how much more proof do we need? boycott, divest, sanction.

emergency rally today in response to this horrific attack on a flotilla of ships bringing humanitarian aid to the gaza strip.

as stephen harper rubbed shoulders with the israeli prime minister yesterday in toronto, israeli commandos were getting ready to raid the flotillas--which were carrying civilian activists. there are countless injuries and activists were killed. the israeli forces are claiming they were attacked first--a justification that has no weight when you're an armed force and you're attacking civilians in international waters.

there is a live streaming video here.

EMERGENCY PICKET – TODAY MAY 31
5-7PM OUTSIDE ISRAELI CONSULATE

"Israel has used military force on the peaceful flotilla taking humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip. Israel has murdered several unarmed civilians (at least 10 confirmed so far). Again we see the Israeli apartheid state acting with full impunity outside the boundaries of international law while the the Harper government welcomes Prime Minister Netanyahu with open arms.

We will be out today to tell Israel and all its supporters it can not get away with its crimes against humanity without worldwide protest. "

Date: Today May 31
Time: 5-7 pm
Location: Israeli Consulate (180 Bloor St. West)

Bring noise makers! Bring flags! Tell your family and friends.
For more information, please contact endapartheid@riseup.net.

Organized by:
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA)
Toronto Coalition to Stop the War
Gaza Freedom March Committee

what?! germany?!

i really didn't think germany would win eurovision this year... the song entry was just really radio hit, not so "euro" hit. and it was in english! i hate that!

i felt like romania might win.

but germany DID win. and this means that germany will host eurovision next year!!! yesssssssss!!!



i'm glad the ukraine didn't win.. their song reaaaaaaaaaaaaallly sucked this year.

finders keepers, losers weepers.

this is nuts. completely and totally nuts.

i just finished reading this bat shit crazy article in the toronto star about a family who bought a house in the hopes that they could demolish it and rebuild a completely accessible home. the family, the teehans, decided to move from their home after melissa teehan was diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis in 2007. melissa has been in a wheelchair since 2007 and has limited use of her hands and feet.

of their original home, her husband greg writes: "when we bought it it was a rundown 100 year old 2 story home. We adored it. It took my father and I years to complete the renovation, the extent of which is worthy of its own blog. We never pursued the thought of moving or building a new home, though the thought had crossed our mind. The truth was, we were content in our little 3 bedroom house."

but things change and the house was inaccessible, so the teehans started searching for a place to build a home that could give melissa the ability to be self sufficient and autonomous in her own home.

in january, the teehans found a listing for 204 beech (in the beaches! beech in the beaches..) anyways, they checked to make sure it wasn't a heritage home and that they could make their desired changes to the property(ie: tear it down and build a new home in its place). the home didn't have heritage protection and they had the go-ahead to do whatever they wanted with the property and home they had purchased.

enter crazy lady across the street, who likes looking at the house the teehans have just purchased.

elizabeth brown lives across the street from 204 beech and she thinks that the house is a "sterling example of beach cottage style, and it has a turret."

well, a TURRET isn't very goddamned accessible. but that doesn't matter to old ms. brown. if her "beloved balmy beach neighborhood is to retain its look and feel, the house at 204 beech cannot be replaced with a modernist box."

she can't even see the house during the summer, but she wants it to stay there because "it's [her] visual."

so she calls her city councillor and COMPLAINS about the plans to demolish the house.

according to the toronto star article, brown "expresses her appreciation for the teehan's challenges" but she also accuses geoff teehan of exploiting his wife's disability to "win support" for his project.

when the reporter left her house and asked her age, elizabeth brown smiled and said she is 44, and added "I don't have a disability. Sorry. If I did, maybe I could use that, too."

yeah, i'm so sure the teehans scoured the city for the perfect house that wasn't protected by heritage status so they could tear it down and make it accessible. what greedy jerks they must be!!

maybe you could "use" your disability if you had one, elizabeth brown?? you are a monster!!

since when do torontonians get a choice about development in their city?

