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Thousands honour three men killed during riots in Britain
Three men who died amidst rioting in Britain were commemorated in a Birmingham park on Sunday. Thousands gathered in Summerfield Park to honour Haroon Jahan and brothers Shazared Ali and Abdul Musavir. The three men were trying to protect businesses from looters on Tuesday night when they were hit by a car.
Two men were arraigned Sunday on three counts of murder related to the killings. A third will be arraigned on Monday.
Five people died during the riots that spread over four days from London to other English cities. The outbreak of civil unrest has led people like Tariq Jahan to appeal for peace in their communities. Jahan, father of Haroon Jahan, was present at Sunday’s rally. He said the three boys died for their community. He hopes now that they will be remembered for it.
Fittingly, many community leaders took the stage to speak at the rally. Musicians also performed under the banner ''United Birmingham, One City, One Voice for Peace.''
Norway gunman helps police reconstruct horrific events
On Sunday, Norwegian police took gunman Anders Behring Breivik back to the scene of his crimes to reconstruct the actions that took place July 22.
The 32-year-old was heavily guarded. After eight hours, prosecutor Paal-Fredrik Hjort Kraby said police were able to get details about what the gunman did last month.
The entire visit was filmed and could be used in court at Breivik's trial.
Hjort Kraby said Breivik has always calm and collaborative, and the eight-hour reconstruction on Utoya was no different. Breivik is being accused of killing 69 people. If convicted on terrorism charges, he would face up to 21 years in prison.
Rogers Cup wraps up with Williams and Djokovic on top
The Rogers Cup tournament wrapped up on Sunday with Serena Williams taking the women’s title and Novak Djokovic winning the men’s.
Williams beat Australian player Samantha Stosur six to four and six to two in Toronto’s Rexall Stadium. This is her first Canadian win since 2001. Williams has won two of four tournaments she’s played since coming back from forty-nine weeks of being sidelined.
Meanwhile, Djokovic beat American Mardy Fish in Montreal’s Uniprix Stadium. It was the ninth tournament he’s won this year and the second time he’s taken the Rogers Cup title home.
Attendance for the women’s event was down from last year, with 133,000 viewers. But the men’s tournament set a record with over 200,000 in attendance.
The Glitch Mob + Phantogram + Com Truise @ SAT
Com Truise started off the night with his bass-heavy flavour of dub inspired, instrumental hip hop. His set elicited head nods and hoots of approval from the packed house at the Societe des Arts Technologiques. I cannot deny that I admire the New Jersey native’s musical sensibility and percussive creativity. I do feel, however, that his music is ill-suited to the warehouse rave vibe that the high ceilings and spartan appointments of the SAT cultivate, and though he's clearly capable on his MPD, keyboard and Macbook setup, his lack of charisma had me looking elsewhere for visual stimulus.
Phantogram was the highlight of the night for me. Lead vocalist and keyboard Sarah Barthel is a fantastic singer, a charming dancer, and a total babe. Accompanied by the talented Joshua Carter on guitar, Barthel builds songs that are reminiscent of the best parts of Massive Attack and Portishead. Somehow, these songs fit perfectly into the contemporary electronic landscape. Haunting, melodic, and beautifully layered vox seethed in and out of the mix, activating the emotion in the muted synth and distorted guitar. Phantogram is, in this reviewer’s opinion, the ideal product of the post-dub wave. Nowadays, it's so easy for musicians to forget that they’re human. This band never loses sight of that, and never allows us to forget.
The Glitch Mob is less of a band and more of a performance, an experience for the audience. Three sharply dressed dudes each stand at a podium, each with their own programmable touch screen synth pad and midi controller, angled towards the crowd. Each podium was framed by pillars of pulsating, multi-coloured light. Their music is predictable, but that is basically irrelevant. It goes hard, and it does not stop.
Unlike Phantogram, Glitch Mob makes every effort to convince us that no one is human, that we are all mere slaves to the bass god, and nothing more. By fifteen minutes into their set, the dancefloor was slick with fresh sweat. By half an hour in, the whole room was a post-dubpocalyptic, MDMA-zombie wasteland, and I loved it.
-Tomas McManus
Osheaga 2011 - Day 3
The 3rd day at Osheaga was a non-stop party. I got to the main stage just in time to catch Glasgow’s Frightened Rabbit set. If you haven’t had the chance to listen to their splendid The Winter of Mixed Drinks LP, do so now. It’s a mix of ethereal folk-pop and anthemic rock that rises up and sticks to the soul (think Doves). Their set started my day off on the right foot with songs like “Living in Color” and “Nothing Like You” standing out from their brief time on stage.
The day kept getting better, as EELS were next up. E and the gang took the stage, decked out in dapper matching ensembles, and blazed through an impressive 40 minute set. New tracks like the upbeat “Prizefighter” and the sinister howl of “Fresh Blood” were pleasant to observe. Older, gentler tracks like “Saturday Morning” and “I Like Birds” were performed sans acoustic guitar at triple the speed of the original versions. After a decade and then some, I still fucking love this band.
I spent time on the mountain while The Sounds were at work with their synth-rock set of crowd-pleasers. I saw them in 2004 while they were touring behind the incredibly catchy Living in America. Back then I was blown away by Blondie-look-a-like front-woman Maja Ivarsson, and her energetic stage show. Six years later, that feeling has passed and I’m thinking they might’ve passed their “best before” date. Though their set was lively and entertaining, the music itself isn’t as appealing as it once was. “I Hope You’re Happy Now” and “Living in America” were a short stroll down memory lane, but perhaps it’s time they ditch the disco-synthesizers and go in a new direction.
