didgeridooooooooo

Translating the printemps érable: Dear readers of Translating the Printemps Érable

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 04:17:08 -0400

Translating the printemps érable: Dear readers of Translating the Printemps Érable:

As you may know, an election was called today in Québec. The people of Québec will go to the polls on September 4th.

Obviously, this is of great interest to all of us here at Translating the Printemps Érable. This translation project was born out of the social crisis brought about by the…

Anticosti, the steal of the century? (The Huffington Post)

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 04:09:40 -0400

translatingtheprintempserable:

Maxime Duchesne July 27, 2012

Original French text: http://quebec.huffingtonpost.ca/maxime-duchesne/ile-anticosti-petrole_b_1708848.html?utm_hp_ref=canada-quebec

There have been so many scandals in Quebec in recent years that nothing surprises us anymore. When front-page headlines announce that a Liberal minister handed out juicy contracts to generous party contributors, it seems so banal and normal we don’t even bother to read the article. But among all these presumed scandals, there’s one subject in particular that raises some serious questions: the transfer of Anticosti’s oil exploitation rights to the private sector.

Recent studies have shown that the subsoil of Anticosti Island could contain the equivalent of 30 to 40 billion barrels of oil. At more than 100 dollars a barrel, that amounts to almost 4,000 billion dollars of oil. For the sake of comparison, Quebec’s debt is “only” 250 billion. Since 1987, many geologists have noted the possibility of large oil reserves due to the island’s composition.

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"They are complex entertainment spectacles that do not translate well online because they require..."

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 02:12:52 -0400

“They are complex entertainment spectacles that do not translate well online because they require context, which our award-winning production team will provide”

- An NBC spokesperson, in a statement sent to the Wall Street Journal, on why the Olympic games would be made available in the United States via a tape delay instead of a live stream.

NBC played up the importance of delivering context to its audience — context like explaining who Tim Berners-Lee is. Or how about Meredith Vieira saying none of the kids who performed in the tribtue to the National Health Service “look sick?” Or “Bar Trivia with Bob Costas” in which we learn that Finland “doles” out traffic tickets based on income?

There’s your context, America. That’s why you couldn’t watch a live stream of a global event in 2012. Context.
(via producermatthew)
so fucked up…

We are still here. We are still fighting. We have not forgotten.

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 05:39:45 -0400

translatingtheprintempserable:

Let us be clear: it is a surprise to no one that the streets of Montréal, and the various cities and villages of Québec, have become quieter over these hot summer months. There have been various condescending explanations for this: some believe that the current protest movement is a bandwagon that has fallen out of vogue. Others treat us as a collection of spoiled babies who are easily distracted. Contrary to the bad faith and intellectually lazy cries that we should “just get a job” as an alternative to participating in our democracy, those of us who have been protesting for five months now are also people with jobs, families, and personal obligations. At the beginning of the summer, Jean Charest tried to place us in opposition to what “the people of Québec” wanted, as though we were on the outside looking in. But we are also the people of Québec, and we refuse such an attempt to divide us; over the past few weeks, we have been dancing at summer festivals, we have been taking weekends to go swim in beautiful and clear lakes, we have been drinking beer on terrasses, we have been working hard at our day jobs, and we have been doing this all while remaining profoundly committed to the social movement that has awoken our neighbourhoods, our cities, and our province. Enjoying the summer and committing to personal obligations does not mean abandoning the cause.

It is hard work, sustaining a social movement that engages not just students, but all members of québécois society. It is even harder doing so in light of a government that pours tens of thousands of our tax dollars (when supposedly there is no more money for education) into advertisements meant to marginalize us, and that uses us as a foil in their heavy-handed and paternalistic election campaign. It is also hard when our corporate media outlets, whose objectives are to generate profits for their owners, rather than to be accountable to the people for whom they are meant to provide a service vital to democracy, decide that our moment is over and that we are no longer exciting or “new” enough to sell newspapers or ad space. And finally, it is hard because even we get tired. It has been a long five months, and we are ordinary human beings. Even the most dedicated demonstrator needs to take a break every once in a while, maybe because of previously scheduled holiday plans, family obligations, or maybe just because they have spent five months working 8 or more hours in the day and then taking to the streets every night, which is an exhausting combination both physically and psychologically.

For all of these reasons and for many more, we would like to counter the myth that the movement is over, or that it has died down, or that it is losing momentum. It is a mistake to assess this movement in purely quantifiable terms. We are more than the number on the street on any given night and our tenacity cannot be measured by the size and visibility of our donned red squares.

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HELL YES!!

pierreduchesneborduas: René Lévesque, le journaliste, sans...

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 05:32:41 -0400

pierreduchesneborduas:

René Lévesque, le journaliste, sans chemise et sans cravate. (Photo Juin 1949)

:-)

BP Spill Workers Say Dispersant Made Them Sick

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 05:32:19 -0400

BP Spill Workers Say Dispersant Made Them Sick:

climateadaptation:

Workers claim they got sick from chemical used to break up oil from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But, the company that makes Corexit, Nalco states it is exempt from a lawsuit because their chemical was approved by the Federal Government. It seems that hundreds of workers with medical claims will probably lose, and the corporation might win on a technicality…

Full story at MoJo

So what is this LIBOR scandal anyway?

