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Israel hands Palestinian Authority an ultimatum for peace
According to the BBC Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that peace did not go hand in hand with a unity Palestinian government.
Abbas has been in talks with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal to form a unity Palestinian government come election time this spring. Netanyahu accuses Hamas of being a terrorist organization that supports the destruction of Israel.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said the two tracks of Palestinian reconciliation and negotiations with Israel should not be seen as contradictory.
Netanyahu and Abbas last discussed peace in January. Talks have been at a standstill ever since.
Flickr Photo by: Truthout.org
Westmount gets green light for new sports complex
It's all systems go for the new Westmount sports complex.
In a report by CBC, the $38.5 million dollar project was given permission to proceed at a Monday night city council meeting.
Replacing the existing arena, the new centre will have two underground skating rinks, three outside tennis courts, and an eight lane, 25-metre outdoor swimming pool with an area for divers and nearby kiddie pool.
Westmount Mayor Peter Trent said that the arena will be one-of-a-kind as well as being environmentally friendly. The city of Westmount is putting an extra $1.5 million dollars to make sure the building saves energy and is constructed with sustainable materials.
However, not everyone supports the project.
Some residents fear the consequences the centre will have for Westmount, bringing with it extra garbage pick-ups, exhaust smells, and...french fries.
Supporters of the complex hope that having two rinks will allow for hockey teams in Westmount to practice more and compete against other cities.
Employees of 119 Quebec daycares strike for contract negotiations
Workers of 119 Quebec daycares walked out of work yesterday for a day long strike.
According to CTV, the 2,600 strikers want the provincial government to negotiate their contracts. The daycare employees are members of the CSN union.
According to CTV and the CSN, employees working without contracts at 360 daycares will strike if an agreement hasn’t been reached by Friday.
Families Minister Yolande James told CTV that she's "confident" they "can work out a deal."
Flickr: jacquestricot
Wolf Parade - Rostraver Ice Garden 10-8-2004
Montreal’s greatest dual-vocalist rock group of all-time, Wolf Parade, found international success during their short but explosive run. Their Sub Pop debut, Apologies to The Queen Mary, was a critically acclaimed album that put Montreal on the map as a prominent indie scene. Recently, a site called WolfParade.nonstuff.com has put up a free bootleg for download titled "Rostraver Ice Garden 10-8-2004" which is a live set that was recorded while the band was on tour supporting Modest Mouse and The Walkmen. Although the website holds no official ties to the band, you can find numerous bootlegs, pictures, playlists and an abundance of material from Wolf Parade affiliates such as Sunset Rubdown, Handsome Furs and Moonface.
In terms of a bootleg, the quality of "Rostraver Ice Garden" is amazing. Not only can you hear the fans ramble on in to conversations with guitarist Dan Boeckner (who mentions more than once that he is beyond drunk), but the sound of the band’s music is crisp and clear as day. If there is anything a Wolf Parade fan knows, it is that when you see the band live it is always an unpredictable experience (besides the fact that they always have technical problems with their creative instruments). Spencer Krug and former member Hadji Bakara specialize in improvisation, adding sounds and electronic parts to the songs that aren’t apparent on record. This also happens on this live album, many times.
The performance includes excellent renditions of forgotten Wolf Parade classics such as “Disco Sheets” and “Killing Armies”, tracks that were not performed live during the latter years of the band’s existence. The album opens with an energy-fuelled “Day In The Life”, a cover from Boeckner’s former band, Atlas Strategic. Some exceptional numbers from Apologies To The Queen Mary are highly enjoyable, including the single “Shine A Light” and the highly contagious “Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts”. You can tell by the performance that the band really got into their groove quickly and that was something quite special about these early Wolf Parade shows. There was no sound-check for this performance and these early Wolf Parade shows were primarily based on fun rather than trying to impress under pressure. This live album is exactly that: a whole lot of fun. It reminds Wolf Parade fans that the shows were about positive energy and there was no pressure that the band needed to live up to. It did not matter if the band sounded a little off or the vocals sounded strange; it was part of the act.
The most depressing part about this free offering is that we may not see this band reunite for quite a while. Take this as a gift, think about what Wolf Parade meant to you (because they meant a lot to yours truly) and have fun remembering it.
-Alex Giardini
Unrest remains in Syria
According to the Montreal Gazette, the city of Homs was hit with shells and mortar bombs by the Syrian army. 42 lives were taken and a hospital was also struck. This was an offensive against President Bashar al-Assad’s enemies. This conflict began almost a year ago.
