Are You a Mark?.............Issue 1

It is common in the wrestling industry to hear someone being called a "mark". There is lots of debate about what this means exactly, but usually, and for the purposes of this humble blog, a "mark" is someone who buys what is being sold to them without question or digging deeper to get closer to the truth. A common example of being a mark is when a fan believes a wrestling injury or storyling to be true when it is actually a fictional construct used to create excitement or intrigue.

I am going to offer a series of tests you, the beautiful reader, can undertake to see if you are a mark or are adept at reading between the lines, looking past the surface layer of lies and seeing the realities that lay beneath. Below is round 1.

You may be a mark if:

a.) You believe any of Rob Ford`s lies about not knowing he was going to have to repay a loan from the provincial government. Ford and allies kept claiming that he believed that debt would be forgiven, but Municipal Affairs Minister Linda Jeffrey made it abundantly clear that the city knew what was coming a long time ago. Check out the link below for more info.

http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2013/07/18/documents_show_city_of_toronto_knew_it_was_on_the_hook_for_200m_provincial_loan_repayment.html

b.) You believe that there wasn`t actually a video showing Rob Ford smoking crack. Why else would all his aides have quit after telling him to seek help for his addiction? What else, besides alcohal, could have made the mayor act so disoriented and disorderly at a military beneft that staff had to ask him to leave? Why else would current aide David Price have claimed to know were said video resided? Why else would Ford have cut his hair almost to the bone mere days after allegations began to surface? Traces of drugs, like crack, stay in your hair follicles longer than other places in your body and getting rid of longer strands of hair is a way to figuratively dump the evidence into the river.

c.) You believe that the new 3-stop Scarborough subway extension is the best use municipal, provincial and federal money. According to an article (check out link below) on the Metro News website, the new line will cost over a billion dollars more than the proposed LRT extension and will not go through needy areas of town like the LRT was going to reach. The new subway line will not reach many low-income neighbourhoods, immigrant hotspots or Centennial College and its thousands of students. Add to that the fact that the extra money that the new subway extension will cost will eliminate money needed for hostels, shelters, subsidized housing and funding for cultural programs and Pride. Oh wait, that was Ford's agenda all along, wasn't it?

http://metronews.ca/news/toronto/742498/scarborough-subway-route-makes-immigrants-students-and-poor-the-losers/

d.) You think that any of those neon Nikes, Chuck Taylor's, leg warmers/TNA pants, baggy sweatshirts, green pants  etc. that are fashionable for young people these days are anything but a rehash of 70's and 80's fashion. They didn't look good back then and still don't now. I know trends are cyclical, but c'mon, retailers are barely even trying anymore. And don't get me started on movie remakes and totally unoriginal, derivitive movies that are nothing but a series of cliches that protect the heterosexual-dominant status quo (I'm looking at you Despicable Me 2!).

e.) You think that hamburgers are actually a gourmet food! We have gone from the 4-dollar Harvey's burger, which is still delicious, to the 14-dollar Works burger, which is the same burger in a sit-down restaurant with some peanut butter and banana placed on top. Is that worth the extra 10 bucks? You be the judge, but at least wake up, see what marketing and trends are encouraging you to spend money on and make that decision for yourself.

f.) You believe that pro wrestling is totally fake and doesn't cause any real injury or pain to wrestlers. They really hit each other at times, put on painful holds and slam their bodies into the ring mat, ring posts and the floor outside the ring on a regular basis and are hardly ever pain free. There is a reason a lot of these guys take a lot of illegal drugs, and it isn't only to hulk up to super-human size!

Sanity Prevails Down South...Obama Wins!!!!!!

I woke up with a huge sense of relief this morning because Barack Obama retained the presidency. Credit is due to Mitt Romney for keeping the race close, but in the end the best candidate won. After all, Obama understands that a top-down, trickle-down system hasn't and will never work. Unless tax loopholes are closed and the wealthiest citizens and companies pay their fair share (read more than their secretaries), the government will always have a deficit and will not be able to provide support for the middle and lower classes.

