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The police chief called me an idiot

“Anybody who suggests that our job is not to combat every crime and combat every criminal involved in every crime, then they are idiots,” said Chief Vern White, “We pursue these folks in every possible way using every tool we have.”

I would suggest that the police enforce the laws somewhat selectively. They have priorities. They […]

A police presence at Bank and Somerset

The mayor and the police chief insisted we needed more cops, so we got more cops even though we couldn’t really afford them. Never mind that the crime rate has been falling for years. It’s just a demographic reality that crime rates drop as populations age, because people tend to outgrow criminal tendencies.

But […]

This is not a post about being sick, although I am

I’ve been sick for 10 days now. I’m tempted to go on and on about my symptoms, but you can only get away with that if you blog regularly about interesting things, and blog only occasionally about being sick. Since I haven’t been blogging much lately, I don’t think I can get away with a […]

Justice vs. Verdict

I’ve been following the sex assault trial of Steve Desjourdy, the Ottawa police officer who cut off the t-shirt and bra of a young woman while she was pinned to the cell block floor by several other officers. This case made headlines a few years ago, and I blogged about it more than once.

The young […]

Hostile corporate messaging

 

Further to my post the other day about Fabricland, here’s a photograph of the sign that hangs over the check-out area.

I know it’s hard to read, so I’ve transcribed it for you. It’s especially fun if you read it out loud. Shout whenever you get to the all-caps or bold parts.

 

 

Fabricland Store Policy

Fabricland’s RETURN POLICY […]

The right place at the right time

First off, I’m happy to report that Cindy Lou was found and captured on Friday afternoon as she was running down the Queensway! It’s a miracle she wasn’t killed. Two police officers were trying to catch her when someone from Genesis Dog Rescue came along and managed to snag her to safety. She did not […]

Safe injection sites: Treating people with addictions like they matter

Last October, the Supreme Court ruled that Insite, Vancouver’s safe injection site, could stay open despite the Harper Government’s objections. The arguments hinged on whether addiction was primarily a health issue or a crime issue. If it were a health matter it would fall under provincial jurisdiction; if it were a criminal code issue, it […]

I borrowed a blind octogenarian

The Human Library took place yesterday at the War Museum and five branches of the Ottawa Public Library. There were sixty “human books” which people could borrow for one-on-one 20-minute conversations.

They included:

CBC radio personalities
OC Transpo bus driver
Muslim woman
Sex worker
Peking Opera performer
Children’s Aid worker
Person with bi-polar disorder
Paramedic
Stripper
Neurosurgeon
Judge
Police Officer
Farmer
Refugee from Haiti
Urban Inuk
Defense lawyer
Transgender woman
War artist

I borrowed […]

2011 in Review

January

I spent January raising my second (and final) clutch of baby lovebirds. The littlest one, Sweet Baby Jeebus, who hatched on Christmas Day, was pretty touch-and-go there for awhile. He was starving, but wouldn’t eat.

Here he is at 23 days old, wearing his orthopedic device. (He did survive, and he was ultimately adopted by […]

Outlaw door to door sales

So this guy comes to the door a couple of nights ago. Bang bang bang. I was making dinner. The birds were flying free, so we didn’t want to open the door. Besides, birds or no birds, I don’t like opening the door to strangers. They’re almost always selling something, and I’m almost never buying. […]