Poll: Should public officials demand Rob Ford resign as Toronto mayor?
Published Thursday, Nov. 07 2013, 5:53 AM EST
Last updated Saturday, Nov. 09 2013, 8:20 PM EST
Should public officials demand Rob Ford resign as Toronto mayor?
80% 5107 votes Yes
18% 1116 votes No
2% 144 votes Unsure
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TRUSTEE
2013-11-09 22:07
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The mayor’s statements came just a few days after Toronto police Chief Blair announced he had seen a video “consistent” with media reports of the mayor smoking what appears to be crack cocaine.
The regional divide continued when those surveyed were asked about Ford’s radio apology. Toronto/East York were the most dissatisfied with 74 per cent, North York was second with 63 per cent, Etobicoke/York at 54 per cent and Scarborough with 53 per cent.
When it came to the question of Ford resigning, 73 per cent of Toronto/East York region voters overwhelming said the Mayor should step down, followed by North York at 60 per cent, Etobicoke/York with 52 per cent and Scarborough with 47 per cent.
The mayor’s numbers in Scarborough remain strong due largely to his support of extending the subway line to the east-end Toronto community.
The majority of people polled in the Toronto/East York region also thought the mayor has a substance abuse problem, with 66 per cent saying he does. This is followed by North York at 51 per cent, Etobicoke at 50 and Scarborough at 46.
People in Scarborough were the least likely to think Ford should take a leave of absence with only 43 per cent of respondents saying “Yes.” Toronto/East York had the strongest percentage with 61 per cent saying he should take a leave of absence followed by North York at 56 per cent and Etobicoke/York at 42 per cent.
The Forum Poll was conducted by Forum Research with the results based on an interactive voice response telephone survey of 1393 randomly selected Torontonians 18 years of age and older. The poll was conducted on November 4th, 2013. Results based on the total sample are considered accurate +/‐ 3%, 19 times out of 20.
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TRUSTEE
2013-11-09 21:58
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Major Rob Ford protest planned for November 13th
Posted by Derek Flack / NOVEMBER 5, 2013 60 Comments
A protest calling for Mayor Rob Ford to resign is planned for 12 p.m. on November 13 at Nathan Phillips Square. Called Save Toronto, the protest has started to gain momentum in the days following revelations about police possession of the alleged crack smoking video (the only "alleged" thing being the crack smoking, rather than the existence of the tape) and Ford's public drunkenness.
Organizers explain their motivations for planning the protest as follows:
"Toronto is becoming a laughing stock internationally. The mayor has kept some of his election promises, but has a cloud of scrutiny over him with allegations of drugs and alcoholism, which he refuses to directly address and instead offer vague apologies and lies, in turn clouding Toronto's reputation as well... It is time for all Torontonians to stand up and demand better from the people we elected to lead us: our mayor and councillors."
In addition to this general mission statement, the website affiliated with the rally lists off a litany of the mayor's transgressions and controversies. What do you think? Can a public event bolster the confidence of Ford's colleagues on city council to call for his resignation?
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TRUSTEE
2013-11-09 21:50
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TORONTO - Almost 60% of Toronto residents want embattled Mayor Rob Ford to resign but his approval rating has yet to crack, according to a new poll.
A Forum Research poll obtained by the Sun early Tuesday found 59% of those surveyed Monday night want Ford - who is trying to cling to power amid an ongoing crack video scandal - to quit. More than half of those surveyed also aren't satisfied with the various apologies Ford has delivered via his Sunday radio show, think the mayor of Canada's largest city has a substance abuse problem and believe he should take a leave of absence to deal with that problem.
But the same poll also finds Ford's job approval rating remains around 43% - virtually the same level it was when a poll was conducted last Thursday, the same day Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair revealed investigators now possess the video that shows the mayor smoking what appears to be crack cocaine. Around 57% of those surveyed disapprove of the job Ford is doing.
