Quote of the week

“You will only request data you need to operate your application,” reads Facebook’s newly amended Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, addressing developers of third-party applications, in accordance with demands made by Canada’s Privacy Commissioner. The rest of Facebook’s concessions to the commissioner will soon be made public.

Down but not out

After 12 years at UQÀM, the annual Festival d’expression de la rue (FER), a festival organized by and for street youth, was asked to move along and set up fort in somebody else’s backyard. Finally, with some help from the city and the SAT, FER will take place at Parc de la Paix (St-Laurent, just north of René-Levesque) from Aug. 26–28.

“It’s for people who aren’t accepted as they are, who are hassled constantly by the police. We want to demystify street kids, show that they have all kinds of talents. It’s a first step towards giving them some confidence,” says Kim Heynemand, a peer helper and FER organizer. The kids will play live music on punk day and hip hop day, and also serve food (provided by Food Not Bombs) and put up posters. Most of the festival’s organizers are former street kids themselves.

FER also features film screenings, workshops on making leather jewellery, repairing backpacks and designing stained glass, as well as educational workshops on HIV prevention, dealing with the law and contesting unfair tickets.

“And it’s the only festival where they can bring their backpacks and their dogs without getting shit from security guards,” adds Heynemand.

MATT JONES

Activism and academia

The ivory tower is crumbling! As students return to their studies, a newly established program is closing the divide between academia and the public.

Established last April during the well-attended Study in Action Conference, the Community-University Research Exchange (CURE) is designed to help community groups that lack resources and research capabilities. Students also benefit as the exchange counts towards their degree.

“This is the kind of thing that gives the opportunity for people like us to get some academic research when we don’t have the resources,” says Mohammad Hassan of the Jobra Centre, an anti-poverty organization in Parc Ex.

Non-profit organizations post requests for researchers, analysts and interns on the CURE Web site, and students can then be matched with the program. CURE hopes to receive student applications by the end of August, but they accept ideas and applications year-round.

To submit a research proposal, contact Aaron Lakoff at cure.mtl@ gmail.com or (514) 848-7585.

CURE is also inviting community groups and potential participants to a 5 à 7 on Sept. 23. Info: qpirgconcordia.org/cure.

MATTHEW BRETT

Indie media rising

Many of us have been driven to commit acts of violence against our TV sets while watching CNN, but with Web media making it easier to disseminate alternative takes on the news, perhaps this will soon be a thing of the past.

To speed this process up, indie media promoters are organizing a day of workshops and discussions on alternative broadcasting. Citizen Media Rendezvous brings together media makers from France, B.C. and Montreal to discuss content, technology and viable business models for alternative media.

“The tone is basically set in mainstream media. There are ways to participate, but they put you in a position of consuming,” says organizer Frédéric Dubois. In contrast, the weekend will address how both professional journalists and citizens can make news that doesn’t fit into the mainstream frame.

“A good example is what you see with the coverage of the town of Malartic, where houses are being moved to make way for a mine. It was very well documented in Rue Frontenac [a news site by the locked-out Journal de Montréal workers], but was barely mentioned in the Journal de Montréal,” he says.

The conference takes place at SAT (1195 St-Laurent) on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2:30 p.m., free.

Registration is mandatory. See citizen-media.ca for details.

MATT JONES

In the key of J

For all those who just can’t get enough of dem funky, freaky Japanese sounds and sights, this Saturday, Aug. 22, the J-Fest at l’Espace Dell’Arte (40 Jean Talon E.) is the place you’ll want to be. Organizer “K.Joe” Tamko explains that this mega-celebration of J-pop culture “is primarily an event to promote Japanese music and help develop the Japanese music business here in North America. There’s lots of people here who are fans of the music, manga, animation, film etc, but there’s not really any place for them to hear or see these things in Montreal.”

Fanboys and girls can expect to hear “Japanese hits of every kind” selected and mixed by real live Japanese DJs. But Tamko also wants J-connoisseurs to know that this event is about more than just music. “J-fest is something in between a club event and a small festival. We’ll have dance performances, different booths with things like shiatsu and Japanese nail design, and other stuff related to Japanese culture that people here may not know about yet.” Tickets to this 18+ event cost a paltry $10 in advance, $15 at the door, with one bonus cocktail thrown into the deal for good measure. Go to jfest.studiobatsu.com for the full skinny.

CHRIS BARRY

Rear-view mirror

11 YEARS AGO - AUG. 20–27, 1998

On the cover: Three members of medieval-fighting group Kobold Company, donning armour, an axe, a bow and arrow and copious face paint. Of their adversaries, Henrik’s Army of Law, foam-weaponry craftsman José Antonio Oullette says, “They’re very boring, tight-assed, armour-wearing, head-in-the-clouds-because-they’re-so-full-of-hot-air knights. I don’t go for the nobility trip.”
•During a visit to the local Scientology HQ, Dominique Ritter can’t locate a scrap of TP or tissue for her runny nose among the staff or in the bathrooms. “The Church of Scientology may be wealthy,” she writes, “but there isn’t much in the way of bum wad to show for it in Montreal.”
•In Upside/Downside, the man now known as Snoop Dogg is the runt of the litter. “Suddenly the Doggy Dogg seems like nothing but a big loser with shit hair. Funny how that can happen, eh?”
•In an article about the route to tattoo artistry, an expert explains the need for newbies to experiment on friends and tattoo freaks. “Some people say you can practise on fruits or meat, but this has nothing in common with working on the body.”

Angel >> Lithium Synthesized during the Big Bang, this versatile metal is already in your phone, laptop, airplane and nuclear weapon. Nirvana and Evanescence have sung its praises, and now the suits on Bay Street are doing the same, and not just because it treats depression, migraines and mania. Ironically, “lithium mania” has reportedly broken out among investors anticipating a massive influx of electric cars into the marketplace, such as the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt. Heavily backed by the U.S. and China, financially as well as politically, a strong electric car industry will make lithium the fuel of the future, and hopefully crank the economy in Bolivia, where over half of the world’s 35 million tonnes of lithium is found.

Insect >> Northern neglect During Harper’s five-day Arctic trip this week (a chunk of which was devoted to defending the seal hunt), it was revealed that recommendations in a 2006 report about a health crisis in Nunavut have not been implemented. Residents and experts now fear that H1N1 could hit the region hard during flu season, given the lack of infrastructure, overcrowded housing and large numbers of the young and the pregnant, who are most vulnerable to the virus. But despite federal promises to address Nunavut’s health-care needs, a health ministry spokesperson said that pandemic preparedness is up to territorial and provincial leadership. Given the disastrous handling of the recent H1N1 outbreak in Northern Manitoba by all parties, it looks like sick Natives may need traditional remedies more than ever.