OT: What Is Wrong With Mark Jones From ESPN aka Paul Jones Brother?

[teamLeiweke]

The U.S. is really not that dangerous for the broader public. It's bad, but like violence even in Canadian cities it's tied a lot to socioeconomic status.

But it's true if you don't have coin you're going nowhere fast. Which is the same in Canada, but not nearly as bad here.

If you have a ***t ton of money, NYC probably has no equivalent. But if you don't, you might as well live anywhere.

Mark Jones believes that America is the Greatest Country in the World. Here is a rebuttal from Newsroom with Jeff Daniels.

Speaks the truth.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTjMqda19wk[/youtube]

Of course.

Canada is the greatest country in the world

I think a lot of people on both sides of the boarder would be surprised at how similar the two countries are.

This is my 8th year living in nyc and while I love the city, I felt the same way about T.O. (which is still my fav).

New York is the Toronto of America tho.

What about Washington, Baltimore, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, New Orleans, Philly, etc etc etc.

If you lived in most of those places, or in the ghettos or even the more rural areas of the US the past 8 years, your opinion would probably be very different.

City v city, NY v Toronto is very similar, sure. But we're talking countries as a whole, factoring in all cities, places, social classes, and walks of life. And that is where there are some major differences btw the two nations.

[ruckus]

I am Canadian but I realize the US is 10x better. Can't hate on the truth!

Well, when you live in Hamilton, anywhere seems better.

As someone who lives in hamilton but has also lived all over the US and traveled a lot of it as well, you couldn't be more wrong.

Hamilton gets a bad rap.

[James_Raptors]

I'm not going to go into ridiculous detail and trash one country or another. I've lived all over, including over a decade in the USA and I was born in Canada in 1971 and have lived here for 30+ years. There are clear distinctions between our two countries, and depending on where you live (in both) those become much more clear. That's all I'll say on the subject.

[JN]

With the ESPN Cost Cutting going on it will be interesting to see if he lasts beyond his current contract. If you look at his WIKI profile it is a very undistinguished ESPN profile. He seems a bit oi an ESPN substitute teacher.

Mike Tirico is going to NBC, I think. So he probably moves up the ladder a little bit.

Why would he move up? He just gets passed over by the new guy. This has always been the case for him.

[curryking3]

There's a lot to say on the differences between Toronto versus New York, or Canada and the U.S. in general. Tons to say. The similarities are often overlooked though.

But yea, in general in the big cities, including NY in the U.S., there's a lot more distinctly poor areas, and those distinctly poor areas stretch for far longer. They aren't well hidden at all. You can cross over one street from a suburban dream neighbourhood and instantly land in a completely unkempt neighbourhood that is in "shambles."

A lot of these issues are big city things. The demographics of big cities in the U.S. are very different to the surrounding, and generally far more affluent, smaller cities and suburban life. There has been major demographics shift of higher generally white and higher income-earners away from big cities, while lower-income earners continue to move in, typically lower-income minorities.

There's tons of articles on this displacement, as well as the racial issues and socio-economic ladder issues tied to it, and as well as the increasingly gated neighbourhood system that is being adopted in eastern U.S. cities all the way down south to Louisiana and then all the way west to California. If you google "real estate/neighbourhood segregation in USA" I'm sure you'll find tons of interesting stuff to read with very "eye-popping" graphics.

There's plenty of articles on these subjects from the last decade and even longer. The most common charge against the U.S. is the wage stagnation of the lower and middle class families. Which is probably a symptom of much larger economic system problems in the U.S. but I digress.

Anyway this ain't the thread, eh?

One thing for sure though if you have a ***t ton of money like I said before, NYC has few equals, if any. Not that you couldn't have plenty of "fun" in any big city in North America with a ***t ton of money.

[IMAN5]

lmao the american flag as a cover photo made me laugh

[refshateRaps]

Well, when you live in Hamilton, anywhere seems better.

As someone who lives in hamilton but has also lived all over the US and traveled a lot of it as well, you couldn't be more wrong.

Hamilton gets a bad rap.

I think its the affluent Toronto media which stirs up the Hamilton narrative, I mean they even beat down large areas in their own City like Scarborough for Political benefit. And in turn this is the image some people believe.

