Quote of the week:

"The only problem I have is with all the journalists coming into my store." - an anonymous South Shore dep owner, on the fall-out from reports that Karla Homolka is alive and well and working in a Longueuil hardware store

Equiterre to the UN

Montreal plays host to a massive United Nations conference on climate change this fall, and local environmental group Equiterre has the very big task of helping coordinate it. During the conference, which runs from Nov. 28 to Dec. 9, Equiterre will be in charge of providing logistical support to some 3,000 to 4,000 observer-status members of environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs). It's a job Equiterre and their organizing partner Climate Action Network Canada have been asking for.

"When the Kyoto Protocol entered into force in February 2005, our two groups pressured Environment Canada to host this conference," says Equiterre's David Pagé. "We have a lot of contacts in the government because of all the actions we've done over the years to get Canada to reach its Kyoto goals and to ratify the treaty."

In the weeks leading up to November, Equiterre and other Quebec environmental groups will be organizing a series of educational and planning conferences. "We plan on having a lot of American NGOs coming up," says Pagé. "We want to develop our strategy for the conference and how we can propose alternatives." » Patrick Lejtenyi

Elephants and you

The Shriners' Circus is coming to the Carrefour Angrignon this weekend, and that means animal rights activists aren't happy. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and their Montreal counterparts, Global Action Network (GAN), say that besides treating their animals, particularly elephants, cruelly, the circus is putting human lives in danger.

"There are two different threats," GAN's Andrew Plumbly says of close pachyderm contact. "The first is the physical threat, and the second is the threat of disease, especially tuberculosis. Tests for TB are very inaccurate, and the virus can vary from dormant to active in a very short time."

Down at PETA HQ in Norfolk, Virginia, Lisa Wathne, their specialist on captive exotic animals, has been collecting figures on how lethal elephants can be to humans. "Since 1990, elephants have caused 12 human deaths and over 100 human injuries," she says. "Outside of the U.S., again since 1990, there have been 55 human deaths and 40 human injuries."

While GAN won't be protesting this Shriners' Circus, they will be handing out anti-circus literature at another, non-Shriners', circus in Montreal next month. » Patrick Lejtenyi

Cat saving tips

Dolores Duquette has worked with Montreal animal rescue operations for 25 years and still feels too many pet cats are dying needlessly. "This summer I heard of five cats that fell from high rises and, no, they don't have nine lives," she says. Cats left on balconies are often unaware of their advanced elevation and fall to their deaths, a kitty phenomenon known as High Rise Syndrome. "It was the worst summer I've seen for this problem," she says.

For those who insist on leaving their cats on elevated balconies, she recommends chicken wire to prevent cats climbing onto ledges.

Duquette says many cats also drown in backyard pools, sometimes after tumbling in off a less-than-sturdy tarpaulin cover. "Autumn is coming, and people often don't empty their pools," she says.

She'd like to see commonly available anti-drowning pool alarms made mandatory and suggests pool owners also leave floats in the water to allow an errant cat a fighting chance to escape a watery death. » Kristian Gravenor

More art for sale

How would you like to pick up some quality local art and do a little something for the community while you're at it?

The good people at the Thomas More Institute (TMI) will be holding their 42nd annual art exhibition and sale at the Loto-Québec building (500 Sherbrooke W.) from Wednesday, Aug. 31 until Saturday, Sept.10, and, if the past 41 years are anything to go by, much primo art by many of the province's top visual artists will be up for grabs at some very friendly prices.

The non-profit TMI is currently celebrating its 60th year of life on the planet, and is well-known and respected for its many first-rate educational outreach programs, effectively getting a little learnin' in to everyone from the inmates at the Cowansville penitentiary to the immobile yet stimulation-starved elderly individuals merrily living out life at your nearby old age home.

According to organizer Tony Joseph, this year's exhibit "will be one of the most interesting yet - including new pieces by both Tobie Steinhouse and Noreen Mallory!"

For more info, see www.thomasmore.qc.ca. » Chris Barry

REAR-VIEW MIRROR

13 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
August 27–Sept. 3, 1992

On the cover: A collage of images from Batman, Edward Scissorhands and Frankenweenie, as the World Film Fest prepares its tribute to Tim Burton, who doesn't feel comfortable in Hollywood. "You always feel a little flow of hatred among [Hollywood types]."

• A photo shows two cops in riot gear outside Concordia following Valery Fabrikant's rampage that ended with three professors dead and two wounded.

• Citing sexual assault, hazing, elitism and racism - Natalie Seltzer from Concordia's Women's Defense Committee offers this advice to female students interested in attending frat parties: "Don't go."

• "I don't know why Elvis is following me around," says Nicolas Cage, referring to his career and the impersonators in Honeymoon in Vegas.

• "Here are six songs that can best be described as sour bubblegum," reads the review of Sloan's Peppermint EP.

• The Mirror's fourth annual music directory compiles over 450 bands and artists, from A Dream I Had ("International Rock") to Zekuhl ("Worldbeat").

Angel >> California The Golden State has always been at the forefront of vehicle-emission standards, and new regulations have toughened them even more. Now, rather than adopt weaker federal standards (to say nothing of Canada's abysmal, virtually non-existent ones), voters in Oregon and Washington chose to adopt Californian standards (under the U.S. Clean Air Act, states can either adopt federal standards or Californian standards). Six northeastern states, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Vermont, chose to follow California as well. Together, the nine states represent about a third of the entire American auto market, and the hope is they'll force carmakers to tighten emissions control themselves. The auto industry is suing California over its new standards.
Insect >> Anti-video game hysteria Following the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas "Hot Coffee" mod controversy earlier this month comes another arrow in the quiver of video game foes. The American Psychological Association (APA) last week issued a statement calling on video game makers to tone down violence in games directed at minors, saying exposure increases their aggression in the short term. This same argument's been made about TV, rock 'n' roll and even comics. The APA also wants to overhaul the games ratings system, so they "accurately reflect" content. Game makers, however, say the APA "continues to disregard" many other scientific studies that dispel that myth, and that violent games are already rated for mature audiences only.