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Victory in November: Opportunities and Perils for Republicans
By David T. Jones on December 27, 2010
Washington, DC - The Republican Party, having won a substantial victory in the November 2 election, is about to encounter that existential challenge. Be careful of what you ask for; you may get it.
Five Reasons Why I'm Not Neutral
By Lauryn Oates on December 27, 2010
As the Taliban now run shadow governments in all but one of Afghanistan’s provinces (the Panjshir) amounting to a government-in-waiting, and one by one NATO governments announce their withdrawal dates, there is a glum resolve here among many aid workers that one day very soon the government we may be dealing with in Kabul will be a Taliban one. And so some are starting to seek engagement with the Taliban now, hoping they might be more accommodating than the miserable years of 1996-2001, when the overwhelming majority of organizations fled, and those who stayed, worked within bizarre and frustrating restrictions, many of which barred aid to women and girls. Overall, the restrictions and the fickle and unpredictable behaviour of the host government then meant aid simply could not reach all of the most vulnerable, and many lives were lost as a result.
Des parlementaires du monde entier émettent une déclaration sur l'antisémitisme: Cotler mène la CILA à un accord historique
By Beryl Wajsman on December 27, 2010
Des parlementaires de six continents étaient sur place pour émettre le Protocole d'Ottawa - un document qui représente la coopération globale dans la lutte contre l'antisémitisme à la fin de la deuxième conférence de la Coalition interparlementaire de lutte contre l’antisémitisme (CILA), cofondé par le député de Mont-Royal Irwin Cotler. La conférence était la plus grande de sa sorte, et a donné l'occasion pour que les délégués puissent explorer des données et échanger sur les meilleures manières de combattre l'antisémitisme autour du monde. La CILA rassemble 46 pays et plus de 250 parlementaires du monde entier pour mener le combat contre la résurgence de l'antisémitisme global.
Obama’s Recovery from Ahmadinejad’s Politics
By Rouba al-Fattal on December 27, 2010
Two are not fit for a political office: the religious man, if he is sincere, and the true intellectual. The religious system is based on sacred constants, while the political system is chaotic based on constantly changing variables. No compromise can exist on religious dogmas, but politics is the art of negotiation and settlement. Policy maneuvers are not void of plots and deceptions, while bargaining is off-limits to the true religious, either you accept all of God’s commands or you exit the circle of the pure faithful. So, how could a dogmatic cleric turn into a professional politician?
A moveable feast
By Beryl Wajsman on December 27, 2010
Some thirty years ago, Diana and David Nicholson opened their storied home at 33 Rosemount Avenue in Westmount for conversations with friends every Wednesday night. Those conversations grew into a Montreal tradition that rivals the most influential political and literary salons of Washington, London or Paris. Almost every leader from the worlds of politics, finance, medicine, science, academia and any other vocation you can think of have passed through their warm and welcoming doors.
1500 mercredis consécutifs!
By Alan Hustak on December 27, 2010
Ce n’est peut être pas impressionnant si vous le dites rapidement, mais contemplez le nombre pour un instant et il est en effet impressionnant.
Since David and Diana Nicholson held their first salon in February, 1982, we’ve gone through seven Canadian Prime Ministers, five United States Presidents, ten premiers of Quebec, eight periods of negative economic growth, four economic recessions, and two Quebec referendums. The ramifications all of which have been either debated, dissected, discussed or dismissed by those who have kept the flame of friendship burning at their table for 28 years. There have been Wednesday nights on Christmas Eve, even on a Leap Year a Wednesday in 1992. Through it all there has never been an occasion when no one has shown up.
Toast to a House
By Wanda Potrykus on December 27, 2010
For 1495 consecutive Wednesdays this stately mansion on its quiet tree-lined street in Westmount has opened its yellow door with the admiral’s port and starboard lights of red and green firmly, quietly beaming welcome to a motley crew of you and yes, I...to meet and greet, to talk and tease, and laugh and joke and sing...and ring in the changes of government, economies, birthdays, markets, years, ideas, philosophies, generations, recessions, opinions, seasons, reasons...even millennia...during times of sadness and madness...of plenty and of want...while it has steadfastly borne the brunt of countless openings and closings, farewells, hallos, and bon voyages...swinging shut for the final time behind some...but opening more often than not...for the crew of long time regulars...with or without their varied guests...and pasts...
