Sunday, March 18, 2012

Chester the Silver Back Gorilla's Toronto City Hall: The Inside Poop




Chester the Silverback Gorilla writes to us:

Insiders at City Hall will tell you there is a new sheriff in town. After months of blustering and BS it has become clear to members of council that a) the current mayor is a few shovels loads short of a subway tunnel and b) the dope whispering in his ear really is a dope.

Almost by default City Council is turning to a councillor who has shown leadership and rational rather than wishful thinking on the transit file, Karen Stintz. While a great many people, including the Prime Minister, prefer subways, unfortunately, like the F-35 fantasy plane, they are too expensive and there are suitable and efficient alternatives.

So while the Mayor and his dopey sidekick and their faithful dog Georgie posture and blather on Ms. Stintz is calmly and resolutely trying to move the city forward. She is doing so with a combination of intelligently presented arguments, a willingness to seek consensus, personal dignity and grace and a steely determination. Just the sort of abilities and attributes that a real mayor should possess.


The Mayor, having botched the Transit File, has moved on to sort out the energy challenges facing a major metropolis. For a further insight into the inner goings on of the Ford Administration  please click on the link to the following documentary:


With Rob Ford as Larry, Doug Ford as Moe and Giorgi Mammoliti as Curly.



Sunday, March 11, 2012

Afghanistan: Have We Got A Rug For You





Men are fundamental and women are secondary, or so says the Ulema Council of 150 leading Afghani Muslim clerics. The President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, agrees.

The Infant Mortality Rate is a universally recognized indicator of the overall health of a society. For instance, in societies with a 23.1% IMR you don’t see many career or lifestyle choices for women. When you get to the IMR for Afghanistan, well, follow the photo link  below.


The Infant Mortality Rate in Deaths per Thousand

Canada Overall                   5.1
Canada Inuit                      23.1

Ten Years of Western Involvement in Afghanistan

        2001       147.0
        2011       149.0






This post is brought to you by:




Cover pic is in the public domain courtesy of davric

The Canadian IMFs are from a report by Janet Smylie: A Review of Aboriginal IMRs in Canada