I'm not saying Obama is perfect. Far from it. He hasn't been able to get through the political gridlock created by the Tea Party and far right in the House, but Obamacare and other initiatives give me hope that he has and will bring more positive change for the majority of Americans, which will help Canada and the rest of the world get on track.

Good job, Mr. President!!



Obama's victory speech

CBC - Doc Zone - Episode - Sext Up Kids

Saw this documentary on CBC the other day and it was scary. Kids are overly sexualized and even hyper-sexualized from a young age and it is having hugely negative consequences. Watch below and let me know what you think.

As a teacher, seeing something like this is disturbing and makes you wonder what can be done to fight back against marketers and popular societal trends.

CBC - Doc Zone - Episode - Sext Up Kids

Human Rights Violation in Algeria

Here is another injustice that needs to be rectified! Activists and union members are being arrested in Algeria and I don't think we should stand for this sort of thing. Read more below and I will post the link to click if you want to get involved in an email campaign to protest this injustice after the blurb. Cheers.

Human Rights Activist, IUF representative in Algeria abducted


01-10-2012




On 1 October, Algerian IUF representative and human rights activist Yacine Zaïd was picked up off the street in Hassi Messaoud in the Ouargla province by unidentified men in a white Nissan 4x4 vehicle and has not been seen since. His location at this time is unknown. Zaïd had earlier been beaten upon being taken into custody by Algerian police prior to his release and subsequent abduction.

The IUF believes that Yacine Zaïd’s well-being and perhaps even his life is at risk because of his outspoken work in defence of human rights in Algeria and his long-standing defence of workers' rights, now as an IUF representative in that country.

The IUF calls on the Algerian authorities to act immediately to secure the release of Yacine Zaïd, guarantee his security and restore his full rights. We also call on authorities to investigate the matter fully and bring those responsible to justice.

You can help. Please send a message to the Algerian Government immediately to secure the safe release of Yacine Zaïd.

On Republican Senatorial hopeful Todd Akin's Medical Knowledge

Apparently Todd Akin, the Republican Senatorial candidate from the great state of Missouri, knows something of the magic of the female body that no scientist or doctor has ever figured out...the body magically shuts down and kicks out unwanted sperm when a woman is "legitimately raped"...therefore there is no need for the government to make abortion legal on the grounds that rape victims need a way to terminate their pregnancies.

So, according to Akin, not only are their "legitimate rapes", but the body magically knows when to accept a man's seed and when not to. Hmm...

Where do they find these guys?



To the credit of the G.O.P., they are trying to force Akin to give up his nomination by taking away his funding and badmouthing him to the media, but choosing him in the first place is still on them.

The party is shifting ever more to the radical, fringe right, which is just one more reason why Barack Obama MUST and WILL win in November. Hopefully the House and Senate will also go his way as Americans and the world are being shown what Republicans really believe.

On Rob Ford's REAL War on Cars

When Rob Ford took office last year, one of the ummm...controversial mayor's first pledges was to 'end the war on cars.' He cited streets cars, pedestrians and those useful scrambles they have at a few major intersections in Toronto (you know, the places where all the 'walk' signs are active at the same time whilst all motorists have a red light in their face) as problems making it hard for motorists to get into and drive around our fair city; however, it is my believe that the real war on cars, pedestrians and others drivers is being waged by the 'law-abiding' mayor himself. I see 2 possible reasons why he is doing this: either he is just a bad driver who is ignorant/doesn't care about the laws in the city he runs or this whole thing is a covert way to confuse and distract citizens and city councillors alike from all the odd, nonsensical and unrealistic things that Mayor Ford has done or tried to do since taking over.  
Don't believe me? Well, I think the evidence showing that other motorists should be terrified if they see the mayor operating a motor vehicle near them speaks for itself.

First off, we have a story running during the last mayoral election season bringing to light Rob Ford's past arrests for DUI and marijuana possession...

