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<channel>
	<title>Fagstein &#187; activism</title>
	<atom:link href="http://blog.fagstein.com/tag/activism/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://blog.fagstein.com</link>
	<description>Can you think of a better name?</description>
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		<title>Attractiveness of the community</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/07/31/anti-sidewalk-activists/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/07/31/anti-sidewalk-activists/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Jul 2008 06:48:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[West Island]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Beaconsfield]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[municipal politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sidewalks]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/?p=2173</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A good way to tell that your suburban neighbourhood has gone off the deep end is when they circulate a petition against the installation of sidewalks. Related Posts Few campaigns in on-island suburbs (UPDATED) Beaconsfield applies NIMBY to parking Is poutine offensive? Do it for Oscar The McKibbin&#8217;s kinda-non-story]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A good way to tell that your suburban neighbourhood has gone off the deep end is when <a href="http://www.westislandchronicle.com/article-235919-No-calm-over-Beaconsfield-traffic-proposals.html">they circulate a petition <em>against</em> the installation of sidewalks</a>.<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2009/10/03/few-campaigns-in-on-island-suburbs/' title='Few campaigns in on-island suburbs (UPDATED)'>Few campaigns in on-island suburbs (UPDATED)</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2009/03/02/beaurepaire-parking/' title='Beaconsfield applies NIMBY to parking'>Beaconsfield applies NIMBY to parking</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/07/03/champlain-poutine-invites/' title='Is poutine offensive?'>Is poutine offensive?</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/03/04/oscar-peterson-protest/' title='Do it for Oscar'>Do it for Oscar</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/02/16/mckibbins/' title='The McKibbin&#8217;s kinda-non-story'>The McKibbin&#8217;s kinda-non-story</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Is poutine offensive?</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/07/03/champlain-poutine-invites/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/07/03/champlain-poutine-invites/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:14:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Slow News Day]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Canada Day]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Canadian-Press]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[embassies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Impératif-français]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[political correctness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Samuel de Champlain]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/?p=1955</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Canadian embassy in Washington is apologizing to Impératif français, among others, after it used a photoshopped picture of Samuel de Champlain holding a poutine on invites (now scrubbed of the poutine offensiveness) to Canada Day celebrations. IF reacted to the image with their usual measured response. Perhaps I missed something in Political Correctness 101, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1956" title="Samuel de Champlain holding a poutine" src="http://blog.fagstein.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/champlain-poutine.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="250" /></p>
<p>The Canadian embassy in Washington is <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080702.wpoutine03/BNStory/National/?page=rss&amp;id=RTGAM.20080702.wpoutine03">apologizing to Impératif français</a>, among others, after it used a photoshopped picture of Samuel de Champlain holding a poutine on <a href="http://www.connect2canada.com/resources/newsletters.jhtml?id=32439">invites</a> (now scrubbed of the poutine offensiveness) to Canada Day celebrations. IF reacted to the image with <a href="http://www.imperatif-francais.org/bienvenu/articles/2008/la-poutine-du-gouvernement-canadien.html">their usual measured response</a>.</p>
<p>Perhaps I missed something in Political Correctness 101, but what's so offensive about this again? Is it some stereotype that we eat poutine? Is it because the image of Champlain was sullied in some way?</p>
<p>Frankly, I think the fact that Canadian Press had to explain what poutine was is offensive to me.<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/08/angryphones-and-frangryphones/' title='Angryphones and frangryphones'>Angryphones and frangryphones</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2011/06/23/imperatif-francais-ad/' title='We open our arms to you, arrogant bastards'>We open our arms to you, arrogant bastards</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2009/08/19/cp-pagemasters-and-outsourced-copy-editing/' title='Copy editing: Does outsourcing it make sense?'>Copy editing: Does outsourcing it make sense?</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2009/07/01/i-know-that-you-want-to-be-canadian/' title='I know that you want to be Canadian'>I know that you want to be Canadian</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2009/05/28/cp-iphone-app/' title='CP gets in on iPhone craze'>CP gets in on iPhone craze</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Do it for Oscar</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/03/04/oscar-peterson-protest/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/03/04/oscar-peterson-protest/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 04 Mar 2008 16:09:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Montreal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Slow News Day]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lionel Groulx]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[metro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Oscar Peterson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[racism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sud-Ouest borough]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/03/04/oscar-peterson-protest/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Because they have nothing better to do, Mike Citrome's band of history-rewriters are to descend on the Sud-Ouest borough council meeting tonight to demand they change the name of Lionel-Groulx metro to Oscar Peterson, a campaign that has already gained national attention because it's being organized on (gasp) Facebook. Date: Tuesday, March 4 Time: 6:30pm [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Because they have nothing better to do, Mike Citrome's band of history-rewriters are to <a href="http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=99f1cc2f-1548-434e-9451-7e0d28700461&amp;k=6525">descend on the Sud-Ouest borough council meeting</a> tonight to <a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=21898175194">demand they change the name of Lionel-Groulx metro to Oscar Peterson</a>, a campaign that has already <a href="http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=341644">gained national attention</a> because it's being organized on (gasp) Facebook.</p>
<p>Date: Tuesday, March 4<br />
Time: 6:30pm<br />
Location: Sud-Ouest borough hall<br />
<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&amp;hl=en&amp;q=815%2C+rue+Bel-Air%2C+Montreal%2C+QC"> 815 rue Bel-Air</a>, about three blocks west of the station</p>
<p>And if you can't come up with an opinion on your own, feel free to check out <a href="http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=518a2a67-0d4e-4212-90d7-db91c4c24a45&amp;k=47840">what other random uninformed people think</a>.</p>
<p>No word yet on whether there will be a counter-protest from <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22006765623">the anti-name-change group</a>.</p>
<p>Previously: <a href="http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/02/27/oscar-peterson-metro/">Oscar Peterson metro won't be easy to accomplish</a><br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/02/27/oscar-peterson-metro/' title='Oscar Peterson metro won&#8217;t be easy to accomplish'>Oscar Peterson metro won&#8217;t be easy to accomplish</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2010/12/17/metro-crime-statistics/' title='Lies, damn lies and metro statistics'>Lies, damn lies and metro statistics</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2010/11/08/metro-door-open/' title='Door ajar'>Door ajar</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2010/11/07/metrovision-update/' title='Metrovision gets an update, and another'>Metrovision gets an update, and another</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2010/10/05/metro-car-contract-timeline/' title='The metro car contract: a depressing timeline'>The metro car contract: a depressing timeline</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>The McKibbin&#8217;s kinda-non-story</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/02/16/mckibbins/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/02/16/mckibbins/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 16 Feb 2008 20:04:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[In the news]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Montreal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jamie Orchard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[language]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[McKibbin's Irish Pub]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[media-manipulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[OQLF]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quebec politics]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/02/16/mckibbins/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I should give fair play to Jamie Orchard. My last post about her blog was unflattering. But her latest post, about the whole McKibbin's language-police debacle, is much more interesting: The OLF insists that all the owner has to do is write back and explain that the signs are artifacts. In fact, when the OLF [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I should give fair play to Jamie Orchard. <a href="http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/01/24/jamie-orchard-takes-the-bus/">My last post about her blog</a> was unflattering. But <a href="http://communities.canada.com/globaltv/blogs/jamieorchard/archive/2008/02/15/mcoutrage.aspx">her latest post, about the whole McKibbin's language-police debacle</a>, is much more interesting:</p>
