668...ZeroMeansZero Still Going Strong

Props to whomever is behind this scurrilous I-hate-Mayor-Larry-O'Brien site.

And I mean that.

Unlike its rival blog, City Holler, ZeroMeansZero has survived the predicted exoneration of His Worship and continues providing much needed discourse in a city that has little.

The major complaint that I have with this site is the fact that virtually everyone signs themselves as Anonymous.

Man up.

That is all.

Man up.

WFDS

644...ZeroMeansZero Thought Larry Was F'd Up

News from the old country, provided the old country for you is Italy, comes from ANSA.it and they have a story of striking financial genius performed by Ficarra Mayor Basilio Ridolfo.

Ficarra is a small town in Sicily, a small broke town in Sicily, and Mayor Ridolfo is hoping to recitify that in the most fiscally conservative way extant. Through the purchase of lottery tickets. He appropriated 115 euros from the salaries of town councillors to buy tickets in the plus one hundred million euro SuperEnalotto draw last Tuesday.

"We chose numbers which were connected with the town's patron saint, the Virgin Mary of the Assumption, whose name day is today (Monday). It is our hope that, with her blessing, we will hit the jackpot,'' Ridolfo explained.

''Right now we think we have a better chance of winning SuperEnalotto than getting funds owed to us from the state,'' he added.

Nice shot Mayor, nice shot.

No word on who won the Italian state lottery but I am pretty certain it was not Ficarra.

626...Larry Is Not Guilty

As predicted in this forum and ZeroMeansZero repeatedly, Mayor Larry O'Brien has been acquitted and is back on the job.

WFDS

614...This Is The Week Ottawa Gets A Mayor

Wednesday, August 5, the day before Hiroshima Day, is the day that Judge Douglas Cunningham will drop a metaphorical bomb on the City of Ottawa and tell Mayor Larry O'Brien whether he can stay or has to go go.

Interestingly the concerned citizens, concerned anonymous citizens, who contribute to ZeroMeansZero blog, are quiet today. Of course one can only guess why but guess in an educated manner. The why is because the concerned citizens, concerned anonymous citizens, who contribute to the ZeroMeansZero blog are only concerned when they are at their work stations. To break it down even further, these pillars of society, who are quick to accuse Mayor O'Brien of being dishonest, only contribute to the ZMZ hatefest when they themselves are being dishonest, stealing time from their employers.

Glass houses people, glass houses.

WFDS

464...ZeroMeansZero: For What It Is Worth

Apparently someone has, after eons, slapped on his testicles and taken credit for this spurious blog.

Apparently.

The Zero in ZeroMeansZero refers to its credibility.

From ZeroMeansZero at 12:01 pm today:

Darren McEwen said...
I would like to formally announce that I am the writer of this blog. I have been writing this blog since Day 1 with the help of a few others who wish to remain nameless at this time. I have decided to come forward as the author of this blog because it is the right moment. Many have questioned the power of an anonymous blog. I now challenge the author of CityHoller to come forward and reveal themselves

WFDS

462...It's Yer Birthday Part Two

It's Lowell Green's, 580 CFRA's talk show host, birthday.

He led off his show by alleging that one of the ZeroMeansZero blog spot writers is a known pedophile. Nice, unwarranted, shot.

Lowering yourself to their level.

Short trip, for certain but still...

Nice.

WFDS

384...ZeroMeansZero Is Wet

ZeroMeansZero, the Mayor Larry O'Brien hatefest, is soaking wet today.

For those of you not current on this file, the Mayor of Ottawa is in court. A former candidate for the office, a window licker named Terry Kilrea, has accused hizzoner of being a politican and convinced the Crown Attorney and the Ontario Provincial Police that that is a no no. Hizzoner made a bit of move to have everything thrown out of court yesterday. Alas, not happening.

This is what has got ZeroMeansZero so very wet.

WFDS

359...ZeroMeansZero Would Love This Guy

If the boss cannot have a few pops to unwind what is the point of being the boss?

Shortly after meeting with fire and police officials Thursday night, Plainfield Township's [Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania] supervisor chairman was found unconscious on the floor of the municipal building with a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniel's nearby, police say. It is reported in this morning's The Morning Call that Democrat Timothy Frankenfield, who is also the township fire marshal, faces a public drunkenness charge. Police say a portable breath test showed his blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit to drive.

But officer, he wasn't driving, he was passed out on the floor.

WFDS

329...How Did I Miss This? Buster Douglas/Ott

Just saw the following on ZeroMeansZero, an anti Larry O'Brien blog that seems to be branching out to be more community minded.

It was February 11, 1990 that James "Buster" Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson. Las Vegas had Douglas as a 42 to 1 underdog at the time.

