[CalgarianExOntarian]

Now I would believe either A or B in either scenario.

Well, let's agree to disagree.

To me, (B) seems a very unlikely answer to both questions, especially because (A) in both cases seems to work.

About the high school football scenario, how likely, if that really happened, given all that has transpired until today, is it that none of the many teenaged parties allegedly involved made a complaint that the news media got wind of?

About the organized-crime-pulling-RoFo's-strings scenario, what advantage is there, if you're a bad guy, to keeping in place the most radioactive elected official ever, given that Ontario municipal law makes him a "weak mayor" and that he is such an obvious trainwreck that there is a serious risk that he could collapse at any moment and tell TPS, OPP, RCMP, etc., about every contact he ever had with you and your bad guy friends?

 

[Honest Ed has a posse]

As much as I have enjoyed and appreciated your insights throughout this fiasco, I have to wonder if this is a wise move, to take the battle to Deco. I'm sure the Fords have the financial resources to weather the loss of some clients, but what about their low paid employees who get laid off due to lack of work because clients are lost? This strikes me as unfair. The impact of this action could be much wider than the Fords.

Except that won't happen.

As soon as the Fords realize that this fiasco is affecting their bottom line and only real power, the money, they will turn on Robbie and drag his ass out of the Mayor's office.

 

[VintagePunk]

What about the many more low paid employees who get laid off the longer Ford stays in office as he continues to flush the city's economic productivity down the toilet through obstructionism, backwards policy, and distracting council from solving the city's real problems?

Maybe you're right. And I want to see the family brought to its knees as much as anyone. I just don't think it's fair to make Deco employees and their families collateral damage in all of this. He's going to be done as mayor soon enough, anyway.

 

[FromTheHammer]

Rob Ford tells Fox he wants to be prime minister

And Ford Nation says "He'd be better than Trudeau or Mulcair".

 

[Adaax]

I'm putting up a post tomorrow for the blog about the sun news show, and I'll cover this in more detail there, but I spoke with Warren Kinsella to get his impression on it since he does work for both the Sun and Sun news. He believes Sun News is purposely setting the Fords up to melt down on the show.

As for the legality of it. Until Rob registers in January he can have the show. But again, with only six weeks of the mayor's participation, there is a short, high pressure window for a real explosion

Much more likely that the meltdown would happen when council is in session, I think. Heck, it could happen tomorrow. But it does seem like it will happen sooner or later.

 

[juniorfox]

And Ford Nation says "He'd be better than Trudeau or Mulcair".

Ah Mulcair... I'll still end up voting NDP. But Mulcair's really fucked himself on this Clarity Act thing. I get he's trying to shore up Quebec support but he keeps hammering this issue of "we're just doing what the Supreme Court said we should do and no other party is doing it" ... it's political suicide in a lot of the country is why they haven't. Jack had really moved the party away from being overtly radical about some stuff. This was bad politics on Mulcair's part.

 

[SunriseChampion]

ratchet = woman of questionable morals

popeyes = popeyes fried chicken

Um....that is deffo not what 'ratchet' means.


'Ratchet' = wiley/hype/awesome/off the wall/wikkid/big/ill/sick/boom/crazy/mad/off the chain/mental/seen/dope/retarded/choon, etc

Or, maybe different generations have different meanings...I guess.

 

[adma]

He won't resign ever. He's either going to get caught committing a crime or ride out his term in willful blindness.

Get back to work councillors.

They *are* back at work--once the Ford business was over and done with last week, Council dealt with other "normal" matters (albeit too routine-business unsexy to make news headlines), and coped just fine with the Ford element marginalized. And they would've coped even better were it not for the Fords nuisance-holding items which they wound up at the pitiful losing end of.

*Doug* might ride out his term, as he's just a lowly councillor who's been (thus far) relatively off-orbit re the police investigations, substance abuse issues, etc. If you notice, there's been no active Council effort to force Doug out of his position--because at this point, that'd be jumping the gun...

 

[juniorfox]

Much more likely that the meltdown would happen when council is in session, I think. Heck, it could happen tomorrow. But it does seem like it will happen sooner or later.

