09.09.2010 08:26 AM

The friends of Rob Ford

Two of Rob Ford’s most eager activists/campaign workers are Arnie Lemaire and Kathy Shaidle.  Lemaire runs a Muslim-hating web site called “Blazing Cat Fur” that, most recently, ran a contest encouraging people to send in cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed, inter alia, as a pig – and regularly calls for an end to Muslim immigration. Shaidle – who happens to be Lemaire’s wife, and oversees a white supremacist web site called “Five Feet of Fury” – has called Muslim children “parasites,” Islam “fucking retarded…[for] ungrateful beligerent foreign savages…a sick, sick religion,” and said this about Muslim Pakistani immigrants: “most of them can’t even read…What we really need to do is stop immigration from Pakistan and other crazy Muslim countries filled with illiterate, violent tribal peasants…”

For weeks, Shaidle and Lemaire have been agitating for Rob Ford, and have even been at the forefront of his online campaign strategy (as here).  Their association with him and his campaign cannot be denied.  And nor have I found any evidence that the Ford campaign has in any way denounced Lemaire or Shaidle.  Instead – and as in the “investigation” of the Toronto Star, which Ford loathes – they are clearly working in lockstep.

Which brings us to us one of the biggest stories in the world this week, “Reverend” Terry Jones plans to burn copies of the Qu’ran on September 11.

That vile act has been condemned by our Prime Minister, the President of the United States, the Pentagon, the Vatican, Glenn Beck, and pretty much everyone else.  Everyone recognizes that Jones’ plans will cause an extraordinary amount of trouble – and quite literally put allied troops in danger in Afghanistan.

But has Rob Ford?  Why hasn’t he condemned Shaidle and Lemaire, instead of permitting them to sell Ford campaign swag?

Why won’t he condemn Lemaire’s most-recent posting, wherein “Blazing Cat Fur” shows the Qu’ran being burned – and in which he says the opposition to Jones’ plans are “sickening,” quote unquote.

Reading this, and the implications of it, I expect Rob Ford will now scramble to denounce the Qu’ran-burning – and frantically distance himself from the likes of Lemaire and Shaidle.

But the question remains: why hasn’t he done so before now?

38 Comments

  1. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    Warren,

    Some people NEED to read a book before being capable of understanding it…

    • DAVID says:

      you are right there Ron ,unfortunately a lot of people here don’t even read this blog entry it is very well put together with the hyperlinks etc. but some folks see ”rob ford” and go rabid like pavlov’s dogs.i especially enjoyed the link to enzo’s piece.but i wouldn’t quote now magazine at all ,but what is more telling is the readers response to his column..starting to look like rocky is being sabotaged.

      • Scott says:

        I think a lot of people are misreading the reasons for Ford’s support. He’s the anti-Miller.

        I still remember Miller on Citypulse “Ask the Mayor.” Someone called in during the middle of the recession and she said “I’m a new immigrant and I can’t find a job. What advice can you give me?”

        Miller sneered.

  2. kyliep says:

    To answer your question: he hasn’t done so because these people are his core constituency. He appeals to mostly angry, gut-thinking white males over the age of 50 who like to call into AM talk radio stations to complain about subjects they don’t understand. I don’t expect Rob Ford to denounce anything. If confronted, he’ll simply shrug it off as an attack by the left wing press and his countless supporters will be on the star’s comment boards with insightful comments like ‘go get ’em Rob’. what’s sickening to me is that so many people beyond this core constituency are apparently willing to vote for rob ford simply because he represents the most radical departure from the status quo. I suspect, though, that this story will fall on deaf ears…pointing out the candidates obvious flaws, lies and inconsistencies only seem to firm up his support. in this respect, he shares a lot with a former ex-governor from alaska.

    • Andrew says:

      Every politician has zealots as supporters and every candidate has flaws. There is no candidate or politician that is perfect, regardless of what side of the political fence you sit on. What you are implying is guilt by association and McCarthyism.

      If you dig around, you will find unsavory people supporting Rocco, Smitherman, and the others.

      • kyliep says:

        Every politician has zealot supporters, for sure. It’s just that the anti-gay, anti-immigrant crowd tend to be fully behind rob ford. because he’s, you know, anti-gay and anti-immigrant, as his public statements have demonstrated. As I pointed out in my comment, the fact there are many non-zealots among his current poll supporters who are willing to overlook the casual racism and ignorance of candidate Ford because of he promises to reign in spending is more distressing than the fact that the candidate has zealous supporters in the first place. Hardly McCarthyism but nice try.

