City Circus

ONLY TGCTS brings taxpayers the entire media scrum Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz held today. The Mayor was in conversation with WFP City hall ace Bartley Kives, Bernice Pontanilla of the Metro, Joyanne Pursaga of Sun Media and Marty Gold of City Circus TV. He was in a jovial mood and covered a lot of topics including the ongoing battle with the NDP government of Manitoba over the PST hike - he intends to speak at the Legislature for the first time about it; differing infrastructure priorities ie. Rapid Transit; floated the concept of a Transit Authority and how it would have to deal with the public - take note Parking Authority; and the idea of councillors taking an unpaid summer leave as part of Wyatt weekends. It is worth listening to folks so spread this one around. ******* After correcting an unforseen technical error, Shaw TV has advised that City Circus will begin the new episode week TONIGHT at 8.30PM, and will be replayed at 3am the rest of the week as well as at 11 pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday among other times slots. This episode features lots of 'Math with Marty', exploring subjects like - the Canadian Museum for Human Rights skirting fire safety laws at taxpayers expense, - how many city buses for stadium events?, - the NDP backing down on how math is taught - or hasn't been taught - in Manitoba schools, - and backing down on Manitoba Public Insurance shoring up NDP road repair budgets, - Assiniboia Downs employment spin-offs and of course, what would City Circus be if there isn't an imitation of a politician. Tonight it's of Coun. Russ Wyatt - but with a twist. ************  

In a lunchtime speech to the Conservative Club, Tory leader Brian Pallister touched on issues about party organization and election preparation, the vote tax subsidy for the government, the need for PC policy innovation vs antiquated NDP ideology, and battleground Winnipeg -- including our question about how he will position his party as a viable alternative for voters in inner-city ridings. Listen to his entire speech only on this blog. ************ Tonight at 7PM, at centre stage is our interview with Charleswood Coun. Paula Havixbeck - her fight to bring transparancy and accountability to 510 Main continues; we also recap developments in the NDP mismanagement of Manitoba Hydro and their attempt to throttle Assiniboia Downs into submitting to a takeover by the Red River Ex. Replays are at 10.30 pm Tues., 8.30 pm Wed., 11 pm Fri/Sat/Sun, and at 3am every night! on channel 9 Shaw TV Winnipeg.   ************** "(the lovely media that I received from) Colin Craig and Marty Gold, two of my closest friends I might say" Red River College president Stephanie "ethically, I don't believe in golf" Forsyth at RRC's Gathering with the President, June 7, 2013. Since we're such close friends, Steffie will surely be interested in our upcoming blog post with contributions from inside the College.  

Today Councilor Paula Havixbeck spoke to the Conservative Club at the Norwood Hotel. "I will not shrink from my responsibilities but rather I will embrace them", she said about the attack by Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz to her opposing his 3.7% tax hike imposed on Winnipeg property owners. Havixbeck spoke of misleading cost claims about policing, poor process in council receiving and reviewing budget items, the exclusion in budget planning of councilors who are not part of the Mayor's EPC group, and the awakening of women to the dirty politics at 510 Main St. "What will your verse be?" Listen to her speech, and the Q and A session with the audience, on this podcast. See also: Sam Katz fudged the truth when comparing Winnipeg property taxes to other cities **************** A note to viewers of City Circus: The 7pm airing tonight is postponed due to hockey, and the new episode will debut at 10.30pm.    

