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Rob Ford's Toronto

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Peepers said:
I agree with this. The Toronto Star is reporting that the Police backed off Ford queries to "preserve" Project Traveller

http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2...tml?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed




Some observations:

Gary Giroux the so-called "top" homicide detective was brought in to interview Towhey and Price about a tip that came into the mayor's office.

The tipster suggested a link between the video and the murder of Anthony Smith. It made perfect sense to bring in a homicide detective to investigate something potentially connected to a murder. This myth perpetuated by the Toronto Police that Giroux was brought into the investigation because he is "so good" and nothing to do with homicide is nonsense.

So what we have is Toronto Police putting a MURDER investigation on the back burner so as to "preserve" an investigation into guns and drugs! On what basis can Bill Blair justify this? Where are their priorities? Why would the investigation into a murder hinder a separate investigation into drugs and guns?

After today I think that Ford is finished. It's only a question of how long he can hang on. I hope that that media will now devote some attention to the investigation by Toronto Police. It seems to me that Bill Blair has a lot of explaining to do!
Click to expand...
Reading some of the ITO is is abundantly that the cops were investigating Ford in relation to Traveler but very interested in him and Lisi et al for prosecution at a later date. I can understand why they didn't want to jeopardize Traveler. It wasn't just guns and drugs, it's major organized crime with murders thrown in.

After reading the ITO it appears the police see Ford and his associations as conduit to a very large criminal world happening out in Etobicoke. Every single person they mentioned in relation to Ford and Lisi out there was dirty. Lisi having access to three cars registered to a third party, the 51 Benway guy, the Basso's, the murder attempt in the Don Jail on Mohamed Siad. It all stinks of underworld stuff.
 
Re Ford being able to help himself:

As someone who had at a time a problem with meth and at another time with booze, I can tell you that Ford being unable to publicly admit he has a problem as well as having people that close to him (ie: his family) enabling his self-delusions absolutely precludes him from dealing with his addictions.

So, for me, any talk of him getting help, a leave of absence, etc is rubbish. He could take a leave right now all he wants (and he doesn't) and it wouldn't solve anything for him.

Cuffs or pitchforks....or next year's election, I guess. (Or coffin....but I'd rather not)
 
MetroMan said:
I've been pondering this. The following is just speculation:

  1. Crack video story breaks
  2. Ford runs from media for a week
  3. Fancy cars driving around Dixon show off suitcases full of money
  4. Ford confidently denies crack video exists
  5. Ford will not step down under any circumstance


Most people assume Ford just bought the video himself and had it destroyed. But wait... what if it was not Ford who bought the video? What if those suitcases full of money convinced Mohamed Siad to give up the video? What if the person offering those suitcases full of money then strongly encouraged Ford to not step down? What if that person had some things he needed Ford to do for him? Would the video surfacing change any of that if there were now threats involved? There's some pretty powerful people in the city and this is all starting to fit into a neatly finished puzzle.
Click to expand...

From the National Post:
On the day the crack video allegations surfaced, Mr. Ransom, then special assistant of communications to Mr. Ford, recalled asking their boss point blank if the video was true, documents read. “Mayor Ford denied it and said that this is not the worst that is going to happen. This is going to blow up and there will be people in bigger trouble than him,†Mr. Ransom said, adding that he did not know at the time what Mayor Ford meant by that comment. He also told police he believed the video existed."
"
 
Steviewonders said:
Patience for what?
He isn't going anywhere unless he is charged criminally. You have to be very naive to think eventually he is just going to resign. Have you been listening to him or his brother?
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I'm hoping he does stay. Dragging this into the election is exactly what is needed to get people sick and tired of both of these clowns and spectacularly rejected by everyone but their most insane supporters.

