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Smokey outside Jazz Fest tent
Back in the day when you went to a concert, you went to see the artists, not watch them on a giant screen, which is exactly what happened on Friday, June 21, at Nathan Phillips Square at the Martha and the Vandellas and Smokey Robinson concert (NOW, June 22).
We braved the TTC for over an hour to get there, only to find the vast majority of concert-goers standing outside the event tent like poor relations, eyes on the two outdoor screens, while a few of the elite wristband-wearing crowd actually got in. What a disgrace.
The reason we stand shoulder-to-shoulder, squished up against our fellow partiers, on our toes to see around the tall guy in front of us, and tolerate the back pain and bladder pressure is to see our favourites. We want to establish that those we have admired are actually real flesh and blood.
If we wanted to see them on TV, we’d watch the 10-CD compilation of 60s music in the comfort of our own living room, with a bathroom and a beer nearby.
Gail Fairhurst
Toronto
Of “speciesism” and other oppressions
The scare quotes you put around “speciesism” in your brief account of the March To Close Down All Slaughterhouses (NOW, June 20-26) are a subtle reminder of the paucity of your purported progressivism.
The word was coined four decades ago it is commonly used in academic work on cultural studies and philosophy, and on the streets in animal liberation activism. I admit it remains a difficult word to wrap one’s tongue around, but if you can’t wrap your heads around it, your critique of other forms of oppression will always be partial.
Sexism, for example, often operates via the animalization of women (think “bitch,” “chick,” “cow,” etc) likewise, racism does the same for racialized communities. (Think Rob Ford’s “Those Oriental people work like dogs.”)
Learn to talk about and confront the speciesism that underpins these and other forms of oppression. Then you can ask progressive questions like, in this case, to what extent the marchers’ critique of speciesism acknowledges the racism and classism that are also perpetuated at our local slaughterhouses.
David Regan
Hamilton
Rob Ford steals Ai Weiwei show
I was pretty steamed to see the mayor’s personal agenda appended to the official notice about the Ai Weiwei sculpture unveiling (NOW, June 18). Does his dictatorial reach include stamping the Four Pillars of Ford Philosophy (you know, “excellent customer service” and the rest) on all city news releases? According to what rule or guideline is this allowed or required?
Ai Weiwei would find this Ministry of Truth treatment all too familiar. I find it disgusting.
Brian Young
Toronto
Spit needs more green polish
It’s great to hear that further development of Tommy Thompson Park’s natural features is going to occur. Nine hectares of coastal wetland will be a welcome addition (NOW, June 20-26). Equally thrilling would be an announcement that the park is now available to the public, not trucks, instead of just on weekends or holidays. Maybe Coca-Cola could work on that?
Geoff Rytell
Toronto
Corporate Knights does mea culpa on Barrick ranking
In response to Sakura Saunders On Corporate Knights’ Unclean Capitalism (NOW, June 13-19).
Saunders takes exception to Barrick Gold’s fourth-place finish on our 2013 Best 50 Corporate Citizens In Canada ranking, suggesting that our rankings are devoid of substance.
Her criticism that we appear oblivious to Barrick’s controversial human rights record is exactly correct. While we are proud that our rankings use hard numbers to shine a light on a wide range of corporate behaviours, there are important omissions, most notably human rights performance and major environmental or community transgressions.
The challenge for us is that in order for our rankings to have impact, they must be based on objective measures. Over the past year, we have thought a lot about this and we are committed to finding a way to elegantly quantify these factors in time for our 2014 ranking.
Currently, we are considering looking at financial sanctions, community conflicts and suspensions of operations imposed by governments or due to labour disputes.
Feel free to write us at research@corporateknights.com with any ideas.
Toby Heaps
CEO, Corporate Knights
Toronto
Air Rail Link’s missing $400K
Adam Giambrone is correct in Air Rail Stink (NOW, June 13-19) that we should scrap plans to run diesel trains first and electric later on the Metrolinx Air Rail Link (aka the Union-Pearson Express). But there’s another much more convincing reason for going electric first: it would save $400 million.
In the cover letter to its electrification study, Metrolinx asked the province for an additional $400 million to install an extra track in the corridor to run diesel trains while the wires are strung and the standards are being erected for electric trains. The big expense is for a new tunnel under the 18 lanes of Hwy 401. But there is no reason to wait to do this – we can do it now.
It baffles the mind that New York City today runs 500 trains on four tracks, but Metrolinx needs eight tracks to run 464 trains.
Let’s do it right the first time and electrify now.
Mike Sullivan
MP York South-Weston
Rob and Bill: go blow
Re Who’s Running This Town Anyway? (NOW, June 20-26). This article was truly appreciated.
Rob Ford slashed programs to help young people, calling them “hug a thug.” Yet he is the one hugging thugs.
During the budget debate last year, Chief Bill Blair acted like the sky was going to fall if his budget was slashed. The cops are the only goons on the streets, while they try to make it look like black guys have a monopoly on crime.
They paint the entire black community with the same brush to score points with their white base. Blair and Ford should go blow each other
Solo Teklu
Toronto
Jesus effing Christ!
Letter-writer Bogos Kalemkiar states in Cops Protecting Ford Family Compact? (NOW, June 20-26) that any evidence against the mayor “will be buried so deep it will take fucking Jesus to resurrect it.”
Excuse me! I don’t expect to read this in a paper that poses as “progressive,” with all the virtues that it implies. Surely you would have edited it if the writer had referred to the religious figures of other religions in this manner
I do know “fuck” is not a banned word in NOW, but in this context it is vulgar and offensive.
G. Lee
Toronto
Graphic oversight
I can imagine that you’ve been receiving all kinds of messages and outrage regarding the nominees for Best of Toronto, but I have to mention that your best graphic novel category needs work. It’s hard to believe that you guys could only dig up two potential candidates, and sadder still because one of those candidates isn’t a Toronto resident. Toronto has a vibrant comic book scene, and there are plenty of lesser-known creators who could be considered.
Patrick Kyle
Toronto
Let’s co-op LCBO
Re Real Deal On LCBO Strike That Wasn’t (NOW, June 13-19). It’s time to take the LCBO from the hands of the few and turn it into a cooperative where every single resident of Toronto who drinks is a member.
Robert Croghan
Toronto
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