French vs. English Volume 11

Slim Pickings For Language Zealots

One of Quebec's most successful retailers DOLLARAMA finally launched a website, although I'm not sure what for, it's not like they're going to announce a sale or something, but no matter.

The company rushed the launch to coincide with corporate meetings announcing a surge in profits. Unfortunately the French version wasn't quite finished and a note on the site indicated that the French version would be launched within two weeks.

To the barricades!!! French language militants flooded the OQLF (the language police) with complaints pointing out that the company was violating the law that demands that Quebec companies have French web sites.

Reaction of the OQLF?...  Gimme a break......

French singer disses the French language.
On a recent edition of the Radio-Canada talk show Tout le Monde en Parle two interesting guests were queried about their roots to the French language.- French singer/actress Charlotte Gainsbourg was in town for a singing gig and made an appearance on the Radio-Canada Sunday night talk show. The show's sovereignist host, Guy A. Lepage, ever obsessed with the French language asked her why she chose to sing mostly in English. Without batting an eye or attempting to give the weakest politically correct answer, the ex-ingénue commented that she found French inconvenient and difficult language to work in. Ouch!!!!! A shocked host quickly changed subjects....What the boys on the show may not know is that while she appears to be a red-blooded Francophone, she is in reality, a closet Anglophone, having been educated in English.
A second guest was none other than Montreal comedian Sugar Sammy ( Sam Khullar) a product of an immigrant Indian family. Of course that meant that he was forced into a the French education system despite the fact that his parents spoke English. He has, like so many other under those same circumstances become a bone fide Anglo, who is devastatingly funny in both English and French. I'm surprised that they had him on the show because he is the poster boy of what French language militants fear the worst, an immigrant turned Anglo. Arrghhh... He was quite funny, said Bill 101 sucks and even did a great impression of a Haitian hockey commentator. A funny interview, once again for the separatist panel members.

Language cops target sex store.
Boutique Séduction a Montreal North sex store, has been ordered by a Quebec Court judge to pay $500 for selling an item called "Sleeve Super Stretch" whose packaging was in English only.
In a 10-page ruling, Judge Gilles Michaud  said, it’s important for consumers to be able to understand written instructions on the items they buy. Link

Should the "The UPS Store"be "La Magasin SCU"

The ubiquitous Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste held a 'massive' demonstration of one hundred twelve militants in front of a Repentigny UPS store protesting that the name of the establishment is in English. The Francophone master franchisee who has no control over the registered trademark was treated to assorted insults in a letter accusing him of disrespecting francophone Quebeckers. The fact that the business is run completely in French is decidedly beside the point and a spokesman for the SSJB warned of a boycott.

More French Language & Sovereignist Groups

It seems that every few days a new organization or group is created either to defend the French language or promote sovereignty.
This week's entrants, a new political party named the Quebec Renouveau received a lukewarm reception, even from sovereignists who complained that a new political party would go even farther in splitting the sovereignist vote. One person commented that the party's new logo look like it belongs on a tub of BECEL butter!

If you think that there aren't enough organizations out there defending the French language you'd probably be in agreement with members of these groups who gathered to welcome a new entrant into the club.
Le Mouvement Montréal français 
Forum jeunesse du Bloc québécois
Comité national des jeunes du Parti québécois
Mouvement étudiant pour le français de l’Université de Montréal
Mouvement étudiant pour le français de l’UQAM
Conseil jeunesse de la SSJBM
Comité souverainiste de l’UQAM
Mouvement des étudiants souverainistes de l’Université de Montréal
Jeunes patriotes du Québec
Mouvement pacifique pour l’indépendance du Québec
Réseau de Résistance du Québécois

All these groups were supposedly represented at the Club Soda last week to welcome aboard the latest entrant, the  Mouvement des cégépiens pour le français.
The announced attendance of 300 probably meant that about 150 showed up and that was with free entertainment and refreshments....Ugh....

Union Complains about too little French Representation
The Syndicat des Communications de Radio-Canada, the union that represents Francophones workers of the the CBC in Quebec and New Brunswick, is complaining about the marginalization of Francophones on the Board of Directors of the CBC. With the naming of Torontonian Edward W. Boyd to the board, Francophones are reduced to just 3 members out of the eleven positions (27%). The union wants to see a return to the good old days where Francophone representation on the national board reached as high as 42%. After all, fair is fair. LINK

Black-Eyed Peas Unwelcome in Quebec City
It seems that some French language militants are furious that Anglophone groups will be headlining this summer's Festival d'été de Québec (Quebec Summer Festival.) Complaining in a letter to LE SOLEIL , a certain Yvan Giguère says that it is a travesty that more Quebec artists aren't being presented instead of groups like The Black-Eyed Peas and Iron Maiden. Trouble is, the only way to make the festival pay is to bring in artists that sell. You'll remember this same argument occurred over Paul McCartney's concert in Quebec that drew over 300,000 people. Come to think of it, maybe not everyone in Quebec thinks it a bad idea to go to a concert featuring some of the world's best talent!

