Quote of the week:

“People throw up, but it’s not because of the alcohol. They just consume too much carbonated liquid at the same time.” —McGill management student “Jonathan,” explaining the rowdy behaviour at his faculty’s week-long Carnaval, in Tuesday’s Journal three-page exposé

Hotline for Muslims

Following the vandalization of two mosques in Laval and the stabbing of an imam, the Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM) has set up a hotline to document the apparent rise in anti-Muslim incidents.

“A large number of Muslims have been talking to me about how their wives and children, especially their daughters, have been verbally abused when they go out and do their shopping,” says Salam Elmenyawi, president of the umbrella group representing about 40 local Muslim groups. “So we decided to have an open hotline to document the incidents of hate crimes.”

Among the more violent incidents was the stabbing on Feb. 10 of Fayçal Zirari, a 31-year-old prayer leader originally from Algeria. Zirari was hospitalized over the weekend with wounds to his arm and thigh. He was recuperating earlier this week at Jean-Talon Hospital. Both Zirari and his attacker, however, are facing deportation charges.

The purpose of the hotline, says Elmenyawi, reached over the phone at the hospital, is to get facts to back up the claims of harassment, and present them to authorities. The hotline’s number is 585-8911. —Patrick Lejtenyi

Haiti night in Montreal

Montreal-based independent journalist Aaron Lakoff doesn’t just want to cover Haitian politics: he wants to uncover it.

Recently returned from a month in the impoverished island nation, Lakoff describes the mainstream version of events in Haiti as “racist misinformation” that reflect Canada’s foreign policy, but not democracy.

“Conveniently absent from most analysis is Canada’s shameful role in orchestrating and participating in the coup [of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide],” says Lakoff. “Now we’re supporting the elections which many Haitians call ‘selections.’”

Lakoff and fellow independent journalists Leslie Bagg and Darren Ell will give a slideshow presentation on Sunday, Feb. 19 at Studio XX (338 Terrasse St-Denis, doors 7 p.m., suggested donation $5). They’ll be joined by former Haitian cabinet minister and human rights monitor Patrick Elie. Members of Montreal’s Creole community will chime in with spoken word and Haitian music.

Organized by CKUT and Haiti-Action Montreal, the events are timed to commemorate the two-year anniversary of the coup, with a public march on Feb. 25. Starting Monday, Feb. 20, a week of special programming on Haiti’s past and present travails can be heard on 90.3 FM. —Elise Hugus

Black ’60s re-examined

In the 1960s, this fair isle was lit with transformation far more significant than the trashing of thin-lapelled suits for psychedelic flares. Long-held social conventions were ditched and consciousness was reinvented. The Afro-Montreal community was not exempt.

“The ’60s was a time of crystallization for the black community here,” says David Austin, founder of the Alfie Roberts Institute, a Montreal black advocacy organization. “It was a time when a number of community organizations and a whole variety of programs came into being. Those years aren’t duly acknowledged, even in our community.”

The group will revisit those times at an all-day session on Saturday, Feb. 18, at the UNIA Hall (2741 Notre-Dame W.) from 10 a.m., entitled “Rebellion, Protest, and Change: Reflections on the 1960s and the Development of Montreal’s Black Community,” featuring speakers that include local black historian Dorothy Williams and UCLA prof Robert A. Hill. Visitors should expect much chin-wagging about the famous 1969 Sir George Williams anti-racism riots. “That was an important turning point,” says Austin. —Kristian Gravenor

Check your love

So Valentine’s Day has come and gone and, even after lavishing your baby with an obscenely overpriced box of heart-shaped chocolates, are you finding he/she still hates you as much as ever? Are you beginning to think about how good it might feel to finally bury the inconsiderate bitch/bastard and be on your own again, with full licence to explore the sexual tryst you’ve been contemplating with that sexy, older janitor couple living in the basement?

Well, not so soon there, soulmates. This Saturday, Feb. 18, the Montreal Therapy Centre will be presenting their second annual Valentine’s Day Relationship Check-up at the Queen Elizabeth Health Complex (2100 Marlowe, suite 534), highlighted by an interactive workshop focusing on bettering communication within intimate relationships.

“There are so many small things couples can change that drastically improve relationships,” says organizer Rebecca Murray, “and the workshop offers a starting point for couples beginning to explore their own relationships.”

Ten bucks buys you a reservation. Go to www.montrealtherapy.com for more information. —Chris Barry

REAR-VIEW MIRROR

13 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
Feb. 18–Feb. 25, 1993

On the cover: Animators Wendy Tilby and Michael Mills, as the Mirror investigates the lousy working conditions in the local animation industry. For those working outside the NFB, says indie animator Gerard Betts, “to make your own film, you have to find the funding.” Other problems include distribution and bureaucratic red tape.

• French filmmaker Bernard Tavernier defends his film L627, which looks at drug use in France, against charges of racism. “One of these uncomfortable realities is the fact that many drug dealers on the streets of Paris are black or from Arab countries,” he says. “If I’d wanted to be politically correct, I could easily have avoided showing this.”

• For blues guitarist and car accident survivor John Campbell, “Music came at a time when I was very aware of my own mortality.”

• A film listings photo pays tribute to “Our Huckleberry Friend,” the recently deceased Audrey Hepburn. The Mirror urges readers to “leave work early” to see her in My Fair Lady at the Paris.

Angel >> Sex Britain’s National Health Service is now recommending that those too busy to join a gym or engage in regular exercise burn their calories by doing the horizontal mambo. A good shag, says the NHS, uses every muscle group, gives the heart and lungs a work-out and burns about 300 calories an hour. Furthermore, endorphins released during orgasm stimulate immune system cells, which help fight everything from cancer to wrinkles. With a Canadian report showing that fat, lazy baby boomers are at serious risk thanks to overeating and an inactive lifestyle, it may be high time they get back to that free love thing they had going back in the ’60s.
Insect >> McDonald’s It’s been a bad week for Mickey Dee’s. Besides admitting recently to what’s been dubbed “Fatgate”—that its large fries contain eight grams of trans rather than six, as previously claimed, and have more total fat (30 grams rather than 25) and more calories (570 rather than 520)—it now admits its fries, previously labelled gluten-free, contain extracts from dairy and wheat products. This is a problem not only for consumers who actually believe what chains say about their products, but also for people who suffer from certain food allergies. Since 2002, the company has settled two lawsuits, worth a combined $18.5-million (U.S.), for misleading consumers about its cooking oil.