like, i don't want a condo going up at bathurst and dupont. i didn't want them to demolish the empty, weird parking lot thing with the old trailer in it and replace it with modernist living spaces, but they're going to. i don't get to say "but i liked looking at that shit yo, it's pretty!!"

no. because development marches on. neighborhoods change. this lady is giving the beaches a bad name by acting so entitled that she thinks her VIEW is more important than someone's LIFE.

so now this lady's complaint has gone to her councillor, who has gone to heritage staff and argued for a speedy decision on whether or not the property should be protected.

seriously, beaches, give up the ghost. if you want every pretty house protected at the cost of someone's life, you need to turn that shit into museums because it just isn't fair otherwise.

read the whole story here and let the madness sink in.. it's amazing that these people don't turn their attention to more pressing social issues. like, your pretty turret is being torn down??? ummm, people are starving and homeless in this city.

i'm all for heritage protection and i lived in a heritage house once and suffered the consequences of the drafty windows and old stove, but this house is not protected and these people did all the sleuthing they could beforehand. so just give them their goddamned house and move on.

"only because Bryant was rich, powerful and influential was he able to avoid a trial"

props to bill chidley for writing one of the best pieces out there right now about the horrendous miscarriage of justice in the darcy sheppard case. ( warning, that web page has a graphic video of the accident).

he writes:

"After the announcement that the charges were being dropped, Bryant said that the case was "not a morality play about bikes versus cars, couriers versus drivers, or about class, privilege and politics. It's just about how, in 28 seconds, everything can change."

Change for whom? Bryant went back to his job at a law firm, and Toronto cyclists now feel even less protected."

precisely. nothing has changed for michael bryant.

not only did darcy sheppard pay for michael bryant's crime with his own life, but now his name and michael bryant's will be inextricably linked forever. it's a sad end to a life that probably meant a lot more to a lot of people than just some douche bag politician and the shocking lack of justice served in canada when elites can evade the law like they evade their taxes.

read the whole article here.



.

dear toronto star: you are kind of a piece of shit.

enough, toronto star, enough.

today they published this garbage on the front page: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/815036--before-bryant-s-saab-came-attack-on-bmw?bn=1

i want to know how much the toronto star is getting out of running these blatantly PR-firm fed stories about darcy sheppard and why he deserved to die.

anybody working for the toronto star with half a soul (like, perhaps, antonia zerbisias, who wrote this great article about the case and how it's a class issue/how it's being spun) should be protesting the garbage-ification of their workplace.

so i'm going to use my powerful deconstructive tools and talk about the most offensive passage written in the toronto star for a very long time:
"It had been nearly nine months since Bryant and his wife were driving along Bloor St. after an anniversary dinner, when a drunk Sheppard approached the convertible's window.Bryant's car had stalled and, when he tried to accelerate, Sheppard landed on his hood. The cyclist became enraged and grabbed onto the side of the car. Fearful for his wife's safety, the court heard Wednesday, Bryant took off.About 100 metres west, Sheppard hit a fire hydrant and fell to the road, suffering fatal injuries"

"It had been nearly nine months since Bryant and his wife were driving along Bloor St. after an anniversary dinner, when a drunk Sheppard approached the convertible's window."

ok, let's start here. it's been nine months since our hapless victims, bryant and his wife, were celebrating their anniversary. by starting a description of the incident with bryant and his wife just "driving along bloor st." digesting their anniversary scratchins, we're meant to understand that bryant and his wife are not only the main characters here, but they are also the victims of some kind of weird fate. if only their anniversary wasn't being celebrated! if only they hadn't driven down bloor st! if only they hadn't been staying at the four seasons!

suddenly, bursting their anniversary bubble, "a drunk sheppard approached the convertible's window."

i would be willing to bet that the PR firm actually wrote this story. sheppard approaching the convertible window doesn't make sense. for what? he didn't just come up to the window, he must have been riding his bike, right? so why all of the sudden the lack of detail?? we're given so much detail about bryant and his perspective but none about or by sheppard--this is a classic move meant to familiarize us with bryant, to force the reader to sympathize with bryant. it's actually brilliant.

