RSS
Léon Mugesera deported to Rwanda 20 years after anti-Tutsi speech
A resident of Quebec City named Léon Mugesera has been accused of genocide and deported back to Rwanda.
According to CBC, Mugesera gave an anti-Tutsi speech in 1992 that was used as propaganda in the Rwandan genocide.
Rwanda’s prosecutor general Martin Ngoga told CBC that even though there’s substantial evidence against him, Mugesera will be given a fair trial.
He’s set to land in Kigali later today. Ngoga told CBC that the trial would begin immediately.
Bicycle helmets prove to be more effective than ski helmets
The Montreal Gazette has reported that according to a study conducted by the University of Ottawa and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, hockey helmets provide better protection than ski helmets. Bicycle helmets were also proved to be more effective.
Parents who hand their children a ski helmet when they go tobogganing are now being advised to do otherwise. However, according to the Journal of Neurosurgery, roughly 5 per cent of kids who go tobogganing bother putting on a helmet in the first place.
Overall, this research has led doctors to believe that a new multi-impact helmet should be designed for winter sports. Also that ski equipment in general should be improved.
Parents and kids should still remain aware of the fact that any kind of helmet is better than none.
According to the director of the Montreal Children’s Hospital Trauma Centre, they see approximately 610 children every year for accidents caused by a lack of helmet. Half of these injuries are concussions.
January 23rd 2012
Produced By Melissa Mulligan
Read By Sarah Deshaies
Stories by Sofia Gay, Gregory Wilson, Audrey Folliot, Esther Viragh
ADQ and CAQ join forces
The new popular kid in Quebec politics has joined forces with the one that could have been great.
Francois Legault’s Coalition Avenir Quebec now has four seats in the Quebec legislature as it becomes one with the Action democratique Quebec. The center-right ADQ has been on the decline in recent years after an initially promising debut 1994.
The merger was agreed on in December. The ADQ had the final say and voted 70 percent in favour of the coalition.
The coalition party leads the ruling Liberals and opposition Parti Quebecois in the polls. They promise to put sovereignty on the back burner for the time being.
Commemorating the Egyptian uprising
Montreal’s Egyptian community organized a rally on Saturday.
The Gazette reports it was to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Egyptian uprising.
The group also gathered to protest the actions of Egypt’s army. It has been in control of the country since the overthrow of former President Hosni Mubarak.
The demonstration took place near Concordia in Downtown Montreal. It came a few hours after the Muslim Brotherhood’s big win in Egypt’s parliamentary elections.
Duceppe has had enough of politics
Gilles Duceppe has announced that he won’t return to politics nor will he join the ranks of the Parti Québécois.
According to the Canadian Press, the former Bloc Québécois leader said Sunday that he wants to rebuild his reputation and defend his integrity.
He had been reported by a Montreal newspaper La Presse as using public funds to pay the Bloc employees.
Duceppe maintains that he always acted with transparency and that he has always followed the rules.
Pauline Marois has been inviting Duceppe to join the ranks and get involved with the team, but he has declined.
Still the former leader gives the party his full confidence.
The Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs said Sunday that it would seek legal to see if the Bloc had broken parliamentary rules and if they have to repay the fund.
Mitt Romney to release tax returns
Mitt Romney, succumbing to the media pressure, declared he will release his recent tax returns tomorrow, according to the BBC.
Just before the South Carolina election, Romney was refusing to divulge his records. He then lost to Newt Gingrich, the one who challenged him to release the taxes, in this election.
Romney assured Fox News viewers his tax reports are clean and that he pays full fair taxes.
Federal government takes first steps to replace Champlain bridge
It looks like Champlain bridge will be replaced sooner than later. CTV reports that an environmental impact study will start. The study will take two years to complete.
Transport minister Denis Lebel did not give a time frame for the project. The most unstable parts of the bridge will be fixed through a public-private partnership.
Tolls will be charged when the project is finished.
Saturday saw two hundred people gather in the South Shore to discuss the situation. Three hundred and eighty million dollars have been spent to mend the bridge since two thousand and nine.
C- rule passes without objections
The Engineering and Computer Science program has just become more challenging.
As of Fall 2012, students will have to obtain at least a C- average in their courses before moving on to the next level.
The C- rule applies to all 200-level courses that are pre-requisites to other courses. If students do not obtain the minimum grade, they will need to repeat the class before taking the higher-level class that follows it.
