05.17.2013 07:16 AM

The Rob Ford crack video

…no one’s got it, yet.  But there’s a few million people who’d like to see it, following this (who broke the story) and this (who sat on the story, for weeks) and this (who wish they’d had the story) and this (who, like the rest of the world, think we are only “world class” in the “stupid electorate” category).

Until it makes its debut – and it will, unless one of Ford’s well-heeled backers gets to it first, to suppress it – we’ll have to make do with some pictures from the recent past (And a video! and a spread sheet!).  Like many pictures, they tell us we shouldn’t really be so surprised.

(Oh, and don’t forget: this shows that Justin Trudeau is in over his head!)

(Oh, and I’d say some folks owe Sarah Thomson an apology right about now.)

70 Comments

  1. W the K - No, not Warren says:

    “Oh, and I’d say some folks owe Sarah Thomson an apology right about now.”

    First in line: Toronto AM talk radio. They crapped on her for 72 hours after she made those comments. The pass this mayor gets from 640 and 1010 is breathtaking.

  2. Michael Bussiere says:

    Kids, let Ford and Harper be a lesson to you. Don’t do drugs. Teasing is mean.

  3. Richard Besserer says:

    Even the Toronto Sun have picked up the story (because they no longer have a choice).

    People close to Ford are denying everything, of course.

  4. Dave says:

    Not that I figure that he will be bright enough to do this, but the smart thing would be for him to run to ‘rehab’ (one of those celebrity spa places) and lay low for 6 months. Then – come back a humbled and with a story of hardship overcome…..just in time for the next election.

    The worst part of the Gawker story for me was that they indicated that Rob’s brother and staff also indulge in his habits. It makes for unsavory visions of coked out late night meetings and parties and….eww.

    Did the Toronto police know anything? Can the mayor wander into the projects and buy crack without someone there knowing/hearing about it?

    His enablers deserve scorn too – Holiday and the others had to know something was up, and they have attacked anyone who dares point out their boy has a problem.

  5. Kelly says:

    What is it about the Conservative party that attracts guys like Ford? What does someone who says and does the things Ford allegedly does in the video hope to see happen by voting for the party of Mike Duffy and Joel Wright and Vic Toews and Stephen Harper?

    • Kelly says:

      Nigel Wright (darn auto correct)

      • Michael Bussiere says:

        Remember when Harper referred to Keystone XL as a “no-brainer”? There’s your clue. Just compare Liberal and Conservative cabinet CVs.

      • Graham says:

        And what is it about the Liberal party that attracts people like Senator Harb who is also wrapped up in the Senate expense scandal, or the mayor of London Joe Fontana who as an MP used taxpayer money to pay for his sons wedding and is currently facing charges he stole $41,000 from a charity.

        You know what they say about people in glass houses…..

    • Billy Boy says:

      Because the no other party has had politicians self-destruct in public largely due to a disease called addiction. Smitherman and Bryant are figments of our imagination. Make political hay sure, but ultimately Ford needs medical treatment not self-righteous moralizing. Yes, after he’s removed from office.

      Following twitter last night was very telling. You could distinguish Liberals from progressives based on the sanctimonious joy Liberals were gleaning from what amounts to a diseased and sick mayor. Yes, some real progressives piled on lightly, but Liberals went to town. Hope you’re proud.

  6. Pat says:

    Someone should start a kickstarter to get this thing. I’d imagine 100,000 people would pitch in $1 each to see it…

  7. What a perfectly delightful week for Torontonians, and indeed ‘progressives’ (whatever a progressive actually means) everywhere in Canada. The week was book-ended with Duffy igniting early in the week, and Ford detonating on the Friday. And this is the first ‘Barbeque’ long weekend of the year. Gives us plenty of time to talk about them, and laugh at their expense with our friends and neighbours.