<blockquote><p>The OLF insists that all the owner has to do is write back and explain that the signs are artifacts. In fact, when the OLF saw our TV footage of the signs, they said right away the case could be solved easily – here’s the quote from Gerald Paquette:</p>
<blockquote><p>There are many Irish pubs in Quebec that have these kinds of artifacts and they have all asked for an exception."</p></blockquote>
<p>We told this to the owner of the pub on Thursday, and he seemed relieved. But then, on Friday, the co-owner of the pub was on talk radio insisting that he would have to go to court to fight this, making a big show of inviting the premier to his pub to look at the signs, insisting he would refuse to pay the fine. He was getting all the sympathy in the world from the host, from the callers, from everyone, and <strong>never once did he mention it could all be solved with a simple letter</strong>.</p></blockquote>
<p>I like this post (especially compared to the previous one) for two reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li>It's a simple, rational, thought-out opinion rather than <a href="http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/02/16/140828.php">an uninformed reactionary "stupid OLF" rant</a></li>
<li>It brings some new information to the table (Global's conversation with the bar's owner) that is perfectly placed in a journalist's blog.</li>
</ol>
<p>I'm not going to leave the OLF (actually the <a href="http://www.olf.gouv.qc.ca/">OQLF</a>) off the hook entirely, since they did, in fact, bring up these signs in their complaint (which was from a customer who said he wasn't served in French and an outdoor menu was in English only).</p>
<p>But it's clear the media (and I have to include myself here, since I edited <a href="http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=9f338927-6f8a-4448-b9e6-6ac552398438&amp;k=2945">the big article in Friday's Gazette about it</a>) played up the signs and <a href="http://www.byebyeolf.com/">outrage campaign</a> while burying the other complaints and the comments from the OQLF that they could easily get an exemption. (Second-day stories are pointing these things out, but that wouldn't have been necessary if they weren't buried in the first place.)</p>
<p>And McKibbin's owners are clearly using this as an excuse to <a href="http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=2d2afa8e-56ce-4a40-b031-6dfcadfde16b&amp;k=36704">launch an anti-OQLF publicity campaign</a> to <a href="http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/editorial/story.html?id=2909bb5d-852c-4bd8-9da6-681319b74db7">boost anglo business</a> and line their pockets with outrage money (or just get their name in the news). They've already got <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21723760045">a Facebook group</a>. And <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22518860095">another</a>. And <a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=13215615041">another</a>. And <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11434757018">another</a>. And <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10462492974">another</a>.</p>
<p>Elsewhere in the blogosphere:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://weblog.xanga.com/nimbusthedragon/642560415/item.html">Heil français, tabarnak</a></li>
<li><a href="http://angryfrenchguy.com/2008/02/17/language-suicide-bombers/">Language suicide bombers</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.imperatif-francais.org/bienvenu/articles/2008/bye-bye-mckibbings-irish-pub-.html">BYE BYE McKIBBINGS (sic) IRISH PUB</a>!</li>
</ul>
<p>UPDATE (Feb. 27): <a href="http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=fv29VbSnROY%20">A video on YouTube</a> shows the original letter from the OQLF to McKibbin's, which clearly is much more about the posters than the office later suggested to reporters. Also plenty of discussion on some <a href="http://lequebecois.actifforum.com/ici-on-parle-d-actualite-f1/les-anglos-a-l-attaque-t6195.htm">franco</a> <a href="http://www.cowboysfringants.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=26483">forums</a>.<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/08/angryphones-and-frangryphones/' title='Angryphones and frangryphones'>Angryphones and frangryphones</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/19/second-cup/' title='Mouvement Montréal français is right about Second Cup'>Mouvement Montréal français is right about Second Cup</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/09/30/oh-the-poor-oppressed-quebec-white-man/' title='Oh the poor oppressed Quebec white man'>Oh the poor oppressed Quebec white man</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/09/21/howard-galganov-is-still-an-idiot/' title='Howard Galganov is still an idiot'>Howard Galganov is still an idiot</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2010/10/26/bill-115/' title='Passerelle'>Passerelle</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>TWIM: Griffintown and telemarketers</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/12/29/twim-griffintown-and-telemarketers/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/12/29/twim-griffintown-and-telemarketers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 30 Dec 2007 03:04:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Montreal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[My articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bell Canada]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bluffer's Guide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Do Not Call list]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[federal politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Griffintown]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Justify Your Existence]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/12/29/twim-griffintown-and-telemarketers/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This week's Justify Your Existence features a slew of "urban planning geeks" who met a few weeks ago to discuss the proposed redevelopment of Griffintown, a sad-looking area just south of downtown. They met at the behest of A.J. Kandy, who runs the Save Griffintown blog and lives in nearby Little Burgundy. They're not opposed [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/saturdayextra/story.html?id=a8a59905-23d2-457b-98f9-7c7e9fa2365f">This week's Justify Your Existence</a> features a slew of "urban planning geeks" who met a few weeks ago to discuss <a href="http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2007/22/c3227.html">the proposed redevelopment</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffintown">Griffintown</a>, a sad-looking area just south of downtown. They met at the behest of A.J. Kandy, who runs the <a href="http://savegriffintown.wordpress.com/">Save Griffintown blog</a> and lives in nearby Little Burgundy.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajkandy/2055798718/in/photostream/"><img src="http://blog.fagstein.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/griffintown.jpg" alt="Proposed Griffintown redevelopment" /></a></p>
<p>They're not opposed to the project necessarily. It would revitalize the area, be entirely privately-funded, and provide a lot of housing (social and otherwise). But they're concerned about its proposed size, which would put an entire neighbourhood under the control of a single real estate company, and some measures they think will encourage car use and discourage pedestrian traffic. (Big box stores like Wal-Mart, for example, take forever to walk around and provide nothing but a brick wall for most of its street-level facade.)</p>
<p>They prefer a mixed environment that's seen all over downtown Montreal: Commercial establishments at street level, with housing above. They also want more consultation with residents, a promise not to expropriate land, and a cookie.</p>
<p>(UPDATE Dec. 30: <a href="http://w5.montreal.com/mtlweblog/2007/12/bloggers-interviewing-bloggers-on-urban.html">Kate mentions formatting problems</a>. Unfortunately, The Gazette hasn't been able to steal <a href="http://coolopolis.blogspot.com/">Chimples</a> away to run their copy-paste online operation ... yet.)</p>
<p>(UPDATE Dec. 31: AJ has <a href="http://savegriffintown.wordpress.com/2007/12/31/end-of-the-year-news-update/">a post on Save Griffintown going into more detail</a> about where they are now.)</p>
<p>(UPDATE Jan. 4: I totally missed it (and I think everyone else did too), but coincidentally in the same issue,<a href="http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/homefront/story.html?id=c787421c-4e8e-4a72-b5c8-195559e0126a"> J.D. Gravenor interviews Griffintown residents Chris Gobeil and Judith Bauer</a> about their place. Both were part of the urban planning geeks and Gobeil is quoted in my article.)</p>
<p>Also this week is <a href="http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/saturdayextra/story.html?id=97fd0a18-f2c5-41fa-87a4-1c759a13fd34">a bluffer's guide to Canada's Do Not Call registry</a>. Bell was <a href="http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/12/25/bell-canada-our-do-not-call-overlords/">awarded the contract to run the list</a> (as the sole bidder), and now we're left wondering if the fox is guarding the chicken coop. The list, which will be free and binding on telemarketers who aren't charities, politicians or newspapers (haha, suckers) is to be up and running by Sept. 30, 2008.</p>
