Friday, June 6, 2014

French versus English Volume 108

PQ 'loses the room'

You've all seen the scene, either in a movie or in real life, where a politician or a spokesman gives a speech defending a policy or action in front of a crowd which becomes progressively more hostile, to the point that nothing that the politician can say placates the crowd and where he or she is shouted down and forced to flee the scene.

In the trade it is called  'losing the room' and there's little doubt post-election the PQ has clearly lost the room.
Since the election, PQ fortunes have fallen to historical lows;
"One month after its crushing electoral defeat to the Liberals, a new Léger poll done for Le Devoir shows that, had an election been held May 7-8, support for the party would have been a mere 19%.
In 28 years of polling, “I never saw this,” a shocked Jean-Marc Léger told the paper." Link
Part of the collapse can be attributed to the revelations that the PQ, particularly Bernard Drainville and Pauline misled Quebecers over legal opinions concerning the Charter of Values.

There's no coming back for a politician branded as a liar and so for the PQ, Bernard Drainville remains a ball and chain, one who the public and more importantly, the media, have come to mistrust.
Now it's revealed that the former finance minister Nicolas Marceau also misled the public over the deficit, under-reporting by several billion dollars the true fiscal mess.
This latest revelation of PQ deception isn't even accounted for in a survey that pegs PQ support at just 19%, polling which took place before the revelations by the auditor-general that the deficit as predicted by Marceau was over three times as large.
Quebec’s acting auditor general says the former Parti Québécois government provided an “ambitious” portrait of public finances that was nowhere near the current fiscal reality facing the province.

In a new report tabled today, Michel Samson said the proposed budget brought forward by the PQ government last February grossly underestimated the province’s deficit, which the PQ projected at $1.75 billion for 2014-2015.
Samson said the actual deficit Quebec is facing is closer to $5.5 billion Link
It's hard to survive a lie like that, so add the name of Nicolas Marceau  to the list of the PQ's dead men walking.

 Worse still, is how the PQ is doing with the younger generation;
"The majority of young Quebecers are turning their backs on the PQ and sovereignty, according to a new CROP survey that polled Quebecers between the ages of 18 and 24.
The 500-person survey found that just 16 per cent of people in that age group support the Parti Quebecois. The Liberals have more than double the number, with 34 per cent.
The group also overwhelming reject the idea of an independent Quebec. The poll showed that 69 per cent of Quebecers between 18 and 24 years old would vote "no" in a referendum.
“I wouldn't vote for the PQ because it will cause a lot of problems if we separate from Canada,” said CEGEP student Philippe Deschenes.
Link
While the PQ is putting on a brave face, it is clear that the introspection that it has claimed it must undertake, must include a complete house-cleaning, with the departure of Drainville and Lisée from leadership positions.
Even that doesn't go to the basic question of whether sovereignty is a one generation issue.
That remains to be seen..
So unrealistic has sovereignty become that even many of those who wish in their heart for a sovereign Quebec, would actually vote against the idea over financial considerations.

Quebec Liberal Party soon to face corruption music

If there's anything we learned over the last eighteen months, it is that when UPAC (the special provincial police unit investigating corruption) raids an office, it isn't just on a fishing expedition. It is usually a precursor to charges being laid, even if months away.

We all learned our lesson when ex-mayor Michael Applebaum brazened it out, telling reporters that the visits by the special police unit to his office weren't anything to be concerned about. While UPAC didn't reply in public, it probably didn't appreciate the lie and when they came to arrest Applebaum months later, there was a measure of payback. Instead of asking Applebaum to come to the station to be charged, they went to his house early in the morning and made sure there were reporters on hand for the arrest and infamous 'perp walk.'

So it doesn't auger well for the Liberal party with the latest raid;
"The anti-corruption police unit has carried out another raid at the Quebec Liberal headquarters in Montreal, the party said Tuesday night....
...The search warrant says police wanted computer data from the account of the party’s former director, Joël Gauthier, and two others, according to The Gazette. Gauthier, who was the former head of the regional transportation authority, recently quit his new job at Investissements Hexagone in the wake of damning allegations from UPAC. 
Link
Now Joël Gauthier is quite an interesting character, he's the former director of the Quebec Liberal Party who left in 2003 and was awarded a plum patronage job, running the regional commuter rail agency, the AMT.
"Gauthier, the former director of the Quebec Liberal Party, ran the AMT for nearly 10 years. He was pushed out in January 2012, when more than $300 million in cost overruns accrued on a new commuter line linking Mascouche and Montreal."
When the PQ got elected, it installed their own stooge, defeated star PQ candidate, Nicolas Girard who took over the job and who later discovered 'irregularities' in Gauthier's agenda and squealed to police.

"An investigation into his dealings at the AMT began when Gauthier's successor, Nicolas Girard, found what he believed to be irregularities in Gauthier's agenda, and turned it over to UPAC.  Link

Those irregularities showed that Gauthier had an incestuous relationship with engineering firms dealing with the agency. Gauthier accepted many gifts from them including a trip to the Vancouver Olympics.
Hilariously, a newspaper report describes how Gauthier asked an assistant to stomp on his Blackberry in a moronic attempt to delete the history, oblivious to the fact that the information was stored on the company server! Link{fr}

After Gauther was dumped from the AMT by the PQ, he landed at Hexagone, a firm created expressly to buy the construction empire of disgraced construction magnate Tony Accurso, who decided to retire in the wake of damning revelations at the Charbonneau Commission.
It wasn't exactly an arm's length sale, with Acurrso's two sons, James et Marco, two of the six shareholders. Other shareholders alongside Gauthier were former Accurso company employees. Link{fr}
In the wake of the raids and the potential embarrassment, Gautheir left Hexagone.
As I said, Gauthier is one murky character.
Oh, by the way, Hexagone just won a multi-million dollar contract with the city of Montreal.
No problemo!

