scarberiankhatru
Senior Member
The Mississauga Muse spends the summer diving with and researching sea turtles in Maui.
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- Thread starter Tuscani01
- Start date
doady
Senior Member
Yeah, she probably rotting away in some concentration camp somewhere, unless they opted for a more "quick" solution.
Urban Shocker
Doyenne
She's probably planning the next three hundred vexatious Freedom of Information requests in her relentless campaign to prove that Mississaugans actually prefer blueberries to raspberries by a margin of 76% to 24% - rather than the 75% to 25% margin that she read somewhere in a press release put out by the Municipality. You go girl!
gbelan
Active Member
i bet she is in Beijing
scarberiankhatru
Senior Member
yyzer
Senior Member
Guantanamilton...a top secret facility....
Urban Shocker
Doyenne
She's baaaack:
http://news.nationalpost.com/tag/keuper-bennett/
Ursula Keuper-Bennett always sits in the same spot, a few rows up from the council floor, dead centre.
Each Wednesday, even when she is the only one watching, she perches her two handheld video cameras on small tripods to scrupulously document every development at the Mississauga council table. She speaks into the attached microphones in quick, cynical whispers; she will allow no decision to slip by without this kind of scrutiny.
Throughout Greater Toronto, self-styled council watchers have had a growing presence in recent years as the proliferation of social media has given them a widening platform to share their views. Council watchers attend meetings religiously, file hundreds of dollars’ worth of Freedom of Information requests and appear frequently before council to argue pet issues. Others maintain detailed blogs, where they post lengthy diatribes to convey their views to the general populace.
Their research is often little more than the stuff of conspiracy theories, some observers say, but there is no doubt council watchers can spur genuine change: Just this month, Vaughan council hawk Carrie Liddy successfully triggered an audit of Councillor Michael Di Biase’s election finances, alleging he broke spending rules during the 2010 campaign. Citizen action has also spurred an audit of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s finances, though a city committee this week denied requests to audit four of his allies.
“They see themselves as guardians of our democracy in a way,†says York University political scientist Robert Drummond. “Not everyone has the time to be as well-informed as they believe people should be, so they are there to serve as kind of surrogates for the rest of us.â€
Every council has at least one watcher. In Toronto, 47-year-old single father Miguel Avila does it because he fears “complacency†has taken root among the electorate. In Aurora, there is Richard Johnson, who is being sued by the town’s former mayor for alleged defamation stemming from a critical blog. Ms. Liddy and Ms. Keuper-Bennett have doggedly pursued allegations of wrongdoing in their respective cities for years.
In some cases, council watchers advance wide-ranging conspiracy theories. The vehemence with which they can berate councillors or bureaucrats may actually sap credibility from their cause and alienate ordinary citizens, experts say.
Ms. Keuper-Bennett, while raising valid criticisms of the city’s operations, has also gone further, painting the entire municipality with the brush of clandestine impropriety. “MYTHissauga is an Empire of Illusion,†she writes in a recent email. Referring to the leadership of Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion, she laments “that vast yawning gap chasm between what McCallion/City trumpets publicly and the Truth.â€
Ms. Liddy, for her part, blasts Vaughan as a city that “continues to be a cesspool.â€
“There could be some knowledge that they have that is helpful, but sometimes it is more just reactionary,†says Ryerson University municipal politics expert Duncan MacLellan. “They get people sort of fired up, but in the end [may not] understand the complexities around the decisions that get made.â€
Tom Urbaniak, a political scientist who has written a book on Ms. McCallion’s tenure, says the Mayor’s iron grip on the city during her several decades in power has fuelled such extreme beliefs. Ms. Keuper-Bennett and her fellow council watchers may view themselves as “heroic lone dissidents,†fighting an uphill battle against a tightly controlled regime.
“Some of their messages are valid and might resonate with a larger public — the need for transparency, too much bureaucratic self-justification, the dearth of tough questions … but they start to lose people when they argue or imply that Mississauga is almost a surreal Orwellian state, utterly dominated by sinister myths,†Mr. Urbaniak says.
At the same time, Mr. Drummond says, it is important to foster a healthy skepticism of government at all levels. Many of the residents who monitor councils have run for office themselves, and subscribe to the theory that “somebody should be watching†to ensure residents’ interests are taken into account on issues from traffic and tax dollars to the accountability of councils and staff.
