Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in a "White Genocide In South Africa" grouponFacebook?

Okay, first off let me say that there are those in Toronto SHARP that support Toronto mayor Rob Ford, and those that don't. Each individual is allowed to have their own political feelings, and vote as they please. 

It should also be pointed out that I have no idea if this is a real Rob Ford Facebook profile, or if it is one done by his staff, or even just someone pretending to be him. It says he was added to the group by someone else, not that he decided to join it.

Why is he still in it? I have no idea. I did not take this screen shot and post it to damn him, or defend him. I took it because a friend pointed it out to me, and if it really is him, and he knows he is in this group then it is news.

After reading the Globe and Mail article about the Ford family and their links to big name Canadian white supremacists, I figured I'd share this screenshot. Here is a link to the Globe and Mail story: 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/globe-investigation-the-ford-familys-history-with-drug-dealing/article12153014/ 

Thoughts on this?

UPDATE: this is the group that the screenshot was taken from THIS GROUP.

My problem with some activists out there.

There was a posting on the Occupy Canada Facebook page with this photo:

BREAKING NEWS : City of Toronto Workers Destroy Free Community Food Garden Amid Growing Food Crisis

This morning workers from the City of Toronto were ordered by City of Toronto Parks Director Richard Ubbens to remove all live plants and food from the People's Peas Garden in Queens Park. They were ordered to take the plants and food to the dump and lay sod overtop of this most beautiful free community food garden, without warning, without a chance to remove the rare heirloom plant species or harvest the food. The garden was planted by Occupy Gardens and allies on May 1st, in defense of local and global food security. While the garden has been growing undisturbed for nearly 5 months, with the help of hundreds in the community, the city deliberately decided to have it removed upon the eve of the Autumn Jam: A Harvest Party and celebration of sharing, community and free local food, which is happening tomorrow from

12-6pm at the garden in Queens Park (northwest section).

EVENT PAGE: http://www.facebook.com/events/414496608609039/

The reason? The people did not have permission to grow free food on public land. I come from a city and country where one does not need permission to do the right thing. We are experiencing a "glocal" food crisis, where more and more people are lining up at food banks for kraft dinner and peanut butter, waiting lists for community gardens are growing, food prices rising, and our leaders are nowhere to be seen. Rather they are hiding behind their desk ordering the workers to destroy whatever hope we have left.

We need help sharing this story far and wide.

We will be having our Autumn Jam harvest party/vigil tomorrow as scheduled from 12noon-6pm in the northwest section of Queens Park.

As a side note - last Monday Sept 17th gardeners travelled to Ottawa on a Peas Keeping mission for national, global food security, where we planted a free heart-shaped food garden on Parliament Hill, at which point the RCMP stomped on the plants and threatened arresting people, we removed the plants and relayed the sod.

Thanks so much for your time and help,

In Peas, Lovage & SOILidarity!

Jacob Kearey-Moreland- Occupy Gardens Toronto

RCMP Stop Occupy Toronto From Planting Garden On Parliament Hill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuZdCLXc7H4

Monday, October 1st- Right to Food Rally - NO GARDEN IS ILLEGAL http://www.facebook.com/events/185270878275210/

we are bringing the garden to them and are going to plant a free food garden at city hall

Now I seriously think that community gardens are a good idea. A way for those in need to get some fresh veggies. However the fact that they decided to plant in Queen's Park without permission was a huge mistake. What they ended up doing was wasting everyone's time, energy, and having their crop destroyed.

Yes it was a douche move to pull up the garden after months of having it grow there, and to destroy all the veggies, I agree. What should have happened is these people go out and ask permission first. Who knows, maybe they would have gotten it? At worse they'd have been told no, and would have then been able to find a different place to plant.

I've been reading people's reaction to this and it seems some miss the point of activism. The point is not to break the law as some have said, but to make the world a better place. Sometimes you might be left with no choice. Some laws are wrong. This does not mean you decided to break any law you want to try to do something good. When you do that it is not heroic, and it is not activism. It is being entitled and lazy.

Let's not forget what matters here... those who are hungry. If you want to help them, then make a full effort to help them, not a half ass lazy one where you get to cry victim because you didn't bother to find out if you were allowed to do something at all.