Congratulations to the Boys and Girls Club for last night's spectacular "Ringside for Youth" held at the Aberdeen Pavilion that raised about $125,000. Buster attended as a special guest.

Missed that entirely, but kudos to the Boys and Girls Club and it would have been so cool to see the man who took out the man when the man was really the man.

WFDS

209...Penny Collenette, Wisdom, Ottawa Citizen

Cut and paste job of an important op-ed piece by the eloquent Penny Collenette from today's Ottawa Citizen that I wanted to share, especially pertinent to you, Larry O'Brien watchers and you, ZeroMeansZero, Larry O'Brien haters.

By Penny Collenette,
Citizen Special
June 4, 2009

The current courthouse drama on Elgin Street over Larry O'Brien's alleged "offer" to former mayoral candidate Terry Kilrea of a job on the National Parole Board is a good opportunity to take a reality check on federal appointments. These include every post from part-time positions on local port authorities to the governor general.
The media describe appointments as plums, not as jobs. Wages and benefits earned are known as perks, not salaries or compensation.
The reality is that many of these positions are among the toughest jobs in the country. For example, the decisions made by the National Parole Board and the Immigration and Refugee Board can have far reaching consequences for our society. There is little room for error and there is no time for "learning on the job." Individual appointees have been known to suffer from stress due to media scrutiny.
So why don't we take these jobs seriously? Why do some people believe that they can simply ask for a position or even worse, promise it?
In his time, Sir Wilfrid Laurier had his appointments work cut out for him: "No other subject bulked so large in correspondence; no other subject brought so many visitors to Ottawa. It meant endless bombardment of ministers, ceaseless efforts to secure a word from the friend of a friend of the premier, bitter disappointment for the ninety and nine who were turned away ..."
First, let me observe that the current system is light years away from those of yesteryear for several reasons, but no less difficult. If Sir Wilfrid were alive today, he would no doubt be bombarded, not only by letters, but by e-mails. (To my knowledge, no one has yet mounted a Facebook campaign for an appointment, but no doubt someone, somewhere is thinking of it.) But modern technology allows access to names and talent which are easily found through websites and databases. The "local" nature of appointments has evolved into a connected and networked database of talent.
Secondly, smart modern government should demand collaboration. For example, when I was responsible for considering federal appointments, I found it crucial to consult with heads of agencies, those individuals who have already received their appointment but will have responsibility to train and govern others coming on to their boards or commissions. If the president or chair of a commission has not been brought somewhat into the circle with new appointments, his or her board may have difficulty functioning efficiently. Additionally, in some sectors such as justice, various advisory committees made up of peers are established to vet names. Therefore, a modern appointment process is one of massive and varied consultation.
Third, in 1993 the Chrétien government began a sea change in the appointment process which has sustained itself. This was an evolution in culture which was not always easy to manage. Based on an initiative by Kim Campbell's government, we began the process of advertising for most full-time positions.
To Ms. Campbell's credit, she had made the decision not to appoint individuals during her tenure because she felt that as an unelected prime minister, she did not have the moral authority.
While I more than agreed with her decision from an ethical standpoint, when we took office in 1993 boards were often left without quorum because of a lack of members. Catching up took months. Job descriptions were drawn up and interviews established. Reference checks and security clearances often took time, especially for quasi-judicial agencies, like the Parole Board.
Lastly, the communications messaging behind the appointments system was brought into the open. No longer were appointments announced on a Friday afternoon when journalists were not looking. Timely press releases with bios attached were the order of the day. One only has to remember the national publicity when the present governor general was announced to understand the symbolic importance of communicating a government's choice in a forthright fashion.
All this is to say that a federal appointment which is discussed, suggested or offered should never be taken lightly. No federal appointment should ever be offered as an inducement for a change in behaviour, whether it is to run for elected office or not to run for elected office.
Has the system worked? I was at the 40th anniversary of the National Arts Centre Tuesday night and looked around me at some wonderful people. Peter Herrndorf, the much loved president of the National Arts Centre, Madam Justice Beverley McLachlin, chief justice of the Supreme Court, and former senators Jean-Louis Roux and Laurier LaPierre. Order in council appointments all of them.
Could the system work better? Of course. But let's begin with some respect for the history and the tradition.
Penny Collenette was director of appointments in the prime minister's office from 1993-1997. She is a lawyer and is currently adjunct professor in the faculty of law and executive-in-residence at the Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

WFDS

161...Many Voices Make Us Stronger/ZMZ

Here is what I posted on ZeroMeansZero a few minutes ago.

