Quote of the week

“It’s very possible that as soon as the election ends, President Bush could commute or issue a pardon.” —Former U.S. prosecutor and attorney Jacob Frenkel, on Conrad Black, in Tuesday’s Globe and Mail.

Terrasses ho!

Spring is on its way (really!), and with it comes the annual tradition of soaking up rays and drinking outdoors. And Montrealers—more specifically, people in the Plateau—will have many more opportunities to do so this year. Last week, the borough announced that it will be issuing permits to establishments that want to open up sidewalk terrasses, following a successful pilot project on Mont-Royal Avenue last year. St-Laurent, Sherbrooke, Bernard, Rachel and Laurier W. were mentioned as newly terrasse-friendly by Marc Snyder, a borough rep.

Permits will be issued as long as the terrasses are six feet from the establishment’s entrance, meaning they will hug the street and leave a corridor for pedestrians, baby carriages and wheelchairs.

Snyder says there isn’t a set date for terrasses to open, but, “Obviously, we’re relying on people’s intelligence not to put out a terrasse in February when there’s a foot of snow on the ground,” he says. “But as soon as it all melts, well, then, go.”

He does say that certain aesthetic criteria will apply, so no cheap backyard patio furniture, please. “Our wish is for things to look good,” he says.

Bar owners seeking permits should receive approval in five to seven business days, he says.

Votes on Daily

The McGill Daily newspaper has been asking questions for 97 years, but next week, McGill’s administration will be asking a tough question of its own—namely, whether students should continue funding The Daily and its sister publication, Le Délit.

Independent student groups like CKUT radio and The Daily have to renegotiate their agreements with the university every five years. But a policy enacted last year requires that groups first face a referendum asking students to reaffirm their support. The newspapers’ funding may be amputated if more voters check the “No” box.

“The university is making completion of the [agreement] dependent on the outcome of this referendum,” says coordinating editor Drew Nelles. Putting the newspapers’ fates in students’ hands every five years negates existing mechanism that already ensure the newspapers stay accountable to students, he says. He points out that if ever students have a serious beef with either paper, they can organize a referendum themselves, as they’ve done in the past.

Nelles says the Yes Committee will emphasize the newspapers’ history, commitment to journalism and contribution to student life.

McGill undergrads can vote online March 8–14 at electionsmcgill.ca. For more info, visit savethedaily.ca.

by TRACEY LINDEMAN

Night of
eco docs

The non-profit Intercultural Movement for the Environment inaugurates what organizers hope will be a regular series of documentary short film screenings examining environmental issues and cultural attitudes with EcoCinema this Sunday, March 9.

“Every second Sunday, we’re planning on showing movies, something that one of our members can talk about personally,” says Hong Kong-born IME co-founder Sandra Lee.

The first line-up focuses on electronic waste with The Digital Dump: Exporting Re-Use and Abuse to Africa and Exporting Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia. Screenings will be in English followed by a bilingual discussion period featuring speakers from the regions in question.

“There are two aspects we’re trying to work on,” Lee says. “One is trying to get the green movements to involve more cultural communities, and at the same time we’re trying to engage the cultural communities to engage the green movement.”

The response has been positive from both sides, according to Lee, and the IME is looking for backing to continue their work.

EcoCinema takes place at the Maison de l’Amitié (120 Duluth E.) on Sunday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. For info, visit miemontreal.wordpress.com. Free.

by CHRIS HAZOU

SPP scrutiny

According to the Government of Canada Web site, the Security and Prosperity Partnership is “an ongoing dialogue that seeks to address common challenges, strengthen security and enhance the quality of life for the citizens of Canada, the United States, and Mexico.” To many critics, though, the SPP is “NAFTA on crack,” a shady collusion between governments and multinationals that undermines national sovereignty and threatens everything from food safety standards to workers’ rights and the environment.

“It’s a kind of coup d’état because it’s negotiated in secret behind closed doors, and only the big multinationals are privy to the negotiations,” says Nadia Alexan, founder of Citizens in Action, a “progressive group of concerned citizens, dedicated to economic and social justice.”

Alexan and company pose the question, “Is the Security & Prosperity Partnership a threat to our democracy?” this Tuesday, March 11, at Concordia’s Hall Building (1455 de Maisonneuve W., room 760), at 7 p.m., part of a monthly series of free public conferences. Civil rights attorney Julius Grey will be the featured speaker.

“They don’t want any scrutiny of what they’re doing,” says Alexan. “If it were good for Canadians, why not put it out in public?”

For more info, call (514) 846-0644.

by CHRIS HAZOU

Rear-view mirror

18 YEARS AGO - MARCH. 8–15, 1990

On the cover: Chet Baker, for Bruce Weber’s Let’s Get Lost, opening at the Paris. “He possessed a certain duality,” says Weber. “One minute, he was like a bad guy from a Sam Peckinpah Western, and the next, he was a romantic kid from a George Stevens movie.”
•Marketing companies’ databases are encroaching on our privacy, resulting in a “fairly integrated monitoring of individuals in Western countries,” says University of Western Ontario’s David Flaherty. “We need to think about the implications of such surveillance practices for the protection of human rights.”
•The Grammys were notable, notes Jenny Ross, “for the one funny line of Gary Shandling’s career: ‘There’s a new award this year for the music that annoyed Manuel Noriega the most.’”
•Thanks to recent legislation introduced by “rampant homophobe” Jesse Helms, many American phone sex services have been shut down, threatening the gay press as ad revenues dry up, writes David Shannon. “Book burnings are out, so those fearful of what is in these publications have modernized their methods.”

Angel >> Gary Gygax The co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, the granddaddy of all role-playing games, passed away this week, age 69, after several years of poor health. His fantasy world of fighters, thieves, magic-users, clerics, elves, orcs and sundry other monsters, devils, demons and gods was explored by untold millions of (mostly) teenage boys, firing their imaginations and making him very rich in the process. Beyond a refuge for shy, gawky virgins, his D&D universe and later empire spawned countless imitators, while laying the path for any number of spin-off books, films and video games. His game may have annoyed religious figures (and many teenage girls) when it came out, but its legacy leaves a richer, fuller sense of wonder in many adults who still harbour a certain gawkiness within.

Insect >> Ignoring Canadians in foreign jails If you’re accused of a serious crime abroad, don’t count on the Canadian government to bail you out. Ottawa used to press foreign governments for clemency, especially in capital crimes, for jailed Canadians, but the Harper Conservatives are turning their backs on them now. In the U.S., Ronald Allen Smith has been on death row for 25 years, and the feds have said they won’t push for clemency; in Saudi Arabia, a former Montrealer, Mohamed Kohail, 23, was sentenced to beheading for a schoolyard brawl gone awry; Saul Itzhayek, another Montrealer, is in jail in India on a visa offence; and Omar Khadr is still awaiting trial in Guantanamo Bay. The Conservatives are studiously mum on all these cases, despite the less than stellar judicial histories of the host jailers.