And so moving right along, in testimony before the Commission, a former aide to then Quebec Minister Nathalie Normandeau confirmed that Liberal party held ridings were favoured in the awarding of discretionary projects, but defended the Minister, telling the commission that it was not her doing, but Normandeau's  evil cabinet secretary.

According to both witnesses, some provincially subsidized projects were approved faster than others depending on political affiliation. While certain projects were given the go-ahead quickly and easily, Binette testified, other files might sit gathering dust in the minister's office because the ridings where the projects were being carried out were not Liberal ones — or because the engineering firm partnered with a given municipality "wasn't the right one."
 It was the non-urgent projects that may have been ranked based on how constituents had voted in the last election, he explained.

Binette also told the inquiry that three engineering firms — Dessau, BPR and Roche — snapped up more than 80 per cent of all provincially-subsidized municipal contracts in Quebec. Both witnesses confirmed that the firms were in regular contact with the minister's office, and that they provided Normandeau's chief-of-staff, Bruno Lortie, with lists of projects that they were working on.

While Normandeau was painted as a dedicated and friendly boss, Lortie received the opposite treatment on Wednesday.

The chief-of-staff "loomed large" in Normandeau's inner circle, Binette testified, and met with executives from the engineering firms regularly. Lortie was also allegedly in charge of arranging fundraising events and ensuring that the minister met the $100,000 annual fundraising goal set for her by the Quebec Liberal Party.
Link
More bad news for the Liberals is the visit that UPAC paid to Îles-de-la-Madeleine, MP Germain Chevarie. They wanted to have a little chat.
And Tony Tomassi, the ex-Liberal cabinet minister pleaded guilty  this week and was sentenced to 240 hours of community service in relation to fraud over expense claims when he was in the National Assembly Link

It seems that nobody is safe from UPAC's reach. In an absolutely bizarre turn of events, the corruption cops raided another office, the office that oversees its own operations!
"Quebec's anti-corruption unit (UPAC) carried out two raids in Quebec City Wednesday — one of them inside a building used by the provincial public security ministry.....
....Coalition Avenir Québec’s François Bonnardel said the government has a lot of explaining to do given that UPAC reports to the public security ministry.

“It’s extremely worrisome when we see that the police are investigating the police. In these circumstances, I think the ministry and the government should give us information on this impromptu visit,” said Bonnardel." Link

Employees rights in Quebec trumps all

When do employee rights trump good sense and public safety in Quebec.... ALWAYS.

Here's a video of a rogue school bus driver filmed by a concerned citizen.



"A man driving on the 40 westbound between Sources and St. John's says he noticed a minivan tailgating him, and when he saw the school sign on the minivan and the vehicle filled with kids, he followed the driver and videotaped him.
In the video, you see the school minivan driving over 100 km/h in a 70 km/h zone, and weaving in and out of traffic.
“I stopped filming because he noticed me and it was getting dangerous, he started following me at speed, I was driving to get away from him and he was zigzagging through traffic like a crazy person,” the man who wished to remain anonymous because he is also speeding in the video, told CJAD.
The man called the school transportation company, R. Crevier, to complain, but he says they were not interested.
CJAD spoke to the owner, Robert Crevier, Tuesday morning; he was unavailable for an interview but said he received a complaint from a citizen and the Sûreté du Québec.
He said it was the employee's first offence, that he gave him a warning and he could be fired after three." Link
What was the police reaction to all this?
They asked the anonymous filmer to come forward so that they could issue him two citations, one for dangerous driving himself and another for filming while driving.

As for the driver of the school bus, just a warning, he's entitled to three strikes, according to the owner of the company
Hmmmm.... Wold you let your child board this guy's bus tomorrow?

Oh,oh.. we all know what these caricatures indicate!
In another case of employees before the public, the union is trying to reverse the firing of two employees who were caught on tape abusing patients in a government run old age facility.
Both employees were charged by police with various crimes, including drug trafficking, assault etc. etc.

Despite all this, the union representing the workers has filed a grievance, demanding that the two former employees be reinstated.

Now the union representative said that when the grievance was deposited, the union wasn't aware of all the facts, but it hasn't withdrawn the grievance in light of evidence revealed. Link{fr}

Hmmmm.... Wold you entrust a elderly family member to the care of these two? 


Quebec defends marriage principle

If there is one issue where this editor defends Quebec's contrary position to that of the ROC, it is in the principle that marriage (or civil union) or the lack thereof should define the status of couples.

For the majority in the rest of Canada, couples are to be declared defacto married by virtue of living together continually for a number of years.
This means that marital rights are bestowed upon couples who never marry, rights like pension eligibility, alimony and in the case of death, pension and RSP rollovers as well as the right to  inherit.

Quebec has always taken a different approach, where 'common-law' marriage doesn't exist and a couple's status is up to them to define, not the law.
In Quebec, to benefit from marital rights, a couple must be married or joined through a civil union. It should be noted that support for children in the case of a breakup, is obligation that is irrespective of status.
Quebec has gone to court to defend principle of free choice and has maintained that it will continue to do so.

And so in Quebec, with  double the percentage of unmarried couples living together as opposed to the ROC, their  status is very much different than in most provinces in Canada.

I have never heard a meaningful argument for common law marriage. 
Feminists who contend that women are equal to men in all respects, look to the law to trap men into marriages they never agreed to.
Why don't women just demand that their mates commit through marriage, a seemingly simpler solution?
Every argument that feminists advance to force men into de facto marriage, make women look stupid and weak or so biologically driven to partner that they are forced to accept a lessor status.
If the latter argument is true, well, then I can accept the need for special protection. 
So which is it?