Listen to this podcast to get details on the 2013 budget debate and the failed motion to restore funding cuts to non-profits and museums, instead of into councilors ward allowance (CRA in council lingo) or as speaker Nordman protested "not a slush fund". Despite an impassioned plea from Coun. Justin Swandel for Nordman and the Mayor to show some leadership ("think of Duff Roblin"), council voted to rake in an extra $40,000 per ward. Wait till you hear why Nordman says it was soooo necessary. Also a rarity occurred when a councilor decided to withdraw his own motion to reduce fee hikes of over 100% for athletic field users (like Ultimate Sports) after being talked out of it by the administration on vague promise of future improvements to the fields - but only after an unknown number of 'illegal users' are caught in an enforcement blitz.  However the motion could not be technically withdrawn without the consent of the seconder, so after some slight of mover and seconder, Brian Mayes and John Orlikow, a vote on the motion was held and defeated. The net result is Jeff Browaty wins the John Kerry Award for being for it, before he was against it. Most significant was the speech of Coun. Paula Havixbeck who assailed council for having lost the confidence of the public after FireHallGate, and for EPC refusing to look at $27M in proposed savings that could have resulted in a Property Tax DECREASE. Here is how it unfolded on Twitter: Colin Craig ‏@colincraig1 Is Havixbeck the strongest fiscal hawk on council now? Currently ripping on admin for waste, unaccountable bureaucrats #wpgcouncil #mbpoli Bernice Pontanilla ‏@MetroBee Coun. Havixbeck said she cannot support tax increase when not enough done to find savings #WpgBudget2013 #winnipeg #wpgcouncil TheGreatCdnTalkShow ‏@TGCTS Havixbeck "no one's yes person, not a tin soldier" will oppose all future tax increases and says council is excluding voices #wpgcouncil Paula Havixbeck ‏@PaulaHavixbeck Cut the entire CRA augmentation. Who gives themselves a 54% increase? #winnipeg #wpgcouncil Terry ‏@Terry1967l Paula Havixbeck is so right. City Hall must clean up their own act before more increased taxes come in . Candace Maxymowich ‏@candacemax #Wpgcouncil may still be dominated by the "good ol' boys", but @PaulaHavixbeck has shown that #womeninpolitics do make a difference! LISTEN TO THE SCRUMS INCLUDED IN THIS PODCAST AND OUR QUESTIONS FOR FINANCE CHAIR RUSS WYATT, MAYOR SAM KATZ, AND COUNCILOR HAVIXBECK. ********************* New City Circus tonight on Shaw TV Winnipeg Channel 9 at 7 pm, 10.30 pm, and at 3 am all week long - we will upload it to the archive as soon as possible -- How the budget got to todays' vote, with more about how the NDP devolution policy led to Phoenix Sinclair's murder, and a follow up on the reaction to the new Jets Casino.

This year-end podcast reflects on the dishonest politicians, agenda-driven fiscal disasters (like the football stadium and  Manitoba Hydro) and policy catastrophes (which helped kill Phoenix Sinclair) that threaten to swamp public confidence as it has investor confidence in Manitoba. As a prelude to next week's City Circus TV show, we ask: how much more out of touch can Premier Greg Selinger and Mayor Sam Katz be with the true priorities and ethical standards of the public? With a corporate media often too distracted or biased to defend you and your family, citizen journalists have made their mark in Winnipeg in 2012 - starting with the endorsement of our findings by city auditor Brian Whiteside about gerrymandered public consultation for the Assiniboine bike lane and ending with its forced closure by the end of the year as part of the Upper Fort Garry scam - a part that backfired on Coun. Jenny Gerbasi and her allies in the bike lobby. And in the middle of 2012 , there was a little matter of a radio station folding rather than face the serious questions raised by the investigations of citizen journalists and listeners to the CRTC about it having been taken over by Red River College and it's "media partners" to silence public debate on political issues. There is much more to come in 2013 and with a disorganized opposition at the Legislature unable to gain confidence among Winnipeg voters, and a fractured city council battling a secretive and dishonest administration, you listeners and viewers will play a key part in reminding elected officials - from the well-meaning to the bald-faced liars - and reminding unaccountable bureaucrats that YOU, not they, have the power. ******** We conclude the year with two emails from viewers: Hi Marty, I was up late tonight unable to sleep when I came across your show. I must say I am so glad to hear and know that you are reporting and other Winnipeggers are seeing that our system is failing our youth and citizens, while the levels government keep sticking their hands out for money. Winnipegers  need to WAKE up and feverishly question our leaders about the path they are taking our city/province down-because the picture we are seeing now looks like Armageddon.   Our social assistance system is on the brink of falling apart, we have children in danger, poverty is growing quickly and the middle class is being taxed beyond our means.  Friendly Manitoba doesn't seem so friendly...more like destitute Manitoba. Keep shining the light on these issues. I  pray that change will come!! Regards, Your New Viewer ************** Mazel - Tov Marty!  I was impressed with your 'City Circus' performance etc. You're probably referred to as the Winnipeg 'Jon Stewart' with a "smaller" budget. He can afford to stop video, do his 'shtick' and return to another humorous angle etc. There were moments when you tried it. You certainly have  intelligence, unusual energy, intensity of purpose and projection etc. You're probably a natural actor and might be able to have some fun. Where do you get the time to do so much or are you slowing a little. Keep up the good work and 'zye gezunt'.     Syd. (Note: Syd Perlmutter left Winnipeg in 1956 to head up the School of Radio and TV Arts at Ryerson Institute - now Ryerson University - and retired in 1990 as Professor Emeritus. It was through him and his late wife Mary that I met Coun. Joe Zuken for the first time.) City Circus Shaw TV Show -  http://tgcts.com/city-circus/city-circus-current-season-episodes  ** SUPPORT OUR WORK VIA PAYPAL  ** AFFORDABLE SPONSORSHIPS NOW AVAILABLE FOR TV AND ONLINE

