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January 17th, 2012
Read by: Aisha Samu
Stories by: Niki Mohrdar, Tara Brockwell, and Jordie Yeager
Produced by: Carlo Spiridigliozzi
Tough decisions ahead for President Obama
President Obama's road to re-election will be a bumpy one.
In a report by the New York Times, the mounting conflict between America and Iran leaves Obama with options that could potentially harm the economic recovery or his image as a decisive leader.
Sanctions signed by the president against Iran's oil exports means that Obama will have to take action against strong ally countries if they continue to purchase Iranian oil.
Congress agreed to give Obama some time to delay actions if he concludes that a crackdown would disrupt the oil market. Congress also gave Obama the power to exempt any country that goes against the sanctions based on national security considerations.
However, taking adavntage of this leeway would give critics of President Obama the ammunition they need to claim that he is weak on Iran. Iran is thought by the West to be capable of creating nuclear weapons.
Republican candidate Mitt Romney stated in November that if Obama is re-elected, Iran will have a nuclear weapon.
President Obama is expected to make his decision in late June.
Canadian navy lieutenant charged under anti-terrorism law
The first person charged under the post 9/11 Security of Information Act is a member of the Canadian armed forces.
According to the Montreal Gazette navy lieutenant Jeffrey Paul Delisle was charged Monday for communicating classified information to a foreign entity. CTV News reported that the foreign entity may have been Russia.
The alleged crime supposedly took place over a period of four years. Delisle was charged with three counts under the anti-terrorism law and could face a life in prison.
29 still missing after Costa Concordia crash
Twenty-nine people are still missing after the Costa Concordia cruise ship crashed into the west coast of Italy on Friday night.
According to BBC, the area’s chief coast guard Marco Brusco said there’s “still a glimmer of hope” that survivors will be found.
A team of divers are searching the ship for any potential survivors. BBC quotes the head of the diving team, Rodolfo Raiteri, as telling the AFP news agency that conditions within the ship are “disastrous” and “cluttered.”
However, the local mayor, Sergio Ortelli, seems hopeful. According to BBC, he told AFP that “an air pocket could have allowed people to survive a few days.”
Emergency crews as well as the divers will continue their search.
Unclaimed body causes controversy
According to CBC, the Iranian community of Montreal is at a standstill about to do with the body of 34-year-old Farshad Mohammadi. Montreal Police shot Mohammadi on January 6th after he attacked an officer with an exacto knife at Bonaventure metro station.
Currently, authorities are unable to find Mohammdi’s family and therefore are unsure what his last wishes were.
The Montreal Iranian Islamic Centre has requested for a traditional Muslim funeral to take place. However, another group wants a secular funeral to take place, saying that it would be contrary to Mohammdi’s wishes for a Muslim funeral to happen.
Although both sides want Mohammdi to be honoured, they never expected this disagreement to reach a dispute.
Currently, Mohammdi’s body is one of five that remains unclaimed at the morgue that Quebec’s coroner’s office is in charge of.
Anybody with information on this unclaimed body is advised to contact the Quebec coroner’s office.
Assad offers another amnesty
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has granted an amnesty to his opponents.
According to the BBC, this would apply to all those who committed a crime during the 10-month uprising.
Several thousands of people have been detained in the past year.
Countless others have been killed during the protests.
The official pardon is not the first Assad has granted.
This leaves some skeptical of the impact it will have on the current crisis.
Liberals vote yes to legalize marijuana
The Liberals have voted yes to the legalization of marijuana at the Liberal Party’s biennial convention on Sunday morning.
According to the Huffington Post, interim party leader Bob Rae acknowledged that the war on drugs was not working effectively.
He also said that the implications of the resolution had to be carefully studied.
Still, 77% of the delegates said they wanted a future Liberal party to legalize the drug.
A major issue regarding the legalization of marijuana is to see how it’s supply will be controlled.
Rae said he would look into it in the months and years to come and that he was confortable with the resolution.
This resolution implies legalizing, regulating and taxing the production, distribution and use of marijuana.
Illegal trafficking, importation and exportation of marijuana as well as impaired driving would still be severely punished.But those accused of simple possession of the drug in the past would receive amnesty.
The program would also invest in prevention and education programs in schools about the harms of marijuana.
It is still unsure whether the resolution will make it into the Liberal’s next election platform, but Young Liberals Leader Samuel Lavoie said he hoped it would not go unnoticed.
Cruise ship disaster
A luxury cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, hit an underwater rock and partly sunk last Friday night near the Tuscan shore, in Italy, according to the CBC.
Search and rescue teams have been deployed all weekend to find any remaining missing persons. So far five people have died and at least 15 are still missing.
Survivors lashed out at the captain and his crew to the media. They claimed the crew was incompetent and did not know how to properly evacuate the passengers.
Authorities arrested Capt. Francesco Schettino on Saturday. He is facing possible charges of manslaughter and abandoning his ship before all his passengers were evacuated.
Homeless shelters team up in response to cold
Shelters around the city are working together to battle the cold temperatures. CTV Montreal reports they are doing this by coordinating vacancies.
They are also offering a shuttle bus to take people to other shelters if one is full. The shelters have six hundred and forty beds combined.
Before this movement homeless people would be rejected if there was no room. Shelters are also opening earlier when temperatures drop below minus ten.
The Black Keys
I'll admit, it was difficult for me to begin writing this review. It's hard to take a stance on an album so incredibly mediocre. El Camino starts off promising, but quickly fades into forgettable background music. The first three tracks, “Lonely Boy,” “Dead and Gone,” and “Gold on the Ceiling,” are the most memorable tracks on the album. “Lonely Boy,” in particular, has a catchy guitar riff and background vocals that compliment the chorus and give the song depth.
That being said, from a technical aspect, the album is actually quite well put together. The vocals and instrumentals seem incredibly calculated and well-planned out, and I think that's exactly what gets me about it. It doesn't like it's as raw or was as fun to make as previous Black Keys albums, and therefore it isn't as fun to listen to. Dan Auerbach seems to have traded in the bluesy voice that drew me to albums like 2003's Thickfreakness, for a more calculated, restricted sound, and frankly, it's boring. I had it playing in my car for two days and barely paid attention to it whatsoever.
The track “Gold on the Ceiling” is probably the closest thing the album has to that raw, energetic sound. “Mind Eraser” also showcases Auerbach's vocals quite well, but the song itself is too repetitive and not nearly energetic enough to be memorable.
Essentially, El Camino isn't a bad album by any means. There are no tracks that are absolutely painful to listen to, and most of them are pretty catchy. It's just not something I was excited to listen to, and after I write this I would honestly be content to never listening to it again. It's almost like a romantic comedy for me; I'm not opposed to it, I don't cringe at the idea of it being played, but I would never chose it over something else.
My final words are this: listen to the album once, maybe twice. If you get through it all without forgetting you're listening to it, great, listen more if you want. If not, well, you and I have a lot in common. Let's hang out or something.
-Breanna Morrison
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