Quote of the week

“I have seen the future of rock ’n’ roll and it is not Leonard Cohen.” —Leonard Cohen, paraphrasing critic Jon Landau’s famous quip, at his induction into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame on Monday.

Walk against war

If you’re beginning to question the wisdom behind extending Canada’s military involvement in the mess that is Afghanistan, take note that the Canadian Peace Alliance, in conjunction with Collectif Échec à la guerre, will be holding an anti-war demonstration Saturday, March 15, at 1 p.m. at Dorchester Square (corner Peel and René-Lévesque).

The Global Day of Action: Foreign Troops Out of Iraq and Afghanistan demonstration is calling, according to a release, for a “foreign policy that honours international law and respects the right of sovereign people to determine their own future.”

“We’ve been opposed to this war since it began six and a half years ago, back when we said this intervention would not bring peace to Afghanistan, would not liberate its women, would not advance democracy nor help develop the country,” says Matt Jones, spokesperson for Collectif Échec à la guerre. “It’s painful to think of how true this is today. NATO continues to launch air strikes that kill civilians indiscriminately, we’re propping up a government made up of warlords with absolutely no respect for women’s rights, and we’ve been complicit in the use of torture. Our involvement there has only been negative.”

For more information, go to www.echecalaguerre.org.

Tasers and brutality

Saturday, March 15 marks the annual International Day Against Police Brutality, and in the last year, police forces across Canada have provided fodder for activists who mark the day with protests. Demonstrators this year will protest the use of tasers, among other things, when they march in Montreal on Sunday.

The Collective Opposed to Police Brutality, the Montreal group that organizes the annual demonstrations, has a long list of grievances, including the deaths of three men across Canada after police tasered them, and alleged racial profiling by Montreal police.

The annual demonstrations, which usually have ended with mass arrests of demonstrators or scuffles with police, began 12 years ago after Swiss officers beat two children to death, prompting a Swiss anarchist group to call for an international day of protest.

In Montreal, the protests gained notoriety in 2000 when police arrested more than 100 demonstrators and accused them of vandalism.

At a protest two years later, police conducted the largest mass arrest in Quebec history, rounding up some 370 protesters. Last year, police arrested 15 protesters, accusing them of vandalism.

The protest begins at 3 p.m. outside Berri metro. For more information, see http://cobp-mtl.ath.cx.

by SAMER ELATRASH

Plugged in, tuned out

It’s a wired world out there, and CKUT 90.3 FM and McGill communications professor Darin Barney want us to think about how it’s all affecting our incredibly slow, plodding, real-life world.

On Friday, March 14, CKUT hosts Barney at “One Nation Under Google: Citizenship in the Technological Republic,” for a talk on technology, political engagement and democracy—the talk takes place in the Arts Building (853 Sherbrooke W., room W-215) at 6:30 p.m., free.

From uploading videos to supply chains to privacy, technology has radically and forever altered the way individuals live, according to Barney, but hasn’t necessarily eased consumers’ engagement with political governance.

“As a community and campus radio station, we’ve noticed the scandal on online opt-outs,” says CKUT’s spoken word coordinator and event organizer Charlotte Scott, referring to the university administration’s decision to hold online referenda on funding for outlets like the station and newspapers The McGill Daily and Le Délit. The administration, she says, links “technology to increased democratic participation of students, but we’ve seen a decrease in actual engagement because it’s too easy to make a rash decision over small amounts of cash.” Student voting on funding concludes on Friday, March 14.

by PATRICK LEJTENYI

NDG’s MUHC worries

On Thursday, March 13 at 7 p.m., the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Community Council will host a public discussion on housing issues in NDG’s St-Raymond area at the St-Jacques Community Centre (5600 Upper Lachine). The discussion will focus primarily upon the impact that the new McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) will have on the community, as well as development possibilities for the Upper Lachine/St-Jacques interchange.

While NDG residents are not completely opposed to the idea of the MUHC, there is a great deal of apprehensiveness surrounding the issue. A recent survey conducted amongst MUHC employees indicated that 500 of them are likely to move to the St-Raymond area in order to be closer to work, which would certainly drive the rising cost of rent even higher. Residents have already witnessed the demolition of affordable housing units to allow for the physical expansion of small businesses eager to serve the needs of the new health centre. Automobile traffic is also likely to increase in the already busy area.

“Lots of things might change,” explains Leslie Bagg, NDG Community Council housing committee coordinator. “It’s important that people understand how the new hospital will affect them.”

For more info, see www.ndg.ca.

by STEVE ZYLBERGOLD

Rear-view mirror

10 YEARS AGO - MARCH 12–19, 1998

On the cover: Harmony Korine’s Gummo, a movie populated by “white-trash freaks.” Having been accused in the media of being exploitative and fascist, Korine says, “A critic got in my face in Toronto and I tried to stab him.”
•Under the logo: “Gabba gabba.”
•Terry Haig analyses Don Cherry’s appeal in the Hit & Run column. “On the radio, he’s a bore. Off-camera, he sounds like Homer Simpson. On TV, none of that matters. Cherry’s is a visual act. Transfixed by his choice of duds, we pick up only the most pungent sound bites.”
•“I have no idea what St. Patrick’s Day is supposed to be about,” says Randy MacDonald, drummer for “Nova Scotian rock ’n’ reelers” MacKeel. “All I see is people drinking beer and puking.”
•A classified: “Angry, BITTER, partially blind ex-lover-from-abover with a passion for marking territory with urine, seeks exotic, heavily tattooed piercing fanatic, preferably hairy, stinky & heavy set, for whippings (u2me) bizarre wilderness sex & fashion consulting. DR EVIL (no freaks).”

Angel >> Gay divorce Divorce usually sucks, especially when it comes to the tricky issue of alimony. But if there’s a silver lining to be found in the case of a gay Gatineau couple who are in the process of divorcing after three years of legal marriage, alimony surprisingly is it. A $500 a month settlement was awarded to one partner in the failed relationship on conditions that are identical to those seen in a traditional divorce. It’s being hailed as what may be the first settlement of its kind in Canada, and while it isn’t exactly something to smile about, it does reflect this country’s progressive side. As opposed to the U.S., where the issue is still being used as a political weapon designed to appeal to the baser prejudices.

Insect >> Pork barrel politics It’s nothing new of course, but it just goes to show the Tories’ hands aren’t any cleaner than anyone else’s. Close analysis of the Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions shows the Conservatives have funnelled almost half a billion dollars’ worth of grants and loans into more than 1,200 projects in regions that consistently show slow growth—with a disproportionate amount going to Conservative-held ridings. They received 22 per cent of all funding, despite holding only 13 per cent of the seats. Each Conservative seat received an average $10.8-million, while BQ ridings received an average $6.6-million, and Liberal seats—mostly in Montreal—received an average $3.2-million.