One of the unique qualities of what we do in Citizen Journalism - and have done for 6 years, is the way we link various sources, comments and opinions together in a stream-of-consciousness flow that shines the light of truth on politicians, pundits, policing and every important aspect of life in Winnipeg.  In this podcast a fascinating blog post by James Hope Howard about a Glen Murray-era CD promoting the Winnipeg Pan-AM games http://slurpeesandmurder.blogspot.ca/2012/11/winnipeg-one-extreme-city-surrealistic.html led to us seeing the headlines on his blogroll - one of which was a reference to the great anticipation of a listener for our podcasts to be released: http://winnipegonegreatcity.blogspot.ca/2012/11/i-need-my-fix.html The blogger provides a helpful tip for fans of our TV show to convert the YouTube audio to an MP3, so you can listen to the show anytime using   http://www.clipconverter.cc/  ! -  The next blog addressed the shameful exclusion of Winnipeg's leading bloggers, including naming  us as an example of that grouping, from a much-hyped Blogging Conference that he described as  " hucksters trying to sell snake oil ".  Retired Winnipeg Free Press editor Margo Goodhand, whose anti-free speech practice of attacking the livelihood of bloggers who displease her was revealed by her own private emails, was the special host of the event. Think she told the little niche bloggers about how to protect themselves from the threat of libel chill by corporate media? http://wpgnewsreview.wordpress.com/2012/11/22/selling-the-internet-snake-oil-salesmen/ {Here's a Tweet about her involvement:  @EricaGlasier "Mainstream #journalism will never be the same again & it shouldn't be." -Margot Goodhand on new media. #NMMblog } The same blogger, the former Harrison Bergeron in another incarnation, also provided some helpful background on the IKEA development area, including another instance where the name Shindleman is not far from the scene. http://wpgnewsreview.wordpress.com/2012/11/25/whatcha-talkin-bout-willis/ - This podcast revives the Crime Courts and Public Safety  update sponsored by the Winnipeg Police Association. You will hear lots of insight and analysis about the man-hating racist Marxists using the missing and murdered women to promote their rancid views in the pages of the Free Press, and the reaction of a former top homicide cop to the "squaw" angle: http://jgjewell.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/aboriginal-apocalypse-the-randy-turner-story/ -  In addition, with week one of the Phoenix Sinclair inquiry featuring numerous social-work witnesses whose notes have mysteriously disappeared, we hint at the Inquirys' missing word (although as Lindor Reynolds reveals today, there is also a missing witness http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/she-should-never-be-parent-180798691.html ): - Although the provincial scene is only briefly touched upon, one comment we wanted to share came from our artiste-in-residence-in-Brazil: Graham Hnatiuk From the throne speech: which things qualify as "world class" to Greg Selinger and the NDP! One thing from the world and two things that are barely relevant in only Canada!" Our world-class amenities are already attracting world-class events: the FIFA Women's World Cup, the Junos and the Canada Summer Games are all coming to Manitoba in the years ahead." ************ -  ITEM LAST ON THIS PODCAST: STORY OF THE YEAR   Story of the Year as selected by a special judge, he is a big fan of City Circus on Shaw-TV ! The story was very popular on both TV and this blog when we revealed the details  of wasted provincial tax dollars and influence - peddling.   ************** CITY CIRCUS MOST RECENT EPISODE NOW ONLINE Season 2 Episode 6  Telecast Nov 20, 2012 “One of the best so far” - The bread and circuses approach to the media by the Winnipeg Convention Centre expansion event.

