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Rob Ford thread


Zint

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Ford's a goof no doubt, but the Toronto Star should get it's shit together before throwing out these unsubstantiated accusations and distracting the entire city with this crap.

Let's get this straight...this rag has had it in for Ford since the get-go, trying to bring him down for months. Then they have a chance to buy this video of him smoking crack and saying offensive things for $200k and they say, nah, I think we'll pass. Riiiiiiiiiiiigggghhhhtttt.

Now the video and its owner have conveniently disappeared.

By the way, have you heard about the kijiji ad that asked for a Rob Ford lookalike and offered to pay $200 to have him appear in a film? This was supposedly posted in late April.

At least I can say that Ford has some respect for where the money that Government gets to play with comes from. Unlike that piece of shit Kyle Rae, who threw a $12,000 retirement party for himself and billed taxpayers. To me stuff like this (and there is plenty of it) should piss people off more than Ford's stupid comments, of which granted there are many. Not sure he's really an evil guy as some make him out to be though. The man does plenty of good things, from helping people who call his office to working with youth in the city.

The onus now should be on those making the accusations to finally back them up, not on the accused to prove he isn't guilty (as if that is even provable). This whole thing has been a joke, at this point I am inclined to believe this is nothing more than bullshit by a group that is still butt hurt that their liberal favorites are no longer in charge and instead its a right winger who doesn't give a crap about offending anyone. Unless they can prove otherwise, which if they were responsible they would have done already.

Except how do you explain Ford having his picture taken with noted drug dealers (one of whom was killed several months ago - thus negating your comment about the kijiji ad)? Moreover, why has Ford never come out and explicitly stated that he has never done crack cocaine? He has chosen his words very carefully. It's interesting that he kept silent on the matter on the advice of his lawyer. Lawyers do not offer that advice to people who have nothing to hide.

And like Guns Guy stated, the Star was not the organization that broke the story. Gwaker did, and it's likely that the Star decided to run with their own experience with the video once the word was out. And The Star isn't TMZ, they, like every other reputable news organization, do not pay for stories. It would be venturing into tabloid journalism that would do far more harm to their brand than had they purchased the video.

Moreover, why should anyone ever believe anything Rob Ford has to say in his own defense. He's on record lying and covering up his past regarding numerous infractions. This isn't a guy who's known for telling the truth. If there were absolutely no truth to the rumors Ford would have a slam-dunk libel case. There's just too much smoke for there not to be fire. Is there indisputable proof right now? No, but there are so many issues with how the Mayor has handled and responded to this issue that it seems probable that he's covering up something. Notice today that more of his staff fled ship? Is'tn there an old saying about rats abandoning a sinking ship? Now that Ford is on record, I wouldn't be surprised if the video surfaces in the next week or two.

- who's word are we taking that Ford's picture was snapped with noted drug dealers many months ago?

- agreed that he hasn't denied ever using crack. A quick and firm denial would have been best. We aren't privy to what he and his lawyers discuss however, and it may have been Ford himself who opted not to discuss the matter. Finally, because he did not state unequivocably that he never used crack before is not an admission that he has.

- Ford may still sue for libel.

I get your feelings of where there is smoke there is fire...look, would I be shocked if this turns out to be true? No. But whle many have already convicted the guy because they hate him, to me the onus is on his accusers and they have to prove their claims are true. There are many who hate Ford and have been after him from the start...what is true and what isn't is hard to say. Where there is smoke there is fire, okay...but I think it's safe to say that some of what is said is also embellished and exaggerated to make him look as bad as possible while also not telling an outright lie.

If this video never surfaces then where does this story go?

To address your first point:

8439970.jpg

Guy on the left is Anthony Smith - gunned down a couple of months ago and a noted drug dealer. Since Smith was killed a few months ago, obviously this picture must have been taken beforehand (unless Ford is acting out some sort of weird Weekend At Bernie's scenario). This is being widely reported by all news organizations and has not been disputed by anyone.

Either one of these two situations are true:

i) the Mayor has used crack cocaine, the act was caught on tape, and he is lying about it and/or trying to cover it up;

ii) three reporters are falsely accusing the Mayor of something they know isn't true.

Now, let's remember that one reporter has nothing to do with the other two; that he has no personal motivation or previous altercations with a person who runs a city in a country that he's not a citizen to. Also, both accounts of the video (Gawker and The Toronto Star) collaborate each other. Please tell me what you think is the more likely scenario?

Add in Ford's strange behavior, his personal staff falling apart, and his unwillingness to unequivocally deny that he's never used crack cocaine.

Hell, even Ford's Deputy Mayor, Doug Holyday, thinks the video exists...

Apparently it's not about the video anymore but rather how the situation was handled. Sounds like a sabotage to me... I hope Ford runs for election when the time comes because I think he will win again. The "hipsters" won't take that loss kindly either ...