<p>UPDATE (Jan. 23): Chris Gobeil and Judith Bauer have <a href="http://www.ledevoir.com/2008/01/23/172899.html">an op/ed in Le Devoir about Griffintown's future</a>.<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/12/25/bell-canada-our-do-not-call-overlords/' title='Bell Canada, our Do Not Call overlords'>Bell Canada, our Do Not Call overlords</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2009/08/10/ndp-bluffers/' title='This Week in Me: The New New Democratic Party'>This Week in Me: The New New Democratic Party</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/08/16/twim-scientology-nfl/' title='TWIM: Scientology, the NFL and other threats to our existence'>TWIM: Scientology, the NFL and other threats to our existence</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/06/22/twim-dions-carbon-tax-idea/' title='TWIM: Dion&#8217;s carbon tax idea'>TWIM: Dion&#8217;s carbon tax idea</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/06/15/bluffers-on-residential-schools/' title='Sorry for the genocide'>Sorry for the genocide</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>A person in Quebec was infected with HIV today</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/12/02/a-person-in-quebec-was-infected-with-hiv-today/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/12/02/a-person-in-quebec-was-infected-with-hiv-today/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 02 Dec 2007 07:46:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Montreal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AIDS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AIDS Community Care Montreal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World AIDS Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/12/02/a-person-in-quebec-was-infected-with-hiv-today/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A sobering video by AIDS Community Care Montreal, on World AIDS Day: (via Talk to the Hump) Related Posts Do fuckfriends offend you? Those lefties know their online video Yves Bolduc&#8217;s spending spree Attractiveness of the community Is poutine offensive?]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A <a href="http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=d4o9_CBSajg">sobering video</a> by <a href="http://www.accmontreal.org/en/about.html">AIDS Community Care Montreal</a>, on <a href="http://www.worldaidsday.org/">World AIDS Day</a>:</p>
<p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" width="425" height="355"><param name="height" value="355" /><param name="width" value="425" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/d4o9_CBSajg&amp;rel=1" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="355" width="425" wmode="transparent" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/d4o9_CBSajg&amp;rel=1"></embed></object></p>
<p>(via <a href="http://talktothehump.blogspot.com/2007/11/friday-en-franais-la-veille.html">Talk to the Hump</a>)<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2009/12/04/raunchy-aids-ad/' title='Do fuckfriends offend you?'>Do fuckfriends offend you?</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/03/17/those-lefties-know-their-online-video/' title='Those lefties know their online video'>Those lefties know their online video</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/08/14/yves-bolducs-spending-spree/' title='Yves Bolduc&#8217;s spending spree'>Yves Bolduc&#8217;s spending spree</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/07/31/anti-sidewalk-activists/' title='Attractiveness of the community'>Attractiveness of the community</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/07/03/champlain-poutine-invites/' title='Is poutine offensive?'>Is poutine offensive?</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>So so so, solidarité? Is that the best you could come up with?</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/28/so-so-so-solidarite-is-that-the-best-you-could-come-up-with/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/28/so-so-so-solidarite-is-that-the-best-you-could-come-up-with/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:42:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blogosphere]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Montreal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[On the Net]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jack Ruttan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[protests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WGA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/28/so-so-so-solidarite-is-that-the-best-you-could-come-up-with/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Montreal writers were out marching today to show solidarity with their WGA friends south of the border. Jack Ruttan has some pictures and video, as does Martine Pagé. Related Posts If only bus drivers had writers like these Screaming matches are not interviews The tuition debate is over Mouvement Montréal français is right about Second [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Montreal writers were <a href="http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/Montreal/2007/11/28/009-Auteurs-Manif-MTL.shtml">out marching today</a> to show solidarity with their WGA friends south of the border. Jack Ruttan has <a href="http://mruttan.ca/mruttan.ca/blog/2007/11/writers-hit-streets.html">some pictures and video</a>, as does <a href="http://martinepage.com/blog/2007/11/28/marche-de-solidarite/">Martine Pagé</a>.<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/26/if-only-bus-drivers-had-writers-like-these/' title='If only bus drivers had writers like these'>If only bus drivers had writers like these</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/18/screaming-matches-are-not-interviews/' title='Screaming matches are not interviews'>Screaming matches are not interviews</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/09/the-tuition-debate-is-over/' title='The tuition debate is over'>The tuition debate is over</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/19/second-cup/' title='Mouvement Montréal français is right about Second Cup'>Mouvement Montréal français is right about Second Cup</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/09/26/radcan-needs-geography-lessons/' title='RadCan needs geography lessons'>RadCan needs geography lessons</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>The Toupin Blvd. &#8220;solution&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/28/the-toupin-blvd-solution/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/28/the-toupin-blvd-solution/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:32:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Montreal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cartierville]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toupin-Blvd.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban planning]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/28/the-toupin-blvd-solution/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Faced with growing opposition from local residents, the city has come up with a solution to the northern Cavendish extension to Henri-Bourassa Blvd.: Fudge it. The solution to the problem of traffic barrelling down Toupin Blvd. toward a non-existent bridge to Laval would be to simply disallow it. Traffic heading north on Cavendish would be [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Faced with growing opposition from local residents, the city has come up with a solution to <a href="http://blog.fagstein.com/tag/toupin-blvd/">the northern Cavendish extension to Henri-Bourassa Blvd.</a>: <a href="http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=17238709-43f5-4bf5-957f-0ad8b0740468&amp;k=97089">Fudge it</a>.</p>
<p><img src="http://blog.fagstein.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/toupin.jpg" alt="Toupin “solution”" /></p>
<p>The solution to the problem of traffic barrelling down Toupin Blvd. toward a non-existent bridge to Laval would be to simply disallow it. Traffic heading north on Cavendish would be forced to turn left (toward Highway 13) or right (toward Marcel-Laurin Blvd., Route 117), the nearest roads with bridges to Laval. Traffic heading south would be unrestricted.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, a couple of "environmentally friendly" additions to the plan include reducing the width from three lanes to two in each direction (Toupin is two lanes, Cavendish is three), and adding bicycle paths in both directions (which is great and all, but they don't go anywhere on either side).<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/20/making-the-case-for-a-quieter-toupin-blvd/' title='Making the case for a quieter Toupin Blvd.'>Making the case for a quieter Toupin Blvd.</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/08/10/the-other-cavendish-extension/' title='The other Cavendish extension'>The other Cavendish extension</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/04/26/toupin-blvd-plan/' title='The Toupin Blvd. plan'>The Toupin Blvd. plan</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/09/26/radcan-needs-geography-lessons/' title='RadCan needs geography lessons'>RadCan needs geography lessons</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/15/santa-parade-zombies-on-saturday/' title='Santa parade, zombies on Saturday'>Santa parade, zombies on Saturday</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>If only bus drivers had writers like these</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/26/if-only-bus-drivers-had-writers-like-these/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/26/if-only-bus-drivers-had-writers-like-these/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Nov 2007 23:41:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[In the news]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public transit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CBC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Journal de Québec]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[labour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[STM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[strikes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WGA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/26/if-only-bus-drivers-had-writers-like-these/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Via Martine, the WGA, the American writers union which is currently holding us hostage by denying us House-isms on strike for the rights to more than mere pennies from DVD sales and all of nothing from online publishing of TV shows and movies, isn't lying down or holding useless marches with picket signs. They're creating [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Via <a href="http://martinepage.com/blog/2007/11/26/journee-de-solidarite-internationale/">Martine</a>, the WGA, the American writers union which is currently <strike>holding us hostage by denying us House-isms</strike> <a href="http://unitedhollywood.blogspot.com/">on strike</a> for the rights to more than mere pennies from DVD sales and <a href="http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ55Ir2jCxk">all of nothing from online publishing</a> of TV shows and movies, isn't lying down or holding useless marches with picket signs. They're creating media to rally support for their cause.</p>