Executive Policy Committee refused to ask any questions about the Fire Station scandal on Wednesday, instead choosing to hold their noses and recommend Council accept their sentiment to empty taxpayers' wallets of an additional $2.4M, choosing to rely on the Auditor to get them some answers ... some day next year. *  We still don't know why it took until August 9th for the Fire Chief Reid Douglas to learn that the St. James project was drowning in red ink. *  We still don't know why CAO Phil Sheegl has 2 different stories about when (in August?) he learned that Douglas had blown the budget. *  We still don't know why no one told councillors that the Roblin Blvd. and Taylor Ave. fire halls each went more than $600,000  over budget, until the bureaucrats were forced to reveal it in September to explain why they had run out of money for St. James. *  We still don't know what the budget of $4.1M was spent on in St. James, aside from $858,000 for the foundation. *  We still don't know what the extra $2.2M for St. James is paying for, or when the station is to be opened. What we do know, is that the actions at City Hall prove no one can be held accountable for your tax dollars because like a dysfunctional household, mommy and daddy will bail their irresponsible free-spending teenagers out; that budgets mean nothing to department heads and neither does the concept of written contracts or responsibility to taxpayers; and that when it comes to the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg, their election campaigning for the Mayor and various councillors brings dividends at no price for them, and at any price to the public. Listen to the audio of the scrum with Mayor Sam Katz facing reporters questions about FireHallGate, the cancelled cop shop management deal with Shindico, the backyard chicken lobby, and a joke in Yiddish I cracked that only Katz and Bartley Kives of the Free Press got, but it's pretty funny. ********* On Twitter: @TGCTS On FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/2344284529/ City Circus TV:  http://tgcts.com/city-circus/city-circus-current-season-episodes Season 1 archive:  http://tgcts.com/city-circus  

A not-so-funny thing happened yesterday after the home-grown chicken lobby left City Council chambers http://tgcts.com/city-council/monday-oct-29-12-councillor-havixbeck-explains-the-raising-chickens-ruckus-at-city-hall and attention turned to t...

This morning at the Protection Committee, a gallery full of administrators and fire-paramedics were eagerly waiting to hear the FireHallGate (Station #11) Q & A between the councillors and various honcho-bureaucrats trying to pass off a $2.3M cost overrun as business-as-usual. Instead, they got to spend their morning hearing all about chickens. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Ex-councillor-tossed-for-bringing-live-chicken-176273831.html The sustainability and urban living crowd showed up by the dozens to argue their case for allowing chickens to be raised as pets or...whatever, taking a rather casual approach to the notion of formalities when addressing city councillors.  The apex was reached when former council candidate Louise May produced a live chicken from her bag to hold while speaking. This resulted in chair Paula Havixbeck ordering her removal by escort, as technically it is highly illegal to bring the bird into the city limits, let alone 510 Main Street. Listen to the audio of Havixbeck's scrum with reporters explaining the vote and her reaction to the intrusion of live poultry into the Chambers. (The matter about Station 11 was postponed for this afternoon.)  

A weekend overview of recent important issues including: - Todays' Progressive Conservative annual meeting;  - New leader Brian Pallister (via @Brian_Pallister) falling short on communicating with voters; the sad state of opposition politics - that's all of them - in Manitoba - Reviewing the recent reporting of Dan Lett (on MPI), Nick Martin (on Red River College),  and Winnipeg Free Press publisher Bob Cox (on a new provincial party emerging); - NEW details about fire hall financial "management" by Chief Reid Douglas; - Memo to Mayor Katz about the difference between "made mistakes" and "done wrong"; - City hall cred hitting the skids; - and how you can support citizen journalism via sponsorships online and Shaw TV or via donations (PayPal button folks :) ). PS: here's the story Cox didn't bother providing a link to. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Manitoba-Party-set-to-come-out-of-closet-169851306.html?device=mobile PPS: The most recent episode of City Circus Oct.23: The Duff Roblin Award dinner; The 2012 Garbage Apocalpse unfolds, with the return of Math With Marty; FireHallGate sees more evasion from Mayor Katz about the new St James station budget getting blown, plus the surprising timeline about the "Un-Sale" of Duddy Enterprises between Katz and CAO Phil Sheegl http://tgcts.com/city-circus/city-circus-current-season-episodes  

