Thousand Words
By . on September 2, 2009
Un sujet sans importance
By Pierre K. Malouf on September 2, 2009
La question n’a aucune importance, mais elle est souvent posée de diverses manières qui se ressemblent toutes : quelle différence y a-t-il entre la droite et la gauche ? Telle mesure proposée par tel parti, par tel groupe de pression, tel penseur, doit-elle être classée à droite ou à gauche ? De quel bord de l’éventail situer, par exemple, le manifeste des Lucides, la réplique des Solidaires, le rapport Monmarquette, Bouchard-Taylor ? Hors le sexe de l’individu concerné, comment distinguer un homme de droite d’une femme de gauche, une femme de droite d’un homme de gauche ? Toujours la même question stérile, que quelques événements récents ont ramenée sur tapis. Vous me pardonnerez de la traiter ici avec quelque légèreté...
A campaign of chaotic vanity « …le public est ennuyé par les politiques de la grande ville… »
By Alan Hustak on September 2, 2009
Gerald Tremblay is on the ropes. The momentum is with his nemisis Louise Harel. What is shaping up is a municipal election campaign of chaotic vanity. In the past few weeks so many candidates have been jockeying for position that you need a program to know who they are and what they stand for.
..Gerald and Louise Take a Tram Ride
By Robert Presser on September 2, 2009
Since Montreal is apparently flush with cash to undertake new infrastructure projects, a study by engineering consortium Genivar-Systra was commissioned to demonstrate the viability of a 12 kilometre tramway network for Montreal. The cost is estimated at $500-$750 million dollars, depending on the scope of secondary infrastructure work that is included in the study. But what would a trip on a Montreal tramway really look like? Imagine if we could take a ride on the Guy Street to Jean Talon line?
Vision sets its sights on Ville-Marie
By P.A. Sévigny on September 2, 2009
With less than a month left to go before the start of Montreal’s municipal election campaign, Louise Harel’s team is already up to speed with 10 more weeks to go before next November’s election. While Harel’s charm offensive is winning converts all over the city, she’s still letting everyone know she won’t back down from a fight-any fight...
Closing Peel Street bad idea
By P.A. Sévigny on September 2, 2009
Last July, the entire section of Peel Street between Sherbrooke St. and De Maisonneuve Blvd.was closed after a decorative slab of concrete weighing 135 kilos fell out of its 18th floor casement, killing Léa Guilbeault, 33 and permanently injuring her husband Hani Beitinjaneh. After Guilbeault’s body was taken away, city fire and security officials immediately closed the street as a security precaution against further incidents and possible injuries. Six weeks later, Peel Street is still closed and local business people wonder why the Tremblay administration can’t do anything about it...
Le libéralisme face à l’homophobie islamofasciste
By Daniel Laprès on September 2, 2009
Le dimanche 16 août dernier, au moins 100 000 spectateurs assistaient au défilé de la Fierté gaie de Montréal. Le parti libéral du Canada a profité de l’occasion pour rappeler que c’est un gouvernement libéral qui, il y a 40 ans, avait légalisé l’homosexualité au Canada. Accompagnés de quelques dizaines de militants libéraux,cinq députés libéraux ont participé au défilé en arborant fièrement des affiches dont le slogan ne manquait ni d’originalité ni de saveur : « 69 une position libérale ». Il fallait effectivement y penser...
Ending homophobia
By Jessica Murphy on September 2, 2009
Quebec’s wide-ranging, inter-ministerial action plan against homophobia, years in the making, is expected to be tabled this fall.
The action plan uses as its framework the recommendations put forward by the Quebec human rights commission’s 2007 report into homophobia in the province.
Comfort and dependency
By Akil Alleyne on September 2, 2009
I will never forget the surprise and disappointment I felt as a child when I first discovered that the word used to describe opponents of Quebec sovereignty was “federalist”. Even at the tender age of ten, I was dismayed that as Canada teetered on the brink of dissolution, this dry, wishy-washy term was the best its principal defenders could do. “Federalist”? Nothing more stirring, such as perhaps “loyalist”? Not even merely “unionist”? “Federalist”?
Cotler invites government to adopt anti-genocide Iran Accountability Act
By Beryl Wajsman on September 2, 2009
In a press conference held in his riding of Mount Royal, MP Irwin Cotler made two significant announcements related to his Iran Accountability Act (IAA). The first was an invitation to the government to adopt the Act as its own legislation thereby assuring passage of the already broadly supported measure. The second was a plan for a comprehensive international community strategy...
EMK: “And the last shall be first...”