"Bryant's car had stalled and, when he tried to accelerate, Sheppard landed on his hood."

again, painting bryant as a victim. it's almost like a highway ghost story: his car was stalled, there was a monster at his window, oh god what will happen next!!

well what happens next is that, magically, sheppard LANDS on the hood of bryants car!! just lands there! bryant is just sitting there, in the euphoria of his lasting marriage, and some cyclist has the nerve to land on the hood of his convertible.

"The cyclist became enraged and grabbed onto the side of the car. Fearful for his wife's safety, the court heard Wednesday, Bryant took off."

the cyclist wasn't just angry, he was enraged. first he landed on the hood of a car, then he became enraged. i'm surprised they don't describe him here as growing a few sizes and ripping his shirt off. maybe he picked the car up and took a bite out of it too?

ok, so he didn't take a bite out of the car, but he did grab onto the side of the car. take note though: if we hadn't read any other story, we wouldn't really know why he was grabbing the car. we could guess, but we're not getting any details. no details and the "drunk" accusation make it sound like sheppard just kind of hit the hood on his own and was so drunk he didn't realize it was his own fault.

bryant took off because he was "fearful for his wife's safety." there it is. they go out of their way to humanize bryant in this article and out of their way to dehumanize his victim. it's like saying 'anyone would have done what bryant did, he was scared for the safety of his wife.' his little wife couldn't possibly stand for him to stop the car and deal with the accident he'd just caused. ladies are fragile like that.

"About 100 metres west, Sheppard hit a fire hydrant and fell to the road, suffering fatal"injuries."

and finally, placing all of the blame on the victim. sheppard "hit a fire hydrant". he wasn't smashed into one on the side of a speeding car, he just hit the hydrant and fell to the road. that's it. the person responsible didn't speed off or anything.

the rest of the article describes circumstantial evidence: that sheppard was a "mad man", a "sociopath", a drug addict, an alcoholic, part of a problem community(couriers?? really toronto star??), and "shirtless".

so, basically he asked for it. bryant and his wife were just victims of circumstance, the victims of a notoriously shirtless and drunk mad man. he was practically a serial killer.

the toronto star should just change it's name to whatever PR firm wrote that article. this bullshit spinning combined with the sensationalizing of violence that spews from rosie dimanno = a newspaper rapidly losing any credibility it may have once had.

um, yeah it does.

on cbcnews today "some doctors" said that canada should change its policy on gay men donating blood.

oh, didn't you know that gay men aren't allowed to donate blood in canada?

yeah, because they might have HIV/AIDS.

yeahh... in a country with a blood shortage(and organ shortage--gay men aren't allowed to donate organs either) we have a policy banning a huge chunk of the population from donating because of really bad and discriminatory science from a million years ago.

the authors of the report on blood donate conclude that "current policy is counterproductive in regard to loss of donors, good will, student protests, potential boycotts and lawsuits, among other negative effects...notably, blood donation policy has already been changed to permit, as an example, donations from persons of Haitian origin, who were previously also subject to indefinite deferral. It's time for another change in policy."

unfortunately, the biased and homophobic reasoning behind the blood ban is still alive and well in canada as demonstrated by this comment on the cbc:

"This is the sort of political correctness that will kill us all. Even those who propose such a thing wouldn't use that blood, but that doesn't stop them from wanting to appear tolerant and understanding and, yes, politically correct. If they said what they were really thinking, things would be a whole lot different. You can no longer listen to what people say because they are likely to say whatever they think people want them to say."

i think that, actually, someone who needs a blood transfusion desperately doesn't really care whose body it comes from.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/05/25/blood-donation-ban-homosexual.html#ixzz0oxq8xwwt

seriously toronto? seriously?

everyone and their grandmother was setting off fireworks this weekend in toronto to celebrate some holiday that noone really understands.

so of course some idiot decided to ruin it for a ttc bus driver by pointing a lit roman candle into the bus, and hitting the driver in the face and arms with the fireworks.

my toronto love is waning fast.