Today in the Winnipeg Sun, James Turner's report gave us some dramatic insight into the world of crime-involved north end youths -- and the mindset of their defence attorneys. As in, public safety? WHAT'S THAT ?? http://www.winnipegsun.com/2012/09/03/the-young-and-the-ruthless-teenage-crooks-show-new-level-of-street-smarts The 14-year-old’s defence lawyer, William Marks, said there’s no evidence the shotgun even worked. “There is no violent effect in this situation,” Marks said, adding his client (who froze up when  handed the shotgun with instructions to “pull the trigger” if the {Mountain Ave.} clerk resisted) denies any gang involvement. The boy was out on bail for other, unrelated charges, when he was arrested in the robbery case. Scott Newman, acting for the 13-year-old’s defence, said the boy never admitted to being intent on shooting anyone, and said due to his complete lack of criminal record, there’s “no evidence” he won’t follow court orders if released. (The 13-year-old admitted to police the gun was his, stolen from a break and enter on Selkirk Avenue earlier in the summer; his 15 year old brother remains in custody charged in a Boyd avenue killing last fall) Listen to this podcast and decide for yourself, does their involvement with an Indian Posse -led  robbery attempt fall into the “horrific, violent, senseless, evil category,” usually reserved for cases where releasing suspects on bail would "undermine public confidence in the justice system" ? But then again, when days before the robbery, a judge gave a 6-time breacher who had assaulted cops a $1 fine, why should these punks think there are meaningful consequences if they are caught? We do a roll-call of the summer crime wave across the city, the shootings, the stabbings (in homes, buses and on streets), the home invasions, and gang retaliations, including what had been - prior to Turner - an unreported detail in a Boyd Avenue scrap: It included the oldest of the accused in the foiled Mountain Avenue robbery less than 2 weeks after, by which time the gang had acquired a machete and an ax to chop at their MOB rival. Keep in mind, this is the same city that Mayor Katz insisted he had no problem walking in, anytime of the day or night. Not to be outdone, this podcast also has new, unreported details of an MOB incident: the shooting on Burrows of a 15 year old who was selling high-grade pot on their turf in July - including who else was there and what was said to the victim. No one else has this information but TGCTS! And we wonder, how will the NDP blame Gary Filmon for the total social breakdown we are seeing on a daily basis, after they've been in charge of the file for ... 13 years? Plus -- a very personal observation about the discovery of the body of Simone Sanderson this weekend. ******************** Tahl East and CDI College are working hard on this years Bras for a Cause, set for September 28th. Initiated by Tahl in 2010, community support is widespread, including our friends at Football Manitoba, CFL players, and Energy106; In addition to CDI at 280 Main St., drop-off sites are all over town, such as this one: Please help Smoke's Poutinerie WINNIPEG fight breast cancer this month! For all of SEPTEMBER, come drop off your bra at 131 Albert Street in support of CDI College. At the end of the month CDI College will be roping all the bras together across Winnipeg's busy streets of downtown for a cause! Check out their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/BrasForACauseManitoba and the website www.Brasforacause.com ! ********************** TONIGHT 9.30 PM CITY CIRCUS SHAW TV CHANNEL 9: A RECAP OF FIREHALLGATE - including details of the first piece of the paper trail discovered (by TGCTS) - a caveat on the property; - were residents of River Heights double-crossed after they opposed a zoning change in 2008? - who said what at city hall as the scandal unfolded,

Panic spread throughout City Hall for the past week as civic officials contorted themselves to fall into line with the evolving "official" version of FireHallGate. How the Fire Chief, Reid Douglas, was able to negotiate a complicated and lucrative ...