“Over time it can actually affect the democratic process because it leads people to really question the democratic institutions and the way that elected officials are placed in office,†Mr. MacLellan says.
Ms. Liddy, who is completing a master’s degree in law while embroiled in legal action against the city of Vaughan, believes her continuing quest has made her a “target,†but also brought about positive change, most recently by forcing the Di Biase audit.
Mr. Avila, who has been a close observer of Toronto City Hall for years, says people like him are a necessary part of the democratic process. “It is not an obsession; it’s simply my way to speak up and to tell our leaders that I am here listening and monitoring [their] decisions,†he says.
In Aurora, however, Mr. Johnson is retiring from the business.
He recalls being served with the former mayor’s $6-million defamation action last year during his Sunday Thanksgiving dinner, and while he maintains he did nothing improper as a blogger, he says he feels “beat up and betrayed†by the events that have transpired since.
“I am planning to disengage with all things related to our local council after this epic legal battle is over,†Mr. Johnson says. âœI’ve done my tour of duty in our local politics and I have the scars to prove it. It’s time to move on.â€
National Post
http://news.nationalpost.com/tag/keuper-bennett/
Ursula Keuper-Bennett always sits in the same spot, a few rows up from the council floor, dead centre.
Each Wednesday, even when she is the only one watching, she perches her two handheld video cameras on small tripods to scrupulously document every development at the Mississauga council table. She speaks into the attached microphones in quick, cynical whispers; she will allow no decision to slip by without this kind of scrutiny.
Throughout Greater Toronto, self-styled council watchers have had a growing presence in recent years as the proliferation of social media has given them a widening platform to share their views. Council watchers attend meetings religiously, file hundreds of dollars’ worth of Freedom of Information requests and appear frequently before council to argue pet issues. Others maintain detailed blogs, where they post lengthy diatribes to convey their views to the general populace.
Their research is often little more than the stuff of conspiracy theories, some observers say, but there is no doubt council watchers can spur genuine change: Just this month, Vaughan council hawk Carrie Liddy successfully triggered an audit of Councillor Michael Di Biase’s election finances, alleging he broke spending rules during the 2010 campaign. Citizen action has also spurred an audit of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s finances, though a city committee this week denied requests to audit four of his allies.
“They see themselves as guardians of our democracy in a way,†says York University political scientist Robert Drummond. “Not everyone has the time to be as well-informed as they believe people should be, so they are there to serve as kind of surrogates for the rest of us.â€
Every council has at least one watcher. In Toronto, 47-year-old single father Miguel Avila does it because he fears “complacency†has taken root among the electorate. In Aurora, there is Richard Johnson, who is being sued by the town’s former mayor for alleged defamation stemming from a critical blog. Ms. Liddy and Ms. Keuper-Bennett have doggedly pursued allegations of wrongdoing in their respective cities for years.
In some cases, council watchers advance wide-ranging conspiracy theories. The vehemence with which they can berate councillors or bureaucrats may actually sap credibility from their cause and alienate ordinary citizens, experts say.
Ms. Keuper-Bennett, while raising valid criticisms of the city’s operations, has also gone further, painting the entire municipality with the brush of clandestine impropriety. “MYTHissauga is an Empire of Illusion,†she writes in a recent email. Referring to the leadership of Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion, she laments “that vast yawning gap chasm between what McCallion/City trumpets publicly and the Truth.â€
Ms. Liddy, for her part, blasts Vaughan as a city that “continues to be a cesspool.â€
“There could be some knowledge that they have that is helpful, but sometimes it is more just reactionary,†says Ryerson University municipal politics expert Duncan MacLellan. “They get people sort of fired up, but in the end [may not] understand the complexities around the decisions that get made.â€
Tom Urbaniak, a political scientist who has written a book on Ms. McCallion’s tenure, says the Mayor’s iron grip on the city during her several decades in power has fuelled such extreme beliefs. Ms. Keuper-Bennett and her fellow council watchers may view themselves as “heroic lone dissidents,†fighting an uphill battle against a tightly controlled regime.
“Some of their messages are valid and might resonate with a larger public — the need for transparency, too much bureaucratic self-justification, the dearth of tough questions … but they start to lose people when they argue or imply that Mississauga is almost a surreal Orwellian state, utterly dominated by sinister myths,†Mr. Urbaniak says.
