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200 000+ demonstrate against tuition hikes
Over 200 000 protesters gathering at Place du Canada for Thursday's blockbuster day of action against tuition increases.
This Weekend - Keller Williams, The Unsettlers, and more!
-The Unsettlers
If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, there are two really big shows at Cafe Campus. Tonight, Keller Williams brings his amazing guitar skills and humour to the stage at Petit Campus, blending bluegrass, folk and reggae into writing songs about being a contestant on The Price is Right and a certain combustible in his pocket; a good time should be had by all.
While he will be performing solo Friday night, he often collaborates with String Cheese Incident under the moniker Keller Williams Incident and was also part of the Rhythm Devils with Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann.
This Saturday, March 24th, one of Montreal’s hardest working bands, The Unsettlers, will be back on stage at Petit Cafe Campus. Starting up in 2007, the band has plaed over 200 shows including POP Montreal and Osheaga. This is the band’s first chance to woo the hometown fans since a long remembered show at Theatre Rialto last November. The audience was treated to an evening of circus mayhem provided by the Blue Mushroom Sirkus Psyshow, the powerful gospel tunes of Li'l Andy and the vintage sounds of Montreal's Johnny Griffin.
Led by vocalist B.W. Brandes and featuring contortionist Andreanne LeClerc, they filled the hall with sounds and sights not often witnessed outside of a 1930‘s carnival. With the show going way into the early morning, the band had plenty of time to showcase their latest double CD, Oil And Blood. Blending many forms of music from polkas to spoken word, The Unsettlers have a distinct sound resembling gypsy zydeco. The accordion playing of Santosh Lalonde and the trombone playing of Eli Richards propel the listeners to a simpler time of late nights around the snake charmers tent learning the subtleties of Three-card Monte while a cool spring breeze blows a discarded flyer advertising a traveling circus.
Sheesham and Lotus will be starting off the evening with their own take on old time music. From the pre-jazz sounds of Memphis jug bands to the Appalachian Mountains and blue strains from the Mississippi flatlands.
-Clifton Hanger hosts Brave New Jams every Tuesday from 9-10pm
View from the Venue - The Casualties
View From the Venue just got good and crusty
I sat down with Jake Kolatis of The Casualties, who were supporting their buddies English Dogs on their Forward Into Battle tour. In part one, Jake talks dirty habits, traveling and crust culture. In part two, we talk about Jersey City Tat shop, fan appreciation and Jorge's camera shyness. Unfortunately, I couldn't squeeze any spoilers out of him concerning their next record, which is set to drop sometime this summer. We got played off by Havoc. A pretty sweet way to end an interview, if I do say so myself.
Part 1
Part 2
-Filmed and edited by Julia Hoelscher
News - March 23rd 2012
Read by Shaun Malley
Produced by Erica Bridgeman
Stories written by Sarah Deshaies, Tara Brockwell, Judy-Ann Mitchell Turgeon and Danny Aubry
Provincial commission supports doctor-assisted suicide
A commission backed by multiple political party members recommended the legalization of doctor-assisted euthanasia.
The Dying with Dignity report was presented in the National Assembly yesterday according to the Montreal Gazette. It recommended legalizing doctor-assisted suicide in cases where adults are suffering from terminal illnesses linked to unbearable physical and psychological pain.
While the report is not binding Health Minister Yves Bolduc said the province would consider it.
Euthanasia is illegal across Canada but prosecution in health care matters falls under provincial jurisdiction. Quebec could follow British Columbia’s suit and refrain from prosecuting doctors who meet a certain criteria.
Flickr photo by truthout.org
French Killer Killed by Police
The individual involved in the French killing spree was shot and killed by the police during a raid on Thursday.
According to CTV News the killer was responsible for the deaths of three paratroopers, three Jewish children, and a Rabbi.
The killer claimed that he killed those seven people in order to oppose the French army`s involvement in Afghanistan.
He had also claimed to have undertaken military training from Al Qaeda, but this remains uncertain.
What is certain is that he was a French citizen of Algerian descent and had an Islamic background.
B.C. gains more control over local RCMP
Ottawa’s decision to give the RCMP control over its spending lead to negotiations with British Columbia about keeping Mounties within the province.
Six months ago, B.C. politicians said they would rid the province of Mounties if Ottawa did not give it more control over local RCMP operations.
They threatened to instate their own police force if their demands were not met.
B.C.’s justice minister signed a new 20-year deal yesterday with the federal government, Canadian Press reported.
Shirley Bond says giving the province power to manage its own costs is unprecedented.
She says it will allow the justice department to tailor its spending to the specific needs of the province.
Alberta and Saskatchewan formed their own deals with the federal government last year.
Ontario and Quebec have their own police forces and are not covered by the deal.
Negotiations began in September of this year with back and forth threats between Ottawa and B.C.
The two provinces hammered out a deal in November.
A contract management committee must sign off on any changes made to RCMP policies and procedures.