Winnipeg Free Press columnist Gordon Sinclair Jr. used a simple technique to prove that the Conservancy model now running Assiniboine Park was using intimidation to bully blogger and noted local artist Graham Hnatiuk: He asked for a copy of their "policy" for buskers. Considering that when Hnatiuk was given the bum's rush by Winnipeg police, at the behest of Park rent-a-cops two weeks ago, he was told the chalk artist hadn't gotten a permit as required under the policy, it should have been pretty simple to give to Gordo. Except, there was no policy, there are no such permits, and the Park - and the officer who confronted the offending chalk artist  - was caught lying that the Crown Jewel of local green space was now "Private Property" being defaced by Hnatiuk's thoughtful drawings on the sidewalk by the footbridge. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/the-private-park-and-the-public-artist-167293235.html Considering his work had been complimented by Park officials last year, and was the inspiration for the kick-off for the Conservancy's $200 Million dollar fundraising campaign, the tactics used to confront Hnatiuk and threaten him with all sorts of criminal charges for daring to continue, belies a bigger problem with the attitude to the people who use the Park: the attitude of entitlement and elitism. (A park) spokesman initially told me in reference to Hnatiuk that panhandling is illegal. Then acknowledged panhandling is legal, but said Hnatiuk was busking and that was against "established" conservancy policy. When pressed to produce the policy on busking, the spokesman backed off, saying "a specific busking policy, busking is really something we haven't had to address up to this point..." What the incident exposes is an attitude exemplified by what park security told police. That the park has become private property. It isn't. Way to go, Gord. And, a late afternoon damage control interview with Larry Updike on CBC Radio backfired when a Park official pretended that taped evidence of Hnatiuk being told he was trespassing on "private property" does not exist. Comments flowed onto the FP online version of the column. In this podcast, you will hear the answers to key questions and misinformation like: - why did he record the discussion with police (hint: *someone* told him to); -  why the issue of  Graham's "defacing" the park and not being wanted is a falsehood refuted by the Park's own email to him; -  a defence of Graham's character from the mindless attacks of anti-free speech zombies, who look down their noses at independent artists; - the role of the police officer who tossed threats of huge fines and multiple offences to intimidate Graham into leaving the Park; - the serious implications of this incident, and how free speech - even when it is only chalk art - is being threatened by an entitled class across North America as well as in Winnipeg who want to control our activities and freedoms; and exclusively, a surprising discovery about the history of city "permits" for buskers, that seems to have appeared and then disappeared under Mayor Sam Katz' administration. ********************** Related: (includes comments from outraged supporters) To all those who have supported me in doing public street art in Assiniboine Park http://progressivewinnipeg.blogspot.ca/2012/08/to-all-those-who-have-supported-me-in.html    

When the national crime statistics showed Winnipeg as leading the nation in murders, robbery and violent crime, Mayor Sam Katz tried to reassure the citizenry: "I have no problem going downtown, I have no problem going to the  North End, regardless of the day of the week, regardless of what time it  is," Katz said. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Manitobas-homicide-rate-highest-in-Canada-163567836.html But with the details reported by James Turner about an alcohol-and-grief induced driving rampage that endangered residents of the North End and made police dive for safety, it is clear that the Mayor is living in a fantasy world. Because if gangs control who can go to a funeral, they control who can go anywhere in this city. http://www.winnipegsun.com/2012/08/09/heartbroken-ex-gangster-went-on-drunk-flight-from-cops Listen to this podcast to hear our analysis that this story undermines all the government justice and social work programs encouraging gang-bangers to go straight as Edward Erhart had. And the reality of the atmosphere at the funeral, which the drunk driver did not attend for fear of retaliation, torpedoes the  PR campaign by the family of John Felix that sought to minimize the depth of his involvement with gangs and drugs that led to his being shot in April.  “That funeral was essentially a gang funeral,” (Erhart's lawyer Lori) Van Dongen said." The seriousness of being surrounded by gang members, criminals and the drug scene has, as The Black Rod blog has pointed out, been diminished by so-called leaders and the 'holistic approach' crowd as just a normal part of life for aboriginal youth in Winnipeg. But to the majority of parents in this city, their child wearing a gang shirt and going downstairs at 5 AM to pick up drugs, or getting into a car with a member of the Manitoba Warriors, a permanently disqualified driver no less, who races away from police and slams into a cab injuring half a dozen more, is NOT normal. (For that matter, neither is getting drunk and racing away from cops down Andrews Street towards Leila Avenue.) John Felix in 2012, similar to Tannis Bird in 2007 - young adults described as bright lights by their community - both made choices, conscious decisions, to be involved with criminals, and those decisions led to their deaths. And as long as their families, friends and community leaders make excuses - like "they weren't involved with gangs or criminals" when by any measure they were -  the public will continue to ask why personal responsibility is not the expectation, the norm, among the First Nations as it is in the general community.  And as long as street gangs, and not those families, determine who can safely go to the funerals of their children, Sam Katz cannot credibly tell any resident of Winnipeg that they should have no problem walking the streets of the city. ******************** Also in this podcast: More on the Museum's empire building and faked "visitor" projections; Margo Goodhand's departure from the Free Press elicits sharp criticism of her "journalism' and MSM non-coverage of the scandal behind the collapse of Kick-FM; Public Works department review already under fire; Jack Layton bio-pic gets cult-like adoration from mainstream media in Winnipeg-  and our tweet got reaction: "Left wing media canonization of Jack Layton is ridiculous. Robert Stanfield came within 1 seat of being Prime Minister. No movie about him." **************  Added to our City Circus archive, http://tgcts.com/city-circus Episode 11- Film of how City Council hears the truth about the Winnipeg Parking Authority bully tactics and ignoring the community, and voted for their "business" plan anyways; and Episode 12 - the facts behind the "loans" from the federal and Manitoba governments - that will NEVER be repaid - to prop up the bloated and obscene budget of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Next episode to debut Tuesday,

