#Doug Ford announcement

[allthecanadianpolitics]

How do you feel about Doug’s push on making alcohol more widely available? Do you think he’s honest about ONLY ready made drinks (Cocktails, coolers, spritzers) ? Curious on your thoughts.

If you're providing more access to alcohol but not improving social supports that deal with the social issues or healthcare costs of alcoholism, its going to cause major problems down the road.

The issue is that the Ford government doesn't care what happens after announcements like this.

Like if he was increasing healthcare funding, addiction funding, better access to vehicles to prevent drunk driving, etc then I'd feel better about providing more access to alcohol. Alcohol is fine in moderation, but moves like this give a social license to abuse it more.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

By Niles Niemuth

The Toronto Police Service (TPS) escalated their campaign to crackdown on and suppress protests against the Gaza genocide last week with the announcement of a second arrest in relation to a March 7 protest. In addition to mischief charges which could bring up to 10 years in prison, the two demonstrators are facing charges of “disguise with intent” for wearing medical masks which protect from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases during the protest. This latter “offence” also carries a maximum sentence of a decade in prison.

“While demonstrations may end, investigations into criminal activity continue and we pursue all leads to hold individuals accountable,” Toronto Police Chief Myron Demikw declared in a statement Tuesday on X. He then boasted, “Over the last year we have made 80 demonstration-related arrests and laid 124 charges. Arrests can happen at any time after an offence.”

Tens of thousands in Toronto and across Canada have turned out to protest week after week for more than a year as Israel, with the backing of American imperialism and Ottawa, has carried out its ethnic cleansing operation in Gaza launched in the aftermath of the October 7 uprising led by Hamas. Protesters’ demands that the trade union-backed Liberal Trudeau government press for a ceasefire and stop arming Israel have been rebuffed, with Trudeau and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly instead smearing protesters opposing genocide as “antisemites.”

Pro-Palestinian protest encampments erected by students, faculty and supporters on campuses across Canada have been broken up by court injunctions and police raids. The deployment of far-right Zionist vigilante groups on campus to provide “security” has been openly encouraged by the federal government, with a new law passed enabling private security firms to access government funding. Groups in line to profit from this funding stream include Magen Herut, whose members must be Zionists and have experience in policing or military service, and Shomrim, an international vigilante group present in Hasidic communities. Magen Herut members have “patrolled” at anti-genocide protests, where they have surveilled and intimidated participants.

Immediately upon Israel’s launch of its genocidal onslaught on Gaza, Canada’s political establishment closed ranks to launch a vicious witchhunt against anyone who spoke out against the mass slaughter. The New Democrats, who were in a confidence-and-supply agreement with the Liberals at the time, threw Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament Sarah Jama out of their parliamentary caucus because she issued a statement declaring her solidarity with the Palestinians and accusing Israel of apartheid, an accusation supported by the United Nations. Trudeau has repeatedly sought to intimidate protesters by repeating the lies of extreme Zionist forces, including in February when he accused demonstrators of being antisemites merely because they marched past Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital.

With the backing of the governments of Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Tory Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Demikw and the TPS have launched a far reaching campaign of harassment and arrests of pro-Palestinian protesters under the title “Project Resolute.” The Breach published an investigation in June which revealed the extensive character of the secretive political policing operation, which has included early morning raids, trumped-up charges and efforts to turn protesters into informants.

The police operations have gone hand in hand with the efforts of the political establishment to smear protesters as “antisemitic.” Eleven people were arrested last November in relation to a postering protest against the CEO of Indigo Books, who happens to be Jewish, over her campaign to support the Israel Defense Forces, with the police insinuating that their actions were “hate motivated.”

Demikw and TPS have been carrying out their crackdown in coordination with the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Canada’s premier spy agency.

Faisal Ibrahim, 38, was arrested and charged on October 19 with one count of mischief, interfering with property and a count of disguise with intent in relation to the March 7 protest. A research assistant and teaching assistant at the University of Toronto, Ibrahim had been targeted by Zionist social media pages for his pro-Palestinian activism before being charged by TPS.