At the same time, Mr. Drummond says, it is important to foster a healthy skepticism of government at all levels. Many of the residents who monitor councils have run for office themselves, and subscribe to the theory that “somebody should be watching†to ensure residents’ interests are taken into account on issues from traffic and tax dollars to the accountability of councils and staff.
“Over time it can actually affect the democratic process because it leads people to really question the democratic institutions and the way that elected officials are placed in office,†Mr. MacLellan says.
Ms. Liddy, who is completing a master’s degree in law while embroiled in legal action against the city of Vaughan, believes her continuing quest has made her a “target,†but also brought about positive change, most recently by forcing the Di Biase audit.
Mr. Avila, who has been a close observer of Toronto City Hall for years, says people like him are a necessary part of the democratic process. “It is not an obsession; it’s simply my way to speak up and to tell our leaders that I am here listening and monitoring [their] decisions,†he says.
In Aurora, however, Mr. Johnson is retiring from the business.
He recalls being served with the former mayor’s $6-million defamation action last year during his Sunday Thanksgiving dinner, and while he maintains he did nothing improper as a blogger, he says he feels “beat up and betrayed†by the events that have transpired since.
“I am planning to disengage with all things related to our local council after this epic legal battle is over,†Mr. Johnson says. âœI’ve done my tour of duty in our local politics and I have the scars to prove it. It’s time to move on.â€
National Post
Urban Shocker
Doyenne
http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/1...uses-watchdog-of-cyber-stalking-her-children/
As fallout from Mississauga’s judicial inquiry continued Wednesday, Councillor Bonnie Crombie surprised observers by accusing a long-time city watchdog of “cyber-stalking” her teenage children.
The allegation came after Ursula Keuper-Bennett, who maintains a critical blog called MississaugaWatch, raised questions about council’s response to the recently concluded inquiry, which found Mayor Hazel McCallion acted improperly by advocating for her developer son.
“What qualities do you possess to make you an authority on ethical behaviour?” Ms. Crombie demanded.
After Ms. Keuper-Bennett, appearing to be caught off guard, conceded she was not an ethics expert, the Ward 5 councillor unleashed a tirade.
“Is it ethical to create a video on a 14-year-old child?” Ms. Crombie demanded. “Is it ethical to cyber-stalk a minor [and] to go after politicians’ children in videos?”
She was referring to an online video compilation featuring Facebook photographs of her three children that was uploaded by “MississaugaWatch” this past August. The video primarily focuses on Alex Crombie, now 22, contrasting picture of his vacations and parties with a Facebook site he created to support his political ambitions.
But the video also highlights photographs of 14-year-old Natasha Crombie and 18-year-old Jonathan Crombie. The children were younger in some of the featured photographs, Ms. Crombie said.
Ms. Keuper-Bennett says she looked the children up after discovering the Crombie sons’ names on a 2009 petition urging the city to cancel the inquiry.
“You have breached every code of conduct that I can imagine by going after my family on a personal level,” Ms. Crombie fumed.
Ms. Keuper-Bennett disputed the cyber-stalking allegation, suggesting Ms. Crombie was merely trying to avoid the inquiry discussion.
“She’s been trying to sweep the inquiry under the rug,” Ms. Keuper-Bennett said, noting her video aimed to underscore Ms. Crombie’s “hypocrisy” as a public figure who sent her children to private school.
Ms. Keuper-Bennett also pointed to Ms. Crombie’s public web presence, which includes photos of her children posing with Liberal MP Justin Trudeau.
The unexpected exchange took the focus squarely off Ms. Keuper-Bennett’s council presentation, which called into question the city’s response to the $7-million inquiry. She replayed clips from last week’s fiery general committee meeting, during which pro-inquiry Councillor Nando Iannicca lashed out at his pro-McCallion colleagues: “If you did not vote for the inquiry, if you do not agree with its findings and if you are not appalled at what happened, you are not fit for public service.”
Councillors aligned with the Mayor have maintained the process was a waste of taxpayer dollars, even after Commissioner Douglas Cunningham concluded Ms. McCallion’s conduct was so problematic as to require a provincial legislative revamp.