Language Militants Sink to New Low

Imperatif-francais  has published hundreds of pictures of signs, posted in Montreal that supposedly contravene Quebec's French sign laws.

The comprehensive effort was surely undertaken by a small army of committed radicals, whose dedication to the cause would make an Al-Qaeda recruiter green with envy.

It was quite a treat perusing the many different signs, many of which had me laughing out loud.

Pages and pages of signs seemingly impressive at first, belied the fact that its was a largely trumped up affair with duplication, slight of hand and outright dishonestly par for the course. A lot of the content included English only websites that puffed up the numbers by printing multiple pages from the same site. Some of these sites like Urban Outfitters are not even available in Quebec. (See my previous post,) and some don't even exist -972telecom.com

Some of the unilingually English signs were photographed without the accompanying French sign posted beside it. Some signs were clearly legal and some signs were just silly. 

You can see the whole list  HERE or enjoy these pearls that I've pulled out for your enjoyment;

Poor Tobie, Even in Bankruptcy they don't let up

Attention! Illegal transactions must be in French as well!

No Change for Anglos!

If it isn't French it must be English, Right?

Guilty!! But if you are looking at the writing, you need help!

No attack on Anglos would be complete without an assault on that bastion of rich colonizing next gen students living in the McGill Ghetto.

Oh the humiliation!!!!!

And finally, now I'm no making this up.... what do you think about the idiot who complained about this sign. I shall let readers provide a caption for it....

.... WTF!!!!....

...sigh

Another appeal to Commentors

Dear Friends,
Nothing is as rewarding to an unpaid blogger as are the comments , whether they be for or against.

I promise you all that, no matter how insulting or contrary, I will print them all..

All I ask in return is that you adopt a pseudonym or handle, so that others may reply to your post directly.

I am NoDogs.

Be brave and start your comments with something like this.

Happy boy says ;
Turnbill says :
Red John says:

We already have a great group and it's nice to get a sense of where they are coming from and follow them from post to post.
Tym Machine
Adski
Marco
Jason
christian
steve
Diogenes


That way we all can address your comments directly. 
It's fun.....

Montreal Canadiens Don't Rate with CBC

A lot of fair weathered fans are jumping on the Canadiens bandwagon, but that's alright, better late than never.
Too bad the CBC isn't one of them.
It's hard to believe but the CBC has designated the Habs/Penguins series as the number two attraction behind the Canucks/Blackhawks.

For Anglo Quebec fans it's unfortunate that the CBC has rights to the series instead of TSN who did a magnificent job on the Habs/Capitals series.

The talented Jim Hughson and his number one crew, are doing the Vancouver series and it's hard to understand the mindset of the CBC brass.

The Canadiens/ Pens series has to be more compelling and promises the drama of a David versus Goliath battle.
As for star appeal, two Sedins don't add up to half a Sydney Crosby. The series is also based in the Eastern time zone compared to the mid and late night game starts especially on the west coast that promises diminished ratings.

It wouldn't be so sad if the CBC's "B" team, wasn't so pitiful. Come to think of it, they're not really bad, in order to be be bad, they'd have to improve a lot.

Bob Cole is so over the hill and unaware of what's happening on the ice that he reminds me of Dick Clark's last New Year's Eve appearance....not pretty.

"And something has happened out there, Ladies and Gentleman! Errr. Let's see, uhmm...is it a penalty?"

Shades of Bill and Foster Hewitt.

His most recent sidekick Greg Millen is horribly shrill and crosses the neutrality code of colour commentators by injecting too much of his opinion. He recently teed off on Maxime Lapierre, calling him a goon (which he is not.) Even ex-Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau is pretty dull, so let's hope he finds another coaching job soon. But at least he isn't as hard to listen to as Millen, who needs to be shown the door. How about trying P.J Stock in the broadcast booth?

It's hard to believe that the CBC can do no better than these broadcasting clowns.
Oh... for the days of Danny Gallivan. - "Savardian Spinorama"- "Scintillating!" - "Spine-Tingling!!"
Dick Irvin was a thousand times better than Cole and even at a zillion years old the CBC should have brought him in to do the series.

Thank God the Sunday game was on NBC. As for Tuesday, it back to RDS and Pierre Houde.
 Wait for it.......C'EST LA BUT!!!!!!!!