Next up we have Mr. Ford flipping off a woman and her daughter when they dare to tell him that he shouldn't be driving and chatting on his cell phone at the same time...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/news-video/video-rob-fords-finger-flipping-misunderstanding/article606343/

Then we have the more recent incident of Toronto's commander-in-chief not knowing the simple and commonly known rule of stopping behind street car doors when they are open, so as not wipe out people getting on or off the mass-transit device or other cars who are following the law...


And last but certainly not least we come to Tuesday's incident of Rob Ford reading important documents while driving to City Hall... 


He says he's a 'busy man' and was still 'paying attention to the road'. Sure, and I'm the great grandson twice removed of Joseph Stalin. Even if he didn't cause an accident, what he was doing was highly dangerous and quite illegal.

How Rob Ford still has a drivers licence and hasn't been charged with anything yet defies logic. Mayoral privilege I suppose.

The next time the happy-go-lucky man in charge talks about the 'war on cars', you know what he is REALLY referring to.

Music Break: The Birthday Massacre

This week's Music Break highlights one of Toronto's best kept rock secrets, the Birthday Massacre. They harmoniously blend goth industrial dark melancholy and horror film/fantasy lyrics with 80`s synth-pop sensibilities to create music that can make one chuckle, weep and grin within the span of the same song. The band members chose fantastic names to go along with their unique music. Lead singer Chibi`s name comes from a Japanese slang term meaning `short` or `miniature`, which suits her since she isn`t the tallest of women. Other band members include Rhim, Rainbow, Owen, Nate and Falcore (anybody remember the Neverending Story?). Here are videos of some of their biggest hits. Enjoy!

Blue


Looking Glass


In the Dark


Video Kid



Nevermind

An online campaign for workers' Rights: Light the flame for workers’ human rights

I belong to an organizartion called Labour Start, an organization that takes action to try to expose/prevent/correct horrible situations for workers the world over. The particular situation I want to address today involves workers in Sri Lanka and China that made pins, clothing and other merchandise for London 2012. Some factories used child labour, others didn't pay their workers enough to buy bare necessities like food and still others forced their workers to slave for ungodly hours each day to make soon-to-be-discarded trinkets for a world event that is supposed to be about unity and equality, not exploitation.

The link below provides more details and an opportunity to join the online campaign calling for an end to these travesties. Check it out and join in if you feel it's a good cause.

Light the flame for workers’ human rights

A little Air Time on CBC

So, Rob Ford is in hospital with "Asthma and swallowing issues" according to CBC and other news sources, and I just happened to be wandering the farmer's market outside Toronto City Hall on Wednesday when a reporter from the aforementioned Canadian Broadcast Corporation stopped me to ask a few questions about how much about the mayor's health the public has a right to know. I responded by saying that Rob Ford's health is the number one priority and that the public should be updated on his condition once he is proclaimed not in serious danger and doctors have had a chance to fully diagnose him, as people need to know how this will affect his ability to perform in his enlarged, cushy chair at city hall.

The interesting part of all of this is that CBC chose to use part of my response in their story on Ford. Wooo! 6.2 seconds of fame for me among anyone who happened to catch the 2 minute story on air or happened to watch the video on CBC.CA. Oh, and it would only matter to people who know and recognized me in the clip. And it's summer, so many people are off galavanting in exotic locales around the globe instead of intently scrutinizing Toronto news on CBC. And others don't watch CBC. Then there is the group that doesn't care about politics.... ... ...I guess what it boils down to is that I will be lucky if even 1 person I know saw the clip (I love you mom!)

I guess the only way to ensure I get those 6.2 seconds is by posting the clip on my blog. Shameless as it is, it is exhilirating for a formerly-shy, anonymous supply teacher and wannabe rockstar/political critic to see my face and hear my voice on a major news network, so I have decided to go ahead and post the video.

What do you think? Would you have posted it? How much do you think the public has the right to know about a politician's health? To me, people should be given the major details once the health of said politico has been stabilized. Their ability to work affects us all, after all.

My 6.2 seconds of fame!