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Rob Ford's Toronto

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ParkdalePetunia said:
I agree with that. That's what was the hardest to swallow about that story for me. What Rob Ford did was so embarrassing, but it seems like she's desensitized to it now from the way the story describes her reaction. Rob has used her as a political prop, the "more than enough to eat at home". She's probably been dealing with him cheating and people knowing (and whispering about) he's cheating for years. They are obviously not a couple in love, but still embarrassing. But maybe she's really just sick of the way he treats her, and decided to let the cat out of the bag.
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I would love to hear a journalist's opinion of this sudden change in reporting.
 
MTown said:
In my experience, any calls about medical emergencies involving illegal drugs other than marijuana have a cop showing up.
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Some callers, for various reasons, my not want the police to enter their homes.

That makes some hesitant to call for paramedics. Or, when they do, to choose their words carefully when speaking to the Emergency Medical Dispatcher. The call may be dispatched simply as a "Medical emergency", in which case, TPS is not notified.
 
L23 said:
I read it as "they call me racist, even though I help anyone no matter what colour they are" without any acknowledgement or apparent realisation that calling them racist epithets is indeed racist.
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Yeah, that's the way I read it too with "I'm the most racist guy around" perhaps said in a sarcastic tone that doesn't come across well in print.

There's also the issue of The Star's transcription of what was said to be pretty slurred speech. I wouldn't put much faith in it, especially if they only had a limited time to get it down on paper. As we've seen already, it can be pretty hard to tell just what Ford is saying when he's under the influence.

I'm also bit skeptical of the events that are said to have taken place after the recording ended. They're based on one anonymous source who obviously has an axe to grind. I'm not saying they couldn't have happened. I just don't trust this type of journalism that's based on less than reliable intel.
 
kaboi said:
I see what you're saying, but the Star only has these things to print because Rob Ford actually said them! That's the part that's truly shocking. This idea that he's some goofy lovable oaf needs to be put to bed.
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Oh, I'll probably get lambasted for saying this but as someone who has seen the darkest side of alcohol, much of Ford's anti-social behaviour related to his drinking and drug use. It is hard to tell what Rob Ford would be like if he was sober for any length of time. If he wasn't in pursuit of drugs, it's unlikely he wouldn't know gang members at all or have criminal friends like Lisi. Those associations go hand-in-hand with drug and alcohol culture. My guess is that he apologises profusely to his wife, kids, friends and family after these benders. While alcohol does expose the worst of people's thoughts, being profoundly drunk can cause people to do and say things that are quite out of character. Being dependent on alcohol and drugs can make good people do terrible things. If he was poor, we'd be reading about him stealing and cheating people to get his fix. At his level of abuse, most other people would be sleeping on street corners by now.

Ford is surely not a "lovable oaf". He's definitely an a-hole. He has a deeply flawed personality and has troubles with impulse control; misogynistic, racist, homophobic, childish, bullying etc., but these extreme rants of his, the creepy references to sex, the violence - that's typical of the alcoholic-pickled brain. I've seen people who are generally non-violent and would never utter such creepy words say and do the most shocking things when drunk - and then apologise for it the next day.

If Ford does dry out. There will be plenty left to despise him for, but those rant videos depict the troubling truth of alcoholism.
 
arksi said:
Yeah, that's the way I read it too with "I'm the most racist guy around" perhaps said in a sarcastic tone that doesn't come across well in print.

There's also the issue of The Star's transcription of what was said to be pretty slurred speech. I wouldn't put much faith in it, especially if they only had a limited time to get it down on paper. As we've seen already, it can be pretty hard to tell just what Ford is saying when he's under the influence.

I'm also bit skeptical of the events that are said to have taken place after the recording ended. They're based on one anonymous source who obviously has an axe to grind. I'm not saying they couldn't have happened. I just don't trust this type of journalism that's based on less than reliable intel.
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I'm sure it was lawyered to death. That means a reliable source and probably an affidavit. It makes sense to me that it's Marvin the Weasel. His testimony has put people in jail.
 
VintagePunk said:
Something is really unsettling about that story, and the closest I can come to putting a finger on it is that it brings Renata into it, to a degree that's never been done before. I have to wonder why she's suddenly off limits, when Toronto media had been fairly respectful of her status as a private citizen up till now. I'm not generally one for wild speculation, but I wonder if she has given the okay for them to run the story. It's the only thing that I can think of that makes sense.
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I made a comment not that long ago when Donavan did a story about (the usually off limits) Kathy Ford almost missing a court date for toothbrush theft. It was the first time they focused on her solely, without any story about the political Fords. We soon discovered the bigger story about Rob & Lisi in her basement.