(Audio upload fixed) The national standings were announced, and once again, Winnipeg and Manitoba are at the top of the crime charts. James Turner ‏@heyjturner         Homicide, robbery, violent crime capital again. Impaired driving is up, Auto theft down. Sex crimes involving kids up. #statscan #nochange (And that's with 60-70% of crimes going unreported.) But when faced with the facts, Mayor Sam Katz made a remarkable assertion: "I have no problem going downtown, I have no problem going to the  North End, regardless of the day of the week, regardless of what time it is," Katz said. The polyannic message he sent was gobbled up by the all-is-sunshine brigade: North End Winnipeg ‏@northendwpgblog       Thank you Mayor Katz for saying you feel safe and have no issues coming to the North End! We appreciate it But the sceptical voters of Winnipeg - the ones who don't live in Tuxedo - rejected Katz' bravado in their Facebook comments: "Who does Katz think he's shitting?  Walking the North End at 2AM should be a challenge on Fear Factor!" "I dare Katz to join me in a walk in Lord Selkirk/Turtle Island at 4 am.  I did it for several years . . . civilian patrols starting at 10pm and  ending at 5 or 6am. He's not scared . . . yeah right!" "Hey Mayor Sam I dare ya ta walk down andrew's towards Selkirk after midnight tough guy" "Mapleglen and Fife. Near Elwick school. And I obviously agree" "Tell Sam to walk anywhere downtown from Broadway to Portage from Main to the Bay with a case of beer (full or empty) and see how far he gets" Is Sam Katz the toughest man in Winnipeg? The bravest? Or the most out of touch with what the streets are like, say at 5 AM on Sargent and Furby?  This story will be followed up on City Circus on Shaw TV, as we have been renewed until mid-October at the request of station management.  Email us with your opinions on safety of our street:  TGCTS1@gmail.com ****************** More news analysis on this podcast: - Dan Lett gets a rough ride for backing never-to-be repayed federal and provincial loans totaling $70 million to prop up the Canadian Museum for Human Rights when it's millionaire proponents turtled; writer Bruce Clark wrote a letter explaining why the public sees through the cheerleading: Dan Lett's piece speaks to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights being nothing more than a poorly conceived political idea that was sold to all levels of government. Craven politicians were either interested in currying the favour of influential people or, afraid they'd be labelled anti-human rights, agreed to chip in millions while the majority of clear-thinking taxpayers were fervently opposed to this colossal waste of money. While hundreds of millions in public dollars are being spent on a museum whose own proponents can't even define, people line up at food banks and missions. Others wait months for life-saving surgeries or die in hospital waiting rooms because of an underfunded health-care system that is hamstrung by overworked doctors and nurses. While the federal government lends the museum $70 million (and let's be honest, it won't ever be paid back considering the museum states that operating the place will cost $20 million a year) because "pledged" money from wealthy donors has been "slow to materialize," it tries to eliminate health care to dirt-poor immigrants who have come to Canada thinking it is a nation dedicated to the protection of human rights. It isn't much of a stretch to say that the human rights museum, with its seemingly insatiable appetite for public dollars, money that should be used to improve the lives of all Canadians, has itself become a violator of basic human rights. BRUCE CLARK Winnipeg ALSO - the finger pointing begins between the contractor and steel supplier as the U of M Stadium debacle gets nasty - (maybe not tenting the foundation was a bad call ?)