NotFullyTakenVille
From the lede of David Moscrop's excellent TVO piece on the Ford government's corrupt greenbelt giveaway:
If there was ever a doubt that corruption is a constitutive element of Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk’s report into its dodgy Greenbelt dealings ought to put that uncertainty to rest. Indeed, the government is something more than corrupt. There’s corruption. There’s utter corruption. And then there’s funnelling more than $8 billion to your developer buddies and party donors through land swaps in the bright light of day and expecting to get away with it...
And how did the good premier of Ontario respond to the revelations in the AG's report?
Well...
Well...
..(I)n a Wednesday (August 9th) press conference, Ford continued to spin the plan as part of its affordability, housing, and growth plan even while he admitted the process was flawed, for which he took “full responsibility.”...
Which means what, exactly?
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Want to listen rather than read?
The CBC's daily 'Front Burner' podcast, which I find to be both solid and eclectic overall, has a good episode on this topic.
In this specific episode host Jayme Poisson talks to Fatima Syed who writes for the Narwhal (and whose work on this 'story' was singled out as exemplary by the Ontario AG in her presser on the report).
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Hey!
But most of that hot air was so superficial that it just bounced of the surface of the thing.
So...
If you want depth, have a listen to Andrew Hickey's fantastic podcast on the history of the group, including how they all came to be working for pretty much peanuts for Ronnie Hawkins, how legendary Canadian A&R impresario Mary Martin brought the then 'Hawks' to Albert Grossman's, and ultimately, Dylan's attention, and how the musical genre that would become 'Americana' was birthed in the basement of that big pink house in Woodstock New York,
Another fantastic anecdote from Hickey's podcast...The Band purposefully worked to make their harmonies as loose as possible so that, unlike, say, the Beach Boys and the Beatles, their individual voices would stand out rather than blend in.
Imagine that!
2 comments:
Was shocked when I heard of Robbie Robertson's death. I never thought of him as getting older. Amazing talent. There was recently a documentary on T.V. about him and in parts of The Band.
Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm were such great talents.
I recall when Letterman's band leader went on vacation for a week and he had Levon Helm come in and replace him. By that time Helms was already unwell and it was great to see him. Paul Schaffer, right now I remember his name. somewhere there is a clip of that.
First we talk about the angels and then we have Doug Ford. Once a "grinder" always a "grinder". The Green Belt give away was no surprise. Developers have wanted their hands on that land for a very long time and Dougie gave it to them.
It is doubtful the people of Ontario will see any affordable housing being built there. Might be one small building for seniors but expect to see large homes on large lots enjoying gated private parks. The Bridle Path is just not large enough to hold all the rich in Ontario.
I'd say may they all rot in Hell, but give the amount of rain in Ontario these days, theyy may well drown first or be swept away by the tornados.
People like Ford and his gang, just don't get it or don't care. Ford might want to remember, once he has served his purpose, he will be left in the dust by his "gang". He isn't one of them. That is what so many politicians forget. The voters of Ontario most likely will re elect him, on the other hand, he might retire after this, given that was most likely his goal, getting rid of the Green Belt.
No government ought to be selling its land. They're/We're going to need it in the future and if the taxpayers already own it, we don't have to pay for it. Leasing would make much more sense, but in this case, its a Green Belt.
You'd think Ontario was in the american south
e.a.f.
Found it!
(story seems to be a little convoluted, including an original no-show on Leterman due to, allegedly, his pick-up truck catching on fire)
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