Well, as the Crack Mayor story festers there are points which get beat to death. Just about everyone other than the die-hard Ford Nation dead-enders has accepted that a video exists. Here is the latest news on that front. How did Rob Ford know where the video was? The photo. There's four people in the photo, one of them is Rob Ford, and two of them have been shot. Granted, there also had to be someone who took the photo, but narrowing down the list of people who might have the tape in their possession sounds like it should be pretty straight-forward.
Speaking of,,, that Star story relies on a leak. Someone at the May 17 meeting talked. It was exclusive enough that Towhey wasn't there - which means a pretty short list. Also, it wasn't leaked until this week. Since the time of that meeting, three staffers have left the Mayor's Office, and it's confirmed that two of them were not at the May 17th meeting.
UPDATE: Okay, two more have quit. Not so clear cut now /UPDATE
BTW, the Anthony Smith case? Shortly after the shooting, police said they were interested in the location of a certain specific individual. That guy turned himself in and he was charged with murder. Well, as is constantly happening in this whole hooferaw, the plot thicks.
2013-05-30
2013-05-27
Crack Video
So, it's been pretty interesting times. Fired Chief of Staff, the Ford family portrait by the Globe and Mail going to press a few hours before Dougie did his media tour, The return of the mayor to his Sunday AM Talk Radio show, news that the mayor's staff have been interviewed regarding a murder inverstigation, all while the Crackstarter ticks ever closer to its goal ($192K at time of writing). A lot to sort through, but I'm going to take it from the beginning and in small chunks. The crack video.
So, is the crack video real? Firstly, it obviously exists. Three reporters from two separate outlets have described their viewings. For this to be some bizarre plot is fake moon landings scale conspiracy theory land. But just because it exists, that doesn't mean it's real.
What about a fake Rob Ford? And I don't mean "James Cameron shit" but just some guy that looks a lot like His Worship. Wait, hear me out. Suppose someone saw the picture of Rob jogging and thought "hey I have a sweatshirt just like that". Then they found a lookalike and made the photo - perhaps for teh lulz, perhaps they meant it as a reference letter into the world of "high-end Etobicoke drug dealing" or something. I dunno, but it doesn't seem totally ridiculous. That said, these hypothetical photo jokers would have to know Anthony Smith.
So, then in the wee hours of March 28, Anthony Smith gets double tapped in the back of the head. It's a different world now - we're dealing with the possibility of gangland style executions. Let's say that sometime after that, some intrepid Globe and Mail reporter calls up our hypothetical photo-having-possibly-involved-with-drugs people and start asking about Doug's history of dealing hash. And there, the idea for the video is born. It's made sometime in April, shopped around for a bit, with the Star actually viewing it on May 3rd after several failed attempts to arrange a meetup.
Since these cons were running a scam video, the plan was probably to take the money and run. See how much they could milk from the media and relocate. And now with all of the heightened attention and scrutiny, it makes sense that they would "disappear".
It's kinda crazy sounding, but remotely plausible. And it's consistent with the observed happenings. That said, none of this is particularly different if the video were real. Further, even if the video were fake - that doesn't mean that Rob Ford doesn't smoke crack. Maybe a fake video was made because knowing that Rob was a crack user, it would be easy to get the media to pay big bucks for it.
But what about Rob and his week-long silence? Well, that was pretty weird, but if you consider that the Fords were already aware of the Globe's ongoing investigations - coupled with what appears to be their genuine belief that the scums and maggots of LEAFS SUCK's media scene are actually "out to get them". Let me just say that Rob's actions were totally consistent with the tape being real or fake. Although a big part of why I'm saying that is because Rob is an unstable mess who is about as predictable as someone high on crack cocaine.
So after all that, where do I stand? Well basically, I believe that there is still a remote outside chance that my mayor does not use crack. If I had to put money on it, well Occam's Razor says dude spends most of his time high as a kite. But I wouldn't be very surprised if I lost that money.
UPDATE: Press Security and Communications Assistant have both quit.
UPDATE 2: Crackstarter has broken $200K
So, is the crack video real? Firstly, it obviously exists. Three reporters from two separate outlets have described their viewings. For this to be some bizarre plot is fake moon landings scale conspiracy theory land. But just because it exists, that doesn't mean it's real.
What about a fake Rob Ford? And I don't mean "James Cameron shit" but just some guy that looks a lot like His Worship. Wait, hear me out. Suppose someone saw the picture of Rob jogging and thought "hey I have a sweatshirt just like that". Then they found a lookalike and made the photo - perhaps for teh lulz, perhaps they meant it as a reference letter into the world of "high-end Etobicoke drug dealing" or something. I dunno, but it doesn't seem totally ridiculous. That said, these hypothetical photo jokers would have to know Anthony Smith.
So, then in the wee hours of March 28, Anthony Smith gets double tapped in the back of the head. It's a different world now - we're dealing with the possibility of gangland style executions. Let's say that sometime after that, some intrepid Globe and Mail reporter calls up our hypothetical photo-having-possibly-involved-with-drugs people and start asking about Doug's history of dealing hash. And there, the idea for the video is born. It's made sometime in April, shopped around for a bit, with the Star actually viewing it on May 3rd after several failed attempts to arrange a meetup.
Since these cons were running a scam video, the plan was probably to take the money and run. See how much they could milk from the media and relocate. And now with all of the heightened attention and scrutiny, it makes sense that they would "disappear".
It's kinda crazy sounding, but remotely plausible. And it's consistent with the observed happenings. That said, none of this is particularly different if the video were real. Further, even if the video were fake - that doesn't mean that Rob Ford doesn't smoke crack. Maybe a fake video was made because knowing that Rob was a crack user, it would be easy to get the media to pay big bucks for it.