Rebels from the Free Syrian Army were targeted first, at 6am local time. Every hour, shells and mortar bombs were falling and insurgents could not react except a small arms fire.
A spokesman in the Homs stated that he could not count all the bodies from the streets and the collapsed buildings.
Phone lines, landlines and mobile lines had been cut from 8:30am to 1pm.
It is expected by the Syrian regime that the Western and Arab opponents will respond to this at the defeat at the UN. It is also expected that some countries will assist Mr. Assad.
February 6th 2012
Produced By Melissa Mulligan
Read By Sarah Deshaies
Stories By Daniel J. Rowe, Esther Viragh, Gregory Wilson, & Audrey Folliot
UN veto called a ‘travesty’
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described Russia and China’s UN veto as a travesty.
According to the BBC, she expressed the need to double efforts to help the Syrian people.
The UN resolution would have condemned Syria’s crackdown against anti-government protesters.
Vetoing it drew an angry reaction from around the world.
It was the second time in four months that Russia blocked a resolution condemning the country.
Both Russia and China felt that more time was required to solve the Syrian crisis. Security forces killed at least 28 civilians across Syria on Sunday. Human rights groups and activists say more than seven thousand people were killed since the uprising began in March.
Charest increases protected areas
Quebec Prime Minister Jean Charest announced yesterday he will increase the amount of protected areas in northern Quebec, according to the CBC.
The Plan Nord is a treaty by the provincial government proposed in May 2011. It is a 25-year project aimed at developing the province’s northern lands.
Originally, the Plan Nord was going to protect 12 per cent of northern land. Charest has raised that number to 20 per cent.
Ideally, Charest said he would like 50 per cent of the land to be protected from industrial development.
Schwartz's sold!
Schwartz’s, the legendary smoked meat restaurant in Montreal, was sold for ten million dollars to René Angelil and a group of investor at the beginning of January.
The Huffington Post Quebec learned that former owner businessman Hy Diamond sold the popular restaurant simply because he wanted to move on.
Sources say many people had wanted to acquire it, but its high price discouraged many.
Angelil, Celine Dion’s husband and manager, is said to be part of the group of investors who acquired the business, along with his cousin Paul Sara.
The Gazette had reported rumors of the sale earlier this week, and employees were told not to answer any questions about it.
Schwartz’s was opened in 1928 by Reuben Schwartz and has enjoyed great success amongst locals, tourists, and celebrities.
A line of merchandise, spices, a book, a documentary film and a musical are derived products of Schwartz’s.
A Journal de Montreal critique said that the new owners should consider expanding so that people can enjoy their favorite food everywhere in the world.
JEFF The Brotherhood
One week into JEFF The Brotherhood's 2012 North American tour with The Kills, Twee Time's Stephanie Dee had the chance to chat on the phone with guitarist Jake Orrall about his new gear, the Infinity Cat label's Canadian connection, and what's going on with the band since signing to Warner Bros. Records. Below is the audio from the full interview or, if you prefer, a transcript of the highlights.
Audio for the interview engineered by Lachlan Fletcher, produced and edited by Stephanie Dee.
Stephanie: You have an LP of rarities you just released on Infinity Cat. Can you tell us about Brotherhood of Light?
Jake Orrall: Yes, kind of older stuff that's out-of-print... the more kinda cosmic side of JEFF The Brotherhood, I guess.
S: The cover of Brotherhood of Light has some symbols of the zodiac, Hebrew letters, the Star of David, the moon and the sun. I'm wondering where that concept for the cover came up?
J: The cover is actually from an old astrology pamphlet from a secret society called the Brotherhood of Light.
S: Oh wow! Is a secret society and mystical symbols something you're interested in?
J: Yeah, absolutely. Kind of a hobby, I guess.
S: Can you tell us a little bit about that book?
J: I found it in just an old pile of junk, and it's just kind of full of numbers, algorithms and stuff. It doesn't make any sense to me; none of it makes sense at all, actually. It's pretty weird, but it’s interesting.
S: I'm going to talk a little bit about Infinity Cat.
J: Yes.
S: You have two Canadian bands on that label, there's Uncle Bad Touch, and Peach Kelli Pop from Ottawa.
J: It's pretty much exclusively Canada and Nashville [laughs] on the label, dunno why.
S: How did you get in contact with Uncle Bad Touch and Allie Hanlon from Peach Kelli Pop?