MEANWHILE>>>>>

Even though our minds are highly concentrated on the currently tied series with the Penguins, we can still take a few moment to  enjoy what the Germans have so cleverly coined as  schadenfeude,  at the expense of course, of the Washington Capitals.

Whatever happens with Pittsburgh, nobody in Montreal can complain about the season. Knocking off the Number One team is something we''ll all remember for years, especially since Cap's coach Bruce Boudreau was a bit arrogant and over-confident in his pronouncements. Ovechkin's diss on Halak saying that the Canadian net minder was so scared that his hands were shaking as he reached for a water bottle, was also quite infuriating.

You won't hear Crosby and his team mates make fun of anybody.You won't hear the coach belittle the competition and you won't hear a word of disrespect. No, the Penguins understand what it takes to win a Stanley Cup  and have no intention of inspiring the opposition with insulting rants.

Reading of the Capitals Fans bulletin  boards was a delicious experience. I have been a Montreal fan for close to fifty years and can say that the last time I saw the Canadians bow out after being a heavy favourite was in 1966 against a weaker Toronto Maple Leafs team (Alas it was the Stanley Cup finals.) I'm sure I'd be as infuriated as these fans who ranted all over the various Washington Caps fan bulletin boards.

Forget what the sportswriters have to say, here is a recap from fan boards that accurately portray the utter pain that the Cap fans suffered in the humiliating loss.

Emotions ran so high that the Capital's management closed the boards for a while, that is until they were outed by USA Today.

"Last night we became aware of a serious issue concerning specific discussion board users and felt it best to temporarily disable the boards and deal with the situation offline. This decision had nothing to do with negative comments stemming from the game - as you can see, all criticisms of the team, front office and ownership that do not contain profane or abusive language remain in place.  As always, our discussion boards encourage the exchange of ideas and opinions. We also ask that these discussions do not take the form of threats against the team, front office, ownership or fellow fans. Thanks for your patience while we dealt with this issue. Sean Parker, Director of new media, Washington Capitals "

All these comments below  come from Capitals boards. I haven't edited or fixed up spelling in order that you may enjoy the original experience.
ENJOY!!!!!

• (Before the game) If we don't win, I feel sorry for my French speaking neighbor. The fact that he does not follow hockey at all is completely irrelevant at this point.

• Y'know, in my house we all crack up when we see Boudreau because he looks so much like a cute little baby

• ...personally.. I blame Canada

• ...you cant spell Ovechkin without C-H-O-K-E! 

• ...Crosby/Ochokin is no longer debatable

• I don't want to go into finger pointing or calling out individuals because the team as a whole contributed to this, the biggest choke job I've ever seen from any team in any sport.

• Where are all the CAPS fans? Are your hands still shaking? Halak's seemed just fine last night

• Halak sure was shaking last night. Shaking hands and moving onto the next round. 

• Ovie is the tony romo of the nhl

• (a Sharks fan) HAHA! We're free!  No longer the choke artist of the NHL! Thanks Caps!

• this was the Curse of the President's Trophy.

• last night shows why NHL playoffs are hands down the most entertaining playoffs to watch of the 4 major sports. Go B's

• Most of the time HEART trumps skill in hockey

• the NHL and the Illuminati didn't want the Caps to win the Cup...

• Ovvie needs to give up the vodka and strippers he's reknowned for so he has enough energy to actually play hockey when it counts.  

• The word around the NHL is out on Ovechkin: stripper-addicted pisstank. He probably was sent a case of the finest vodka and three Asian strippers by one "Jacques Martin" the night before game 7.

• One can only imagine Ovechkin in Montreal, a city with the world's sexiest strippers.

• Ovechkin - Will win the Hart Trophy but not the Heart Trophy.  

• Look at the way the Habs play.... totally committed, laying it all on the line, clearly understanding that the "you score 4, we'll score 5" style of play from the regular season is OVER in the playoffs. 

How do yo like my new avatar???

• they could lose to the pens in four games straight but that'll never change the miracle they pulled off in the first round...  dude, even if it was a team I didn't like that pulled that off i'd nod my head in respect. it was unbelievable to witness it, and a joy to be part of it. GOTTA HAB FAITH!

• Mike Green, you're ****ing fired as my Avatar.

• The Caps board is gonna be like an AA meeting for a while methinks.

• Its gonna be a long off season. were now the laughing stocks of the NHL great Hold me, Sharks fans. Hold me.

• At least I can shave off my beard

• The hockey gods HATE the Caps. I realized the sooner I understand that the better it would be for my sanity. 