    • Billy Boy says:

      What do you mean? Progressives are mourning the results of the BC election (perhaps other than the Green Party getting a provincial seat) which paved the way for more neoliberalism, austerity, and further erosion of the middle class. Yes, the Harper brand keeps leaking, but substituting it with Trudeau who in many ways is a more hawkish neoliberal than Harper (e.g. Keystone, China) is bad news for progressives.

      • OK, how about this then, Torontonians and ‘progressives’ everywhere in Canada except in BC. Does that meet with your approval? I still intend to enjoy myself this weekend, and have a laugh or two at Ford, and Duffys self inflicted woes.

        And what’s with this ‘neo-liberal’ label that has started popping up in Dipperland? Used to be neo-conservatives was the dirty word. Now we stick neo in front of something, which magically turns it into an evil lurking monster? Should we expect the neo-cons and neo-libs to start slagging the neo-progressives next? Pity all those Liberals, Conservatives, and Progressives neo-ed right out of existence. I’ll give you one thing though. creating a catchy label saves everybody having to think about anything eh?

        • Billy boy says:

          I would grant that the term “progressive” is currently a contested and shifty label, which is why I work to wrest it from the hands of Liberals, whom I don’t see as progressives. However, neoliberalism easily goes back to Thatcher and Reagan and the economic policies that aimed to destroy the welfare state by effecting a return to the originary spirit of Liberalism which was free market fundamentalism. Austerity, attacking organized labour, cutting social services, trickle down economics, free trade at any cost, bending over for transnational corporations, vilifying public sector… are all examples of neoliberal economic policies, typically seen as going hand in hand with neoconservatism but increasingly adopted by Liberal parties in Canada.

          In my view if one of the basic positions of progressives isn’t to be critical of capitalism, surely it is to challenge failed neoliberal economic policies. Which forms the core of my argument as to why Liberals are not progressive, but neoliberals with a smiley face.

          • Billy boy says:

            Scot: As someone who has extensively studied the topics if ideology and hegemony I can only say that the core of every ideology is precisely to seamlessly circumscribe the normal vs the extreme. As a Liberal chauvinist you will undoubtedly see your view if the world as normal and given and natural. Of course someone within a different ideological field will also see the world that way. And don’t give me the Liberals are post ideological pragmatic crap. The first move of any ideology is to disavow it is one. Thus protean Liberals are actually more purely ideological than others.

  8. wsam says:

    The guy parties.

  9. Graham says:

    Something just doesn’t add up.

    The Toronto Star, who have been on a crusade to take Ford down for years, have been presented with an opportunity to buy a video that two of their own reporters say is indeed Ford in a well lit room smoking what appears to be crack, and they are refusing to pony up the cash??

    As for owing Tompson an apology, why exactly??

    She accused Ford of grabbing her ass. Two people, with no connection or loyalties to Ford who were standing right behind them when the alleged incident took place refuted her story.

    • Mark says:

      In Canada, journalists don’t pay for stories. It’s a totally solid rule. You pay for an interview or a video, and you are done as a working reporter. You won’t be hired, and your fellow journos will stop talking to you, because you’ve just made it almost impossible to get a story without cash.

    • wsam says:

      Nobody refuted anything.

      Ford is clearly an ass-grabbing crackhead homophobe boozehound who probably has about another year to live before his heart explodes. Worse. He’s clearly incompetent, unable to advance any kind of positive Conservative agenda beyond blocking Progressive initiatives like decent transit. He is the worst thing to happen to Conservatism in this country since Stockwell Day. He is a club which the Liberals will be able to use to beat the Conservatives with for years.

      • deb s says:

        lol, well said!

      • tf says:

        Now there’s a straight talker!

      • Obdurate says:

        Hey… Moronto has been electing and reelecting Dipper mayors and things got worse and worse, so why not a departure from all that socialist slime like somebody who promises and tries to knock down taxes in spite of all the Dipper political deviants on TO city council. I’d prefer a crackhead mayor Ford than a commie Chow leading the city and skyhigh property taxes.