I can only wait for the outraged responses in the comments section, but Quebec seems to back the position that the decision to marry or live as a couple be made freely and consciously and not imposed by government. The Quebec government takes the 'outrageous' position that women are free to choose their own status, while the rest of Canada believes women are too-feeble minded or biologically-driven to do so.
And now to Canada's new prostitution law that seeks to criminalize the men engaging in sex for hire, while giving prostitutes a pass, another acknowledgement that women are deserving of unequal and preferential treatment under the law.
The idea that prostitutes are trapped into a lifestyle and are powerless to choose another path, just more evidence that feminists themselves view their sex as inferior and weak. 
In a country where anyone can get welfare, choosing prostitution is a conscious decision and those who make that decision should bear the responsibility.
It is strange how we always hear about 'women trapped in a life of prostitution' as if they had no hand in their fate or no alternative. Nope, not in Canada...sorry.
The hooker with a heart of gold, is an idea as ludicrous as the hooker paying her way through university. Prostitutes are prostitutes and attempting to rehabilitate their image by calling them 'sex-workers' doesn't change who and what they are.

Let us consider a drug transaction, where the pusher of illicit drugs faces no legal sanctions, while the buyer may be sent to jail. Would Canadians accept that?
If you read French, here's an interesting article about how Quebec is determined to protect the marriage principle and also protect the individual right to choose one's status. Link{fr} 

Canadiens Mascot 'Youppi,' pays off Jimmy Fallon bet


xxx 

Euginie Bouchard trips up on and off the court

If there's one things that irks Quebec francophones, it is that  the French from France largely detest the Quebecois accent. I don't know why, but Quebec movies are generally dubbed when shown in France, something that really is unnecessary.
If I can understand Haitian French, as a non native French speaker, I'm sure that those in France can very well understand the Quebecois accent.

That being said, Eugenie Bouchard had an incident when a fan asked her if she could speak French with a real 'French' accent to which she gave an unfortunate answer that saw some local journalists seeing red.
The French interview is subtitled, it starts at 1:20.



Yikes!!!!
Perhaps local media will finally admit that Genie is a Quebec anglophone, named after a British princess who doesn't place an accent over the second 'é'  in her name.
While Pierrre Foglia of the Journal de Montreal took exception to her jibe, that is, that it's good that she doesn't have a Quebecois accent, other Frenchmen noted that Genie's accent is actually much easier on their ears then that of the Quebecois!  Link{fr}

Is BBQ chicken commercial racially insensitive?

St. Hubert BBQ, Quebec's largest chain of rotisserie chicken has come under fire for this commercial, which Chinese community leaders have branded racially insensitive. Link

'

Offence, like beauty, is always in the eye of the beholder and so I'd like a few opinions from the readers as to whether you think this commercial crosses a line.

For francophone readers....
Would you be offended if McDonalds ran a commercial where not so flattering stereotypical portrayal of a francophone Poutine shack owner railing at the unfairness of being undercut by a big corporation.

Interestingly, this story hasn't made it into the Francophone media yet.
What do I think?....dunno.

Then there's this  Swiffer commercial featuring a stereotypical  elderly Jewish couple that is absolutely precious, so I guess it's a fine line.
The commercial is so popular that Swiffer made another one featuring Morty and Lee (actually I don't know which came first)..... Watch it


Further reading

Quebecers signing up for accent modification classes

7 Interesting Montreal Statistics About Every Borough In The City 

Quebec students tops in math 

Canadian brands ignoring francophones on social media 


Denis Coderre, Mayor of Montreal makes good on a bet with the mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio over the Canadians/Rangers series.
That Coderre had to fly the Rangers flag over city hall is nothing, but being forced to eat a disgusting New York bagel is real punishment.



More English belongs in Quebec’s French schools: report

Language group blast government for providing English version of budget {fr}

French lessons for dyslexic employee likely to cost DND over $70,000

Bonne fin de semaine!

Have a good weekend!


84 comments:

  1. "That being said, Eugenie Bouchard had an incident when a fan asked her if she could speak French with a real 'French' accent to which she gave an unfortunate answer that saw some local journalists seeing red.
    The French interview is subtitled, it starts at 1:20."

    I think that she wanted to say that because she "doesn't have" the Québec accent it's easier for people for France to understand her.

    Her comment was a little maladroit but I don't think it was said in a mean fashion.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. @Guillaume

      I agree, I doubt she meant anything by it, but really who cares about the comment. She can play Tennis and for those of us who are Tennis aficionados, we really appreciate having her on the scene, especially in Women's Tennis. She played an incredible match, she made Sharapova more nervous than I've I ever seen her in a match in a long time. Let's not forget as well that Eugie was playing on a surface she's less use to. On a hard court it will be a different story I'm convinced. She is a great Tennis player now and will only improve. That she's Canadian AND from Montreal make it all the more sweeter!

      Delete
    2. Well stated, MVÉ. Legaré: There was nothing "maladroit" about what the young lady said; besides, Joual is to French what Afrikaans is to Dutch. The latter was the bastardized language of the Boers (farmers), Dutchmen who went to South Africa.

      Bill 101's first article should read: "Joual is the official language of Quebec." The Quebec government so-called language experts endlessly complain about the lackluster French in Quebec. Here I am living in the Toronto Area and I've seen poorly written French communicating with Quebec. They don't use accents in their written communications, probably too damn lazy to use the ALT key. In French class at school (I went to English instructional schools in Quebec) if we left accents off a single letter of a single word, we got dinged for it. Every time I'm speaking with someone who ends their sentance with «là, là» I want to throw up. It's like listening to some pro athlete earning millions upon millions of dollars who when interviewed keeps on saying "y'know...y'know...y'know". At least these dumbasses at least can afford speech lessons, y'know.

      Let the poor slobs in Hérouxville, Alma and Saguenay go to night classes for remedial French lessons. Surely there must be free or low cost lessons at the local school or CEGEP! Call-in-de-bin!

      Delete
    3. @mr sauga

      nice plea for the strenghtening of french language promotion in quebec mate. i agree with you that more efforts should be put to make sure french remains sound and healthy from montreal to hérouxville.