<p>In essence, it's a tactic we've seen before but on a much larger scale. When CBC employees were locked out in 2005, they <a href="http://www.robcottingham.ca/20051005/labour-communications-may-never-be-the-same-cbcunplugged-cbcunlocked-and-web-20/">started producing blogs and podcasts to keep communication going</a>. After it was over, the blogger for CBC Unlocked, Tod Maffin, was given the job of running <a href="http://www.insidethecbc.com/">Inside the CBC</a>, a decidedly uncorporate, uncensored blog about the inner life of the Mother Corp., with its blessing.</p>
<p>Locked-out journalists at the <a href="http://blog.fagstein.com/tag/journal-de-quebec/">Journal de Québec</a> are still, since April, putting out <a href="http://www.mediamatinquebec.com/">a competing daily newspaper</a> as part of their pressure tactics. The move has rallied support among other unions (who have helped them financially) politicians and newsmakers (who refuse to deal with Canoe reporters, a fly-by-night "wire services" and other scabs) and readers (who have cancelled subscriptions and are picking up the competing paper).</p>
<p>With Hollywood, the tactic that's getting the most play is online video (ironic since the dispute is over how little they get paid for online video). Writers for popular shows like <a href="http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=b6hqP0c0_gw">The Office</a>, the <a href="http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=PzRHlpEmr0w">Daily Show</a> and the <a href="http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=JFntFDfaf5o">Colbert Report</a> have been cracking jokes on YouTube, and the actors are coming out to support them. Some like <a href="http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=tkE_GPi2p1E">McDreamy and co.</a> talk calmly about the issues, others like <a href="http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=ES4gh66pu-k">Sarah Silverman</a> make the funny, and then there's <a href="http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=ltRK8g28f9o">Sandra Oh</a>.</p>
<p>The latest campaign, called "<a href="http://speechlesswithoutwriters.com/">Speechless</a>", involves short black-and-white clips of actors in a world without scriptwriters. Most of them are of the actor-stands-blank-faced-and-says-nothing variety. Others are pretty funny. There's a new one every day.</p>
<p>Some of my favourites below:</p>
<p><span id="more-1050"></span></p>
<p><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DnURqEkAXk8&amp;rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed><br />
Episode 1: Holly Hunter tries to get some input on a script written by an outsourced Indian company. <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CVvgGLyF2Ro&amp;rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed><br />
Episode 6: Kate Beckinsale and David Schwimmer. (Do I need a reason beyond Kate Beckinsale to post this video?)<br />
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/na9oph42vqQ&amp;rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed><br />
Episode 8: An adorable whistling duet by <a href="http://www.wikiality.com/Filliam_H._Muffman">Filliam H. Muffman</a>. It makes no sense in this context, but they're just so cute together.<br />
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HYNUuJ-qEk4&amp;rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed><br />
Episode 10: An otherwise forgettable talking-but-no-words-come-out number by Desperate Housewives Eva Longoria and Nicolette Sheridan ad-libs into hilarity.<br />
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/abzPvI1j0fo&amp;rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed><br />
Episode 11: Laura Linney tries some writing of her own, with disastrous results.<br />
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BF5yJklH_jA&amp;rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed><br />
Episode 12: Rapid-fire clips of a bunch of actors holding signs that say "speechless". And not D-list ones either: William H. Macy, Kate Beckinsale, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry, Susan Sarandon, Eva Longoria, Holly Hunter, Gary Dourdan, Bill Hader, Joshua Jackson and a bunch of other people you know by face but not by name.You can see all the videos <a href="http://ca.youtube.com/user/speechlesshollywood">here</a>.</p>
<p>Of course, campaigns like this only work if you have the public's support. Writers and journalists have it because they're grossly underpaid professions and the rights they're demanding are hardly unreasonable in the face of megacorporations with huge profits. Support for the WGA is almost universal, even among some of those people who stand to lose from a prolonged labour conflict.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, groups like STM bus drivers <a href="http://blogues.cyberpresse.ca/lagace/?p=70720650">don't have that kind of public support</a>. They're seen as overpaid whiners with too much power who don't care about the public. (An informal CTV News poll had 91% of about 1,000 respondents saying public transit workers should not be allowed to strike.)</p>
<p>Maybe if Susan Sarandon did a video for them they'd get more public support.</p>
<p>Then again maybe not.</p>
<p>UPDATE (Nov. 28): For those who want more low-brow late night writers strike videos, check out <a href="http://lateshowwritersonstrike.com/">LateShowWritersOnStrike.com</a>.<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/14/another-stm-strike/' title='Another STM strike?'>Another STM strike?</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/05/24/revolutions-are-so-disorganized/' title='Revolutions are so disorganized'>Revolutions are so disorganized</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2009/12/14/journal-de-quebec-lockout-video/' title='The entirely unbiased history of the Journal de Québec lockout'>The entirely unbiased history of the Journal de Québec lockout</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2009/11/28/status-quo-at-amt/' title='Status quo at AMT'>Status quo at AMT</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2009/10/14/radio-canada-deal/' title='A deal at Radio-Canada'>A deal at Radio-Canada</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Screaming matches are not interviews</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/18/screaming-matches-are-not-interviews/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/18/screaming-matches-are-not-interviews/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 18 Nov 2007 21:12:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Montreal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TV]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ASSE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jean-Luc-Mongrain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[protests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TQS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tuition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[updated]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/18/screaming-matches-are-not-interviews/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A memo to Jean-Luc Mongrain: Acting like Bill O'Reilly doesn't make you a better interviewer. When you invite a leader of the student protest movement on your show and yell at him like a madman, it doesn't make people agree with your position more. In fact, people already agree with your position that protesters provoke [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A memo to Jean-Luc Mongrain:</p>
<p>Acting like Bill O'Reilly doesn't make you a better interviewer. When you <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/mediawatchqc/video/x3ifg7_mongrain-clenche-porte-parole-etudi_politics?from=rss">invite a leader of the student protest movement on your show</a> and yell at him like a madman, it doesn't make people agree with your position more. In fact, people <em>already agree</em> with your position that <a href="http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/14/more-cries-of-police-brutality/">protesters provoke police</a> and that <a href="http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/09/the-tuition-debate-is-over/">the tuition hikes are modest</a> and don't necessitate this kind of response.</p>
<p>So why are you yelling like a baby who thinks nobody is listening to him? You invited the guy on your show to speak his mind. At least let him speak.</p>
<p><embed src="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/1sK8n422VY3kFoKvZ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="335" width="425"></embed><br />
<strong><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3ifg7_mongrain-clenche-porte-parole-etudi_politics">Mongrain Clenche Porte Parole Etudiant 50 Dollar</a></strong><br />
<em>Uploaded by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/mediawatchqc">mediawatchqc</a></em></p>
<p>UPDATE (Nov. 19): <a href="http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20071119/CPARTS/711190641/5050/CPPRESSE">Mongrain's contract expires next spring</a>, and he doesn't seem worried about his future.</p>
<p>UPDATE (Nov. 20): via <a href="http://blogues.cyberpresse.ca/lagace/?p=70720631">Patrick Lagacé</a> comes <a href="http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=o-j5Smagtpo">this example of classic Mongrain</a>:<br />
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/o-j5Smagtpo&#038;rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed><br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/09/the-tuition-debate-is-over/' title='The tuition debate is over'>The tuition debate is over</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/09/05/student-lobby-groups-need-a-reality-check/' title='Student lobby groups need a reality check'>Student lobby groups need a reality check</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/14/more-cries-of-police-brutality/' title='More cries of &#8220;police brutality&#8221;'>More cries of &#8220;police brutality&#8221;</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/04/18/jean-luc-mongrain-quits-tqs/' title='Jean-Luc Mongrain quits TQS'>Jean-Luc Mongrain quits TQS</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/28/so-so-so-solidarite-is-that-the-best-you-could-come-up-with/' title='So so so, solidarité? Is that the best you could come up with?'>So so so, solidarité? Is that the best you could come up with?</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Santa parade, zombies on Saturday</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/15/santa-parade-zombies-on-saturday/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/15/santa-parade-zombies-on-saturday/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Nov 2007 01:45:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Montreal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parades]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zombies]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/15/santa-parade-zombies-on-saturday/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The "First Annual Zombie Walk", which has been rescheduled at least twice by my count (I first talked about it in September), looks like it's finally going to happen this Saturday, a few blocks away from the Santa Claus parade. The zombies are to meet up outside the de Maisonneuve entrance to Dawson College (3040 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The "<a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=4780716148">First Annual Zombie Walk</a>", which has been rescheduled at least twice by my count (<a href="http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/09/04/return-of-the-zombie/">I first talked about it in September</a>), looks like it's finally going to happen this Saturday, a few blocks away from the <a href="http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2007/05/c4184.html">Santa Claus parade.</a></p>
<p>The zombies are to meet up outside the de Maisonneuve entrance to Dawson College (3040 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W., metro Atwater) at noon. From there, they'll take an unannounced course and walk zombily around downtown. There are currently no plans to interfere directly with the parade, though there are bound to be some crowd overlaps.</p>
<p>The parade, meanwhile, takes the Standard Downtown Parade Route, starting at Fort and Ste. Catherine and going east until St. Urbain. The parade starts at 11 a.m. and is expected to run until about 2 p.m.</p>
<p><img src="http://blog.fagstein.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/parade-zombies.png" alt="Santa Parade and zombies" /></p>
<p>For an example of what a zombie walk looks like, you can check out <a href="http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=ok9Fg5BLCTs">this video of a similar walk in Trois-Rivières in September</a>.</p>
<p>The zombie walk has a goal of promoting environmentalism, and has gotten form letters of support from the office of Al Gore and David Suzuki (though the latter wrote his brief letter by hand). It's still unclear how zombies are going to help the environment.</p>
<p>At least one after party is already planned, though its location is being kept secret.</p>
<p>For more information on the Zombie walk, consult <a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=4780716148">its Facebook page</a>. (Or, if you have moral objections to Facebook, just ask me and I'll see if I can find out.)<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/28/the-toupin-blvd-solution/' title='The Toupin Blvd. &#8220;solution&#8221;'>The Toupin Blvd. &#8220;solution&#8221;</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/20/making-the-case-for-a-quieter-toupin-blvd/' title='Making the case for a quieter Toupin Blvd.'>Making the case for a quieter Toupin Blvd.</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/08/24/all-blog-but-no-bite/' title='All blog but no bite'>All blog but no bite</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/06/09/so-there-were-these-naked-cyclists/' title='So there were these naked cyclists'>So there were these naked cyclists</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/06/03/save-the-park-keep-the-rubber-off-let-it-go-bareback/' title='Save the park! Keep the rubber off! Let it go bareback!'>Save the park! Keep the rubber off! Let it go bareback!</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Honesty is the best journalistic policy</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/15/honesty-is-the-best-journalistic-policy/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/15/honesty-is-the-best-journalistic-policy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Nov 2007 08:10:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Navel-gazing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[jounalism ethics]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/15/honesty-is-the-best-journalistic-policy/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[La Presse's Paul Journet has a story on a journalist for TVA, Karine Champagne, whose three sons attend École Horizon-Soleil. That's where a 12-year-old boy with a congenital heart defect died after being shoved on the schoolyard by an 11-year-old girl. Champagne acted first as a mother, giving interviews to journalists complaining about the school's [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>La Presse's Paul Journet has <a href="http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20071114/CPARTS/711140676/1019/CPACTUALITES">a story on a journalist for TVA, Karine Champagne,</a> whose three sons attend École Horizon-Soleil. That's where a <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/11/13/qc-carpentierdeath1113.html">12-year-old boy with a congenital heart defect died</a> after being shoved on the schoolyard by an 11-year-old girl.</p>
<p>Champagne acted first as a mother, giving interviews to journalists complaining about the school's response to the incident. The next day, she talked about the incident on TV as a journalist.</p>
<p>The article presents this as a journalistic faux-pas, but I'm not so sure. Is it wrong for a journalist to report on something merely because they've expressed an opinion about it?</p>
<p>It's an issue I'm wrestling with, as I both comment on and write about stories that interest me. I try to keep an open mind, I welcome opposing viewpoints, and I like to learn new things. I believe in respecting conflicts of interest (so, for example, I won't write about a family member's business without disclosing the relationship), but does having an opinion represent a conflict in itself?</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2005/01/66251">Wired article explores journalists who blog</a>, and a key sentence in it struck with me:</p>
<blockquote><p>Reporters are people, too (really), and just because they express opinions doesn't mean their reporting should be dismissed out of hand, as long as they arrive at their conclusions honestly, through rigorous reporting.</p></blockquote>
<p>Honesty is something I think has been forgotten in all the talk of journalistic ethics. It means a lot of things:</p>
<ul>
<li>Explaining how you come to your opinions instead of hiding them</li>
<li>Being honest to yourself by accepting the fact that you might be wrong</li>
<li><a href="http://journalism.ukings.ca/journalism_3673_6465.html">Not pledging allegiance to any one group or cause</a>, surrendering your objectivity to the whims of their leaders</li>
<li>Not being afraid to disclose things about you that may affect how your reporting is perceived</li>
<li>Being self-critical, and being able to admit to yourself when your objectivity has been too tarnished by personal involvement in an issue that you can't tackle it fairly as a journalist</li>
<li>Not being afraid to bite the hand that feeds you (a rule broken by many journalists who keep quiet about their employers for fear of being fired)</li>
<li>Allowing people who disagree with you to speak for themselves</li>
</ul>
<p>I'm sure there are others.</p>
<p>I'm not one of those "objectivity doesn't exist so don't bother" people. I believe in fairness, and in not allowing your opinions to interfere with your journalism when you write about an issue. I believe in asking questions to learn instead of talking to people you already agree with. But I also believe that people can only believe what you tell them when they can trust you. And in order for them to trust you, you have to be honest.</p>
<p>The most important thing you have to be honest about as a journalist is how you think.</p>