Canadian Values or pure hate? Walk your Dog In Front Of a Mosque day

For the past week there has been an event page on Facebook called Walk Your Dog In Front Of A Mosque Day. This event claims to be standing up for "Canadian values and freedoms".

Basically what happened is some radical Muslims decided to hold an al Quds Day event at Queen's Park in August. The JDL (Jewish Defence League) showed up to protest the event. Allen Einstoss, ( not associated with the JDL ) decided to walk his 165 pound mastiff dog named Cupcake with an Israeli flag tied to it's neck right up to the radical Muslim protesters.

Mr. Einstoss was punched in the chest by one of the radical Muslim men. Mr. Einstoss shoved the man back. The police grabbed and arrested Mr. Einstoss and threatened to charge him with trying to incite a riot and assault. Some time during the punch to the chest and the shove back it seems Cupcake got kicked as well.

Now anyone with any common sense can see that Mr. Einstoss was there with his dog to protest the al Quds day supporters. He was not just some man out for a walk when he had the bad luck to be assaulted by Muslims and then arrested for it like so many seem to believe.

The police dropped the ball when they arrested Mr. Einstoss and not the Muslim man who punched him in the chest.

Queen's Park made what many people felt was a mistake for allowing the al Quds day rally to happen at Queen's Park.

The Walk Your Dog In Front Of A Mosque protest has decided to target this mosque right when Muslims will be going to pray.

Dharminder Kumar of the Canadian Hindu Advocacy has said that this event is a peaceful one, about love and Canadian values. However a quick look at the events page shows some of the most venomous hate and anger that has been seen in a long time. Mr. Kumar himself even takes part in the hate by calling Muslims "muzzies" and "pakis".

Some of the more vocal hate filled supporters have even posted photos of Anders Behring Breivik, Norway's notorious Muslim killer, calling him a hero and saying the Muslim children he slaughtered were "traitors to Norway".

This event and its supporters have stated to say over and over that they are not racist, and it is not a racist event. I've been giving it a lot of thought, if it is racist or not. Islam is a religion after all, and anyone of any culture and colour can become Muslim. But then I noticed all of the photos, all of the videos posted, all seemed to only show the Arabic and African side of Islam. Calling Muslims "sand niggers", drawings showing Muslim men about to rape children...

I truly believe that not everyone supporting this event is a bigot or racist. But a hell of a lot of them are. Any Muslim who dared post on the event page talking about Islam was insulted, was called a liar, and dismissed. Any non-Muslim who questioned the logic of protesting at this mosque rather than at the police station, or at Queen's Park was told that they were secretly a Muslim ("muzzie") plant, a left wing loon, and dismissed.

A few days ago someone started a blog highlighting the comments that a number of posters have been making. Reblog A Racist. This blog seems to be updated daily with new venom filled screenshots from the event page.

A few people who supported this event have been turned off by the hate shown and decided not to go, which just helps prove that not everyone who supports the event is a bigot.

Muslims have been in Canada since the 1950s. Yes there have been a few that were evil (the Honour killings of the three daughters by their parents). But you can not damn a whole group of people for the actions of a few. If we start to do that the Christian churches would have a lot to answer for (KKK and WBC come to mind).

Is this event hateful? Bigoted? Racist? You be the judge. What Canadian values are, and mean is up to you.

Toronto SHARP

The increase in the misrepresentation of skinhead culture and a rise in particularly militant right-wing separatists caused a small core group of long time traditional skinheads, along with current and former S.H.A.R.P. members from the Toronto area and other cities, to discuss reforming the chapter in the GTA. It's birthplace was not a certain time or place, and no single person is its creator, or controller, or president. Instead, it has been born in the hearts of traditional skinheads who live to protect and defend our way of life, and everything it represents, including the freedom for anyone, regardless of race, sex, age, or religion, to enjoy our culture as equals... brothers and sisters alike, as one.

This is the official blog of Toronto SHARP (Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice). Here you can find updates on what's going on, concerts, shows, and general information on Toronto SHARP.

Remember, a scene is only as good as the people in it!