      Delete
    4. Minus Montreal. You can do what the crap you like in every other part of this Loser province. Montreal has bigger Fish to fry. We'll do everything in our power to make this an officially bilingual city again, so Industry can thrive here as it did 40yrs ago! We don't suffer from Language inadequacies and insecurities. It's not our problem. It is YOUR problem, so you can go resolve ELSEWHERE. Hand off Montreal.

      "Stupid=trying the same thing over and over expecting different results."

      It is time this city focuses on a different strategy to obtain different results.

      Delete
  2. Pas de commentaire sur le deal avec Bernie?

    Alors que notre bon gouvernement fait des coupures partout et décide deux jours plus tard de donner des millions à un bandit à cravate comme Ecclestone...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Way back when I was in school (the 80s) all my French teachers spoke with a Parisian accent and we learned Parisian French -- which made it hard to understand my Quebecois neighbours or Passe-Partout.
    I still find it easier to understand les Français ;)


    As for Marriage -- I am of two minds of this. Because common law is so common, and because many people are ignorant of the law, especially how federal law differs from being in Quebec, I'm not sure I agree with the official Quebec stance.


    For the Chinese ad -- I love it! Finally French media showing more ethnic groups. It'd be better if the couple were speaking French though ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Right on, Kevin! I went through the system in the 70s, and all except my Grade 11 teacher were from Europe or Asia. My French teacher for my senior year was Québécoise, but she spoke top-notch, impeccable French. She was also my favorite French teacher! Every inch a lady, and she was head of the French department at my high school, rightfully so. She was living proof prim and proper French spoken in Quebec is possible, but sadly rare.

      In all fairness, English has been hacked to death, too on this continent. I was once driving to Montreal from Toronto about 25 years ago, and I almost drove off the road when I heard so woman on a Kingston radio station call an archipelago (pronounced "är-kə-ˈPEH-lə-ˌgō") an "ar-CHIPa-la-go". Help me, Lord!

      Delete
  4. "While the PQ is putting on a brave face, it is clear that the introspection that it has claimed it must undertake, must include a complete house-cleaning, with the departure of Drainville and Lisée from leadership positions"

    Some of us would pay money to see these despicable people gone completely from the political scene, never to lay eyes on them again, not in a newspaper or anywhere else in the media. In terms of their public service, they brought nothing to the table and took away even more. Their departure is now long overdue. Whenever it happens, it won't be a minute too soon. Good riddance to bad trash.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. From Ann
      Separatists who are put out to pasture seem to be welcome as writers in the Journal de Montréal!

      Delete
    2. It's a shame their acts aren't criminal. They should be rotting in jail instead of sitting in the assembly and later draw a pension.

      Delete
    3. The acts of some of them may well be criminal but they've got about as much chance of ending up in jail as the crooks testifying at the Charbonneau commission.

      Delete
    4. CIQ: You're right, those stooges should be rotting in jail, if not given pain enhancing drugs prior to a cruel and unusual execution. Doesn't Canada have hate crime laws? Seems, though, that Quebec is immune to such laws, while Don Cherry receives admonishment for saying "French guys" in the NHL wear eye visors.

      Ann: You're right in what you wrote. If they don't become columnists in rags like J de M and the Gazette, they can always go work for CJAD!!! That radio station is a pathetic shadow of its former self. No, I take that back. It would have to work its way up to a shadow of its former self.

      Delete
    5. Oopsie...I forgot to finish my thought to CIQ above that I'm against capital punishment, but the overt spreading of hate the way that motley crew did is worse than murder...just like what the judge who sentenced the Rosenbergs to death for treason stated when he passed sentence back in the 1950s.

      Delete
  5. Editor,

    Today marks the 70th anniversary of Operation Overlord, the Allied landing on Normandy beach. Could you please put something on your theme picture for that effect? Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Operation Overlord was primarily a British, American and Anglo-Canadian undertaking with some Free French troops involved as well. There was one Francophone regiment from Quebec (the Chaudieres) that took part in the D-Day invasion, but overall, the participation of Francophones in the liberation of western Europe was somewhat of an embarrassment. The Quebecois were dead set against Conscription in both world wars, even though troops from Canada were involved in the defense or liberation of their ancestral homeland of France.

      At a telecommunications company where I worked in Montreal there were memorial plaques in the lobby that listed the names of all of the employees who died in the world wars. Almost all of the names listed were Anglophone.

      Delete
    2. @durham

      check ou this french canadian's journey http://tinyurl.com/44bobza

      it's not to prove french canadians like war as much as english canadians do, but leo major is a hero worth remembering.



      Delete
    3. Troy: Good idea!

      Durham: Well stated, if not eloquently stated. Oh, and to the detractors of this blog, keep on excavating to find Old Stock Frenchies who are war heroes in WWI and especially WWII! Like finding a needle in a haystack! Nazi collaborators were a dime a dozen back in the home country when they were occupied. Guess who freed the home country?

      Delete
    4. Charles De Gaulle had the nerve, arrogance and gall (pardon the pun) to shout "Vive le Quebec libre" during a visit to Montreal in 1967, when it was mostly English-Canadians who fought and died to liberate his country in WW2, while he sat on his ass in Britain. He was such a troublemaker during the war - the leader of a defeated country in exile - that FDR did everything in his power to have him replaced. Both FDR and Churchill despised him.

      Delete
  6. The biggest story is missing from the piece. It's the passage of the shameful Loi 52, the "right to die with dignity" (an Orwellian euphemism if there ever was one) euthanasia bill.

    Those who are buying the propaganda behind it, beware. The reasons for such bills here and in the EU have nothing to do with patients. These bills are part of the austerity measures. This one sends people to the other world quicker, so the costs of care are cut down. Secondly, it will not stop here, it will be gradually extended to a wider category of people. We are just getting smoothly eased to the idea.