"do it on your own dime." ok!!

in some parts of the world, queer communities are making strides in expressing not only their pride but their right to exist and live. like in romania where 200 people marched in a pride parade after 100 homophobic protesters held a rally condemning gays.

homosexuality has only been decriminalized in romania since 2000. i'm guessing that this pride parade isn't getting state or municipal funding: 80% of romania is part of the roman orthodox church, which is openly hostile to homosexuals.

in 2007, anti-homosexual protesters were arrested/tear gassed/detained in bucharest after trying to break down the protective barrier around the pride march and violently end its progression.

here in canada, where we all love to talk about how fucking progressive we are, the federal government has decided to axe it's funding of the toronto pride parade under the pretense that it wants to spread the wealth to smaller communities across the country. highlighting their stupidity, the government mentioned that luminato and the agricultural fair would be getting financial boosts this year..... so much for spreading the wealth to smaller communities across the country.

i'm all for spreading some of the toronto wealth to small communities who want to put together pride events, but that is just so obviously not what is going on here.

alphonse de valk wrote on the website catholic insight that he prayed this would be "the beginning of the end for gay pride days' subsidies" because the events are "vulgar and obscene annual propaganda" run by homosexual bullies who don't understand "culture or democracy."(no, for reals, they actually wrote that.)

apparently the geniuses at catholic insight don't believe that pride is good for tourism at all, except for the occasional influx of dollars to "gay bars and porn establishments" but these "are not exactly businesses that benefit the economic and cultural growth of society."

i know that if i'm in town for a pride parade, i immediately seek out the gay bars and the porn establishments--even before i check into my hotel.

that's besides the point. toronto can still benefit economically from a pride parade that isn't funded federally. people who come to celebrate pride here don't just come for the corporate parade. they come for the dyke march, for the concerts and shows, for the bars, for the city itself. when you live in a small town, coming to toronto is about more than just watching bodies painted with corporate logos strut down church street.

so it sucks to have pride funding cut, it really does, but it isn't the end of the world and prideTO needs a bit of shaking up right now anyways. since the board of prideTO voted yesterday to ban the group 'queers against israeli apartheid', a lot of questions are being raised about the organization becoming a bit too dependant on outside(and conservative) forces.

rosie dimanno... enough said.

i feel that rosie dimanno has just gone way too far this time.

writing about the extension of the publication ban on the tori stafford trial and from the "black hole that is the woodstock courthouse", she discusses the publication ban as some kind of violence against the media.

she says that they were reporting on the trial "with both hands tied behind [their] backs and a gags stuffed into [their] mouth."

she goes on to say that the "silence commanded of journalists trying futively to report on crucial developments" is "as quiet as the slap grave in which the child's body was found last july."

equating a publication ban and its effects on journalists with a child's murder is just sick. no, rosie dimanno, you're not being violated. it's journalists like you that make publication bans happen, because you sensationalize violence to attract readers to your paltry and poorly executed articles.

her veiled attempts to circumvent the publication ban by describing the hands tied/gag in mouth thing just seems lurid and i think it's potentially a breach of the ban itself.

she needs to stop acting like the publication ban will somehow alter the decision in the case--is anyone actually worried that the two people responsible are going to get away with it? publishing the details of a child's death is not news and bottom feeders like rosie dimanno should not be allowed to capitalize on our society's sick need to know the minutiae of tori stafford's death.

every time i read something rosie dimanno has written i get that much closer to never reading the toronto star again.

rdimann@thestar.ca

lettertoed@thestar.ca

the 7 year grant

aw come on.... i had to come back to canada, to this?!