I'm not sure. Give Rob and Doug a big chunk of airtime, no call ins (it's pretaped), and so long as they don't have editorial control, it's entirely possible (especially from an entity as cynical as Sun News) that they just let them talk and talk and then edit and present it however the network wants. Again I'm just repeating what Kinsella said, but you'd think he'd know to some degree...

 

[Sweet Mister]

nowadays 'ratchet' = 'wretched', usually referring to skanky woman

 

[FromTheHammer]

About the organized-crime-pulling-RoFo's-strings scenario, what advantage is there, if you're a bad guy, to keeping in place the most radioactive elected official ever, given that Ontario municipal law makes him a "weak mayor" and that he is such an obvious trainwreck that there is a serious risk that he could collapse at any moment and tell TPS, OPP, RCMP, etc., about every contact he ever had with you and your bad guy friends?

If he is the mob's guy, by now they're saying "like WTF, how do we get this guy outta there?"

 

[basic]

Um....that is deffo not what 'ratchet' means.


'Ratchet' = wiley/hype/awesome/off the wall/wikkid/big/ill/sick/boom/crazy/mad/off the chain/mental/seen/dope/retarded/choon, etc

Or, maybe different generations have different meanings...I guess.

Yep they must!

 

[Ex-Montreal Girl]

It's become ever more clear that Momma Ford plays a substantial role in this story. She stood beside him during his victory speech, and having watched it with new eyes, I got an uneasy feeling that she's the one pulling the strings. I reported back in May that George Christopoulos's speech was swapped last minute by one written by Ford's family "I do not smoke crack cocaine and I'm not addicted to crack cocaine. I can't comment on video that I have not seen or does not exist". I didn't realize to what extent it had been prepared by his mother. She had the last word on this speech, not Rob and not Doug. The official speech was discarded entirely and that's why Christopoulos and Ransom both resigned after considering their options over that weekend. What gives Momma Ford all this power? She still writes the cheques. Daddy's fortune didn't go to Rob, Doug, Randy, and Kathy. Without the money flow, the Fords lose their power. Without Momma Ford bringing in the cash, the clan loses their loyalty to their head and the whole family goes into disarray.

It makes perfect sense that Ford Sr. would have left everything to his wife. (She likely would have played a large part in building up the company as well.) He probably wasn't dumb and might have recognized that his sons needed watching.

If any of you are aware of brands that get their labels printed at DECO, please add it to the list. Also, feel free to call and write these brands CEOs asking them to print their labels somewhere else or be seen to be supporting the Fords.

DECO's clients:
Heinz
Billy Bee
McCormick spices
City of Toronto

If that is Heinz in Canada, well, the Leamington plant is now toast -- a major hit to the workers, the local economy and tomato growers.

 

[adma]

Look up Edward Bernays, if you are not already familiar with him. This sort of mass psychological manipulation has been going on since we've had mass communications. It's scary how well it works. And no one likes to admit they were duped, so it keeps on working. It's quite possible that Rob Ford will win another term as mayor.

Except that the Fords are real bantamweight rubes even by Bernays standards--though what you're saying may be true of the more "generic" right-of-centre a la Nixon/Reagan/Thatcher/Harper.

At this point, "Ford" will only win another term through a proxy such as John Tory or Michael Thompson.

 

[OSS 117]

Well, let's agree to disagree.

To me, (B) seems a very unlikely answer to both questions, especially because (A) in both cases seems to work.

About the high school football scenario, how likely, if that really happened, given all that has transpired until today, is it that none of the many teenaged parties allegedly involved made a complaint that the news media got wind of?

About the organized-crime-pulling-RoFo's-strings scenario, what advantage is there, if you're a bad guy, to keeping in place the most radioactive elected official ever, given that Ontario municipal law makes him a "weak mayor" and that he is such an obvious trainwreck that there is a serious risk that he could collapse at any moment and tell TPS, OPP, RCMP, etc., about every contact he ever had with you and your bad guy friends?

If Ford was paying for after hours shenanigans out of his own pocket, what would his players have to complain about?