    Respect for the 22 MPs who voted against it, including Christine St-Pierre.

    http://www.ledevoir.com/politique/quebec/410177/soins-de-fin-de-vie-christine-st-pierre-ne-veut-pas-accorder-le-pouvoir-de-tuer

    Also respect to the doctors who formed a coalition against the bill (http://coalitionmd.org/). Not all doctors are quacks after all. Some of them are ok.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. (rolls eyes) Yes, yes, watch out for Obama's death panels. It's an assisted suicide bill, not a give doctors license to kill bill.

      Delete
    2. I have to agree with whowhatzit on this one. A person should be allowed to make these decisions for themselves. If their quality of Life is less than adequate due to some severe health condition, he/she should be allowed to end their Life through assisted suicide.

      @adski

      It wouldn't surprise me however, if as you imply, government has its own hidden agenda for Legally allowing it. It is called "assisted suicide" however, so the patient must give his consent. It will be interesting to see how it actually unfolds since it violates the criminal code apparently.

      Delete
  7. "If there's one things that irks Quebec francophones, it is that the French from France largely detest the Quebecois accent. I don't know why, but Quebec movies are generally dubbed when shown in France, something that really is unnecessary."

    Watch the first 40 seconds. I personally don't necessarily agree with the "gutter" comment, but if the French think that, then I'd try to hide a Quebecois accent if I had one and went to France.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFxU5veg0Cw

    ReplyDelete
  8. Regarding prostitution and sex trade...

    One thing that always confuses me about sex trade in Canada and the United States, even before I came here, is the status of pornography industry. Unlike in most of Western Europe and Australia, prositution is generally regarded as an illicit activity that needs to be eradicated in most of Canada and the United States. However, the story is completely different for pornography industry. BTW, I do not want to include morality in this discussion.

    Pornography is a big, lucrative, legal and protected business in Canada and USA. The legal loophole of why pornography is not being chased down as prostitution is that pornography is regarded as work of art of people having sex and therefore it is protected as a freedom of speech. For me it is a big hogwash. The performers in pornography act in explicit sexual acts for money and money and money. They engage in sexual activities with different partners (or alone), and do different sexual acts, that the producers choose and they agree. So how is it different with prostitution? In some occassions, the performers in pornography are not even those who choose the profession and dedicated to it.

    Pornography is a big industry with big dollar in Canada and USA. Globally, the top three porn-producing cities are Los Angeles, Amsterdam and Montreal. Therefore, there is no chance that there would be a legislation restricting women and men to engage in porn production. For me, I am just confused with the disparity between those who trade sex in a motel room and those in a studio in front of the camera.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The disparity isn't from what happens in front of the camera but what happens behind it - who gets paid and who pays.

      Delete
    2. In prostitution one person is paid to have sex and the other is paying. In pornography all the performers are paid. It makes for very different relationships.

      Personally, I have no opinion on either, but they are different.


      Delete
    3. Does that not mean that ALL of the performers are "prostitutes"? Indeed, all performers in adult industry, male or female are qualified as sex workers. Therefore, what is the difference in philosophy between pimps and porn producers?

      Delete
    4. Prostitution is the world's oldest profession, and for a reason. Tobacco is a drug, yet the government legalized it. Alcohol is a drug, and the government legalized it. Why don't they just give in, like in Nevada, and legalize it with strict government regulation?

      Prostitution is part of life, always has been, always will be. Like casinos, the government can take a cut off the top (and keep pimps from muscling in) and keep tabs on things through taxation.

      Oh, and for you smart ass detractors, the answer is no, I neither have nor ever will engage a prostitute's services. Finito!

      Delete
  9. Editor,

    I have to disagree a bit on the bagel. St-Viateur bagel is good to be eaten by itself. NYC bagel, on the other hand, is better as sandwich. Put cream cheese, capers and lox on it, and it is as good for breakfast as it is for lunch.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It may be my imagination, but it looks like more than the Rangers flag was flying from your city hall, but also the flag of New York City.

      Delete
  10. Concerning the St Hubert commercial, maybe it's my ignorance but I don't see anything wrong with it. They are simply a hard working Chinese couple who run their own restaurant as thousands of others do. They are upset about the competition. I would be too. Chinese, like all people hold many career choices. This is just one of them. What would the reaction be if they had chosen an Italian or Greek restaurant. Maybe we all need to lighten up and laugh at ourselves.
    As to the Swiffer commercial with Morty and Lee, I love it. A sweet elderly couple.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Typically, you hear complaints that various ethnic groups are under-represented in ads, yet here's a case where an advertiser has made an effort and they're condemned because the group in question doesn't like the choice of setting. Would the Chinese community have been happier if St. Hubert had used a couple speaking Greek in a Greek restaurant?
      The whole portrayal of different ethnic/cultural groups is quite interesting. It has got to the point when the only people in ads who can be made to look foolish are straight, WASP-looking males, and I suspect the reason for that is that they're the only ones who won't complain about it. As an example, rightly or wrongly, both Scots and Jews have the stereotypical reputation of being close with their money, yet in an ad, the only over-the-top caricature of a frugal tightwad you'll ever see will be a guy with bushy eyebrows and a heavy Scottish accent wearing a kilt. Why? Because everyone knows that if you make exactly the same ad using a guy in a yarmulke, the switchboard will light up with complaints the first time it's shown. With the Scot, nobody will bat an eye.
      I agree, Bob, maybe we all take ourselves too seriously.

      Delete
  11. Just saw the Ellen interview with Morty and Lee. Would you believe they are both 91 and have been married 40 some years. They sure don't look it. What a great couple.

    ReplyDelete
  12. "And now to Canada's new prostitution law that seeks to criminalize the men engaging in sex for hire, while giving prostitutes a pass, another acknowledgement that women are deserving of unequal and preferential treatment under the law.
    The idea that prostitutes are trapped into a lifestyle and are powerless to choose another path, just more evidence that feminists themselves view their sex as inferior and weak. In a country where anyone can get welfare, choosing prostitution is a conscious decision and those who make that decision should bear the responsibility."

