Friday, September 7, 2012

Is the Anglo Assassin a Harbinger of Violence?

May we see your invitation please?
It's a bit ironic that I wrote what probably was my most unpopular post on Wednesday, a day that saw the greatest volume of traffic ever seen on this blog.

Perhaps it was the election but this last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, generated over 23,000 pageviews, which is at least three or four times more traffic than usual.

It is also makes it hard to keep up with the comments and if you are wondering why some "Anonymous' comments are allowed to be kept up, it is because they generated a lot of reaction and sub-comments attached, in the brief time they were up.

I cannot monitor the comments section in real time, 24/7 and so sometimes after a few hours of absence, 'Anon' comments take on a life of their own.

I know it's frustrating to have a good comment taken down, but you can imagine the mayhem that responding to Anon@12:00 PM or ANON@10:12AM would become with the amount of comments, coming through.
Yes, the screen names are silly, but they serve their purpose. I will re-iterate that I'd wish you would stick to one name, as jumping around and being whimsical really just adds to the confusion.
Also, I'd remind readers that sarcasm, doesn't translate well into print, trust me I've crashed and burned often enough.

At any rate this has been a heckuva week and much to my frustration, BLOGGER ate up the original of this post as it was ready to go.
This is the second time I'm writing it, which has sadly happened to me before, and the rebuild, I might add, are never as good as the first draft.
It is highly frustrating, but in the end you get what you pay for, so no use complaining.

We've certainly been through a lot with this election and it is unbelievable that on the day of Pauline Marois' greatest triumph, somebody tried to kill her.
Talk about a buzzkill.
It's been reported that she is badly shaken up by the attempt on her life as you might well understand, it's quite a rude awakening and I imagine she'll be looking over her shoulder every time a car backfires. (Do cars still backfire?)
The shooting overshadowed her speech where it was plain that her intensive and secret English lessons are paying off, as she actually made coherent sentences and seemed a lot more comfortable in the language of the Gods. (private lessons...no English Cegep for her!)

Our shooter, Richard Henry Bain was the garden variety nutbar, shooting at anything that came in his path. If his rifle didn't jam, we might have faced a Norwegian type tragedy.
But one senseless death is one too many, Denis Blanchette, the poor fellow who was killed when he simply went out to complete a work shift, like any Joe Six Pack and ended up in the proverbial wrong place at the wrong time.

I'm offering my personal condolences and those of this blog community to his family. There is nothing really we can say that makes any sense of the tragic affair.

You can lay the blame for this murder squarely on our Keystone Kops who failed to guard a key backdoor and allowed an idiot in underwear and a bathrobe, armed with a huge CZ assault rifle, free entrance and access to the Metropolis club where Pauline Marois was holding her post-election celebration.

The pitiful performance of Montreal's doughnut eaters who were guarding the perimeter was only topped by Madame Marois' protection detail from the Sureté du Quebec, who actually escorted her from the stage directly towards the backdoor and into the path of the shooter.
I'm not making this up.
When another cop yelled at them to withdraw, they made their way back to the stage where Marois convinced them that it was okay to continue with her speech. Again, I'm not making this up.

Right this way Madame Marois!
In political protection units around the world, this case will be the standard to measure poor planning and failure, it is likely Madame Marois would have been better off being guarded by mall cops.

The next day a police spokesman gave an interview where he told the audience that they had no indication that the shooter was dangerous, but that readers is a big, fat lie.

A man was interviewed on crime-reporter Claude Poirier's very reputable television show who said he warned both the Sureté du Quebec and the Montreal police that there would be an attack at the Metropolis.
He gave a completely detailed account of his interaction with the police and also furnished the names of the two policemen who interviewed him. He also had the business card of one of them.
It seems he had picked up the threat on the internet and informed the unenthusiastic police.
Shades of killer Luka Rocco Magnotta who was also reported to the police only to have the warning ignored as well. Link

In a purely Quebec twist the shooter may have been sent off the deep end because of a ferocious bout of Quebec red tape.
After months and months of trying to expand his hunting and fishing lodge, held up due to red tape, he had just received that morning yet one more letter from the Ministry of Natural Resources requiring Bain to spend more money on an environmental impact study before his proposal could go forward

And nobody but nobody in the mainstream press picked up on the irony of the defiant message of Anglo resistance, shouted in French; "les Anglais se réveillent!" (the anglos are awakening!)
And so our shooter seems to respect the precepts of Bill 101 and bilingualism if nothing else.

Of course the story went viral much to the chagrin of French language militants because the spin seemed to play over that statement of political persecution.

Newspapers from around the world characterized the shooting as political and outlined the PQs plan to further restrict Anglo rights and to seek independence.
In one fell swoop, the battle for French language supremacy or English language survival has been re-set as one that has become violent.

Somebody at the US State department just raised the flag on the QUEBEC FILE to a higher level and believe me when I tell you that there is very definitely such a file.

Now all our politicians from every political stripe have assured us that this is the work of a madman, a one-off that shouldn't concern us.

But I'm not so sure. Can it be a harbinger of things to come?

As Madame Marois and the PQ push their anti-English, anti-Allophone, anti-immigrant, anti-religion agenda could it provoke a violent reaction?

We've seen things escalate dangerously in the student strike, just this week we saw students using violent intimidation to interrupt classes, so to believe that we are immune from violence is perhaps a case of whistling past the graveyard.

At any rate, I'm not so sure I'd like to be one of those new language inspectors promised by all parties, hired to prowl through the West Island and downtown Montreal seeking out those felonious "Dishwasher wanted" signs.
The reception they receive may just be decidedly rough.

The question for readers to address in the comments section is whether this assassination attempt was just a terrible one-off incident or the harbinger of language violence to come.

By the way, the usual suspects are blaming the Anglo press for promoting hate against Quebec that led to the shooting incident.
Blowhard Mario Beaulieu sounds off HERE{Fr} .
Someone signing Mr. Bealieus's name left the contents of his attack on the English media in the comments section yesterday and as is my custom I've left it up.

Richard LeHir over on vigile.net, included our blog as one of those described as a hate mongering website.
Oh, well I've been called worse by better men than he! Link{Fr}

To all readers, have a good weekend!

345 comments:

  1. This crime was made by someone crazy, however it is a political crime.

    If I was running an anglophone media, I would review my tactics. I'm not pointing my finger to anyone or at any organisation in particular, but I'm pointing to a wider phenomenon. If we have another election in 12 or 18 months, hopefully the anglophone medias will act differently. We can't blame the media but we can't say that their attitude was flawless.

    During the campaign, I've seen numerous pictures of Marois with the KKK hat or Hitler's mustache (even on this blog). At some point, it seems like it became widely accepted to call Marois "a racist" or "a nazi". It's obvious for me that this wasn't the attitude to adopt. We are all aware of Marois' pro-francophone and pro Bill 101 agenda. However, we are still living in democracy and Marois is only the tip of the iceberg. I can understand why some anglos might fear for some of the rights under a PQ governement, however when you are comparing the PQ with nazis, you are not helping yourself, you are actually making things worse.

    Like I said earlier, Marois is not taking unilateral decisions. We are living in a democracy and we've got tons of democratic institutions.

    I've read a lot of revolting comments about the attack on Marois. Some people we saying stuff like : "It's a shame that the shooter missed her target" ... It's disgusting to read those kind of comments and it's very possible that these people could have been influenced by what they've seen in the medias.

    In Bain's case, we can ask ourselves the same question. Did he felt that he had to "protect" the Anglo and their rights, because of something he read, heard or saw in the media? Maybe... we might never know!

    So it's like asking if video games or action movies can lead to violence in real life? The answer might be yes or no. We probably won't ever be able to capture the entire answer.

    So in conclusion, I clearly don't hold the anglophones medias responsible for this, but I think that if we could go back in time, they would have (or at least should have) acted differently.

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    1. Personally I think blaming the Anglo media is a COP out!!!!! All politicians are accountable for what they say, including Marois!! The PQ started this shit with the most divisive xenophobic and unconstitutional part program ever in it's history.. Inciting HATE of les autres.... exhibit one Mario Beaulieu, exhibit two Gilles Proulx, exhibit Three Jean Francois lisee... The PQ lit the match, so don't fucking complain when Quebec turns into Bosnia....

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    2. I totally agree with the above comments. The PQ and the Seppes started all this with their very outspoken intentions to AGAIN limit the rights of Anglophones and Allophones plus their own peoples' rights to attend English CGEPs and pushing an extension of Bill 101 (which is already hurting individual and business rights in this Province). The United Nations Human Rights Committee, in 1993, found that Quebec has already broken an International Covenant on civil and political rights (when requiring that Quebec's sign laws of French only) that "a state may choose one or more official languages but it may not exclude outside the spheres of public life, the freedom to express oneself in the certain language". What else do these seppes need to know? The whole world has spoken on this subject and you are totally wrong with your xenophobic agenda. Canada has been made bilingual (officially) for your benefit, not the ROC and you don't appreciate anything that has been done for you. You should be proud to be bilingual, use it to your advantage and not hold it over anyone else
      the fact that they are not. The whole world would love to speak more than one language - it should be a matter of pride that you accomplished it.

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    3. During the campaign, I've seen numerous pictures of Marois with the KKK hat or Hitler's mustache (even on this blog). At some point, it seems like it became widely accepted to call Marois "a racist" or "a nazi".

      The PQ and it's followers ARE racists, end of story.

      If anything, that fact needs to be promoted much more before the next election. If a racist/extremist party hadn't been elected, none of this would have happened.

      Nothing can forgive what this sick individual has done, but that does not change what the PQ is and what it stands for.

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    4. @The three comments above : To resume your comments : "In other words, Marois got what she deserved!"

      You can disagree with Marois but she is not Hitler. We are living in a democracy and if you think Marois' politics are over the top, you have the federal government, the opposition (Liberals, CAQ), the legal system and the street to voice your rights. As opposed to fascist governements, the PQ will respect the democratic and legal decisions of the society.

      What I've seen Tuesday was really disgusting. A lot of people, on various social networks, wanted to see Pauline Marois dead and most of them voiced their opinion in English. That night, the biggest racist, fascist and xenophobe elements of our society raised their voices and these people weren't members of the PQ.

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    5. There is no love loss between Pauline Marois and me, but let's focus on the real tragedy. The simple fact of the matter is Denis Blanchette, a bystander, was killed, a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. That's bad enough, but he left behind a 4-year-old child who cannot understand what happened and is probably unconsolable considering his/her daddy is gone and will never be seen again.

      In the event Pauline Marois was successfully assassinated, she would have become a martyr and you can be sure there would have been an escalation in violence against the minorities; furthermore, it's not as if someone just as determined wouldn't have filled the void she would have left. Finally, sometimes it's better to stick with the devil you know instead of getting the devil you don't know.

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    6. You can’t possibly be serious about blaming anglo media for what happened!

      Once Marois had the corruption rug pulled out from under her by the CAQ, she decided to play the identity card to the max and did everything humanly possible to demonize anything and anyone not white, Catholic and francophone. Of course what happened was disgusting but instead of looking for scapegoats, you might want to stop denying who it is that instigated all this divisiveness. Sane people know we live in a democracy but when you decide to stir up shit, it’s not surprising that the crazies come out of the woodwork.

      "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

      Or if you prefer,

      « Qu'as-tu à regarder la paille qui est dans l'œil de ton frère ? Et la poutre qui est dans ton œil à toi, tu ne la remarques pas ! »

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    7. "That night, the biggest racist, fascist and xenophobe elements of our society raised their voices and these people weren't members of the PQ."

      Le problème Guillaume c'est qu'il vont le nier.L'important est que les Québécois ne sont pas dupes.

      "the legal system and the street to voice your rights."

      Ils ont du mal à ressembler 12 anglos/allos dans la rue afin de gueuler leur mécontentement envers l'OQLF.Plus facile de sortir les armes.