The committee will also have a say in the hiring of senior management.
Vote for the best of Montreal!
The Montreal Mirror is now accepting votes for its 23rd annual Best of Montreal reader’s poll. Categories include: Montrealers and City Life, Media, Consumer Madness, and Chow Time. As usual, questions are in keeping with the Mirror’s style: who has the tackiest personality? Who is the best graffiti artist? Where is the best place to have public sex? What is the sexiest French pick up line? Most importantly, you can vote for the best radio station (wink, wink). The deadline for submitting your vote is April 11th. The Mirror will publish the results on May 10th. To vote, go to http://montrealmirror.com/bom/
Thursday is not a day for driving
People are being urged by the Montreal police to avoid driving on Thursday. Demonstrators that are protesting tuition increases are expected to jam the streets. It would be recommended to take public transit in order to get around or to just go by foot.
Even if you don't use your car on Thursday, detours will most likely occur since the route some of the rally organizers have provided might change.
The march comes two days after the provincial budget has confirmed their plan to increase tuition. However, police are optimistic that this march will not have the same end results as the anti-police brutality march.
People should consult the STM's website to see which bus routes have been detoured. The march is beginning at 1h pm at Place du Canada, South of Rene-Levesque Bld. 30 000 people are expected to take part in the protest.
This Week in Sports (Double Edition): March 8th-21st
NHL:
Sid the Kid is back, and he looks as good as he's ever been coming off yet another long stint on the sidelines. Sidney Crosby has already picked up 5 assists in his first three games back in the Penguins' lineup, adding a whole other dimension to a team that was already riding an eight game winning streak thanks to the likes of Evgeni Malkin and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. The Pens extended their streak to 11 games but finally lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime on Sunday. With the return of Crosby and Kristopher Letang, the Pens look primed and ready to make another run at a championship.
Last week gave us a jumbled mess in the middle of both the Eastern and Western Conference standings as playoff seeding seems to change on a nightly basis; win one, and you move into a playoff position... lose one, and you inch closer and closer to the edge, in danger of falling and becoming a forgotten team looking to book early off-season tee times at your preferred golf courses.
While there are plenty of interesting stories to go around, the highlights last week have to have been the impressive play of the NHL leading St.Louis Blues, the near-monumental collapse of the Toronto Maple Leafs (who are close to being completely out of the playoff picture) and the successful and long-awaited return of Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov, who finally played after rehabbing a knee injury for over a year, picking up an assist in Montreal's 4-1 win against Vancouver that Saturday night.
NFL:
The biggest fish in this year's free-agent pool has finally found a home: Peyton Manning is going to the Denver Broncos. The news broke Monday morning as Manning informed the other teams vying for his services, Tennessee and San Fransisco, that he would be signing with the Broncos. He also told his agent to begin negotiating a deal with the Broncos; the Broncos, who were, of course, the beneficiaries of Tim Tebow's repeated late-game heroics last season, will now shop Tebow around and ultimately trade him for whatever they can get. So while PeytonWatch is now over, TebowTime is about to recapture the North American media spotlight once again.
NBA:
The Dwight Howard saga appears to be over for the time being, but fans of the Orlando Magic won’t forget it anytime soon. Howard toyed with the team and its fanbase the past couple weeks, swinging back and forth like a pendulum as to whether or not he wanted to be traded by the trade deadline or not. Ultimately, he signed an option in his contract, meaning he will be back next season, but the fact that he was ready to leave and kept changing his mind will not be lost on fans and executives around the NBA.
Last week, the Minnesota Timberwolves suffered a devastating blow as rookie sensation Ricky Rubio went down with a season-ending knee injury against the Lakers on Saturday. Rubio was averaging 10.6 points and 8.2 assists this year, and will be missed by Kevin Love and the rest of the Timberwolves.
Last weekend also marked the 20 year anniversary of NBA legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson's stunning retirement announcement when it was discovered that he was HIV-positive. The announcement remains a "where were you when?" kind of moment in which people can recall exactly where they were when they heard the news. The event is vividly portrayed in Nelson George's documentary "The Announcement" which aired on ESPN last Saturday afternoon.
MLS:
The Montreal Impact played their first ever home game in Major League Soccer on Saturday, coming out with a 1-1 result against the Chigago Fire. The Impact were buzzing around the Fire's end for a good part of the game, but were only able to capitalize once despite various scoring chances. Captain Davy Arnaud scored the historic goal but it did not stand as the Fire answered back later in the game. The announced crowd was close to 60,000 people, and while the rest of the Impact's games will be held at Saputo stadium, which holds a considerably smaller amount of people, the turnout bodes well for the future of the franchise as it appears the city will avidly support this club, and hopefully avoid a similar fate to that of the Montreal Expos.
-Andrew Maggio co-hosts Game Misconduct every Sunday from 12pm-2pm and runs a dedicated Habs blog that you can check out here
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