Two 'Politicians' Speak

Now frequently the new last refuge of the scoundrel, the passive voice is very popular with politicians far and wide, even if they don't hold elected office.

In response to a comprehensive report by retired judge John Morden on the police brutality and abuses of Charter Rights committed during the June 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto that cast the Police Services Board in a particularly bad light, Board chair Alok Mukherjee admitted “mistakes were made,” but stopped short of apologizing for the board’s inaction in G20 planning.

The other politician in this sad episode, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair, acknowledged “lessons learned” from a new report criticizing the Toronto Police Services Board’s inaction on G20 summit planning, but denied a fundamental communication problem between police and the civilian body tasked with overseeing them.

What those lessons were, the good chief declined to say. And, of course, he refused to apologize for anything.

Oops, We Didn't Mean It

The reversal of the Rosseau Muskoka's decision to extort take 50% of its masseuses' tips, owing to the backlash sparked by The Star's earlier report, is but one of many reasons I am a proud subscriber to Canada's most widely-read newspaper.

Enablers Of The G20 Abuses: The Police Services Board

The following is a brief excerpt from a comprehensive report by retired judge John Morden on the police brutality and abuses of Charter Rights committed during the June 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto. In it, he addresses the failure of the Toronto Police Services Board, headed by Alok Mukherjee:

“The board has limited its consultative mandate and has viewed it as improper to ask questions about, comment on, or make recommendations concerning operational matters,” said Morden.

“The board’s approach in this matter is wrong.”

In earlier times, of course, this magnitude of incompetence would have warranted resignations or dismissals.

Nowadays, sadly, it simply becomes a public relations challenge to overcome.

My understanding is that Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair will start the process of 'massaging' the report shortly with a news conference.

People, Unfiltered By Governments And Their Enablers

A friend of mine sent a video along the other day. Another friend had the following comment:

Perhaps a silly response, but tired of Nations being painted as evil when it is not the people but the clowns like Harper, McGuinty and others that purport to reflect values that certainly are not mine to the rest of the world..............

See if the following doesn't dispel some of your stereotypes about Russians. Amazing what we can learn when we remove the filters of government propaganda and media biases. Perhaps the Internet truly is the great leveler:

Digital Exercise

With all of the finger-pointing in the Star's latest installment on the Toronto District School Board's questionable relationship with Jimmy Hazel and his Maintenance and Construction Skilled Trades Council, I think it is safe to infer that all involved parties have truly entered the digital age.

Stating The Obvious

I suspect this report ranks right up there with headlines such as Expect A Hotter Than Usual Summer.

What "Flexibility" Really Means

Reading the print version of the story I posted a link to yesterday regarding young Tim Hudak's latest attempt at formulating policy (a.k.a. union busting) got me thinking once more about how politicians misuse and debase language.

In what I guess in his world passes for bold and innovative thinking, young Tim would like union membership to no longer be mandatory and would outlaw the “forced paycheque contributions” unionized workers make to political causes.

Hudak said that “the more flexible the workplace, the greater demand there is going to be for workers.”

“If you have a flexible workplace where businesses can adjust to market conditions the more likely they’ll open up in that jurisdiction.”

I suspect the flexible workplace the callow Master Hudak has in mind would be filled with all kinds of perils for the newly enfranchised worker: