City
Impaired Driving Penalties Tougher, Keswick Racism Investigated, Hand Washing at Hospitals Dismal
Photo: "In Motion" by -- brian --, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.
What's happening in the GTA (and sometimes beyond):
A hate crimes investigator is delving deeper into the case of the Korean kid in Keswick, who holds a black belt in tae kwon do, and who appears to have responded to racial torment and bullying by breaking another kids nose in one swift smash [G&M]. His fellow students are standing by him, hoping to reverse the 20-day suspension he's been given, and influence the criminal case now being pursued against him.
Impaired driving laws in Ontario are stricter as of today [City]. Changes to penalties for blowing over 0.05% blood alcohol are now much tougher. 1st offense is a 3-day license suspension, 2nd time being caught gets you a week to bug friends for rides, and 3rd time blowing over gets you the ultimate punishment: a month as a dedicated TTC rider. It used to be that suspensions were 12h for each offense.
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Do you recognize these men? Police have released composite sketches of two suspects being sought in a sexual assault case that shocked residents in the Yonge & Davisville area [NP]. Even though you think you really know and like your friends and neighbours, please do take a good look.
Joe Fiorito reveals a rather saddening and somewhat disturbing story about a elderly woman living in Toronto community housing, in dire need of intervention and help and not getting it [Star]. The effect on her neighbors? Unbearable stench and frustration with the lack of response to their complaints to Toronto Community Housing Corporation.
The Star's map of the week is an interesting combination [Star]. They've taken a closer look at GTA hospitals and summarized two key findings: occurrence of disease due to C. Difficile, and compliance with hand washing by health care workers. Some of the numbers (especially for the latter) make my head spin.
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Somebody punches you in the lip and shoves you around, what are you supposed to do? Send him flowers? Or bust his nose?
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This case basically tells people that bullies are allowed to do whatever they want without consequence then blame the victim for it all. It also tells us that as victims, we are not allowed to defend ourselves, no matter what. WTF is that!?!
There wasn't any escalation on his part, he responded to a punch to his face with a punch to their face. Martial Arts training is a non-issue here cuz he could've easily kept punching or even started kicking, but he didn't, which means he had total control and was NOT excessive whatsoever. Hell, he used his weak hand to punch too.
good for the kid to defend himself. i've had to use the "left hand" myself at times in my life to fend off menacing bullies.
As for racial relations in Keswick, I can well guess. In Toronto we forget that the rest of the province is uniformly fair-skinned, except for where we have isolated native peoples. I grew up in a white town, did teacher's college in Niagara, and let me tell you these people have no idea about race relations. Not to say they are racists all, but they've never tasted its bitterness. Those of us who have (I am pgiment-deficient, but tasted racism in Japan and elsewhere) know that sensitivity classes do $#!+.
Good on his peers though! Youth is hope. My guess is the kid and that older cousin are known to come from some narrow breeding.
Also, these penalties are handed out with no appeal. With no judicial oversight, how will the police prevent certain of their officers abusing this power?
Admirable response from the other kids at the school too. Keswick has its problems but 400 students walking out of class to support the korean kid says something.
Bring back the Morning Brew title! I can't find this post anymore. Don't mess with a good thing editors. Don't make me go to the Torontist...:(
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when?”
-Rabbi Hillel
As much as we'd like to think, there is so much racism still out there today. I have experienced first hand. The thing is it's morphed into a "quiet" racism.
Oh, can you picture that (alleged) dumb-ass bully right now? Sitting there all pissed off, nose bandaged up? If it wasn't kind of sad, it would be hilarious.
Or call it Daily Brew or such.
A swift kick to the ass is what the "victim" deserves here, and the Korean kid should be applauded (for stopping at just one punch!)
And the drunk driving penalties have graduated from a slap on the wrist, to a slap on the wrist and an angry look. When are we going to start issuing stiffer penalties? Like 1st time = month suspension, 2nd time = jail and banned from driving for life?
Anyways, I for one can never get enough of little idiot thugs getting their faces busted open.
Just thinking about it makes me hopeful for this country.
Yay smalltown Ontario.
What has changed is that the penalty for "driving not-quite-drunk" has gotten much stiffer.
Presumably because the police have already caught all the actual drunk drivers.
This may come across as alittle harsh but we as a society know it's against the law to drink and drive. As the saying goes" don't do the crime if ya can't do the time". I believe the harsher the consequence the more likely people with take drinking and driving as serious as it is.