It's both. One has compounded the other. Look, there's several things that Ford has done as mayor that I actually like. When it comes to municipal politics I lean conservative (provincially and federally I'm more liberal). But this guy has been one disaster after another. He's already been tossed from his job. Toronto has a budget of $8 billion dollars and has a reputation that deserves protecting. This is not the guy who should be anywhere near the Mayor's office. He was an alright and colorful council man, but a disaster as mayor. Hoping that he wins re-election just to piss off "hipsters" is dumb. This city deserves someone who can actually run the city without tripping over himself every two weeks.

What I'm saying is, how do we know this picture is legit? It's not hard to alter a picture.

Or evidently, a video: http://www.newstalk1010.com/News/localnews/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10550205

Jimmo makes a good point in his video when he says that the reporters viewed the video of Ford on a cellphone (poor quality in other words) and if I'm not mistaken the alleged video was also taken with a cellphone.

I will agree that I hope Ford doesn't win the next election but rather someone who shares his ideals of fiscal conservatism and, like you say, won't trip over himself every two weeks. I'd take him over someone who prefers to throw money around like it's someone else's though (which, of course, it is).

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What I'm saying is, how do we know this picture is legit? It's not hard to alter a picture.

Or evidently, a video: http://www.newstalk1010.com/News/localnews/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10550205

Jimmo makes a good point in his video when he says that the reporters viewed the video of Ford on a cellphone (poor quality in other words) and if I'm not mistaken the alleged video was also taken with a cellphone.

I will agree that I hope Ford doesn't win the next election but rather someone who shares his ideals of fiscal conservatism and, like you say, won't trip over himself every two weeks. I'd take him over someone who prefers to throw money around like it's someone else's though (which, of course, it is).

First, nobody in the Ford camp is denying that the picture is real. Ford says that he takes pictures with everyone:

"The caller, identified as “Pam,” also asked the mayor if it was him photographed with his arm around Anthony Smith, a drug dealer who was recently shot dead. The photograph has accompanied the reports about the video.

“I take pictures with everyone,” Rob said.

Moreover, Ford, with his brother Doug on their weekly radio show, accused the person who asked about the picture as being racist:

(Ford) deemed the caller a racist for asking about a photo of him with young black men, though she did not mention their race.

“That’s very sad, that she’s a racist,” Rob Ford said.

Doug Ford said, “Rob has taken thousands of pictures with young black men, with their hats on, with their little funny signs and everything else.”

So any notion that this picture has been doctored isn't coming from the Ford camp itself, just his believers who refuse to acknowledge the reality of the situation.

But to address your concerns of the video (and picture) being doctored (even if this was being argued by Ford), you would have to believe in what's currently not possible from a technical standpoint:

Whether or not the allegations are true is something I can’t know. Whether a video of Ford behaving as has been described can be digitally faked, however, is something I do have an answer for: it absolutely, positively cannot be.

The way it’s been related, the proof in question is not a grainy photograph, taken at a distance or at night. It is video, well-lit, and allegedly contains someone looking like Ford moving, speaking and gesticulating. What that means is that in order for it to be digitally faked, the sellers wouldn’t simply have had to “doctor” a video, like they were putting a dead celebrity in a commercial; they would have needed to create a believable digital replica of the man, a realistic video game version of the mayor who walks and talks just like him. Or hire a perfect double to act Ford’s part.

Here’s the thing: if you had George Lucas’s special effects team, the world’s faster supercomputers, and an unlimited budget, you couldn’t make that happen. Can we make dinosaurs and aliens? Sure. Are we able to make elves and “the One” do very cool, acrobatic things from a distance? Of course. Can we create convincing digital representations of human beings that move and talk and stand up to scrutiny in a video shot from five to seven feet away? Nope. We’re kinda-sorta getting there, but to even approach believability, you need the person you’re trying to replicate in order to digitize them. A video of a digital Robert Bruce Ford doing whatever his creators want him to do is, at this point in history, unequivocally a technological impossibility.

While I wouldn't say that I agree with Ford's political ethos on all matters (his management and "vision" for public transit is beyond reproach), I don't mind his efforts to reduce or eliminate some of the redundancies and waste that plague the city. My brother is an accountant for the city of Toronto and he sees every day tax dollars being wasted. I suppose it's part and parcel of running any large city, but there have been a few good things that Ford has implemented in addressing these issues.

That said, I would rather much have someone competent, less combative, and less divisive than Ford - so much so that I'd take a left-leaning individual like Olivia Chow over Ford any day of the week. While saving a few million here and there is great, it doesn't outweigh the total clusterfuck that is our current Mayor. I do not believe a single thing that comes out of that guy's mouth. He's on record lying about his past numerous times - why would this time be any different. And let's not pretend that Ford's accomplishments are anything other than capping spending. Spending in Toronto hasn't gone done, it's just been flatlined. While applauded, it certainly doesn't make Ford Toronto's great white hope.

