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He fired his chief of staff last week for telling him to go to rehab. This is according to the Sun which, as newspapers go, has been his cheerleader for the pas

He fired his chief of staff last week for telling him to go to rehab. This is according to the Sun which, as newspapers go, has been his cheerleader for the past ten years. So you can't claim there's no substance to the drug allegations when his highest ranking staff-member is advising him to get help.

mladenkovacevic 13y ago
Is this the article? http://www.torontosun.com/2013/05/23/rob-ford-told-to-go-to-rehab http://www.torontosun.com/2013/05/23/rob-ford-told-to-go-to-... Here's how that accusation starts: "But a source familiar with the situation told the Sun...". So again, no names, no factual evidence, nothing concrete. Just for the record I'm not saying that Rob Ford didn't smoke crack or that his brother wasn't some kind of drug lord... in fact it wouldn't surprise me at all. I'm just commenting on how relentlessly someone seems to be trying to ruin their political careers. As far as the Sun being Ford's cheerleader, yes it's true they are the token "conservative" media outlet. Just as Fox News is the conservative source in the US. But here's what I believe about their role in the media landscape. As the most prominent conservative media, their job is to be so ludicrous and untrustworthy that only the most hard-core conservatives would actually listen to them. The John Stewart show is quite good at highlighting just how ridiculous Fox News is, for example. This way you are left with other more-or-less liberal mainstream media as the most accessible and most credible source of news. This way you can channel all kinds of propaganda along with the other "trustworthy" news. And that's how wars and surveillance-drones are sold to tax-payers. Sorry for the conspiracy theory rant.
- sbarre 13y ago
  You say "someone" but the people who are writing these articles are easily identified and researched. The two journalists who did the Globe and Mail piece are award-winning well respected investigative journalists. I doubt they would risk their careers, or waste their time, on someone else's false claims.
  - mladenkovacevic 13y ago
    No I agree... Let's say these are absolutely responsible journalists with solid sources and reliable evidence. What's really strange and somewhat worrying is, why is this torrent of information suddenly coming out now. Both Rob and Doug Ford have been in politics for years. What if whoever has these anonymous drug dealers in their pocket has decided for one reason or another to unleash them on the media and ruin the Fords' reputations. The possibility that our politics and public opinion is not controlled by democracy, but rather some private (and possibly criminal) interests worries me far more than whether Rob Ford indeed smoked crack or not.
    - sbarre 13y ago
      That's a fair question for sure.. In my opinion, the Ford brothers have been escalating things with the media (who are more than happy to reciprocate) for a while, and things just came to a head with this crack video thing, and everyone decided "let's do this" and the gloves came off.. Oh, and I think they've been doing a fine job of ruining their own reputations (I'm half-joking about that one but Rob Ford really does have almost-weekly blunders)..
- hondje 13y ago
  You're downvoted but you're spot on. People just don't want to accept that what THEY trust is as wrong as Fox et al
sbarre 13y ago
Actually the story has come out that he fired Towhey in relation to his refusal to go reclaim football gear that the mayor had donated to the school that fired him, and then subsequently told the mayor "We have more important things to deal with" when the mayor decided he wanted his chief of staff to organized a BBQ for said football team. Yup. Our mayor has been using city staff and resources for his football coaching pass-time.. That's nothing new though..
bob13579 13y ago
It's quite unnerving that you're concluding things based on hearsay and innuendo. If you have actual evidence of that, please bring it.

mladenkovacevic 13y ago

Is this the article? http://www.torontosun.com/2013/05/23/rob-ford-told-to-go-to-rehab http://www.torontosun.com/2013/05/23/rob-ford-told-to-go-to-... Here's how that accusation starts: "But a source familiar with the situation told the Sun...". So again, no names, no factual evidence, nothing concrete. Just for the record I'm not saying that Rob Ford didn't smoke crack or that his brother wasn't some kind of drug lord... in fact it wouldn't surprise me at all. I'm just commenting on how relentlessly someone seems to be trying to ruin their political careers. As far as the Sun being Ford's cheerleader, yes it's true they are the token "conservative" media outlet. Just as Fox News is the conservative source in the US. But here's what I believe about their role in the media landscape. As the most prominent conservative media, their job is to be so ludicrous and untrustworthy that only the most hard-core conservatives would actually listen to them. The John Stewart show is quite good at highlighting just how ridiculous Fox News is, for example. This way you are left with other more-or-less liberal mainstream media as the most accessible and most credible source of news. This way you can channel all kinds of propaganda along with the other "trustworthy" news. And that's how wars and surveillance-drones are sold to tax-payers. Sorry for the conspiracy theory rant.

sbarre 13y ago
You say "someone" but the people who are writing these articles are easily identified and researched. The two journalists who did the Globe and Mail piece are award-winning well respected investigative journalists. I doubt they would risk their careers, or waste their time, on someone else's false claims.
- mladenkovacevic 13y ago
  No I agree... Let's say these are absolutely responsible journalists with solid sources and reliable evidence. What's really strange and somewhat worrying is, why is this torrent of information suddenly coming out now. Both Rob and Doug Ford have been in politics for years. What if whoever has these anonymous drug dealers in their pocket has decided for one reason or another to unleash them on the media and ruin the Fords' reputations. The possibility that our politics and public opinion is not controlled by democracy, but rather some private (and possibly criminal) interests worries me far more than whether Rob Ford indeed smoked crack or not.
  - sbarre 13y ago
    That's a fair question for sure.. In my opinion, the Ford brothers have been escalating things with the media (who are more than happy to reciprocate) for a while, and things just came to a head with this crack video thing, and everyone decided "let's do this" and the gloves came off.. Oh, and I think they've been doing a fine job of ruining their own reputations (I'm half-joking about that one but Rob Ford really does have almost-weekly blunders)..
hondje 13y ago
You're downvoted but you're spot on. People just don't want to accept that what THEY trust is as wrong as Fox et al

sbarre 13y ago

Actually the story has come out that he fired Towhey in relation to his refusal to go reclaim football gear that the mayor had donated to the school that fired him, and then subsequently told the mayor "We have more important things to deal with" when the mayor decided he wanted his chief of staff to organized a BBQ for said football team. Yup. Our mayor has been using city staff and resources for his football coaching pass-time.. That's nothing new though..

bob13579 13y ago

It's quite unnerving that you're concluding things based on hearsay and innuendo. If you have actual evidence of that, please bring it.