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 05:27:15 -0400

So what is this LIBOR scandal anyway? :

motherjones:

think-progress:

Business Insider has a nifty infographic explaining the confusing banking scandal. Then read THIS on the impacts to American consumers.

Read up.

READ.

Once Upon A Time … (Fred Pellerin)

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 05:26:42 -0400

translatingtheprintempserable:

Staff note: A collaborator shared with us a translation of one of Fred Pellerin’s stories, Il était une fois. We wish to share it with you not only because he is a pivotal figure in contemporary québécois literature, but also because we published a series of articles pertaining to his refusal of the knighthood of the National Order of Quebec, and his solidarity with the current social struggle. Though English cannot match the original lyrical beauty of his work, we wish for you to be acquainted with him & his role in Quebec culture. NB. The written translation in English is based on the spoken story of the Youtube link, which varies in parts from the written French.

Translated from this page: http://madmoizele-claudia.jimdo.com/2011/07/09/il-%C3%A9tait-une-fois-prise-de-parole-par-fred-pellerin/

ONCE UPON A TIME …

Once upon a time …
It was a time, a time …
When it was always about giants,
And it always happened
In some faraway land …

They would say : Once upon a time …
It would warm our homes,
And warm the hearts and breath
Of children and the longest of nights.

These were tales,
These were legends,
These were stories to stand up with.

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5 Surprising Ingredients Allowed in Organic Food

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 22:02:09 -0400

5 Surprising Ingredients Allowed in Organic Food:

motherjones:

Drum roll….

Carrageenan

Synthetic DHA

Acidified sodium chlorite

Tetrasodium pyrophosphate

Ethylene

What are these things and should you be worried about them?

:-(

Opinion: From a student strike to a social movement (Le Devoir)

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 22:01:31 -0400

translatingtheprintempserable:

Serge Petitclerc, spokesperson for the Collective for a Poverty-Free Quebec

July 10, 2012

Original French Text: http://www.ledevoir.com/societe/actualites-en-societe/354207/greve-etudiante-a-contestation-sociale

What began as a student strike has become in the space of several weeks a powerful social protest movement. How did this happen? The imposition of a special law restricting Quebeckers’ freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly certainly had something to do with it. But Bill 78, abusive as it might be, isn’t the only explanation. The indignation of a large part of the population was lurking just beneath the surface.

Over the past 30 years, in particular since the mid 1990s, Quebec’s public institutions have undergone a major transformation. Their contribution to the common good has been increasingly diverted to serve the private accumulation of wealth. In the name of “zero deficit,” the “re-engineering of the state,” or the “cultural revolution,” we’ve seen the imposition of policies leading to increased poverty (such as the health tax) and cuts to public services. It seems nothing is safe anymore from the neoliberal “logic,” its state of permanent crisis and its user-payer model.

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motherjones: THE MOST IMPORTANT STORY OF THE DAY: Florida, the...

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 16:58:36 -0400

motherjones:

THE MOST IMPORTANT STORY OF THE DAY:

Florida, the Conservative Utopia: A Low-Service State With High Disease Rates

In late June, Florida’s governor and GOP Legislature shut down the state’s only hospital to treat tuberculosis. At the same time, the state was experiencing the largest outbreak of TB - “consumption” - in America in 20 years. The CDC warned Scott’s health office an epidemic was in the offing. But he never even told the lawmakers who voted to close the hospital, much less Florida’s millions of citizens who are at risk of their lungs melting.

As our Florida correspondent reports, it’s par for the course in the Sunshine State, where even septic-tank inspections are derided as socialism, and conservative lawmakers have cut social services to the bone—and Rick Scott has cut even further, using his line-item veto to slash mercilessly at Legislature-approved spending he deems unimportant.

Scott, for his part, has yet to comment on the TB outbreak in Jacksonville, Miami, and who knows where else. He’s at an air show in London.

Read the whole story and pass it on.

tragic.

There is no African, myself included, who does not appreciate...

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 16:57:33 -0400

There is no African, myself included, who does not appreciate the help of the wider world, but we do question whether aid is genuine or given in the spirit of affirming one’s cultural superiority. My mood is dampened every time I attend a benefit whose host runs through a litany of African disasters before presenting a (usually) wealthy, white person, who often proceeds to list the things he or she has done for the poor, starving Africans. Every time a well-meaning college student speaks of villagers dancing because they were so grateful for her help, I cringe. Every time a Hollywood director shoots a film about Africa that features a Western protagonist, I shake my head — because Africans, real people though we may be, are used as props in the West’s fantasy of itself. And not only do such depictions tend to ignore the West’s prominent role in creating many of the unfortunate situations on the continent, they also ignore the incredible work Africans have done and continue to do to fix those problems.

-Uzodinma Iweala, “Stop Trying to ‘Save’ Africa”

motherjones: “Guess What Percentage Of American Children Are...

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 16:55:17 -0400

motherjones:

“Guess What Percentage Of American Children Are Living In Poverty. Seriously, Guess.”