It’s a shame the organizers at Osheaga had to stack Sunday’s lineup as much as they did. Deciding who to catch was that much tougher, and I missed a half dozen bands I would have loved to see. I stuck around the main stage for most of Sunday, and ended up enjoying many of the festival’s marquee names.
("Come on people, someone ordered the London Symphony orchestra, possibly while high… Cypress Hill, I’m looking in your direction")
They lit up the stage at 4:20 (get it?) and were my guilty pleasure for the day (I was missing The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and regretting it). The last time I saw them was 11 years ago at the Molson Center, opening up for the Offspring with MxPx. It was pretty much the same thing, and I was still happy to take part. Despite numerous problems with B-Real’s mic, “Insane in the Brain” was pretty ridiculous, but “Dr. Greenthumb” was the highlight of the afternoon.
(…the crowd totally smelled like Otto’s jacket….)
Malajube had the misfortune of following Cypress Hill’s raucous set. No big deal. They kept the energy level high with opener “Synesthesie” from their latest gem, La Caverne. This was my first time seeing them, but I've been a fan since 2006’s superb Trompe-L’oeil LP. They fit in well on the main stage, and were able to convert more than a few “tetes-quarees” who weren’t big on francophone music. The rollicking pace of “Chienne Folle” was one of the finest moments of the set, while “Montreal -40” was the most recognizable song to Malajube first-timers (it was featured in Rogers commercials awhile ago).
My surprise of the day came from The Tragically Hip, the legendary Canadian rockers my friend affectionately refers to as “a glorified bar band” (he has a bit of a point). Regardless, I really enjoyed Gord Downie’s oddball stage antics, and being surrounded by a large group of very passionate Hip fans singing along to every song. I supplied my vocal chords to “Ahead by a Century” and “Bobcaygeon”. Surprisingly, I knew every word.
I was planning on seeing Death Cab for Cutie, but amazing circumstances had me (and two friends) going backstage, signing release forms, and preparing to dance on stage with The Flaming Lips. They would be playing The Soft Bulletin in it’s entirety (minus “Buggin”), while I (and 20 other lucky fans) were dressed up as characters from The Wizard of Oz. I was a scarecrow, and amidst the confetti and space balls, I danced the shit outta that stage. I won’t go into massive, annoying detail, but it was one of the coolest experiences of my life. “Race for the Prize” was our cue to go on stage, but instead of dancing, all I could do for the first minute or so was jump and punch the sky. I was surrounded by Dorothys, a Tin man, and two Lions taking part in one of the most entertaining live shows there is today. From what I could see, people seemed to enjoy it.
Right before the encore, one of the dancing Lions married one of the Dorothys ON STAGE… with Wayne Coyne acting as minister; it was pretty ridiculous. Afterwards, the Lips kicked into the wonderful closer “Do You Realize?”. Following the show, I was present for the REAL wedding, with a REAL minister on hand. Witnesses included Wayne and the Lips, stage crews, Jeff Ross, Ari Shaffir, a Tin Man, a Lion, a Scarecrow and about 20 other Dorothys.
It didn’t end there, but that’s when things got a little hazy.
-Mike B hosts The Lonesome Strangers every Tuesday from 8-10pm
Concrete smashes car windshield in Papineau
A small block of concrete smashed a car windshield in Papineau street on Thursday afternoon, injuring a passenger. The male passenger who is in his late twenties obtained deep cuts on his arms.
It is unknown whether it was thrown off the overpass or caused by the CP rail freight trains.
The mishap is regarded by some as an example of the Montreal road network falling apart. In July, a concrete beam collapsed on the road in the Ville-Marie Expressway Tunnel.
August 12th 2011
Read by Joshua Nemeroff
Produce by Erica Bridgeman
Stories written by Michael Lemieux, Erica Bridgeman and Danny Aubry
Markets Rebound
North American stock markets rebounded from the week’s massive drop late Thursday after traders put cash in to markets by buying stocks that had sunk to attractive lows.
A trading practice known as short selling was also banned for certain shares by four European countries. The practice is believed to have been responsible for the sharp decline in shares of French Banks on Wednesday.
The S&P plummeted 1100 points in three days last week including a 520 point single day loss on Wednesday.
The US market welcomed the news that less Americans were joining the unemployed than predicted.
Gold hit a record high Thursday of $1800 an ounce.
A veteran trader has said that investors are scared of being the last one out in the event of a market downturn and the last one in if the market resurges. This fear makes it easier to sell than buy and hampers the growth of the market. Many traders cautiously remember 2008.
Short selling is the act of borrowing against an asset and selling it later on the assumption that profit can be made after the loan is paid off. The ban came a day after what the head of the Bank of France called “unfounded rumors” caused shares to drop sharply around the country.
West Island man charged with producing child pornography
A 52-year-old Pierrefond man was charged on Tuesday for producing, distributing and possessing child pornography over a span of three years. Kimberly Byron Moskalewski is also accused of secretly watching or recording a person for a sexual purpose.
The violations allegedly occurred at Moskalewski's home, which is located a block away from an elementary school. According to sources, that same home is where Moskalewski's wife operated a small daycare since 1996.
It is not yet known whether the daycare was involved in the charges.
Moskalewski, who does not have a criminal record, is expected in court on Wednesday. He can face up to 10 years in prison for producing child pornography.
Warren Jeffs gets life in prison
Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs will get life in prison for sexually assaulting two underage followers. A Texas jury took less than half an hour to come to the decision.
The prosecution says that Jeffs took two teenage members of his Church as brides. DNA evidence proved that he fathered a child with a fifteen-year old.
He is the head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints, a radical branch of the Mormon religion. The group's ten thousand followers believe in polygamy and that Jeffs is God's spokesperson on Earth.
Jeffs defended himself after going through several lawyers, and said his religious rights were violated. He avoided arrest for years, and eventually made the FBI's Most Wanted List.
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