      • Graham says:

        Nobody refuted it huh? Google Jordan Falkenstein.

        He witnessed the entire Ford/Tompson encounter.

        Then ask yourself this – Why did Sara Tompson offer to walk into any Toronto police station and take a lie detector test because it would she said remove any doubt she was telling the truth. Then when Christopher Dennison of Canadian Special Investigations offered her a free lie detector test, she refused.

  10. Brad Young says:

    That’s Steve’s fishing buddy. They are pals, hang out at Robs cottage.

  11. Philippe says:

    Is “tough on crime” Ford now going to drag his own ass to jail?

  12. partrick says:

    Well it’s been a 2 weeks since the latest “Fordian Moment”. I was starting to shake from with drawl. Hopefully this is enough to flush the Ford influence out of Ontario politics forever.

  13. !o! says:

    The story is good, but the video would have been better. I’m sure it’s been bought out by one of Ford’s by now.

  14. !o! says:

    “Ford’s lawyer, meanwhile, told Gawker that its report was “false and defamatory.” He also later told Canadian radio: “I don’t know whether or not such a video exists, but I think it would be fair for the public to see such a video and make their own conclusions.””

    Interesting that his lawyer isn’t categorically denying it.

  15. Koffi says:

    Ford can put an end to this fairly quickly if there is no truth to the accusation. A simple hair folicle test will tell whether he has used cocaine or any other drug over the past 3 months at least. There are a number of reputable testing sites in Toronto.

  16. Dan says:

    Very true.

    However, it definetly is a pretty serious accusation -I’d like to see the evidence before drawing my own conclusion but it certainly looks and smells like a duck

  17. Michael Reintjes says:

    Has anyone seen the front page of the London Free Press today?…..You’ve got yours and we’ve got ours…..Douchebags are Douchebags, regardless of party affiliation…

    • wsam says:

      The Mayor of London Ontario smokes crack?

      Because the Mayor of Toronto smokes crack, man. He gets high. Your Mayor gets super high, so high his eyes are little slits and he cannot string a sentance together? Because ours does.

      When you elect someone who knows their way around a pipe, then we can talk. Otherwise you guys are junior high while the T is captain of the football team. We party.

      • Pat says:

        No, London just elected a guy who seems to be legitimately corrupt. Like, I don’t mean the normal usage of corrupt when referring to a politician. I mean the guy has mafia level fraud going on. That’s criminal behaviour, bud. I agree that Ford smoking crack is bad, but I’m not sure it’s worse. Toronto’s mayor makes bad decisions because he’s an idiot and (maybe) a crackhead, London’s makes bad decisions when he’s 100% lucid.

  18. frmr disgruntled Con now Happy Lib says:

    Kinda makes me take umbrage to the BC politics are nutty comment……..how TO voters voted for the “fat f**k”(the reporters word’s….not mine) is beyond me……..

  19. partrick says:

    In the video there’s a quote of Ford saying “.. that phone better not be on.” while he’s being filmed.
    I think Ford hates being mayor. He knows that it’s beyond his capabilities. He knows he continually looks ridiculous. He even knows that the people “on his side” are fair weather friends that will dump him as soon as he is no longer useful. Nobody likes to be the fool and this probably pushes Ford’s consumption of various chemicals and liquids.
    Ford would have been happier continuing to babble outrage and fixing potholes for his constituency than actually having to come up with some idea about what to do with a city like Toronto.
    Ford was almost begging to be taped and caught.
    I feel sorry for him and loathe everyone around him that much more.

  20. Matt W says:

    Serious question.

    Could the Mayor really be into crack? I mean, it’s a ghetto drug that is beyond addictive. Ive seen crack users in my day, and they are horrible looking zombies.

    My bet – weed from a bong.

    • wsam says:

      From the way the reporters described Ford heating his pipe he wasn’t smoking weed. Also. Weed stinks. No way Ford has been strolling into events smelling like weed. People would know. It would be really obvious.

