Wednesday’s Headlines

24 comments

1. God, Christie Blatchford’s columns are so smarmy they are basically unreadable. No wonder she likes Ford — they both have the same shtick of populist preaching to a choir they actually have nothing in common with. She talks about the mayor being overpaid… I’d be surprised if her salary is less than his.

2. Blatchford used to write for the Sun. I find it sad that the Globe runs her.

3. I have to agree…the Sun is the only place that really suits her. 

4. Wow.. could Mallick be any more Leftist. Her column is so fulsome it’s disgusting.

   It’s good to see that Spacing has only a Star subscription.

5. Thomas: And Rob Ford couldn’t be any more right wing. Got a problem with people having opinions?

   And did you notice that there are Globe&Mail and National Post articles in this post? And that The Sun didn’t have any ‘urban’ news today? Or did you even look at how Spacing does the headlines ever day and uses all the newspapers?

   Sheesh. 

6. Yeah, pay closer attention, Thomas.

7. Actually Liisa, it seems you have a problem with people having opinions. I think Mallick’s arcticle is just as bad as Blatchford’s.

8. Vince where do you get the idea I don’t like opinions? I never said there was a problem with Mallick OR Blatch’s columns. They are entitled to it. 

   My problem lies with Thomas claiming Spacing is Star-biased when that is so factually wrong since it would take, I dunno, maybe 25 seconds to see how thorough Spacing’s headlines are each day. 

9. Agree with Liisa. Spacing’s own columnists may have a left-of-centre, progressive urbanist bent, (which is fine, they don’t pretend otherwise) but the news round-up is pretty non-partisan. I see the Sun in here all the time.

   Anyway, Blatchford is obviously an intimidatingly intelligent person, so why she insists on taking untenable, thoughtless, bizzarely reactionary positions is beyond me. My vote is for incurable political perversity.

10. Liisa, I only took issue with your first statment, not the one about Spacing. I agree with you, Spacing generally provides links from all newspapers.

11. Mallick’s column isn’t going to win over any Ford supporters. People don’t like being told they’re wrong, even when the evidence is mounting against them.

12. The Post’s poll on a hypothetical Miller candidacy is interesting in that it seems to confirm something I have suspected for a while now.

    Most polls to date seem to have had a fairly substantial percentage selecting undecided / none of the above. Conventional wisdom seems to be that this was people hoping that John Tory would jump in. My thought was that it could be moreso related to “progressive” voters that have a choice of, well, Joe Pantalone, after a number of potential alternatives declined to run (Caroll, Murray, Giambrone, etc.) — compared to four candidates on the centre to right side of the spectrum, generally running as the anti-Miller.

13. @LIISA

    My “opinion” had nothing to do with how right wing Ford is (nor did I mention him, nor did he write any news columns today), so I don’t know why you are even mentioning it.  I have no problems with differing opinions, but it sounds as if you might, considering how hostile your accusation sounds.

    My “opinion” had to do with the articles presented in the Headlines.  Like I said earlier, I have no problems with “opinions”, my problem has to do with biased “opinions”, either right wing or left wing.
    What I was trying to point out and what I had to laugh at was concerning Paul’s (the first commentor) statement and “opinion” about how biased Blatchford’s article was, without even a mention of the same opposite but as extremely biased article that Mallick did.

    I think both articles are overboard in their political stance.

    As well, the Toronto Sun did have ‘urban’ news today:

    http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/08/25/15139006.html
    http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/08/25/15133806.html

    As a subscriber to the RSS feed, I’m am quite aware of the coverage that Spacing does.  Most times, there are a wide selection of sources to read through.  But today, when 65% of the news items are from the Star, it just raises a concern.  If it happens to be a slow news day with the Sun or other media outlets today, then today is an anomaly.  But, for an open discussion of the topics and concerns of the urban lifestyle, all opinions from either side of the political spectrum should be presented for analysis and discussion.

14. Here’s a link to a Star story by Chris Hume not in the lineup that I think is worth reading:
    http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/852431–hume-miller-leaves-city-divided-as-never-before ). This is one of those rare instances where he’s been willing to put his usual rants on hold and actually look at what’s going on with the electorate, offering up this insightful comment: “At this point, Miller’s legacy could best be summed up in two words: Rob Ford.”

15. I wish Hume was mayor.

16. Samg,

    thanks for the link. It is a good one. I think what Hume hit this one right on:

    “a progressive urban agenda does not play well in the suburbs. What seems obvious and necessary to city-dwellers comes as a direct threat to suburbanites”

    We can argue that many of this progressive urban agenda is actually meant to help suburb, especially the inner suburb which needs it most (TC is the most ambitious one), it does so by trying to make the inner suburb urban. Unfortunately it is not widely appreciated in the suburb where people really want keep the suburb suburb, of course they all want the “nice version” of it as you may find in the pricy areas in 905.