“While the mayor's apology didn't have its desired effect of boosting his ratings, at least they didn't fall," Forum president Lorne Bozinoff said in a statement Monday night.
"The remarkable aspect of all this is the number of people who think he's doing a good job, but should resign."
The poll conducted Monday night found 59% of Toronto residents think Mayor Ford should resign while 38% thought he should not resign and 3% said they didn't know.
Forum noted that 30% of those who voted for Ford in the last election think he should leave office and even 14% who approve of the job he is doing think he should call it quits.
Beyond a brief public statement he made Thursday, Ford has opted to respond to the ongoing scandal through his Sunday Newstalk 1010 radio show and a handful of interviews with other radio stations and Sun columnist Joe Warmington. In all the interviews, Ford has apologized for two cases of public drunkenness and vowed to try to curb his drinking while dodging questions about the video, drugs and his apparent close ties with criminals outlined in police surveillance documents also made public on Thursday.
The poll found Ford's strategy doesn't seem to be working so far with most of the public not buying it.
A stunning 62% of those polled said they aren't satisfied with Ford's apology - 36% said they were satisfied and 2% said they were undecided.
Even 34% of those who voted for Ford in 2010 and 21% who think he's doing a good job as mayor said the apology didn't go far enough.
While Ford continues to deny he has a drug problem or is an alcoholic, around 54% of those polled said they believe he has a "substance abuse problem". Only 20% of those surveyed thought Ford doesn't have a substance abuse problem while 26% said they didn't know.
Around 28% of those who approve of the job Ford is doing as mayor also believe he has a substance abuse problem.
The poll also asked, "Should Mayor Ford take a leave of absence and seek help for substance abuse problems or not?" Around 53% said Ford should take a leave of absence to get help while 28% said no and 19% said they didn't know.
The interactive voice response telephone survey was conducted amongst 1,393 Toronto residents. Forum considers the results accurate plus or minus 3%, 19 times out of 20.
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TRUSTEE
2013-11-09 21:43
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Hanad had previously been charged with first-degree murder for the killing of Anthony Smith, but the Crown has downgraded his charges to aggravated assault and accessory to discharging a firearm in connection with the non-fatal shooting of a man named Muhammad Khattak. Khattak is pictured with Rob Ford in front of the house where the crack tape was filmed.
Hanad has also been charged with accessory after the fact to manslaughter, as the police now believe he drove Nisar Hashimi—a 23 year-old man who turned himself in for the murder, and is currently serving nine years for the manslaughter of Anthony Smith—away from the scene of the Anthony's murder. Three weeks after Hanad’s arrest, in the same Fort McMurray apartment where the cops found him, another man, Hanad Hussein, was thrown from a six-story balcony.
According to the hacker, around this time Amin began to grow extremely anxious and pressured the hacker to finish the job by saying he was considering other options:
"A friend gave me a couple other people who we can trust to talk to this weekend, so there may be a few of you working on it soon.
Whoever can get in and delete any files gets the prize. Cops don't know about the site though, so no worries."
After Amin revealed he had organized some kind of hacking competition to destroy the crack tape and win Ford’s clandestine bounty, he appears to have asked the hacker to help him find “a ball.” While we can’t say for certain which kind of ball he was referencing, it’s safe to say it had nothing to do with billiards in the literal sense:
"Wanted to ask if you could get a ball for me tomorrow, that's the other thing. Let me know ASAP if you can."
The hacker then expressed his disappointment with Amin.
"Hmmm.. do you really think it's wise to
A) bring more people in to work on this
B) buy or ask me to buy drugs when in the middle of this shitstorm
Like man. not a chance. I'm already puttin my neck out for you on thsi shit, think
I'm gonna risk some fuckin Star reporter spyin on you & then snappin my pic?"
As for the hacker’s concerns that other people may compromise the secrecy of this failed operation, Amin wrote in an email to the hacker: “I've known these other guys I'm bringing in for a long time so I can trust them. I haven't even told them that I have you working on the same thing.”