      While smoking crack from a pipe only leaves a lingering burning smell. What stinks is not washing. Crack gets you really high, really fast. I bet you he takes hits in his car between events and then rides the high. For sure, that is how he rolls.

      It is obvious now.

      Ford has been smoking crack. And driving.

    • Nasty Bob says:

      I agree – Weed makes you’re eyes all squinty and causes mumbles not crack . More telling is “moving the lighter in circles” . You need to apply flame direct and constant to spark a rock – seems more like he’s burning a bowl on a bong. A better description of the glass pipe is needed.

  21. Andrew Ferris says:

    Gawker has a “Crackstarter” going to raise the $200K they say the video will cost:

    http://gawker.com/we-are-raising-200-000-to-buy-and-publish-the-rob-ford-508230073

    • Wow! They are going to raise it too. They raised $15 k in about the last 15 minutes. $26k as at 5:03 PM. I guess we will all get to see Rob Ford blowing his mind after all!

      $26,782

      Raised of $200,000 Goal

      10 days left

  22. Andrew says:

    Love how everyone here delights in the misery of Rob Ford. Its very progressive of you all.

    • Michael Bussiere says:

      The man’s his own worst enemy. It’s not delight so much as a satisfaction in witnessing the fall of any mean-spirited individual. It’s the stuff of great literature.

      • deb s says:

        exactly, he is the villain that has tortured many and is finally going down, in a great big ball of flame!

    • Mike says:

      I have some sympathy for the Mayor, yet I doubt he would have any for me were I in his shoes. This Rob Ford quote pretty much says it all: “My heart bleeds for them when I hear someone gets killed, but it’s their own fault at the end of the day.”

  23. Obdurate says:

    “(Oh, and don’t forget: this shows that Justin Trudeau is in over his head!)”

    Speaking or Trudeau, he is on video and radio exposing himself as a Quebec French supremacist…. and Mulcair is now attached to the fringes of Quebec corruption. Will Canadians want a prime minister from Quebec now?

    Meanwhile, Harper is still squeaky clean and working in NYC promoting Canadian energy exports, and, notwithstanding the Duffy Affair which will be long forgotten by October 2015..

    • Brad Young says:

      Harper is not squeaky clean, he has created the largest deficit in Canadian history and continues to waste our money on things like those repulsive action plan ads.

      • Cynical says:

        Never…mudwrestle…with…a…pig.

      • Obdurate says:

        Yes, the largest deficit in Canadian history, and it would have even been larger if Harper hadn’t resisted NDP and Liberal demands to go even further into debt during the last global recession. As for the Action Plan ads, those are necessary to keep the Canadian consumer buoyant and positive about the Canadian economy. What’s the reason for your negativity and mendacity too? Is it your deep-seated hatred that fills your eyes with blood and mind with excrement?

    • Michael Bussiere says:

      How’s life on your planet?

    • Steven says:

      Very funny.

      Oh, wait. You’re actually being serious?

    • Michael Bussiere says:

      Oh, and with respect to “Quebec French supremacist”, I know a bigot when I read one. If you don’t have the guts to use your real name, how about something a little more suitable like Archie Bunker.

    • MCBellecourt says:

      Harper is as dirty as the day is long. Ask any Canadian who has been displaced/cheated out of a job by an employer hauling in a TFW because Harper made it easy. Ask any TFW who realizes that he/she has been effectively sold into indenturement and cannot get out of a contract without great harm to him’herself and his/her family (financially).

      Ask any apprentice welder who is being bypassed by Harper’s new little training centre in a foreign country training foreign welders to work in Canada for cheap.

      Shall I go on?

    • rumleyfips says:

      I do. We had a couple of good ones ; then got little Steve.

  24. Keith says:

    So much hate from those who fancy themselves ‘open minded’
    Where’s the proof?
    A political commentator made a good point when she said,
    “Right wing America has the tea party. In Canada it’s called the ‘left’

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