        • Andrew says:

          Clearly state who said something anti-gay and anti-immigrant.

          I assume you will be voting for the candidate with a pro-pedophilia – NAMBLA activist, correct?

          Or the one with the eco-terrorist and proponent of tree spiking and fire bombing car dealerships?

          • kyliep says:

            Rob Ford: “AIDS is very preventable, if….you are not gay, you wouldn’t get AIDS probably, that’s bottom line.” – 2006

            ?How are we going to welcome another million people in? I think we have to say enough’s enough.? – 2010

            I have no idea who I’m voting for….the two camps you’ve outlined don’t sound all that promising to me. And I suspect that’s the problem for a lot of Torontonians…if you don’t want the bigot with no fiscal or transit plan, where do you park your vote?

            I’m hoping that becomes clear within the next few weeks and that two of george, sarah, and rocco drop out when it becomes clear to they can’t make up the difference.

            But make no assumptions.

  3. DAVID says:

    if i were Mr.ford in this case i would do nothing at all. he is not responsible for what others write about him right or wrong .as far as terry Jones is concerned he is not going to do it , but talk about publicity he couldn’t buy it for 10 gazillion bucks.maybe now people would actually read the Koran and discuss it..MISSION ACCOMPLISHED as they say

  4. Abigail Thomas says:

    You can tell a lot about a person by who his or her friends are, or in this case, campaign supporters. Possibly Ford’s future staff: Kathy Shaidle as Press Secretary; Arnie Lemaire as Chief of Staff. Who else would we likely see?

    A bigot with a criminal record is not someone who should be mayor.

  5. Glenn says:

    Warren, you ask “why”? It is because it won’t matter that these two are on Rob Ford’s team. It should; like bloody HELL it should…..but it won’t. It won’t matter for the same reason why Ford won’t condemn these Qu’ran burnings. Ford knows that there are a lot of people who are “thinking it, but not saying it” – Tamil ships, controversial mosques, burkhas, the total and utter waste from city council, the seeminlgy endless union strife, rampant gun crime, the simple fact of David Miller’s presence for the last seven years – the pendelum has swung too far in many people’s jaded and cynical eyes that this is what people want now, and why Rob Ford is winning and will win. It seems inevitable. Even Smitherman is poaching ideas off of Ford now; he can see it coming, too.

    Warren, I’m really hoping that you can help Rossi pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat. If not, well, four years is a looooonnngggg time. 🙁

  6. Martin says:

    Soo Happy you have joined this campaign Warren – Let the true Fear Mongering begin.

    I am a truly undecided voter. Thing is – I don’t particularly like Ford – But I do like his platform (even if most of it is unachievable because of our unicipal governance structure) . If Rocco Supports an end to the Toronto “Land Transfer Tax grab” and Auto Tax grab and supports the TTC as an essential service – and agrees to at least look at Garbage issue – Then I would consider voting for him (Rocco was actually my first choice when this campaign began – now he has slipped – but is still well ahead of Smitherman)

  7. DAVID says:

    please tell me how exposing someone who hacked ‘ into a wikapedia page can pe spun into an endorsement.pretty transparent whats happining here .things not so good with rocky and bullwinkle

  8. Richard says:

    With friends like those, who needs enemies like Warren Kinsella?

  9. Paul R. Martin says:

    Mr. Ford may not have enough brains to have thought this one through.

  10. Scott says:

    I don’t think most Ford supporters even think of religion. Theirs is a singular cause: cut waste after the arrogance of the Miller years.

  11. ES says:

    I am the one who first noticed the Wiki edit & traced the IP to the Toronto Star. I emailed The Star asking about it & also forwarded my concerns to The Sun, Rob Ford, and a few other media outlets. Within 2 hours I received a response from Rob, thanking me for pointing it out, but no recognition from any of the media outlets that they even received my emails.

    About a week later, I noticed a story was going around trying to spin the fact that the parody site owner had gotten a cease & desist notice into a theme of “Rob Ford is trying to censor free-speech”. Since I actually had another perspective on this situation, I posted a reply on the Torontoist board explaining what I had found. I was instantly attacked over & over, including personal insults & homophobic remarks, many of which have since been removed, but I still have copies of them. People were actually advocating letting the press make up any stories they want to try to stop Rob Ford, even if they were lies. I don’t agree that should be the case for ANY candidate, and that’s why i brought myself into it to clear things up.