I was watching a US news program last night on a MSNBC. The host referenced Rob Ford without even describing who that person is to his U.S. audience - because it's assumed that most people know who Rob Ford is by now. I don't believe any Torontonian has ever amassed such infamy in the U.S. where context isn't provided. The guy has become one huge side show (mostly by his own doing, though the Toronto Star has helped). It's time for him to go for the sake of the city.

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That's a total of five Ford staff members to depart (either fired or left "voluntarily") in the last few days. Even before this crisis his administration has been accused of having too small of staff to manage what needs to be managed by a Mayor of a large metropolis.

Also interesting that Premier Wynn has stuck her neck out on this. I'm not really sure what this means, but the fact that she's involving herself into a municipal issue is interesting.

This situation seems more and more like a hostage situation, with Ford acting as the hostage taker. I won't be shocked if this develops in the weeks to come until the big guy steps down.

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Premier Wynne sticking her head in, was her basically stating the obvious (City Hall is in complete disarray and can not continue on as such), but, more importantly, it was also a statement that, if things get more dysfunctional, the provincial government can indeed take some sort of action. They can insist on an immediate election first and foremost, there are a couple of other less probable scenarios than that.

Technically, no one within Toronto politics can fire / remove Rob Ford, but, The Premiere can step in and take some action.

After she made her speech, Doug Ford did his usual over the top, bombastic, verbal assault and claimed he found it ironic that a Premiere who wasn't elected (our acting elected Premire resigned) started making such statements, he did so in a "how dare she" manner.

The irony angle was fairly amusing, considering he followed his brother's bootheels in to City Hall.

His carefully scripted verbiage quickly came across as a transparent early inkling of his ambitions to eventually run for Premiere of Ontario (mark my words).

Nice of him to use his brother's woes to opaquely further his own career.

Such is life in "FORD NATION".

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Premier Wynne sticking her head in, was her basically stating the obvious (City Hall is in complete disarray and can not continue on as such), but, more importantly, it was also a statement that, if things get more dysfunctional, the provincial government can indeed take some sort of action. They can insist on an immediate election first and foremost, there are a couple of other less probable scenarios than that.

Technically, no one within Toronto politics can fire / remove Rob Ford, but, The Premiere can step in and take some action.

After she made her speech, Doug Ford did his usual over the top, bombastic, verbal assault and claimed he found it ironic that a Premiere who wasn't elected (our acting elected Premire resigned) started making such statements, he did so in a "how dare she" manner.

The irony angle was fairly amusing, considering he followed his brother's bootheels in to City Hall.

His carefully scripted verbiage quickly came across as a transparent early inkling of his ambitions to eventually run for Premiere of Ontario (mark my words).

Nice of him to use his brother's woes to opaquely further his own career.

Such is life in "FORD NATION".

As much as I would love to see Ford gone, I would be very much against his forcible removal as a result of provincial action. That is, of course, the circus reaches such heights that the municipal body becomes unable to fulfill its duties. From my understanding, the rest of city council is still functioning and working. The city is mostly run by bureaucrats, of which Ford is one of them. His only real power is to set the agenda, which he seems to have lost control of awhile ago. Most of his committees have balked at his proposals (see TTC) while other councilors who were once loyal to the guy have charted their own path. I think it's a dangerous proposition to remove an elected official that hasn't been charged of any criminal malfeasance. While I do believe the video of Ford smoking crack cocaine exists, I would be uncomfortable with seeing him removed without a physical/digital production being 100 percent certain. His handling of this situation has been horrific yet comical, but until it starts destabilizing the functions of city hall I can't see the province moving in. The last thing that Premiere Wynn would want, i would suspect, is to make this an issue in her own election.

The other risk with having Ford booted out of office is that it makes him a martyr to his "people", which would likely help his re-election efforts. With the rate this guy keeps on tripping over himself, by the time his four years are up I can't imagine he'd have much of a chance against a viable opponent (since there weren't any the last election). I could even imagine a centre-right candidate stealing Ford's thunder and take the position right from under him in the next election. Regardless, it's probably better to let the guy's political career die of a thousand paper cuts than to give him a platform for his re-election campaign.

As for Doug, I think even the PCs are smart enough to know that the guy is toxic to the party. It was reported in today's papers that the Party is disavowing any notion that they want him representing them in the next election. He is a bully who really deserves his karmic kick in the pants, but I think his political career rises and falls with his brother.

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Saw someone posted this, which pretty much sums up why I'm inclined to believe The Toronto Star over Rob Ford:

"Until the Star are proven to be liars, as Mayor Ford has proven to be, the Star get the benefit of the doubt from me on this."

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What I'm saying is, how do we know this picture is legit? It's not hard to alter a picture.

Or evidently, a video: http://www.newstalk1010.com/News/localnews/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10550205

Jimmo makes a good point in his video when he says that the reporters viewed the video of Ford on a cellphone (poor quality in other words) and if I'm not mistaken the alleged video was also taken with a cellphone.