Feds Grant Big Dollars to All Male Research Group

susan delacourt wrote in the toronto star today that the canada excellence research chairs were awarded this week by stephen harper's government--19 'excellent' scholars are going to receive 10 million in federal money over the next seven years.

each lucky recipient of this prestigious award was a man.

according to the star "some women scholars are outraged." um, yeah they are.

these research chairs are a pretty big deal, and nineteen is a lot of people. somewhere in this huge goddamned country there was probably a woman who would have been eligible.

the head of NSERC, suzanne fortier, says that one of the problems is that there are "too few women in the pool of applicants" because "women aren't heavily represented at senior levels in the fields of research where the federal government was looking for research chairs."
fortier says there ARE women out there in these fields, but it just ain't there time to shine.

she says: " i know they're out there, they are coming, and in 10 years, watch out."

if that isn't the most fucked up thing i've ever heard, i don't know what is. for real. they're coming? in ten years?? i'd like to know how many women in the research chair fields are a tad pissed off about that comment? like there are no eligible women in the sciences who should have these positions??
oh it gets even MORE fucked up? yes, yes it does.

fortier went on to say that another problem was that women candidates aren't flexible enough to make the career and family moves required to fill the research chair positions.

so does that mean all of these men are single and have no families?? because if they aren't, that means that only men with families can be flexible and women with families aren't which would be an incredibly foolish and sexist thing to say.

fortier was asked to investigate the all man debacle by my favorite conservative, tony clement.

clement stepped in after he saw the list, saying "it really stands out, and I said: 'where are the women'?"

yeah, even tony clement was surprised by the list. his eyes bulging even further out of his tiny head. so he launched an investigation into the "conspicuous lack of women."

that is why tony clement is my favorite conservative. also, he has my favorite googly eyes in politics.

also, i think it's important to point out that white dudes are highly overrepresented in this pool of nineteen scholars. shouldn't someone be looking into that as well?


canada is becoming the worst!!!

immigration enforcement raids in toronto? you should probably read this.

from Noone is Illegal Toronto:

COMMUNITY ALERT: CONTINUING ARIZONA STYLE RACIAL PROFILING AND IMMIGRATION RAIDS IN

TORONTO’S WEST END

On May 7th, 2010 immigration enforcement raided Dufferin Grove Mall in Toronto’s west end in a first in a series of attacks. No One Is Illegal - Toronto has reasons to believe that these raids will continue and extend in to the St. Clair Area.

Over two dozen persons found to be without “adequate documentation” have been arrested. Currently, these people are being detained at the immigration detention holding centre without access to full legal support.

Immigration Enforcement is stopping people on the streets, at work, and while shopping based on their skin color and accent. This is systematic racial profiling that creates fear in our communities. It is part of the social-cleansing of Toronto in the lead up to the G20 Summits. It is the same racist policy that is being opposed vehemently in Arizona in the United States.

No One Is Illegal-Toronto has received confirmed reports that further raids are being planned specifically in the St. Clair Area THIS WEEK. Latin restaurants will be targeted, and ID checks based on racial profiling may take place. We believe that raids on Bloor West will also continue.

This fundamentally unjust harassment must be opposed.

No One Is Illegal-Toronto calls upon migrant communities and its allies to:

1) Contact No One Is Illegal immediately if you see Immigration Enforcement or Police asking for identification, or detaining people, or if you have information about the raids that took place on May 7.

We can be reached by email nooneisillegal@riseup.net or by phone 416.833.6137. If you would like to stay informed, email nooneisillegal@riseup.net

2) Please download attached copies of the “Know Your Rights” legal information (available in Spanish, Portuguese and English) and poster/flyer stores, individuals, neighborhoods to alert individuals to the ongoing immigration raids. You can also put up the attached image as your profile picture on Facebook, Twitter and Blogs.

3) Standby for upcoming emergency actions to protest these immoral raids! Email nooneisillegal@riseup.net. Visit: http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org

If you or someone you know is questioned or detained by an Immigration / CBSA Officer or Police Officer, call 416.833.6137

WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS WITH IMMIGRATION OFFICERS (CBSA) ?

* Citizens cannot be arrested by immigration officers under any circumstances

* Protected Persons (People who have won their refugee hearings) and Permanent Residents (landed immigrants) can only be arrested by immigration officers if they have a warrant. Ask to see the warrant, make sure your name is on it and it is signed.

