French versus English Volume 61

SPEAK FRENCH!

Here's another story of a stranger interceding to demand that Anglophones speak French in public, this time, believe it or not, at the officially bilingual Jewish General Hospital in Montreal!
I'm sure you've heard this story already, but just in case; 

Montreal man recovering after tomato sandwich attack

MONTREAL – Police are investigating an assault at a Montreal hospital involving a tomato sandwich. 
Forty-eight-year-old Alex Montreuil was at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal for a CT scan, the day after the Quebec election-night shooting, when he alleges he was attacked with a tuna and tomato sandwich.

Montreuil suffers violent allergic reactions to salicylates – a substance found naturally in several common foods. 
He had his first nearly fatal reaction to tomatoes a few years ago and was rushed to hospital.

"Tomatoes have a form of aspirin in them, which is deadly to me," he told Global News. "I was literally purple." 

He is very careful when eating. So, it's no surprise that when he placed his order at the Café de l'Atrium in the Jewish General Hospital on Wednesday afternoon, Montreuil took precautions. 
He asked the person working behind the sandwich counter, in English, to change the gloves she was wearing, in case they had come in contact with tomatoes.
After reluctantly agreeing to change her gloves, Montreuil was served and went to sit in the café with a friend.
As they were chatting and eating their bagels and cream cheese, an angry woman approached their table.

"Suddenly, out of the blue, this person comes up to us and starts screaming in French," Montreuil described.
She said, "Here in Quebec, we speak French, not English."
Montreuil says he replied, "In my city, in my country, I can speak the language of my choice."
After defending his right to speak English in the hospital, their conversation escalated. The woman then furiously stormed off – only to return minutes later. Read the rest of the story: Global Montreal; Montreal man recovering after tomato sandwich attack

By the way, the video I posted last week showing another language altercation where passerbys were chastised for speaking English has gone viral, approaching 300,000 views on YouTube
 The video is making headlines around the world, even piquing interest as far away as Lebanon, a society well-known for racial and religious tolerance and harmony! Link{Fr}

Students want bail conditions changed

From Clique du Plateau Original story in French

 

"Arrested when they were caught disrupting classes at the University of Montreal last week, a dozen students showed up at the courthouse this morning, hoping to drop the bail conditions that prohibits them from going near the University of Montreal.  

They complained that this condition prevents them from attending classes.

Montreal Style Deli conquers New York

Read a Globe & Mail article on a couple of Montrealers who have opened a Montreal style deli in Brooklyn and a sandwich shop in lower Manhattan, to some pretty good revues.
Gotta love the name, "Mile End Delicatessen."

"Is there a difference between Montreal deli and New York’s version?
I was longing for a certain experience of going to the deli that doesn’t exist in New York. I grew up going to Schwartz’s. I grew up knowing that feeling of walking in and it just being this shrine to this one product. It’s this one little room and everyone is seated together really tight and the place reeks of smoked meat. New York doesn’t have that community." Read the whole story

 "Mile End is a Montreal inspired Jewish Deli in New York City that specializes in traditional Jewish comfort food made from scratch.  Founded on the time tested methods of curing, smoking, pickling and baking the Mile End menus include beloved sandwiches like smoked meat on house-baked rye bread.  The New York Times dubbed it “a loving tribute to the deli tradition” and Zagat and New York Magazine voted it best deli in New York." Mile End Website

The menu is a tribute to Montreal's finest and most traditional delis, with menu items named after Beauty's, Wilensky's, etc.
Everything is Montreal, except the prices, a poutine goes for a whopping $10!

Montreal, ticket capital of Canada!

"The City of Montreal issues more fines than any other city in Canada, according to a report released Thursday. Last year, fines brought $186 million in revenue to the city, representing an average of $111 for every Montrealer.
Results in Laval show an average of $43 per person, whereas Quebec City stands at $32 for every citizen.
The average price per ticket is also higher in Montreal. Parking tickets, for example, cost $52 in Montreal, compared to $39 in Quebec City and $30 in Toronto." Read the rest of the story

Media giants square off at CRTC

Control of French TV before Bell/Astral merger

Watching Bell Media square off against Pierre Karl Péladeau's Quebecor and company reminds me a bit of the Iran/Iraq war that pitted Saddam Hussein against the Ayatollah Khomeini, a case where I just wanted both sides to lose.

I have no love loss for BELL, which raised my cable bill last year to over $150 a month, until I put a halt to the excess and cancelled half the channels.