I will agree that I hope Ford doesn't win the next election but rather someone who shares his ideals of fiscal conservatism and, like you say, won't trip over himself every two weeks. I'd take him over someone who prefers to throw money around like it's someone else's though (which, of course, it is).

First, nobody in the Ford camp is denying that the picture is real. Ford says that he takes pictures with everyone:

"The caller, identified as “Pam,” also asked the mayor if it was him photographed with his arm around Anthony Smith, a drug dealer who was recently shot dead. The photograph has accompanied the reports about the video.

“I take pictures with everyone,” Rob said.

Moreover, Ford, with his brother Doug on their weekly radio show, accused the person who asked about the picture as being racist:

(Ford) deemed the caller a racist for asking about a photo of him with young black men, though she did not mention their race.

“That’s very sad, that she’s a racist,” Rob Ford said.

Doug Ford said, “Rob has taken thousands of pictures with young black men, with their hats on, with their little funny signs and everything else.”

So any notion that this picture has been doctored isn't coming from the Ford camp itself, just his believers who refuse to acknowledge the reality of the situation.

But to address your concerns of the video (and picture) being doctored (even if this was being argued by Ford), you would have to believe in what's currently not possible from a technical standpoint:

Whether or not the allegations are true is something I can’t know. Whether a video of Ford behaving as has been described can be digitally faked, however, is something I do have an answer for: it absolutely, positively cannot be.

The way it’s been related, the proof in question is not a grainy photograph, taken at a distance or at night. It is video, well-lit, and allegedly contains someone looking like Ford moving, speaking and gesticulating. What that means is that in order for it to be digitally faked, the sellers wouldn’t simply have had to “doctor” a video, like they were putting a dead celebrity in a commercial; they would have needed to create a believable digital replica of the man, a realistic video game version of the mayor who walks and talks just like him. Or hire a perfect double to act Ford’s part.

Here’s the thing: if you had George Lucas’s special effects team, the world’s faster supercomputers, and an unlimited budget, you couldn’t make that happen. Can we make dinosaurs and aliens? Sure. Are we able to make elves and “the One” do very cool, acrobatic things from a distance? Of course. Can we create convincing digital representations of human beings that move and talk and stand up to scrutiny in a video shot from five to seven feet away? Nope. We’re kinda-sorta getting there, but to even approach believability, you need the person you’re trying to replicate in order to digitize them. A video of a digital Robert Bruce Ford doing whatever his creators want him to do is, at this point in history, unequivocally a technological impossibility.

While I wouldn't say that I agree with Ford's political ethos on all matters (his management and "vision" for public transit is beyond reproach), I don't mind his efforts to reduce or eliminate some of the redundancies and waste that plague the city. My brother is an accountant for the city of Toronto and he sees every day tax dollars being wasted. I suppose it's part and parcel of running any large city, but there have been a few good things that Ford has implemented in addressing these issues.

That said, I would rather much have someone competent, less combative, and less divisive than Ford - so much so that I'd take a left-leaning individual like Olivia Chow over Ford any day of the week. While saving a few million here and there is great, it doesn't outweigh the total clusterfuck that is our current Mayor. I do not believe a single thing that comes out of that guy's mouth. He's on record lying about his past numerous times - why would this time be any different. And let's not pretend that Ford's accomplishments are anything other than capping spending. Spending in Toronto hasn't gone done, it's just been flatlined. While applauded, it certainly doesn't make Ford Toronto's great white hope.

I was watching a US news program last night on a MSNBC. The host referenced Rob Ford without even describing who that person is to his U.S. audience - because it's assumed that most people know who Rob Ford is by now. I don't believe any Torontonian has ever amassed such infamy in the U.S. where context isn't provided. The guy has become one huge side show (mostly by his own doing, though the Toronto Star has helped). It's time for him to go for the sake of the city.

Ford didn't deny the existence of the video; he didn't confirm it either. It would be nice if he would just give straight answers...not doing so only points to his guilt. But not doing so isn't the smoking gun either.

As for the racist allegation he threw at the woman...I didn't listen to the show. I'd want to hear it in context before commenting on it.

With respect to the video and it being technically impossible, others would disagree and at least one person provided some evidence. A lot of this depends on what the supposed video is actually like.

And today I hear on the radio that Gawker was finally in touch with their source again and the video is just "gone".

It's not exactly easy to defend a guy like Ford, but I like what he stands for as far as responsible Government goes and I just feel a lot of the shots he takes are from those who have an agenda against him.

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I heard despite his personal flaws, he's an absolute economic and social champion?

This is what I've read so far. Canadians, please?

The truth is a little muddy on this one. His failings and successes have largely been overstated by his detractors and supporters alike. He was elected on a "stop the gravy train" platform and then once elected managed to slow the pace of spending rather than actually cutting spending. He has kept the land transfer tax (that he campaigned against) that has allowed him to claim the mantle of balanced budgets (this was a tax passed by the previous Mayor but has largely been kept in place). Like I said, from a financial perspective, he's not been horrible neither great. He has benefited from an improving economy, but so have many politicians of late (see Obama).