Lasting connections
By Helen Forbes on December 27, 2010
I think my late boss, Richard J. Kaiser and I started going to Wednesday nights in 1981 or '82. Sometimes there were 20 or 30 people, sometimes as few as 10, often in the summers when people were away. Richard J. ended up giving up on the late nights as he had kids to get to school the next morning but I kept going.
Symposium on the Saint Lawrence: A tribute to Wednesday Night
By Kimon Valaskakis on December 27, 2010
In Plato’s original symposium which took place in the house of the tragedian Agathon, seven Greek philosophers compared thoughts and experiences on the subject of love (Eros, Agape but primarily love of wisdom which is the etymological meaning of philosophy itself). This started a long historical tradition of erudite discussions over the dinner table (and was probably even the precursor of the modern day business lunch).
Thank You
By Paul Shrivastava on December 27, 2010
Thank you for this grand celebration of Wednesday Night, and of Diana and David's leadership in creating and sustaining community discourse. For a new comer to Montreal like me, Wednesday Night offered it all - an introduction to the city's buzz, latest political news and gossip, lofty analysis, Punditry at its best, the seduction of a Parisian salon, an open, inviting and friendly atmosphere. It was a pill that made me feel instantly like an "insider". At least once a week I felt like I knew exactly how things really were. The discussions were well researched, erudite, and incisive, the disagreements were friendly and civil, and the video tapes archive is there to prove it.
The quiet charms of fascinating people
By Steven Lightfoot on December 27, 2010
It all started for me 20 years ago. My friend Marina knew I was interested in ideas and the sharing of them, and she had run across this really interesting couple living in Westmount. They held what could only be described as a 19th century Parisian salon right in their home. They had been doing this literally every Wednesday Night for years, which sounded implausible, but was true.
No small feat: 1500 sparkling nights....and one cracked chair
By Roslyn Takeishi on December 27, 2010
Intellectual Salons have been a social reality from the 16th century onwards, starting as an Italian invention, then flourishing in France throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. They are the place for the exchange of ideas. David and Diana Nicholson have been hosting their Salon for over 28 years in their Westmount home. On December 1, 2010, we celebrate 1500 Consecutive Wednesday Nights, a seriously committed undertaking.
Something to look forward to
By Antal Deutsch on December 27, 2010
Wednesday Night is a delightful microcosm of educated Anglo and Allo-Montrealers. The over-all tone is leftist, in the let-us-save-the-world style of the early seventies. There are a couple of sacred cows that are carefully not discussed: Israel vs. the Palestinians, and the suppression of individual rights (nominally language, but really economic) in the name of “collective rights” in Quebec. The over-all leftist tone not withstanding, much attention is devoted to the stock-market.
Montreal’s Source of Enlightenment: « Les beaux esprits se rencontrent »
By Alexandra T. Greenhill on December 27, 2010
As a traveler crossing the desert in hope beyond hope happens upon an unexpected lush oasis, so did we stumble upon Diana and David’s miraculous Montreal institution, at which political, social, artistic, and scientific questions are discussed weekly with never ending passion and an abundance of new perspectives. This is what the Salons of the French 18th century Age of Enlightenment must have felt like and the impact of these gatherings is of similar scope to be felt for decades to come.
Thinking that's outside the box
By Margaret Lefebvre on December 27, 2010
It was the year 1991 and all was not well in the Canadian nation.. The Meech Lake Accord had collapsed, Quebec was feeling even more alienated then even after the “night of the long knives”; Canadian unity was at a crisis point, hoist on a feather, and rumblings of passionate discontent could be heard throughout the land.
1500 Wednesday Nights and a very special friend
By Catherine Gillbert on December 27, 2010
My thoughts about Wednesday Night always centre on the atmosphere created by the Nicholsons in their wonderful home. The open door, the hugs and handshakes and the glass of red wine is the right way to make anyone feel perfectly at home. Although I have lived in Canada for almost 50 years I never really felt as if I belonged until I discovered Wednesday Night. No longer the outsider looking in, I have found a place where I am free to hold any number of contrarian positions without being considered an imposter. As in an Oxford Common Room, divergence of opinion is the staff of life for Wednesday Night.
An unending stream of the best and the brightest
By David T. Jones on December 27, 2010
It seems like forever; it seems like only yesterday that I first encountered David and Diana Nicholson and enjoyed a "Wednesday Night." In the winter of 1993, I was political minister counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, and I attended this first Night as "spouse of" my wife Teresa who was the economic/commercial officer at the U.S. consulate in Montreal.
