Quote of the week:

“One does not abruptly decide, between the first and second vodka…, that the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion are valid after all.” —Slate.com columnist Christopher Hitchens, doubting the sincerity of Mel Gibson’s apology following his drunken anti-Semitic outburst last weekend

Red Cross benefit for Lebanon

Like thousands of other Lebanese-Canadians, Montrealer Marc Dfouni felt compelled to do something after witnessing the destruction of his home country on television these past three weeks.

“There’s a lot of humanitarian need over there right now,” says Dfouni, who has family living in Beirut. “Everyone’s trying to do their own piece.”

For his part, Dfouni decided to raise money for the Red Cross by organizing a benefit concert to help the Lebanese population, which takes place this Thursday, Aug. 3, at SAT (1195 St-Laurent). The evening will feature music by Patrick Watson and Lhasa de Sela, as well as an auction of works by local photographer Brigitte Henri.

Lebanese officials say that up to 750 civilians may have been killed so far, a third of them children. Hundreds of thousands of others have been internally displaced, and aid groups are warning of impending famine and disease.

The concert begins at 8 p.m., and tickets cost $10. All proceeds go to the Canadian Red Cross. For more details, call 577-6000. You can also make a donation at www.donatelebanon.com. —Christopher Hazou

Plundering the Outgames

Uncork yer bungholes, me squiffies! Radical queer scallywags the Anti-Capitalist Asspirates are holding a “Busting the Outgames” party at Zoobizarre (6488 St-Hubert) on Saturday, Aug. 5, to bring attention to police targeting the marginalized street population during tourist season.

“We want to draw attention to the negative impact the Outgames has on marginalized segments of the population, including street workers and the homeless,” says Asspirate Michael Reeson. Sex worker and homeless rights groups say police usually target prostitutes and homeless youth during tourist season, especially this summer, as the Outgames take over many of their traditional stomping grounds. Viger Square, now used as a fairground by the Outgames, was cleared of street youth ahead of the games.

“The Asspirates... reject the trend of the displacement of the poor and marginalized in favour of capitalist consumption and tourism,” says the Asspirates statement, which promises a night of dancing, watersports—“the dirty kind”—and “games you’ve never heard of.”

The party starts at 11 p.m. Suggested donation is $4; the Asspirates are trying to raise funds after being robbed at a previous fundraiser. — Samer Elatrash

Gay old times

Among the dozens of groups present at the Outgames’ Grand Rendez-vous Community Fair this weekend will be the Aînés et retraités de la communauté (ARC). The organization for elderly gay men is currently developing the city’s first gay residential complex as a result of growing demands from its members.

In fact, a McGill study published in March shed light on the discrimination experienced by queers in senior homes, likening it to what high school homosexuals are subjected to.

“During our entire lives, we could never open up about personal matters at work or with our families,” says ARC member Renaud Paré. “We don’t want to relive our closeted years.”

Located minutes away from Rosemont metro, the apartment building for low- to middle-income seniors will include about 120 apartments, half of which ARC will own. The $12-million non-profit venture is heavily subsidized by federal, provincial and municipal governments and should see the light of day by fall 2008.

For info on ARC’s upcoming activities, stop by their kiosk on August 5, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., corner of Berri and Ste-Catherine. —Michael-Oliver Harding

Muslim fashionistas

Women and the way they dress is often a source of discussion and confusion, and fashion in the Muslim world is no exception. Why, for instance, do Muslim women have to cover their heads, or in more dramatic cases, their entire bodies?

A new exhibit coming to Montreal is going to try to offer some answers. Organized by Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML), an information and support network for women living in Muslim communities around the world, Muslim Women’s Dress Codes and Modes opens tonight, Aug. 3, at the downtown YMCA (1440 Stanley) at 6 p.m. The exhibit is sponsored by Montreal-based human rights group Rights and Democracy, the Canadian Council of Muslim Women and Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan. The purpose, says Rights and Democracy’s Lauryn Oates, isn’t to condone or praise any particular type of dress.

“We want to look at the history of dress codes in the Muslim world,” she says. “Is it politics, or is it choice? We want to take the discussion to a more sophisticated level.”

The exhibit runs until Aug. 24. —Patrick Lejtenyi

REAR-VIEW MIRROR

21 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
Aug. 1–Aug. 15, 1985

On the cover: Media personality Coco (aka Douglas Leopold), who in a profile voices opinions on everything from rude McGill secretaries (“Even when I tell them who I am, they’re still rude!”), the police (“The guys at Stations 30, 33, 24 and 25 are smasharoonies”) to commerce (Montreal should “become the equivalent of a Swiss banking zone”).

• Montreal is chopping its firefighting force, resulting in more housefire deaths. “In 1971 1.9 persons per 100,000 died in fires,” reports the Mirror. “By 1982 the figure had doubled to 3.8. In the same period over 500 firefighters left the force. Montreal now has just 1,750 firefighters.”

• A photo caption acknowledges the Gruesomes as “Montreal’s sharpest haircuts.”

• When making the doc Pumping Iron II: The Women, director George Butler says he needed “another Schwarzenegger—a kind of visitor from another planet.” He found one in Melbourne, Australia’s Bev Francis.

• The Mirror declares “August in Montreal is a dead zone. Almost like Toronto.” Thus it will not publish on Aug. 15.

Angel >> Banning ad trucks Next month, the downtown Ville-Marie borough will be taking to court three companies that run those annoying ad trucks, the ones that amble aimlessly around city streets doing nothing but taking up space, choking traffic and spewing gas fumes. Despite having a bylaw against mobile ads, the city tolerated the trucks for a while. But a couple of years ago, Ville-Marie began issuing tickets on its own for breaking the bylaw and for traffic violations. Here’s hoping that other boroughs will step up and start cracking down on these nasty eyesores. The case is scheduled to be heard in court September 12.
Insect >> HIV/AIDS ignorance A new report by the federal Public Health Agency revealed a startling fact this week: about a quarter of the estimated 58,000 Canadians living with HIV/AIDS don’t know they’re infected. The PHA thinks there are around 15,000 people who don’t know they carry the virus that causes AIDS, leaving them hidden from health care professionals and monitoring systems. The rate of infection may also be rising—it’s estimated there were between 2,300 and 4,500 new infections in 2005, up from 2,100 and 4,000 in 2002. The good news is people are living longer with the infection, thanks to improved treatment and drugs.