Rachelle Friesen, 38, of the Student Christian Movement of Canada and Community Peacemaker Teams, was charged on October 1 with two counts of mischief that obstructs, interrupts or interferes with the lawful use, enjoyment or operation of property and one count of disguise with intent in relation to pro-Palestinian protests on November 13, 2023 and March 7, 2024.

After living in Israel for five years, including four as Peace Program Coordinator with the Mennonite Central Committee, Friesen was deported from the country in 2014 and banned for 10 years for her advocacy on behalf of the Palestinians.

Protesters interrupted the Scotiabank Giller Prize gala at the Four Seasons Hotel in Yorkville on November 13, 2023 to protest the bank’s complicity in the Gaza genocide. Evan Curle and Maysam Abu Khreibeh, both 25, and Fatima Hussain, 23, were charged at the time with obstructing, interrupting, or interfering with the lawful use, enjoyment or operation of property and using a forged document.

March 7, meanwhile, was a day of action by students and others protesting RBC and calling for the bank to divest from support for Israel, respect Indigenous sovereignty and end financing for the Trans Mountain Expansion and Coastal Gas Link pipelines.

The police claim that both Friesen and Ibrahim “wore medical masks to conceal their identity” during a March 7 protest in Midtown Toronto and that their participation prevented an employee from entering her workplace and forced her to leave the area in fear of her safety.

In another recent effort to suppress the protests, the Trudeau government in coordination with the Biden administration in the United States banned the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network as a “terrorist entity” and placed sanctions on activist Khaled Barakat.

Samidoun has organized protests in opposition to the Gaza genocide across Canada. Its international coordinator Charlotte Kates was arrested in April in Vancouver following a speech in which she led the crowd in a chant of “Long live October 7th” and advocated for the delisting of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and other groups as terrorist organizations. The organization’s listing as a terrorist entity resulted in its bank accounts being frozen and make it difficult for members to travel internationally.

The unanimous endorsement of Israel’s genocide within the political establishment has introduced a climate of fear and censorship into Canadian cultural life. In the latest example of this, the Aurora Cultural Center north of Toronto closed down an exhibit titled Expressions of Critical Thought after one day this month due to complaints of “antisemitism” on social media because some of the works on display referenced Palestine. The Center told the artists in an October 4 email that the show was being censored due to “concerns raised by members of our community regarding the traumatic responses to some of the artworks.”

“I feel what they did contributes to the consistent dehumanization of Arabs in general,” Iraqi-Canadian artist Hala Alsalman told Hyperallergic. “I’m the only Arab who was showing, but obviously it’s not just me, it’s all of us.” Chantal Hassard, a co-curator of the show and grandchild of Holocaust survivors, noted that there was nothing antisemitic about the art on display and the claims were a “dangerous mischaracterization of the term.”

[darkmaga-returns]

Doug Bandow

Nov 7, 2024

The United States exited the Second World War both rich and secure. The U.S. homeland was essentially untouched, and Americans remained almost invulnerable afterwards. No war was likely to come to our shores. 

Unfortunately, the peace offered little wealth and security to everyone else. So Americans joined other nations’ wars, patrolling the globe during the Cold War, which sometimes turned scorching hot. Taking on this burden imposed a measure of humility even in Washington.

Despite persistent demands for intervention, U.S. presidents painfully learned their limits. For Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower there was an unsatisfactory stalemate in Korea. Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson refused to battle the Soviet Union to liberate Hungary and Czechoslovakia, respectively. Johnson also left the USS Pueblo’s 82 surviving crewmembers in North Korean captivity for nearly a year. 

There was an even more painful surrender of Indochina by Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Rather than deploy additional service members to South Vietnam or drop nuclear weapons on North Vietnam, they ultimately left friendly Vietnamese atop the U.S. embassy forlornly waiting for rescue. After making a desultory effort to free America’s captive embassy staff in Tehran, Jimmy Carter gave up. In 1981 Ronald Reagan did not oppose the Soviet-inspired crackdown in Poland; he later abandoned Lebanon’s civil war after a bombing killed 241 Marines.

Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, and hawks and doves all realized that there were limits to American power. Then came the collapse of the Soviet Union, the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, and the humiliation of communists worldwide. Washington perceived an entirely new world, reflected by George H.W. Bush during the first Gulf War when he announced, “What we say goes.”

[louisupdates]

FITFWT23: FASHION

NORTH AMERICA

@fashionlouist bracket winners! all the looks

Via LWTHQS

26 May - Mohegan Sun Arena, UNCASVILLE CT [Vetements shirt] [Lacoste shoes] [Lacoste polo] [Lacoste track pants]

27 May - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion, GUILFORD NH [Marni x Carhart shirt] [Adidas shoes]

29 May - Place Bell, LAVAL QC [Palace x Adidas t shirt] [Ahluwalia shirt] [Adidas shoes] [By Parra shirt]

30 May - Budweiser Stage, TORONTO ON [A Bathing Ape shirt]

1 Jun - Blossom Music Center, CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH [Calvin Klein tank top] [Stone Island pants, Adidas Osweego shoes]

2 Jun - Michigan Lottery Amphitheater, STERLING HEIGHTS, MI: [1017 Alyx 9SM T-shirt] [Axel Arigato shoes]

3 Jun - The Icon Festival Stage, CINCINNATI: [Fred Perry polo] [Adidas Osweego shoes] [424 shirt] [Nike shorts] [Nike slippers]

6 Jun - Kemba Live! Outdoor, COLUMBUS OH: [Calvin Klein tank top] [J. Lindeberg pants] [Axel Arigato shoes] [28 OP hoodie] [28 OP shorts] [Adidas Osweego shoes]

7 Jun - TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park, INDIANAPOLIS: [Paul Smith T-shirt]

9 Jun - Saint Louis Music Park, SAINT LOUIS: [Obey knit polo]

10 Jun - Starlight Theatre, KANSAS CITY MO: [Raf Simons t-shirt]

13 Jun - BMO Pavilion, MILWAUKEE: [Fred Perry shirt] [Adidas Samba Og shoes]

15 Jun - Huntington Bank Pavilion, CHICAGO: [28 OP hoodie] [Sergio Tacchini jacket] [Lacoste pants] [Lacoste shoes] [Calvin Klein tank]

16 Jun - The Armory, MINNEAPOLIS: [Vintage Umbro England football shirt] [Pangaia hoodie]

17 Jun - Harrah’s Stir Cove, COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA: [Lacoste shirt] [Adidas shoes] [Y-3 hoodie and shorts] [Adidas shoes]

19 Jun - Denny Sanford Premiere Center, SIOUX FALLS, SD: [Umbro 2004 vintage home shirt]

21 Jun - Red Rocks Amphitheatre, MORRISON, CO: POSTPONED [Nike t-shirt] [Sergio Tacchini shorts] [Nike shoes]

24 Jun - Wamu Theater, SEATTLE: [Calvin Klein white tank top] [Grand Collection pants]

26 Jun - Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Center, VANCOUVER BC: [Burberry shorts] [Ksubi shirt]

27 Jun - Mcmenamins Edgefield Concerts, TROUTDALE OR: [Adidas Jamaica jersey]

29 Jun - The Greek Theatre, BERKELEY CA: [ERL t-shirt]

30 Jun - The Hollywood Bowl, LOS ANGELES: [Stone Island jacket for Hollywood Bowl ad] [Adidas x Wales Bonner jacket] [black mesh tank top]

1 Jul - The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan, LAS VEGAS: [Palace Skateboards t-shirt] [Adidas Gazelle red shoes]

3 Jul - Arizona Financial Theatre, PHOENIX: [Black Sabbath vintage t-shirt] [Calvin Klein white tank top] [Rick Owens x Champion track pants]