Socially, again, it depends on what side of the socio-economic spectrum you reside. He's been a complete embarrassment to Toronto's LGBT community, argued that bicycle riders are at fault any time they are in an accident with a car (his excuse for spending millions on ripping out new installed bike lanes), has opposed any financial support for helping those with substance abuse (hence the irony of this whole situation), and argued for further closers of homeless shelters (despite most shelters are 90 percent full on most nights, and usually over capacity the nights of cold weather through the winter). He's a conservative, so if that's your kind of thing, then you're going to like his platform.

From a governing perspective, however, he's been an absolute train wreck. He nearly single-handily derailed the transit plans that had been in placed, negotiated and paid for; though his antics have caused more than two years in delays and wasted millions of dollars in overruns. He's completely lost the rest of council. A good example is when he called for the removal of the 5 cent levy on plastic bags (in Toronto, if you don't bring your own bags, they charge you 5 cents per plastic bag in an effort reduce garbage). The council agreed, but then went a step further and passed a law banning the sale of plastic bags altogether. The mayor really only has one real power and that's to set the agenda, and he's lost most of that power thanks in large part to his own allies bucking his agenda.

He's a polarizing figure, one that gets all of his support from Toronto's suburbs. Essentially, he's the Canadian version of a Republican candidate. Downtown and Toronto "proper" overwhelming opposes the guy while the suburbs love him. He's a very divisive guy.

What I'm saying is, how do we know this picture is legit? It's not hard to alter a picture.

Or evidently, a video: http://www.newstalk1010.com/News/localnews/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10550205

Jimmo makes a good point in his video when he says that the reporters viewed the video of Ford on a cellphone (poor quality in other words) and if I'm not mistaken the alleged video was also taken with a cellphone.

I will agree that I hope Ford doesn't win the next election but rather someone who shares his ideals of fiscal conservatism and, like you say, won't trip over himself every two weeks. I'd take him over someone who prefers to throw money around like it's someone else's though (which, of course, it is).

First, nobody in the Ford camp is denying that the picture is real. Ford says that he takes pictures with everyone:

"The caller, identified as “Pam,” also asked the mayor if it was him photographed with his arm around Anthony Smith, a drug dealer who was recently shot dead. The photograph has accompanied the reports about the video.

“I take pictures with everyone,” Rob said.

Moreover, Ford, with his brother Doug on their weekly radio show, accused the person who asked about the picture as being racist:

(Ford) deemed the caller a racist for asking about a photo of him with young black men, though she did not mention their race.

“That’s very sad, that she’s a racist,” Rob Ford said.

Doug Ford said, “Rob has taken thousands of pictures with young black men, with their hats on, with their little funny signs and everything else.”

So any notion that this picture has been doctored isn't coming from the Ford camp itself, just his believers who refuse to acknowledge the reality of the situation.

But to address your concerns of the video (and picture) being doctored (even if this was being argued by Ford), you would have to believe in what's currently not possible from a technical standpoint:

Whether or not the allegations are true is something I can’t know. Whether a video of Ford behaving as has been described can be digitally faked, however, is something I do have an answer for: it absolutely, positively cannot be.

The way it’s been related, the proof in question is not a grainy photograph, taken at a distance or at night. It is video, well-lit, and allegedly contains someone looking like Ford moving, speaking and gesticulating. What that means is that in order for it to be digitally faked, the sellers wouldn’t simply have had to “doctor” a video, like they were putting a dead celebrity in a commercial; they would have needed to create a believable digital replica of the man, a realistic video game version of the mayor who walks and talks just like him. Or hire a perfect double to act Ford’s part.

Here’s the thing: if you had George Lucas’s special effects team, the world’s faster supercomputers, and an unlimited budget, you couldn’t make that happen. Can we make dinosaurs and aliens? Sure. Are we able to make elves and “the One” do very cool, acrobatic things from a distance? Of course. Can we create convincing digital representations of human beings that move and talk and stand up to scrutiny in a video shot from five to seven feet away? Nope. We’re kinda-sorta getting there, but to even approach believability, you need the person you’re trying to replicate in order to digitize them. A video of a digital Robert Bruce Ford doing whatever his creators want him to do is, at this point in history, unequivocally a technological impossibility.

While I wouldn't say that I agree with Ford's political ethos on all matters (his management and "vision" for public transit is beyond reproach), I don't mind his efforts to reduce or eliminate some of the redundancies and waste that plague the city. My brother is an accountant for the city of Toronto and he sees every day tax dollars being wasted. I suppose it's part and parcel of running any large city, but there have been a few good things that Ford has implemented in addressing these issues.