<p>But enough of me. What do you think? Am I completely wrong about this?<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/12/23/senator-duffy/' title='Senator Duffy?'>Senator Duffy?</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/12/06/krista-erickson-cleared/' title='CBC Ombudsman clears reporter Erickson'>CBC Ombudsman clears reporter Erickson</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/11/25/tva-stolen-story/' title='Conseil de presse outs TVA for journalistic plagiarism'>Conseil de presse outs TVA for journalistic plagiarism</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/11/19/are-cash-journalism-awards-unethical/' title='Are cash journalism awards unethical?'>Are cash journalism awards unethical?</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/10/28/global-pays-for-interview/' title='Can you bribe with charity?'>Can you bribe with charity?</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>More cries of &#8220;police brutality&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/14/more-cries-of-police-brutality/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/14/more-cries-of-police-brutality/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Nov 2007 21:07:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[In the news]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ASSE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[police-brutality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quebec politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[student-protests]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/14/more-cries-of-police-brutality/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As predictable as the sun's rotation around the Earth, the militant student group ASSÉ, which is on "strike" this week against the unfreezing of tuition (despite the fact that most of its members are CEGEP students who don't pay tuition), started a fight with riot police during one of their protests and is crying "police [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As predictable as the sun's rotation around the Earth, the militant student group ASSÉ, which is <a href="http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/09/the-tuition-debate-is-over/">on "strike" this week</a> against the unfreezing of tuition (despite the fact that most of its members are CEGEP students who don't pay tuition), started a fight with riot police during one of their protests and is <a href="http://www.asse-solidarite.qc.ca/spip.php?article899&amp;lang=fr">crying "police brutality"</a>.</p>
<p>It's not that I think there aren't any rotten eggs in the police department, or that their tactics aren't a bit heavy-handed when it comes to protesters (fully-armored riot cops don't exactly have to fear for their lives against kids), but at some point the boy has to stop crying "wolf". Especially when the protesters are the ones starting the fights.<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/09/the-tuition-debate-is-over/' title='The tuition debate is over'>The tuition debate is over</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/09/05/student-lobby-groups-need-a-reality-check/' title='Student lobby groups need a reality check'>Student lobby groups need a reality check</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/18/screaming-matches-are-not-interviews/' title='Screaming matches are not interviews'>Screaming matches are not interviews</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2010/10/26/bill-115/' title='Passerelle'>Passerelle</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/11/07/university-board-rules/' title='Benevolent dictators, with rules'>Benevolent dictators, with rules</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Sign this petition, get a free T-shirt?</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/09/sign-this-petition-get-a-free-t-shirt/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/09/sign-this-petition-get-a-free-t-shirt/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Nov 2007 21:37:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bad ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[federal politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[petitions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pierre-Poilievre]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/09/sign-this-petition-get-a-free-t-shirt/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I'm no legalician or anything, but isn't offering kids a financial incentive to sign a petition ... you know ... wrong? Especially when the person doing the offering is a Member of Parliament? Just what is this supposed to be teaching us about politics? Related Posts Coalition of the unions and separatists Disorganized organizing YASTGB: [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I'm no legalician or anything, but isn't <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/11/08/ot-petition-071108.html?ref=rss">offering kids a financial incentive to sign a petition</a> ... you know ... wrong? Especially when the person doing the offering is a Member of Parliament?</p>
<p>Just what is this supposed to be teaching us about politics?<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/12/08/unions-dominate-coalition-protest/' title='Coalition of the unions and separatists'>Coalition of the unions and separatists</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/12/05/coalition-protests/' title='Disorganized organizing'>Disorganized organizing</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/09/08/yastgb-on-the-trail/' title='YASTGB: Bloc&#8217;s campaign bus sends mixed messages'>YASTGB: Bloc&#8217;s campaign bus sends mixed messages</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/01/06/crtc-looking-at-eliminating-top-40-radio-restrictions/' title='CRTC looking at eliminating top-40 radio restrictions'>CRTC looking at eliminating top-40 radio restrictions</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/12/29/twim-griffintown-and-telemarketers/' title='TWIM: Griffintown and telemarketers'>TWIM: Griffintown and telemarketers</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>The tuition debate is over</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/09/the-tuition-debate-is-over/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/09/the-tuition-debate-is-over/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Nov 2007 20:58:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Montreal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ASSE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bad ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FEUQ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[protests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quebec politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tuition]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/09/the-tuition-debate-is-over/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As if to deliberately underscore how chaotic and disorganized the student activist movement is, two separate, competing protests are being organized over the next two weeks concerning tuition and accessibility of higher education. The first, by the CEGEP-heavy, highly militant unlimited-strike-at-the-tip-of-a-hat ASSÉ, is this Thursday afternoon. (The event's tagline is telling: "Parce que la lutte [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As if to deliberately underscore how chaotic and disorganized the student activist movement is, two separate, competing protests are being organized over the next two weeks concerning tuition and accessibility of higher education.</p>
<p>The first, by the CEGEP-heavy, highly militant unlimited-strike-at-the-tip-of-a-hat <a href="http://www.asse-solidarite.qc.ca/">ASSÉ</a>, is <a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=7211271401">this Thursday afternoon</a>. (The event's tagline is telling: "Parce que la lutte continue, tabarnak !!!")</p>
<p>The second, by the bigger-budget, more organized PR-savvy <a href="http://www.nonaudegel.org/">FEUQ</a>, is <a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=8233567533&amp;ref=nf">the following Thursday</a>.</p>
<p>The reason behind the two protests is nothing more complicated than <a href="http://www.macleans.ca/education/universities/article.jsp?content=20071029_183255_2408">the two groups engaging in a pissing contest with each other</a>. Rather than put aside their differences and come together, <a href="http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/09/05/student-lobby-groups-need-a-reality-check/">student groups prefer to fight and sue each other</a>.</p>
<p>But even if this wasn't the case, the protest is pointless for one simple reason: <strong>They've already lost the battle</strong>.</p>
<p>In the last provincial election, Liberal leader Jean Charest made it abundantly clear he intended to unfreeze tuition and raise it by a small amount. ADQ leader Mario Dumont even wanted to go further. Those two parties took over 2/3 of the seats in the National Assembly.</p>
<p>The public, meanwhile, made it very clear that keeping Quebec's tuition the lowest in Canada is not their top priority. Even some <em>students</em> think our tuition is too low, and would prefer to see more student money go into the education system.</p>
<p>These protests (and the laughable "unlimited general strike", which hurts no one but the few students participating in it) are organized on the assumption that the public supports them. But it doesn't. And tying up downtown traffic so that some hippies can yell how $200 a course is too much to pay for university education isn't going to help their cause at all. It will just piss people off and make them think that these students have far too much free time on their hands that they could be spending earning money to lessen their tuition load.</p>
<p>The tuition debate is over as far as the government is concerned. If you're going to try to revolutionize the way Quebec finances post-secondary education, you have to convince the voters to think like you. That means a big, honest education campaign, not a protest.</p>