6 Jul - The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, IRVING TX: [Devá States t-shirt] [Stone Island swim trunks]

7 Jul - Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park, AUSTIN TX: [Tom Ford vest] [Lacoste pants] [Salomon shoes]

8 Jul - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, WOODLANDS TX: [Saul Nash matching set] [Axel Arigato shoes]

11 Jul - St. Augustine Amphitheatre, ST. AUGUSTINE FL: [Burberry shirt] [Umbro vintage shorts]

13 Jul - Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, HOLLYWOOD FL: [Casablanca Paris polo]

14 Jul - Yuengling Center, TAMPA FL: [Alyx 9SM AAUTS0393FA01BLK0001 ARCH LOGO t-shirt] [Soon To Be Announced t-shirt, Mastermind pants]

15 Jul - Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park, ATLANTA: [soundcheck: Mastermind pants] [Casablanca Paris t-shirt] [Adidas Sprinter shorts]

18 Jul - Ascend Amphitheater, NASHVILLE: [Stone Island sweater for Australia announcement] [28 OP track pants] [Celine polo]

19 Jul - Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre, CHARLOTTE NC: [Lacoste pants]

21 Jul - Red Hat Amphitheater, RALEIGH NC: [28 OP pants] [Paul Smith t-shirt] [Stone Island shorts]

22 Jul - Merriweather Post Pavilion, COLUMBIA MD: [Nike England jersey] [Sergio Tacchini shoes]

24 Jul - MGM Music Hall at Fenway, BOSTON: [Stone Island pants] [Salomon shoes]

25 Jul - MGM Music Hall at Fenway, BOSTON: [Andersson Bell t-shirt]

27 Jul - TD Pavilion at the Mann, PHILADELPHIA: [Prada tank top], [CP Company pants], [Thames MMXX polo]

28 Jul - Stone Pony Summer Stage, ASBURY PARK NJ: [Maison Mihara Yasuhiro shirt] [Sunflower Mike shorts]

29 Jul - Forrest Hills Stadium, NEW YORK: [Tom Ford tank top] [Prada pants] [Axel Arigato t-shirt]

outfits courtesy of lbfcult

[isfeed]

'I felt sorry for him': Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks on U.S. President Joe Biden's step back

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is thanking U.S. President Joe Biden for his 50 years in public service after he announced his intention to drop out of the 2024 election on Sunday. Source: CP24 'I felt sorry for him': Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks on U.S. President Joe Biden's step back

[cavenewstimes]

Province announces hundreds of new GO train trips but none to Kitchener

Posted April 15, 2024 1:16 pm 1 min read Metrolinx president and CEO Phil Verster joins Ontario Premier Doug Ford in making a GO transit announcement in Niagara Falls, Ont., Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tara Walton Green MPP Aislinn Clancy is irked after the province announced hundreds of new GO train trips on Monday but none were for Kitchener. Ontario Premier Doug Ford was in…

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has signed a $3.1-billion health-care deal with the federal government to increase access to primary care and reduce wait times. The agreement was announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau late Friday morning, making Ontario the fifth province to come to an agreement with Ottawa for its share of a $200-billion health accord. The other provinces with agreements include British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Alberta and Nova Scotia. The announcement comes almost a year after the two governments reached a 10-year deal in principle to pay for health care in Ontario, with an additional $46 billion in funding to the Canada Health Transfer.

