[themarc]

Well, you have to remember that his Escalade's registered owner is Deco Label and from the forensic audit into his mayorality campaign showed he was still using a company issued AmEx card......so salary no, benefits what do you think

So Deco is paying for a "company vehicle" that is being donated for civic use? How is this written off against profits? Gee Randy - what about the FEDERAL TAX PAYERS getting screwed over by Deco writing off the use of a corporate vehicle being used by the City of Toronto... and the charge card...

 

[the lemur]

It's literally the first hit if you google (image) search for "John Tory and Doug Ford playing cricket".
https://www.google.ca/search?q=John+Tory+and+Doug+Ford+playing+cricket&tbm=isch

http://www.torontosun.com/2014/02/05/doug-ford-slams-john-tory-over-chauvinistic-comment

Secret Squirrel: 'I can assure those not familiar with the sport that the stances adopted by the players in question are... ahem, not quite cricket'

True, but it's pretty clear that they're goofing around. Tory at least looks at ease wearing the whites but Doug probably thinks it's a sport for wine-sipping elitists like David Miller.

Given the current state of Ford-Tory relations, someone should photoshop the pic to swap the heads around ...

 

[themarc]

Could Ford be charged with accessory to murder just by knowing about it? Maybe Lisi recorded Ford telling him to "take care of the situation", in one of Ford's drunken stupor's, of course.
Lisi ordered the guy to put the screws to Smith, but maybe he had his own beef with him, around territory etc.
Maybe Ford didn't order "the hit" and maybe he didn't directly know who or how, but he could have known the why beforehand.

I have always thought this.

 

[soimelk]

Eh, I can just as easily see this move as any number of concerned parties pushing the OPP to come to TPS's rescue because the case isn't coming together and Ford's scorched earth is getting hotter. There are lots of reasons why it would be bad to see TPS discredited and undermined by lack of results on the Ford case, and lots of people who would work to prevent that effect. I'm not calling this a "conspiracy" so much as simply spreading out the pain: if TPS can't nail Ford then OPP is there to shoulder some of the public anger. Maybe there would be some mild finger-pointing between the two forces before the churn of the news cycle made it drift away.

I don't see why the OPP or other concerned parties would want to have anything to do with "spreading out the pain" for the TPS, fraternity of police notwithstanding. If this is going to damage public perceptions of a police force, it makes less sense to spread that perception onto the OPP as well. The province has made it very clear that they wanted to avoid the perception of undue interference in the Ford affair. At this point, volunteering to share in the public scorn of a failed investigation seems remarkably charitable for a body that wouldn't take steps to remove Ford last fall without near unanimous consent in council and the elected legislature.

 

[Dottie]

The Ford's are clearly too stupid to be running any sort of serious crime syndicate, but that doesn't mean they aren't backed by big players. It would explain their brazen defiant attitude. Stooges planted in office, like George W. Bush to the republicans. Their smugness and bravado is boosted by the relationship, the secret. 'Downtown elitists' riding bikes? They got nothing, can't even begin to imagine, is their thinking.

Some people here have theorized that the Ford brothers are governed by someone "higher up" in some criminal organization to explain some of the inexplicable positions they have taken. Anyone who thinks that this is what is behind their bravado just needs to look at the recent Jimmy Kimmel appearance and everything that went along with it. The Ford brothers are not being steered by some shady overlord, they are just delusional narcissists. You know when Rob Ford says he is the "best mayor Toronto has ever had"? As hard as it is to swallow, I think he actually believes that.

 

[dforthandbview]

If this is true, then it is not true that Ford's potential arrest is prompting her. I'm sure she has been going into this as a way to beat Ford out of office. Remember her and Jack were councillors, and they call this place home, I'm sure there's strong emotions here.

I don't doubt her convictions about entering the race, just the timing of it. If she's in after an arrest some people might accuse her of being an opportunist. Especially now that we know her team is ready to go. How long have they been ready to go? Tory made the smart move by entering before an arrest. Chow is said to be filing her papers the week of March 17. What if Ford is arrested the weekend before that? Is she going to wait a month or two before filing? It wouldn't look good if she's in a "oh look, Ford's arrested, now is my chance!" situation, in my opinion.

But then again, October is a long ways away and people probably won't be talking then about who entered when.