<p>And don't hold your breath expecting attitudes to change overnight.<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/09/05/student-lobby-groups-need-a-reality-check/' title='Student lobby groups need a reality check'>Student lobby groups need a reality check</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/18/screaming-matches-are-not-interviews/' title='Screaming matches are not interviews'>Screaming matches are not interviews</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/14/more-cries-of-police-brutality/' title='More cries of &#8220;police brutality&#8221;'>More cries of &#8220;police brutality&#8221;</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/08/angryphones-and-frangryphones/' title='Angryphones and frangryphones'>Angryphones and frangryphones</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/19/second-cup/' title='Mouvement Montréal français is right about Second Cup'>Mouvement Montréal français is right about Second Cup</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Angryphones and frangryphones</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/08/angryphones-and-frangryphones/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/08/angryphones-and-frangryphones/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Nov 2007 23:57:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Montreal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Slow News Day]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[angryphones]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bad ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Impératif-français]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[language]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[media errors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mouvement-Montréal-français]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quebec politics]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/08/angryphones-and-frangryphones/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[CBC has a story about a new protest by French-superiority groups Impératif français and Mouvement Montréal français: They want to change when "For English, press 9" appears on government-run automatic telephone menus. As it stands, many government departments have it at the beginning of their menus, so that anglphones don't have to sit through French [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>CBC has a story about a new protest by French-superiority groups Impératif français and Mouvement Montréal français: <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/11/08/qc-phoneslanguage1108.html">They want to change when "For English, press 9" appears on government-run automatic telephone menus</a>.</p>
<p>As it stands, many government departments have it at the beginning of their menus, so that anglphones don't have to sit through French options they don't understand. But the French groups want the option to be read only at the end of the French menus.</p>
<p>I honestly have no words to express how stupid this is. Arguing over automatic telephone menu orders is trivial enough, but what exactly are they trying to accomplish? Save time for francophones who have to endure that two-second delay? Help anglophones learn French by forcing them to sit through menu options?</p>
<p>No, this is just a pointless power grab and pissing contest. And unfortunately for us, the government actually listened. So if you have to wait through a five-minute list of menu options before finding out what number to press to get English service, you know who to blame.</p>
<h4>Shouldn't journalists correct wrong information?</h4>
<p>During the CBC News at Six report on this scandal, it featured a few man-on-the-street soundbites from Montrealers about the issue. Naturally, the people interviewed said what the journalists could not: That this is a stupid issue to focus on and people should get a life.</p>
<p>But one of the interviewees defended the English language (because in Quebec, English needs a defence), saying it was the most commonly-spoken language in the world.</p>
<p>Of course, as any knower-of-pointless-facts would tell you, that's incorrect. Mandarin (Chinese), with over a billion speakers, is spoken by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers">more than twice as many people as English</a> (which is second or third with over 300-500 million, depending on your source). French is ranked in the teens with 130 million (60 million natively).</p>
<p>But this apparent misinformation went uncorrected by the journalist. Why? Did she not know this (in which case, why didn't she confirm it?), or are statements from random people on the street not subject to the same fact-checking treatment as those from journalists?</p>
<h4>Quebec Office of the English Language</h4>
<p>Another thing mentioned on the CBC evening news today was the creation of the <a href="http://www.oqla.org/">Office québécois de la langue anglaise</a>, a <strike>bad joke</strike> grass-roots English rights group that hopes to <a href="http://www.cjad.com/news/565/618369">pressure businesses into providing bilingual services</a>. Considering the word "racism" appears on their forum, you can guess what kind of people this website is attracting. No doubt it will serve to hurt its cause more than it helps, by propagating the angryphone stereotype.</p>
<p>(UPDATE: <a href="http://blogues.cyberpresse.ca/lagace/?p=70720593">Patrick Lagacé and his commenters have some things to say about this new group</a>)</p>
<p>UPDATE (Nov. 10): We should send the Anglo Rights Brigade to Laval University, where it seems <a href="http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=83bd24dd-329a-48b6-9ad1-2a8ddf0f92e4">they're clearly needed</a>.<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/19/second-cup/' title='Mouvement Montréal français is right about Second Cup'>Mouvement Montréal français is right about Second Cup</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/09/21/howard-galganov-is-still-an-idiot/' title='Howard Galganov is still an idiot'>Howard Galganov is still an idiot</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/02/16/mckibbins/' title='The McKibbin&#8217;s kinda-non-story'>The McKibbin&#8217;s kinda-non-story</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/01/19/when-90-just-isnt-good-enough/' title='When 90% just isn&#8217;t good enough'>When 90% just isn&#8217;t good enough</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/09/the-tuition-debate-is-over/' title='The tuition debate is over'>The tuition debate is over</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>9/11 truth exposed!</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/25/911-truth-exposed/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/25/911-truth-exposed/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Oct 2007 17:27:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Montreal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[9/11-attacks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bad ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conspiracy-theories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Montreal-9/11-Truth]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/25/911-truth-exposed/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I've always been skeptical of the official explanation of 9/11. I mean, fire causing a building to collapse? When has that ever happened? And the official explanation that the towers fell so fast because the lower floors provided minimal resistance to all the higher floors falling down on them at once doesn't make any sense [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I've always been skeptical of the official explanation of 9/11. I mean, fire causing a building to collapse? When has that ever happened? And the official explanation that <a href="http://www.debunking911.com/freefall.htm">the towers fell so fast because the lower floors provided minimal resistance to all the higher floors falling down on them at once</a> doesn't make any sense either. It's obvious that the government secretly put explosives in the buildings, detonating them after planes had crashed into them, then later secretly removed all traces of evidence from the rubble, so that the casualties could be limited to a magic number between 2,500 and 3,000. Obviously.</p>
<p>Well now, a local group called <a href="http://www.mtl911truth.org/">Montreal 9/11 Truth</a> has proved once and for all that the World Trade Centre collapse was deliberate using the best scientific means available: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8YfqPCooTQ">asking a bunch of laypeople at a metro station what they think</a>.</p>
<p>George W. Bush's resignation in disgrace can be expected within the hour.<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/09/sign-this-petition-get-a-free-t-shirt/' title='Sign this petition, get a free T-shirt?'>Sign this petition, get a free T-shirt?</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/09/the-tuition-debate-is-over/' title='The tuition debate is over'>The tuition debate is over</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/08/angryphones-and-frangryphones/' title='Angryphones and frangryphones'>Angryphones and frangryphones</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/09/21/howard-galganov-is-still-an-idiot/' title='Howard Galganov is still an idiot'>Howard Galganov is still an idiot</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/09/07/homeless-rights/' title='Arresting the homeless doesn&#8217;t cure homelessness'>Arresting the homeless doesn&#8217;t cure homelessness</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Making the case for a quieter Toupin Blvd.</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/20/making-the-case-for-a-quieter-toupin-blvd/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/20/making-the-case-for-a-quieter-toupin-blvd/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Oct 2007 16:58:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Montreal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[My articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cartierville]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toupin-Blvd.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ville-Saint-Laurent]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/20/making-the-case-for-a-quieter-toupin-blvd/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This week I spoke with Nicolas Stone, a resident of Cartierville three houses away from Toupin Blvd., who is one of many in that area opposed to a northern extension of Cavendish Blvd. The plan would connect Cavendish, through a new development in Bois Franc, to Henri-Bourassa Blvd. at Toupin Blvd. The residents (whom I [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This week <a href="http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/saturdayextra/story.html?id=9e012d4b-e009-425c-af19-a46889b4f379">I spoke with Nicolas Stone</a>, a resident of Cartierville three houses away from Toupin Blvd., who is one of many in that area opposed to a northern extension of Cavendish Blvd. The plan would connect Cavendish, through a new development in Bois Franc, to Henri-Bourassa Blvd. at Toupin Blvd.</p>