* People without status can only be arrested if the immigration officer knows your name, and has reason to believe you are inadmissible (i.e. are here without status)and they have reasons to believe you are either a danger to the public or unlikely to show up for hearings, appointments or removal.

* If you are stopped by immigration officers, ask why they are stopping you. If they do not have a reason to stop you as above, then tell them you want to leave.

* Be aware that asserting your rights will not necessarily stop officers from arresting you. As well, it is a good idea to be polite and calm since if you upset the officer, they may decide to arrest you.

* If you are arrested, ask them why. Tell them you want to speak to your lawyer, immigration consultant or a community member who can help you without charge (someone from your community group, mosque, church

etc.) before you answer any questions or sign anything. If you ask to talk to a lawyer, consultant or community member, they are supposed to stop asking you questions (though they can hold you in the meantime).

toronto.noonisillegal.org nooneisillegal@riseup.net 416.833.6137

pride, not "Pride", will prevail.

so there's some crazy and bizarre shit going on in ottawa(as per usual). apparently the harper government is defunding pride? we all saw this coming when they found out how much money they had given to pride and then freaked the fuck out(and you can read about that HERE).

it's really too bad they're so stupid. pride toronto is a huge tourist magnet, and we all know that toronto(and the country) need a lot of money to run.

also, there's apparently some motion to do the same thing in toronto, from a toronto level (HERE).

this is just silly. these morons are going to waste their time trying to defund a lucrative event? that brings in probably millions of dollars to our piddly little city, a city that can barely afford to run its own public transportation? really? pride ups the toronto reputation all over the world, it makes us look not incredibly backwards, and it's fun for a lot of people.

here's what i think: i think that if something this ridiculous actually goes through it's practically a blessing. it means that the right wing has revealed it's ugly face in our fair city once and for all and we can actually do something about it instead of always pointing fingers and then being called liars.

it means that we'll take to the streets and demonstrate our pride like we once did when there was no city/state funding for pride parades and there were laws against even BEING gay/queer/anything other than normative.

it means that we need to get creative about how to celebrate, how to organize and come together.

it means we need to get off our lazy goddamned asses, stop letting corporations run our pride, and do our own thing.

it means we need to acknowledge the right wing backlash in our country and stop pretending it isn't happening.

so yes, call your city councillor, your MPs, every representative you have. it's important that these events are funded.

but let's stop fooling our selves into thinking that this will stop us, because really it won't.

more keith cole please.

so the keith cole for mayor diaper toss was a success--not only did it draw attention to the lack of green in dundas square, but it also brought some fun back into the mayoral race, making it less boring.

so what's next?? join keith on friday may 14th for the keith cole experience!

buddies in bad times theatre's tallulah's cabaret, doors at 10:30 and show at 11:15pm. Cover is only 8$!

help make this the least boring mayoral race of all time, go!

because we have to throw the dirty diapers somewhere

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get ready toronto...

does anyone else think toronto is getting a little boring?? a little bit too smug? a little bit too uptight? a little too "say one thing, do another?" when you think of toronto politics do you think of badly fitting suits?

has anyone else been crushed by a hummer while riding their bike?

well, this pamphleteer is feeling all of the above.

for being canada's biggest city, toronto is really letting itself go. basically i had checked myself out of the mayoral election coming up after giambrone's big fizzle. i was all like 'the mayoral election is boring, and if jim pantalone sends me one more goddamned unauthorized email up date i'm going to lose it." like, how did that guy even GET my email address??

yes, toronto has pockets of awesome scattered through out it's leafy neighbour hoods but the fact is that a lot of us are just over toronto.

we don't have a comprehensive bike lane system, the green bin program turned out to be a big lie, rent is too expensive and apartments are too shitty, the ttc sucks and it costs three dollars.

well there was a little glimmer of hope the other day when i found o ut about a mayoral candidate that i hadn't known about(probably because i'v e been ignoring the mayoral election).

i read this:

"If you think we are going to get away with anything, you are wrong. The puritans are going to be taking over this city and this country very, very, very soon. We cannot have that, ladies and gentlemen. Think about what’s going on with Stephen Harper and the federal politics. This is what’s happening right now and if you don’t think it’s going to happen in the city of Toronto, it’s going to happen in the city of Toronto very, very, very soon."

that's right, a MAYORAL CANDIDATE spoke those words. a mayoral candidate for the city of toronto!!

meet keith cole, potential mayor.

this blog is endorsing keith cole for mayor, because i believe that he is exactly what this mayoral race(and this city) needs right now.