    You can (reasonably) argue that what the suburbanites want is just not possible given the population growth, you cannot turn the clock back, the only way to move forward for them is urban. But it does not matter. That is not what they want, and they are angry as long as thing keep moving in that direction.

    I don’t know how this can be resolved (except maybe time, decades of it, will settle it eventually). The best thing I can think of right now is demalgamation, and let the people in each borough decide their own direction. Yet what happens to the shared network of services? I’d be heartbroken if TPL has to break up. As for TTC, if we put it into the hands of the province, would local residents get even more shortchanged as it further gears towards commuters? Honestly, I don’t know.

17. Hey Thomas…ya you…

    Maybe this site isn’t for you. Have you considered that every website on the internet DOES NOT have a responsibility to present every opinion, from every viewpoint, every single day of the week? Especially when it’s a site like this one that has a very clear editorial intent, to promote issues of public space usage, public transit and city building; to name just a few.

    Also, who made you the website journalistic integrity police? Or rather, who gave you the self-righteous indignation badge to wave around any time a website presents information that you don’t feel is nearly inclusive enough.

    Maybe you’re just a humble lover of Spacing who’s worried about it’s future. Maybe…

    OR…maybe your just another of the recent slew of right-wing trolls who’ve been slinking around wonderful, progressive sites like this one slinging poop like a deranging Rhesus Monkey.

    Oh, one last thing. All opinions are biased. That’s why they’re called opinions.

18. People who want to stop Ford winning have got to stop wishing he was David Miller. He isn’t and will never be and the 30% who are currently in his camp don’t want him to be. The way to beat him is to find ways in which he doesn’t act the way his public platform claims – tough on spending except if it’s a ski slope in Etobicoke, for instance. Shelley Carroll pointed the way when she pointed out his desire to junk $7m worth of tax dollars spent (zoning bylaw) while photographing an $8k food expenditure.

19. Hey Josh, nice Ad hominem attack. But i’ll bite anyways.

    I didn’t see anything on this websites ‘about’ section that indicated that it was a purely socialist/liberal only site. Wow, to think that someone with a slightly more conservative view point might actually be interested in public transit, urban design, public art, community planning, and sustainable development must be shocking to you. You do realize that those topics are not just the purview of the socialist/liberal political spectrum?

    If this site is run by journalists, which again from the ‘about’ section it says it is, then there is a journalistic responsibility to present an unbiased view to topics. If Spacing really wishes to “push readers to think critically about how they can shape the public spaces that surround their everyday lives”, then they should be presenting both sides of every issue. That’s the only way people will be able to make critical decisions about urban topics. To point that out doesn’t make me the “journalistic integrity police”, it pushes the authors of this website to hold a higher standard, so that urban topics and discussion of urban topics are made with well informed ideas. I tend to think that this website does a great job in doing that and I hope that they continue to do so. My comment about the Star subscription was supposed to be in jest. If you took it literally, then I’m sorry you took it wrong.

    As for the troll remark.. that’s quite disgusting, considering you don’t even know me.
    I happen to read websites from both spectrum’s of the political sphere and I can tell you that socialist trolls love to make comments on right wing websites as well. So don’t think that the “recent slew of right-wing trolls who’ve been slinking around” only happens on “progressive sites”. It’s going both way right now.

    As well, not all opinions are biased. There is such a thing as an unbiased opinion; it’s called an opinion made without prejudice or through impartiality.

20. Josh, Tommo didn’t need to be given the Self Righteous Indignation Badge. He was born with it. I have seen the baby pictures and I’ve seen the badge waved around to deadly effect.

    You have no idea how close you came with the monkey comment.

21. Hey Josh.. ya you..

    Looks as if Thomas may have it a sore spot with you. Perhaps some internal reflection may be needed to deal with your anger issues.

22. There are such things as unbiased opinions.

    It’s an opinion that is free from all prejudice and favoritism. It can also be an impartial opinion.

23. I thought ad hominem attacks weren’t allowed in the comment section?

24. Haha…I never thought my comment would make the site. I wrote it certain that Matt (or whomever is watching the comments today) would can it, knowing as I do that sometimes when I go a bit too far (usually with the foul language) I’ll get edited out. 

    With all sincerity, I apologize if any Rhesus Monkeys were offended by the content of my comment. Nor was it my intention to imply that Thomas IS a Rhesus Monkey, just that he was acting like one. I don’t even know if Rhesus Monkeys fling poop. I only used them as an example because they have an amusing name.