A True Salon
By Teresa C. Jones on December 27, 2010
In 1992, when I arrived in Montreal to replace the number two at the U.S. Consulate General in Montreal, I had a few days of overlap with John Riley, my predecessor. He told me all about this fascinating salon that he attended and that I should attend. He even took me to a Wednesday night meeting. Coming from Washington and the interagency maze of experts, it was refreshing to find a group who actually thought as well as they talked. Diana and David had the magical ability to draw out the best of the discussion and the discussants. The topic didn't matter.
Wednesday Night: The Cardinal would feel at home
By Margaret Duthie on December 27, 2010
Wednesday-Night – for me is a coming-together in what I imagine to have been the style of the French Cardinal Richelieu who founded the French Academy (Académie française) in 1635., but was also famed for his literary 'salons.'
1500 Wednesdays
By Prof. Gerald Ratzer on December 27, 2010
David and Diana Nicholson have to be congratulated for what is clearly a record setting contribution to the social and intellectual fabric of Montreal. From what started as an after-class get together with her McGill professor Carl Begie over a drink, this has expanded into a well researched and documented salon, few in the world can revival.
It changes lives
By Katherine Waters on December 27, 2010
My husband David and I weren't sure what to expect at our first Wednesday Night. We'd heard that several economists, stockbrokers, investment counsellors, bankers attended. Would a journalist and an English Lit professor of socialist inclinations and little disposable income fit in?
A magnificent and unanticipated pleasure!
By Prof. Guy Stanley on December 27, 2010
The Italian historian Benedatta Craveri remarks in l’Âge de la conversation (Gallimard 2002) that the conversation of the Salon over the course of a century or more, beginning in the 17th century after the the French wars of religion, developed a civilizing ideal of social conduct based on courtesy and mutual pleasure. Over the course of its development, as other historians noted (e.g. Anne Martin Fugier in her account of Les salons de la Troisième Républic (Perrin/Tempus 2009)) the ideal of sociable conversation deepened as participation broadened to include writers, artists, and politicians.
A Special Thanks to David and Diana Nicholson for Wednesday Nights
By The Hon. John Ciaccia on December 27, 2010
We are grateful for the opportunities you have given us to meet, to talk , to sometimes dispute but always to enjoy your company and that of the many and varied people who have joined you on Wednesday Night.
You have opened your home and your hearts to us all. We have been fortunate to have had this oasis in the midst of apathy inattention and confusion. A place where the events of the time will have been reviewed, discussed, discarded, embraced but never overlooked. They have enriched us all- and left us yearning for more.
To be or not to be, is still the big question
By P.A. Sévigny on December 27, 2010
While death and taxes continue to be the two immutable factors of modern life, questions raised by legal euthanasia seemed to be less concerned with the inevitable end of life as opposed to the where, when and especially how the lights get turned off.
“It’s not so much about if we’re going to die,” said Dr. Stephen Liben. “It’s all about how we’re going to die.”
Guns and money running for the exits: Timidity and introspection characterize the latest G20 and NATO summits
By Robert Presser on December 27, 2010
Two important international meetings took place in November – the G20 met in Seoul and NATO met in Lisbon. While one is an international economic forum and the other is a military alliance originally conceived to prevent Soviet agression, their outcomes are linked by a lack of vigour and funding. The flaccid direction from both of these summits does not bode well for the near future of economic cooperation nor for a coordinated response to serious threats from Iran, the Taliban/Al Qaida and North Korea.
Will the IMF bailout help Ireland recover from the debt crisis?
By Arthur-Paul Strigini on December 27, 2010
How will the Irish economy recover from the debt crisis? Will the bailout plan work? And will the Irish economy bounce back quickly? How will the Irish people be affected by this situation? These are some of the questions one can ask after the events of the last few weeks.
Supreme Court compromises home privacy
By Beryl Wajsman on December 1, 2010
We have all heard the expression that a “person’s home is their castle.” It is more than a saying. It has for hundreds of years been incorporated into the body of our laws. Clearly one can understand that there are certain exceptions. If we hear some horrible scream or smell or smoke coming from our neighbour’s home or apartment we would be irresponsible not to call the appropriate authorities and they would be perfectly right to come and investigate. But how do you feel about information collected about you through the endless panoply of wires and meters governing our abodes being handed over to public security authority? A great danger we think. Yet that is what the Supreme Court has opened the door to.