That said, I would rather much have someone competent, less combative, and less divisive than Ford - so much so that I'd take a left-leaning individual like Olivia Chow over Ford any day of the week. While saving a few million here and there is great, it doesn't outweigh the total clusterfuck that is our current Mayor. I do not believe a single thing that comes out of that guy's mouth. He's on record lying about his past numerous times - why would this time be any different. And let's not pretend that Ford's accomplishments are anything other than capping spending. Spending in Toronto hasn't gone done, it's just been flatlined. While applauded, it certainly doesn't make Ford Toronto's great white hope.

I was watching a US news program last night on a MSNBC. The host referenced Rob Ford without even describing who that person is to his U.S. audience - because it's assumed that most people know who Rob Ford is by now. I don't believe any Torontonian has ever amassed such infamy in the U.S. where context isn't provided. The guy has become one huge side show (mostly by his own doing, though the Toronto Star has helped). It's time for him to go for the sake of the city.

Ford didn't deny the existence of the video; he didn't confirm it either. It would be nice if he would just give straight answers...not doing so only points to his guilt. But not doing so isn't the smoking gun either.

As for the racist allegation he threw at the woman...I didn't listen to the show. I'd want to hear it in context before commenting on it.

With respect to the video and it being technically impossible, others would disagree and at least one person provided some evidence. A lot of this depends on what the supposed video is actually like.

And today I hear on the radio that Gawker was finally in touch with their source again and the video is just "gone".

It's not exactly easy to defend a guy like Ford, but I like what he stands for as far as responsible Government goes and I just feel a lot of the shots he takes are from those who have an agenda against him.

You might want to keep up with the news:

When a caller asked directly if it was him in the video, he said: “Number one: There’s no video, so that’s all I can say. You can’t comment on something that doesn’t exist.”

He says the video doesn't exist, but many sources close to the Mayor have reported that the day after news broke on the video he told his staff that he knew where the video was.

You're welcome to check it out, I'm not sure if CFRB has podcasts of its previous programing, but from what I heard, both Rob and Doug came off slanderous by implying the woman was racist for asking why the Mayor was having his picture taken with noted drug dealers.

The person you speak of providing "evidence" was Kenny from Kenny vs. Spenny, and anyone with an IQ equal or greater to Forrest Gump could tell that it was fake. If you've read the reports about what the three reporters claim to have seen, there is simply no way that such a production could be faked. They reported far more than Rob simply bringing a crack pipe to his mouth (which the fake video crudely depicts). Moreover, even if faking such an act were possible, why would noted Somali drug dealers have access to it? Is this what they're doing with their drug money? Starting a state of the art special effects company in an effort to blackmail a sitting city mayor? Sorry, but this is the weakest of all excuses and explanations in response to the allegations made. If a video truly does exist, and what has been reported is accurate, there's no possibility that such a production could be faked. Believe what you want, but if you think it through (who possess the tape and the likelihood of they being able to fake such a production), you'll see how ridiculous this claim is.

There's many inferences one can make from the possibility that the video no longer exists: i) it never existed in the first place; ii) it has been purchased by Ford or someone associated with him, his administration, or his family; iii) the owner has grown concerned about being identified and has backed away from the whole situation. The first option is the least likely, because if the tape never existed there is no way reporters (reputable or not) would make this up. They, and their employers, would be risking their careers if they went with a story they knew was patently false. The Toronto Star would be destroyed if this story were to be proven to be nothing other than a complete fabrication. Options number two and three are far more likely, with option three being the most likely. Cook, the editor at Gawker, reports that the owner is afraid of being identified, and that within the Somali community there was a strong desire to see the whole thing go away.

I'd like to think this won't be the last of it, as it's also been reported that a copy was made and moved out of the city. If the video is out there still, I just don't see it staying hidden forever.

Edited by downzy
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What I'm saying is, how do we know this picture is legit? It's not hard to alter a picture.

Or evidently, a video: http://www.newstalk1010.com/News/localnews/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10550205

Jimmo makes a good point in his video when he says that the reporters viewed the video of Ford on a cellphone (poor quality in other words) and if I'm not mistaken the alleged video was also taken with a cellphone.

I will agree that I hope Ford doesn't win the next election but rather someone who shares his ideals of fiscal conservatism and, like you say, won't trip over himself every two weeks. I'd take him over someone who prefers to throw money around like it's someone else's though (which, of course, it is).

First, nobody in the Ford camp is denying that the picture is real. Ford says that he takes pictures with everyone:

"The caller, identified as Pam, also asked the mayor if it was him photographed with his arm

around Anthony Smith, a drug dealer who was recently shot dead. The photograph has accompanied the reports about the video.

I take pictures with everyone, Rob said.

Moreover, Ford, with his brother Doug on their weekly radio show, accused the person who asked about the picture as being racist:

(Ford) deemed the caller a racist for asking about a photo of him with young black men, though she did not mention their race.

Thats very sad, that shes a racist, Rob Ford said.

Doug Ford said, Rob has taken thousands of pictures with young black men, with their hats on, with their little funny signs and everything else.

So any notion that this picture has been doctored isn't coming from the Ford camp itself, just his believers who refuse to acknowledge the reality of the situation.