Announcing his intentions of running, keith emphasized the importance of civic engagement, of everyone getting involved in running the city. this is important.

also, he's putting the arts front and center. he's all like "hey toronto, what about the arts?" that's important too.

public health and bike lanes--these are things keith cole believes in and you should believe in them too.

"The city of Toronto used to have a little bit of strut, a little bit of style, a little bit of swagger. And now we have none of that. We have to bring all of that back. So it’s up to all of us to bring a little bit of style, a little bit of strut, a little bit of swagger back to the city of Toronto"

exactly. if we just let the pantalones and the smithermans run these races, our city will lose its cool indefinitely.

you know what else this city needs? it needs some gay, in office. for reals yo.

i want a mayor who isn't afraid to say "i know all about vicious fags, i am one too."

it doesn't matter at this point if he wins or loses. what matters is that he's gotten into the race at all. what matters is that we all take his cue and stop sitting back and just letting shit happen to our city.

so these pamphleteers is now, officially, a keith cole for mayor blog. i am going to VOTE in the election and i'm going to cast my vote for keith cole.

here are keith's nine campaign points:

1. We need civic engagement – big time

2. Toronto is becoming unsophisticated and boring

3. Toronto needs its strut, style and swagger back

4. Strengthen and keep arts and culture fostering and funding

5. Ensure that Toronto is 100% pedestrian and bike friendly

6. Toronto has room for everyone

7. Make Toronto a vibrant and livable city

8. A solid Public Health in all of its parts and pieces

9. I have nothing to hide – I have been already caught with my pants down.

join the facebook group: keith cole for mayor AND donate to keith's campaign here::

and read this excellent torontoist article about keith: http://torontoist.com/2010/04/keith_cole_for_mayor.php#more

KEITH COLE FOR MAYOR!!!

hold on a motherfucking second

stephen harper is busy taking away women's rights around the globe and he has the audacity to post THIS picture on his twitter?!!?!
under " played 'run to you' with bryan adams' stephen harper linked this twitpic:

do you know who LOVES bryan adams?? WOMEN.
my MOM loves bryan adams.

you know what else a lot of women like?? having the right to choose what they do and do not do with their own bodies.

now, along with the infamous incident in which he forgot the lyrics to his own national anthem,
bryan adams can add another shameful and embarrassing event to his timeline of un-canadianness: betraying the population who made him famous.


bryan adams, i am going to call my mother and tell her about this. i'm very certain she'll burn all of your tapes on a big bonfire in the yard.


women everywhere demand an apology, bryan adams!!! you're a monster!!

velociraptor!!!

dear internet: if someone can find me one of these, i'd be very happy.

actually, i want ten of them.

that's just hot.

global warming might be responsible for a lot of bad shit, but now it's responsible for something unimaginable.

a polar bear/grizzly HYBRID.

that's right, two of the largest and most ferocious of all bears have been thrust into one another's arms by climate change.

this is catastrophic.

but let's be honest for a second: now that we know climate change is kind of a joke, we know that these bears are just USING climate change as an excuse to bang.

unbelievable.

you know what i blame for this?? comprehensive and explanatory sexual education amongst bears. when you teach bears the proper names for its genitals along with how cubs are made, it encourages them to make bad choices. next thing we know we'll catch male polar bears getting it on with grizzly bear males, because that's just what sexual education leads to.

also to blame? feminist bears.