La crise d’Octobre: l’arbre qui nous cache la forêt
By Pierre K. Malouf on November 4, 2010
Déjà quarante ans ! Il fallait commémorer la crise d’Octobre. Les journaux, la télé, la radio ont fait oeuvre utile. Les survivants ont révisé leurs rôles, raccommodé leurs costumes, retouché leur maquillage, puis, devant un vaste parterre de journalistes et de commentateurs brandissant micros et caméras, ont récité et mimé des bribes de la tragédie qu’ils avaient improvisée il y a quarante ans. Quiconque a vécu ces événements et lu ce qui s’est dit et publié ensuite, ressort de l’exercice de cet automne avec une impression de déjà-vu. Pour ne parler que d’eux, que nous ont dit Jacques Lanctôt, Paul Rose, Robert Comeau, Marc Lalonde, Jérôme Choquette, Julien Giguère que nous ne savions déjà ? Qu’ont découvert les journalistes ? Quelles nouvelles pistes d’interprétation les commentateurs ont-ils tracées?
Les faits oubliés de la Crise d’octobre
By Bernard Amyot on November 4, 2010
Il y a quarante ans le 5 octobre 1970, commençait la désormais célèbre Crise d’octobre avec l’enlèvement de James Richard Cross, diplomate britannique, par des terroristes du Front de libération du Québec (« FLQ »), prétextant agir au nom de la sécession du Québec et de la révolution marxiste. Le 10 octobre, ils enlevaient Pierre Laporte, fraîchement élu Ministre du travail du Québec, alors qu’il jouait au ballon avec son neveu dans la cour avant de sa maison de la rive sud de Montréal. Il sera assassiné par ses kidnappeurs 7 jours plus tard.
The October Crisis and the Destruction of the “Canayen” Culture
By Graeme Decarie on November 4, 2010
The young professor snapped his pencil in half in an act of passionate drama. “We must define our culture,” he said. The heads of his colleagues nodded. They had to protect their culture, of course. And they were determined to do so. But first they had to figure out what it was.
Who are the victims of Quebec bashing?
By Dan Laxer on November 4, 2010
Gilles Rhéaume and his Ligue Québécoise contre la francophobie canadienne are heading to the United Nations to ask the Human Rights Committee to denounce “Quebec bashing” as a form of racism, discrimination, and xenophobia.
Quebec: The most insecure province
By Dan Delmar on November 4, 2010
Witnessing a hysterical Pauline Marois shrieking in the National Assembly a few days ago, describing the Québécois as a “petit people” could be interpreted as one of many signs that this province has lost its way; that it is the societal equivalent of a 13-year-old with adolescent angst and a desire to angrily lash out against authority figures.
Marois’ fit provided a rare moment of honesty and insight into the attitudes of Quebec’s sovereignist political class. The leader of the Parti Québécois wants to lead a small people – in numbers, surrounded by Anglo North America, yes – but does she also want to lead a weak people; lost, confused and distracted by the red herrings of petty linguistic squabbles?
Reseau Liberté-Québec! Quebec`s freedom network is born
By Alan Hustak on November 4, 2010
You may not have heard of the Quebec Freedom Network, but you will now. They turned people away at the door so full was its opening meeting in Quebec City this past weekend. Over 500 people listened to Ezra Levant, Tasha Kheiriddin, Adam Daifallah and Eric Duhaime advocate for a freer, less invasive Quebec state with a dramatically reduced bureaucracy and a greater emphasis on self-reliance. The next gathering of the Reseau Liberte- Quebec will be in Montreal, perhaps even on the West Island
Words do matter: Time to end the waste of so many
By Beryl Wajsman on November 4, 2010
A local media ad campaign has used the slogan “words matter” for some time. Sadly that is not getting through to our intelligentsia. Words should matter and we shouldn’t waste so much time arguing what language they are spoken in.
Vera 1944-2010
By Alan Hustak on November 4, 2010
Vera Danyluk’s anger over the attempted rape of a young teenager in Montreal’s quiet, upscale Town of Mount Royal neighbourhood 40 years ago led her into a life of public service when she co-founded a Women’s Committee on Public Safety. The committee began demanding better police protection, and it helped launch her distinguished career in public service. She went on to win a seat on council, four elections as mayor of Town of Mount Royal, today a municipality in Montreal’s recently re-constituted system of municipal government, and served for eight years as Chairman of the Montreal Urban Community’s now defunct regional authority.
