Toronto train wreck - Ford nation turning into an abomination!

I don't know what the hell is going on with Canadian mayors these days, but if the shenanigans going on in both Ontario and Quebec are anything to go by - Houston, we have a problem. Or that catchphrase today truly should be "Toronto, we have a problem".

It's one thing to get through three mayors (one of whom was recently arrested) in less than a year in Montreal, the fallout of the allegedly corruption-rife administration of Gerald Tremblay (and the famous two budgets; one real, one vastly inflated, the latter of which we all paid for), and the Charbonneau inquiry into rampant corruption in the construction industry, under Tremblay's watch. 

Nobody cried any tears when Tremblay was forced out - he was in the twelfth year of a three-term stint, and that was already about eight years too late in most people's opinion, it seemed. It is quite sickening to hear such types ranting on about doing what is best for the cityscape, all holier-than-thou, while simultaneously being accused of accepting or actively participating in illegal activities behind closed doors in plush city hall offices. 

It is a complete and total abuse of power. Power which they should never have been given in the first place, because either they were already corrupted prior to engagement, or, they became corrupted by their sudden rise to power, elected by the people. Some form of arrogant detachment begins to creep in, allowing them to believe that they are so "special" that they don't have to follow rules or the law, probably because in their misled heads, they now are the law. Or are actually above it.  Uh huh.

Montreal was not the only city in Quebec to be hit by such scandal, as shockwaves rocked Laval (a Montreal suburb that is actually Canada's thirteenth biggest city) when the so-called "King of Laval" was also arrested in 2013 and charged with actual gangsterism, and fraud, among other charges. It was truly ironic to see the Mayor of Laval in handcuffs in the Palais de Justice that he had inaugurated some two decades earlier - Gilles Vaillancourt was charged with crimes usually associated with biker gangs or mobsters. 

But as introduced above, it is one thing to hear about corrupt leadership and rumours of kickbacks and scandals and scams, but quite another thing entirely in the case of a certain Rob Ford, of Toronto. This train wreck has already outlived its entertainment value, and it should be put to bed immediately before something truly destructive or final concludes it for us. Quite how this guy remains welcome inside the rarefied airs of city hall is beyond me. 

We are of course talking about the leader of "Ford Nation", Mayor Rob Ford of Toronto, who has so damaged his public reputation that it is beyond belief that he still has a job, of any kind, never mind being the leader of the largest city in Canada, responsible for a staggering $10B budget. I think I can spare you all of the details, as anyone in Canada who has a TV or reads the paper even once a week should be as aware/sick of the story as I am, and the video included above speaks volumes more about the problem than I could.

Essentially, Toronto has a mayor who when asked recently (under enormous pressure after many denials, but in the face of threats of new video evidence surfacing) whether he had ever smoked crack (cocaine), stated something like "Well, maybe in a drunken stupor, yes, I tried it". One has to laugh; since when did "drunken stupor" become acceptable behaviour or terminology for city mayors, or a useful excuse for using illegal drugs?!

The very same mayor who stood side-by-side with Police Chief Bill Blair and proudly announced that he was taking drugs and gangs head on, all the while allegedly filling his head with chemicals of both legal (alcohol) and illicit (drugs) nature? The astounding statistic being that once "Mayor" Ford admitted using crack, his approval rating actually rose, and remains about 44%! Way to go, Toronto! What is wrong with this picture?!

Rather unbelievably, two famous talking heads south of the border, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert both railed on Ford; Stewart was a little more generous, encouraging Ford to seek help right away, while Colbert was stronger and actually ended his piece by apparently smoking from a crack pipe. When a Canadian mayor starts to become the source of hilarity for such shows south of the border, there is a clear and evident problem. 

One thing that seems to repeat over and over in such types, whether it be mayors in Montreal and Toronto, or Tiger Woods, or Bernie Madoff (among many others) and their apparent out-of-control behaviour even in the face of severe scrutiny, is a massive belief (but equally massive error) that they can actually get away with it. Some aspect of their powerful positions in their chosen profession seems to lead them to think that even when the s**t hits the fan, and/or they are forced to admit to their "sins", that they are so beloved that they can actually ride it out and keep their prized positions. 

It is of course some form of sociopathic disorder to believe that all of the rules apply to "normal" people, and not yourself. I am so powerful and so connected that I will wipe the floor with anyone who threatens my situation, and as the Mayor of Toronto, I can even bring the police in to sort out those who try to mess with me. Or in contrast, allegedly use known connections and actual felons involved in drugs to do my bidding and get the video buried by threats and force.

Unfortunately for Ford, all of this seems to have been documented by Bill Blair and his team, who were covertly keeping an eye on Ford as this train wreck has evolved in recent months. I felt certain that the statement by Blair at a press conference this week that they had recovered the by now famous crack-smoking video at the heart of this fiasco would lead to immediate resignation by Ford. 

But amazingly again, no. The sheer hubris (or as Stewart joked, how big are this guy's balls?!) to stand and tell the city that he will stay on to do the job he was elected to do, in the face of all that has transpired, is simply unbelievable. Torontonians truly have no problem with a mayor who regularly gets into "drunken stupors" that can end in smoking crack, and believe him when he pounds the pulpit and claims he is against drugs in the city? While being seen in photos with known gang members from the Dixon highrises?

As an indication of what is at stake here, the person pictured far left in this photo is no longer even alive, having been killed in what is believed to have been gang-related activity. How is this even possible for a mayor of a metropole such as Toronto? How can anyone find this acceptable? Ford's staunchest supporter continues to be his brother Doug Ford, himself a city councillor, and other family members. They have an excuse, but for everyone else?

