The investigation continues after a fertilizer plant explosion in Texas killed at least 14 people, including several firefighters and emergency responders. The blast, which happened on Wednesday night, was the strength of a magnitude 2.1 earthquake and resulted in half of the town being evacuated.  Local authorities are working with federal government agencies to investigate the cause of this devastating incident.

Occurring so soon after the Boston Marathon bombing, there were fears that this was another premeditated terrorist attack. The investigation is ongoing, but currently there is no indication that the blast was an act of terrorism or criminal activity. However, the plant had been fined in 2006 for failing to implement a risk management plan and had previously been issued a complaint over a lingering smell of ammonia.

Before the blast occurred, firefighters had been evacuating the surrounding area because of “dangerous fumes,” police said.

Rescuers are still searching for survivors. “We still are holding out some hope,” Tommy Muska, the mayor of West, Texas, said.

In Canada the law around sexual assault is designed to protect women from “secondary wounding” that can escalate when the accused holds a position of power and influence. Secondary wounding occurs when people respond to a woman who has been sexually assaulted by making her feel ashamed for coming forward, or blaming her for fabricating the assault.  From minimizing the magnitude of the event, to implying the victim desired financial gain or attention, secondary wounding turns the victim into the criminal and forces the woman to defend her allegations.

In Canada any victim of sexual assault can report an incident to the police in complete anonymity. The victim’s name and picture are protected and will not appear in the press or be released by the police unless she chooses to go public. With municipal political figures a complaint should be made to the OPP rather than local police, who risk being in a conflict of interest.  By making a complaint with the police the offense gets registered and if another is made the police take the previous offenses into account. Sexual assaults often lack the evidence needed to convict the assailant and without proof many women choose not to go to the police fearing that their lack of evidence will only result in dismissal of their claim and work to empower the accused even further.

While I like to think Toronto is a very progressive city there are still old notions of how women must behave that dominate conservative thinking.  Pundits promote the myth that women should never claim sexual assault without proof, ignoring that most sexual assaults occur when eyes are turned the other way. Sadly, if a woman does go public the backlash can be cruel – especially from those who cling to archaic social structures, spewing their opinions with no regard to the secondary harm they cause to the victim.

Social media (facebook/twitter) is creating a more transparent world, challenging the social structures that protected male entitlement.  Women who speak out about sexual assault represent an affront to the old way of doing things. The establishment insists women should deal with sexual assault privately through the police — but without proof charges usually get dropped and the criminal walks away justified. Studies show that the recidivism rate (reoccurrence) of sexual assault can be as high as 88.3 per cent.

With enough exposure calling someone out through social media will put the incident on public record and can serve to bring other victims forward.  The accused has every right to sue the victim for defamation, but this is unlikely because those who commit assault usually have a lot more to hide than their victims.

Studies have shown that there are shared personality traits among men who commit sexual assault. They are men with terrible role models like Chris Brown, or O.J Simpson; they are men raised to be thugs. They cling to anything that focuses on male strength; they hide their emotions, and claim not to “understand” women. Men convicted of sexual assault have an overwhelming sense of privilege that extends not only to the world around them, but into their personal relationships. The respect they show for others is a performance rather than a true understanding of civility. Their relationships aren’t fulfilling or empowering because they aren’t taught the value of respect for themselves, their influence in the world, or their impact on others. They view women as objects rather than equals.  Their exalted belief in their own male perfection dampens their natural drive to mature and develop as individuals. Without this drive emptiness haunts them, drugs and alcohol numb them, and their relationships are chaotic.

These thugs have children, and their daughters grow up believing their fathers’ misconceptions and sharing the same view of success – power, money and men.  They use their sexual power over men and cling to it because in a world of male entitlement it’s the only power they have — but as they age their relationships fail, they become less attractive, and they lose their sexual power over men, turning into sad bitter women lashing out at women who don’t conform as they did.

