Before the late-night name-calling and accusations of political interference, the Ford brothers had warm words for Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair…. The city’s top cop now prepares to leave his post as relations with the chief magistrate – and his brother – have notably tanked…. “Normally there’s a veneer of professionalism that’s always maintained,” said York University political science Professor Dennis Pilon in the Toronto Star July 30. “It is just sort of beyond the pale of the regular kind of politics we’re accustomed to.” Read full story.
Why won’t professional football stand up for women?
“If a player is treated like an object, and he sees himself as an object, then everything else around him becomes an object, including women,” said York University kinesiology and health science Professor Gamal Abdel-Shehid, who studies sports and social inequality, in TakePart July 31. It’s not an excuse for their behaviour, but for guys who have risk factors for abuse, such as witnessing violence in their household growing up, it’s an explosive combination. Read full story.
Raptors: Later game time could benefit networks, fans
The half-hour change could greatly benefit television networks because a slightly later start makes airing doubleheaders with West Coast games easier with no break in between, said Vijay Setlur, a sports marketing instructor at York University’s Schulich School of Business, in the Toronto Star July 30. A later start could also accommodate a new pre-game show on TSN, the Raptors’ official broadcaster in Canada, and the game itself could serve as a lead-in for a late-night edition of “SportsCentre,” Setlur said. Read full story.
Inside the fascinating, frenzied world of art collecting
The basic economics of the art market are simple and complex, as Don Thompson, an economist at York University in Toronto, has made clear in two perceptive and amusing books that anyone interested in modern and contemporary art should read, reported Sarasota Magazine’s August 2014 issue. The first is The $12 Million Stuffed Shark…. The second is the just-published The Supermodel and the Brillo Box. Read full story.
Number of distracted driving charges in York Region down
York University’s psychology Professor David Wisenthal, who studies and teaches issues surrounding road user behaviour and traffic safety, said it appears the police in York have altered their focus on distracted driving. “I’m surprised they’re not going after it more vigorously,” he said in the Thornhill Liberal July 30. “Driving is very complex and you have to be alert. If you are distracted or paying attention to something else … it should be a high priority.” Read full story.
Raising the bar
The National Law School of India University facilitates exchange programs with the National University of Singapore, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University and Buceuius Law School, Germany, reported the Hindustan Times July 31…. A number of professors from the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, South Africa and New Zealand have visited, interacted with students and even taught here. Read full story.
Yukos hunting Rosneft assets from Venezuela to Vietnam
The 600-page judgment by an arbitration panel in The Hague this week found Rosneft, which acquired most of Yukos’s assets after they were seized and sold off, and Gazprom to be instrumental in the campaign. Backed by such a ruling, the former Yukos shareholders stand a better chance of winning court-ordered seizures of assets of Russia’s two largest companies than of sovereign property, which is usually immune from confiscation, said Gus Van Harten, an arbitration expert at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, in Bloomberg July 31. Read full story.
Letters: In favour of ‘some positive words for Generation Z’
“Your July 14 editorial supporting the continued use of neonicotinoid insecticides failed to mention a number of relevant facts,” wrote K.G. Davey, York University professor emeritus of biology, in Maclean’s July 24. “These chemicals are not exclusively applied as coatings on seeds, but increasingly as dust into the soil at planting, and as sprays, particularly in orchards. Some neonics are persistent in soils, and have built up substantial concentrations.” Read full story.