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City comptroller fired in spying scheme
The mayor of Montreal has fired the city’s comptroller amid revelations of a spying scheme involving a city council chairman.
City comptroller Pierre Reid led an investigation aimed at Lachine borough mayor Claude Dauphin. The investigation revealed troublesome details of alleged dealings between Dauphin and a Lachine demolition company.
Mayor Gerald Tremblay is calling for the resignation of Dauphin until an investigation of the matter is settled. Dauphin refuses to step down, claiming he’s done nothing wrong. He maintains that he was anonymously alerted about himself and other elected officials being watched. Surveillance of elected officials is against city by-law.
Opposition leaders have been demanding for Reid’s dismissal after it was revealed that he was also investigating an auditor. Reid, although removed of his position, will remain as a city employee.
An enquiry into these accusations is being handled by provincial police.
Police Still Investigating Chara's Hit
A month after Boston Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara hit another player, the investigation continues, but police wouldn’t say if Chara will be questioned when he comes into town for playoffs this week.
The Bruins’ general manager said the Montreal authorities have been good and nothing “untoward” will happen.
Chara hit Canadiens player Max Pacioretty on March 8 at the Bell centre, leaving him seriously injured. Pacioretty fractured his fourth cervical vertebra and got a concussion.
The investigation began right after the hit, a day after the National Hockey League decided not to suspend Chara.
French religious veil ban comes into effect
France’s ban on wearing Islamic face veils in public officially came into effect Monday. This is the first ban of its kind in the world. Those wearing the religious niqab or burka in public will have to pay a fine of 150 euros, which amounts to about 200 Canadian.
Police have said enforcing the ban will be difficult. The French government believes that the law is to protect the fundamental principles of secularism and gender equality. Meanwhile, many are denouncing the law as Islamophobic and racist.
Protests have been taking place all over the country. Those at a protest in Notre Dame Monday said the ban is an affront to their freedom of expression and religion. Islam is France’s second most popular religion with 5 million practicing Muslims.
Facebook lawsuit may be over
You watched it play out on the big screen, and now the lawsuit against Facebook may be over. It was affirmed on Monday by a federal appeals judge that the Winklevoss twins can’t unwind a settlement they signed three years ago.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss as well as a fellow Harvard classmate filed suit against Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in two thousand and four. They alleged that Zuckerberg stole the idea of Facebook from them. This battle was deeply detailed in last year’s Oscar-nominated movie The Social Network. The trio and their site ConnectU were then countersued for allegedly hacking into Facebook to steal data and spam users.
It took four years of fighting before a settlement of sixty five million dollars was signed by the Winklevosses and their classmate.The value of this settlement was said to be half in cash and the other in Facebook stock. The trio later took the case to court after finding out that Facebook misrepresented the value of its stock.
On Monday, a chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco ruled against them. He said they made a legally binding deal and now they have to stick to it.
Comeback Kid + Title Fight @ Foufounes Electriques
To put things into perspective, this was my first time seeing Comeback Kid. Every time they come to town, I'm always kinda interested, but never enough to make seeing them a priority. Finally, everything came together, the stars aligned, and I got my name on the list! On to the show!
I missed openers Counterparts, The Carrier, and the other band whose name I forget (and who weren't listed anywhere) in favour of trying a friend's copy of the new Resident Evil game. Verdict: it's lame. I probably would have been better off catching Counterparts and The Carrier; they both seem like bands that I'd enjoy.
I did, however, get to Foufounes Electriques in time to see the last few songs of Title Fight's set. Verdict: they're lame. Despite the awesomeness of their name, they didn't have any bark or bite. I don't know why they were second-billed; three people were really into 30 seconds of one song – otherwise the crowd was pretty much dead and bored. Only catching the last 3 songs of bad sets is awesome; it's enough to pass judgment but not so much that I have to suffer.
Comeback Kid hit the stage promptly at 9:05pm, delivered a solid, energetic, enthusiastic, no-frills set and were off the stage by 9:55pm. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am. The complete lack of bullshit was greatly appreciated. There isn't much to comment on about their set except that they did their job and did it well. It is worth noting how all of the songs from Symptoms + Cures completely smoked all of their older songs (except "Wake The Dead", obviously). In particular, "G.M. Vincent & I" and "Because of All" were two songs that really stood out. They aren't my favourite songs from the album, but they were great live and added a lot to the set. Going back to how this was my first time seeing Comeback Kid: I'm glad it was, since I probably liked this show more than I would have any other show they've done here in the past...
