MB Toronto
Morning Brew: Smitherman throws down gauntlet to Ford, G20 police inquiry by Ontario watchdog, Conrad Black may be allowed back to Toronto, Eaton Centre peeping Tom, real life Winnie-the-Pooh
These days, it seems George Smitherman is just itching for direct confrontation. Unsatisfied with previous mayoral candidate shouting matches, he's now requested the chance to lock horns with Rob Ford in a one-on-one debate with no other candidates present. His reasoning is that "most of the polls indicate that [they] are the two leading contenders" anyway, and it would benefit voters to hear from just the front-runners. Ford says he is not intimidated, and the other candidates are certainly not impressed.
After receiving close to 300 G20-related complaints, the Ontario Independent Police Review Director announced yesterday that it will be launching a systemic review of police conduct during the summit. The office will still be investigating each complaint individually, but according to director Gerry McNeilly, his office can lawfully initiate a more thorough review if there's a pattern in the complaints. These guys couldn't have asked for a bigger test of effectiveness -- the office was only established last fall, and this will be its first inquiry.
In Chicago today, Conrad Black will be facing the same judge who put him in prison to acknowledge the terms of his release, which may change at the hearing to allow him to return to Toronto. Even if permission were granted, it's anybody's guess how he'd be able to cross the border, as his only identification, a British passport, expired while he was in jail.
Ladies, keep an eye out, as always. A 35-year-old Thornhill man has been charged with voyeurism after being spotted in the Eaton Centre and at Dundas subway station yesterday with a camera attached to a laptop bag, allegedly videotaping under women's skirts. So those lone men with video cameras at the crowded Yonge-Dundas intersection may not simply be there to capture the summer, um, festivities.
Finally, the search for a poor bear with its head stuck in a jar is now over. An empty pickle jar with a clump of black fur inside was found on the shores of Lake Superior, and has been confirmed as the same one the black bear had been struggling with for two weeks. Can anybody say, "Oh bother!"
Photo: "Field of dreams" by StudioGabe, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.
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He's not going anywhere with his expired British passport. And he's a convicted criminal. He has to go all the way up to Kenney for permission. And Kenney isn't going to risk his own political career to help that scumbag.
Group debate:
Moderator: "What do you think we should do about blank?"
Candidate A: "I think the bigger question is why Candidate B has supported other (mostly unrelated) blank in the past."
Candidate B: "Explanation for other mostly unrelated blank, but you're still not answering the question about blank"
Candidate C: "I agree that Candidate B needs to explain why other blank was allowed to happen. And besides, wasn't Candidate D's policy one of other, other blank?"
'blank' never gets answered by the candidate and the topic moves onto the topic of the other, other blank. And the other, other blank always ends up being one of the same 2 or 3 issues
Two person debate:
Moderator: "What do you think we should do about blank?"
Candidate A: "I think the bigger question is why Candidate B has supported other (mostly unrelated) blank in the past."
Candidate B: "Explanation for other mostly unrelated blank, but you're still not answering the question about blank"
And hopefully without other candidates continually chiming in and moving to the same 2 or 3 topics the moderator can keep the debate on track and pressure the candidate who continually changes subjects on topic and get some real answers out of them.
Even though I've left out names, I'm sure you all know who is who and why Rob Ford would be scared to engage in a 1 on 1.
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MadMike could be hiding under your bed!
You might like the idea of a politician getting off scott free for a serious crime because the police let him off the hook because it happens to agree with the things you've always said 'the police are corrupt; the politicians, overprivileged). But that doesn't change the fact that <b>it didn't happen</b>. How many times do people have to tell you people this. There was VIDEO PROOF that Sheppard was the instigator and that it was completely understandable that Bryant did given the circumstances. It also ignores the fact that despite his innocence, Bryant's career in politics is over and his image tarnished. This is the case -BECAUSE- of his former political position. If you had been acquitted of a crime, I guarantee you that nobody would give a crap. You could go about your life as before and the vast majority of people wouldn't treat you differently. You'd have no trouble finding employment, you'd never have to worry about the media tracking your every move and you certainly wouldn't have to worry about ignorant people like <b>you</b> continuing to treat an innocent man as a guilty, evil man.
"On Sundays, each photo of the day will be collected in a gallery post ... (for) readers to vote for the photo that they like best."
And furthermore:
"By uploading any photograph to this contest, you grant (or warrant that the owner of such materials expressly grants) blogTO and licensors a world-wide, royalty-free, irrevocable and non-exclusive right and license to use, copy, adapt, transmit, communicate, publicly display and perform, distribute and create compilations and derivative works or merchandise from any such submitted photograph to promote the contest."
Do you ask for further permission after a photo is posted to the flickr pool, for it to be entered into the contest? Are the Flickr pool rules going to be changed?
Daniel .. Toronto
http://bit.ly/bMGh0hTagG20