Quote of the week

“At a certain point, people feel it if there is something wrong, even if they don’t know exactly what it is. But he, poor Stéphane, doesn’t feel it.” —Former Liberal minister and political commentator Liza Frulla, on current federal Liberal leader Stéphane Dion.

Lights out

If you’re like many people and leave your computer on 24 hours a day, keep your cell plugged in when it’s perfectly charged and admire old-school light bulbs more than LEDs, then Earth Hour is for you. On Saturday, March 29 at 8 p.m., the World Wildlife Federation is encouraging people around the world to kill the lights for 60 minutes to draw attention to rampant energy consumption and global warming.

“Obviously turning the lights off for one hour is not going to solve climate change,” says WWF-Canada’s Tara Wood. “But it shows how individual actions can make a difference.”

Earth Hour began last year in Sydney, when 2.2 million Australians and 2,100 businesses agreed to flick the switch and spend an hour in the dark. The WWF says this resulted in a 10.2 per cent reduction in electricity use, saving 25,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

“The point is also to send a message to governments and corporations that people are willing to take action,” adds Wood.

Over 30,000 people and 60 cities and neighbourhoods across the country have already signed up, including Ville St-Laurent, Verdun, Côte-des-Neiges and N.D.G.

To participate, go to www.earthhour.org, just not on Saturday between 8 and 9.

Conscription today

Sure, it seems like it was only yesterday, but some 90 years ago this week, Quebecers were rioting in the streets over being shipped off to Europe’s trenches to be used as cannon-fodder by the King’s army. In Quebec City, they rioted for five fun-filled days, burning down army offices and besieging police stations, with at least four anti-conscription activists getting themselves killed in the process. Yup, they really knew how to throw a protest back then.

To both commemorate those five heady days in March, 1918, and to draw parallels with Canada’s current military situation in Afghanistan, the North Eastern Federation of Anarchist-Communists (NEFAC) have organized a demonstration set to go down Friday, March 28, at 5 p.m., outside the Gabrielle-Roy Library in Quebec City’s Place Jacques-Cartier.

“We resist militarization as much now as they did 90 years ago,” says NEFAC spokesperson Nicolas Phebus. “The situation hasn’t changed much. It’s still a foreign war, an imperialist war based on the same principles. And just like then, the majority of Quebecers are opposed to it.”

Buses will be leaving from Berri Square at noon. For more information, go to nefac.net.

by CHRIS BARRY

Where is Hector Reyes?

It’s a long way to Montreal from Nueva Linda, a farm in southwest Guatemala, but Carmen Reyes Rojas and Mariano Calel believe the search for justice is worth it. The two Guatemalan human rights activists are touring 10 Quebec cities this month to raise awareness about Hector Reyes, a peasant leader whose organizing activities with the Landless Maya Workers Union made him a marked man.

Reyes disappeared in 2003. After authorities failed to hold anyone accountable, peasants from 22 nearby communities occupied Nueva Linda in October 2003, demanding justice for Reyes. On August 31, 2004, Guatemalan security forces unleashed a violent eviction in Nueva Linda in which nine peasants died.

After the eviction, the group settled in between the few meters that separate the land lot’s fence and the highway. They remain there to this day.

This case differs from other peasant land occupations where the main demands are labour benefits or the acquisition of the land itself. This group, Rojas tells the Mirror, just wants justice.

The two will speak tonight, Thursday, March 27 at 1857 de Maisonneuve W. and again on Monday, March 31 at 1205 St-Denis, both at 7 p.m. For more info, see www.paqg.org.

by VERONICA ISLAS

Feast on skating

When Aidan Nerman’s mother, actress Guylaine St-Onge, passed away after battling cancer in 2005, he decided to honour her memory by celebrating life. In a display of emotional and spiritual maturity that betrayed his mere 10 years on the planet, Aidan, an enthusiastic skateboarder, and his father, David Nerman, came up with Feast On Your Life, an annual charity skate event.

Feast On Your Life, sponsored by Nike, Phat Pharm and many other athletic companies, is a day of mini-competitions, free skating and prize giveaways for skaters 16 and under. All proceeds from the event go to Starlight Children’s Foundation Canada. Prizes include skateboards autographed by Bob Burnquist, Ryan Sheckler and Daewon Song as well as Montreal Canadiens memorabilia. The third annual event takes place Saturday, March 29 from noon–8 p.m. at South Parc (8100 Taschereau, Brossard), $15 admission includes a raffle ticket.

“Guylaine had a beautiful spirit and truly loved life,” remembers David Nerman. “She believed that you had to live life to its fullest, to feast on life. Aidan came up with a terrific way to remember and honour her spirit that would have made her very proud.”

For more info, see www.south-parc.com.

by STEVE ZYLBERGOLD

Rear-view mirror

12 YEARS AGO - MARCH 28–APRIL 4, 1996

On the cover: “Hip-pop” artist Merlin, who confounds critics with an ever-changing style and sensibility and guarded private life. “I think it’s settled into an awareness that I’m not here to play the game like it’s supposed to be played,” he says.
•Mirror editor Peter Scowen proposes killing official bilingualism in his column, saying it’s ultimately divisive, over-costly and useless. “Budget cuts and simple intolerance will always beat good intentions, so why bother?”
•Mirror contributor and spoken word pioneer Ian Stephens, who died on March 22, 1996 of AIDS-related lymphoma, is saluted by Juliet Waters (“He was a testimony and an inspiration to the writing life”) and others. A memorial service is to be held Friday, March 29.
•“I’m quitting movies,” says Bosnian-Serb filmmaker Emir Kusturica, winner of the Palme d’Or for Underground. “For serious reasons. [Underground] was a very heavy film to make and I’m cataclysmically falling apart.”
• The Mirror runs a two-page MiMi awards guide.

Angel >> South Park Studios Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the pair behind South Park, may enjoy and profit from juvenile and scatological humour, but no one can deny they are forward-looking. The two have signed a deal with Comedy Central to make their existing catalogue of episodes—all 11 seasons—available for free at www.southparkstudios.com. Even if their hands were forced by the show’s popularity among uploaders, their acceptance of new media is probably a sign of things to come for the TV industry. Viacom, Comedy Central’s corporate master, has been trying to sue every uploader and outlet, including YouTube, in sight, but by offering everything gratis, Parker and Stone can send the lawyers back to their lairs.

Insect >> Patrick Roy Trust it to Patrick Roy to overshadow what should be a gloriously and giddily anticipated moment for the city’s long-suffering Habs fans. With the Canadiens clinching a playoff spot this week, and sitting atop the Eastern Conference, the one-time local god, Hall of Famer and current Quebec Remparts coach went and made us all embarrassed with the hoo-boy beating his son Jonathan gave Bobby Nadeau on Saturday night. Jonathan, the Remparts goalie, pounded Nadeau 15 times and gave the Chicoutimi crowd the finger before being sent off. Both Roys have since apologized, but his hot-tempered egomaniac father, who was seen encouraging his boy to fight, said, pretty lamely, that he was trying to restrain him. On Tuesday, it was announced Roy fils would be suspended for seven games, and père five.