The hacker replied:
"As long as you trust these guys and keep my name outta they ears, I guess you
gotta do what you can. But if I spend all this time and one of them end up doin
it... Imma still want something for my troubles... yo."
It appears that Amin and the hacker fell out of contact once it was clear he was unable to delete the video from the site, though the hacker did tell us Amin wanted him to “keep doing stuff like this” in the future.
Again, Amin—the mayor’s communications director—did not respond to multiple voicemail and emails requesting comment on this story. He has also deleted his Facebook profile. Rob and Doug Ford have ignored VICE’s requests for comment. More understandably, albeit only slightly, Rob Ford’s former Chief of Staff Mark Towhey also failed to respond to multiple requests to speak with us.
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TRUSTEE
2013-11-09 21:42
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看看是谁在浪费纳税人的钱
ROB FORD’S OFFICE HIRED A HACKER TO DESTROY THE CRACK TAPE
By Patrick McGuire
UPDATE: Approximately four hours after this piece was published, Amin Massoudi provided comment to VICE via email. He thoroughly denied having any knowledge of the events detailed in the story below and alleged that the “entirety of the story is false.”
For unknown reasons, Amin also sent the exact same email to Global News and Maclean’s who have published it in full. His message offers no explanation as to why he failed to respond to our numerous and very detailed requests for comment over the course of the past four days.
Mark Towhey, Mayor Ford’s former chief of staff, also denied any knowledge of his implications in the matters described below via Twitter. He also failed to respond to our requests for comment over the past four days.
After reading and carefully considering their statements, VICE has once again reached out to both Amin and Mark with an offer to get on the phone and provide answers to the many questions we have been trying to ask for the greater part of a week. Email works too.
Neither Mayor Rob Ford or his brother, Doug, have provided comment.
In late July, an anonymous source approached VICE with claims that he had been hired by Amin Massoudi, the communications director for troubled Toronto mayor Rob Ford, to hack into a website.
More specifically, the source—who for matters of simplicity will be referred to as “the hacker” from here on out—said he was asked by Amin to crack the password of a private online directory that allegedly contained a digital copy of the now infamous footage of Mayor Ford smoking a substance out of a crack pipe. Rob Ford has, up until very recently, publicly doubted the existence of the video.
VICE acquired a log of emails that, according to the hacker, detail his correspondence with Amin from May 18 to May 31 of this year. When contacted by VICE, the hacker confirmed the validity of these emails but also said it was a little more complicated than it seemed. He agreed to talk if we would preserve his identity, as publishing it would incriminate him.
In case you aren’t caught up on the intoxicated calamity that is Rob Ford’s contemporary existence, today he bluntly admitted to having smoked crack cocaine in a “drunken stupor.” This insane bombshell comes after last week’s statement from Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair, who confirmed that the crack tape Gawker and the Toronto Star reported on does indeed exist and contains footage that is “consistent” with their reports that claim the video shows Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine. Rob Ford also appeared on his weekly radio show this past Sunday to apologize to the City of Toronto and asked for the crack tape to be released to the public “immediately.”
In light of these recent developments, we believe that now is the time to publish portions of Amin and the hacker’s arrangement since first receiving the emails in July for the benefit of public interest.
The correspondence he sent us outlines his own attempt, under Amin’s orders, to break into an online storage account hosted by Bugs3, a free hosting service with “unlimited space.” VICE was able to verify the existence of the account, which was registered under http://goonies.bugs3.com. At the time VICE became aware of the correspondence, the site was up. It has since been taken offline.
The “goonies” subdomain may refer to “Dixon St. Goonies,” the name of a street gang that was heavily targeted in the massive sweep of drug dealers and gang members that ripped through Toronto in August—a sweep that included a raid on the house where the crack tape was filmed.
The correspondence between the hacker and Amin begins with an email sent from the latter’s City of Toronto email address. That first message, sent from Amin to the hacker on May 18, 2013 at 5:05 PM, two days after Gawker’s story broke, reads:
"Got something I want you to look into. Think you probably know what’s been reported. What’s the best way we can talk… T said you might be able to help us again."