It is almost inevitable what will happen next - the expected announcement that he will enter rehab. It's almost become the default move for any celebrity who runs into trouble. But there is a huge difference between being a Tiger Woods or a Lindsay Lohan, and being a celebrity mayor who runs an entire city. Once the credibility is shattered to such an enormous level, I think this rehab visit will not come with an automatic return to power and fame, and it shouldn't. He needs to be replaced in the interim, and that should be the end of the affair. 

Perhaps it is Jon Stewart who said it best, and I shall let his concerned words be the end of this weekend's blog. - Kevin Mc

"Mayor Ford’s a lot of fun to ridicule. But my guess is, not a lot of fun to eulogize. And that’s where this thing’s headed...."

I don't hate Mondays - anymore!



I read something recently about singer/songwriter and activist Bob Geldof (Sir Bob, to be correct) reconnecting with old band mates for a reunion tour of the Boomtown Rats, his contribution to the punk/new wave scene in the late 70s and early 80s. I am not a huge fan of such reunions as they often have more to do with nostalgic "cash-in" than any relevance of that nostalgia to today, or the contemporary art form.

 

However, sometimes a song resonates for an entire lifetime, and my mind kept coming back to their massive hit, "I Don't Like Mondays" which reached #1 in an unbelievable 32 countries - a staggering achievement for a bunch of musical scallywags from  Dún Laoghaire ("Dunleary"), a small seaside town in County Dublin, Ireland.

 

As with most of the music produced by alternative artists at that time, the song was political and aligned with a period of considerable industrial instability and worker unrest in Ireland (as described in the video above), but for us schoolkids it hit home with us for a more personal reason - the imagery of kids forced out of bed and into a classroom at school made us feel they were singing for us!

 

Even though the idea is that we grow up and grow out of that situation, the harsh reality for many it seems is that school is simply replaced by work when we do grow up, and our love for the weekend and dread of Monday morning pervades almost our entire lifetime! Doesn't this seem quite absurd? Who would want to live that life? What would be the purpose of that life?

 

Even though it appears ridiculous as a concept, how many of us truly jump out of bed with some fire on a Monday morning? Well, okay, let's refine the question a little - when one first wakes up at 6am on a chilly November morning, no one can blame us for feeling groggy and desiring of another hour in bed - agreed. But once up and once showered, our feelings about it should have come around considerably. Ready to hit the streets and take the day!

 

I can imagine that some are ready to argue that it is easier to feel like that if you are a doctor or own your company or do something apparently very interesting for a living. Or, if you make tons of money doing something, no matter how trivial, well it's all more fun. But it's actually not about the money, at all. Generalising somewhat, those who chose to stay on in school and get more degrees actually wanted to, and those who left school early to get a regular job and start "living" did so out of choice (often), also.

 

We truly are the outcome of such choices, even if they can be tinged with regret later on. But irrespective of the level of sophistication in our work, the key is doing something that we at least like, if not actually love, and being paid to do it for five days a week is a bonus. Nevertheless, anything becomes routine after a while, and everyone seems to have a boss, but these are mere facts of life. We have to get over it, and get on with it. Or, if one is truly unhappy about one's life, then the only thing that will change anything, is, well......change!

 

"Good God, it's all change here, stars must have swapped position...." - [Close Lobsters, natch]

 

Most of us might escape change for a long period of our younger lives, but inevitably change is gonna come-a-knocking. People fear change for both rational and irrational reasons, but sometimes the only way to face change is to dive into the deep end of it, and see how you actually cope with it. And guess what? We can often shock even ourselves by not only how we cope with it, but how we actually begin to thrive in it!

 

Unquestionably, compared to waking up in a hospital bed or uniquely challenged in ways that so many have to face daily, those of us with the capacity to jump out of bed and into the shower, unaided, are completely blessed. We simply need to be reminded of it, more often. More importantly, we need to remind ourselves of it, much more often. Write it on your bathroom mirror and face it with your face, every single morning. Get those words off the mirror and onto and into your forehead, and carry them with you out into the world.

 

Most of us have so much to be grateful for, yet we find things to moan about instead. It's human nature, but if so then we must fight our nature! Start counting the things that make this world and our presence in it so remarkable, and emphasise them more, and dwell on the  negative a little or a lot less. It's often only by relegating the negative things to where they belong in terms of priorities that we get to see more clearly that low on the list is where they actually should be; suddenly they don't seem to matter so much.

 

Get out there, and make a difference to your circumference, every single day. It doesn't matter whether it's a brilliant new idea in engineering or a work mate calling you brilliant because you helped solve a little problem they had or the fact that some junior person draws inspiration from you - as long as you project positivity and resolve even in the face of adversity, you can make a difference and change someone else's viewpoint even without knowing it.

 

There will be enough time later for sitting by a warm fire with the pipe and slippers, and retiring to bed early. For now, it is time to say "I don't hate Mondays", and get out there to change lives, and if necessary, lay the bricks for a reconstruction of your own life and slowly build in the change that you need to get your life back on track and on the up-and-up. It's a cliche of course, but one interlaced with truth - anything might be (I won't say, is) possible, especially if your bust your butt attempting it!

 

It really is in our own hands, each and every one of us, and the only sure thing is that if we do nothing and change nothing, then we are unlikely to succeed in constructing a better tomorrow. However, if we get off our rears, and at least try, most days, then we are stacking the odds in our favour and our chances increase - and trying is always better than crying, n'est-ce pas?!

 

Oki doki, it is time for this boy to try to put together a steaming masterpiece involving this new "Bolivian Black Bean Breakfast" delight that I just imported from my supplier, and word is that I will be jumping out of bed for days to come on one large cup! ;) - Kevin Mc

 

PS - It is interesting to note that the song relates to disaffected schoolkids and their desire to "shoot the whole day down" - a premonition becoming increasingly prevalent in American schools today.