    @Editor

    I say this what the utmost respect and reverence, and please understand I am not trying to condescend, but you have to be a woman to understand. These women don't "choose" to be prostitutes, who would choose that unless your an upscale call girl making $1000.00/per trick getting yourself through school or whatever...at least that's what I hear. Prostitutes, for the most part, are in it and often trapped and I will explain how. These women have almost no belief in themselves or any self esteem to speak of, and there is no greater enslavement then, no Love, no Confidence and no Respect for yourself. To imagine they can just pick up from their day to day condition which instructs them on how to view themselves, is easier said then done. Though the world awaits them, they FEAR, the are afraid and they do not believe they can be legitimate contributors of society.

    I will argue that, the government no longer treating them like criminals is not enough. The problem is far far deeper. A sense of self esteem is something we need to instill in our children early, most especially girls. I will go even further and say, if this is not something you are prepared to do full-time, please do not become a parent. It is as essential as being able to provide food, clothing and shelter. To have a sense of value and self-worth will make all the difference between victimhood and truly succeeding in Life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You have to woman to understand prostitution? I can give you the twitter handles of several different women who will tell you differently, but you will not want to listen because they won't tell you what you want to hear. To save time, type in this hashmark: "#NotYourRescueProject". These women are not victims, and they are not villains. They are people doing their best to make a living, just like the rest of us, in one of the oldest professions in the world. It is a profession that used to be understood as necessary because people used to understand that male sexual urges needed an outlet. Prostitution isn't a vice---it's a safety valve. So is pornography. Studies have shown that when the availability of both of these becomes widely available, rape goes down. I'm talking real rape---not when a woman has consensual drunken sex and then changes her mind afterwards. But people like you think that your sense or morals or feelings are more important that the reality of human sexuality and the lives of the women you wish to destroy for having the wrong type of sex.

      Make no mistake, this isn't going to stop the state from punishing sex workers. Know all those twitter handles I mentioned of people who say they made this choice for themselves? Those women will be locked up in the name of "rescuing" them until they are willing to tell the state--and people like you---exactly what they want to hear. Maybe you are willing to live the rest of your life behind blinders, but mine are off, and I'm not going to stay silent and let you pretend that you're helping these women and Canadian society when you are not.

      If you really want to open your eyes, then read this book:

      Sex At Dawn: The Origins of Prehistoric Sexuality by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá

      and this blog:

      The Honest Courtesan: Frank commentary from a retired call girl

      Delete
    2. "You have to woman to understand prostitution? I can give you the twitter handles of several different women who will tell you differently, but you will not want to listen because they won't tell you what you want to hear."

      Not sure how you interpreted what I wrote, my point is simply that we shouldn't judge and believe that for women in this profession it is as simple as merely deciding to do something else, and welfare doesn't pay all that much, when you have lodging, mouths to feed and miscellaneous expenses. Nor do I imagine that these women consciously choose to become prostitutes like they would a profession such as Nursing or Law, unless they truly believe it is the ONLY choice they realistically have. I don't doubt the odd one actually chooses it like any other profession, but I imagine the majority don't. Thanks for the links will look into them.

      Delete
    3. You use the word imagine, which implies you don't actually have any idea whatsoever as to the reasons behind the women's choices but you yourself would not choose to be a prostitute. It could be argued to what extent do women choose to go into nursing and to what extent their choices are limited. I imagine for some nursing is preferable to welfare, which as you say does not pay well.

      Delete
    4. The question as to why prostitution is an acceptable option to some and not to others. I know a woman who used to be a heroin addict. What drove her to seek help was that she knew if she did not she would start prostituting herself for money to buy heroin. She had 'borrowed' money from everyone she knew and they refused to 'lend' any more. She was unable to find anyone else willing or able to fund her habit. After treatment she realised what had stopped her prostituting herself was Roman Catholic guilt, she had attended a catholic school and with her parents regularly attended church until the age of 16. After treatment her attitudes to prostitution changed and she said should circumstances arise in which she felt it necessary to prostitute herself she would, eg so her children would not starve, but it was still not her chosen profession.

      Delete
    5. @Montréal ville état

      I am under no illusion that most sex workers are "happy hookers", but what I see on twitter is much different than what prohibitionists would have would have us believe. Thank you for being willing to look at those links with an open mind.

      @ ems

      I glad the woman you talked about is getting the help she needs so she can take better care of her kids.

      Delete
    6. Another true story. The mother of a friend was widowed in China in the 50's. She had very little money and no relatives willing or able to help. Plus her dead husband had been an enemy of the state. She feared for the life of herself and baby son. She fled to Hong Kong. Her baby fell ill. She took the baby to a doctor but had no money to pay. She begged the doctor to treat her baby son. The doctor said he would in exchange for sexual favours. She refused. The baby died. The mother had feared if she did consent to the doctors request no man would marry her and she would be forced into prostitution to survive. Another true story. A beautiful woman I used to know had a sugar daddy. In exchange for the occasional hand job she lived a life of luxury, but eventually the occasional hand job became too much for her and she gave it up and switched to welfare. Hogarth painted a series of paintings entitled a harlots progress. I thought of this series of paintings when I was in Mexico city and saw a very attractive very young - to my eye - woman proudly displaying her wares in a famous red light area of the city. She seemed very happy with her chosen? profession but I did wonder what the future held for her.

      Delete
  13. In my book. everybody should be made to sign a piece of paper saying they're married or "vivant maritalement".

    Same rules for everyone.

    Marriage should be based on consent. If a guy didn't consent to marriage, it's not marriage. Sign the paper, then there's no misunderstanding.

    ReplyDelete
  14. As far as the PQ are concerned, they should take a lesson from the last election - they have lied, cheated, manipulated the people for long enough and finally people are seeing them for what they are: opportunists at the expense of the population of Quebec. Totally destructive and divisive and their whole movement is holding us back from personal wealth and happiness. My separatist friend, after supporting this movement for 40 years, voted for the liberals last election and changed her cable from Videotron to Bell. So seppies, time to move on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "...their whole movement is holding us back from personal wealth and happiness. My separatist friend..."

      how could you be friends with a dude that you perceive is responsible for your poorness and sadness?

