Trying to keep up with Canada... one crime at a time. You just can't make this stuff up. I dare you.
Dateline, Toronto: A multiple shooting amid the shrubs of a Welfare housing project on Danzig Street in Scarborough. Hours later the Chief of Police holds a press conference, and delivers one of the most deliciously asinine remarks ever made by a Chief Constable in this country.
"I’ve been a cop for 35 years and this is the worst incident of gun violence, in my memory, anywhere in North America." (Bill Blair, Toronto Chief of Police) Gee Billy... worse shootings take place on this continent every single day of the week. Take your medication. Calm down. Your scaring your troops.
Late in the day, after perhaps gobbling a box of his favourite comfort food - a large pizza, Mayor Rob Ford issued a press release. It begins "Toronto is a safe city. It’s one of the safest cities in the world." He drones on with the same old lines of B.S. worthy of any Toronto potentate, and then mid-way down the page this. "Some people have suggested there is a gang war brewing. I don’t know if that’s true. But, I do know it’s time for us to declare war on these violent gangs."
The Toronto Chief is peeing his pants and the Mayor has ordered the regimental bugler to blow the order to "Charge!" Don't panic Toronto! Your leaders will do it for you.
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GREAT GRAPHICS
In case you haven't noticed, the NATIONAL POST publishes the best Information Graphics of any Canadian newspaper, and the POST just happened to have a new one ready to run with the story on the Danzig Street shooting. The graphics are the work of two of Canada's most talented news artists, Jonathon Rivait and Richard Johnson. If your not familiar with their work, it's time you paid attention. Some of their stuff is simply brilliant. A stellar example is "Anatomy of a Stoning," published in November 2010. It describes the murders of women in Iran - the entire process, and it's chilling. My tear sheet is too big to scan but you can view it online here CLICK. And on July 13 the NATIONAL POST published a phenomenal graphic on the Mexican Cartels and a scorecard on the drug murders. (I guess Chief Billy Blair doesn't read the POST.) In which other Canadian newspaper will you find a bar graph labelled "Decapitations - 2012 Monthly" ? It's HERE. The POST calls these valuable employees "Graphics Journalists". I like that.
Here is an interesting companion piece to the homicide graphic. In the NATIONAL POST today they included stats which profile the racial origin of both the killers and their victims in Toronto. (above) Now it is not my intention to compare newspaper graphics here, but merely to supplement the helpful information. A few months back the TORONTO STAR published this very detailed Infographic which breaks down all Toronto crime along racial lines. I had an inkling I might need it for a Blog in future, and set it aside. Today is that day.
This is half of what I prepared on the Danzig Street shooting. I will get Part 2 posted ASAP.
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