according to the cbc: "Officials say it [DNA testing] confirms that a female hybrid bear in the region is reproducing with other bears."

it's a FEMALE bear!!! she's just wandering around, mating with all of the grizzly bears she can get her hands on, because she's been taught that it's alright for female bears to do that.

it's not!! someone needs to pass a law to put these unruly female bears in their places. a lack of quality sexual education in bear schools should also be combined with gender role education, because these animals are just out of control.

dalton mcguinty should take note, because before we know it ontario bears will be breeding with one another being all like "oh it's climate change!" but really it will be because they've been too educated about the birds and the bees... and the bears.

it's not a circus, it's a murder trial.

everyone is going nuts over this publication ban on the tori stafford trial.

http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/803456--dimanno-media-ban-cheats-canadians

http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/803405--ndp-justice-critic-slams-publication-ban-on-tori-stafford-case

apparently it's an affront to justice, to freedom of the press, etc etc etc.

here's what i think the media is actually pissed off about: a ban effectively denies them the ability to turn this trial into a payday.

let's face it, the sensational trial of a child murder victim(complete with theories about the seedy underworld of drugs in woodstock, ontario) is bound to up readership of the sub par newspapers in ontario and toronto.

the salacious details, the pasting of the young girl's photo on the front page, was she/wasn't she assaulted/abused/tortured?

the media loves this shit because it SELLS NEWSPAPERS, so let's not pretend for a second that their outrage has anything to do with justice.

i, for one, think that maybe a publication ban isn't the worst thing in the world. this is a little girl who was murdered. she isn't a story or a headline. so, rosie dimanno, we all know that you're the worst writer alive and can't function unless you have something sordid to write about (our emotions help us overlook your insipid and exploitative style) but let's just wait this one out knowing that justice will most likely be served and it's none of our business what happened to this little baby.

for real. everything i read that rosie dimanno writes makes me barf in my mouth a little, but this is beyond the pale. you are not a lawyer, dimanno. you aren't a judge. you have absolutely nothing to do with this trial except trading details for dollars.

so pack it up, you've already written enough garbage about this child to last us all a lifetime.

2000 members later..

i wonder if stephen harper has figured out that he made a statement that is completely untrue, embarrassing, and stupid?

probably not since everything he does is untrue, embarrassing, and stupid but hey, we can always hope right?

the facebook group "canadians who want foreign aid spent on women's reproductive health" now has 2000 members, all of whom are opposed to harper's policy on not funding abortion with foreign aid(and they're not very happy about him speaking in their name, either).

2000 people in only a few days is pretty good... now each one of them needs to send harper a message. one commenter noted that you don't need postage to send stephen harper mail!!

a sampling of some of the comments so far:

"See Stephen Harper for who he really is ! Come on ladies read about this man ! Not only will he destroy your rights but those of you children and those to follow !"

"Mr Harper- you do not speak for me. You shame me with your lack of compassion!"

"Slippery slope-very very slippery-time to vote Harper out."

"I remember when Bush took this stance and feeling proud that my country didn't put that kind of ban on foreign aid. Well I'm not proud now."

like it or not, canada is a strongly pro-choice country. this doesn't mean that there isn't room for dissent--because there certainly is dissent-- but it means that ideologically the majority of canadians at least believe women should have a choice.

i mean, we don't run around screaming about how we love abortion so much(well, some people do.. maybe me) BUT most people do understand that while the issue isn't black and white

and that it has a very strong impact on people, it's important that it be available to women.

i feel like this is probably one of the most serious attacks that stephen harper has launched against canadians, our policies abroad say a lot about who we are and they're testing grounds for policy at home. if stephen harper can say "canadians don't want foreign abortions!" it means he's that

much closer to saying "canadians don't want abortions in canada" and that just ain't right.

this one really needs to be stopped in its tracks, because its stupid and dangerous(just like harper).

you can join the group here:

Canadians who do want foreign aid spent on women's reproductive health

and you can send harper a message, these ways:

pm@pm.gc.ca

Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa
K1A 0A2
Fax: 613-941-6900