But to address your concerns of the video (and picture) being doctored (even if this was being argued by Ford), you would have to believe in what's currently not possible from a technical standpoint:

Whether or not the allegations are true is something I cant know. Whether a video of Ford behaving as has been described can be digitally faked, however, is something I do have an answer for: it absolutely, positively cannot be.

The way its been related, the proof in question is not a grainy photograph, taken at a distance or at night. It is video, well-lit, and allegedly contains someone looking like Ford moving, speaking and gesticulating. What that means is that in order for it to be digitally faked, the sellers wouldnt simply have had to doctor a video, like they were putting a dead celebrity in a commercial; they would have needed to create a believable digital replica of the man, a realistic video game version of the mayor who walks and talks just like him. Or hire a perfect double to act Fords part.

Heres the thing: if you had George Lucass special effects team, the worlds faster supercomputers, and an unlimited budget, you couldnt make that happen. Can we make dinosaurs and aliens? Sure. Are we able to make elves and the One do very cool, acrobatic things from a distance? Of course. Can we create convincing digital representations of human beings that move and talk and stand up to scrutiny in a video shot from five to seven feet away? Nope. Were kinda-sorta getting there, but to even approach believability, you need the person youre trying to replicate in order to digitize them. A video of a digital Robert Bruce Ford doing whatever his creators want him to do is, at this point in history, unequivocally a technological impossibility.

While I wouldn't say that I agree with Ford's political ethos on all matters (his management and "vision" for public transit is beyond reproach), I don't mind his efforts to reduce or eliminate some of the redundancies and waste that plague the city. My brother is an accountant for the city of Toronto and he sees every day tax dollars being wasted. I suppose it's part and parcel of running any large city, but there have been a few good things that Ford has implemented in addressing these issues.

That said, I would rather much have someone competent, less combative, and less divisive than Ford - so much so that I'd take a left-leaning individual like Olivia Chow over Ford any day of the week. While saving a few million here and there is great, it doesn't outweigh the total clusterfuck that is our current Mayor. I do not believe a single thing that comes out of that guy's mouth. He's on record lying about his past numerous times - why would this time be any different. And let's not pretend that Ford's accomplishments are anything other than capping spending. Spending in Toronto hasn't gone done, it's just been flatlined. While applauded, it certainly doesn't make Ford Toronto's great white hope.

I was watching a US news program last night on a MSNBC. The host referenced Rob Ford without even describing who that person is to his U.S. audience - because it's assumed that most people know who Rob Ford is by now. I don't believe any Torontonian has ever amassed such infamy in the U.S. where context isn't provided. The guy has become one huge side show (mostly by his own doing, though the Toronto Star has helped). It's time for him to go for the sake of the city.

Ford didn't deny the existence of the video; he didn't confirm it either. It would be nice if he would just give straight answers...not doing so only points to his guilt. But not doing so isn't the smoking gun either.

As for the racist allegation he threw at the woman...I didn't listen to the show. I'd want to hear it in context before commenting on it.

With respect to the video and it being technically impossible, others would disagree and at least one person provided some evidence. A lot of this depends on what the supposed video is actually like.

And today I hear on the radio that Gawker was finally in touch with their source again and the video is just "gone".

It's not exactly easy to defend a guy like Ford, but I like what he stands for as far as responsible Government goes and I just feel a lot of the shots he takes are from those who have an agenda against him.

You might want to keep up with the news:

When a caller asked directly if it was him in the video, he said: Number one: Theres no video, so thats all I can say. You cant comment on something that doesnt exist.

He says the video doesn't exist, but many sources close to the Mayor have reported that the day after news broke on the video he told his staff that he knew where the video was.

You're welcome to check it out, I'm not sure if CFRB has podcasts of its previous programing, but from what I heard, both Rob and Doug came off slanderous by implying the woman was racist for asking why the Mayor was having his picture taken with noted drug dealers.

The person you speak of providing "evidence" was Kenny from Kenny vs. Spenny, and anyone with an IQ equal or greater to Forrest Gump could tell that it was fake. If you've read the reports about what the three reporters claim to have seen, there is simply no way that such a production could be faked. They reported far more than Rob simply bringing a crack pipe to his mouth (which the fake video crudely depicts). Moreover, even if faking such an act were possible, why would noted Somali drug dealers have access to it? Is this what they're doing with their drug money? Starting a state of the art special effects company in an effort to blackmail a sitting city mayor? Sorry, but this is the weakest of all excuses and explanations in response to the allegations made. If a video truly does exist, and what has been reported is accurate, there's no possibility that such a production could be faked. Believe what you want, but if you think it through (who possess the tape and the likelihood of they being able to fake such a production), you'll see how ridiculous this claim is.

