The Ford brothers Rob and Doug are launching their Hollywood careers by piggy-backing on two other iconic Canadian comedy brothers, Bob and Doug McKenzie.
Back in the 80s the McKenzie brothers were pioneers in using humour in educational videos with their long-running series The Great White North, a fixture on PBS for many years. They parlayed that success into the big-screen cult classic, Strange Brew.
Anonymous insiders have confided to our sources that the remake will be given a superficial update but will remain true to the basics of the original. For example, the beer and smokes of the 80s will be replaced by vodka shooters and tokes in the update.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Rob Ford team in Hollywood to flog new reality show
Toronto media are quivering with envy as as their fat crack-huffin' cracker of a mayor gets an Oscar invite and they don't.
They should know by now that nobody has proved the old maxim "there's no such thing as bad publicity" as thoroughly as big fat Rob. Their collective horror at his antics might be harmless enough if expressed privately, but when they give over the front pages to him day after day, week after week... well, that's rocket fuel for Rob Ford's ego!
So what's Rob and his entourage doing in Hollywood other than taking in the Oscars and having a turn on The Jimmy Kimmel Show?
As first revealed right here at Falling Downs back in November, the Mayor Ford Story, thanks mainly to the tireless efforts of the self-righteous writers pool at the Toronto Star, has long become a tragic epic for the ages. Rob Ford is bigger than Toronto.
He's become a universal character whose story has all the elements; triumph, tragedy, comedy, farce, love, hate, redemption... this one ticks damned near every box Hollywood has ever imagined... and perhaps even a few that have NEVER been imagined.
When you step back and take a look at the big picture, you realize that Hollywood + Rob Ford is a match made in heaven.
They were made for each other!
For better or worse, the Rob Ford saga is just beginning...
They should know by now that nobody has proved the old maxim "there's no such thing as bad publicity" as thoroughly as big fat Rob. Their collective horror at his antics might be harmless enough if expressed privately, but when they give over the front pages to him day after day, week after week... well, that's rocket fuel for Rob Ford's ego!
So what's Rob and his entourage doing in Hollywood other than taking in the Oscars and having a turn on The Jimmy Kimmel Show?
As first revealed right here at Falling Downs back in November, the Mayor Ford Story, thanks mainly to the tireless efforts of the self-righteous writers pool at the Toronto Star, has long become a tragic epic for the ages. Rob Ford is bigger than Toronto.
He's become a universal character whose story has all the elements; triumph, tragedy, comedy, farce, love, hate, redemption... this one ticks damned near every box Hollywood has ever imagined... and perhaps even a few that have NEVER been imagined.
When you step back and take a look at the big picture, you realize that Hollywood + Rob Ford is a match made in heaven.
They were made for each other!
For better or worse, the Rob Ford saga is just beginning...
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Obama consults with Hollande, Harper on Ukraine
No, I didn't make that up; that's an actual headline from the Voice of Russia website.
Can't help but wonder what insights those two might have to offer.
Hollande might advise him to look before he leaps. After all, Hollande couldn't get into Mali or the CAR quick enough. Now he can't get out.
Consulting with Big Steve is an even greater mystery. True, Harper did have a team in Kiev to meet the new non-elected leaders the other day. Could Obama be trying to get a read on the new leadership?
Not likely. Judging by the contents of the infamous Nuland-Pyatt tape, the Obama administration is already well acquainted with their new leaders in Ukraine.
I think Obama just wants to make sure Big Steve has his back in case the gloves come off over this Crimea thing.
Either that or he's just sorting out who is going to pay as the US Navy tows the flagship of the Royal Canadian Navy into Pearl Harbour.
Can't help but wonder what insights those two might have to offer.
Hollande might advise him to look before he leaps. After all, Hollande couldn't get into Mali or the CAR quick enough. Now he can't get out.
Consulting with Big Steve is an even greater mystery. True, Harper did have a team in Kiev to meet the new non-elected leaders the other day. Could Obama be trying to get a read on the new leadership?
Not likely. Judging by the contents of the infamous Nuland-Pyatt tape, the Obama administration is already well acquainted with their new leaders in Ukraine.
I think Obama just wants to make sure Big Steve has his back in case the gloves come off over this Crimea thing.
Either that or he's just sorting out who is going to pay as the US Navy tows the flagship of the Royal Canadian Navy into Pearl Harbour.
Canadian Air Force sends strategic bomber fleet to Ukraine
The Canadian Air Force's Strategic Bomber Command today announced that it was sending Canada's only bomber, a WWII era Lancaster, to support the not-yet-elected government of Arseniy "Yats" Yatsenyuk. While not yet elected, Yatsenyuk was formally selected by US ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt some weeks ago.
Canadian sources state that given stops for refueling and routine maintenance, the aging Lancaster should arrive in theatre sometime in April or early May.
Canadian sources state that given stops for refueling and routine maintenance, the aging Lancaster should arrive in theatre sometime in April or early May.
Usual American war-mongers having kittens over Ukraine sovereignty and territorial integrity
From Bolton to Krauthammer to McCain the big dogs of American war-mongering are discovering that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of at least one otherwise insignificant Eastern European country are suddenly vital to America's interests in the region.