-Johnny Suck hosts Turn Down the Suck on Wednesdays from 9-11pm
Party leaders campaign through weekend
It was another weekend of fierce campaigning for Canada’s party leaders.
NDP leader Jack Layton was in Toronto Sunday to unveil his party’s platform. Layton’s plans include a 3 per cent hike in corporate tax rates. This would bring in an estimate $10 billion by 2015. Other NDP platform points include the hiring of doctors and nurses, and tax cuts for job-creating small businesses. Conservative candidate James Moore said the platform would hurt Canadians. He said all the NDP wants is a coalition government and higher taxes.
Conservative leader Stephen Harper was in Acton Vale, Que. He pledged to cut spending by 5 per cent over three years. He would not reveal details, but said vital services would not be affected.
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is in Kingston Monday, where he is scheduled to hold a news conference.
Green Party leader Elizabeth May will not take part in the televised debate tomorrow. But she was interviewed for a half-hour program called Elizabeth May, For the Record on Sunday evening. It aired on several TV stations across the country. May said her party’s priority is winning seats.
Hockey wins over the French-Language debate!
In national news, Hockey wins over politics ! The debate on French language was moved up to Wednesday April 13th, instead of Thursday April 14th. The consortium organizing the debate wanted to avoid a conflict with the opening playoff game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins for viewers.
The concerns came from Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe. A formal request asking to move up the debate was filed due to worried politicians who assumed having the classic Hockey matchup between the two bitter rivals and the debate on the same night would split viewership.
Duceppe mentioned that it was in the interest of democracy to allow the maximum number of people to watch the debate, especially in the middle of election period. The consent of all parties participating in the debate was reached, and all were in favour of allowing the widest audiences possible to view the debate.
Collie Buddz + New Kingston + Los Rakas @ Club Soda
Finally the Buddz come around! Collie Buddz (born Colin Harper), dancehall/ reggae artist, paid Montrealers a visit on Wednesday, April 6th at Club Soda as part of his Playback Tour.
Just before Collie hit the stage, his opening acts set the mood right. Los Rakas warmed up the crowd with the sounds of summer and a high energy, colourful performance. New Kingston kept it sexy for the ladies; they performed their hit song "Dreadlocks", something which all three artists conveniently sported. They kept the crowd grooving and the girls screaming.
Collie finally hit the stage with his live band and soulful backup singer. He got everyone reminiscing as he pulled out some old reggae classics while his backup singer channeling the late, great Bob Marley; they performed "No Woman No Cry," "Murder She Wrote" and "One Love" as intros for Collie's own hits. The crowd willingly danced and sang along. Collie made it feel like it was summer of '07 all over again with "Blind To You," rocked and dipped fans with "Mamacita," showed his fans love with "She Gimme Love" and then performed his best known single "Come Around."
All in all, the talented artist put on a flavourful show. He entertained from start to finish and definitely kept the crowd screaming for more. Definitely be on the look out for the next time "Collie Bud come around."
-Sarah E co-hosts SoReal Radio on Sundays from 12-2pm
Gadhafi Accepts Ceasefire
Colonel Moammar Gadhafi has accepted a roadmap for ending the civil war in Libya.
This announcement came from South African President Jacob Zuma after leading a delegation of African leaders at talks in Tripoli.
The African Union's road map calls for an immediate cease-fire, co-operation in opening channels for humanitarian aid and starting a dialogue between the rebels and the government.
Mr. Zuma also called on NATO to stop air strikes on Libyan government targets
to give ceasefire a chance. The head of the AU's Peace and Security Council says he is confident the rebel leadership will accept the AU's proposal when the delegation presents it on Monday.
Members of the international community have grown doubtful that the opposition can overthrow Gadhafi even with air support. Some are weighing options such as arming the fighters while attempting diplomatic solutions.
PS I Love You talk about Perfect Strangers, Gene Simmons & Other Things
After releasing their critically acclaimed (and much buzzed about) debut full lengthMeet Me at the Muster Station on one of our favourite labels around CJLO, Paper Bag Records, Kingston noise-pop duo PS I Love You dropped by the CJLO studios to record a session and interview.