Aside from one stretch along the Hamilton bayfront butchered by industry, and a stretch on Barton st which needs help (all old Cities have this type of street). It's a very big beautiful City with tons of history and parkland. Scarborough is also surprisingly beautiful compared to its image which is formed by focusing on a few small patched over a massive area.

End of the day the GTA is a great place to live full of opportunity & anyone that thinks they are better than someone else because of where they live is completely hollow inside.

[OakleyDokely]

I figure it out, Mark Jones is Stephen Colbert on the Colbert Report, only Mark Jones isn't joking.

[LLJ]

I've got no problem with the U.S. I'd even like to live there for a few years sometime in my life (though probably not for another 10 years if Trump is Prez).

Mark Jones really is an ass though. I wonder if his behaviour ever comes up at the dinner table around the holidays. Paul definitely is aware of his brother's shenanigans.

[kirkwood]

17 pages on a nobody like Mark Jones??? Stop giving this clown something to spew about please.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[Buyaka]

Has anybody asked Paul's response re: his bro's homer-ism?

[JN]

It's not only about major cities.

Eastern Ontario (between Brockville and Cornwall) and the rural small towns is a poorer area compared to Toronto. This is the area I grew up in and know well. I also spent much time on the New York side of the border as it is merely a bridge crossing - hockey games / tournament as a kid, going to watch the Syracuse Orange, golfing in Malone, Canton.

All I have to say is Northern New York is an absolute disaster when you drive around. It is just a really poor area. Very little new houses. Eastern Ontario which is certainly not a thriving area, is in much better shape then these areas.

I spent 5 days last year near Gaylord, Michigan on a golf trip (Northern Michigan). Many Reasonably priced higher end gold courses that are all within a couple hours of each other. As I was driving from course to course, I was just amazed at the level of poverty in the rural areas. There was no trailer parks per se... but each rural property was just a trailer park home. You see a bit of that in Canada, but most rural properties are a decent middle class home.

And yet after driving for 30-40 minutes, you would show up at a fairly new resort, or nice golf course, that was just so out of place. And I am sure had very few locals.

I am sure the US is great in major cities, but there are many large financially depressed areas out there, that Canada does not have as many of.

[Tha Cynic]

I am Canadian but I realize the US is 10x better. Can't hate on the truth!

Ha, I've visited some of the bigger cities in the States, and in every single one of them, my reaction was underwhelming. Everything looks way better on TV, but when you live in a city like Toronto and then go to an American city, it's just not as good as the hype.

I was shocked to find the Bay area very underwhelming. I though I would instantly fall in love and want to move there, but I got tired of it within a week, though there is some amazing scenery in some of the smaller cities.

Those who live in Toronto live in a world class city that is consistently rated in the top 5 cities in the world, so you have to really look to find a place that is better.

[refshateRaps]

17 pages on a nobody like Mark Jones??? Stop giving this clown something to spew about please.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

He's notable because of

1. He goes out of his way to belittle the Raptors as well as Canada & it's Citizens
2. His brother is heavily associated with this franchise
3. He works in a basketball media position and should be held accountable for his social media actions

Letting people know what type of a low life or mentally ill person this guy comes off as is compeltely understandable given some things this guy has said.

[ruckus]

As someone who lives in hamilton but has also lived all over the US and traveled a lot of it as well, you couldn't be more wrong.

Hamilton gets a bad rap.

I think its the affluent Toronto media which stirs up the Hamilton narrative, I mean they even beat down large areas in their own City like Scarborough for Political benefit. And in turn this is the image some people believe.

Aside from one stretch along the Hamilton bayfront butchered by industry, and a stretch on Barton st which needs help (all old Cities have this type of street). It's a very big beautiful City with tons of history and parkland. Scarborough is also surprisingly beautiful compared to its image which is formed by focusing on a few small patched over a massive area.

End of the day the GTA is a great place to live full of opportunity & anyone that thinks they are better than someone else because of where they live is completely hollow inside.

I've tried to like Scarborough. I just can't. The sprawl is disgusting. 4 lane roads everywhere. Other than the parkland, no real walkable spaces. If you can point out areas in Scarborough that would change my mind, I'm game.

[2pat]

There's a lot to say on the differences between Toronto versus New York, or Canada and the U.S. in general. Tons to say. The similarities are often overlooked though.