Despite this email being sent from a City of Toronto email address, it cannot be verified by City Hall. This is a direct result of Amin’s promotion to spokesman and communications director that occurred on May 27th. On May 18th, when this email appears to have been sent, he was still working for Councillor Doug Ford, Rob Ford's brother. Here’s what the City of Toronto says about Amin’s emails that were sent before his promotion:
“With respect to Amin Massoudi's email records please be advised that all records prior to Mr. Massoudi commencing work in the mayor's office on May 27th are considered Councilor Ford's personal constituency records. These records are not in the City's custody or control. Thus access cannot be provided."
Doug Ford did not respond to VICE’s request for comment.
Unfortunately, verifying this one email through City Hall is the only thing that would prove the transcript's legitimacy beyond a shadow of a doubt. (VICE believes the transcript to be real.) The hacker says he doesn't have the long-form email headers from this conversation because he destroyed the account before deciding to disclose the information to VICE.
VICE exhaustively compared the emails allegedly from Massoudi with public notes and comments Massoudi left on his Facebook profile. Both were rife with grammatical errors, poor spelling, and had a similar tendency to overuse elipses. Since Friday, Massoudi refused to respond to several voicemails and emails from VICE asking him to tell his side of the story.
As for the content of the email itself, the hacker told VICE that “T” stands for Mark Towhey, Ford’s former chief of staff who has been cooperating with the Toronto Police since he was fired on May 23. On Friday, news broke that Towhey has hinted at a link between the murder of Anthony Smith and the crack tape, which Smith’s friends have said they believe was stored on his cell phone at the time of his death. Mark Towhey also refused to provide his side of the story, by ignoring multiple requests from VICE for comment.
During one of our interviews with the hacker in August, he told us that Amin and Ford were certain the goonies directory was the last and only place the video existed because the phone used to film the crack tape was “gone,” a statement the hacker alleged Amin made to him in a text message.
According to the transcript received by VICE, immediately after Amin sent the first email from his official @toronto.ca government email address, he fired off another, informing the hacker he was going to create a new email address.
The next email was sent to the hacker from a Yahoo account that has since been deleted: “Hey, it’s Amin,” he writes—a clumsy introduction that spooked the hacker, who responds:
"Man… half my point was to keep this discrete, makes it hard to do when you drop your first name in the email.. smh
Anyways, what’s up… what’s goin on with this story? Is it true? and if so..WTF?!"
This exchange was sent on May 19, three days after Gawker broke the story that their Editor-in-Chief John Cook had viewed a video of Rob Ford smoking what appears to be crack, alongside convicted crack dealers, in a trap house.
Amin responded quickly, first by apologizing for compromising the supposedly top-secret situation:
"Oops… well just delete it I guess.
Anyhow, as of now I can’t confirm if the video is real or not we’d heard there was something floating around..
the big guy said someone was trying to blackmail him about a month ago but just told us it was about weed.
I know he’s got some habits, but this would surprise me if it’s really true.
Talked to him again this morning and he mentioned a site or something and a vid on it.. he wanted to know if we know any lowkey computer people who could help us find it.
We need absolute secrecy, but he’s willing to hook them up nicely. I’ll tell you more soon if you think there’s a chance you can help"
When the hacker asked, specifically, what kind of services Amin was looking for, Amin responded, referring to the Bugs3 server with the “goonies” subdomain:
"Do you know how to delete something from a website’s server? or do you know someone who does?
I can get you the site address to take a look if you think it’s possible, we’re just looking at options now."
The hacker wasn’t entirely confident that he could do the job:
Damn.. uh, ya technically it's possible, but I'd have to know what the site is & see it...etc. If not myself, I got a buddy who probably can help.