Also on Wednesday, one month after the inquiry report came down, council voted to create a new governance committee to “improve” and “strengthen” Mississauga’s ethical infrastructure. The committee, which will absorb the mandate of a pre-existing committee tasked with finding a permanent integrity commissioner, would examine a variety of issues, from lobbying and election financing to the possibility of installing a deputy mayor in Mississauga.
Councillor Jim Tovey lauded the new committee as a way to “review and refine” issues around good governance, but the five-person body will be dominated by councillors who have spoken out strongly against the inquiry and its cost to the city. Just one member of council’s opposition faction, Councillor George Carlson, will be on the committee.
National Post
As fallout from Mississauga’s judicial inquiry continued Wednesday, Councillor Bonnie Crombie surprised observers by accusing a long-time city watchdog of “cyber-stalking” her teenage children.
The allegation came after Ursula Keuper-Bennett, who maintains a critical blog called MississaugaWatch, raised questions about council’s response to the recently concluded inquiry, which found Mayor Hazel McCallion acted improperly by advocating for her developer son.
“What qualities do you possess to make you an authority on ethical behaviour?” Ms. Crombie demanded.
After Ms. Keuper-Bennett, appearing to be caught off guard, conceded she was not an ethics expert, the Ward 5 councillor unleashed a tirade.
“Is it ethical to create a video on a 14-year-old child?” Ms. Crombie demanded. “Is it ethical to cyber-stalk a minor [and] to go after politicians’ children in videos?”
She was referring to an online video compilation featuring Facebook photographs of her three children that was uploaded by “MississaugaWatch” this past August. The video primarily focuses on Alex Crombie, now 22, contrasting picture of his vacations and parties with a Facebook site he created to support his political ambitions.
But the video also highlights photographs of 14-year-old Natasha Crombie and 18-year-old Jonathan Crombie. The children were younger in some of the featured photographs, Ms. Crombie said.
Ms. Keuper-Bennett says she looked the children up after discovering the Crombie sons’ names on a 2009 petition urging the city to cancel the inquiry.
“You have breached every code of conduct that I can imagine by going after my family on a personal level,” Ms. Crombie fumed.
Ms. Keuper-Bennett disputed the cyber-stalking allegation, suggesting Ms. Crombie was merely trying to avoid the inquiry discussion.
“She’s been trying to sweep the inquiry under the rug,” Ms. Keuper-Bennett said, noting her video aimed to underscore Ms. Crombie’s “hypocrisy” as a public figure who sent her children to private school.
Ms. Keuper-Bennett also pointed to Ms. Crombie’s public web presence, which includes photos of her children posing with Liberal MP Justin Trudeau.
The unexpected exchange took the focus squarely off Ms. Keuper-Bennett’s council presentation, which called into question the city’s response to the $7-million inquiry. She replayed clips from last week’s fiery general committee meeting, during which pro-inquiry Councillor Nando Iannicca lashed out at his pro-McCallion colleagues: “If you did not vote for the inquiry, if you do not agree with its findings and if you are not appalled at what happened, you are not fit for public service.”
Councillors aligned with the Mayor have maintained the process was a waste of taxpayer dollars, even after Commissioner Douglas Cunningham concluded Ms. McCallion’s conduct was so problematic as to require a provincial legislative revamp.
Also on Wednesday, one month after the inquiry report came down, council voted to create a new governance committee to “improve” and “strengthen” Mississauga’s ethical infrastructure. The committee, which will absorb the mandate of a pre-existing committee tasked with finding a permanent integrity commissioner, would examine a variety of issues, from lobbying and election financing to the possibility of installing a deputy mayor in Mississauga.
Councillor Jim Tovey lauded the new committee as a way to “review and refine” issues around good governance, but the five-person body will be dominated by councillors who have spoken out strongly against the inquiry and its cost to the city. Just one member of council’s opposition faction, Councillor George Carlson, will be on the committee.
National Post
voxpopulicosmicum
Senior Member
Whether she's got a personality disorder or not, Mississauga Muse's assertions of McCallion's corruption were proven correct. It's pretty yellow of the Post to try undermine her, but then it's the Post, so what would I expect?
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Well regardless of whether Muse is an ethical authority or not, I am fairly certain someone who chose to defend a twice offender of conflict of interest matters isn't. As to the committees - there is a bit of Soviet ludicrousness to it. Since they are so upset about cost, perhaps they should find a way to recover it from the offending party, no?
AoD
AoD