May 2, 2008
Class War Begins, Kids Stupid, Olympic Torch Home
The latest census stats show conclusively that the poor are either getting poorer, or that they're not. The Star toes the OCAP line, rambling about free trade and crappy jobs, while the Post weighs in for the plutocrats by observing that family incomes have actually grown across the board, and that the income stats are misleading anyway. As Torontoist likes to say, you load sixteen tons, and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt.
Kids around Ontario are playing something called the "choking game," which involves choking each other to the point of passing out. Parent groups are demanding an immediate recall of the book 50 Fun Things To Do On a Rainy Day.
More details are emerging about the horrific story of the married couple in Brampton who were stabbed to death by a stranger in broad daylight. If you want a political angle, the Sun says that the suspect was out on bail for other violent crimes at the time of the attack.
The Olympic torch passed through Hong Kong today, with Chinese Chief Executive Donald Tsang offering a stirring speech about Hong Kong being a place where "different people with different beliefs and different views have thrived in a spirit of diversity, tolerance and respect." As he spoke, pro-Tibetan demonstrators were hustled into police vehicles for protection from an angry mob.
Photo by loungerie.
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Oh man, this is embarrassing, but I remember the choking game. But we didn't call it that. "The Choking Game" sounds lame and dangerous, and what we were doing was super cool and harmless---or so we thought.
It's funny, my friend's mom always told us we could die from doing that, but I never thought that many kids actually did. Hmm...
Kids ARE stupid.
Yeah, that choking game is nothing new. It was all the rage when I was in middle school back in 1997. I didn't play it, though. Because it's stupid.
The income stats are misleading in that they really don't tell you anything about the dynamics of the classes. A more meaningful statistic is how many households are moving up (or down) the income bands.
OCAP likes to rant about how X percent of households live below the poverty line. What they don't tell you is how many of those households eventually climb out of that. That is what matters.
Huh, I don't remember any choking game when I was in school.
But that might actually mean I was a regular player of the choking game...
"The Choking Game"? Pfft. Kids have no imagination these days. I can't remember what it was called back in my day, but "The Choking Game"? Read a book, develop an imaginative vocabulary and THEN apply it to the dumbass shit that you do instead of...reading books. Oh, I get it.
Johnnie: "Back in 1997", I was in graduate school. God, I'm old.
There's a version of the Choking Game that involves putting a lot of pressure on the participant's chest so they can't breathe. I remember hearing about it a few years ago.
Kids should be shipped off to camps until they're mature.
A similar game that led less directly to choking was going around in the mid 90s. Fluffy Bunny players try to stuff their mouths with as many marshmallows as possible. This lead to many children suffocating or choking to death.
I think Oprah managed to raise enough public awareness of the issue that the popularity of the game has subsided.
Ben,
My 12-year-old sister had a fluffy bunny tournament as a part of her birthday celebration in February. It's still around.
And I, too, used to play the choking game. It was even better when you did it while smoking pot.
Vincent - I think you're missing a key aspect of OCAP's philosophy regarding poverty. Their position is all about who is suffering from poverty right now, and not about who climbs out of it. Their demands are clear: build affordable housing NOW, raise the minimum wage to ten dollars an hour NOW. Maybe you know their material, but if so, you've misrepresented it. I don't care if you disagree with them.
Why are we even talking about poor people? Everyone knows they don't count.
Uhm... So the fact that the stabbing suspect might have a prior record of violent crimes is a political angle, as opposed to a jurisprudential one?
Be sure to let the Supreme Court know, because there are recividists all over this fine land whose prior convictions are being mentioned in courtrooms right now. Let's just pretend that every time in front of a judge is the first time!
There are many people, events, and just plain things in the world that have both legal and political implications.
If you don't see how the "out on bail" aspect of the case could ignite a political shitstorm around the way justice is administered in this province, I don't think I can explain it to you.
Without having read the Sun, it's a safe bet they'd turn it into a political issue. If they weren't so blue collar reactionary rural conservative in their hatred of government, I'd say the Sun is staffed by anarchists.
There are plenty of things that can or should ignite a political shitstorm around the way justice is administered, Patrick, but none of them are likely top of mind.
First, it's important to know whether a criminal court or a mere JP granted bail to this particular customer. A criminal court is presided over a justice with actual law school training. A JP, on the other hand, could be literally anyone -- CEO, dishwasher, exotic dancer -- who has a university degree or equivalent, is of good character, has no criminal record, and is a Canadian citizen. The requirements are not exactly weighted toward those with a thorough understanding of the law, and the implications of their own decisions.
And JPs preside over an awful lot of bail hearings. Criminal court justices generally hear the bail review cases, when a JP has denied bail and the accused wants a review. It is not too unusual for a JP to grant bail to somebody who committed a crime while out on a previous bail grant. But I am betting that that, along with JP qualifications, is probably not going to be the part of the process subject to the greatest scrutiny.
"Without having read the Sun, it's a safe bet they'd turn it into a political issue. If they weren't so blue collar reactionary rural conservative in their hatred of government, I'd say the Sun is staffed by anarchists."
Yeah but at least they're not the Toronto Star, colloquially referred to as the Red Star. I'm happy to think of myself a rural Conservative lest I be considered a city hippy.
I've never heard the Star called that, but you're a troll so what does it matter anyway?
I'm not a troll. If anyone deserves that title its you, especially with your unfair stereotypes of rural conservatives as mere reactionaries. Please stop trolling needlessly defaming those who disagree with you with harmful characterisations.
If only the HRCs would go after unsavoury types like you when they're not busy impeding the rights of white people.
As usual, people are talking shit based on their own political leanings without all the facts. Since I don`t have those facts, I`ll refrain, however if this guy was out on bail for a previous violent crime, then it`s political regardless of which paper reports it. If it`s true, then they should report it because it`s relevant.
It`s a political world, figure it out.
Hey Pickle Toes, you DO know that the OHRC advocates a lot for people with disabilities, women, people who are not heterosexual, people who are religious, and people not born in Canada? Not just "impeding the rights of white people", although if one were solely to rely on the more conservative media outlets I can understand why you'd get that impression.
They don't advocate for anything, they just stifle debate and censor. If they really wanted to advocate they would counter that which is deemed to be hate speech with their own arguments and explanations. Instead of trying to educate and enlighten others about the merits of tolerance they'd rather see it accepted dogmatically. I don't expect you to understand this if you rely solely upon the liberal dominated MSM; namely: The Toronto Star and the CBC.