• ..when they raise the banner on opening night it should say "We Suck. We are sorry"
  
  ....Sigh...

Revenge of the Galganov!

Thank you Tym Machine for putting me onto Howard Galganov's rant reply to my post about his most recent pamphlet and campaign against forced bilingual signage in his township. I would have clearly missed it without your reference.

Mr. Galganov has come out with his light sabre blazing, an attack that begs some measure of reply. First let me say that I enjoy provoking a reaction, any reaction. It validates the unpaid effort that I make to put together pieces that people are interested in reading.
Here is a link to his post- Galganov Is Darth Vader – Go Figure

As Alex Kovalev, the ex-Montreal Canadien told a reporter in reply to a question about how he felt returning to the Bell Centre to a chorus of  boos;
"Cheers, Boos. It's all the same, as long as the fans acknowledge your presence!" (my son gave me that quote...)

So, Mr. Galganov, first let me thank you for your boos.

My very first observation is that you didn't provide your readers a link to my article about you, which is disappointing. I shall chalk it up to forgetfulness rather than poor manners or to the fear of having readers having access to the actual source and perhaps coming to their own conclusions.
(You see, we both can play with words, saying one thing and intimating something completely different!)

At any rate, Mr. Galganov accuses me of YELLOW JOURNALISM and of being a LEFTIST.
It was quite a surprise, as I have never before in my life been described as a journalist or a leftist. It is clear he hasn't read any of the other 500 or so posts on my blog.
Methinks it is a case of jumping to a conclusion. Lazy! Lazy! Lazy!
As a lifelong conservative, I take gentle exception to both the pejoratives.

I would have thought that Mr. Galganov would be well,,,..er... umm.... a little more cerebral and sophisticated in his analysis of my post. He accuses me of attacking his position against the bylaw of forced bilingual signage in stores, when Nothing could be farther from the truth. I defy him to quote one line that opposes his position.
In fact, I agree wholeheartedly that stores should do whatever the hell they want to do in terms of signage, obviously Mr. Galganov has a problem with reading comprehension.

I object to his methods, that's all.

You don't have to be a Liberal to object to a poster calling for a boycott of French owned stores.
It seems that Mr. Galganov lacks the ability to understand what he reads and projects his biases into the works of others, I will spell it out in little words that are not open to subjective interpretation..

AS A JEW,  MR. GALGANOV, YOU SHOULD BE PARTICULARLY SENSITIVE THAT CALLING FOR A BOYCOTT OF STORES BASED ON THE OWNERS ETHNICITY, SKIN COLOUR OR RELIGION, IS REPREHENSIBLE.

The Galganov device for creating a stir is to print up a provocative message that is rendered harmless by a tiny caveat.

DEPORT ALL JEWS

who enter into Canada illegally.

THEY SHOULD ALL BE FORCED TO LEAVE!

Think I'm exaggerating... Look at this pearl;

Mr. Galganov has a bloated sense of self-importance and believes that ordinary people aren't sophisticated enough to understand what he is doing.

"People who don’t know how to read, listen or watch BETWEEN THE LINES just don’t ever get to know the real truth until it is often too late."

I suggest that he takes his own advice, except for the part about "watch between the lines" which actually makes no sense at all......

"In this Darth Vader Blog Editorial that is making a bit of a sensation amongst French language Activists in Canada along with compliant Anglo elitists.....,"

Sensation! Where? When?? Whaaaa????
My piece is certainly not "making a bit of a sensation..."  
My blog's hit rate has remained remarkably level (sadly) and I haven't been reprinted or quoted in any other blog except for Mr. Galganov's. I use a tracking software called "Fairshare" that scours the Internet to find sites that either reprint or quotes my blog. The last time it reacted, was to a post about street hockey. No gentle readers, I don't think that I'll be reprinted on vigile.net any time soon.

Clearly Galganov is inventing dragons that he can slay.

Reading his piece, I'm reminded of the time I watched Michael More's movie about gun control, which I was really enjoying until the scene where Moore interviewed a bunch of people in Toronto who all agreed that it was unnecessary to lock one's front door.......Yup, with a straight face they all said that Toronto is so safe it isn't necessary to lock your front door!!!
From then on I knew Michael Moore to be an utter fraud.

Like so many self declared messiahs, Mr. Galganov broaches no criticism and resorts to name-calling and personal attacks when challenged.

He has characterized my post as support for bilingual signage because he is either very dumb or very smart.
Dumb if he can't understand what he reads, or smart to twist a condemnation of his methods into something else. Everyone can draw their own conclusion.

P.S. I fully understand why Mr. Galganov didn't like Mordechai Richler.

Mr. Richler didn't suffer fools easily.