I could never hate someone with this level of emotional poverty. They are people who are raised without ever understanding the importance of civility or respect. They are deprived of ever having strong meaningful relationships. They rarely question themselves or their limited version of the world around them. And they fight against anything that doesn’t conform to their myopic sense of male entitlement.

There are times when it is important to speak out. When a thug attains power their sense of entitlement escalates, they become falsely confident, demanding and taking more from all those around them. They justify their illegal behavior (drugs/assault/drunk driving) by claiming the “stress” of their position drove them to it.

It is never easy to stand up to the tide of male entitlement that floods our society but unless we do there will be a new generation of emotionally stunted thugs who shun challenge, who expect the world to serve them, and who don’t understand how to have respect for themselves or others.

Civility is the glue that holds us together in a safe, fair and just society. Civility requires respect for others, the ability to accept the truth no matter how it is presented. Civility doesn’t force people into silence, or shame those who refuse to follow custom. Civility stops us from harming each other and allows a deeper understanding of the human condition.

Political and community leaders from the Greater Toronto Area met Thursday night at the Harbourfront Community Centre to discuss the ever growing problem of transit in the region.

Answering questions from moderator and Toronto Transit Alliance Chair Sarah Thomson were Oakville Mayor Rob Burton, Oshawa Mayor John Henry, Chair of Greater Toronto Civic Action Alliance John Tory, and, in place of storm-stayed Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion, Mississauga Councillor Bonnie Crombie.

The event drew several influential audience members, including Toronto city councillors John Parker of Ward 26, Denzil Minnan-Wong of Ward 34, Shelley Carroll of Ward 33, and Metrolix CEO Bruce McCuaig.

The roundtable discussion functioned as a platform to spark conversation and involvement between different municipal governments and appeal to the province and federal government for aid in progressing on longstanding and frequently delayed and cancelled plans to improve and modernize the public transit and highway systems that connect the different communities.

While the panel’s answers varied in some regards, it was clear from the outset that they were all in agreement that transit was the number one priority facing the region. Oakville’s Burton drew applause when he stated that “there is a freaking emergency around moving people in our metropolitan area.”

While the group came to some conclusions — increasing property tax is not an option for any of the municipalities represented, higher levels of governments must be involved — the cooperative nature of the meeting was the biggest win of the evening. All involved were hopeful that the discussion would open the door to greater communication on transit issues in the region and lead to cooperation on a comprehensive plan for regional transit.

The Toronto Regional Board of Trade recently released a discussion paper announcing four transit funding options for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) to support the Metrolinx “Big Move” regional transit expansion plan. Their four funding options are: A dedicated sales tax, fuel tax, parking levies and high occupancy vehicle lanes. It’s important to note that the amount of transit funding needed for infrastructure expansion is astronomical with the initial price tag estimated at $50 billion, or $2 billion per year over 25 years.

Not long after the Board made their announcement, Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath rejected their proposal, claiming their measures were not “fair and balanced.” Instead she suggested the provincial government close “corporate tax loopholes” to pay for transit. Her suggestion ignored the importance of having long-term dedicated transit funding that is secure and free from political intervention.

The issue of transit funding has become a political football that has been tossed about for the past 40 years – and unless we separate funding from politics through a secured and protected funding stream the Toronto regions economic viability could be severely hindered.

I implore Ms Horwath to become aware of the “hidden” tax that gridlock is already imposing on people and corporations in the Toronto region. The Board of Trade estimates that gridlock is costing Canada $6 billion annually and this number is increasing each year. To suggest that we impose $2 billion more per year in taxes on companies that already suffer from this hidden gridlock tax could well drive them and the jobs they create out of the region.

I have always had great respect for Ms. Horwath; she is a smart, dedicated woman and I encourage her to listen to her constituents in the GTHA. They want action on gridlock, and are very much aware of the fact that politics has stood in the way of the transit expansion.

