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May 2nd 2011

News read by Sofia Gay

Produced by Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo

Stories by Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo, Chris Hanna, Sofia Gay and Sarah El Fangary.

Two Canadian Men Found Dead in Hong Kong Hotel

Two Canadian men were found dead in Hong Kong over the weekend. They were discovered in their room at a tourist hotel Saturday afternoon. Police say they also found an unidentified white powder near the bodies. 

Officials say it was the cleaning staff at the Metropark Hotel who found the bodies, one in the washroom and the other on a bed. Neither man has been identified. 

Autopsies will be performed to determine the exact cause of death.

More flood warnings for Quebec

Those affected by the floods last week are not out of the woods yet.

Residents living near Richelieu River and Missisquoi Bay are being warned of more flooding expected this week. The forecast calls for rain from Monday to Thursday.

Residents are being warned to take all necessary precautions and watch out for more warnings.

The flooding from last week broke several records. The water levels of Lake Champlain hit a record high on Sunday.

About 1600 homes have been flooded. But so far, there have been no injuries.

Quebec mystery writer wins fourth consecutive Agatha Award

Quebec writer Louise Penny won her fourth Agatha Award in a row on Saturday for her novel Bury Your Dead. The Agathas are given to mystery novels first published in the US by a living author. Bury Your Dead is the sixth book in her Inspector Gamache series. Gamache, the protagonist, is a francophone homicide detective living in Outremont.

This is not the first time the mystery writer has won acclaim for the books. The last three Inspector Gamache books earned her other three Agatha Awards. Her novels been translated into over 16 languages. Penny is an international bestselling author.  She lives south of Montreal.

Ol' Savannah Live on Edge Of The City

Fresh off their Big Chill Tour in Ontario, Ol' Savannah are gearing up for their album launch on May 6th, 2011 at Divan Orange.

But first, listen to them on Edge of the City this Monday from noon to 2 p.m. as they do a special in-studio session and interview!

Youth Action Montreal speakers advocate community involvement

Community involvement was the theme of Thursday’s Youth Action Montreal conference. Hundreds of Concordia students and Montrealers gathered at Palais des Congres to hear from keynote speakers about the economy, climate change and the AIDS pandemic. Speakers like David Suzuki, Stephen Lewis and Craig Kielburger offered suggestions for way to start making a difference in the world, starting at home.

Last-minute addition Stephen Lewis was a crowd favourite. He and Craig Kielburger were added to the line-up after Kofi Annan was forced to withdraw. His expertise was needed on a peace mission in the Ivory Coast. Lewis and David Suzuki also conducted a short question and answer period.

All photos by Erica Fisher unless otherwise noted.

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Stephen Lewis, Former United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa

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Craig Kielburger, Co-Founder, Free the Children & Me to We

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Gabriel Bran Lopez, Founder, Youth Fusion

Photo by Alex Menjivar

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Dr. David Suzuki

Kataklysm

I’m a “metal” (used in quotes here because I sometimes deviate from playing metal on my show because of my short attention span and my belief that - OH LOOK A SHINY THING!) DJ at a college/community station in Canada. This means I have a wide range of material that I can play. The only real guideline I have to meet is that a percentage of the music I play needs to be Canadian. Also, CJLO tells me that some of my show needs to be new music. Now I’m a person that likes efficiency, so if I can find something that is both Canadian and new, well, I just get “pleased as punch.” Here’s the trouble though: Canadian metal artists either aren't consistently releasing new stuff or aren’t sending it to us at CJLO (hint hint, nudge nudge). This means that I normally have to get either something Canadian or something new, which means I have less time to play things that are neither, which means I become sad.

So imagine my happiness when Kataklysm released their newest album, Heaven’s Venom. It was both new and Canadian, so naturally I went to it without hesitation, and was pretty happy with the results. Of course, I’ve been happy with their output in the past, so I had no reason to think I wouldn’t this time. I was happy to see that the band’s “northern hyperblast”, as they dub it, or “awesome” as I call it, was in full effect for this album.

Now I’ve been hard on death metal albums in the past, but for some reason this album didn’t force me into a state of boredom the way others have as of late. I can’t really explain it, because, really, if you like one Kataklysm album, the chances are that you’ll like all Kataklysm albums; they have a formula that works for them and they stick to it. This usually leads me to get bored with a band quickly (see Shadows Fall) or cause me to hate what they’re doing outright (see Linkin Park).

So does this sound like other Kataklysm albums? Yes. If you like death metal and blast beats and angry vocals, will you like this? Probably. Is it a huge genre defining album the likes of which has an originality all its own? Not so much. It borrows from pretty much all other cues of the genre, and for that matter other Kataklysm albums; but hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, am I right? The album sounds great, the song writing is aggressive, the blast beats are brutal, and basically everything is pretty damn great about it.

So, if you’re in need of some metal “comfort food”, check out this album. You won’t be blown away, but you’ll feel better, and sometimes that’s all you need.

-Andrew Wixq hosts Grade A Explosives on Thursdays from 3-5pm

CJLO News - April 29 2011

News read by Jessica MacDonald and produced by Erica Bridgeman

Stories written by Erica Fisher, Michael Lemieux, Aisha Samu and Jessica MacDonald

Possible car sharing service in Montreal

A Quebec company is looking to launch a new pay by the minute car sharing service in Montreal.

Communauto is hoping the success of the Bixi bikes in Montreal will translate to a success in the car sharing business. The Bixi’s and the car sharing service work similarly.

The plan is to spread about 400 cars downtown in areas like the Bixi’s. These cars could be taken without reservation or limit. After they could be parked at one of many designated parking locations, or any legal parking spot. A smartphone then helps customers looking for the nearest available car.

While the cost has not been confirmed a company official has said the price would be around $0.50 a minute, or $14 an hour up to a maximum of $65 in one day.

The plan is still in the works though. Communauto is in talks with the city which would have to approve the idea. Problems such as what cars to use and insurance issues still remain.

Communauto’s plan would like to imitate the successful Car2Go service that started in Germany in 2008 and has since spread to the United States.

A success for Earl Jones victims

Victims of the Earl Jones Ponzi scheme will have a greater chance of reclaiming money lost from the illicit scam. A ruling by the Quebec court cancels several contracts still connected to Jones and his victims. This allows the 77 victims to begin to discuss tax reimbursements with the Canada Revenue Agency and Revenue Quebec. Together they paid an estimated three million dollars in income taxes based off of invented interest income created by Jones.

Members of the committee fighting for the tax reimbursements are relieved by the court’s decision. One member said that refunds are expected to be processed within the next thirty days.

Last year Jones, a former West Island financial advisor, pleaded guilty to fraud and theft charges. He is currently serving eleven years in prison.

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