    Soon enough, many media outlets started picking up the story, including Blazing Cat Fur. Up until that day I had never even heard of BCF, I just came across them while looking at the follow-up stories about the situation. They seemed more interested in the facts than simply attacking the messenger about this story, so I sent him some updates… the same updates were sent to anyone else who was interested in talking to me about it. That is my only link to them.

    I still have never received any sort of reply from the Star, addressing my concerns about this issue. They simply released a press statement initially claiming it wasn’t them, then finally admitting that it was from their parent company, and the investigation seemed to stop there.

    Warren, do not spin the fact that the Toronto Star edited Rob Ford’s wiki page, into simply an attack on some people who happen to support him. Just because BCF happened to be one of the first blogs to report on it, doesn’t mean that the facts should be dismissed.

  12. DAVID says:

    http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/09/09/tamil-ship-tories-liberals-nazi-comparison.html#socialcomments WE NEED BOZOS LIKE THIS GUY IN ONTARIO looks like he’s been on the gravy train too long. probably taken out of context

  13. CQ says:

    Yet who are Rossi’s friends? I still don’t know where he went to school, or which named corporations he worked at, when and in what capacity, who his family members are in summary, the neighbourhood he grew up in,… Under two months to go, already a half year in the public mayoral race and still nothing.

    • aliengoo says:

      We do only have the “controlled” press,and public profile on Mr.Rossi,but if you do look up Rosedale gang, you will see some of his allies. They are some of the most influential political people we have in Canada.May even be able to call them lobbyists given their current,and past roles. Does the city want more of the same schools of thought aligned to members of establishment Rossi’s linked to? So far,that ideology hasn’t helped Ontario,or Toronto. Torontonians may want someone who can walk the talk,has a proven track record,and skill set that’s consistent with the [office] job they’re seeking. I know for myself,I am tired of the lost revenue,unions,and leftist ideology that has dominated the city.If one thinks of a prominent U.S. political family named Kennedy,most of us would recognize they were far from pristine in their personal,or even political lives.
      http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/564254 , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosedale_Gang

  14. allegra fortissima says:

    The destructive act of book burning has a long, long tradition – Flavius Valens, Justinian, Domingo de Guzman, Popes Innozenz II, Gregor IX, Clemens IV, Johannes XXII, Paul IV, Pius V and Clemens VIII, Girolamo Savonarola, Karl V, Maximilien Robespierre, Anthony Comstock, Adolf Hitler, Joseph McCarthy, Pol Pot, Augusto Pinochet, the “Harvest Assembly of God” Church in Penn Township…

    “What progress we are making. In the Middle Ages they would have burnt me. Now they are content with burning my books.” ~ Sigmund Freud

  15. Scott says:

    We really need to see more about Rossie the person. How about inviting some interviewers into his home? Meet the family? Show he’s a normal guy with sober economic politices?

  16. allegra fortissima says:

    … and some proved you wrong, Sigmund. Terribly wrong.

  17. Googlefu_needsome? says:

    Hey CQ, look below. That should get you started. How hard was that?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocco_Rossi

    • CQ says:

      A) you got me 🙂
      B) if he is as impressive as his current wikipedia page, then why are nearly three dozen big name Liberals & THE Toronto Star publicly endorsing & backing Smitherman’s campaign en masse instead?

  18. Kevin says:

    According to the Register, the book burner’s website has been shut down by his ISP, and half his congregation has walked away in disgust.

  19. George says:

    Warren, no offence but I think you are stretching a bit here. While Shaidle and her husband obviously support Ford, and are selling T-shirts promoting Ford, they may very well be doing it of their own volition, and not because they’re actively working with Ford’s knowledge and co-operation. Every candidate has unsavouries that support them – in this case, the unsavories seem motivated to push a message. If you had some evidence that Ford was actually ACTIVELY in cahoots with them, that would make a difference. BTW, good call on supporting Rossi, I hope a good chunk of Slitherman’s support drifts his way.

  20. James Currie says:

    A friend of mine just pasted a link to rob ford’s new blog : http://www.blobford.com , its hilarious and creepy.

  21. u guys r stupid says:

    wow u guys r the most retarded liberals iv seen

  22. Afarin Maleki-Raei says:

    What Arnie Lemaire needs is to have his head cut of and replaced with a pig head. That is what he is – a PIG!!! I can guarantee you that he will be arrested soon. Two detectives in York Region working on him to put him in jail. If you have any information on Arnie Lemaire or if his terrorist group has harassed or threatened you please contact:
    1) Detective Ian mason
    2) Detective Maurizio Gentili

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