Council will deal with removing Fords powers on Friday and he can be ignored by everyone for a year while police and the media leak out more and more of the secrets he doesn't have any left of to hide. It's going to be a long year and a disgusting, dirty mayoral campaign but I have hope that we'll come out of it all with no chance in hell that anybody with the Ford surname will get ever elected to any office for 100+ years.
 
typezed said:
An American public relations guy appearing on CBC tonight speculated that Ford is gaining favor among some in the American public as the story becomes told there. The expert said that Ford is winning the public relations battle. His act as the guy who refuses to back down to the system, fighting to save money for taxpayers will appeal to the same class of people in the US as here. All those who believe in the Tea Party and Sarah Palin. Impossible to fathom for those of us who watch and bounce between anger, incredulity, shock and sadness, but the man has always had some strange appeal for those who need simple solutions, and that's not going away.
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But that's just the fringe kooks, hardcore tea party loogans. It's like Sarah Palin, she's a joke now. Acting like an irresponsible, lying nut will entrench support sure, but that base will ever decrease in size.
 
basic said:
Ben Spurr ‏@BenSpurr 1m
Instead of listening to staff ahead of his speech about the crack allegations "Ford "wanted to use a speech that his mother gave him."

haha
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I loved that too. So Diane Macbeth wrote the incoherent speech of that great May day....unbelievable. Consider the psychology at work with his mom (who may or not have believed his protestations) telling him to go out and make that speech It's just so oedipal and power-mad and sick I can hardly wrap my head around it.

I think we're past the point of Rob being in denial...this is like a complete disconnect with reality, that he has no clue what he's done and how bad it is. I mean, really no idea.

Another telling thing (and I'm sure it's mentioned upthread, so apologies) was how Ford today asked all the councillors get their hair tested for drugs. When he had the press conf in may and had a buzzcut, I laughed off the people who thought he cut it to avoid a drug test. But he straight up said today that he knows that's how you test for cocaine use and that makes it rather more germane.

I hardly know what else to say given how it keeps spinning worse and worse and worse. He should be on a suicide watch or something at this point because he has put himself into a corner with virtually no way out.
 
pattycakes said:
From the National Post:
On the day the crack video allegations surfaced, Mr. Ransom, then special assistant of communications to Mr. Ford, recalled asking their boss point blank if the video was true, documents read. “Mayor Ford denied it and said that this is not the worst that is going to happen. This is going to blow up and there will be people in bigger trouble than him,” Mr. Ransom said, adding that he did not know at the time what Mayor Ford meant by that comment. He also told police he believed the video existed."
"
Click to expand...

So then not necessarily bigger or higher up people, just people in more shit.
 
PinkLucy said:
I was replying to inyyz who said she's frustrated after following this for 6 months. I don't think he is just going to resign. I have been watching and waiting for this man to implode for many years, and whether it's through an arrest or a trouncing at the polls, I think he's finally going to get some sort of come-uppance (jail is my choice). But he has slipped out of so many grasps over the years, it's almost mind-boggling.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. I'm still in shock that the man I cringed and laughed at years ago, for being accused of assaulting his wife, for being accused of a plethora of indiscretions, actually becoming MAYOR, and here we are today. Stuck with him.
 
p137-138 is dynamite. Ford leaves city hall, goes to the LCBO and then rendezvous with a white limo. Gets in, fifteen minutes later gets out, drives off.

Driver of the limo had been charged with prostitution related offence but charge withdrawn.
 
Council's Friday meeting is Council's last chance --- if they fail, bring in the province. With today's developments I think that Queens Park can get involved without worrying about political fallout.
 
basic said:
But the mayor himself admitted to smoking crack cocaine, it takes the leverage from whoever may have bought the video.
Click to expand...

Once you get involved with the kind of people who put pipe bombs in restaurants and throw Molotov cocktails into nightclubs, you don't have any leverage. What would compel Ford to for the first time in his life tell the truth unprompted? "I smoked crack cocaine". That's not Ford. Lifting 1000lbs off his back? Yeah, I'd feel relieved to tell everybody the truth if releasing that truth is what I've been threatened with for half a year.

...but then Ford goes to his car and there's a deer's head sitting in the passengers seat. "Ok, maybe I won't resign after all".
 
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