By Beryl Wajsman on September 2, 2009
When John Kennedy was elected President he gave his youngest brother a silver cigarette case with the scriptural verse from the Gospels of Matthew and Mark “…and the last shall be first…” engraved within. Whether they were intended as words of aspiration or inspiration, Edward Moore Kennedy – overcoming so many personal demons – rose to their hope and to their promise. His legislative legacy, more than anyone in the post-war era, became the first line of defence for hundreds of millions of the vulnerable whose concerns are too often last in the minds of lawmakers in their ivory towers.
L'équivalence morale, ou l'hypocrisie occidentale
By Jacques Brassard on September 2, 2009
Il est coutumier, en Occident, dans les médias, chez les universitaires s'affichant experts et dans la classe politique, de pratiquer, à l'égard du conflit israélo-arabe, ce qu'on peut appeler l'«imposture de l'équivalence morale». Un exemple récent: l'opinion d'un ancien Premier ministre du Québec, Bernard Landry, dans sa chronique publiée par la revue La Semaine...
Learning from “Teachable Moments”
By David T. Jones on September 2, 2009
This summer for Americans has seen the return of the “teachable moment.” That is, in my rough definition of such, a circumstance or development from which a lesson about life, society, politics, etc can be drawn.
Our interlock in this instance, has been the interaction between Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates (an African American), Cambridge police sergeant James Crowley (a Caucasian), and U.S. President Barack Obama. Although the outlines of this event are relatively well known, they deserve recounting.
Kip
By Beryl Wajsman on September 2, 2009
I’ve often said that the word vacation doesn’t exist in my life. I feel privileged to be able to do advocacy and journalism . You get used to not having normal routines. Perhaps I never wanted them in the first place. So you live your life out there – on the edge - available, attackable, accessible. And you get used to pretty much all sorts of tragic stories and appeals. But every now and then there is one that not only ignites a fury that propels you to act, but also floods you with sadness that moves you to reflect.
On the morality of bottled water
By Dan Delmar on September 2, 2009
Journalists are often invited to all kinds of launch parties, cinq à septs, premieres; it’s one of the perks of the job. Most are fairly unremarkable and formulaic: Wine, women, tapas and, “hey, are you going to mention how revolutionary ‘Product A’ or ‘Politician B’ is in your article?” Not likely, no. But thanks for the chicken skewers...
Piperberg's World
By Roy Piperberg on September 2, 2009
An older society does not mean a poorer one!
By Vincent Geloso on September 2, 2009
Economists, pundits and public policy makers have been trying to convince us for sometime now that the economy will soon face a very difficult challenge: that of an aging population. The concern is two-fold. As Canada’s new grey-haired population retires, the labour force will shrink thus slowing down economic growth. A recent study by the Caisses Desjardins in Quebec declared that the “growth of potential GDP (the economy’s long-term average growth rate) would drop substantially by 2021”. The problems is that the rising share of Canadians above 65 years old who consume services will rise from 13.7% in 2006 to 23.4% in 2031 according to Statistics Canada. Some provinces like Quebec could get close to 30%. Thus there will be more elders for every worker left. Globe & Mail columnist Jeffrey Simpson concluded from similar studies that “government finances will weaken: few tax revenues, more spending, chronic deficits, more debt. Health-care and education budgets will be squeezed”.
Grand symphonic gala celebrates 75 glorious years
By Naomi Gold on September 2, 2009
Montreal's beloved symphony orchestra recently staged its 11th annual ball at Windsor Station and proved to be this year's premier sensory-pleasing fundraiser. A symphony of incredibly tantalizing delights for the eyes, palates and ears, the benefit soirée pulled out all the proverbial stops, as some 500 guests fêted their local orchestral treasure.
« … et j’ai signé : Étoile »
By Louise V. Labrecque on September 2, 2009
Nous vivons une époque exceptionnelle de l’histoire de l’humanité. En effet, nous sommes enfin sortis des mythes anciens qui décrivaient, d’une manière ou d’une autre, la création de l’Univers. En somme, nous voilà sortis d’une vision du monde qui traçait invariablement une frontière entre le Ciel et la Terre, le Bien et le Mal. Ces mythes plaçaient la Terre au centre de l’Univers, tel un nombril originel, et la religion était, de ce fait, profondément imprégnée des idées d’Aristote. Toutefois, lorsque Galilée découvrit des détails astronomiques dans le Ciel divin, nous étions déjà passés de l’autre côté du miroir. Et nous savons aujourd’hui l’impact que ses observations eurent sur l’avenir de la civilisation en général et sur la recherche scientifique en particulier.