Continue Reading

Tagging @politicsofcanada

[terriwriting]

Ford doubles down on refusal to build fourplexes until someone explains to him what they are

VAUGHAN – After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Tuesday that he would give an additional six billion dollars to the provinces for housing as long as they allow fourplexes to be built, Ontario premier Doug Ford doubled down on his previous refusal to build the four unit structures until someone tells him exactly what they are. “Folks, I’m a reasonable man,” he said in a press conference Wednesday morning, “who just wants reasonable things for my province—like the answer to what a fourplex is and why my old white suburban constituents are so afraid of them.” “I can’t in good conscience tell my rich developer buddies to build these darn things until someone can tell me the basics: how many floors do they have? I know it says “four” in the name, but that seems like a trick. And how many scary low income people can fit inside them? Do they have windows, or just graffiti sprayed on the outside that says ‘The people who live here will rob you?’ These buildings are a mystery.”

https://www.thebeaverton.com/2024/04/ford-doubles-down-on-refusal-to-build-fourplexes-until-someone-explains-to-him-what-they-are/

[college-girl199328]

During a visit to Ottawa on Monday, Smith defended her new suite of policies on transgender youth, despite accusations from the federal Liberals that she is promoting an anti-LGBTQ agenda. Smith announced last week that her United Conservative Party government would prohibit puberty blockers and hormone therapy for children aged 15 and under who have not already started those treatments.

Her government intends to require parental consent before allowing children aged 15 and under to use a different name or pronoun at school. Teenagers aged 16 and 17 could make such changes without permission, but schools would be required to notify their guardians.

The policies have sparked several days of protests.

At an event commemorating the opening of a new provincial office near Parliament Hill, Smith stated that there is no "single voice" that can speak on behalf of the entire transgender population. She said she spoke with some transgender people who were concerned about their children's ability to transition. Smith defended the package of proposals as part of a "thoughtful approach" she intends to take toward children with diverse gender identities. The goal is to ensure that children are "fully informed" about their decisions in case they regret them later in life, she said.

Earlier in the day, Liberal Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault said he had requested a meeting with Smith to discuss the proposed changes. Boissonnault, Alberta's only Liberal cabinet minister and an openly gay man claimed Smith is imposing "draconian" measures on the province's most vulnerable young people. After some back and forth between their respective offices, the two were scheduled to meet on Monday afternoon. The federal government's ability to request a Supreme Court reference on provinces' use of the notwithstanding clause is an "important legal tool," according to Boissonnault.

When asked about Smith's policy at a news conference on Monday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre responded: "Let parents raise children and provinces run schools and hospitals." He did not specifically respond to Smith's proposals. His comments come after his office instructed MPs last week to "refrain" from commenting on Alberta's specific measures and to "flag" any media requests they receive to the office. In Toronto, Ontario Premier Doug Ford indicated that his government would not follow Alberta's lead in limiting the availability of surgeries and treatments for transgender youth.

Meanwhile, local advocates in Ottawa were planning an "emergency" protest downtown later Monday in response to Smith's visit to the capital. According to a news release, Smith's Alberta government office in Ottawa aims to advance the province's priorities and strengthen federal-provincial ties. It stated that the office would "help strengthen relationships with governments in Ottawa and across Canada while increasing the province's advocacy on matters of importance to Albertans." Smith was also scheduled to deliver a luncheon speech to members of the Economic Club of Canada.

[secreteviltwin]

all the dundas things getting renamed the same week they announce they're going to name something after doug ford is just. it's so

[ltenvs3000f23]

Unit 6 Blog Post

“There is no peculiar merit in ancient things, but there is merit in integrity, and integrity entails the keeping together of the parts of any whole, and if these parts are scattered throughout time, then the maintenance of integrity entails a knowledge, a memory, of ancient things. …. To think, feel or act as though the past is done with, is equivalent to believing that a railway station through which our train has just passed, only existed for as long as our train was in it.”

(Edward Hyams, Chapter 7, The Gifts of Interpretation)

Unpack this quote.

Many concepts are being discussed in this quote by Edward Hyams, most notably the ideas of integrity and the importance of history. I believe he is expressing that age alone does not add value to something; however, the integrity surrounding that thing is what contributes to its value. Integrity involves many aspects as well but is mostly centralized around moral and ethical consistency and honesty. It also includes the quality of being whole and undivided, maintaining the essential elements that make up a particular society or other system. Connecting to history, these elements that make up the whole of a system can be spread over time, not just from one era. Lastly, he states that this is also an integral reason why the past is an essential part of sustaining integrity; it shapes who we are today as well as in the future. Throughout our education, there have been many events that we have learned about that have historically had effects that we’ve seen today.