But what about Rob and his week-long silence? Well, that was pretty weird, but if you consider that the Fords were already aware of the Globe's ongoing investigations - coupled with what appears to be their genuine belief that the scums and maggots of LEAFS SUCK's media scene are actually "out to get them". Let me just say that Rob's actions were totally consistent with the tape being real or fake. Although a big part of why I'm saying that is because Rob is an unstable mess who is about as predictable as someone high on crack cocaine.
So after all that, where do I stand? Well basically, I believe that there is still a remote outside chance that my mayor does not use crack. If I had to put money on it, well Occam's Razor says dude spends most of his time high as a kite. But I wouldn't be very surprised if I lost that money.
UPDATE: Press Security and Communications Assistant have both quit.
UPDATE 2: Crackstarter has broken $200K
2013-05-23
Where It All Began.
Your Chief of Staff escorted out of City Hall? Seriously? "I did not resign." Yeah, that is totally going to take the attention away from the crack smoking allegations. Speaking of which, we can't say we weren't warned. When Rob Ford took office as Mayor of LEAFS SUCK, he had Don Cherry deliver the inauguration speech. That speech ended thusly:
And that’s why I say he’s gonna be the greatest mayor this city has ever, ever seen, as far as I’m concerned! And put that in your pipe, you left-wing kooks.
Thank you very much.
2013-05-17
All This Talk About Crack Reminds Me of Ass Gate
Hamutal Dotan has a good take on the whole Rob Ford Smoking Crack video thing. If the video is real, we're talking about a serious substance abuse issue. I disagree with Ford's politics pretty vehemently. I am offended at him and his actions not just as my Mayor but as a human being. Saying that I don't like the guy is a massive understatement. But even with all that, I'm hoping he's not a crack addict because that would totally fucking suck for him and his loved ones.
What about the city? Having a crackhead as the mayor has got to be a bad thing! Well, maybe not. LEAFS SUCK doesn't have a strong mayor system. The mayor is just one vote on council, and to get anything done, he needs to build an alliance of a majority of councillors. Riding high on his electoral victory into his first year in office let him push through all sorts of stuff by just obstinately sticking to his positions and bullying folks to get on board or get run over. Those days are long gone. If anything, since Rob's views on governance and understanding of how things work are so flawed, his being impaired and less effectual is probably a good thing for Council. Although, this behaviour is more egregiously bad than even some of the stupid crap we've had before and reflects badly on the city. Well whatevers, LEAFS SUCK has had some interesting mayors.
One thing in the Torontoist article that I disagree with is the bit about Ford's use of hateful language - particularly the bit about Justin Trudeau being a "fag". Don't get me wrong - that language is indeed hateful and incredibly inappropriate for any holder of public office. BUT, dude was saying that shit while he was fucking high on crack. I'm okay with giving some leeway to the garbage that comes out of your mouth immediately after a heavy pull on the crack pipe. It's the crack smoking that's still the major issue.
That said, I really hope that the "just fucking minorities" comment about the Don Bosco Eagles is fake. Throughout Ford's various trials (literally) and tribulations, the one mitigating aspect of his bad behaviour was his dedication to underprivileged high schools and to his football team. Sure there's a strong argument that the Rob Ford Football Foundation is just a publicity device and a money laundering tool for campaign financing. But even still, that foundation does do what it claims to. And sure, maybe football has nothing to do with turning around a troubled high school, but if you believe it does then Rob is doing exactly what he claims he thinks will help the most. And he seems to genuinely care about his football team - so much so that he misses Council meetings for games. Video of him slagging those players would totally suck. Even given that he was high on crack at the time of the statement - it would still be pretty hurtful.
Final point - to clarify my first statement on this over at Teh Mothership, Sarah Thomson accused Rob Fod of groping her during a photo op - which turned out to be a fizzled scandal despite having the awesome name of Ass Gate. Then, Sarah Thomson went on local radio and diagnosed Rob Ford as being high on coke based on her extensive use of Google, which of course - hilarious, at least it was until video evidence starts being discussed.
One thing in the Torontoist article that I disagree with is the bit about Ford's use of hateful language - particularly the bit about Justin Trudeau being a "fag". Don't get me wrong - that language is indeed hateful and incredibly inappropriate for any holder of public office. BUT, dude was saying that shit while he was fucking high on crack. I'm okay with giving some leeway to the garbage that comes out of your mouth immediately after a heavy pull on the crack pipe. It's the crack smoking that's still the major issue.
That said, I really hope that the "just fucking minorities" comment about the Don Bosco Eagles is fake. Throughout Ford's various trials (literally) and tribulations, the one mitigating aspect of his bad behaviour was his dedication to underprivileged high schools and to his football team. Sure there's a strong argument that the Rob Ford Football Foundation is just a publicity device and a money laundering tool for campaign financing. But even still, that foundation does do what it claims to. And sure, maybe football has nothing to do with turning around a troubled high school, but if you believe it does then Rob is doing exactly what he claims he thinks will help the most. And he seems to genuinely care about his football team - so much so that he misses Council meetings for games. Video of him slagging those players would totally suck. Even given that he was high on crack at the time of the statement - it would still be pretty hurtful.
Final point - to clarify my first statement on this over at Teh Mothership, Sarah Thomson accused Rob Fod of groping her during a photo op - which turned out to be a fizzled scandal despite having the awesome name of Ass Gate. Then, Sarah Thomson went on local radio and diagnosed Rob Ford as being high on coke based on her extensive use of Google, which of course - hilarious, at least it was until video evidence starts being discussed.
2013-05-14
2013-05-06
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