But yea, in general in the big cities, including NY in the U.S., there's a lot more distinctly poor areas, and those distinctly poor areas stretch for far longer. They aren't well hidden at all. You can cross over one street from a suburban dream neighbourhood and instantly land in a completely unkempt neighbourhood that is in "shambles."

A lot of these issues are big city things. The demographics of big cities in the U.S. are very different to the surrounding, and generally far more affluent, smaller cities and suburban life. There has been major demographics shift of higher generally white and higher income-earners away from big cities, while lower-income earners continue to move in, typically lower-income minorities.

There's tons of articles on this displacement, as well as the racial issues and socio-economic ladder issues tied to it, and as well as the increasingly gated neighbourhood system that is being adopted in eastern U.S. cities all the way down south to Louisiana and then all the way west to California. If you google "real estate/neighbourhood segregation in USA" I'm sure you'll find tons of interesting stuff to read with very "eye-popping" graphics.

There's plenty of articles on these subjects from the last decade and even longer. The most common charge against the U.S. is the wage stagnation of the lower and middle class families. Which is probably a symptom of much larger economic system problems in the U.S. but I digress.

Anyway this ain't the thread, eh?

One thing for sure though if you have a ***t ton of money like I said before, NYC has few equals, if any. Not that you couldn't have plenty of "fun" in any big city in North America with a ***t ton of money.

Wage stagnation is a very real problem here as well, maybe even more so, when you consider the insane prices of real estate in cities like Toronto or Vancouver. With the median household income stagnating at around 76k and the average home in the '6' costing north of $1 million, we'd need to be making triple that amount, or just under 210k, for the homes to actually be affordable. This is one of the biggest problems we have in Canada, which results in a society of 'haves' and 'have nots'. Real estate price to income ratios in Toronto and Vancouver are double or triple what they are in comparable cities in the states, with even New York and Los Angeles being much more affordable. It gets even worse when you consider the fact that we're also paying more for pretty much everything else.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/mortgages-and-rates/canadas-old-standards-of-housing-affordability-need-an-update/article27126408/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/business/price-to-income-ratio-in-metro-areas/98/

We're setting ourselves up for a crash of epic proportions. Class Ghettoization is already happening and will only get worse. Those shiny condos will be the slums of the future, and considering the fact that they're so poorly built, the process by which that happens will be much faster than we think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMtjf0rYlQ4

[Chad_Warden]

As did Jerry Stackhouse.

No, Stackhouse did not score 2000 points in a season for the Nets.

You stated that he failed to be accepted every place but one. That is a flat out lie.

Swing and a miss.

Don't worry. I'm sure you'll hit a single one of these days.

[OakleyDokely]

There's a lot to say on the differences between Toronto versus New York, or Canada and the U.S. in general. Tons to say. The similarities are often overlooked though.

But yea, in general in the big cities, including NY in the U.S., there's a lot more distinctly poor areas, and those distinctly poor areas stretch for far longer. They aren't well hidden at all. You can cross over one street from a suburban dream neighbourhood and instantly land in a completely unkempt neighbourhood that is in "shambles."

A lot of these issues are big city things. The demographics of big cities in the U.S. are very different to the surrounding, and generally far more affluent, smaller cities and suburban life. There has been major demographics shift of higher generally white and higher income-earners away from big cities, while lower-income earners continue to move in, typically lower-income minorities.

There's tons of articles on this displacement, as well as the racial issues and socio-economic ladder issues tied to it, and as well as the increasingly gated neighbourhood system that is being adopted in eastern U.S. cities all the way down south to Louisiana and then all the way west to California. If you google "real estate/neighbourhood segregation in USA" I'm sure you'll find tons of interesting stuff to read with very "eye-popping" graphics.

There's plenty of articles on these subjects from the last decade and even longer. The most common charge against the U.S. is the wage stagnation of the lower and middle class families. Which is probably a symptom of much larger economic system problems in the U.S. but I digress.

Anyway this ain't the thread, eh?

One thing for sure though if you have a ***t ton of money like I said before, NYC has few equals, if any. Not that you couldn't have plenty of "fun" in any big city in North America with a ***t ton of money.

Wage stagnation is a very real problem here as well, maybe even more so, when you consider the insane prices of real estate in cities like Toronto or Vancouver. With the median household income stagnating at around 76k and the average home in the '6' costing north of $1 million, we'd need to be making triple that amount, or just under 210k, for the homes to actually be affordable. This is one of the biggest problems we have in Canada, which results in a society of 'haves' and 'have nots'. Real estate price to income ratios in Toronto and Vancouver are double or triple what they are in comparable cities in the states, with even New York and Los Angeles being much more affordable. It gets even worse when you consider the fact that we're also paying more for pretty much everything else.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/mortgages-and-rates/canadas-old-standards-of-housing-affordability-need-an-update/article27126408/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/business/price-to-income-ratio-in-metro-areas/98/

We're setting ourselves up for a crash of epic proportions. Class Ghettoization is already happening and will only get worse. Those shiny condos will be the slums of the future, and considering the fact that they're so poorly built, the process by which that happens will be much faster than we think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMtjf0rYlQ4

I agree to some extent, but Toronto and Vancouver are different animals when it comes to the housing market in Canada. Toronto and Vancouver are the two most popular immigrant destinations. They take a lot of people in yearly and all these people need housing. Also, there's a ton of foreign investment in real estate in these two cities. Relative to other "big" cities like NY, LA, Paris etc, Toronto real estate is still actually pretty affordable and is a wise investment for a many abroad that need a safe place to store cash.

Detached homes will be a luxury item in the future, in cities like Toronto and Vancouver, like a Ferrari is. Most "normal" people won't be able to afford them.

[scopy]

I'm not going to go into ridiculous detail and trash one country or another. I've lived all over, including over a decade in the USA and I was born in Canada in 1971 and have lived here for 30+ years. There are clear distinctions between our two countries, and depending on where you live (in both) those become much more clear. That's all I'll say on the subject.

What are your t-shirt designs for the next home game?

[refshateRaps]

Hamilton gets a bad rap.

I think its the affluent Toronto media which stirs up the Hamilton narrative, I mean they even beat down large areas in their own City like Scarborough for Political benefit. And in turn this is the image some people believe.

Aside from one stretch along the Hamilton bayfront butchered by industry, and a stretch on Barton st which needs help (all old Cities have this type of street). It's a very big beautiful City with tons of history and parkland. Scarborough is also surprisingly beautiful compared to its image which is formed by focusing on a few small patched over a massive area.

End of the day the GTA is a great place to live full of opportunity & anyone that thinks they are better than someone else because of where they live is completely hollow inside.

I've tried to like Scarborough. I just can't. The sprawl is disgusting. 4 lane roads everywhere. Other than the parkland, no real walkable spaces. If you can point out areas in Scarborough that would change my mind, I'm game.

Well the main issue with "walkable spaces" is the lack of quality transit infrastructure compared to other area of the City. Walkable spaces are created with proper planning which unfortunately isnt happening at the speed & priority it should.

As for beautiful areas:

-The Bluffs is hands down one of the most beautiful areas in the GTA. Completely undervalued, unsigned & unadvertised. That could change a bit as they are building a massive path from one end of Scarborough to the other.

-Rouge "National" Park - should be quite the place in a few years
-Colonol Danforth,Highland Creek (and UTSC's walkable Master plan), Port Union, the Guild, Thompson Park,
-The diverse authentic restaurants cant be touched in any other suburb. If you want a list... Im happy to give it.
-STC needs a lift and the rickety RT needs to dissapear. But it can certainly become a "walkable" thriving satellite business area with better planning. As for now it "Square one lite"

You may not like sprawl in Scarborough but if you compare it to the 905 the only difference is the lack of recent priority investment locally to promote it's strengths and to revitalize/change the landscape to a more urban City which is the future everywhere. Amalgamation has stalled any priority planning for Scarborough where as other areas in the 905 are self focused to reevaluate, revitalize & to attract business for the future.

If and when transit arrives in Scarborough you'll start to see the new developments take shape to help revitalize the areas into "walkable spaces". There is already a proposal on Progress ave (AG Simpson factory) near STC to create a walkable new area so its about to start & the Eglinton LRT transit will also help start changing the landscape . The value here is large for a massive area that borders one of Canada's most important economic hubs.

Im leaving out a ton of great places & Im sure others know many other great areas. The " bad areas" are minor and transit will help bring revitalization as there are only small pockets of old Apartments which border main roads. The rest of the Scarborough is really nice already doesn't & deserve the rap it gets

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