Morning Brew: June 13th, 2008

grass torontoPhoto: "The grass called my name tonight" by gardinergirl, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Your Toronto morning news roundup for Friday June 13th, 2008:

What should we be more afraid of today: taking a bullet to the stomach when answering a knock at the front door, getting cancer from a vinyl shower curtain, or being arrested for breaking copyright laws at Pacific Mall?

Drug and alcohol testing of TTC employees may be implemented by summer's end. A 'fitness for duty' policy is in the works, and aims to shift attitudes toward safety within the organization. Union leader Bob Kinnear is almost certainly planning his response, which I hope doesn't include threats of legal action or job action.

Should it be mandatory for teachers to report fights and bullying at schools to police, or should we let kids be kids and figure out their paths on their own by disciplining them in the traditional way (at school and home)?

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A committee appointed by the Ontario Legislature has opted to keep the reading of the Lord's Prayer as part of their daily routine. The committee also recommended that in addition to keeping it, they ought to add a prayer from "another religion" and/or a moment of silence (as if doing so should appease everyone who isn't a member of the Christian faith). When morning prayer period ends at lunch time, we'll know we've gone too far, I suppose.

The Toronto District School Board is learning that genocide evokes varied emotional response. A controversial high school course has taught us that in one camp, people insist that we need to learn about it to get passed it, and in another camp, people want it erased from the curriculum so it doesn't evoke more hate.

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How many folks want their ISP keeping track of where they go and what they download and reporting it to the government. Not many I imagine. Bring on the election.

Posted by: aahhrrgg at June 13, 2008 8:36 AM

Of course the province is going to keep the prayer when it means they don't have to do work for those few minutes. Hell, how many months has the debate been going on? How many hours has been spent debating this unimportant issue rather than debating things like health care or the school system?

Posted by: Ryan L. at June 13, 2008 9:26 AM

Also, check out the National Post's photo of the streetcar. Take a look at the billboard behind it. Haha....Ass.

Posted by: Ryan L. at June 13, 2008 9:41 AM

Yesterday our government released a brutal draconian copyright bill imported from the U.S. that makes virtually everyone under 40 a criminal and opens the doors for authorities to start checking all of our digital files without warrant or cause -- and you fall for the bait and give a propaganda piece in the Toronto Star about counterfeit DVDs a link up ?!?!? The timing of that article is not some strange coincidence.

I don't know how those staff writers at the Star sleep at night, publishing crap designed to confuse the masses while our government lets Hollywood and the Bush administration rewrite our copyright laws for us.

Posted by: bb at June 13, 2008 9:56 AM

Re DVD sales at Pacific Mall - how about holding Pacific Mall management accountable for letting illegal activities take place on their property? But then again, heaven forbid, that would reduce foot traffic at the mall......

Posted by: Abby at June 13, 2008 9:57 AM

For your TDSB genocide paragraph, which debate are you referring to you in your polarizing yet generic blurb? The Armenian-Turkish stand-off, or the exclusion of the Ukrainian genocide?

Posted by: Andrew at June 13, 2008 10:01 AM

@ Andrew

I was referring to both. My apologies if that wasn't clear.

Posted by: Jerrold at June 13, 2008 10:22 AM

I'm surprised the double murder at Richmond and Niagara wasn't mentioned today... I'm shuddering, this was in my backyard.

Posted by: Becca at June 13, 2008 10:58 AM

I am a teacher. All school staff should have to report any violence to the police, because God knows the administrators I've had do everything they can to avoid a confrontation with the sources of most student violence: the unbalanced and irresponsible parents of such children.

Posted by: jamesmallon at June 14, 2008 11:02 AM

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