Annual Toronto Sun Review (this time of year)

It’s become tradition to review the Toronto Sun once a year in a litmus test based focus, on the weekend of the NHL Draft when the di-regher moment prompted by purchasing copies because of the coverage; it means checking out the rest of the paper, and more formally than when finding one and quickly excizing the curious bits.

Today’s Sun continued in their theme of going loud on the g20 policing issues, and while people say that targetted groups receive such treatment as a natural course of living, there is no under-evaluating thousands of police violently attacking people with little or no basis, concertedly, as they might chance to be in the 40 to 60 blocks range of the over arching security for ‘world leaders’ whom so many just don’t care about. A billion dollars worth of trouble for the huge population here.

Despite the high stakes cover, the always amusing Sun first devotes most of pages 2 and 3 to Conrad Black!

They literally lionize him, the phrase lion in winter and all this, funny. But like a Vancouver rioter, he flaunted the presence of cameras and seemingly did just what a judge said not to, on camera, even looking at the camera, in a seemingly confident moment of sheer confidence that his lawyers would take care of the issue.

Unable to really care about that, or identify with the wealth that founds tier of society, along to pages 4 to 8 swirling with undiagnosable Toronto Sun attachment to G20 policing issues. Enjoying it, because being violently tackled by surprise from behind is just what the doctors I know would be recommending, for anyone involved, dangerous, wreckless, just so wrong.

First we have Blair just not discussing answering acknowledging the real concerns of the people of Toronto.

Then they have articles by Sun journalists quoting some of my favorite people in all of Canada, the ones that if Canada is a decent place of good relations between loci of power and the rest of us it’ll be substantially thanks to their efforts. The Blair question is complex because he was put in there to be a progressive, and is taking the public’s wrath, dislike, impatience, annoyance, et al, on behalf of whomever ordered all this gang tackling of random protestors and kettling of the public at large. Those really responsible are not even known by name, unless people imagine that politicians actually impact the process, in which case the leading politicians would be most blameable. The problem is that kidnapping and assault are serious felonies, so one cannot as with organized crime quickly or instantly charge them as one would the mafia or biker gangs. I still find it remarkable that the Sun’s coverage so leads to viewing it all in such a way. I’m an extremely adjustable person in a lot of ways, very zen dao trained just to deal with the lightest daily crap, but it’d cause an out of body experience to be jumped for no reason by surprise and caged with strangers, as happened to so many. The Sun’s stats on injuries to protestors was crazily low, those made ill and traumatized by their experiences have problems far outlasting cuts and bruises. And the businesses.

I’ve subtly worked on a vast system of boycotting as a result, with such a large range of viable boycottable involvees in this political sewer rise of state relations. All kinds of large scale events and kettleable circumstances are zeroed out. If another “Big Security Event” comes within half a city of my home or job I will be on strike and ideally away the entire time. The Municipal Government does not have my support. Hasn’t since the G20 ‘Attack on Toronto’ etcetra etcetra, all generated by media coverage and online coverage and word of mouth. I estimate my boycotting has cost 4000 or so to Toronto thus far. 4000 in non-purchases, non-attendancees, but if one can be randomly harmed at a greater rate than when dealing with crime, by mere presence in the core of the city, what the hell. There are infinite subclauses to the boycott, but I’d estimate it reasonable, 3 or 4 thousand of either non-earnings, non-purchases, non presence.

Then there’s this stunning page. The mind spins. the complexities really are incredible.

It’s been rough, I must say, in a money talks kind of society, while so aiming to have maximum time to write all these years. to live the real life, rather than focus on the rhino spine of wealth. An easy choice, I can’t see how I’d have been richer either way. It renders much of how the real system works very near worthless.Hypothetical in meaning and value.

Exemplars
Annual Reports
The drummers
And Uncategorizables
The Sieging Madness
The manipulation we pay for
but don’t want
The dangers of even democracy
The Will of People
The subterfuge
the harassment of unremarkable individuals
The Bells
the loss of control due to insane hubris
And the humility to know it is happening
Until we are long ago amusing history

This phone scam is all too real. I received just such a call last year. Immediately noted its profound aggression, dominating bossy attempt to overwelm, rejected it and fought with the guy, then heard loading machine internal noises and cursed him out once more and hung up. Best would be to hang up instantly and not believe them, just like Rob Ford or Tim Hudak or Stephen Harper. The whole NDP socialism debate is because socialists specifically might not be a majority here, conscious socialists. Most relgious people are in a word socialist in orientation, morally and spiritually, and probably a majority of atheists are socialists, but all it is is collective activity, like policing or defense against contagion or roads. All roads are socialist obviously. But people have other senses of the word and can’t be… reasoned with.

The Sun: it’s long been there, it’s free at honest eds on sundays. Not that often found around town. Wingnuts with contorted biases have written editorials there since I moved to Toronto in the early 80s. It’s interesting what they’re doing now. Hounding Blair and the great gap of nothing that Blair won’t say anything about. Federal roles and Mr C and Mr SIS, or was it Mrs? If Blair is set out to sea, whom will be appointed next? Bromell? McCormick? Toronto really could become unlivable, genuinely, a place so twisted and contorted by an angry demented extremity of it that would be unconscionable, actually worse than the 50s or 30s.

This is no way to bring up Peter Falk’s demise, but what a great guy.

Tired of the Star’s sports section lately. Boring!

But it’ll be back to it soon. The Toronto Star is such a better newspaper. It’s fun looking at a Sun now and then, and never again the Globe & Mail, not a fan of the New York Times or most of England’s newspapers. And documentaries are better than regular television. Usually; The Wire and Heimat were the best in most categories of anything.

Pop Townes!