The purpose of the rule, the faculty says, is to help students in their studies. Retaking the classes they completed poorly will prevent them from ending up in conditional or failed standing later on. The faculty also hopes the changes will lead to better grades and prepare students for higher-level courses.
Student representative to Senate Chuck Wilson, an engineering student, voted in favour of the motion. “You really do need a good foundational knowledge if you are going to go through the rest of your degree,” Wilson said. “Your education really just builds on top of what you’ve done before that.”
The motion was passed fairly quickly and without any objections. After the vote, however, Senator Wilson brought up a few concerns. One related to the availability of courses in a term. “The courses that follow those 200-level courses aren’t necessarily offered every term,” Wilson said. “So while those courses, for which the rule would apply, are offered frequently, that doesn’t necessarily mean that having to retake those courses wont effect your ability to graduate on time.”
Once the issue was raised, Senate recognized the problem and promised to try and offer the courses as often as possible. Senate also said that it would make sure to inform students of the changes. It promised to include the new rule into the academic calendar.
Esther Viragh, CJLO News
Igloofest: Week 1 Recap
That time of year is upon us; it’s Igloofest time! This is the time where all electronic music lovers gather at the Old Port to enjoy the hottest artists from the scene. Until January 28th, Igloofest will play host to the biggest outdoor party in North America, with a spectacular lineup for this year’s edition.
The first weekend line-up couldn’t have been better, with big names like Buraka Som Sistema, A-Trak, Botnek, Mala, Tanner Ross and Tiefschwarz gracing the Igloofest stage. Local hometown heroes like DJ Cosmo, Ohm Hourani, Construct, Harmsworth and many more got their chance to play in front of their hometown crowd, a crowd that broke the Igloofest record for Thursday night attendance (4690) and who also braved -30°C degrees on Saturday night for the Buraka Som Sistema performance. In total, more then 19000 fans attended the festival over the course of three days; it was a great way to start the event.
Thursday 12th
It all got under way Thursday on a snowy night with DJ extraordinaire, DJ Cosmo of Get Nice at Blizzarts fame. He began with a hip-hop inspired set, but he quickly showed the growing crowd that he had other tricks up his sleeve; no wonder he won the Red Bull Thre3style last October. Overall, it was an excellent set that got the crowd dancing and warmed up for Montreal hero and DMC champion, A-Trak. By the time he took over the stage, a significant amount of fans where waiting for him and he did not disappoint them. For over 2hrs, A-Trak played an energetic and addictive set as he went thru a wide range of hits ranging from hip-hop to techno, he even played "Barbara Streisand" and "Big Bad Wolf" from his current project, Duck Sauce formed with Armand Van Helden. The native Montrealer was noticeably excited to be playing in front of fans in his hometown; he also addressed the crowd in French, which really pumped them up. He wasn’t alone on stage, big brother Dave 1 from Chromeo was there to cheer on little brother. After the local hero came the legend, UK DJ/Producer Mala graced the Igloofest stage for the first time and only the second time in Montreal since his performance at Mutek back in 2009. His set started with slow, deep beats that gradually evolved into his well-known style; after all he is one part of the mythical duo, the Digital Mystikz. I could not have thought of a better way to end the first day.
Saturday 14th
What surprises me most about Igloofest attendees is how ready they are to brave the elements for their favorite DJs. Case in point: Saturday. Even with temperatures hovering around -30°C, there was no way to discourage them. Who would when Buraka Som Sistema performed one of the hottest performances ever at Igloofest? Well, hottest I’ve seen so far! Their one-hour set was filled with soca, konduro, and dancehall beats that got the crowd dancing the cold weather away. The group was experiencing their first ever Canadian winter, with emcee Blaya rocking a retro one-piece for the occasion. A pair of French DJs played before BSS, Bambounou and French Fries. The night got started with Montreal duo, Botnek. Their unique touch and sound have garnered recognition from the UK’s leading DJs and radio hosts like Annie Mac, Pete Tong and Benji B, who play their tracks regularly. The duo’s unique sound, a mix of Dutch house, jump-up techno and afrobeat is truly something to enjoy and discover. Big thing await the duo in 2012, be sure to follow them.
-All photos and text are curtesy of MNJIVR, who hosts AutoBeat every Tuesday from 10-11pm
Pages
Staff Login | Advertise | Our Location | RSS | Contact Us