Recently, there was an issue that would have affected us locally if it were pushed through, involving the Greenbelt. The Greenbelt was created in 2005 and provides many important economic and environmental benefits. Some of these include forest protection, protection for species at risk, drinking water quality, and so much more. If you want to learn more about just how important the Greenbelt is for us in Ontario, I recommend you read through their page here (about a 30 second read). Initially, Doug Ford made a promise not to touch the Greenbelt in 2018. However, in November 2022, the Ford government decided to change their mind and remove 7,400 acres from the Greenbelt to use for housing development (Callan and D’Mello, 2023). Taking protected land off of the Greenbelt would have come at the cost of jobs, species, weather management, agriculture, and so on. Lots of controversy was surrounded by this announcement, and rightfully so, as the Greenbelt is an integral part of Ontario.

It is clear that the Greenbelt was created for a reason, or many reasons, for that matter. Although it was created in 2005, expansions have been made ever since to keep the local economy thriving. Growing up in Oakville, I used to go by the creeks many times, especially when I was in elementary school. On one of my field trips in grade 3, my class went to Crawford Lake to explore the Indigenous history of the conservation area. During this trip, we ate cornbread, used snowshoes, and explored the historical area with the help of our tour guide along the way. It was a very fun trip that allowed us to connect with the past and expand our knowledge of Indigenous history and culture. 

However, the biggest reason this field trip stuck with me is how our guide interpreted some of this history. Once it got dark, we gathered around a campfire while he told us the legend of Crawford Lake. Legend has it that on one late winter day, while men were carrying lumber on a horse drawn sleigh over the frozen waters, the ice broke and the horses, sleigh, and lumber fell into the water and sank to the bottom. He then went on to say that legend has it that the horses lie undisturbed at the lake bottom until awakened at sunset, and at that time, any person standing on the shore of the lake may see the glowing red eyes of the horses at the bottom of the lake.

Once we were all a bit frightened and vulnerable, one of his co-workers decided to jump out from the back and scare us. We all found it funny, and it was a great way to talk about the history of the past and interpret it for us when we were quite young.

Overall, it is so crucial to continuously recognize our past and not dismiss it. It is an important step in preserving the integrity of our local areas, such as the Greenbelt and the Crawford Lake conservation area, which is located within it.

This was a long post, so thank you for reading it!

References

Beck, L., Cable, T.T., & Knudson, D.M. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage For a Better World. Sagamore-Venture Publishing.

[blogynews]

"Unleashing nature's secret: Ontario's groundbreaking bill to revitalize the reclaimed Greenbelt lands!"

The municipal affairs and housing minister of Ontario is expected to present new legislation today regarding the return of land to the protected Greenbelt. This comes after Premier Doug Ford’s government previously announced in November 2022 that 15 sites would be removed from the Greenbelt in order to construct 50,000 homes. However, due to public outcry and reports from the auditor general and…

[blogynewz]

"Unleashing nature's secret: Ontario's groundbreaking bill to revitalize the reclaimed Greenbelt lands!"

The municipal affairs and housing minister of Ontario is expected to present new legislation today regarding the return of land to the protected Greenbelt. This comes after Premier Doug Ford’s government previously announced in November 2022 that 15 sites would be removed from the Greenbelt in order to construct 50,000 homes. However, due to public outcry and reports from the auditor general and…

[blogynewsz]

"Unleashing nature's secret: Ontario's groundbreaking bill to revitalize the reclaimed Greenbelt lands!"

The municipal affairs and housing minister of Ontario is expected to present new legislation today regarding the return of land to the protected Greenbelt. This comes after Premier Doug Ford’s government previously announced in November 2022 that 15 sites would be removed from the Greenbelt in order to construct 50,000 homes. However, due to public outcry and reports from the auditor general and…