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    8. It’s not a question of her getting what she deserved. She decided to take the low road so it’s not surprising to discover that she makes lowlifes snap. By and large, urban voters didn’t get sucked in by her bile but in order to attract the vote in the Petit Québec, she poured oil on the fire by promising anything and everything that came into her head, regardless of whether they went against human rights (although when it comes to English in Quebec, francos think they can say whatever they want since they are martyrs). This is where ethnic nationalism ultimately leads.

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    9. Agree with Yannick, Taz, Cutie, Stump, and previous poster.

      The idea that francophone supremacy in Quebec is a desirable and even infallible dogma is one that we have pushed way too far without questioning its side effects.

      One need only read the online musings of extremist separatist groups, much of whose vitriol eventually makes its way into party policy, to wonder precisely what it is the "anglais" are waking up to.

      Commando-style defense of unilingualism isn't what we need. We can't speak of conciliation in one breath and in the next advocate restrictions, marginalization, and segregation.

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  2. Why should the Anglo media take any blame? All they did was point out that Pauline Marois and the Parti Quebecois wanted to pass anti minority laws. Wasn't it Pauline Marois that wants to pass the Quebec citizenship rules. Where someone who can't speak French would not be able to be a candidate for election. Doesn't she want to make bill 101 even more tyrannical? The PQ, Pauline Marois and the RPQ types loved the attention earlier as "defenders and promoters of the French Language". All of sudden when some whacko goes violent, its the fault of the Anglo media for promoting hatred by pointing out the facts? The pure laine chauvanists are so delusional.

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  3. I also wanted to add, that it was very tragic that a worker who was at the wrong place at he wrong time, like any one one of could have been.

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  4. "And nobody but nobody in the mainstream press picked up on the irony of the defiant message of Anglo resistance, shouted in French; "les Anglais se réveillent!" (the anglos are awakening!)
    And so our shooter seems to respect the precepts of Bill 101 and bilingualism if nothing else."

    I picked up the irony. My heart was just not into smart ass ironic comments.

    I also thought that, at least, the FLQ had the delicacy to kill one of their own. But I thought that it was uselessly inflammatory in this tragic situation.

    I also remember that when the heartbreakingly tight results of the 95 referendum came out, my brother in law noted that "christ, we didn't cut it short enough", refering to Lucien Bouchard's amputed leg that created a wave of sympathy toward Bouchard during the campaing. But we kept it for ourselves, we didn't feel like laughing.

    I also think that it is now useless nitpicking to note that saying "Les anglais se réveillent!" has little to do with bill 101. Bill 101 isn't about the language used in the streets, it is about the signage language, but I get what you mean. I just don't feel like arguing for ever today.

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    1. Michel Patrice, of all the uninformed and bigoted comments you have made from time to time, this one takes the cake. It demonstrates what an irrational thinker you are."... the FLQ had the delicacy to kill one of their own"? I have news for you. The victims of the FLQ had nothing in common with the murderers in the FLQ. As for your comment about Bouchard's leg, that is as low a comment as I have ever heard. Feom your brother-in-law, eh? I am not surprised at the company you keep.

      Your dear leader, Marois has blood on her hands. It is she who has run the most ugly, racist hate-filled campaign in Canadian political history. Why would she not expect that it had the potential to incite certain types to violence?

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  5. I would say this Mr.Bain obviously snapped and I am not sure the blame is clearly on the english media. However I will say that there have been many nasty things particularily in the comments section of the Gazette and the National Post/Globe and Mail. As someone else pointed out pictures of Mme.Marois dressed up as Hitler and so on..this is going too far. Yes 95 percent of anglos strongly disagree with Mme.Marois and the PQ but comparing her to a ruthless dictator is unfair. On the other hand some pretty harsh things have been said at times by those on the french side. Perhaps if both the french and english sides toned down the rhetoric and presented the facts and listened to each other then we could get somewhere.

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    1. @complicated - If you follow the seppes on this Blog, you will see that there is no way they can be reasonable and listen to the concerns of the Allophones and Anglophones. They have a one track mind - drive out the citizens of Quebec that do not agree with their vision of a new country. Unlike the rest of the country that have tried to comprise by making it officially a bilingual state, they are not satisfied with half the pie - they want it all at the expense of peace and harmony. Unfortunately listening is not one of their virtues.

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    2. +1, Cutie! This is your best post ever. Also, congratulations on not using ALL CAPS.

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    3. As someone else pointed out pictures of Mme.Marois dressed up as Hitler and so on..this is going too far.

      No, I don't think it's going too far because that is what she is. A female Hitler.

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    4. Alright, Anonymous, tell us how the two are similar.

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    5. One trait would be hatred of "others".




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  6. "the usual suspects are blaming the Anglo press for promoting hate against Quebec that led to the shooting incident."

    Oh Puleezze! I used to listen to Gilles Proulx on 98.5, if anything promoted hate against the anglos it was his swearing and insecure hateful tone when talking about the English community, which Dutrizac has happily pursued. How about JF Lisée`s "survey" in L'Actualité, was he not fanning the flames? You know, the survey which made sure we got the message loud and clear, that learning French is no longer good enough! That was when things really began to heat up. What about the language police who have suddenly changed the rules of Bill 101 regarding modifiers. Did Marois herself not say that she would pick fights with Ottawa to get what she wants? Is that flame fanning?

    We just want to be left alone but that`s going to happen is it?

    And on and on and on....they pick and pick and push and push, it`s never enough!

    So don`t go blaming the English media when there is plenty of blame sitting on the shoulders of the French media and other websites that promote hate of the anything but French.

    Despite the frenzy, I trust and I hope that this will be an isolated case.

    My sincere condolences to Denis Blanchette`s family.

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    1. You must of been reading my mind. What you wrote was exactly what I was thinking.

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  7. Laurie and Tazmandoo are correct. The Canadians (Francohone, Anglophone and Allophone community) have a right, nay an obligation, to fight back against all the hatred and bitterness which the separatist media foists on us all the time. Who else can publicly take up our cause except the Canadian media? I thank God they are there for our cause and consider the criticism from SJBS and the IF groups just another whine from the seppes and a BIG THANK YOU TO THE CANADIAN MEDIA FOR PORTRAYING OUR SIDE OF THE ON-GOING DEBATE.

    My sincere condolences to Denis Blanchetts's family also. Poor man, wrong place, wrong time and just trying to earn a living like the rest of us.

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    1. Ce n'est pas le frère de Cate Blanchett Cutie.Son nom est Blanchette.

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    2. After reading the comments for the past few days I've realized tht S.R. is No Dogs biggest fan.

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    3. Note to self: Have to stop feeding the troll.

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    4. Mr. Sauga to all readers and contributors, except oneFriday, September 7, 2012 at 4:36:00 PM EDT

      S.R. has been trolling all week, including doughnut wise cracks.
      ADVICE TO ALL: DON'T GIVE S.R. A WALL TO BOUNCE YOUR BALL, i.e., IGNORE HIM! THE MORE YOU ACKNOWLEDGE HIS EXISTENCE THE MORE HE'LL RESPOND. PLEASE POINT OUT ANY OTHER TROLLS WHO COME ON THIS BLOG SO THE REST OF US CAN ACT ACCORDINGLY.


      In all fairness, there was a lot of volume this week and nobody should condemn Editor for not catching all his/her antics.

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    5. Désolé de vous contredire mais je n'utilise plus ce mot banni "do***",je respecte les règles.J'ai utilisé une seule fois le mot Beignet.

      Soyez honnête M.Sauga.

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    6. I`m really sorry to say this everyone, but I have to just say it once. As much as S.R (formerly seppie, OQLF, 101 or 401, etc.) makes my blood boil at times, he also cracks me up on a regular basis.

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    7. Et...?...

      C'est tout Laurie?Hmmm...Presque intéressant.

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    8. Laurie, as a personal favour and I'm sure there are many contributors and readers on this blog who will agree, please don't discourage this obnoxious behaviour. I'll be the first to admit I have posted some pretty scathing opinions on this blog, but I'm trying to stick to the topic. Occasionally I'll introduce a side story relating to the topic that may be of interest, but I try to keep the ad nauseum and obnoxious repetitive doughnutlike references out of the conversation. I've seen the Editor remove these cracks as well so that goes to show even he has his limits. Don't encourage trolls to test the limits, please.

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    9. Mr. Sauga again to Laurie (CORRECTION)Friday, September 7, 2012 at 6:11:00 PM EDT

      Sorry, it's the end of a long day. I meant to write don't ENCOURAGE the obnoxious behaviour of trolls such as S.R.

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    10. "I'll be the first to admit I have posted some pretty scathing opinions on this blog, but I'm trying to stick to the topic."

      Seriez-vous celui qui a fuit le Québec (Eastern township)dans les années 80?Fils de commerçants Juifs de Lennoxville qui ont donné tant de travail à ces "Fuc**** Quebeckers" lâches,irrespectueux et ingrats?Celui qui dès la fin de ses études bon marchés à Concordia a décampé vers l'Ouest canadien?Ce M.Sauga,fan incontesté de Galganov,Harper et Cie?Celui qui revient à Montréal occasionnellement pour y déguster les meilleurs Bagels et smoked meat sur le continent?

      Pourquoi je connais votre vie par coeur et bientôt celle de votre nouvelle femme qui a quitté récemment le Québec sans regret,aucun,pour vous rejoindre à Mississauga (une des villes les plus monotones du canada)et jure ne plus jamais y remettre les pieds?

      Une petite idée?

      Delete
    11. Cutie, did you notice that he failed to mention your misspelling of “francophone” and “SSJB”? He has tunnel vision when it comes to anything French. Should you ever attempt to write in your second language (something which he himself has never attempted to do here), you can be assured he will be the first to jump on you for being imperfect. You can’t win, so don’t even try.

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    12. Une faute dans un nom propre est perçue comme une insulte au Québec.

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    13. What did you say, R.S?

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    14. Vous êtes un Québécois,vous devriez comprendre :)

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    15. You're just white noise... :)

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  8. FROM ED BROWN
    The only things I can remember in the Eng. media that refer to her as a nazi came from Terry Mosher as Aislin. Louise with her whip for example. Rough but right on. I feel the press has been good at simply reporting the facts, however, some of the columnists have been fast and loose with their print. A lot of Charests downfall I believe was due to the opinions describing the man as a crook without ever a fact to back it up.
    TO CUTIE there are many reason why separation would never happen. The Americans for example. have a large interest here. During the Seaway strike of the 60's President Johnson told Mike Pearson that if the seaway wewre not opened fast he woulds send troops to open it. He said it was mostly American money that built it and we wont let a lot of Frenchmen close it down. The strike was settled within three days of that.

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    1. One can tell that even the most scathing of anglo media articles are reactionary, sort of a defensive measure against the sudden accusations and blame that they are at fault for the alleged assassination attempt.

      The francophone ones seem a bit more deliberate, more inciting. They're doing the same thing they always do whenever there's a language issue; stir up fear over the language disappearing, or 'exposing' some new dastardly anglo plot. This is just a bit heavier than what they usually deal with, and it's got attention in the rest of Canada, indeed, the rest of the world.

      On the night it happened, the francophone media were thrilled to see international attention to the issue. I'm sure they thought that the rest of the world would feel for their plight or something. Instead, people are starting to view Quebec as the hub of ethno-linguistic hatred that it has become.

      After all, what could cause Canadians, so internationally renowned for their politeness and pacifism (eh?), so attempt to kill one of their own political figures? The francophone/nationalist attempt to engender sympathy for their cause has backfired.

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    2. People are starting to view Quebec as the hub of ethno-linguistic hatred that it has become.

      Hear, hear!

      signed,
      Markus from Sweden
      Andres from Spain

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    3. "...ethno-linguistic hatred that it has become."

      Vous faites erreur...Nous l'avons toujours été,la seule différence est que maintenant,nous l'exprimons...Markus sac à puces :)

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    4. The francophone/nationalist attempt to engender sympathy for their cause has backfired.