The same thing goes for Internet when one day they sent me an additional bill for 'overuse' which promoted me to go to a much cheaper and faster small provider.
Last year they tried to squeeze out these little providers and luckily for us, the CRTC after a public outcry said no.

I certainly don't think that letting Bell acquire Astral is a good idea, but the sanctimonious objections by PKP reminds me of the pot calling the kettle black.

Mr. Péladeau believes that monopolies are bad, unless it is him owning the monopoly. Excellent Quebec logic!

Mr. Péladeau has been running a full-blown and expensive media campaign to convince the CRTC not to approve the sale of Astral to Bell and in the latest attack, he enlisted the helped of 50 of Quebec 'zartistes' who wrote an open letter opposing the Bell takeover.
Oh, spare me!
If Bell wins its fight, I hope they blackball all these sanctimonious idiots.

Ex-MNA's exit renumeration questioned

You know, I'm not going to jump on the bandwagon and complain about exit payments made to those defeated members of the National assembly or those who chose not to run.

As it is, I think they are woefully underpaid and politics being a brutal game, defeat is always staring these politicians in the face, there isn't much job security in the National Assembly.

For many, the transition out of politics is painful and sometimes followed by a period of incertitude and unemployment.

That's just my opinion, I'm sure many will disagree.

Here's a graphic prepared by the Journal de Montreal showing what each will pocket as a transition payment.

The first illustration describes those who were defeated in the last election., the second,  politicians who chose not to run in the last election.

Everything is in French but all you need to understand is the $$$ amount, plus "années de service' = years of service, the amount of time spent in the National Assembly. Read the original story in Le Journal de Montreal 

Transition payments to those members of the National Assembly who were defeated;

Transition payments to those members of the National Assembly who chose not to run again;

Canadian Universities crack Top 20

Congratulations to McGill University and the University of Toronto for their extraordinary showing, placing 18th and 19th in ranking as the best universities in the world.
It is quite an accomplishment for both schools, two great Anglo institutions. Read the story

French on the rise in west Quebec?

"Quebec's premier-designate Pauline Marois says one of her priorities is to halt a perceived decline of French in the Outaouais, but the most recent numbers from west Quebec suggest more people in the region — not fewer — are speaking French.....
The language numbers for 2011 will not be known until October. But records from the Institut de la Statistique of the Quebec government, which include statistics up to the last census in 2006, show French has actually become more prevalent in the region between 1986 to 2006.
In 1986, 76 per cent of Outaouais residents said they spoke only French at home. By the mid-2000s, that number was up to 83 per cent."  Read the rest of the story

More persecution of Blacks by Montreal police

Montreal police vs. Blacks

I've written before about Canada's most racist police force and here is just the latest sad assault by the Montreal police on the Black community.
It is hard to believe that it remains Montreal police policy to roust ⁽⁴⁾ a whole community in 2012.
The real reason the police are so out of tune with modern North American societal values is because of  the Quebec public's lack of concern for the treatment of minorities. It is sad to  say, but it is true.
From yesterday's Montreal Gazette;

Jaywalking while Black is apparently a serious offence

By Elizabeth Stronach, Special to The Gazette
On Sunday, about 9:05 p.m., I exited my house on the east side of Rosedale Ave. in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and walked across the street to where my car was parked. This was just 10 seconds after three black men in their 20s had crossed the street in the same area, which was not near an intersection.
I moved my car into my driveway and walked back up to my front door, by which time a police cruiser had pulled up opposite my house. Two officers exited the vehicle and detained the three men “for jaywalking” and demanded identification.
The three men began to loudly question the officers’ motives for detaining them.
Very soon, three additional police vehicles appeared, one of which was a supervisor’s van.
A total of eight officers questioned the three men, who were joined shortly afterward by two friends of theirs who had been attracted by the commotion. Read the rest of the story

Listen to a radio interview with the author and Tommy Schnurmacher, of Montreal's CJAD.  Link
 
Read two previous posts I wrote about the racist and incompetent Montreal police.
Montreal Police Harass Entire Black Community
Montreal Police Go Beyond Racial Profiling
 

Blowhards complain about signage

I have to say that Gilles Proulx has become one of my favourite French language blowhards, sputtering and raging over English signage with the passion and conviction of a televangelist.

When he goes into one of his sanctimonious and sarcastic rants on TV, it cracks me up!