NOTE - Audio for the interview is available below. Transcription courtesy of Alex Rabot.
Omar: Thanks for coming down to the studio, guys. This was kind of a stripped down set for you cuz we just had a small little practice amp for you...
Paul Saulnier: Yeah, a little bit.
O: I guess that's not what you're usually used to playing live.
P: Not really... I mean, a lot of people will say that any good song will hold up, no matter what the instruments you play, but... that's not true of our songs though.
O: Yeah.
P: At all.
Benjamin Nelson: Should be loud.
O: So, you guy's've been around for a couple of years now, right?
P: Uh, yeah.
O: And you have a 7" (Starfield 7", 2010) and an EP out...
P: We have two 7"s, one we did a split with Diamond Rings, that sold out, and we have a couple of copies left of our Starfield 7", and we have a full length album out on Paper Bag Records... sold out of the vinyl, but we're gonna make more!
B: Yeah, we're gonna make more, thank God, and we'll be putting out more 7"s on Paper Bag.
P: Yeah, soon! Plus Paper Bag is re-issuing our first EP (EP, 2008, first released on Apple Crisp Records), that I did a few years ago, that I just did in Kingston, on my own... it's already available digitally, but we'll have CDs at our shows coming up soon.
O: And you just finished a tour with Diamond Rings recently.
P: We did just a week in Southern Ontario, then Montreal was as far East as we got. That was amazing.
O: Are you guys old buddies with them?
B: Yeah... we've known them for a year and a half now, and it's been best buddies ever since we met.
P: Total best buds.
O: Both of you seem to be getting a lot of press these days, is it kind of bizarre that all of a sudden people are starting to write about you?
B: It's a little weird... it's nice, but I think, we're so busy that we haven't been able to fathom anything, but... it's a little strange...
P: I've tried to fathom.
B: It's more... I've tried to fathom.
P: *laughs*
B: It's more strangers coming to our shows, I guess. Coming to see us and being really into us, it's really nice.
P: It's too many strangers, and our friends who don't buy tickets can't get into shows.
B: Yep, it's true.
O: It must be cool though, after a couple of years of doing this, that all of a sudden, it almost seems like in just a few days or so people have heard the new album and are all over what you're doing.
B: Yeah!
P: Yeah, I guess that's pretty cool, it is encouraging.
O: Have you, FATHOMED IT, Paul?
P: No. *laughs* I'm not fathoming things, and I could probably find things to complain about.
B: You probably could.
O: So you're in Montreal and you're playing the M for Montreal showcase tonight, have you done industry showcases like this before?
P: Uhh, sort of, we played CMW in Toronto.
B: Is CMJ like that?
P: CMJ, in New York, is pretty industry-driven, so yeah, we're familiar with, I guess, this type of crowd.
B: This one seems a little more... focused. Way less bands playing.
O: *laughs* That's a good way to put it.
B: There's less.. there's more focus on finding out which bands people are gonna come see, I dunno. I like it, I really like it. It's short.
O: *laughs*
P: Yeah, we're good at doing short sets! Our songs are short.
O: A short blast?
P: Yeah.
O: Is it weird to be playing to people like that [in the industry] as opposed to fans or the general public.
P: I'm sure it'll be the same... When we play I never look at the crowd...
B: Me neither.
P: ...It's just a bunch of people, right? What's the big deal?
O: Right.
P: Are they all going to be wearing suits, with clipboards?
O: Who knows? With ponytails, and afterwards, they'll be all "we're gonna make you guys STARS". Gene Simmons (The Demon, Kiss) might be there.
B: Yeah... we'll see how that goes.
O: With Gene Simmons?
P: I don't have any comments about Gene Simmons.
B: He's ok.
O: Aww... I was hoping for haters. I hate the guy.
P: Yeah.
O: So much.
P: Yeah, it's kind of a GIVEN...
B: He might be listening.
P: Yeah... he's definitely not listening. We have a lot of private, fun-times hating on Gene Simmons.
B: Yeah.
P: Is this the proper arena to hate on Gene Simmons? Maybe.
O: It's more for private time? And not for public time.
B: I like some Kiss songs! The man, I don't know him. So maybe I'll meet him tonight, and give you my opinion later.