      Ain't that the truth!

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    5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    6. Pas du tout,seulement une question comme ça...Une grande parade pour célébrer votre orientation sexuel est organisée chaque année à Montréal.L'invitation est lancée!
      Peu importe la langue que vous utilisez,vous trouverez surement un petit compagnon pour échanger.

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    7. They're doing the same thing they always do whenever there's a language issue; stir up fear over the language disappearing

      This falsehood about disappearing is at the core of their sophistry.

      Delete
  9. FROM ED BROWN
    A message from Steve Harper
    "There were three reasons that a plethora of cabinet ministers fanned out across Canada Wednesday reannouncing federal spending that had already been promised.

    The first was to emphasize that it was business as usual in the Harper government, despite the Parti Québécois victory Tuesday night.

    The second was to send a message to the incoming government in Quebec: that whatever Pauline Marois may be about to demand, the answer is no."
    FROM ED She doesn't realize that the Americans will protect their interests in Quebec. Harper will not give her anything and most likely will be taking things away. New brunswick on the other side will not allow themselves to be cut off from Canada. Over there even the Frenchmen use their brains. With the English in Montreal and other areas as an inside column, she would be swamped. Let's see how long it takes her to discover this. Ed

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  10. FROM ED BROWN
    Incidentally editor, I felt your view of Jean Charest was off side but honest and courageous. That's the thing about the people her; they speak with an open mind. (except for the trolls) While many thoughts differ the one that all seem to agree on is that we as English have rights and to have them we must stand up and defend them. Ed

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    1. @Ed - I'm just tired after all these years and the endless go-around. I honestly feel that Montreal would, more than likely, vote to stay in Canada, should worse come to worse, and there would be no problem with the St. Lawrence Seaway.

      As for Mr. Harper (still have not received a response from him concerning my e-mail and probably won't) but it is a necessity that he not allow Quebec any more power! It would be deadly for all Canadians living here and will provoke, perhaps, more violence. I repeat, you can only corner the dog for so long. The one thing they can give Quebec (as pointed out this morning in The Ottawa Citizen) is the long gun registry, minus info from the other provinces, as it is already paid for. This would not cause any ripples and they've been after it since it's inception. Hopefully Harper will allow that and NOTHING ELSE.

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  11. Je trouve ça désolant et inquiétant qu'on se lance dans un débat qui tente de diaboliser les médias anglophones ou les politiciens francophones. Je crois que l'incident du Métropolis a été causé par un désaxé qui n'a pas su faire preuve de discernement.

    Je suis mal placé pour comprendre la réalité d'un anglophone qui vit au Québec, mais j'essaye tant bien que mal. Je pense que le problème est que les anglophones représentent une minorité au sein d'un Québec francophone qui est quand à lui une minorité par rapport au reste de l'Amérique du Nord... qui s'exprime majoritairement en anglais.

    La situation n'est pas simple, et il est difficile d'être objectif, car la protection d'une culture n'est pas une chose scientifique.

    Donc, la question est comment faire pour protéger la culture francophone, tout en respectant les droits de la communauté anglophone? Et comment essayer sans se faire traiter de xénophobe? C'est facile de se lancer des insultes d'un côté comme de l'autre, mais qui a de meilleures idées?

    Lorsque le dépanneur du coin ne peut me servir qu'en anglais, car le propriétaire asiatique considère qu'il est d'abord en Amérique et non dans la Province de Québec, comment dois-je réagir?


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    Replies
    1. Lorsque le dépanneur du coin ne peut me servir qu'en anglais, car le propriétaire asiatique considère qu'il est d'abord en Amérique et non dans la Province de Québec, comment dois-je réagir?

      Tu vas au dépanneur de l'autre côté de la rue et tu montre au propriétaire asiatique que tu veux bien te faire servir en achetant ailleurs.

      Il me semble que ce n'est pas très compliqué...

      Lorsque tous les dépanneurs du Québec seront gérés par des gens qui ne parlent pas le français, on s'en reparlera.. Pour l'instant je suis certain que c'est loin d'être la réalité.

      Delete
    2. Pourquoi la règle si chère aux anglos,que le client doit être servi dans sa langue ne s'applique pas ici?

      Comment allons-nous accueillir nos touristes (clients) à l'avenir?

      Delete
    3. Montreal est une ville bilingue ou plus personnes parlent francais mais beaucoup parle anglais, si unmagasin ne peut pas vous servir dans une langue que vous preferez allez dans une autr magasin

      Delete
    4. "bilingue ou plus personnes parlent francais"

      Si je comprend bien Montréal n'est plus une ville bilingue?

      Delete
    5. montreal est une ville bilingue .certains parlent anglais. la loi est bizarre. une chien n'est pas une chat.

      Delete
    6. http://www2.lactualite.com/freed/2012/03/15/josh-freed-anglophone/

      Delete
    7. Lorsque le dépanneur du coin ne peut me servir qu'en anglais, car le propriétaire asiatique considère qu'il est d'abord en Amérique et non dans la Province de Québec, comment dois-je réagir?

      Avec sérénité.

      Delete
    8. C'est aussi avec sérénité que les anglos de Montréal vont devoir acceuillir la nouvelle et revampée loi 101.

      Delete
    9. Depanneur service does not compare to discriminatory provincial legislation.

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    10. "Depanneur service does not compare to discriminatory provincial legislation."

      Qu'attendez-vous pour contester...Légalement?

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    11. Qu'attendez-vous pour contester la loi 101... de façon légale?
      Qu'attendez-vous pour pour créer des groupes de pression pour lutter contre nos lois illégales,discriminatoires et injustes?

      Delete
    12. Dunno what you're talking about...

      Delete
    13. Vous travaillez fort sur votre anglais multi-pseudo guy? Héhé!

      Delete
    14. Liar! Ice cream has no bones! :)

      Delete
    15. S.R.! Look at you! You account for almost 25% of the comments today! I figure the "S.R." must stand for Sore Rear from sitting on your butt in front of a computer screen all day. I will say that if you ever find a job we're going to miss the volume if not the vacuous content.

      Delete
    16. S.R.

      Je suis désolé de vos décevoir, mais les vrais Montréalais, qu'ils soient francophones, anglophones ou allophones, n'accepterons jamais de voir leur ville écrasée par les politiques oppressive et discriminatoire du Gouvernment québécois. Si la Ville doit être divisée en deux afin qu'une moitiée soit libérée du joug qui nous opprime, qu'il en soit ainsi. Nous plierons pas devant vos menaces, nous n'abandonnerons pas nos foyers. J'appuierai toute mouvement de sécession de la région montréalaise, afin de fonder une Province bilingue.

      Delete
  12. I find the francophone media accusing the anglophone media of inciting hatred and provoking violence eminently hilarious, and deliciously ironic. And as for Vigile.net's declaration that Bain's actions were a terrorist attack? Ha! You want an example of politically-motivated terrorism? There's the FLQ. That's organized terrorism, NOT the actions of a single, deranged individual.

    When I watched the live broadcast in the wee hours of the 5th, I knew right away they were going to pin this on the anglos. I was not surprised when it turned out to BE an anglo.

    Sure, political violence is deplorable. But I will not forget the pathetic sympathy the FLQ gained despite their rampant and indiscriminate violence, and I do not appreciate the way the francophone media are treating political violence as an anglophone invention as far as Quebec is concerned. It's as if the whole language issue is only a problem because we object to it, therefore it's our fault there's intolerance and racism in Quebec.

    Sure...




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    1. It's a political crime. Bain's gun was aimed at Marois and the ideology she represents. You just can't deny it.

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    2. Why does it have to be political? She has a very obnoxious personality besides her anti-anglophone and anti-allophone remarks all the time. Maybe he just doesn't like her and besides they said he is manic-depressive so why not understand that the man is not quite in his right mind?

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    3. Of course it's politically motivated! But so what? The FLQ killed in the name of sovereignty. This Bain guy is obviously deranged. You can't call it terrorism, nor can you claim Bain's actions were worse.

      I'm not saying the guy was right to do it, but the reaction the nationalists and francophone media are having is grossly disproportionate if you keep in mind Quebec's history of political violence in the name of [insert cause here].

      Even from the most ardently federalist point of view, it's a terrible thing that happened. All it has done is engender sympathy within Quebec for Mme. Marois and the PQ, and justified in many peoples' minds their hatred of anglophones.

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    4. @Cutie : Yes this man is crazy. I didn't deny it. See this quote :

      Guillaume Légaré Friday, September 7, 2012 2:07:00 AM EDT :
      This crime was made by someone crazy, however it is a political crime.

      However, you can't deny that this is a political crime. Bain tried to killed Marois because of her political opinions

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    5. @Quétaine : Why do you have to bring up the FLQ? We can't deny that it's a sad event but it happened 40 years ago. We shouldn't compare the two. Both are sad isolated crimes.

      If you want to put all the sovereignty movement and the francophone in the same basket, because a few deranged men supported the FLQ actions then we can also put all Anglos in the same basket because of those insane reactions we've seen on Facebook and Twitter tuesday night.

      Delete
    6. A crime is a crime is a crime... but now we know that Guillaume and S.R love Quebec anglophones!!!
      *swoon*

      Delete
    7. @Guillaume, why do the seps keep bringing up les Patriotes? Or les Plaines d'Abaraham? Why do they still believe they're being oppressed? The seps have been living in the past for more than 50 years.

      And as for comparing the actions of the FLQ to the frustrated ventings of a bunch of angryphones on internet social media? You're right, we should not. Because they are different in one key area.

      The FLQ are terrorists. Angryphones are frightened that they may lose their rights under a PQ gov't. One group killed people in the name of sovereignty... The other threatened to do so *over the internet*...

      See the discrepancy?

      Certain francophones AND anglophones also called for the murder of Charest quite frequently over the course of his premiership, in case you've forgotten. I'm not putting seps or francophones "in the same basket" as the FLQ. But I would like you to understand that while the seps had an organized terrorist group killing in the name of their cause (endorsed by them or not) the federalists do not.

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    8. We all know what the FLQ is! But no one has killed in the name of sovereignty for the past 40 years. If you feel the need to bring to us, than you are also living in the past exactly like the kind of people you despise.

      This crime is already sad enough in itself, it doesn't have to be labeled "worse, less worse or equal" than a crime that happened decades ago.

      Delete
    9. Terrorism is a crime. Murder, attempted and otherwise, is a crime. Making nasty comments about a leader unpopular with a certian demographic is not a crime, regardless of the mother tongue of the individuals making those comments.

      Are we clear? Can you at least agree to that?

      Delete
    10. So Guillaume, will you tell us that this crime (a “political crime”, whatever that means to you) is that of a crazy individual that has nothing to do with a community?

      What else are you trying to make of it??

      Delete
    11. @True Montreal : It's a political crime perpetrated by ONE indivual.

      Delete
    12. @Quétaine Friday, September 7, 2012 9:27:00 PM EDT
      Terrorism is a crime. Murder, attempted and otherwise, is a crime. Making nasty comments about a leader unpopular with a certian demographic is not a crime, regardless of the mother tongue of the individuals making those comments.

      Are we clear? Can you at least agree to that?

      -----
      Yes but you are comparing apples with oranges.

      I was comparing those who supported the FLQ (not the FLQ itself) with those who supported Bain's actions. The real racists in our society IN 2012 are Bain and the people who support his actions.

      If some separatists support this kind of violence to get their point across, they are awful people as well. However, we don't have a proof of this behavior in 2012.

      Also, labeling the current sovereignty movement as racist because of something that happened decades ago is just wrong on all accounts.

      What I saw Tuesday night was more than nasty comments, it was basically death threats. I believe that the police should investigate these people, even if they are mindless teens. Death threats whether it's against Marois, Legault, Charest etc. should be taken seriously. Tuesday afternoon, someone called the SPVM because he received some information saying that someone was preparing a crime at the Metropolis. Sadly, the police didn't take him seriously.

