Stop the attacks on mentally disabled Parkdale residents

Time out from talk of elections.

Sixty-two-year-old George Wass died earlier this week after someone attacked him on the steps of a Parkdale rooming house last Friday. He was hospitalized briefly and then released. He had been kicked repeatedly in the head and the ribs. He suffered two cracked ribs, cuts to his head and face, a black eye, and had trouble breathing. The autopsy said he died from blunt force trauma to the chest.

It was the fifth attack on a mentally disabled Parkdale resident since January. It's believed that the same person is behind all the attacks.

This video from Paisley Rae is a response to George's death.



Can't really add much to it.

Another late-evening edition of What Beijing York said

And finally tonight:

We have to actively kill those memes - costly election, unwanted election, economic stability and scary coalition government.

How can Canadians by and large be cheering on demands for democracy on the "Arab street" while re-electing a party found to be in CONTEMPT of Parliament? Hopefully more Canadians will put two and two together and realize that they have to put a stop to the erosion of our freedoms and democracy.

What are we speaking of, when we speak of democratic infrastructure?

OK, so I was on the Tweeter today, and I was being a bit of a smart-ass (All together now: Really, OB? We're shocked. Shocked!) about the leaders of the three main parties.

This one's for Montreal Simon

Day like this, can't deny the guy a little measure of enjoyment.



Rock on, bro.

Election strategy and modest aims

Guys: If you accomplish nothing else, just don't let them turn the word "coalition" into a scare tactic or an epithet.

OK? Think you can handle that? kthxbye.

More to come.

Another malignant election

No surprise. The blogosphere is all a-buzz with talk of impending election. Some of its progressive inhabitants are almost swooning with the thought that we might, finally, be able to rid ourselves of Spiteful Steve.

It's a nice thought. And yet ...

Cityslikr finds a home at Torontoist

Very happy to see my friend cityslikr writing about city politics over at Torontoist. The man puts in the time, watches and observes, and comes away with insights and analysis that he expresses with wit, verve, and the occasional bit of moral dudgeon. (Everyone needs a hobby.)

He's been doing it for a while at his own place, so it's great to see him getting wider exposure.

A sample:

This executive committee is the ugly manifestation of Ford Nation. Like a jilted lover, it has seized control, determined to prove its worth. It brooks no dissent and counters any disagreement or outside opinion with vitriol and contempt. Retribution, not reconciliation, is its agenda. This is the heart of an administration that has more interest in getting even than it does in governing.