About a week passed with little chatter between Amin and the hacker. Then, on May 27, two days after the Globe & Mail ran a story detailing Doug Ford’s past as a mid-level hash dealer in Etobicoke, the hacker reached out to Amin with a new subject line: “Holy Shit!!”
"Just got back & am catchin up on the news from weekend.. wtf goin on there too? cleaning house? damn.
And this hash empire story in the Globe!? lmao.. l haven't had good hash in a long time, got any links?
l got a friend comin over tmo & who's good at this sort of thing. Don't worry, I won't say a word either: )
Gawker raised the $ too.. so what's the plan now?"
By this time the crack tape scandal had reached a fever pitch. A story about the Ford family’s history with violence and drug dealing was emerging from the Globe & Mail at the same time that Gawker had raised $200,000 to buy the tape from Toronto gangsters.
Things must have been hectic in the mayor’s office at the time, as Amin’s next email sent on May 27 illustrated:
"Sorry, it’s been a busy day, just got away. Yes, it’s been a madhouse here.
The closets are being emptied of skeletons all over it seems. I’ve never seen the bros this pissed off before.
Like I said, don’t worry about the Gawker thing. If a video ever comes out, it’s not coming out that way."
Amin Massoudi, Rob Ford's communications director, fraternizing with an unknown party. via Amin's Facebook Profile (which has since been deleted)
Amin also addressed claims Ford had made on May 24, dismissing the possibility that he had used crack cocaine, adding he could not comment on a video “that I have never seen or does not exist.”
"I had nothing to do with that statement but it was one of the worst things I've ever heard. And I hear some dumb statements all the time at CH .
Hash empire sounds good about now too.
l need you to keep trying & do or get whoever you need, as long as you think you can keep as much of it a secret as possible, to help.
They said this may be the last place it is. He said if this can be done, he'll match Gawker's plus 10% to you so there's no temptation of pulling a fast one."
According to the hacker, the “plus 10%” refers to a cash bonus Amin offered to him if their goal of scrubbing the video from the private site was accomplished. This email was written just as Gawker had achieved its own goal of raising $200,000 to buy the crack tape from gangsters, thanks to its somewhat misguided IndieGoGo campaign. The $20,000 bonus that the hacker says he was offered appears to have made the transaction feel safer for Ford and Massoudi. If the hacker were able to retrieve the tape, the bonus would likely ensure the hacker wouldn’t double-cross the Fords and go to Gawker to collect their money instead. As for the IndieGoGo “Crackstarter,” eventually Gawker gave up and sent the $200,000 (minus IndieGoGo and Paypal transaction fees) to several Toronto-based charities.
The hacker told us a friend helped him break into the site, using brute-force tactics of trying every known login and password in the universe, but implied to us in an interview that the friend was unaware of the site’s alleged content.
“He just set up a couple of scripts,” the hacker said. “And I just left it running on my PC. It took about a week or so. It just kept running through and running through and then one day I woke up and was there.”
We were able to verify the compromised account was online when the hacker approached us; however, for legal reasons, we did not attempt to log in. The hacker did, however, provide us with screenshots of the password-protected directory’s contents and said he downloaded two video files that were heavily encrypted into a GreenForce-Player format. Just in case you’re not an encryption expert, the GFP format is so secure its creators have offered up a bounty—GFP’s source code—to anyone who can decrypt it. So far, that bounty has been left unclaimed.
The hacker was unable to delete either of the video files from the site and therefore never received the bounty offered by Amin. The content of the second video is a mystery, though Police Chief Bill Blair has confirmed that they have a second, “relevant” digital file. There is some online speculation, however, that video #2 is a Rob Ford sex tape.
On May 31, over email, Amin told the hacker “the big guy” got the link and login information concerning the web-storage account from a person who “was just picked up out west” and was concerned that their arrest might “impact the site.” This email was sent one day after a man named Hanad Mohamed was arrested in Fort McMurray, Alberta, after fleeing Toronto.
福特录影带出笼了：星报还有什么法宝？