The Joke That Is Toronto City Council

Part one in an ongoing series...

Let's see Tuesday, taking "Support Our Troops" stickers off publicly-funded emergency services vehicles was "appropriate".

Wednesday, three Canadians died in Afghanistan and suddenly, keeping the "Support Our Troops" stickers on publicly-funded emergency services vehicles was an "important" statement to make.

The timing of the council vote on Wednesday afternoon, of course, had nothing to do with anything.

Right. Pull the other one, it's got bells on, mate.

So, if anyone in Toronto is wondering why our city is going bankrupt and five years into Mayor Miller's mandate things are dirtier and more dysfunctional in this city than ever, I give you "Magnetgate '07" - proof if ever anyone needed it that our city politicians are a bunch of spineless self-interested windbags. One more in a series of empty, politically-expedient gestures that ignore, contradict or flat-out reverse Mayor Miller's stated position on an issue.

Island Airport? Still there.

Toronto Port Authority? Still there.

Waterfront Redevelopment? Still not there.

Condos along the lakeshore? Still being built.

A cleaner city? Still hasn't happened.

Provincial downloading? Still happening.

Civic leadership? Still missing.

Hypocrisy? In plentiful supply.

(Link to Toronto Star Article)

eta:

But let's be frank. Ribbons don't make anyone any more supportive of our troops than the logo-free. Sticking ribbons on bumpers is, in fact, often the easiest of gestures, the beginning and end of things by folks who couldn't find Afghanistan on a map.

Like all exercises in branding, as any bearer of a Vuitton bag or drinker of imported beer knows, the point is to make a statement. And the message is basically this: "I'm old-school, tougher than rhino hide, but with a tender heart. I don't drink lattes. I like Don Cherry. And I despise Michael Moore."

~ Jim Coyle, Toronto Star

Yeah, that.

Brief Linkspam

To take my mind of a) my generally high level of piss-offedness lately and b) the never-shrinking pile o'correspondence on my desk: Linkspam that amuses me:

Antonia Zerbias has 10 things that would make women's live easier (Canadian version).

The Drowsy Chaperone is coming home to a new baby and the Elgin. What are the chances I'll be able to get a ticket?

Spoilers for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Scholastic and Bloomsbury tutt-tutt and say some people just won't let other people have any fun.

As I don't give an owl's feathery behind about Harry Potter et al (the movies are all right except Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have less chemistry than my high school transcript) I read'em and they seem entirely inkeeping with the series. I'd ennumerate how but that would be spoiling it for people - and I'm not an utter bitch (appearances to the contrary).

Cinemablend posted a rumour about plans for a Keira and Orlando-free POTC 4, to which I say 'WTF, mate?' True, Johnny and Geoffrey Rush could read the phone book and make it entertaining but Captain Jack and Barbarossa are... well, it's like chocolate cake, eh? Much as I love chocolate cake, you need something to cut the sweetness otherwise even the best chocolate cake can be a bit sick-making. Same with incredibly-over-the-top, wildly flamboyant character roles: they're great balanced with more human-sized characters but putting one in charge of their own movie rarely ends well.

In the legal equivalent of saying "yo, dude, chill," Italian magistrates have shelved an obscenity compliant against The Da Vinci, finding that while book and movie were an affront to basic human intelligence, overwhelming silliness and bad writing were not, in fact, criminal offences.

And finally, because I do believe that God is great, I'm basking in the confidence that these guys will spend eternity having their nuts gnawed on by rabid weasels. Because writing a book and sponsoring international terrorism are obviously the same thing. Obviously.

Meanwhile, Irshad Manji responds to the whole situation with her customary eloquent rationality (reprinted from the Grope&Flail). I am disturbed, however, to learn that Glenn Beck apparently wants to give Irshad a great big sloppy tongue-kiss... ick. Neocon cooties.

A Rose By Any Other...

So the point at which I realized I was becoming angry to the point of incoherence over the expression of an idea that I actually supported was the point at which I realized I was tired of being cranky and annoyed at the world all the time. And it wasn't like the world took any notice anyway.

So I've changed the name of my journal to something a little less confrontational and aggressive. As the saying goes, "as above, so below; as within, so without."

So, if you're wondering where the crankygrrl has gone, she's been taken out to the back of my psyche and beaten to death with a shovel by Ed the Medulla Oblongata and Cthullu Monkey. Auf wiedersehen and adieu.

Welcome the the next evolution.

In Remembrance

Trooper Darryl Caswell, 25, Royal Canadian Dragoons (Bowmanville ON), killed Kandahar City, June 11, 2007.

Sergeant Christos Karigiannis, N/A, 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (Laval PQ), killed Kandahar City, June 20, 2007.

Corporal Stephen Frederick Bouzane, 26, 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (St. Albans NL and Toronto ON), killed Kandahar City, June 20, 2007.

Private Joel Vincent Wiebe, 22, 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (Edmonton AB), killed Kandahar City, June 20, 2007.