There's many inferences one can make from the possibility that the video no longer exists: i) it never existed in the first place; ii) it has been purchased by Ford or someone associated with him, his administration, or his family; iii) the owner has grown concerned about being identified and has backed away from the whole situation. The first option is the least likely, because if the tape never existed there is no way reporters (reputable or not) would make this up. They, and their employers, would be risking their careers if they went with a story they knew was patently false. The Toronto Star would be destroyed if this story were to be proven to be nothing other than a complete fabrication. Options number two and three are far more likely, with option three being the most likely. Cook, the editor at Gawker, reports that the owner is afraid of being identified, and that within the Somali community there was a strong desire to see the whole thing go away.

I'd like to think this won't be the last of it, as it's also been reported that a copy was made and moved out of the city. If the video is out there still, I just don't see it staying hidden forever.

"You might want to keep up with the news:

When a caller asked directly if it was him in the video, he said: Number one: Theres no video, so thats all I can say. You cant comment on something that doesnt exist.

He says the video doesn't exist, but many sources close to the Mayor have reported that the day after news broke on the video he told his staff that he knew where the video was."

I meant picture, not video. Responding to what you quoted where Ford states he takes pictures with lots of people.

Kenny didn't make the video, he only posted it online. Of course the video was an obvious fake...it was not designed to appear real, only to show what one could accomplish in a few hours. And what of the possibility that the actual video featured a Ford look alike? Can that been ruled out as a possibility?

Finally, if Ford stated that he knew where the video was, he could have been making a sarcastic comment because he thought the whole thing was so crazy and people who might have heard took his comment at face value. The point is that we don't know...all the information so far has been circumstantial, no video has yet been produced, and we are being asked to convict Ford on the basis of what three people have said they saw, two who with all due respect work for a paper that would love to see him gone, and granted his own bumbling defense. Despite that last thing, I'm going to need better than that.

I understand the points you raise, and I understand that the two Star reporters are well respected as journalists. The evidence seems to point one way for the most part, including that which comes out of the Ford camp, and so as I said earlier it would not shock me if this is all true. But oftentimes when the truth comes out it is not quite what it appeared to be based on the evidence on hand at the time.

I'll look for that podcast - I know they podcast most of their shows so it's likely up there.

Edited by KBear
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Looks like they found Gawker:

The most astonishing thing: It was the scene of an "armed home invasion" on May 21, five days after our story on the Rob Ford crack cocaine video was published.

Neighbours interviewed by The Globe say the fence has not prevented a few young people from heading to the house on Windsor Road. Neighbours also reported seeing police cruisers at the house on a handful of occasions, and on the night of May 21, neighbours said that half a dozen police cruisers, and what appeared to be a forensic identification truck, arrived at the property. A source with Toronto police said there was an armed home invasion at the house that evening at 11 pm.

A husband and wife in a neighbouring home they heard shouting that evening. “Help me, help me, help me,” the wife heard from the bungalow, a plea that was followed by “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.”

Edited by downzy
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  • 4 months later...

Ford's a goof no doubt, but the Toronto Star should get it's shit together before throwing out these unsubstantiated accusations and distracting the entire city with this crap.

Let's get this straight...this rag has had it in for Ford since the get-go, trying to bring him down for months. Then they have a chance to buy this video of him smoking crack and saying offensive things for $200k and they say, nah, I think we'll pass. Riiiiiiiiiiiigggghhhhtttt.

Now the video and its owner have conveniently disappeared.

By the way, have you heard about the kijiji ad that asked for a Rob Ford lookalike and offered to pay $200 to have him appear in a film? This was supposedly posted in late April.

At least I can say that Ford has some respect for where the money that Government gets to play with comes from. Unlike that piece of shit Kyle Rae, who threw a $12,000 retirement party for himself and billed taxpayers. To me stuff like this (and there is plenty of it) should piss people off more than Ford's stupid comments, of which granted there are many. Not sure he's really an evil guy as some make him out to be though. The man does plenty of good things, from helping people who call his office to working with youth in the city.

The onus now should be on those making the accusations to finally back them up, not on the accused to prove he isn't guilty (as if that is even provable). This whole thing has been a joke, at this point I am inclined to believe this is nothing more than bullshit by a group that is still butt hurt that their liberal favorites are no longer in charge and instead its a right winger who doesn't give a crap about offending anyone. Unless they can prove otherwise, which if they were responsible they would have done already.

Looks like the unsubstantiated reports were substantiated afterall. Looks like the Star reporters really did see the video.

Looks like the cops have the video, as the police chief announced.

Oopsy..

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Far more troubling than the crack allegations is the issue of extortion that his buddy, Lisi, is charged with. Considering that only a day or two after the allegations first came out that the owners of the house where the video was shot were beaten by an intruder (supposedly Ford's friend Lisi), one has to wonder how much Ford is behind that.

And for a good laugh, have a listen to "Ian from Etobicoke" (for non-Torontonians, it's pronounced E-tob-i-co) calling in to defend himself, I mean Rob Ford:

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/11/01/rob-ford-radio-am-640_n_4189458.html

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