That's kinda where my mind went when (usually off limits) Renata was brought up in this story.
 
VintagePunk said:
Something is really unsettling about that story, and the closest I can come to putting a finger on it is that it brings Renata into it, to a degree that's never been done before. I have to wonder why she's suddenly off limits, when Toronto media had been fairly respectful of her status as a private citizen up till now. I'm not generally one for wild speculation, but I wonder if she has given the okay for them to run the story. It's the only thing that I can think of that makes sense.
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Interesting idea, that Renata was in on the story. Now that I think about it, she's not the only non-public figure getting pulled into Ford stories now - Kathy smoking crack, Bruno and Sandro doing drugs and then getting beat up, Renata's sex life, his conversation about DUI with his lawyer.

Remember when the Star pixellated the faces of the unknown gang members in the photo with Ford to protect their privacy? We seem to be a long way from there. I agree - would be interesting to hear a journalist's perspective on this evolution.
 
VintagePunk said:
Something is really unsettling about that story, and the closest I can come to putting a finger on it is that it brings Renata into it, to a degree that's never been done before. I have to wonder why she's suddenly off limits, when Toronto media had been fairly respectful of her status as a private citizen up till now. I'm not generally one for wild speculation, but I wonder if she has given the okay for them to run the story. It's the only thing that I can think of that makes sense.
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It's entirely possible that Renata was involved in the Star's latest story. I got that vibe off it, too. Maybe not as a key source, but perhaps she confirmed some details. Or maybe she gave a full interview to Donovan. Who knows? Either way, she has a boatload of reasons for wanting to do some damage to Rob. Whether she's acting on them, I don't think we'll ever know.
 
anne said:
Oh, I'll probably get lambasted for saying this but as someone who has seen the darkest side of alcohol, much of Ford's anti-social behaviour related to his drinking and drug use. It is hard to tell what Rob Ford would be like if he was sober for any length of time. If he wasn't in pursuit of drugs, it's unlikely he wouldn't know gang members at all or have criminal friends like Lisi. Those associations go hand-in-hand with drug and alcohol culture. My guess is that he apologises profusely to his wife, kids, friends and family after these benders. While alcohol does expose the worst of people's thoughts, being profoundly drunk can cause people to do and say things that are quite out of character. Being dependent on alcohol and drugs can make good people do terrible things. If he was poor, we'd be reading about him stealing and cheating people to get his fix. At his level of abuse, most other people would be sleeping on street corners by now.

Ford is surely not a "lovable oaf". He's definitely an a-hole. He has a deeply flawed personality and has troubles with impulse control; misogynistic, racist, homophobic, childish, bullying etc., but these extreme rants of his, the creepy references to sex, the violence - that's typical of the alcoholic-pickled brain. I've seen people who are generally non-violent and would never utter such creepy words say and do the most shocking things when drunk - and then apologise for it the next day.

If Ford does dry out. There will be plenty left to despise him for, but those rant videos depict the troubling truth of alcoholism.
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1) His family is made up of criminals and people connected to the drug scene. It's not his addiction that connects him.

2) I seriously doubt it. He, up until recently, didn't even acknowledge he had a problem. He is an entitled s.o.b. who treats people like crap sober or drunk (as his antics in council show). He has also said racist and sexist things while potentially sober (I say potentially because who knows how often he's actually sober but he certainly pretends he is).

3) This isn't sudden behaviour, he's been behaving like this for years, and it's been reported on for years. There is video of it from council, press conferences, etc. He's not a good person.

I understand what you're saying and for most people I would venture to say that drug fueled benders would be rarer and probably show the worst in their behaviour, but for Rob I don't think it's true.
 
Cooper said:
It's entirely possible that Renata was involved in the Star's latest story. I got that vibe off it, too. Maybe not as a key source, but perhaps she confirmed some details. Or maybe she gave a full interview to Donovan. Who knows? Either way, she has a boatload of reasons for wanting to do some damage to Rob. Whether she's acting on them, I don't think we'll ever know.
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The more of an a-hole Ford appears in public, the easier her custody case for the kids will be.
 
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