That would be Ukraine, the country where the National Endowment for Democracy has been busily stirring the pot since independence in 1991.
The astute reader will appreciate that the past twenty years have not been notable for America having the slightest regard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other nations.
Serbia, Bosnia, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya... American bombs and American bullets wreak havoc wherever the whims of "American interests" may take them, with complete disregard for any notions of sovereignty or territorial integrity.
And to the non-stop cheerleading of Messrs Bolton, Krauthammer, and McCain.
For them this does not of course have anything to do with Ukraine.
This is the get-Putin moment they've been waiting so long for.
The people of Ukraine should think twice before welcoming the support of the war-monger faction in Washington.
Those who have in the past welcomed that support in Bosnia, in Libya, and in Iraq have ended up with a bad case of buyer's remorse.
That would be Ukraine, the country where the National Endowment for Democracy has been busily stirring the pot since independence in 1991.
The astute reader will appreciate that the past twenty years have not been notable for America having the slightest regard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other nations.
Serbia, Bosnia, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya... American bombs and American bullets wreak havoc wherever the whims of "American interests" may take them, with complete disregard for any notions of sovereignty or territorial integrity.
And to the non-stop cheerleading of Messrs Bolton, Krauthammer, and McCain.
For them this does not of course have anything to do with Ukraine.
This is the get-Putin moment they've been waiting so long for.
The people of Ukraine should think twice before welcoming the support of the war-monger faction in Washington.
Those who have in the past welcomed that support in Bosnia, in Libya, and in Iraq have ended up with a bad case of buyer's remorse.
Fukushima disinformation campaign alive and well
Bob McDonald has a science program on CBC that I often listen to. I generally find his show informative and he does a great job of making science accessible.
However, I don't think he's doing the public any favours with this story which seriously downplays the Fukushima disaster.
He's essentially saying that Fukushima is a nasty bit of business, but it's not nearly as serious a threat as climate change.
Even if that eventually turns out to be true, Fukushima is the most catastrophic nuclear accident in history and we are a long way from seeing how much damage will be done by the time it has run its course.
Meanwhile, the public suffers from severe climate-change-global-warming oversaturation. Most people no longer have strong reactions to yet another climate change story. By telling the public that Fukushima is nothing compared to the story they are more than tired of hearing, the public will respond by shrugging it off.
I'd like to think that's not what Mr. McDonald had in mind.
Bad call, Bob.
However, I don't think he's doing the public any favours with this story which seriously downplays the Fukushima disaster.
He's essentially saying that Fukushima is a nasty bit of business, but it's not nearly as serious a threat as climate change.
Even if that eventually turns out to be true, Fukushima is the most catastrophic nuclear accident in history and we are a long way from seeing how much damage will be done by the time it has run its course.
Meanwhile, the public suffers from severe climate-change-global-warming oversaturation. Most people no longer have strong reactions to yet another climate change story. By telling the public that Fukushima is nothing compared to the story they are more than tired of hearing, the public will respond by shrugging it off.
I'd like to think that's not what Mr. McDonald had in mind.
Bad call, Bob.
Big Labour's selective solidarity
On July 1, 2013, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka wrote a letter to two Egyptian union leaders expressing solidarity with them in their struggle to win concessions from the democratically elected Morsi government, which had on that day been in power for exactly a year.
Two days later the Morsi government was overthrown in a military coup. The struggles of Egyptian workers have in no way diminished. This week the Egyptian army stepped in to serve as scab bus-drivers to keep public transit moving in the face of wide-spread work stoppages.
There is no sympathetic expression of solidarity forthcoming from the AFL-CIO President as Egyptian workers confront their US-backed military rulers.
Nor were there any such expressions of solidarity offered in the decades of US-backed military rule pre-Morsi.
As public awareness rises about the AFL-CIOs complicity with the National Endowment for Democracy's various campaigns to destabilize governments the US doesn't like, Richard Trumka and the AFL-CIO leadership need to re-evaluate their role.
If "Big Labour" is to regain any credibility among the young and not-so-young workers who are agitating for worker's rights in America with more enthusiasm and more success than we have seen in many years, the AFL-CIO needs to cut its ties to the NED absolutely.
Two days later the Morsi government was overthrown in a military coup. The struggles of Egyptian workers have in no way diminished. This week the Egyptian army stepped in to serve as scab bus-drivers to keep public transit moving in the face of wide-spread work stoppages.
There is no sympathetic expression of solidarity forthcoming from the AFL-CIO President as Egyptian workers confront their US-backed military rulers.
Nor were there any such expressions of solidarity offered in the decades of US-backed military rule pre-Morsi.
As public awareness rises about the AFL-CIOs complicity with the National Endowment for Democracy's various campaigns to destabilize governments the US doesn't like, Richard Trumka and the AFL-CIO leadership need to re-evaluate their role.
If "Big Labour" is to regain any credibility among the young and not-so-young workers who are agitating for worker's rights in America with more enthusiasm and more success than we have seen in many years, the AFL-CIO needs to cut its ties to the NED absolutely.
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