The South Bayview Bulldog

Marriott Hotels has revealed a huge hack of customer data at its Starwood group of hotels. As many as 500 million persons may have had their names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, passport numbers and quite possibly credit card numbers taken. The hack has been in progress for four years up to September and could happened at W Hotels, St. Regis, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Westin Hotels and Resorts, Element Hotels, Aloft Hotels, The Luxury Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts, Four Points by Sheraton and Design Hotels that participate in the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) program. 

PAYLESS TRICKS SNOOTY BUYERS INTO PAYING $600 FOR $20 SHOES

Bargain shoe retailer Payless has used the bogus label Palessi to trick social media influencers in Los Angeles into paying as much as US$600 for footwear sold at Payless for $20. Payless ShoeSource recently set up a fake luxury pop-up shop in a former Armani store along the upscale Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Calif. The affordable shoe company then invited social media influencers to a ritzy two-day “grand opening” for Palessi.

• The $100,000 a year waitress isn’t a myth

There will be a Town Hall meeting with Councillor Robinson and her team a week Sunday (December 9) at Manor Road United Church, 240 Manor at Forman Ave., between 3 and 5 p.m.  The church says the event is called Toronto: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and is inviting the public to send in topics for the agenda to Rev. Roberta. The Town Hall is the day following MRU’s annual Pancake Breakfast on the morning of Saturday, December 8. It’s always fun.

Councillor Robinson Town Hall Dec 9, Pancake Breakfast Dec 8 including Santa and Mrs. Claus (Heather Fogarty and Michael Schneider 2016)

Let’s just say it was not the party of the year. Justin Trudeau, Enrique Pena Nieto and Donald Trump looked like that would rather be almost anywhere else as they formalized the new NAFTA agreement on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires Friday. The pact, which was more or less forced on Canada and Mexico, will be known as CUSMA here. That’s the Canada US Mexico Agreement. It still needs ratification in the U.S. Congress. The road to the rewrite of the North American trade agreement was a “battle,” Donald Trump said at the signing.

Normal practice requires that each country puts its own name first in multilateral treaties. That is why Canada says “Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement” but Chile says “Tratado de Libre Comercio Chile-Canadá.” Also why Mexico will call new NAFTA “TMEUC”. It has always been thus.

— Evan Dyer (@EvanDyerCBC) November 30, 2018

Superintendent Ron Taverner of TPS joins OPP as Commissioner

OPP officers on parade

Ronald (Ron) Taverner has been appointed commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Sylvia Jones announced Thursday. Taverner, who is now a superintendent with the Toronto Police Service, will assume his post on Dec. 17 and will serve for a term of up to three years, Jones said. He will replace Vince Hawkes, who retired this month after serving more than four years. “I’m very pleased to appoint Ron Taverner as OPP Commissioner,” Jones said. “He is a relationship builder, and I’m certain he will have a positive impact on policing across Ontario.” Jones said Taverner, who is currently Unit Commander of 12, 23, and 31 Divisions with the Toronto Police Service, was appointed by Cabinet, based on the unanimous recommendation of a selection committee comprised exclusively of members of the Ontario Public Service and supported by Odgers Berndtson, an executive search firm — CBC

Lights on but nobody’s home

Shona Farrelly as wrecking begins on Millwood Rd.

$6.6 asked for Mr. Pleasant apartment building

Cleft lip kitty

Cut gerbera at Longo’s

Patrick Rocca’s annual tree lighting

The monumental stone house under construction at 240 Rose Park Drive is still not finished even though the lights were burning brightly Thursday. There were two electricians eating in the garage. This may be progress. Top centre, Shona Farrelly, principal of Davisville Public School, was at the levers of this back hoe Wednesday as demolition began at the old school on Millwood Rd. We say a happy farewell even as boutique architects lament the passing of its playful windows. Top right, the 22-unit apartment at 672 Mt. Pleasant Rd. has a new stucco front and, it is said, a new owner. It was listed for $6.6 million. He also bought three of the original semi-detached homes in this undeveloped block between Hillsdale and Soudan Aves.  Lower left, a kitty with a cleft lip is at Davisville Park Animal Hospital at 518 Mt. Pleasant Rd. with an unregistered chip. Please call them if you recognize kitty. Lower centre are most fetching cut gerbera on sale at Longo’s. And at right, Patrick Rocca’s heroic fir tree all decorated and lighted for the season. It is a treat to see on Bessborough Drive.

Niagara Regional Police are calling it a police-involved shooting but any way you say it one police officer is in hospital with a wound after being shot by another. There is no indication why this occurred. The location was at Pelham near Niagara Falls. But the copper, 52, who was hit is critically hurt, sources say. Previously the police officer was said to be 44. The closest the SIU is getting to the plain truth is to call this incident “an altercation” which is defined as a noisy argument or disagreement, especially in public

Good Thursday. Auston is back and so, it seems, are good times for the blue and white. Then, a sod-turning Wednesday for a new residential island (of all things) and flood control plan cooked up by Waterfront Toronto. Below that, the auto industry is falling apart but hey, what makes you think we need to sell oil to sustain the economy. Sigh. Finally, Mark Carney, the Canadian boy from Fort Smith, NWT (pop 2,500) and currently head of the Bank of England, has some sober advice for millions of Britons.

Magnus Carlsen

Mohammad Mansouri

Josep Borrell

The World Chess Championship (2018) in London has proven to be a mind numbing marathon. After 12 games the contest was deadlocked. But reigning world champ Magnus Carlsen (left) of Norway claimed his fourth straight title Wednesday by beating challenger Fabiano Caruana in the first round of tie breakers. At centre is Mohammed Mansouri, one of two Iranian fugitives from US justice. He and others are wanted for perpetrating a multi-million dollar ransomware blackmail fraud on hundreds of institutions around the world, including the University of Calgary. U of C paid $20,000 to get its computers unlocked during one of the attacks launched by Iranian hackers in 2016. On the right, the Spanish foreign minister Josep Borrell likes to keep history simple. He has told students that it was bone-simple to establish the USA. All they had to do was “kill four Indians.” Oh yes, and fight the Civil War, he added as an afterthought. Thank you Professor Borrell for keeping it simple.

Star centre Auston Matthews will return to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ lineup on Wednesday night against the visiting San Jose Sharks. Head coach Mike Babcock confirmed the move following the team’s morning skate. The 21-year-old Matthews hasn’t played since suffering an injured left shoulder on Oct. 27 against the Winnipeg Jets. CBC

Audra Brown, City News

Well no kidding. With texts, the time of day, your shopping list and possibly Aunt Minnie’s onion soup recipe popping up, there could be a problem. But as Audra Brown found out, this first everyday set of smart glasses can be fun. Let’s hope not fatal. Other equally entertaining devices have claimed a few lives.

While many Canadians were being spooked by the surprise screaming from their phones and television sets Wednesday, a man and his girlfriend in the state of Hawaii sued the government there for the false missile alert last January that gave him a heart attack. James Sean Shields and Brenda Reichel filed the suit naming Vern Miyagi, former head of Hawaii Emergency Management Agency. Of course Canada’s Ready Alert Day carried with it an assurance that “there is no danger to your health or safety.” That’s quite an improvement over the Hawaiian model which said the little state was under nuclear attack and there was just a minute or so to take cover (if you wanted to bother). Nonetheless, many Canadians wondered just what form of imminent emergency would warrant such an alert. Outer space, unleashed missiles or post-earthquake tsunami.

Emergency 🚨 Alert Test from 📱 📱📱📱📱 📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱 pic.twitter.com/BZjqOgUqUF

— Simon Ostler (@SimonOstler) November 28, 2018