P: It would be great to meet him... I would like to touch his hair. I bet it's like soft steel wool.
O: The full-length (Meet Me at the Muster Station, 2010, Paper Bag Records), how long did it take to put this together?
P: Uh, that actually took a couple of years, because we didn't really go into a studio and record an album in a traditional sense, we kinda, we had friends come into our jam space and record us playing songs, then I would do some overdubs, and we were sort of recording it as we were writing songs. The past couple years.
A couple [songs] were really old ones, Benjamin and I did together. We just took our time, we had it all recorded before we had a record label and stuff, too. We were just recording it because that's what we wanted to do.
B: When we [decided] "let's make a record", we didn't have any full-length plans, at the time, but it gave us a reason to just go ahead and do it and finish it. Document it.
O: Is it hard to find a common thread for all the songs, when you're recording in that manner?
P: Uh, no. There's already common threads between the songs, no matter when they're recorded, they're all mixed and produced by the same person, our friend Matt Rogalsky. We mixed it all in a small studio, and made it sound like all one session. Through the magic of mixing boards. And reverb.
O: It must have a bit of different texture, based on how there's songs from different times...
B: True.
P: It all represents the way, Ben and I, we play live... We always played them the same way live. So they're not going to be any different, one to another.
O: I'm sure people have asked you before, but have you thought of playing with more people? How did it only end up being just you two? Cuz, you're pretty loud for only two guys.
P: Yeah, I sorta... I started this four years ago, when it was just me, it was just for a fun, sort of a weird pop thing, we only started to get really loud when we got Benjamin to play drums, it was like...
O: You had to keep up with him?
P: Yeah, it got gradually louder and louder. And I think we can both agree it's gotten better and better?
B: Sure, yes.
P: *distracted* Um... I've... lost track of what I was saying. What are we talking about?
B: "How did I change your life?"
P: *laughs* THAT's what we were talking about? The question?
B: Yeah, Paul and I, we were in another band, we had a good musical thing, and he had a solo thing, and there was a concert where he was finally gonna play live to release his EP, and I played drums, and it was great, and, I dunno... Paul, you have something to say?
P: I remember what the question was! Why don't we have any other members.
B: Oh, right.
P: I think it was because I'm actually, crazy? It's kind of amazing that I found...
O: Ben can tolerate it?
P: No, no, it's not that, it's not like I'm maniacal, but I'm obsessed with the sound of our band.
B: Yeah.
P: It's kind of amazing that Ben and I work together so well.
B: But if somebody else came into the mix, it would kind of screw things up. Probably.
P: Unless there's, like, a really special person out there.
B: Like John O'Reagan?
P: John O'Reagan, that would be great, but...
B: But that's not gonna happen, no.
P: We're still a duo, we'll always be a duo. Sometimes we'll have guest musicians. And sometimes John O'Reagan, aka Diamond Rings, joins us onstage, and plays guitar, and sings, and stuff. But mostly that's just for fun, excitement, comraderie...
B: And we can't fit another person in the van, so... not gonna happen.
P: No. We really can't.
O: In the band name, the PS, is actually your initials, I think?
P: Yeah, that's the sick joke behind it all...
O: Really?
P: Yep.
B: Yep.
O: Alright, cool... thanks guys, I think I touched a nerve...
P: No, really! You didn't!
B: No problem.
P: It's just I was waiting for you to ask about that movie, but you didn't, so I'm glad!
O: No...
P: I'm really glad.
B: Paul found out recently, though, that there is a Perfect Strangers fanclub that's also called 'PS I Love You'.
O: My sister actually got me Seasons 1 and 2 of that for my Birthday, I was JUST watching some!
P: Yeah, check it out! Perfect Strangers fanclub 'PS I Love You'. It's all online now, but they used to make zines in the 90s.
O: On your next album you could have a picture of Balki on it... you should cover the theme song!
B: We could do something. That's a tough one... did you know, there's Full House, there's Step by Step, and then Urkel, and Perfect Strangers, they all had the same band?
P: Family Matters.
B: Yeah, Family Matters, I know. It was all the same band. You can look that up online.
O: Fun facts with PS I Love You.
P: Was it Jesse and the Rippers?
B: It was not, in fact, Jesse and the Rippers. It was way better.
O: Thanks guys, for coming by!
P: We'll be back.
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