I hope that Ms. Horwath evaluates all forms of transit funding so that she understands the level of funding needed and why supporting the funding options suggested by the Board of Trade is an important first step to transit expansion. I hope she takes careful consideration of the idea of phased funding with a dedicated 1% sales tax being the first phase connected to the next phase of development for the Big Move plan.

Copying Mr. Hudak’s failing and blatant attempt to win votes and block transit expansion will only serve to lose her core NDP support in urban areas where they understand the need to fund transit expansion .

A much stronger stand for Ms. Horwath would be to insist that jobs and contracts for transit infrastructure expansion be awarded to Ontario companies. If Ms. Horwath truly wants to protect and create jobs for Ontario families, insisting that infrastructure expansion be done using Ontario companies offering jobs to Ontarians has much more consistency with her message — and doesn’t get in the way of transit expansion.

By working together, by agreeing to phase in dedicated transit funding and include voters every step of the way, we can move the transit file ahead significantly.

I implore Ms. Horwath to support transit expansion funding options outlined by the TTC and the Board of Trade and to work with the Liberal government to get the Toronto region moving forward. Together.

Filmores Hotel, the notorious strip club along Dundas in downtown Toronto, has a new cringe-worthy message for their marquee letting patrons know that they’ll cover in the case that girlfriends or wives call.

IF ANGRY WIVES OR
GIRLFRIENDS CALL OUR
ANSWERING CHARGES ARE:
“HE JUST LEFT” $1
“HE’S NOT HERE” $2
“NEVER HEARD OF HIM” $20

Although thinking too much about any real marriage where a wife calls around to a nudie joint looking for her husband is enough to make you a touch ill, it is worth noting that Filmores has a long history of funny marquee messages.

Here is a roundup of some of the cheekier marquee messages archived online.

Follow Travis on Twitter at @TravMyers for up to the minute coverage on strip club signage.

Image credits [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Looking for a new way to kick butt and lose weight? MTKT Academy has opened a new location on the Danforth, and they are itching to get more women into training. Muay Thai Kickboxing, the latest trend in fitness, is a great way to improve both your mind and your aura. And that’s the way they planned it.

“We want to inspire people to make a lifestyle change,” MTKT owner and founder Warren Lee says. His academy helps teach a full healthy lifestyle, combining exercise, lifestyle and nutrition and free of negative influences such as smoking and drinking.

When designing his gym, Lee looked at what makes a successful restaurant: The most important thing is the environment, but the whole experience (environment, quality, price) is what keeps people coming back.

Lee purposely created a “non-judgemental” and “ego free” environment, aimed to empower women. The idea of a women-friendly club started after he took a women’s studies course in university, and because he feels women are loyal customers. Believing that the average gym is “too much testosterone and ego,” he wanted to create a good, clean location where people felt comfortable.

And they do. Classes are close-knit and attendees offer each other words of praise and encouragement throughout the training session.

Don’t worry if you aren’t super fit and spent 10 minutes figuring out how to pronounce muay thai. Lee’s classes are designed to accommodate fitness levels. On your first visit, Lee will find out your background, then place you according to your experience level.

Each class starts with a warm-up: skipping, core exercises, pushups, squats, pylometrics, etc. After warmup, participants are divided into several groups: Level 1 A, level 1 B, level 2, and level 3. If you are just starting out, you’ll join the level 1 A group, where an instructor will go over the basic moves with you. As you learn the moves and gain more confidence, you graduate to higher levels. Competitions are an option, but Lee says most people are more interested in the fitness and self-definition aspects.

Once in the groups, participants are taught technique geared to their specific skill set. Beginners are taught proper pad work and basic punches and kicking, allowing them to fight and protect themselves safely. “It’s fighting without fighting,” Lee says.

Above all else, MTKT stresses three main elements: A great workout, have fun and learn something.

“I’ve seen people come and transform both physically and mentally,” Lee says. “But they have to stick with it.”