J: Uhh, Allie, we played a show with her other band White Wires [Allie is on drums], who we are also big fans of, and we had a copy the Peach Kelli Pop record... and I listened to it with some friends and went, "This is awesome... where do I get it? I don't know, I don't think you can get it. I think it's just in Canada you can get it really." So, then I was like, oh let's just ask them if they wanted to put it out on record 'cause it's awesome, and so we did. And then Uncle Bad Touch, it was actually kind of a similar thing. We played with them, and became friends with them, and started doing shows together and stuff, and they had an LP and it hadn't been released in the US. So, that's kind of how it started.
S: Do you have any plans to collaborate with them musically?
J: Yeah, we actually almost recorded with Uncle Bad Touch, like a big collaboration thing the last time we were in town, but we didn't have time. We don't really have any real hard plans for that kind of stuff...
S: I’ve spoken to Allie from Peach Kelli Pop a couple of times, and she's a really good drummer as well as playing the ukulele and the guitar.
J: Yeah.
S: And I'm wondering if, because of that interest in drumming, did she have any sort of friendship, or love connection with Jamin?
J: [laughs] You'd have to ask them.
S: You know, you [only] play the top three-strings on your guitar.
J: Yeah.
S: Have you always played that way?
J: No, I used to have two, and only two, then I added one after the second album.
S: Wow, I'm really curious, how exactly do you get such a huge sound out of just three strings?
J: Well, I have a really, really nice pickup in my guitar, that was built by a guy named [inaudible] in Nashville; a very talented pickup builder. But even before I had that uhh, I think it sounds a lot better now, but I use a Big Muff distortion pedal. Umm, and it’s an old Russian one, it’s not like a new one. And I play through a bass amp and a guitar amp, and I just EQ instead the bass amp is really, really bass-y, and the guitar amp is really treble-y, and then I just; when they mix together they make up for all the lost sound of not having a bass… A really big amp… Yeah, and I also got this custom made amplifier cabinet, speaker cabinet, which I got the day before this tour, and they’re really cool. I’ll have them at the show, in Montreal. I’m really excited about it, they sound really good.
S: Yeah, I can’t wait to hear it, and I read that some of your gear was stolen last year in Nashville, so be sure to keep an eye on your stuff when you’re here in Montreal.
J: I will. It’s pretty hard to sell, if they do get stolen. [laughs] I got some of my stuff back from a pawn shop when I got broken into last time, but the guitar wasn't there and the pawn guy was like, "No it only had three strings on it; I didn't want that piece of junk"... It’s missing three strings, so he’s like “I can’t do anything with this”. So the guy didn't buy it from them [the thieves], so I guess they probably just threw it away.
S: The saying goes, opportunity comes disguised in the form of misfortune, and you got a pretty wicked guitar out of it.
J: Yeah... I really didn't care when I got my new guitar that my old one had been stolen. [laughs]
S: I also saw your post on Twitter that you guys were in the studio recording a few weeks ago.
J: Yeah, just basically recording another album, and I think it's the best one we've ever done.
S: I can’t wait to hear it! Can we expect to a new single soon?
J: I dunno, we have to mix it when we get back from this tour, so we'll see.
S: Will this album be released on Infinity Cat? Because there's some buzz about you and Jamin being signed to Warner Bros. Records last year.
J: Yeah, we just signed with Warner Bros., and this album will come out Warner Bros. slash Infinity Cat kind of thing.
S: Has the dynamic of the band, and how you run things at Infinity Cat, changed since being signed to Warner? Do you still feel independent…
J: We have a lot more freedom because of the resources we have access to. While before our record label basically consisted, you know, of me and... being on tour all day, and my dad and some interns at home mailing out packages. Now we have, you know, all these departments and all these people working for us. We come up with an idea, and we can send it to Warner Bros. and they get it done. And it's really been awesome so far; it really opened up a lot of new opportunities for us. And we also work harder and be a more professional band. But it's kinda like, it's almost like we just got like promoted at our job, and our job is like playing music, you know? It's fucking awesome…
S: I’ve always felt that, you can have the biggest bass amp, or the biggest guitar amp, or any pedal that you want; but for me I felt that your music really came from the soul, and it spoke to me for sure. And everyone I know who, like when I convinced my friends “Please stay at the VICE party to see JEFF”, and they’re like, “I’m so glad that I stayed”.
J: That’s awesome.
S: I wanted to thank you guys so much for sharing you music. I know, umm… some people think you’re a pretty new band, or didn’t hear much about JEFF, and you guys have been around since 2001.
J: Yeah, it's hard to get your name out there, you know. It really helps when people bring their friends to shows, and make them stay out ‘til the end, so thanks for that.
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