City
Morning Brew: Girl Shot, Another Tamil Protest, Midges in Love
Photo: "Here's to you" by Artisan Hill, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.
What's happening in the GTA (and sometimes beyond):
The Sun has some counting and figured out that in the first 10 days of June 20 Toronto councilors will be out of town at conferences. The tally includes 8 TTC commissioners headed to Vienna for a transit conference and 12 councilors (including the Mayor) headed to a posh Whistler resort for the Canadian Federation of Municipalities conference. In question is the value of sending so many people - on the tax-payer's dime - to these gatherings, which some claim are simply junkets. Kevin Gaudett of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says it's "self gratification" over "service," but I'm thinking it's both.
Shootings in this town make the news but the coverage intensifies when the media hears a 5 year old girl has been shot by a stray bullet. This morning, fortunately, we're hearing news that the girl is expected to survive. Still on life support is Weston/Lawrence area resident's faith in their neighbourhood has a safe place to live.
I'm sure Friday afternoon commuters will be pleased to know another Tamil protest is expected this afternoon. Thousands are expected to come out to Queen's Park for a candlelight vigil in honour of the tens of thousands killed in recent months of fighting in Sri Lanka. No word yet if the protest will take the streets, but nobody is betting against the crowd marching.
Apparently the base of my front porch is a great place for love - bug love. The city has been inundated with midges, enticed by the warm weather into big swarms of copulation. Bad news for cyclists (unless you like the taste of breeding midges), but the good news is that these little buggers only live for a couple weeks.
Planning to use the Gardiner on Sunday? Think again, as the westbound lanes will be closed from Carlaw to Jameson for scheduled maintenance from midnight to noon. No word if the work will make the road "protest ready."
Bad news for the Blue Jays: you aren't invincible. After sweeping the White Sox the Jays got swept by the Red Sox, managing just 5 runs in the series. With their division lead down to half a game, Cito & Co. head to Atlanta for their first inter-league matchup of the year, hoping to turn things around. I'd say it's best to leave the World Series floats in storage a while longer.
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What's the point now? Protesting a war that is over seems pointless.
Are the candles at the vigil for Sinhalese who were killed as well? Soldiers, police and civilians have all been killed by Tamils in the tens of thousands since 1981. More and more it becomes obvious that the protests are unilateral in their aim.
Signs still up on University say "We want Tamil Eelam" and the like, not "We want reasoned discourse and healthy compromise" and still nothing denouncing the atrocities committed by the Tigers.
I am not listening as long as it is a one-sided affair so keep protesting, I feel many ears are already deaf.
Get well, little girl.
"Sombre Tamil Queen's Park Gathering Not Likely To Stop Traffic"
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_34791.aspx
Quote from the article follows:
The GTA's Tamil community returned to Queen's Park on Friday, but unlike previous gatherings, this one had a distinctly different tone. Gone were the flags, the banners and the chanting that had marked previous protests against the carnage taking place in their Sri Lankan homeland.
It was replaced by a quiet desperation, a feeling of hopeless grief that will culminate in a candlelight vigil after sundown.
For most of the black-clad mourners gathered at the scene, it's about remembering what was lost. The United Nations estimates more than 100,000 people died in the 25-year long war.
That's a pretty harsh statement you made above in my opinion. But it's just my opinion. I'm quite sure there are many here that would, for some odd reason, support what you said. I guess thousands of people dieing to you is just a statistic. To them, they are members of their family.
Some people find consolement when they share their loss with others. It's the same reason people hold funerals for their lost loved ones. There is a bit consolement in the fact that many other share in your grief.
If they have a sombre vigil that's one thing but clearly the more rambunctious protests were out of line and I think some people are still raw from that. For those who lost family in this conflict it is devastating and we as a society can afford them a respectful vigil without grudge and, as Canadians, we will.
Unfortunately though, Tim, in order to function with any kind of sanity humans must reduce mass death to statistics and regard them as little more. It is a natural safety mechanism. We have seen what happens to those who are exposed to it firsthand and they are never the same. So maybe many people will agree with Todd but it is equally harsh for you to be so sure in prejudging them before they have even written.