Results tagged “pakistan”

It's acclaimed, it's award-winning, it's drenched in blood, and it isn't modern art. It's Pakistan's first gore film and it's freaking out the squares in Toronto this week.

TTC "U-pass" close to passing for students, possibly also hotel workers. If the scheme passes, the TTC will suddenly be crowded once again, rendering all those recent fleet upgrades essentially moot. Hooray for public transit!

Today we celebrate Ontario's first ever Family Day. Banks and government offices are closed, but many malls and stores are open for last-minute Family Day shopping.

The annual Polar Bear Dip is a success, raising $59,000 for World Vision Canada. This follows Toronto's proud tradition of really, really bloody stupid stunts for charity, like the Great Canadian Tack-Eating Contest of 1958 and the Who Needs A Parachute? First Canadian Place Jump-Off of 1971.

Canada wins the Spengler Cup. If you are like us, your first reaction to this news was, "What the hell is the Spengler Cup?" It very probably has nothing to do with famed Ghostbuster Egon Spengler (played by great expat Canadian Harold Ramis), so it can't be that good. Give us a moment while we do some research... huh. Apparently it's a professional hockey tournament. Who knew.

Former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto was assassinated yesterday in a bloody suicide attack that killled at least 20 other other people. Anyone thinking that this news isn't sufficiently Toronto-centric should hope that the destabilization of this nuclear-armed extremist-incubator state doesn't have much direct impact on Toronto, because if it does it's likely to be in ways that are not at all fun.

Toronto declares first cold alert of the winter season. John Baird immediately points out how the existence of cold weather might mean that we're all wrong about global warming.

City Council considers removing the downspout removal subsidy. This news item brought to you by The Council For Reminding You That Municipal Politics Are Often Incredibly Dull Even If They're Necessary. (The group promises to come up with a better, catchier acronym as soon as possible.)

Ontario's conservation officer suggests the unbanning of clotheslines. Did anybody even know that clotheslines were banned in certain parts of Ontario? Why would anybody ban a clothesline anyway? Clothes flapping in the wind are aesthetically pleasing!

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has announced that the rich pay the lowest tax rates of all income groups. Heather Reisman, Jim Balsillie, and everyone who lives on the Bridle Path celebrated this by heating their gigantic mansions with a fireplace full of money and cackling. Maniacally. Dalton McGuinty is adding to economic fear-mongering by claiming that the rising loonie is hurting Ontario’s economy and that interest rates should be lowered. Meanwhile on...

For decades, Toronto has been one of Hollywood's most versatile back lots. Along the way, every specialized branch of the multi-headed film and television biz has sprouted up in the city. Camera, electrical, post production, locations and ... plane crash and natural disaster recreations?

So, things are rapidly going to hell in Pakistan. Somewhere between one and two thousand people have been "detained" (i.e., dragged away) since Saturday and all private television stations shut down and the country is about ninety percent of the way to pure chaos, which, given that they have nuclear weapons, is bad. Of course, the White House managed to find the good in the situation, namely that Iraq could be as bad as Pakistan.

Toronto is apparently "about to go broke." Wait, what?

On Sunday night, a small motorcade of revellers snaked down the Danforth, whistling and beeping and waving what looked like the Japanese flag with a green background. Turns out it was the flag of Bangladesh and the occasion was the Bangladeshi team's triumph over Bermuda in Cricket World Cup.

"I’m going to Pakistan in November to share Q&A with young theatre artists during a festival celebrating Punjabi culture. I arrive on November 17. Look for more posts then."

New allegations of insider trading involving a Toronto asset management firm leveled against Conrad Black. At this rate, in about two years it will turn out that Conrad Black's entire financial career was actually illegal.

In the post-Christmas period, there aren’t usually a lot of films released, and this year it's no different; really we’re all just twiddling our thumbs waiting for the new Cinematheque season, right?

What’s that you say? We didn’t manage to give you any picks for this Monday? Ahem, well, oops? Let’s pretend there wasn’t anything really on, eh? Not that we were too busy going to screenings to write about them or something. But if we were too busy going to see screenings instead, here are a few things we might have learned.

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word 'Lahore'? Is it a French prostitute? Or the second largest city in Pakistan? That issue is currently up for debate in the vibrant city of Markham. The prospect of naming a street after the city of Lahore, Pakistan has certain Markhamomians concerned. While some believe Markham's sizeable Pakistani population warrants the street named after a Pakistani city, others think it is inappropriate for it sounds like 'Le Whore.'

En 2004, Marion Boyd, une ancienne procureure générale de l'Ontario, concluait dans son rapport sur le tribunal islamique, la charia, que les femmes musulmanes ontariennes devaient avoir les mêmes droits que les catholiques et les juives de la province et, par conséquent, avoir recours aux tribunaux islamiques en matière de droit de la famille.