City
Morning Brew: Body Found in Trunk, Mayor Defends Toronto as Tourist Destination, Indy Racing Returns
Photo: untitled by Squeakyrat, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.
What's happening in the GTA (and sometimes beyond):
Elementary French school teacher and single mom Connie Valencia-Russo was found by police, murdered, in the trunk of her car yesterday in North York. Police are looking for tips to help them find the suspect(s). Sticking a body in the trunk sounds like a mafia move, but to leave the car available - and to use a Toyota Corolla - does not. Let's hope the police have better ideas.
CNN put Mayor Miller on the air to talk about Toronto tourism in the face of a garbage strike and Miller found himself cut off as he tried to defend the city as a great tourist destination right now, despite piles of garbage. The mayor claims nobody would even notice the garbage, which seems odd when the city continues installing new garbage bins - with signs attached saying not to use them. But I'm sure no tourists ever have anything to throw away, and I'm sure they'd love to just cary their trash back to their hotel.
Least shocking poll results ever: Torontonians don't like the mayor or the striking unions. I find it a bit strange that as liberal a town as Toronto is, its unions rarely get much public support, even when taking a legal strike position. I also find it strange that the mayor would have let things come to this as there was no way he was going to emerge as a hero out of this, and I can only assume he wants to be re-elected.
Vroom Vroom... Molson Honda Indy returns this weekend after a year-long hiatus. Expect road closures, loud engines and rain on Saturday. Also some high performance vehicles traveling at very high speeds.
Apparently in the NBA you can change history. The surprise signing of free-agent Hedo Turkoglu is no longer an outright signing but a piece of a much larger, much more complicated sign-and-trade deal between four teams, which will also see Shawn Merion depart the Raptors. The moves look great now but if Bryan Colangelo can't convince Chris Bosh to stick around, this massive deal will look like a massive waste of time.
Rising star (but still rookie) David Price outpitched the mighty Roy Halladay, carrying the Tampa Bay Rays to a sweep of the Blue Jays. The silver lining is that Halladay's trade value can't really be hurt by a hard luck loss.
Discussion
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Is that a joke? That's someone's mother.
How about Miller, talking about how the city is shrugging off the strike: "The city's buzzing..." Yes Mayor, that's what happens when maggots become flies...
@ddt I really don't think it's a racial slur. Insensitive joke or tasteless seems plausible. I almost said mob, but really, what's the difference? Organized crime exists in Toronto and sometimes the crimes we see in the papers are a result of that group.
What's with all the knee-jerk outrage?
Re: little public suppport for unions in TO. unions WERE necessary. not so much nowadays in big cities. a union is just another hand in my pocket. also, only a union could be so brash as to strike in the middle of a recession, thumbing their nose at the unemployed and denying others (e.g Centre Island students) the right to make a living.
My Goodness, what a horrible way to die.
My thoughts go out to her friends, family, and students.
This was tasteless and out of line Joshua.
My heart broke when I read it.
Tsk Tsk Joshua.
I think the line was tasteless too but only because of the victim. Who called anyone a wop? Oh yeah only you mentioned it.
By the way, Italians aren't the only "race" that are open game. I'm Scottish and constantly have to endure all the cheap, drunk and sheep fucker jokes. I don't get all bent out of shape about it. Oh wait I guess I just did.
i'm glad you put "race" in quotes, but yeah, i know what you mean.
Insert Fararh Facut cancer joke. Insert Michael Jackson overdose joke. Insert Martin Streek depression joke.
It was a passing, speculative comment. I think everyone will agree that what happened to this woman is a tragedy, but our lives are surrounded by tragedy that we don't seem to get up in arms about, unless, of course, we can hammer someone else for being"insensitive".
I think its important for all to realize that the difference between assholes and good, honest conversation on a topic is knowing when to play the "politically correct" card. In this case, I would say that most of the comments represent masturbatory misplaced righteousness.
If the editors/freshdaily had ANY sense they would remove that, and apologize. You manage to gather enough respect to be linked to by mainstream media, and then stand by as this guy spouts inane racist stereotypes while making a punchline of some poor womans death?
How old is this Joshua, 15? Brutal.
I think the claim "'mafia' has become a genericized term that could apply equally to many other organized crime groups - like the Russian mafia" is off-base. There's a reason why the Russian mafia is called "the Russian mafia". It's because "mafia" means the Italian (-derived) mafia. Let's not pretend here.
On the other hand, certain types of crimes are associated with the mafia (rightly or wrongly, I have no idea but it's not particularly important) and to claim that bringing up the mafia when such a crime occurs is a "racial slur against Italians" is stupid. It literally makes no sense unless you identify people of Italian ancestry with the mafia. Now *that* would be a racial slur, wouldn't it.
Okay, now I see by a new comment that the claim is that it's a racial slur against Italians because of some connection that the author did not make and probably wasn't aware of. That might be even more stupid than my first interpretation.
If the city gave everyone the same deal that the cops got the media would complain about giving in. Instead the city is negotiating and being tough (and in the mean time saving money by not paying striking workers) the 905 star blames him for being tough.
I'd say people vote when it counts and how it counts. The paid readership of newspapers and their biased drivel is constantly dwindling (people vote with their wallets). And when it comes to the next mayoral race, I'd bet that Miller will win just like he has in the past.
And there is absolutely no justification for anyone to be offended by the use of the word "mafia". It's a generic term for "organized crime" that just happened to have been first used to describe the Cosa Nostra in Sicily - well over a century ago. To read "mafia" and think "wop" reveals more about the reader's prejudices than any on the part of the writer.
If you find something offensive, you speak up about it. If your not offended you should let those that are speak their mind, just because a view is different from your own does not mean its not valid, or coming from the wrong place. I was offended by it.
See how this works?
Maybe because the unions make a habit of putting us over a barrel whenever it suits their fancy?
Righteousness overload
Seriously guys, chill out. i didn't even find it particularly funny, not because it was horrible, but because it wasn't particularly well told. That being said, nobody mentioned anything about the Italian mafia, until everyone started throwing risotto at each other.
Some are offended and speaking up about it.
Others aren't offended and speaking up about nothing.
Either way this page is a hit, getting plenty of impressions, page views, repeat visits!!!
Man, saying the body in a trunk thing seems like a mafia move is not an attack on Italians since this is something the mafia has done and has been portrayed as doing in popular film. It's a pointless joke but still not a "racial slur".
Also, what the heck do you mean "racial slur", aren't Italians part of the human race? I didn't read anything slurring humans.
not an attack on Italians since not all Itlaians are connected. If he had written that, then you would have a point.
Not offended, yea maybe slightly bad taste but I read it first thing this morning, laughed and thought "he's gonna get in shit today."
carry on
But what do I know? I am, what an Italian like you might call, a mangiacake.
Er. I think the people who weren't offended are commenting so that the writers know that not everyone is in agreement about what can be considered offensive. Their opinion is just as valid as anyone else's and are allowed to speak up.
It was an ill-timed (albeit kind of clever) joke. Poor Taste, nothing more.
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/05/28/101-being-offended/
(Though I'm sure that will offend some people.)
http://toronto.partypm.com/
http://toronto.partypm.com/
Lets not give into the unions!! Its a waste!!
Keep em outta work till they beg for their jobs back!! If we give into them, or legislate them back then this was all for nothing.
Next on Stuff White People Like? Dismissing stuff as passe because they read it before.
I thought the link was funny. Though, to be fair, we are conditioned to fight for "right".
Sins of our great grand fathers and all that.
The Blogto lines are still open for jokes, puns and sarcasm.