Thursday July 26 2012 – Mayor Katz challenged to walk “safe” streets of Winnipeg; Travel Manitoba caught dissing persistent broadcaster

Summary: (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 ?)