(via)

iceland embarrassing all the rest of us assholes.

motherjones: Reblogging for “oh hell yes.” (via) markus...

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 07:04:15 -0400

motherjones:

Reblogging for “oh hell yes.”

(via)

markus ruffaloo

The Quebec student movement: A defeat? (Voir)

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 08:28:28 -0400

translatingtheprintempserable:

Blandine Parchemal July 7 2012

Original French text: http://me.voir.ca/blandineparchemal/2012/07/07/le-mouvement-etudiant-quebecois-une-defaite/

In the July 6 2012 issue of Le Devoir you can read an op-ed entitled “Student movement: the electoral challenge”. In addition to raising some important points regarding the risk of a PLQ electoral campaign bearing the themes of law and order and realizing itself on the backs of the students, it seems to me nevertheless that the verdict put forward regarding the student movement is profoundly unjust in relation to the totality of the work that it has accomplished among Quebecois society during the last few months.

The author starts his text in effect by speaking about “defeat in public opinion”, “big disappointment” and ends by declaring that this could be “the biggest defeat of the Quebec student movement” if the Liberal party is reelected. Of course, if the PLQ are reelected in the next election, we will have a very bitter taste in our mouths. Nevertheless, even if this situation has to be, I won’t necessarily speak of the defeat of the student movement but rather the defeat of Quebec society as it was, and this, because it’s the student movement has always strived for a popular challenge to the current government.’

As for the question of public opinion, listen to us say that we have never really known what they think and that it’s probably not one more survey that will allow us to know more. Also, above and beyond general public opinion on the movement, what interested me much more, is analyzing the evolution of the population’s participation in the movement. And yet, when I see the beauty of the casseroles movement for example, all these people who came out into the streets with us many nights in a row, these children, these grand parents, I can’t resign myself to speak of defeat and still less of disappointment. When I see the popularity of the large protests on the 22^nd of each month, the flowering of neighborhood assemblies or simply the totality of these red squares worn proudly, I can’t speak of defeat either.

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a change gon’ come.

motherjones: ageofperil: Texas — yes, Texas — reclaimed an...

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 06:02:17 -0400

motherjones:

ageofperil:

Texas — yes, Texas — reclaimed an abandoned Walmart and turned it into a public library. More specifically, the town of McAllen did so and won itself an award from the International Interior Design Association. So don’t assume you know everything there is to know about the Lone Star State. It’s a big place with even bigger ideas.

Awesome.

was this in the austin area? lol.

THE ORIGINAL RANT LINE!

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 06:01:03 -0400

therantline:

514-271-RANT (7268)

"Cherish your solitude. Take trains by yourself to places you have never been. Sleep alone under the..."

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 05:59:02 -0400

“Cherish your solitude. Take trains by yourself to places you have never been. Sleep alone under the stars. Learn how to drive a stick shift. Go so far away that you stop being afraid of not coming back. Say no whenever you don’t want to do something. Say yes if your instincts are strong, even if everyone around you disagrees. Decide whether you want to be liked or admired. Decide if fitting in is more important than finding out what you’re doing here. And believe in kissing.”

- Eve Ensler (via uhntss)
:-)

Cultural Divide Around "Quebecois Spring" (Le Monde Diplomatique)

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 05:53:35 -0400

translatingtheprintempserable:

By eleven University of Laval professors July 2012

Original French Text: http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2012/07/A/47979

Anxious to preserve the accessibility of the masses to higher education, the Quebec students have opposed for four months, a raise in tuition in universities announced by the liberal Jean Charest government(1). The extension of the movement to the rest of the population, followed shortly in early spring with the adoption of the special law on May 18th. This would push Quebec one step closer to an authoritian regime. These measures have encouraged students to engage a large segment of Quebec society against the party in power and the people directing the economy.

For about thirty years, the issue in regards to access to education, has been threatened by Neo-Liberals. The question arises quite regularly in Quebec. The debate has developed in specific terms, which is quite in contrast with the “rest of Canada”(RDC). Transferred from the Catholic church to the province little after WWII, the education system was seen as an emanation of society which had institutionalized itself progressively: It was the result of institutional and policy framework. Access to university for the largest possible audience was perceived as an instrument for social mobility for the francophones and a symbol for the new collective identity during the “Quiet Revolution” (1960-1966)(2). In the context marked by the economic crisis of 2008 and the rise by a certain social exasperation. The threat to restrain our social programs has engendered a resistance movement of rare intensity. Like all social struggles of grand amplitude, the “Quebecois Spring” divides the society that has witnessed it flourish.

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rifts between family members, friends, lovers, collegues… just disastrous.

The Rant Line: RANT LINE EXPLAINED

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 05:50:18 -0400

The Rant Line: RANT LINE EXPLAINED:

therantline:

Openfile.ca interview with me about the history of the Rant Line and the recent controversy.

http://bit.ly/M7BGTI

New Rant Line shuts down following complaint from former Montreal Mirror editor

Posted by Sarah Leavitt on Thursday, July 5, 2012

On Tuesday,…

rant away.