      Delete
  15. Said the troll as he finished off his bucket of fried chicken by drinking a goblet of gravy.

    ReplyDelete
  16. yum,yum...chicken, ice cream, poutine...fat and fatter...lolllllllllllllllllll

    ReplyDelete
  17. It seems that the PQ finally had their big sendoff for popo. She said she had no regrets, NOT ONE....mmmm, lol. You'd think for once in her Life she'd be honest. No regrets? Really? Cause after the charter, ....the PKP fist pump fiasco comes to mind. In light of how things turned out, it's hard to believe she would have invited him to join in the first place.

    Arrogant to the very end, how can anyone not feel sheer antipathy for them?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, no regrets my ass. And for the rest of the separatist trolls on here: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Charbonneau+Commission+CIMA+admits+political+donations/9914344/story.html

      As we've said, time and again, all your francophone leaders in the damn province are crooked as corkscrews and pocketed your money, as well as mine, for years and years. Stop making it look like it was just the liberals - the whole barrel is rotten.

      Delete
    2. Cutie003,

      As we've said, time and again, all your francophone leaders in the damn province are crooked as corkscrews and pocketed your money, as well as mine, for years and years.

      To be fair, you seem to conveniently forget a certain man named Michael Applebaum.

      Delete
    3. @cutie003

      "all your francophone leaders in the damn province are crooked..."

      why do you add francophone? is it out of racism?

      @troy

      i don't think cutie003 ever had the intention to be fair troy. i think you'd do better to ignore trolls.

      Delete
    4. @montreal ville-état

      you think marois should regret trying to institute secularism in government offices? why?!? and you think she should regret having a top businessman running for her party? why?!?

      Delete
    5. @montreal vile-état

      "...how can anyone not feel sheer antipathy for them?"

      it's easy, you just need to follow my example.

      Delete
    6. The point was Troy that the trolls on this blog are always, but always, blaming the anglophones, allophones and the liberals for everything wrong in quebec. 99% of the crooks are their own kind and they want them to be leaders of the their "new country". Not everything that is quebec politics is run by anglophones by any stretch of the imagination.

      Delete
    7. @cutie003

      "99% of the crooks are their own kind and they want them to be leaders of the their "new country"."

      that's false. actually, it' anglophones like you who settle for crooks by voting for the lpq. you yourself cutie003 repeatedly ackowledged that better a crook than a separatist. please don't forget that not everyone on this blog is a complete moron that will not rememeber what you already wrote.

      Delete
    8. "how can anyone not feel sheer antipathy for them?" it's easy, you just need to follow my example."

      I am not in the habit of following the example of imbeciles.

      Delete
    9. "you think marois should regret trying to institute secularism in government offices?

      If she could go back, she'd do things very differently, I'd bet the Farm. She never struck me, (while she was in it), that she would settle for being done at a moment's notice, ....like Election night, especially not after she practically shoved PKP away from a microphone so she'd be sure to answer the question. The fact that she was kicked out on her ass the night of April 7th makes that more delish! So regrets? I am convicted she's had more than just a few.

      "and you think she should regret having a top businessman running for her party? why?!?"

      Considering that top businessman's fist pump and dumb comment of "un pays" cost HER, HER career, you can answer your own question.

      Delete
    10. @montreal ville-état

      "I am not in the habit of following the example of imbeciles."

      you insult i win.

      Delete
    11. God, you're so disgustingly stupid that you shouldn't even be allowed on the internet. You embarrass yourself incessantly and don't even care. Return to your keeper, you idiot. THE SEPARATIST PQ ARE AS CROOKED AS THE LIBERALS DUMMY! DO YOU GET IT NOW??????????????????????

      Delete
    12. @MVE

      The PQ also shamefully used the occasion to unanimously support their failed candidate, Louise Mailloux, who is being sued for defamation to the tune of $120,000. She’s the anti-religious CEGEP philosophy teacher who was criticized for comparing baptism to rape, repeating a often-denounced anti-Semitic conspiracy theory about the kosher food industry being a scam, etc… The Journal even mistakenly refers to the female complainant, Dalila Awada, as “Monsieur”…

      http://www.journaldequebec.com/2014/06/07/le-pq-donne-son-appui-unanime

      http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/former-pq-candidate-louise-mailloux-sued-for-defamation-1.1855010

      Delete
    13. @cutie003

      "THE SEPARATIST PQ ARE AS CROOKED AS THE LIBERALS DUMMY! DO YOU GET IT NOW??????????????????????"

      no. why should i?!? do you think capital letters are an argument?!?

      also, you insult i win.

      Delete
    14. @r.s

      so you support awada in mailloux vs awada? what is it that mailloux said that is worth 120000$?

      Delete
    15. Oh yeah, I almost forgot… one of the other co-accused in the defamation lawsuit is Vigile.net, that nest of extremist caribous. Following Dalila Awada’s appearance on TLMEP, the defendants allegedly made comments linking her to terrorism. We’ll see what happens…

      http://video.theloop.ca/news/watch/former-pq-candidate-louise-mailloux/3607682857001#.U5UUevldV8E

      Far from listening to the wishes of the people of Quebec, though, it appears that the PQ has decided that what’s needed is for it to become even more radical.

      Delete
    16. @r.s

      "the defendants allegedly made comments linking her to terrorism."

      what comments? do you have a clue about what you're writing about mate?

      Delete
    17. "you insult i win."

      You win cause you're an imbecile? lol, only in quebec, lolol

      Delete
    18. "Following Dalila Awada’s appearance on TLMEP, the defendants allegedly made comments linking her to terrorism. We’ll see what happens…"

      I saw that interview. They were all behaving rather arrogantly, and holier-than-thou, doing their best to discredit her position. I hope she takes them to the cleaners.

