he has called one of his “stupors” to avoid disaster.
I am not a fan of politicians that behave improperly on a multitude of levels. I can be a skeptic. After the rather large use of public funds by the Toronto police chief to investigate the mayor coupled with the length of time you would think that evidence to support charges would have been long dug up. So my unanswered question remains…if the mayor is guilty of a crime are the powers that be merely waiting for the right photo op or has all of this merely been fodder for the media and political egos ? This whole exercise of assassination without charges being laid has been as captivating as watching grass grow. Badly scripted reality t.v.
@Peter Jenkin
You’re treading on some very sensitive, personal territory. Watch yourself.
As far as my athletic career goes. How many National records have you set? How many All- Canadian designations have you received? How many Hall Of Fame galleries does your portrait sit in? How many times have you represented Canada internationally at a sporting event?
BTW for several years I was part of the CBC television news team, collaborating with some of the country’s top foreign correspondants to create content for the CBC Evening News and all other CBC Newsworld programming. You don’t know shit about me pal.
I don’t answer to pussies like you.
Peter Jenkin- You are a photojournalist who dodges “real bullets” ~yikes.
Melman- (I like the Madagascar reference, he’s my favourite character 🙂 ) I don’t want to make a name for myself, I just want to write about things that matter to me with whatever time I can.
Mary Ann Pankhurst- I love The Economist (I used to subscribe 🙂 ) Thank you for your comment!
David Oldham- I appreciated reading your comment (parable), you are right, rationality and perspective differ from person to person in every situation and even in the same situation. But, in common interests, without greed, I believe we all want equality and what’s best. I applaud your thinking.
Starting thought dialogues and discussions are my main objectives. My life has lead me to seriously evaluate what I spend my personal energy (heartbeats) on. I do not do it for credit, but in hopes of maybe broadening my own and my reader’s horizons. I am on team me; side us. Meaning I refuse to jump on anyone’s bandwagon. Everyone is as good as their last decision, no one can truly predict when another person is about to do something foolish, even based on a “perfect” track record.
We only have so many heartbeats in our lives, make them count. I will leave with one of my favourite quotes (from a Heritage Canada commercial some years ago…) ~”The medium is the message.” (Which, in my eyes, says that the author isn’t as important as the message. Gain from it what you will. Education is never free.)
@ David. I’m pretty sure the police are working on some pretty serious criminal charges, and they have to get all the details and evidence just right. This isn’t about a drunken buffoon taking a whiz in a public park or simple drug possession. There have been two deaths linked to the crack video, a jail-house beating carried out by a friend of Ford, extortion charges against Ford’s friend related to the video, and who knows what else. The Toronto police have their top homicide detective heading up a team of five working the file, and they are still seeking more search warrants. This isn’t a one-hour television police drama.
Thanks for the article Garden Girl. In my estimation your POV is just as valid as any other commentator. But if you happen to die will doing your job – then you’ll be some much better (wink, wink).
Some people will do anything, including invoking the names of fallen comrades to secure that “special” level of gravitis and thus obliterate the discussion.
I think we need to get back on topic here. Enough of the questioning one’s credentials and name calling.
Furtz I once read some time ago that the powers that be select politicians like presidents with dirt so as they can use it against them when they wish to bring that person down. I am sitting here thinking that it is some sort of a plot to take down Mayor Ford because he is a known drug and alcohol user. Ford is associated with some mighty shady characters.
@ Jules. Ford’s issues go way beyond the odd wobbly-pop and Saturday-night toke. He’s in serious trouble, but too stupid to know it.
@ garden girl…thank you and likewise… you made me think…you are right I believe with your last thought…that is to say, if you would agree, that it would be a better world if we treated each other with respect and courtesy. The greed part garden girl, that will be the hard one I am afraid. Fortunately, however, I am an openly optimistic individual. I suspect that you may be the same. Ciao
Furtz that is what happens when a person hangs around the wrong kind of people and get into the drugs and alcohol. Ford is funny on the surface the way we hear and see him act up but it would be a living hell in his household. Living with a person who is on substance abuse is horrifying. There are many families who face this on a daily basis and not just people like Rob Ford but the everyday people out there. It looks funny when we don’t have to deal with it.