<p><img src="http://blog.fagstein.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/toupin2.png" alt="Toupin Blvd. … not so whiny" /></p>
<p>The residents (whom <a href="http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/08/10/the-other-cavendish-extension/">I dubbed "concerned citizens"</a> as you see above) oppose it for the obvious reason that it would turn Toupin Blvd. into a throughway (even though there's nothing beyond the neighbourhood -- the closest bridges to Laval are at Marcel-Laurin to the east and Highway 13 to the west).</p>
<p>Stone (a husband with three hyperactive toddlers I found after he made a comment on this blog) makes a compelling case. His concerns mainly revolve around philosophical objections to creating more roads and encouraging single-passenger traffic. He takes public transit to work and used to bike everywhere.</p>
<p>He was a good sport about the interview, even when I flat-out accused him of being part of the problem by contributing to urban sprawl.<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/28/the-toupin-blvd-solution/' title='The Toupin Blvd. &#8220;solution&#8221;'>The Toupin Blvd. &#8220;solution&#8221;</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/08/10/the-other-cavendish-extension/' title='The other Cavendish extension'>The other Cavendish extension</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/04/26/toupin-blvd-plan/' title='The Toupin Blvd. plan'>The Toupin Blvd. plan</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/09/26/radcan-needs-geography-lessons/' title='RadCan needs geography lessons'>RadCan needs geography lessons</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/15/santa-parade-zombies-on-saturday/' title='Santa parade, zombies on Saturday'>Santa parade, zombies on Saturday</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Mouvement Montréal français is right about Second Cup</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/19/second-cup/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/19/second-cup/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 19 Oct 2007 23:46:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[In the news]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Montreal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[language]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mouvement-Montréal-français]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[protests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quebec politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Second-Cup]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/19/second-cup/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A protest by members of Mouvement Montréal Français yesterday has prompted Second Cup (in one of the shortest press releases I've seen in quite a while) to announce offhandedly mention that it will review its policy concerning its signs. The tiff was caused when the coffee giant decided it would remove "Les Cafés" from its [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/268280">A protest by members of Mouvement Montréal Français yesterday</a> has prompted Second Cup (in one of the <a href="http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2007/18/c5667.html">shortest press releases</a> I've seen in quite a while) to <strike>announce</strike> offhandedly mention that it will review its policy concerning its signs.</p>
<p>The tiff was caused when the coffee giant decided it would remove "Les Cafés" from its coffee shop's signs and just become "Second Cup". They can do this, despite Bill 101, because Second Cup is a registered trademarked, like McDonald's, Wal-Mart and Future Shop.</p>
<p>MMF wasn't happy with this. So they protested. No <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2000/11/14/secondcup001114.html">firebombing</a> or anything like that, but they held signs and asked people to take their patronage elsewhere (Starbucks? Java U? Tim Horton's? Dunkin Donuts?)</p>
<p>Good for them.</p>
<p>I'm no fan of Bill 101, and I oppose government over-regulation of commercial signs. But this isn't government regulation, it's regular citizens expressing their right to free expression in attempting to get a company to change its ways. Second Cup's signs should be French not because the government forces it on them, but because <em>it's respecting the population to speak to them in their language</em>. Imagine having English-only signs in China, or Spanish-only signs in the U.S. It's understandable for a mom-and-pop operation or a store in an ethnic village, but for a major company it's a slap in the face to French-speaking Quebecers.</p>
<p>Second Cup's move was just plain stupid. It's not like nobody recognizes "Second Cup" when it's "Les Cafés Second Cup". Instead, this smacks of a decision made by a clueless manager who has far too much free time on his hands and doesn't know anything about Quebec politics.</p>
<p>Hopefully they'll come to their senses and leave "Les Cafés Second Cup" alone.<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/08/angryphones-and-frangryphones/' title='Angryphones and frangryphones'>Angryphones and frangryphones</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/02/16/mckibbins/' title='The McKibbin&#8217;s kinda-non-story'>The McKibbin&#8217;s kinda-non-story</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/09/the-tuition-debate-is-over/' title='The tuition debate is over'>The tuition debate is over</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/09/30/oh-the-poor-oppressed-quebec-white-man/' title='Oh the poor oppressed Quebec white man'>Oh the poor oppressed Quebec white man</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/09/21/howard-galganov-is-still-an-idiot/' title='Howard Galganov is still an idiot'>Howard Galganov is still an idiot</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>The penny isn&#8217;t free</title>
		<link>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/08/the-penny-isnt-free/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/08/the-penny-isnt-free/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:57:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Fagstein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[copyright infringement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[federal politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[penny]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Royal-Canadian-Mint]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/08/the-penny-isnt-free/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You know, I thought our government had some common sense when it came to copyright and intellectual property laws. BoingBoing and BlogTO point to a complaint from the City of Toronto's One Cent Now campaign for getting one cent out of the six-cent-per-dollar GST to be given to cities. Apparently the Royal Canadian Mint considers [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You know, I thought our government had some common sense when it came to copyright and intellectual property laws.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2007/10/05/canadian-mint-we-own.html">BoingBoing</a> and <a href="http://www.blogto.com/city/2007/10/one_cent_now_campaign_slapped_in_the_face/">BlogTO</a> point to <a href="http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2007/05/c9202.html">a complaint</a> from the City of Toronto's <a href="http://www.onecentnow.ca/">One Cent Now</a> campaign for getting one cent out of the six-cent-per-dollar GST to be given to cities. Apparently the <a href="http://www.mint.ca/">Royal Canadian Mint</a> considers the design of the penny and the words "one cent" to be its property and is <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20071005.PENNY05/TPStory/TPNational/Ontario/">charging the campaign</a> over $47,000 for <a href="http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20071005/penny_pic_071005/20071005?hub=TorontoHome">the right to use them on its website</a>.</p>
<p>Because the Mint is a crown corporation and not government directly, it can own intellectual property and charge for its use, even when that property is literally in the hands and pockets of millions of people.</p>
<p>In the U.S. and other countries, they don't have this problem. Unless an image on a coin was licensed from an artist (say, it was a portrait of Elvis or something), it's considered public domain and people can use them as they wish (so long as they're not counterfeiting).</p>
<p>Even if the Mint is right in asserting its control over the image on the penny (and I don't think it should), its request is ridiculous. No one will mistake the One Cent Now site for that of the Canadian Mint, and they're not selling T-shirts with the penny on them. It's political speech, and they're justified in calling this a slap in the face.</p>
<p>UPDATE (Oct. 9): Datalibre.ca makes the case that <a href="http://datalibre.ca/2007/10/09/a-copyrighted-penny-for-your-thoughts/">even if the image of the penny was subject to copyright, it expired years ago</a>.<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Related Posts</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/12/29/twim-griffintown-and-telemarketers/' title='TWIM: Griffintown and telemarketers'>TWIM: Griffintown and telemarketers</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/16/own-a-photocopier-get-sued/' title='Own a photocopier, get sued'>Own a photocopier, get sued</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/11/09/sign-this-petition-get-a-free-t-shirt/' title='Sign this petition, get a free T-shirt?'>Sign this petition, get a free T-shirt?</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/10/06/kill-the-penny-but-round-it-up/' title='Kill the penny, but round it up'>Kill the penny, but round it up</a></li>
<li><a href='http://blog.fagstein.com/2007/09/11/but-what-do-the-unions-think/' title='But what do the unions think?'>But what do the unions think?</a></li>
</ul>
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