World Famous Dan Shields said...
RE: CFRA and surrendering their lic.Um, doncha think multiple voices are better than no voice? Frankly, agree or not, CFRA is at least out there and, as Lowell has said in the past, it is suprising that some of the underperforming stations, ratings are out today, look to the bottom of the list, don't go talk, hot talk, etc.Also, 540, 630,970, 1440 and 1150 are still signals assigned to this market. If CFRA and CFGO/The Team can make money on AM, one would think that a talker on a flamethrowing signal like the one 540 has would make a few shekels.ZMZ Radio?WFDS
May 28, 2009 12:37 PM

107...ZeroMeansZero are Zeros

Reading the Mayor Larry hate log this afternoon and I was thinking, boy, you anonymous posters/cowards on ZeroMeansZero would have loved Germany, late thirties, early forties.

A good judge like Roland Freisler, a sharp guillotine, none of these fancy defense lawyers, especially ones like Michael Edelson [and you know what I mean] y'all would have had tres fun.

By the way, when are you ZeroMeansZero cowards starting an I Love Ruby hate group?

WFDS

104...Ruby Dhalla and Mayor Lar' Offered Me A Job

Seriously, the Honourable Dr. Ruby Dhalla deserves better.

John Mraz, personal friend of mine, was succinct in the National Post when he wrote that they, and by they he means you ZeroMeansZero mindset people are all about convicting, due process be damned.

Poor Ruby, following in the footsteps of Mayor Lar', Sinclair Stevens, Greg Sobara and on and on. Presumed guilty until proven innocent. That be backwards, eh? Totally.

There has been no establishment of the facts in the case, which the Tory less Ontario Tories are calling slavegate. Heaven forbid there should be a cooling off period where one would wait for a bit of due process, perhaps an investigation, an inquiry or review of the facts. Nah, what's the point, let's just ruin her career of public service coz three of her ex employees don't like her.

Here is why you should be pissed: when they take away Ruby Dhalla's rights they diminish yours.

That sucks.

WFDS

102...A Response to a Comment re 100

Thanks for the note Eric. It is worth commenting on it.

For those who have not read Eric's comment, please look underneath note 100 from WFDS.

Let me congratulate you on your measured response.

Here is what I think, with respect to the maximum.

First off, there is a little thing that makes Canada different from say North Korea or, back in the day, Soviet Russia and the Third Reich, that being the presumption of innocence; the onus is on the state to prove that Mayor Lar' is guilty, not the other way around.

Secondly one of the things that makes us, as Canadians, a strong country and society is the ability to face one's accuser. The pussies that are on ZMZ are afraid for their jobs and their mortgages and their little lives. They are the kind of cowards that in a different time and a different place would allow regimes like Adolph Hitler's, Joesph Stalin's and the disgrace that is North Korea to exist. If they are city employees they are keeping the system going going going by doing their jobs or, if they are goldbricking, they are stealing time from all citizens of this town.

Three, they, the state, seem to be building their case with Terry Kilrea as the foundation. The man couldn't spell 'cat' if you gave him the 'c' and the 't' and, at best, has an elusive relationship with the truth.

Thank you Eric, for both reading my blog and for signing your name.

WFDS

100...Ottawa, the city, not the capital

I am still obsessed with the cowards who populate ZeroMeansZero, the Mayor Larry O'Brien hatefest populated by those who are hiding behind the cloak of anonymity.

I did not vote for him either but he is our mayor, show a little support.

It is said that nature abhors a vacuum yet none of the fearless civic leaders, both elected and pretenders to the various thrones in north eastern Ontario, have stepped up to fill the supposed vacuum that is the mayor's office in Ottawa.

Not that you haven't had opportunity: a bus strike, the light rail/subway issues, an impending health crisis, the stadium kerfuffle all come to mind.

Yet none of you know it alls have stepped up to the proverbial plate.

Meme chose for the many who spend their work day filling ZeroMeansZero with their libelous rants.

What's with that?

Fear factor I suppose, fear factor.

As per usual, I sign my work, not anonymously, not with a cute nick name, but with my name.

WFDS

92...Larry O'Brien, Mayor For Life

His life.

Note to all the haters: when His Worship of Ottawa, Larry O'Brien, gets acquitted of the spurious charges leveled against him by that window licker Terry Kilrea it is my prediction, and I am right 57.28 per cent of the time, that Larry O will run for mayor yet again and win by a huge margin.

Tell that to the anonymous posers and posters on ZeroMeansZero.

WFDS

88...Gutless Wonders aka ZeroMeansZero

Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien's trial commenced yesterday, Monday May 4, 2009 and the gutless wonders that populate the blog ZeroMeansZero are wetting themselves with joy.

Of course none of them are signing anything with their real names.

These people are the biggest losers extant: at least the people whom they hate on, Mayor Larry, Lowell Green, Steve Madely and so on, have the integrity to sign their names to their work.

Embarrassments to the human race they are, embarrassments.

WFDS