      Delete
    19. I just had a wonderful vision. All the defendants ended up penniless, standing on the side of the road in Westmount ( or an area of your choice), holding signs that said "will speak English for food". For some reason, they weren't smiling. If only, if only.

      Delete
    20. That will happen for anyone not smart enough to realize this is North America, you need to speak English, point-à-la-ligne. I am more and more convinced the Marois's and the braindrain's are a dying breed, one dimensional- one generational. Young people are hip enough to get it, and they get it. The more Languages you speak, the more you are empowered. One of my daughter's team mates asked me on Saturday why I keep speaking to her in French when she speaks English. (I have been getting in trouble with this more and more it seems, tough habit to break). I explained to her that since she's Francophone, I speak to her in French, I don't do this on purpose, it's automatic. She very nicely explained that, if people address you in English, it doesn't matter what they are, you should reply in English. She's trying to practice her English as much as possible before she starts Dawson in September. I felt foolish. But that's young people for you. They do get it!

      Delete
    21. Seems to me that you brought your kids up right. But don't give up one language for another. Use both on occasion. Practice is the only way to stay bilingual.

      Many years ago, I went to Dawson, but at that time it was the old Frost factory down on St Antoine St.

      Delete
  18. Oh look! The PQ itself requires a 2/3rds majority (not 50%+1) to change the method of choosing its next leader. Fascinating.

    http://plus.lapresse.ca/screens/9e63da-1d48c-65c48-d1799-8846c-78daa-bcb47-f5c0.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Cat and the NDP have the same rule - funny how they all support breaking up a country on 50+1 but deny their own citizens the right to the same respect when it comes to their whole lifestyle and future. That's why there will be civil war should it ever happen.

      Delete
  19. Fake legal advice, fake budgets and now fake polls were used by the PQ at the end of election, purposefully putting out false polling data in order to “encourage the troops”, knowing that their situation was actually more dire.

    http://plus.lapresse.ca/screens/9e63da-1d48c-65c48-d1799-8846c-78daa-bcb47-f5c0.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And on it goes Cat:

      http://www.cjad.com/cjad-news/2014/06/09/marois-knew-of-disguised-illegal-funds-former-staff-member-says?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

      lol

      Delete
    2. http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2014/06/09/pauline-the-pq-and-10000/

      Laughable....how fake and duplicitous was this woman?

      Delete
  20. A couple choice tweets from our always-charming seppie co-citizens and defenders of the French language (including one from a fine upstanding citizen of Sorel who is angry at Eugenie Bouchard but can’t even spell the word “québécois”):

    https://twitter.com/jfperron/status/475608508294242305/photo/1
    http://twitpic.com/e0qx1y

    They must be angry because the PQ is down to 20% support vs. 39% for the Liberals.
    pic.twitter.com/AKSN95nXwU

    ReplyDelete
  21. This year’s BBC World Service poll ranking countries’ positive/negative influence on the world: Russia down, UK most improved, Canada/Germany tops.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/27685494

    ReplyDelete
  22. What Quebec prisons need is a better helicopter registry.

    pic.twitter.com/YESeIVueDt

    ReplyDelete
  23. Ha hah! OK, last mention this year but NHL.com posted an even funnier video, the complete one of Youppi! shooting his 10 pix around Montreal for the #HabsFallonBet. Check it out:

    http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=721426

    ReplyDelete
  24. So here is something interesting from Alian Dubuc of La Presse, giving commentary on whether drainville should stay or go. He closes his piece with this:

    "Mais on n'oubliera pas le tort immense que cette Charte a causé - la division, les discours intolérants, la coupure entre la population de souche et les nouveaux venus, la peur de l'immigration qu'elle a nourrie, l'image du Québec. Ça prendra des années à faire disparaître ces cicatrices. Surtout qu'il ne faut pas écarter la possibilité que l'opposition péquiste, à la dérive, persiste à mener cette bataille."

    Nothing worst when you are deaf, dumb and blind.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Bureaucrats are at it again

    http://www.gazettevaudreuilsoulanges.com/2014/06/04/bureaucrap/

    Besides being frustrated by the lack of movement in Quebec City and the mounting costs of bureaucratic procrastination, he wonders about the rest of the province.
    “There is no work being done. They’re delaying $20 million in work, be it through workers, taxes, etc. because it takes months and months for…some damn papers,” he said. “That’s just for Vaudreuil-Dorion. Imagine what’s happening in the rest of Quebec.”

    Instead of attacking private business, they are attacking a municipality. What does it say for the job creator, the private sector? You aren't welcomed, go to Ontario, and the end result, jobs aren't created in Quebec.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Do you blame me when I say:

      Montréal pour une ville-état.

      Delete
  26. I just read that Pauline Marlois recently said "Imagine what Quebec would be without the PQ " . Well, imagine some ones butt without a giant boil and you get the same feeling.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Dismal job created in Gatineau.

    http://www.obj.ca/Local/2014-06-06/article-3753795/Unemployment-rate-edges-down-to-6.7%25/1

    "Employers on the Ontario side added 4,500 new jobs, while Gatineau saw an increase of 600." Ottawa created 5 times more jobs then Gatineau and it's only 3 times bigger. Says a lot about the Quebec Government business policy, attack the private sector get rewarded with less jobs.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Pauline, the PQ and 10,000$

    http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2014/06/09/pauline-the-pq-and-10000/

    ReplyDelete
  29. Madshrew posts:
    ThE only need for marriage is for when you divorce. It has no other purpose but to protect you or destroy you financially. It means nothing. Staying 50 years with someone you probably hate but need their money to survive isn't an achievement. We should just get rid of marriage altogether, the stupid over priced dresses, the egotistical parties. It reinforces monogamy and that should be on the way out too. Perhaps when kids are involved a set split regulation should be implemented but for any other couples your money is your money and that piece of paper means nothing.

    ReplyDelete