Here he is with none other than Quebec's most notorious language whiner, Mario Beaulieu, complaining about English non-French signs (notice the sign on the video behind the desk featuring a dastardly insulting sign "IL VICINO")
Link{Fr} 

Crowing that militants had prepared a 1,000 language complaints for the OQLF, the lobby group Mouvement Montérégie Français, intimated that a crisis was upon the region and that the sky was in imminent danger of falling in on the French language.
Unsaid in all this, is that in finding these 1,000 so-called infractions, the group must have reviewed HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SIGNS!!!!!
It's like saying that a doctor found a 1,000 cold germs in a body.
How about some context, please....

Now for an interesting tidbit that I found in only one newspaper story about  these 1,000 complaints.
Almost all the complaints were about the name on the door, we know what that is all about. Canadian Tire, Best Buy etc.etc.,
But here is something new. Complaints were made over every English Church in the surveyed area because the notice boards in front of the Church had English on them!!!!!

"However, in the case of religious organizations, they have always been exempted, as is the case,  for example, signs identifying the location of a "United Church" or any other denomination of a church frequented by English parishioners.

Mr. Beaulieu  continued on this slippery slope. "I do not see why the churches fail to comply with Bill 101. There may be English on the sign, but there must also be French, "he said. Link{FR}

CHURCHES, for God's sake!!!!!! (pardon, the pun)

Maybe they expect our clergy in English language churches, temples and mosques to give the weekly sermons in French.
In English Catholic churches,  I imagine that these kooks will demand that Confession between an English priest and an Anglo be in French as well.

To Hell heck with Greek or Russian in Orthodox churches and let us eliminate Hebrew in synagogues and Arabic in Mosques.
Let us tell the Korean Church to pray in French and the same for the Buddhists and the Sikhs.

Here's an idea for MQF, if they want to find  more violations; Visit all the English  and ethnic cemeteries and write out a complaint for every tombstone that doesn't have French on it.
I'm sure they could come up with hundreds of thousands of complaints that the OQLF could investigate until the end of time.

Readers this type of language extremism is not typical of Francophone society in Quebec, it is just the opinion of a few crazed militants in the MQF who get all together too much media exposure.

But more on all this in a future post..

At any rate, back to Mr. Proulx who over the years, has pissed and moaned against his nemesis, "BT AUTO REPAIR LTD." in Greenfield Park. He's ranted about the company name on so many occasions, I truly lost count.
After making numerous complaints to the OQLF over the name on the masthead, Mr. Proulx can finally claim sweet victory as the offending portion of the name has finally been covered up.
Congratulations and hooray! Quebec is saved and victory is sweet!

By the way, can anybody tell me what the heck is "VO/OLKSWAGEN"

Anglo arrested for hate

It finally happened, the SQ reacting to a spate of tips from an inflamed public and arrested a man for making a threat.

You can read the story here, but the man, Steve Karmazenuk got in trouble for making a direct threat;

 “Marois has stated her intent to destroy my country and gut my language rights. 

My intent is to see her government destroyed and Marois gutted.”

That second line readers is a direct threat, something I talked about in my last post .
You can hope someone comes to harm, but you cannot threaten to harm someone.

Someone created this Photoshopped insult of Pauline Marois, depicted as a Nazi. Link{Fr}

Again not hate, but pretty demeaning.

Before militants get their panties in a bunch, demanding arrests, Premier Charest was subject to the same rough treatment throughout his premiership.
Here is one from this past election which did not make the newspapers. Why is that?

Now if you really want to talk about hate, nothing beats this story of a plan to re-publish some of the worst antisemitic writing by French author Louis-Ferdinand Céline, by a small Quebec publisher.
The works are so virulently hateful, they remain banned in France to this day. Read the story

By the way, yesterday in the comments section, SQ  pointed to a video on YouTube that so clearly passes into the realm of threat that even I was shocked.
I do not understand how the video is up on YouTube for five months.
The author of the video sings a little ditty while brandishing a sword, describing how he is going to kill Jean Charest.
 

Hello, SQ? (the police, not the commenter.)  Are you going to take action here, or is it only hate against Francophones that concerns you?

Language tensions are clearly going up since the last election and it will be subject of Monday's post.


Let's end on the lighter side of the language dispute over store names.

A Montreal sushi restaurant was ordered by court to cover up its sign within 24 hours.

Why?
This is the original name to which the landlord objected too;

Please have a good weekend.