Gilles Duceppe misleads Scots?
Gilles Duceppe continued the current edition of his "Idiot Abroad" tour, speaking to a classroom of students at the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland.The prestigious event might have lasted longer than 50 minutes, but as the teacher explained,
the classroom would have to be relinquished for the next class.
HA! HA! Very prestigious.
During the Q&A , after the speech, Gilles Duceppe got asked some tough questions on language.
A couple of Quebec students studying abroad at the university, decided to torment Duceppe. One student wrapped in a Canadian flag and another wearing a Montreal Canadiens hockey shirt asked the politician why English education in Quebec is restricted.
Instead of backing up that policy of Bill 101, the weasel told the questioner that French students could go to English Cegeps and universities, without mentioning that his party wants to change all this.
You can watch the whole tedious classroom lecture in which Mr. Duceppe lays out his plan for Quebec's quest for 'sovereigning' (sic) LINK
You can read an embarrassing news report about the incident here LINK fr
Question to readers..... How come Duceppe is never confronted like this in Canada?
Gilles Proulx's racist rant on TV
Gilles Proulx is another longtime anglo basher in the fine mould of Pierre Falardeau who has a nasty and condescending tone. Another ageing and frustrated separatist, he loses it on Mario Dumont's nightly TV show, when discussing the possibility of converting Cegeps to teach bilingually. Suffice to say that he is opposed to such an idea.
He goes nuts and refers to Anglophones as "tête carré " a slur equivalent to calling francophones "Frogs" or "Peppers." He uses the term four times during the segment as well as calling the Italian community "Voyous," the same term that Pierre-Karl Péladeau is suing over. Then he complains that the Italians play Mafia music in their restaurants and before finishing up, he disparages the Greek community because although they speak French, they speak English to each other.
There's no subtitles but you can catch the drift, even if you don't speak French. Mario Dumont, never called him out on the slurs, but La Presse columnist Marc Cassivi did so in an article entitled "Le racisme à deux vitesses," where the writer points out the double standard over racial insults. LINK
Interestingly, I viewed the closed captioning, the subtitles provided for the deaf and the person doing the translation refused to put the word 'tête carré' on the screen, all four times. Hah!
Pauline Marois meets the Governor General
The tete-a-tete was a courtesy call, one that Madame Marois didn't want memorialized and so she barred photographers from snapping pictures.
The visit fell exactly on the fifteenth anniversary of the famous "Unity Rally" the federalist love-in that occurred three days before the 1995 referendum.
Not lost on Madame Marois is the fact that the Governor-General was then the co-president of the NO committee!
PQ directer of communications, Pascal Monette, pooh-poohed the whole affair and characterized it as no big deal, telling reporters that it is normal to meet 'foreign' dignitaries...SWEET!
Quebeckers mourn the loss of Internet address
The Canadian organization that is charged with managing the 1.5 million '.ca' Internet addresses (CIRA) has announced it will no longer register the 'qc.ca"The blow to proud Quebeckers who want some reference to their province in their Internet domain name has inspired them to apply to the international organization that controls these things, to add a new appellation- ".québec" complete with accent. Link
Bilingualism good for the brain
"A growing body of research shows that regularly speaking two languages comes with certain types of improved mental performance....Being able to use two languages and never knowing which one you're going to use right now rewires your brain," says Ellen Bialystok of York University in Toronto, whose work Diamond cited repeatedly in the article." LINK
Asked to comment, a certain French language militant admitted that this may be true, but asserts that there's no proof that this second language must be English!
ADISC- Don't apply if you're English
"Founded in 1978 to defend the interests of its members and promote the development of the music industry in Quebec, the Quebec Association of the music industry, entertainment and video (ADISQ) is a nonprofit professional association." ADISC website
Like the JUNOS, this organization hands out prizes, called Félix, each year to celebrate the best Quebec musical and video artists, the best that is, if you sing in French.
Anglos, and everyone else is not eligible for 'artist of the year.' So the likes of Bobby Banzini, clearly the best this year, is not eligible.
The organization defends itself by pointing out that it does offer a prize for the best English album of the year, but it remains firm that artists eligible for 'artist of the year' must sing in French.
Diane Pinet, Bobby Barzini's agent, wondered out loud how Francophones would feel if French artists were to be banned from competing at the JUNO awards. LINK
By the way the ADISQ web site sports the HERITAGE CANADA logo at the bottom of the page indicating that Ottawa underwrites a portion of it's activities. LINK
Luc Plamadon unloads on English
For those who don't know who he is, Plamondon is a prolific francophone composer whose most famous piece is the rock opera, STARMANIA. If you don't know what STARMANIA is, don't worry, it's no TOMMY or HAIR. It's a rather tedious, cheaply staged musical whose only claim to fame is that it is written and sung in French.
At any rate, the nasty old fart, delighted in telling the Journal de Montreal how much he dislikes English and Anglophones. He recounted how, on the eve of a revival of STARMANIA, staged at Montreal's Place des Arts theatre, he threw a last minute hissy fit, demanding that the simultaneous translation screens that offered English subtitles be removed.
"I wasn't going to kneel down before the three board members of the l'Opera de Monreal, who didn't speak French" Plamondon en croisadeHe then went on to complain that the ritzy fundraisers held around the city were run bilingually;
"I ask myself, why are we obliged to give speeches in both languages?" Plamondon en croisadeErr.... Perhaps it's because it's the Anglophones that give the bulk of the money?
He voiced his support for the ADISQ decision to bar Quebeckers who sing in English from being eligible for "Artist of the Year' award. (See above article)
He then went on to complain about the Festival d’été de Québec, because of its policy in bringing in top name talent like the Black-Eyed Peas or Santana. "They don't need government funds to survive" Another falsehood.
The reality is that the Festival makes money on these 'marquee' artists, because it is they who are the major attractions that generate tickets sales and bring in the tourists. Quebecois talent serve as opening acts for the real shows. When Quebecois talent perform alone at the festival, crowds are a fraction of what the big names perform to. At any rate, Quebecois talent can be seen for nothing at the free shows paid for by the government each year at the multitude of St. Jean Baptiste concerts, so why pay.
Read a piece about the success of Quebec's Festival d’été and their refusal to cave into language militants LINK
Who earns more, Francophone or Anglophone Quebeckers?
The very stupid and public debate between Jack Jedwab and Charles Castonguay over who earns more, Francophone or Anglophone Quebeckers fails to capture the most salient point. Both earn less than the average Canadian family and both are left with much less after Quebec's confiscatory taxes are factored in."An average Quebec family earned $77,738 this year and paid $33,310 in taxes, representing 42.8% of its income. An average Canadian family earned $ 92.754, or 19.3% more than us, with a lower tax rate.Yikes!
More worrisome still: the average Quebec family earned $16 less in 2010 than in 2009, while the average Canadian family earned $1816 more."Republiques de /Bananes, Author Serge Rouleau
Enjoy your weekend!