      Also, it's been reported that, during the student strike, some students received a visit from the police because of some "nasty" tweets. Hopefully, these racists (dangerous people) will get the same treatment.

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    13. I don't hear you saying this was the result of a single individual.

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    14. First you did, then you you seem to deny it… so which is it?

      Delete
    15. Where did I denied it?

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    16. Whether you like it or not, separatists will forever be associated with the violence of the FLQ. It’s unfortunate but that is your legacy. Wilfred O’Neil was a simple night watchman who was 65 years old when he was murdered by the FLQ in April 1963, and unless you wish to apologize personally to his relatives, he will remain like Denis Blanchette.

      Delete
    17. Guillaume, you forgot the death threats made earlier this year against Hugo Shebbeare by, you guess it, nationalists...

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    18. Posted by Guillaume Légaré (Friday, September 7, 2012 11:19:00 PM EDT)
      Death threats whether it's against Marois, Legault, Charest etc. should be taken seriously.

      Delete
    19. Death threats generally aren't announced beforehand.
      I really hope you don't have any more simplistic comments to make like that one.

      Delete
    20. http://tvanouvelles.ca/lcn/infos/national/elections2012/archives/2012/09/20120905-093926.html

      Delete
  13. FROM ED BROWN
    True, the work of the FLQ was organized terrorism and what struck me at the time it was mostly the Anglos that felt sorry for his family. The Francs simply tried to distance them selves from the group, saying things like I'm for searation but not like that.
    If the depanneur at the corner can't talk French, shouldn't that tell you something. The man is from Asia but comes here knowing English. It is natural to him. He probably has been speaking it since North American troops were in his country. He has not yet learned French because to attend classes he has to leave his store where he works 16 hours per day.
    In Vancouver I was teaching deaf boys to do shopping. The sign language they used to communicate to with each other was not known to the shopkeeper and they could not hear him but they managed as if were the most natural thing in the world, because there was no hatred.
    As a boy I remember corner stores who spoke no English and others that spoke no French. There was no problem because the product names are pretty much the same in both languages.
    It's not worth crying about. Ed

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    1. I agree with the idea of promoting learning French for people who live in Quebec. There's nothing wrong with that, and it is beneficial if only because it enables you to communicate with the majority.

      It's the way they're going about it that's counter-productive. They're ramming the French language and Québecois ''culture'' down everyone's throats, whether they like it or not. They're too busy criticizing ethnics for not speaking French to teach them the bloody language. How can you learn from a teacher who's yelling that you're ignorant? That's why I'm more often ashamed to be a Québecer than I am proud. Why should I be proud of a province that openly promotes hatred, xenophobia and isolationism? I can't agree with a government whose official policy is that my demographic is a nuisance to be removed.

      I used to work with a nationalist francophone who was solidly pro-QS. We had our disagreements, but we managed to have quite a few political debates without anger on either side, simply because he was a decent guy. He didn't care that I was an anglophone, and was of the opinion that everyone should be included in a sovereign Québec, anglos, allos together. He was not for a uniquely French Québec, but one where English should be accepted and not discriminated against. I don't agree with his ideals, but I certainly agree with his mentality!



      Delete
    2. What the separatists refuse to understand is that English is an international language, spoken all over the world, and that confining their own citizens to a life of living in French only will handicap them and ill prepare them for any other place and/or employment in the real world. How selfish of them to limit the abilities of their own children.

      Delete
    3. Je travaille ici depuis des années et je n'ai jamais eu besoin de parler anglais.Personne n'empêche qui que se soit d'apprendre l'anglais si besoin est,mais ce n'est pas à lÉtat Québécois de payer pour angliciser le Québec.Capich?

      Sortez-vous de l'outaouis de temps à autre?

      Delete
    4. That's not Jo-Six-Pacque's fault.

      Remember in the time of les habitants, when the village pastors controlled every aspect of their lives? The pastors were the only ones who could read, and therefore got to tell the villagers pretty much anything they wanted and claim that's what the bible said.

      If you replace the pastors with the Quebec politicians and the bible with the francophone media, you get the exact same situation today. While the descendants of les habitants can now read, they for the most part can only read (or understand) French. Naturally, for them there exists no other truth but the nationalist/politically charged truths the francophone media gives them.

      Anything that comes from outside the province must be translated into French by the media, so even in that does your everyday francophone have to rely on them for opinions and information. If you spend your life hearing only what the government and/or media wants you to hear, why is it surprising that you believe the government/media's point of view?

      It's the ultimate form of propaganda. Why should you worry about francophone Quebecers understanding the rest of the world and how it works if they can't understand anything but French? Francophone bilinguals are pretty rare.

      Delete
    5. Foremost,je suis un Québécois unilingue francophone,comment expliquez-vous que je détecte dans votre discours que vous êtes aussi un Québécois francophone?Tout n'est pas qu'une question de langue.

      Hmmmm...

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    6. What a preview for minority rights in a sovereign Quebec... blecch!!!!! Non, merci!!!

      Delete
    7. S.R, je n'ai aucune idée, car je suis en réalité un anglophone bilingue ! Tu as bien raison en indiquant que ce n'est pas toujours une question de langue, par contre. Après tous, nous sommes (majoritairement) tous des Québecois ! :)

      J'aimerais être claire : je suis peut-être fédéraliste, mais j'aime bien ma province et les gens qui y habitent. Malgré cela, je ne crois pas à un Québec souverain !

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    8. Et je respecte tes idées ainsi que tes convictions.Aucun problème.

      Sauf que d'affirmer que les Québécois sont refermés sur eux-même et qu'ils sont limités,même esclaves des médias francophones internes,est une erreur.Pour ce qui est des grands prêcheurs de la vérité que sont les politiciens,le phénomène est universel.Nous n'avons seulement qu'à observer ce qui se passe chez les américains pour comprendre ce phénomène.Certains groupes au sein de n'importe laquelle des sociétés sont politisés et d'autres moins ou pas du tout.

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    9. Je suis d'accord avec ton affirmation que les politiciens et les médias sont pareils dans leurs convictions partour au monde. Cela est vrai.

      Mais, peut-on s'entendre sur le fait qu'au Québec, là où la majorité est francophone et ne comprend pas l'anglais, leur accès au points de vue different de ceux des médias souverains (francophones) et ceux des médias fédéralistes (anglophones) est limité comparé aux anglophones bilingues ? Je ne parle pas juste du sujet du souverainisme, mais aussi des affaires mondiales.

      Je n'essaie pas de généraliser ! Bien sur, tous les Québecois francophones ne sont pas unilingues, et tous les médias francophones ne sont pas séparatistes.

      Delete
    10. Americans have CNN and Fox News ("Faux News") to bring differing points of view... what about franco-Quebecers? Much more limited! Yet they don't even realize it...

      Delete
  14. In my area of Quebec I have only met a couple of Francophones that can't speak English (or refused to). It is to their advantage to be bilingual because they, in hordes,work in the Federal Public Service and are promoted mostly because of their ability to speak French over the bodies of Anglophones that can't speak French. Don't think that this policy hasn't caused a lot of hard feelings because it has. Still the Federal Government pushes the agenda of bilingualism to keep Quebec happy but, as you can see from the many surveys lately, the general public is sick of catering to Quebec. Who can blame them? That's why I keep pushing for a federal electoral district referendum and let the areas of Quebec go that want to go and those who wish to remain in Canada be allowed to remain and live in peace and tranquility. It's time to end the stalemate and let's carve the turkey


    1

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    1. Une Québécoise vous a volé un poste que vous convoitiez Cutie?De là toute votre hargne et vos frustrations de petite employée de l'état?Pauvre cutie,vous devrez vous contenter d'une piscine hors-terre au lieu d'une creusée et que d'une seule voiture,un peu moins luxueuse :(

      Delete
    2. You make a lot sense, Cutie!

      Delete
    3. Hey, Cutie makes sense! Will you take a part of my answer and turn this into a new username?

      Delete
    4. @Cutie (regarding the last of your comment)

      You, alone, won't decide the faith of Quebec (even if it's only the case for some "small" portions)

      In this election, you voted to elect a MP in your riding. Even, if your favorite candidate lost by only vote, it doesn't matter he is still out. It's all or nothing.

      The same thing should apply for a referendum. It's yes or no. If the YES option wins, you have to respect the democratic choice of the society of Quebec.

      I mean if the YES wins, but Gatineau and the West Island remains in Canada, than someone in Chicoutimi might say "It's not fair, why can't I stay in Canada too. Why them and not me?" On the other hand, someone in Westmount could also say "It's not fair, I voted yes and my option won, why should I have to stay in Canada. My democratic choice wasn't taken into account" I'm sure that he could bring his case to the court and I wouldn't be surprise to see him win.

      So like I said Cutie, you either respect democracy or you don't, but your proposition would probably bring its share of problems and disturbance.

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    5. Then again, that's why this is such a big issue. There is no perfect solution to make everyone involved happy.

      Delete
    6. Hello Guillaume,

      Democracy is not absolute rule of the majority. In most areas of the world and philosophically, a majority should not be able to vote to remove the rights of a minority.

      The principle of democracy is that certain basic systems are established via a constitution, then people vote on policies of a public nature (or parties presenting such policies). But normally, under no circumstances, should the majority be able to vote to remove or limit or infringe upon the rights of another citizen.

      In Quebec, this philosophy has been perverted and removed. People misinterpret democracy to mean majority rule, even if it means removing rights from others. This is wrong.

      Would you accept if the rest of Canada vote to remove some of your basic human rights ? It would be democratic by your definition – majority rule.

      What is your Quebec people had a change of opinion and turned on you and decided to remove some of your basic human rights, would you be OK with it ? Majority rule.

      What if your local municipality decided to vote to remove some of your basic human rights ? Again, majority rule.

      It's just a question of choosing your group. And, in all cases, it is fundamentally wrong. Democracy is not about a dictatorship of the majority. Minority rights should always be protected and the majority chooses policies and directions, not removal or limitation on the rights of others.

      Delete
    7. Guillaume, you should realize that the First Past the Post system that we have is outdated. It is currently used by only 4 countries: the UK, Canada, some U.S. states and and some Indian states. Proportional Representation is what is used by most democracies around the world today.

      None of this has anything to do with a referendum. Countries that have been created by referendum have received 95+% support, not 50% + a single vote.

      I don’t know how old you are but don’t presume to instruct us about respecting democracy. It is your propositions that are creating divisiveness and disturbance.

      Delete
    8. Here's a video that explains the problem, in case you don't understand it, Guillaume.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7tWHJfhiyo

      Delete
    9. @L. Steve : Do you realize that you've used my comment to talk about something completely different? I've never said that I supported the PQ's policies and I've never said that it was legitimate to restrict the rights of minorities.

      @True Montrealer : Who should decide this 95% support?

      Delete
    10. How? After they vote...

      Delete
    11. I know that there is no perfect solution to this problem but if the Law of the Land applies and we follow it, then we can be no worse off than we are now. This problem just festers and grows every time we have an election and the separatists propose to take away more rights from the minorities in this Province. As I said before, those who are living in the areas that want to remain part of Canada, can sell their homes for a reasonable amount of money and pick up a mansion in the New Quebec for next to nothing if that's where they decide they want to reside following a referendum. The Laws of Canada and not some distorted version that the separatists make up, must be followed to make the referendum results acceptable to the rest of the civilized world.

      Delete
    12. Guillaume Légaré has already demonstrated his confusion regarding what constitutes rights vs. privileges; how democracy functions; and how referenda function for that matter (tip for Guillaume: they are a survey of opinion, nothing less, nothing more). It would appear that he is also unfamiliar with the concept of Tyranny of the majority, which is when decisions made by a majority place its interests so far above those of an individual or minority group as to constitute active oppression, comparable to that of tyrants and despots.

      In the recent discussion about Ayn Rand, it was pointed out that she asserted that groups have no rights and that only individuals could possess rights. By joining a group, she believed one can neither acquire more rights nor lose any existing rights. Also, she believed that majorities have no right to vote away minority rights because indeed, the very function of rights is to protect minorities from the will of majorities.

      your proposition would probably bring its share of problems and disturbance.

      Oh, the irony is delicious! A separatist actually saying this to a partitionist with a straight face… it’s surreal!!!
      *facepalm*

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    13. Like it or not, partition would bring turbulence. The support for this idea everywhere in Quebec is low. Why would a minority decide for a majority?

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    14. Surely you mean the way separation would bring turbulence and support for this idea everywhere in Quebec is low.

      Delete
  15. FROM ED BROWN
    Michael, A small point perhaps. The FLQ did not kill one of their own, they killed the Liberal Minister of Labour, Pierre Lapointe. He was tossing a football with his nephew on his front lawn when he was taken right in front of the child. They held him seven days and when they killed him they did it with s wire around his throat killing painfully and slowly. These animals must have enjoyed their work to do such a thing. They are held in high esteem by some seps today who say without them we were getting nowhere.

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  16. FROM ED BROWN
    Cutie you keep pushing for a referendum. Think about who's going to control the vote. The seps?
    We know from last times the no count should have been much higher than they showed. They were under guys like Parizeau who play by the parliamentary rules. We didn't think Marois could win but the
    spoiler Legault turned up and ruined it for the Liberals. We never know what will happen in an election. To begin with there would not be a partition option they would go for complete separation. We the English, would have the option of simply voting no. Do we have enough for that.

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    Replies
    1. No Ed = I would expect that Feds control the vote and that's why I'm pushing for the 57 electoral districts that are used for our federal election. As Quebec is still a province in Canada, it should be a federal government that has the say not the seppes in Quebec.

      Delete
  17. Imagine if Quebec respected minorities like in Ontario!
    Maybe we could see signs like this:

    http://www.lapresse.ca/le-droit/economie/201209/07/01-4572092-des-publicites-unilingues-pour-seduire-les-anglophones.php

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    Replies
    1. I remember when Quebec respected both francos and anglos... French street names said "rue" and English street names said "St."... bus drivers announced bus stops bilingually... none of this trying to artificially create a French-only universe that has never existed before....

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    2. At the rate it's going, there will be only 'rues' shortly, with the streets being renamed in French. Another step in the process of ethnic cleansing.

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    3. TS, they already have been changed, haven't you noticed? No more Dorchester Boulevard, it's "Boulevard Rene Levesque". No more Park Avenue, no. Now it's "Avenue du Parc". No more Mountain Street, that's too English for them, it's now "Rue de la Montagne". Even Queen Mary Road is now "Chemin Queen Mary", which looks so immature it's unbelievable. It's absolutely ridiculous, and disgraceful to the builders of Montreal. I can't believe people actually sat back and allowed their politicians to strip away Montreal's official bilingualism without putting up any kind of fight. Your average tourist to Montreal would without question think that it's a unilingually french city and everyone speaking English is also a tourist. I've even had people correct me for saying street instead of "rue", and they weren't even francophones.

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    4. Unless you're in GPK or certain areas of Brossard, this is already the case on the South Shore. People here truly believe anglos only exist in Montreal, and that there are only a few thousand of us at most...

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    5. What a surprise after all the aggressive eradication of English from public life in Quebec... and yet Yannick still seems more concerned about sharing how awful things used to be for francos in New Brunswick decades ago... thanks, but we're living in 2012 now...

      Delete
    6. All streets (ST), boulevards (BLVD) and avenues (AVE) can be translated into french and vice versa according to canada post's addressing guidelines.

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    7. Are you all on drugs? Desjardins' move has nothing to do with "respecting" minorities.

      Putting up English signage and French signage on separate billboards in Eastern Ontario has everything to do with greed, profitability, and expansion into a lucrative market.

      Speaking English to make a buck suddenly becomes forward-thinking and acceptable when leaving our Francophonistan, while it's considered retrograde and contemptuous of the francophone "majority" when you do it here. The thing that makes me sick the most is that Desjardins "realized" this rather obvious fact of business after already having created a rather comfortable base for itself not only inside but also outside Quebec.

      The luxury to make such a realization, however, is a courtesy that isn't ever afforded to companies and institutions that establish themselves in Quebec. And for symmetry, I think it's time (again) that it ought to be.

      Delete
  18. Hello S.R.,

    I’m not one to direct comments to disruptive people, such as yourself. However, I do not find you are engaging in constructive dialogue.

    You mention you work. Interesting. This is a very quick look (I obviously missed a great many as this was done very quickly) at the times you posted messages. I skipped many, because you often post every 10 minutes or so.

    Look at the times and the pattern of your postings:

    Monday, 9:07AM
    Monday, 9:59AM
    Monday, 10:31AM
    Monday 11:08AM
    Monday 11:58AM
    Monday, 4:12PM
    Monday, 4:47PM
    Monday, 6:12PM
    Monday 7:16PM
    Monday 8:07PM
    Monday, 11:42PM
    Tuesday, 12:07AM
    Tuesday, 12:36AM
    Tuesday, 10:19AM
    Tuesday, 2:06PM
    Tuesday, 2:38PM
    Tuesday 8:18PM to Wednesday 1:38AM
    I cannot load the extra comments, but I would anticipate similar daily patterns on Wednesday
    Thursday, 12.21AM
    Thursday, 9:30AM
    Thursday, 9:51AM
    Thursday, 10:13AM
    Thursday, 11:07AM
    Thursday, 10:46PM
    Thursday, 12:01PM
    Thursday, 12:56PM
    Thursday, 1:30PM
    I cannot load the new posts, but I again, I would anticipate a similar pattern of posting
    Friday, 10:15AM
    Friday, 3:23PM
    Friday, 4:53PM
    Friday, 6:06PM
    Friday, 7:03PM
    Friday, 8:16PM
    Friday, 9:05PM

    From this, it appears you essentially wake up about 9AM every morning, jump on the computer and spend the majority of your day posting messages on this site, then go to bed about 1AM. Even on labor day, you spent all day on this site posting childish argumentative messages, almost every 10-20 minutes, ALL DAY. The pattern is repeated for every day of the week, save for an absence of maybe 30 minutes here and there.

    I don’t think you represent Quebec nationalists at all. I certainly hope you don’t. My guess is that you are in your earlies 20s. You probably have a cegep education in the social sciences, based on your comments. I’m certain you did not complete university (if you did, you got little out of it as most graduates like intelligent constructive debates). If you work, a big IF judging by the times you post on this site, you are probably unsastisfied with your job.

    You obviously have few friends, otherwise you would not spend anywhere near these times online.

    My guess is that you probably feel like a failure and rather than do something to correct yourself, you redirect you feelings of insecurity and failure and change it to anger towards an easily targetable minority group – anglos.

    Am I close ?

    You have posted some occasional comments that imply an ability for intelligent conversation. Why not engage that instead ? You clearly have something to contribute that would help foster further self-analysis for the anglo-allo community. Why not do that ?

    And obviously, stop spending so much time on this site. You’ll go crazy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. L. Steve... you are AWESOME!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for showing everyone the truth.

      Delete
    2. A clearly disturbed man… much like Richard Bain.

      Delete
    3. Yes indeed, the normal treatment for internet trolls is to ignore them and not give them a wall to bounce their ball on. However our own internet troll has demonstrated his commitment to uselessness for several months now. Normal responses have been exhausted. As has already been exposed, he is a welfare recipient with nothing better to do with his life. Therefore, the appropriate response to his determinedness now is to out determine him.

      His sole purpose here is to be annoying and for some reason, the Editor finds it altruistic to allow him to abuse the privilege of posting on his personal blog, therefore now it is the time to provide him with his own medicine.

      Delete
    4. @L. Steve

      Que d'attention pour un seul troll.J'ai comme l'impression que je ne suis pas le seul à avoir du temps à perdre sur ce blogue.Votre recherche et le temps que vous m'accorder me vont toutefois droit au coeur,tant d'intérêts soudains,vous comprenez...Ceci dit,celà signifie peut-être aussi que je touche quelques fois des cordes sensibles et que je dérange certains en communiquant strictement en français.Non?Peut-être?Peu importe.

      Pour ce qui est de mon niveau d'éducation,vous êtes très loin de la vérité.De plus,je n'ai vu nul part dans les consignes de ce site,qu'une formation académique minimale était exigée,sinon votre candidature aurait évidemment été refusée,sauf bien sûr,si l'éditeur de ce blogue était à la recherche d'un maître en procès d'intentions ou d'un psycho-blogue avec formation à distance.

      Yannick a raison,peut-être que je suis un fonctionnaire,un retraité,je suis peut-être en convalescence suite à un accident ou d'une maladie.Il est possible aussi que j'exerce une profession libérale ou un travailleur autonome qui a le privilège d'avoir un horaire flexible,qui sait?

      Merci tout de même de vous intéresser à mon cas (ma vie n'est peut-être pas un échec total après tout) mais je vous suggère plutôt de consacrer vos énergie à des activités plus constructives que la chasse aux sorcières,comme la création d'un groupe de pression,par exemple,afin de faire valoir les revendications de votre communauté anglophone,si jamais vous en faites vraiment partie,bien entendu.

      Je vous énerve tant que ça Steve(votre vrai nom?Vraiment?)?Tant mieux!C'est le but de l'exercice!

      Héhé!

      Delete
    5. It would appear that S.R finally has something to share with the world... and yet most people won't know what it is. At least it's not a stupid one-liner... :)

      Delete
    6. @Steve L. : It seems like you also have a lot of free time on your hands to make this kind of survey.

      Delete
    7. @Equanimity : Talking about a disturbed man, how many identities do you have now?

      I browsed the comments quickly and I suspect that you also posted under the names "Diogenes", "Markus and Andres", "Cutie makes sense" and probably a few more. It was even worse in the past blog entry. How do I know it's you, well you are always posting directly after S.R.

      What's worse a troll, or a troll that fails to troll a troll? :)

      Delete
    8. We'll see... the Editor has allowed, if not encouraged, S.R and his alternate identities to abuse the privilege of posting on this blog, discouraging serious commenters... so why should others not be allowed to do the same? Hopefully the Editor will realize the folly of his ways and find a solution allowing abusive trollers... :)

      Delete
    9. The Editor is against several things and yet he continues to oblige them. Removing offensive posts has accomplished nothing. Hopefully he will eventually become more discerning about quality over quantity in future.

      Delete
    10. Well, Guillaume, as is so often the case, when things are done quickly they are done poorly. You suspect erroneously. I can assure you that I only post under Diogenes and have been consistent over the past couple of years. I know, I know, you wouldn't be so paranoid if everyone wasn't out to get you.
      If the seppies REALLY want to separate, they'd call a referendum, ask a clear question and announce that every riding that votes "yes" with a clear majority will become part of an independent Quebec. That way the ROC couldn't argue with it. The seppies won't get the full province, but they'll likely get something. Why does it have to on an all or none basis? If, in the unlikely event the independent Quebec prove to be a success, maybe the ridings which voted "No" would vote to join later. If it turned into Haiti du Nord then at least the whole province wouldn't get flushed, just the ones who asked for it. I given you folks the plan now run along.

      Delete
    11. I was right to be "paranoid", Equanimity and some of his others fake names were unmasked...

      As for the rest of your post, a land with "pieces" of Quebec and Canada spread all over the place would be impossible to govern.

      Delete
    12. ...and an intact Quebec nation where potentially, say, 49% of the population didn't want to separate will be quite manageable, is that it? One of the definitions of maturity is the ability to foresee the results of one's actions. I don't get the impression that any of the die-hard seppies have looked beyond the drunken party they'd throw after a successful "yes" vote. Perhaps they have, but realize that sovereignty support would vanish if they outlined in advance exactly what would be required.

      Delete
    13. From this, it appears you essentially wake up about 9AM every morning, jump on the computer and spend the majority of your day posting messages on this site, then go to bed about 1AM. Even on labor day, you spent all day on this site posting childish argumentative messages, almost every 10-20 minutes, ALL DAY. The pattern is repeated for every day of the week, save for an absence of maybe 30 minutes here and there.


      Love this one, Steve. Much has been made of seppie's participation. And since one good turn deserves another, I thought I'd pay tribute to your observation about our resident troll's posting habits and run through the existing data. If we have to tolerate S.R, we can sure put up with a few numbers. I arbitrarily chose Editor's August 2nd posting as a starting point and late yesterday as the end point. Here are some equally amusing findings.

      First post: Thursday, August 2, 2012, 7:53:00 AM EDT
      Last post: Friday, September 7, 2012, 7:03:00 PM EDT

      Number of postings:
      - between first and last posts (inclusive): 322
      - 55 self-initiated posts
      - 267 replies to posts

      Posting frequency (total number of posts; percentage in brackets):
      - on a Sunday: 30 (10%)
      - on a Monday: 42 (13%)
      - on a Tuesday: 52 (16%)
      - on a Wednesday 43 (14%)
      - on a Thursday 46 (15%)
      - on a Friday 70 (22%)
      - on a Saturday 33 (10%)

      Posting Frequency (total number of posts; percentage in brackets):
      Midnight to 3 am: 21 (6%)
      3 am to 6 am: 0 (0%)
      6 am to 9 am: 16 (5%)
      9 am to noon: 86 (27%)
      noon to 3 pm: 34 (11%)
      3pm to 6 pm: 48 (15%)
      6 pm to 9 pm: 53 (16%)
      9 pm to midnight: 64 (20%)

      Longest time between postings: 3 days 8 hours 12 minutes
      Average time between same-day postings: 49 minutes
      Shortest time between postings: < 1 minute

      Top 5 most active dates:
      - Tuesday, September 4th 2012 (31 posts)
      - Thursday, September 6th 2012 (25 posts)
      - Friday, September 7th 2012 (23 posts)
      - Friday, August 17th 2012 (19 posts)
      - Wednesday, September 5th 2012 (19 posts)

      it appears you essentially wake up about 9AM every morning, jump on the computer and spend the majority of your day posting messages on this site, then go to bed about 1AM.
      Our troll does seem to be absent between midnight and about 7 am. About 15 of those 322 posts occurred between 7 and 9 am; less than a handful of posts ever occurred past midnight (except a relative burst since Election night).

      If anything, seppie is his own boss or has one that's either totally clueless about his employee's addiction to this site or too willing to let him keep doing it. Speculating on whether he's an UQAM graduate or arguing over whether he went to Cégep du Vieux or Bois de Boulogne is really a moot point, though, wouldn't you agree?

      Delete
    14. @Diogenes : I don't disagree with you. Hopefully, the next time they hold a referendum, the support for separation will be a higher than 50 + 1% (I'd say at least 55% would be a good start). Another close call would bring more harm than good for both sides.

      Delete
    15. @Apparatchik

      Long time no see...Étiez-vous en fonction auprès de votre ami Johnny boy?Pas de nouvelles de vous durant les 2 dernières semaines de la campagne électorale;les plus difficiles pour lulu frisettes.Étiez-vous sur le téléphone ou sur la pose d'affiches sur les poteaux?Peu importe.

      Content de vous revoir en pleine forme et j'espère que vous conserverez le morale :)

      Delete
    16. "- between first and last posts (inclusive): 322
      - 55 self-initiated posts
      - 267 replies to posts"

      En conclusion : Pas de S.R,pas de trafic...

      À défaut d'être récompensé,j'exige un peu plus de respect de votre part messieurs les canadiens.

      Delete
    17. Mon absence s'explique davantage par la teneur des billets (ou plutôt le manque de) que par la conjoncture électorale.

      Mais comme vous y faites allusion, je me chargeais bel et bien d'une campagne; vous sous-estimez cependant tant l'echelon que la candidature elle-même...

      Delete
  19. Well done L Steve!


    SR C'mon man not a good way to fly under the radar mate! I post a lot, i'm retired. I don't own a weapon except a can of bear spray.

    ReplyDelete
  20. FROM ED BROWN
    Why do you do this Steve? We've been asked toignore the trolls. Now he has just what he wants, recognition. Right now he saying, "So they do read my posts, I'll put more. That's what these seppies want. They couldn't understand why Marois refused to leave the stage after the incident. It's because she finally achieved her place in the limelight which is mostly what she wanted anywaynd wasn't about to let it go. Only an ego like hers would walk the streets banging pot lids to get attention. Ed

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ed,

      I disagree. I’ve actually read a few studies on the habits of so-called “trolls”.

      In the vast majority of times, they are exactly how I described SR to be. In short, they are losers in real life. Not bad people (and I don’t think SR is), just loners, little social ability, a life with repeated failures. They are the kind of people you feel sorry for when you see them on the street.

      They go onto the internet, and under the guise of anonymity, take on a different personality and then target some group over which they can make themselves feel superior. They try to take on an appearance of strength.

      They love the attention they get, but only so long as the attention is focused where they want it and it maintains the image they are trying to present.

      If ignoring them fails, as it did here, then unfortunately, if they continue to be disruptive, you need to simply demonstrate that, despite their attempts to make themselves out to be strong, they are still losers. I think that was amply done with the times he was active on this site (16 hours a day, every day)

      I’ll be honest, I don’t like doing it because I genuinely feel bad for him. I thought his last message to me was very sad. He was trying to maintain some impression of strength and aggressiveness ( such as his comments of he is very educated, maybe he does have a real job or reason to be on here all day, why don’t we form some group to represent anglos), but reading between the lines, his feelings were clearly hurt. I do feel bad when I read it as I’m sure his real life is probably not very pleasant, most likely through no real fault of his own.

      I’m hoping he rejoins the conversation on this site as I do think he has much to contribute, perhaps under a different name, but in a more constructive tone.

      Delete
  21. Ed B.: Thanks for paying attention. The rest of you on this thread: I TOLD YOU SO!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Isn't it slightly ironic that the Anglo media was all over the student protesters referring to the SPVM as the SSpvm and greeting the anti emeute with nazi salutes about how it's disrespectful and dehumanizing and outright hateful, but it's fair game to refer to Pequistes as the same?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great post, Stavros. Good example of a double standard getting exposed.

      Delete
  23. FROM ED BROWN
    Stavros, I think most English see the students and the pequistes as the same. The PQ leader was leading them. Actually to most people Mme. Marois has said things that hurt more than the actions of a bunch of kids. When she took part the street riots became political not financial. Ed

    ReplyDelete
  24. De très sages paroles de Jeremy Peter Allen. À lire!
    "I'm supposed to be on FB break, but this was brought to my attention and I have to speak out against it. This photo was printed in the Montreal Gazette. English Canadian media, both insi
    de and outside Quebec, needs to stop trying to make these cheap associations between the PQ and Fascism, or Nazism, or the KKK. There is a LOT of this BS going on right now. I don't like Pauline Marois and didn't vote for her, but suggesting the separatist movement is anything like the Nazis is not only outrageously wrong, it amounts to fear- and hatemongering. Jews in Nazi Germany were being burned in death camps. The KKK was hanging blacks from trees. In Quebec, we Anglophones feel oppressed because we're forced to include French on our commercial signs. There is no comparison possible, for crying out loud! The Quebec population dealt with the PQs more extreme proposals by handing them a minority government. We'd like to work out our differences peacefully. If would help if English Canadian media stopped fanning the flames of hatred!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Telling a province that when your leader you will make it illegal to bare head fashions for your religions...doesn't smack of Hitler's plan?

      Delete
    2. No, it's called "Laïcité". It also exists in France and other countries.

      Hopefully, they'll get rid of the crucifix too.

      Delete
    3. If Djemila has her way, then maybe.

      But Popo and some of her acolytes say the crucifix is there to stay because it's part of our culture and history and as such must stay.

      A double-standard, I agree. But this is Quebec and if the separatists say something is bad for the survival of the French-Canadian race while something else isn't, I'm sure they've done their homework. Fall in line, do your patriotic duty, and don't ask too many existential questions. They've done the thinking for us, after all.

      Delete
  25. Well you may be right in some instances, but the separatist media has portrayed the Rest of Canada (Anglophones and Allophones) as their enemy since forever when that is not true either. For heavens sake, the country has been made officially bilingual for their protection and due to the fact that they wanted to see Francophones retain their identity within Canada. The separatists also promote hate-mongering on a daily basis (Mr. Parizeau making that perfectly clear) and hearing Pauline extol the virtues of even more bigotry against the Anglophone community by taking more rights and freedoms from the citizens of this province, the Anglo media must take up the cause on behalf of the millions of Federalists in this Province. To work out our differences peacefully is not going to happen if any and all arguments fall on deaf ears with the PQ Government and their agenda. That's what I've finally realized = they are not interested in working out our differences!

    ReplyDelete
  26. To Ed: I don't even know if it's possible but I would like the "winning conditions" for a referendum to be called by the Federal Government this time instead of being at the whim of the separatists. It's been their call for the past 40 years = our turn. We know this is going to go on forever unless we can find a legal and democratic way out of it. This could be done when it comes time for the transfer payments to be made. The Feds could use their electoral districts for the vote and utilize the Clarity Act (with a clear question and a clear majority) in each of the districts. That way,the areas that don't want to remain in Canada can go without a problem (and without the money from transfer payments) and they will have made the choice themselves. Again, I'm not a lawyer nor a politician, just an ordinary citizen that's tired of the merry-go-round. I'm sure we could attract plenty of Federalists to publicize the benefits of remaining in Canada vs trying to start a bankrupt country on their own. Wouldn't it be a relief to have those remaining in Canada sign the Constitution and we could live our lives without the continuous stress of having to fight for our rights every time we get one of these separatist governments in power? I know you are a senior also but I'm thinking of the good of all Federalists in this province, young and old. We have to get started in the right direction sometime and now seems as good as any.









    ReplyDelete
  27. FROM ED BROWN
    I've said this before. I read the Gazette totally and get the CTV news every evening. The only place I have seen such pictures was in Aislins editorials.
    Don't blame the whole paper. Terry Mosher, who is Jewish knows the meaning of bigotry. Most of us felt that his cartoon of Louise Beaudoin with the whip was right on. Listening to her talk she was spouting venom. The first thing the nazis did was control the language people were allowed to use. In France they learned german words to stay alive. The association is there naturally
    and most of us feel like second class citizens being told what we can or can't do.We're adults, we don't need anyone telling us what we can say
    or how we can say it. We've had enough so if we do go overboard alittle at times it's a small
    bit of what we feel has been done to us. Ed

    ReplyDelete
  28. FROM ED BROWN
    Cutie, your proposal sounds good and makes total sense but I don't know if the Federal government has the right to interfere in Quebec. Maybe someone who's more up on that could help us. Ed

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not sure either Ed but it would be worthwhile to look into by some lawyer = Jules Grey, Guy Bertrand and Charest possibly. They'll all lawyers and this might be something they'd be interested in although in this morning's Citizen, extolling the virtues of Charest, they're suggesting that he be drafted to head up the Liberal Party of Canada. Who knows, perhaps he would be interested in that.

      Delete
  29. FROM ED BROWN
    I have a feeling that when Harper gets around to laying out the ground rules of separation the sepps
    will not be so anxious to go.
    When he tells them the amount of transfer payments they will lose and hands them a bill for our share of the debt and a few other things they may begin to see reality. Ed

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I must add that I don't think Mr. Harper is going to do any butt kissing with Pauline and I, for one, am relieved by that. As he only has 5 seats in Quebec, he doesn't have to worry about Quebec to hold a majority in Canada. I think this is the first time that Quebec doesn't have a strangle hold over parliament. As for Mr. Mulcair, we'll have to see how good he is when dealing with the PQunt because of the amount of seats he has in Quebec. Pauline will keep catering to the people who don't want to work for a living, saying there's a lobster in every pot but not telling them they need a stove to cook it on. MR. HARPER HOLD YOUR STANCE AND NO MORE POWER TO QUEBEC!

      Delete
  30. I am starting to fell better that I am leaving.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Troy - I don't blame you one bit but the seppes want just that - to drive us all out so they can steal our land and our heritage. I've been tempted to sell myself more than once because I find the upkeep getting harder and harder as I grow older, but if and when I do, I will never invest another cent in this Province. I would move into an apartment because it's my home town and leave as soon as the problems got to be too much for me. Unfortunately, that's how business see this province also, no more investment money until this is settled once and for all. Why risk losing your investment when there are so many other stable areas in this country? Don't feel too bad = you have to look after your own best interests so good luck to you.

      Delete
    2. Hi Troy, I have been told times and again that the whole language issue so rooted in quebeckers life, that people think it's 'normal', but once one leaves qc realizes how relieved is. I am sure it will be your case too.

      We are probably moving to On in spring, so... I look forward to your input, if the editor allows. I've taken the decision, but it takes time to not be sad about it.

      Delete
  31. News papers and internet don't come with warnings that your read content you'll hate and may want to murder a subject of an article...

    Montreal Gazette is not guilty of inciting violence due to any of it's articles or opinion columns.

    All press in Quebec are guilty of not running the push and pull between the French racists and the other people and cultures since the 60's Marios and her people despise on the front page since the Bill came to life.

    The entire Canadian media are also guilty of depersonalizing the effects 101 has had on the common man in an intimate format.

    For instance personalizing a English person's perspective on all the emotional loss as a result of racism by 101 cannot be ignored and yet it has been.

    I felt alone before I came to this blog now I know i'm not alone there are many of us "Damaged" on all sides which I never realized before now I've gotten a better perspective.

    Our stories especially SR'S are compelling to any person with feelings no matter what color they may be or Language/culture they spring from and YET the media has ignored "US" as a subject they can't bare to present.

    This has been Canada's filthy secret that no Prime Minister has had the balls to tackle.

    All sides are guilty of cloaking the true emotional carnage with political dogma and jargon.

    I've demanded an answer in many posts on the web with media Who damaged Marios? That would be a brilliant read.

    Marios has been perfect in presenting herself in the Ultimate Quebec, Francophone bully, blatantly promoting every attribute we have learned to fear and despise.

    Best Christmas present ever! Marios showed the whole world that there is a large group of people in Quebec that think like Nazi's The bully made herself the biggest target.

    Because Marios has no filter she all but hung herself!

    I'm pleased she destroyed any chance for respect outside her small faction of hater's, based on how microscopic her win was.

    Who in Ottawa is going to trust her, she's presented herself as the biggest nutjar in Quebec!

    Bain saw her everyday for weeks saying nasty stuff, Marios made herself easy to hate, Bain apparently had been under pressures, that has been made public.

    If this had been before print Bain would of heard about her from other people, Marios platform so outrageous to not know about!

    To say "The internet or newspaper made me do it" as a defence won't fly, the whole world reads and writes online in paper and magazine.

    I imagine he was weak in the mind and angry with government process obviously vulnerable to the static from government, he was looking for someone to blame.

    There's this Marios promising to get rid of the english language once and for all whilst making jews("Here's your bar of soap your, going for a little shower" )demanding head scarf wearers strip down. Promising all sorts of things to people in categories he didn't fit into. Touching people while purring look into my eye's I keep my promises!

    She did everything but spit on an anglo landmark! Stranger than fiction where I sit!

    Marios lucky to be alive he wanted to shoot her. If she stays, she must tone it down and make restitution to all the people she dragged along for her ride and beg forgiveness for her sins of the race she ran.

    Bain stands alone a heinous murderer of a lovely family man he killed with complete insane disregard.














    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Mitch - If you don't live here you can't understand the psychological damage that this on-going berating in the separatist media does to one's mindset. They know it and we know it but you're right, no one in the rest of Canada knows of it because it's never talked about by the Anglophones and Allophones. We have sat back silently for far too long and it's time we spoke up. Start with letters/e-mails to those establishments that publish their flyers only in French, restaurants that don't provide bilingual menus, don't go to establishments that obviously don't want to speak English and rebuff you when you ask for service, write to your Federal MP that you're tired of being ignored by them if they do not respond in English as is your right as a Canadian citizen. That's a start. I wrote to the provincial Liberal Government last March asking why I must have a bank account in Quebec to pay my Hydro bill on-line. Told them I was not interested in having any kind of bank account in this province because I do not trust that some separatist govt would make a declaration of independence and I wanted to ensure that my money was in Canada not in a new Quebec who will probably have no currency when they go until the monopoly money runs out. Got a letter back from Charest's office telling me that my correspondence would be sent on the Minister of Revenue in Quebec for a response. Wrote back twice asking why my bank in Ontario was not recognized in
      Quebec and have not heard a word back from anyone. Some way to be treated hey Canadians. It's time we started screaming about this type of treatment and let them know were here. That's how these PQs keep getting elected - we sit back and say nothing. That's how Germany got to where they were during the second world war - they just counted on the fact that no one said anything until they honestly believed they could rule the world. We have to fight back and start demanding that these politicians and business people know were fed up being treated as second class citizens. WE'RE NOT AND WE SHOULD MAKE IT KNOW TO EVERYONE WE CAN!

      Delete
    2. There are lawyers that specialize in Constitutional Law we need to suss one out and get them to see this would be a fun gig anyone on here in Law?

      Delete
    3. Off the top of my head -

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brent_Tyler

      Delete
    4. Also, Julius Grey... he has stated he would be in court (along with many others) the very next morning to challenge her if La Marois ever introduces any of her illegal anti-human rights bullshit.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Grey

      Delete
    5. When I learned there were lawyers that fought for rights in Canada it has been a quandary to me why a lawyer never slayed this dragon?

      I wonder what these lawyers are afraid of?

      What's the courtesy process in that relationship?

      Maybe these lawyers need us to petition them to represent our case?

      Who's calling Julius? Has to be someone on here who is polite and calm, I'm not that person as i'm not articulate on the History and definitions of Bills and documents like most of you are.

      After someone call's him, finds out if he really cares, no doubt whichever lawyer wants this will ask for help getting others, the numbers have to be profound!

      These lawyers need assistance to manage all tasks of data collecting to ensure no time wasting getting it to court.

      Nothing else has helped if the leaders of Quebec and leaders of our Country won't help it along we take it to court for the peace loving folks of Quebec no matter who they are.








      Delete
  32. FROM ED BROWN
    Writing to politicians informs only that politician
    if he doesn't act on it, which they usually don't. The best way to inform people is thrugh the press.
    Perhaps a group like Office of the English language
    couls get a paper started if we support them. You need to speak with more than one voice. We coulld ask TV news for a spot. McGill radio used to have
    voice of the poor representing anti poverty groups, perhaps a weekly half hour shsow could be arranged. The most important would be to convince a French radio station to give us time to hear our side of things. You and I can't do this alone. Do I hear others willing to go? Ed

    ReplyDelete
  33. Well Ed I went on line and signed the petition to the companies that the Quebec Office of the English Language has selected that are not following Bill 101 and providing the English with service. The only one I heard back from was CIBC that stated that they are trying to improve their service to the English. If everyone here does at least that much, it's a start. I don't live in your area so I wouldn't be much of a help to you but I'm thinking of joining the Western Quebecers here in my area that are trying to ensure that the Anglophones are getting service in English. I hope you hear from more people in your area who are willing to state some of stress that we go through each time the PQ are elected and are willing to go the extra mile. I will keep watching.

    ReplyDelete
  34. The idea that it is the newspapers that caused this is ludicrous. The newspapers reflect what is being said in English behind closed doors, in bars, at picnics, around campfires. The newspapers are far more moderate and careful than some things I heard being said after a few drinks in real life. The newspapers did not "cause" the idea among anglos and allos that Marois was coming after English rights.

    It seems that there is some sort of political correctness in 2012 where you can't compare anyone to a Nazi at all. If you have ever been to a holocaust museum, you will know how the Holocaust started.
    In the holocaust museum they give you the name of a Jewish child as you walk in the door, and then you follow the chain of events. It starts with the Nazi's believing that with their new welfare state, and feeling of national pride, the were close to creating Utopia where all your problems will fade away and we will live happily ever after. In order to do so, we need to remove some flies from our ointment. In doing so, they split the citizens into 2 categories: national comrades and community aliens.

    The truncation of rights of the Jews started slowly, and was nothing to be too concerned about. The Germans organised boycotts of Jewish businesses, and created a bunch of new laws to exclude Jews from parts of the economy like owning farm land, being lawyers, etc. The Jews could go on living with that, right? I mean it is a bit annoying, but Germans are protecting their own values in their own country, right?

    Eventually it lead to the full scale holocaust, and when you get to the end of the museum you check your child’s name on the rolls to see what become of him. Mine was exterminated. You leave with the feeling that says "they should have put up a fight at the beginning".

    Now looking at that, Marois' platform can be compared to Nazism. Put your political correctness aside for a moment and just look at it. She wanted to create 2 classes of Quebec Citizens where francophones have more rights than the rest. She wanted to force Jews to take off their skull caps and prayer shawls and any other sign of their non-Christian religion in order to participate in key areas of the economy. She wanted to ban the English language (rather than Yiddish), even in English owned businesses if it has more than 10 employees. English speakers are supposed to speak to each other in French or be breaking the law.

    Now you can say that there must be something better to compare that with than Nazism, because nothing is as evil as Nazism, and you may have a point. But what is that thing that compares better? Not really recent ethnic cleansing in the Balkans because that just jumped to full scale violence. Not the Spanish Inquisition either. Really the one that it is closest to is Nazism. And I say that not to tar her policies with a negative brush, but just because it makes a good simile. Which simile would you have us use that is better? I don't see the Scottish separatists banning the use of languages, or the Catalan separatists trying to outlaw religious symbols.

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  35. The shooter was clearly not some random act of violence like Luka Rocco Magnotta or that nut-case who cannibalised the bus passenger in Manitoba. If we write him off as such, we as a society are brushing it under the carpet.

    Everyone justifies themselves, no one believes that what they are doing is for no reason or they are evil. He clearly felt he was the object of some sort of injustice. It is a fact of human psychology that we are more sensitive to loss than we are to gains, and especially sensitive to injustice. If you go to a mechanic, give him $100 and your car to fix the brakes, and when you come to collect the car the guy claims you didn't give him your $100, too bad you didn’t ask for a receipt, and need to pay it again to get your car back you feel far more aggrieved than simply finding out that he charged you $200 when the going rate is $100. It is the sense of loss and injustice.

    The irony not only lies in the fact that he made his declaration in French, but also that he lived in La Conception, QC. It is widely misinterpreted as Mt-Tremblant. I've been there. It is at least 30 minutes from Mt-Tremblant to the north, off the highway.

    You are in off-the-beaten-track cottage country, and there are surely some Anglophone cottage owners out the back on the lakes, but La Conception itself is clearly very francophone. Lots of Ford F150's and checked flannel lumberjack coats.

    For him to decide to go and live there, he obviously is not anti-Quebecois. He was obviously prepared to live his life in French.

    Now in La Presse they interviewed one of his neighboring businesses. The guy said the shooter went around and introduced himself asking if they could send him business. The interviewee said he had no idea that he had any problem with the Quebecois and added that he never sent him any business. Now the question the interviewer could have followed up with but didn’t is "what if he were a bon Quebecois whose name was Jean? Would you have sent him business then?"

    That is the hard question that is not being asked. Surely the bureaucrats in La Conception are thanking their lucky stars that the shooter went to Montreal to blow his fuse and did not come in and shoot up their little mayor’s office.

    Now clearly the shooter feels he was discriminated against in his permit demands because he is English. It may be the case that he is paranoid and deranged seeing conspiracies against him where none exist. But it is too easy just to assume that, isn't it? Was there a case that life there was made difficult for him because he was English? Was he told at a council meeting that if he did not like it he was free to leave the province?

    No-one is going to ask those questions. Nevertheless, there is definitely a story to be told there. A good investigative journalist could go and rip the scab off society interviewing the people finding out what actually happened to lead to this and get their story about values and what is going on in the culture of small town Quebec.

    None of that is to in any way excuse the shooter. It was a real tragedy. And the technician who died was completely innocent. We are lucky that Marois was not shot. Marois was more than a single human life though. She was not being shot at as a person. She was being shot at for her beliefs. For what she was presenting to the electorate and what she wanted to do. And we are lucky she was not hit. The shooter should go to jail forever.

    I can imagine what the shooter was thinking. He was cursing the failure of his business, and blaming anyone but himself. Perhaps the idea that he was discriminated against because he was an Anglo was delusional, perhaps there was some real discrimination. And then here comes Marois wanting to institutionalize 2 classes of citizenship, one for francophones and another for the rest. You can imagine him thinking that this is happening in society already when it shouldn’t and now she wants to legalize it, formalize it, institutionalize it. And up he gets to put a stop to it.

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  36. Tabasser la police de la langue, ça paraîtra comique au départ. Mais la nouvelle se répandra. Personne mieux qu'un canadien français pour comprendre un québécois anglophone frustré et menotté. Mieux vaut compréhension, empathie et dialogue. Mais ça, c'est réservé aux êtres humains. Je me demande parfois s'il en reste encore sur notre belle planète bleue.

    Bonne journée à tous :-)

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  37. So I just heard on the CTV News from Montreal that 73% of the Francophone population want Pauline to reach out to the Anglophone community. Leger Marketing stated that 70% of Francophones want Bill 101 tightened. How do you reconcile these two surveys? Very strange and I have to wonder about the honesty of Leger Marketing.

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  38. I’m a bit late on this comment, but I believe Christian Martineau sums up the context of the language issue in Quebec very well.

    It’s too bad that the English, French and Allos all have separate conversations and discussions and there is no real common conversation on the issues of languages and culture.

    Even a quick look for websites shows none whereby all three groups can come together to discuss issues in a mutually respective environment. Every website has their own targeted audience/niche and takes a skewed view of political events, including this site, of course.

    Although this and the other forums are of great value and importance for their respective communities, I think it would be a huge asset for the political discussion in Quebec to have some website that tries to look at all sides and welcomes a mutually respectful conversation among all groups.

    Likewise, it would be helpful for the political climate to have some group or association in Quebec that includes anglos, allos and francos and discusses issues of importance to all groups and tries to suggest policies and ideas that would be acceptable to all. The basis of all conversation would be the context that Christian so eloquently laid out.

    Of course, there would have to be compromises on all sides, and like it or not, Francos form just under 80% of the Quebec population, so they would have more weight, but if the discussions were honest, respectful and done in good faith, it would have a positive impact for all of Quebec.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. it would be helpful for the political climate to have some group or association in Quebec that includes anglos, allos and francos and discusses issues of importance to all groups and tries to suggest policies and ideas that would be acceptable to all

      That group/association actually DOES exist in theory and in many forms. It is called the government, and is paid for by everyone's tax dollars.

      I don't say this naively; I'm just pointing out how perverse it is that in a supposedly enlightened civilization, the instrument that is supposed to be the epitome of civic and citizen participation is hijacked and either caters to the populist interests of the many, serves the interests of the perversely rich, or perpetuates the reign of the already powerful.

      Delete
  39. The "good faith" part is the whole problem. I'm starting to think that we're like the middle east and will never be able to solve this. The seppes on this Blog do not wish to compromise = they make that very clear. Different language, different culture, different country no matter the destruction that that brings with it. They don't care about investments, property values, human rights, the value of their future dollar, you name it, they just don't seem to care. Perhaps some of the politicians on both sides do, but it's very hard to pick them out when they seem to have the same attitude as the ones on this Blog.

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    Replies

    1. Uh oh, Cutie... you're not going to like this but La Marois is setting her sights on you guys next... to solve a non-existent problem!

      http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/09/06/ottawa-west-quebec-french-on-the-rise.html

      Top comments:

      “Here is a definition of fascism from Wikipedia:
      ".....Fascism seeks to eradicate perceived foreign influences that are deemed to be causing degeneration of the nation or of not fitting into the national culture...".
      This is what PQ is planning to do. It fits perfectly to the above description.”

      “there are parts of quebec that speak less french than others. why is that such a bad thing and why does the PQ want to punish those parts that do so?”
      “Because that doesn't jive with their revisionist history wherein French is the only language to have been spoken in Quebec.”

      “Hmm less people are speaking English, we better make sure less people are speaking English then.”

      Delete
    2. «Au sens large, le terme fascisme a pris un sens générique. Il s'est étendu à tout mouvement politique ou organisation s'appuyant (1) sur un pouvoir fort au service d'une classe humaine dominante 6, (2) la persécution d'une classe ennemie chargée de tous les maux, (3) l'exaltation du sentiment nationaliste, (4) le rejet des institutions démocratiques et libérales, (5) la répression de l'opposition et (6) un contrôle politique extensif de la société civile. Le nazisme s'est en partie inspiré du fascisme.»
      http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascisme (les numérotations sont de moi)

      (1) La nature décentralisée de la constitution est violée sans cesse depuis 1867 au profit de cette vision centralisée monarchiste (consanguine donc) que privilégie le Canada anglais. Il faut savoir que ce sont les canadiens français qui ont voulu d'une fédération décentralisée et démocratique, pour des raisons évidentes. Ottawa s'accapare impunément les pouvoirs excusifs provinciaux comme la taxation, la culture, la scolarité ou la santé.

      (2) Je pourrais faire un récit historique complet et vraiment troublant pour illustrer ce point. Mais je n'ai même pas besoin. Il suffit de regarder les journaux du Canada pour voir que les responsables de tous les maux canadiens sont toujours soit le Québec, soit les séparatistes. Plus personne ne se remet en question au Canada, pourquoi faire c'est si pratique de blâmer le Québec!

      (3) Quand je vois la grandeur ridicule des drapeaux canadien en Ontario, que vois-je sinon l'exaltation du «sentiment» nationaliste canadien? Prenez garde, ce n'est pas le symbole qui est important, mais ce qu'il rappelle et inspire. Un autre échec que vous pourrez passer sur le dos des 30% de séparatistes québécois sans le sous pour vous résister, pauvre aveugle que vous êtes.

      (4) Depuis 1837 au moins, le Québec (le Bas-Canada) se bat pour avoir une vrai république. La déclaration d'indépendance de 1837 était bilingue et le drapeau des patriotes incluait les couleurs des anglais, des français et des irlandais (rouge-blanc-vert). La déclaration séparait l'église de l'État, rejetait le pouvoir monarchiste, établissait l'égalité de tous indépendamment de la langue, de la religion, du sexe ou de la couleur. Ce mouvement avait aussi un équivalent en Ontario (le Haut-Canada). Devant la répression incroyablement violente et sanguinaire de l'Empire britannique, avec la complicité de certains hauts placés de l'Église catholique comme l'archevêque de Montréal, la population canadienne a du se contenter d'une monarchie constitutionnelle et le Québec a été plongé dans l'austérité religieuse. La constitution de 1867 a été décrétée PAR la Couronne britannique POUR l'Empire Britannique. Le mot peuple n'est pas mentionné une fois dans l'AANB.

      (5) Avant les intégristes, on qualifiaient les québécois et/ou les séparatistes de nazis. Depuis les intégristes musulmans, on a raffraîchit les étiquettes! On est maintenant des terroristes extrémistes. En fait, dès qu'un nouveau groupe extrémiste apparaît quelque part dans sur le globe, il se passe bien peu de temps avant que les médias du Canada ne compare le Québec à ce groupe.

      (6) «Je me souviens» d'Octobre '70, quand l'armée canadienne est entrée en force au Québec pour contrer une poignée d'hommes qui auraient été facilement maîtrisés par la GRC. On a fait sentir la présence militaire partout à Montréal et on a même effectué des arrestations arbitraires d'innocents. Et que dire du scandale des commandites? Des politiques de musellement contre Environnement Canada? Parlez moi de contrôle politique excessif!

      Le Canada est indiscutablement et entièrement FASCISTE, et historiquement une menace pour les USA.

      Tant que vous aurez le nez collé sur les bibittes des autres, vous aurez du mal à le voir. Ce qui est précisément l'objectif des politiques fascistes.

      Delete
  40. It's not that they don't care. For the most part, they either just don't know, or if they do know, they assign their priorities differently than federalist anglos.

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    Replies
    1. Or federalists francos or federalist allos, for that matter...

      How can they be so oblivious?

      Delete
    2. Because the idea that Quebec isn't as financially powerful and independent as the secessionists make it out to be is anathema to the movement.

      How can you convince people to vote for a separatist party if you tell them that separation is in reality both economically and judicially unfeasible?

      Ergo, the francophone media and its politicians, either wishing to adhere to separatist views or continue to assure Quebecers that "all is well, the only problem is confederation" continues to send their kids to learn English in the US, continues to take federal grants, all while preaching independence and Quebecois superiority.

      Delete
    3. «Oui, nous avons les moyens» - Jean Charest

      http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/Politique/2006/07/07/001-Charest-Diouf.shtml

      Delete
    4. Thanks, S.R, that's exactly what I was talking about.

      The problem about looking for that sort of info in Quebec is that the secessionists firmly press that we do have the financial means to separate, using shady unverified figures, or out of blind faith. Some of it could be true, some of it isn't. But how to tell from within Quebec? How much of the national debt will we be taking with us? What about all the institutions we'd have to replace/purchase rights to from the federal gov't? How much land are we talking about?

      Federalists don't trust reports from within Quebec because they're potentially "tainted" by secessionist optimism, and secessionists don't trust Canadian reports because they're either "maudits anglais" or just federalists trying to keep the nationalists down.

      There's no definitive answer from either side, because the parameters of this hypothetical separation aren't defined... it's just a big headache at this point.

      Delete
  41. FROM ED BROWN
    Cutie, It was not me asking for aa link but I would like to know about the petition you menyioned. Was it through Office ofg the English language website.
    Freddy, you decribe well how these things fester and explode, especially among those who are on the brink to begin with. I don't think this is the last we'll hear of such cases. As the Editor said, it may be a harbinger of things to come. Interesting
    word 'harbinger' the only other place I have heard it used was in the Bible describing John the Baptist as a harbinger of good news that Jesus was coming. Let's hope the news is better this time.

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  42. FROM ED BROWN
    The key word with Francophones is education. The youth are being doctrinated to believe that English
    is unnecessary and detrimental.
    There are four French teens (brothers and cousins
    living across the street from me, all boys in high
    school. They often run messages for me and stop by when I sit on my gallery which in summer is most of the time. They asked me what I was doing one day and I tols them I was online senfing my novel to different publishers. They asked about the book and wanted to know why I had now written in french. I asked them why I would want to sell my book to only 6 or 8million people when I can sell it to 380 million.
    They were amazed at how much sense that made and said they were not being encouraged in school, even told it was not needed. I told them to look
    to both ends of our block and the said see that
    motor bike over there, if our block was the world that bike would be the size of Quebec by comparison. They were amazed and said they had never thought about it. It's the type of thing being played down in french schooling which breeds ignorance. In truth most of the students
    marching in the street have no idea what they're doing it for. Ed

    ReplyDelete