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“Anyways, like I said this morning, these allegations are ridiculous, another story with respect to the Toronto Star going after me, and that’s all I have to say,” he said.

He then proceeded to a city hall flag-raising event held to honour the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, where he appeared shaken as he read a proclamation. As he left, he did not respond when asked twice whether he smokes crack.

Except for Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday, who cast doubt on the legitimacy of the video, Ford’s messaging apparatus was also silent. His loquacious brother and fiercest defender, Councillor Doug Ford, cancelled a planned television appearance and did not return calls. In a departure from some previous controversies, neither the mayor’s chief of staff nor press secretary issued a written statement.

The Fords also cancelled their weekly Sunday radio show on Newstalk 1010.

Anyone passingly familiar with the usual Scandal-Denial phase of the Ford machine would notice the lack of the normal ferocious denial phase…. hrm

A lawyer retained by Ford, Dennis Morris, said that Thursday’s publication by the Gawker website of some details related to the video was “false and defamatory.” Morris told the Star that by viewing a video it is impossible to tell what a person is doing. “How can you indicate what the person is actually doing or smoking,”Morris said.

It looks like ford’s lawyer confirms the video is real and depicts Mayor Ford… but disputes that crack is being smoked —- http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2013/05/16/toronto_mayor_rob_ford_in_crack_cocaine_video_scandal.html

LCBO strike threat off after deal reached

As everyone with a brain who was not the LCBO management (who saw the opportunity to ramp up already high May 24) sales saw coming

The Toronto Star has seen the video in question.

Much more to come on thestar.com

http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2013/05/16/toronto_mayor_rob_ford_smoked_crack_cocaine_in_a_video_us_website_alleges.html

The tipster looks at me: “The battery is dead.” The young gentleman—the owner of the video—needed to go back upstairs to charge the battery on the device that contained the video. We wait. More small talk.

The owner of the video returns. He thrusts a device, a phone with a touchscreen, in my face. “Can I hold it?” I ask.

“No.”

I crane my neck. It plays.

Here is what the video shows: Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto, is the only person visible in the frame. Prior to the trip, I spent a lot of time looking at photographs of Rob Ford. The man in the video is Rob Ford. It is well-lit, clear. Ford is seated, in a room in a house. In one hand is a a clear, glass pipe. The kind with a big globe and two glass cylinders sticking out of it. In the other hand is a lighter. A slurred voice off-camera is ranting about Canadian politics in what sounds like an attempt to goad Ford. “Pierre Trudeau was a faggot!” is the one phrase the lodges in my mind. Ford, pipe in one hand and lighter in the other, is laughing, and mildly protesting at the sacrilege. He seems to keep trying to light the pipe, but keeps stopping to laugh. He is red-faced and sweaty, heaving with each breath. Finally, he finds his moment and lights up. He inhales.

Is it real?

It began like this: We’ve made fun of Ford before for his lunatic pronouncements and nude pictures. Last week, we got a tip from someone claiming to have a videotape of Ford smoking crack. Would we like to buy it?

The tipster made the following claims:

• Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smokes crack cocaine.

• There is a video of Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine, taken within the last six months.

• Rob Ford purchases his crack cocaine from a crew of Toronto drug dealers that service a veritable who’s who of A-list…Torontonians? Torontites? Anyway, a lot of prominent people in Toronto purchase and enjoy crack and powder cocaine, and they all buy it from the same folks. The same folks Ford buys it from. Ford’s longtime friend, people on his staff, his brother, a prominent hockey analyst, and more.

http://gawker.com/for-sale-a-video-of-toronto-mayor-rob-ford-smoking-cra-507736569?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_twitter&utm_source=gawker_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow