Rob Ford Crack Video: You Have to See It to Believe It

Cameras are everywhere. They're in street lights all over your town, in your cell phone, and they're concealed in your neighbor's watch. It's very hard to know if you're being filmed, and the pictures or footage of unwitting subjects is rarely flattering.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is learning this the hard way.         

Reporters from the Toronto Star and Gawker have been shown footage of what appears to be the city’s mayor, sitting in a well-lit room, inhaling from a glass crack pipe.  The video was taken on a smartphone, and the informant claims to be representing men who supply crack cocaine to a number of Toronto's elite — including the colorful mayor, who has been known for strange and unpredictable behavior. According to the reporters, they were shown the video in the back of a parked car by a tipster who was looking to sell the video to anyone willing to pay six figures for it. "If you want to buy it, let me know. I can put you in touch with a guy."

How damaging is the video? 

According to Gawker: Goaded by a voice off camera, Mayor Ford is heard commenting on Canada's Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. "Justin Trudeau's a f*g," says Ford, as he circles a lighter beneath the pipe. Mayor Ford is incoherent and he speaks in short sentence bursts which trail off at the end. "I’m f*cking right-wing … Everyone expects me to be right wing. I'm …" The person off-camera keeps the video trained on the mayor, the phone rings, and Ford looks at the camera and says something like "that better not be on." The phone shuts off.

Maybe Mayor Ford was just trying to get the edge off after the Maple Leafs' tough NHL Playoff loss. The lesson to take away here? Cameras are everywhere, and one should assume that they're on. Especially if one is a major public official engaging in unsavory or illegal acts.