 

[SecretSquirrel]

But, if arrested, he may still make bail while awaiting trial. In which case, there's nothing to stop him from running for ( or serving ) a second term as our mayor.

I've read speculation on here that it could be a long time before he starts serving a prison sentence. That's if arrested, convicted and sentenced.

I don't like to be pessimistic, but to paraphrase Rick Mercer, "They are saying, we will vote for a gerbil if we get a dollar back."

The two things can (and will) happen independently. He's not getting re-elected any way you slice it. I know people say "don't take it for granted!" but he won't be.

 

[soimelk]

Stein provides interesting analysis using his legal background, but doesn't appear to have any inside info. I'm told this transfer is just for optics and is part of the final stage before the end game.

I agree. His article in NOW is mostly a reprint of a blog post he made last week, prior to the investigation oversight being passed off. He makes reference to the OPP transfer having occurred at press time, so he doesn't fully address its implications, nor the statement made by Pugash that the move was intended to protect a future court case. These recent developments undermine the case that Project Brazen 2 is DOA.

 

[casita]

View attachment 23294

Thank-you, Sir! May i please have another!

 

[SecretSquirrel]

Ford identifies with old apartment buildings because he has an affinity towards oversized, nasty-smelling relics from the past with crumbling facades.

...and which are infested with all sorts of vermin.

 

[SecretSquirrel]

Eh, I can just as easily see this move as any number of concerned parties pushing the OPP to come to TPS's rescue because the case isn't coming together and Ford's scorched earth is getting hotter. There are lots of reasons why it would be bad to see TPS discredited and undermined by lack of results on the Ford case, and lots of people who would work to prevent that effect. I'm not calling this a "conspiracy" so much as simply spreading out the pain: if TPS can't nail Ford then OPP is there to shoulder some of the public anger. Maybe there would be some mild finger-pointing between the two forces before the churn of the news cycle made it drift away.

What a great deal for the OPP!

Why would they do that?

 

[casita]

Some people here have theorized that the Ford brothers are governed by someone "higher up" in some criminal organization to explain some of the inexplicable positions they have taken.

I think they're just a couple of loose cannons.

 

[Bebop17]

Last chance to poke your MPP before the ranked ballot initiative goes to second reading this afternoon.

http://www.123toronto.ca/bill_166.htm

 

[themarc]

I think they're just a couple of loose cannons.

That caused a lot of mayhem and harm from their inadvertent criminality...

 

[DufferinMallrat]

Delurking here. The thing I often wonder is what prompted the investigation in the first place? It is said the it was the Star report of the crack video, but does that really seem like enough? Crack smoking on its own does not seem to be enough to justify the level of detail in the ITOs or the surveillance, or any other part of this case. I believe the police must have had something very solid, perhaps revealed in Traveller, to feel justified in taking on this level of investigation. I mean, planes? That seems pretty over-the-top for an investigation supposedly prompted by a news article.

My point is that I can't see this not leading to some kind of charge. Also, it doesn't seem to me that the police have really shied away from discussing the investigation and how it is still "ongoing." If they had nothing notable at this point, I am no expert on police PR, but I think they would downplay the case.

One has to admit that the timing of the murder of Anthony Smith, the coincidence of him being quite possibly the person who took this video as well as being photographed with the mayor is all very interesting. This could be all one big coincidence, but there's also the fact that Twohey told investigators there may be a connection. I am not suggesting that Ford conspired to murder Smith, perhaps there is a web of events at play that we only at this point know the surface of.

Murder I think is reaching, really reaching. Rob Ford may be an unhinged clown, but I think he does have this one quality (that everyone ascribes to him) that he really sees people as PEOPLE, where other politicians don't. Him going all patois with the random Jamaican kids just goes to show you, he tries hard to get "in" with people (some sort of insecurity?). That doesn't seem like the sort of person who would have someone killed. That's sociopathic and cold.

I have often thought Ford has a lot of sociopathic qualities. Sociopaths after all are very good at charming or getting "in" with people. I'm not sure that Ford sees "people as people" at all - more like a means to power and self-glorification. Ford never feels guilt or shame - he is someone who not only lies and denies but tries to destroy others in the process, with no apparent remorse unless his back is against the wall legally (e.g. Daniel Dale).