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March 31st 2011
Read by Joel Balsam
Produced by Dominique Daoust and Melissa Mulligan
Stories by Melissa Mulligan, Jessica MacDonald,A.J. Cordeiro and Alina Gotcherian
Al-Hassad ruins Syria's hopes of reform
In a recent public address, Syrian president Bashar al-Hassad has decided not to give in to protesters’ demands for reform. In a highly anticipated speech, the president did not announce any significant political reforms, disappointing protesters and international observers alike.
He declared that the preservation of Syria’s stability is most important at this time, despite having been labelled a ‘reformer’ by the Obama administration. He claims that protesters are taking advantage of the calls for reform in order to get people to join their demonstrations. He refers to these people as enemies of the country.
His plan is similar to that of leaders in Saudi arabia, Bahrain and Jordan: acting with impunity while riding out the protests.
Toronto police arrest alleged future terrorist
A Canadian man was arrested at Toronto's Pearson International Airport Tuesday evening in what's being called a new kind of terrorist case. The man, 25-year-old Mohamed Hersi, is being accused of attempting to participate in terrorist activity.
Although his boarding pass said he was bound for Egypt, police allege that the young Muslim man was actually headed to Somalia. Officials say Hersi quit his job in order to enlist with a group of Somalian insurgents linked to al-Qaeda.
Police say they spent 6 months investigating the case before making their pre-emptive arrest. They are not revealing any other details or evidence, except that they were helped by tips from the community.
A Toronto Imam said people are shocked because Hersi is known as a quiet and studious university-educated man.
March 30th, 2011
Read by Sarah Deshaies
Produced by Nikita Smith
Stories by Joel Balsam, Cassandra Keating, Sarah Deshaies
Elizabeth May Not Wanted
Green party leader, Elizabeth May, has not been invited to the election debate. The broadcast consortium that hosts the debate decided May is not welcomed. Marco Dube, consortium spokesperson, said the five broadcasters wanted to invite only the four parties in the House of Commons. With the support of a million Canadians across the country, the Green party has yet to elect an MP.
During the 2008 election May was allowed a spot at the debate table after a fierce public backlash. Only Stephane Dion, welcomed Green party’s participation in the debate. At the time the, Blair Wilson, was the only Green MP in the House. May’s strong performance during the debate raised the party’s profile. It also got them 6.8% of the vote, the party’s best ever. This year, none of the three House party leaders have raised their voice in support. They say it is up to the broadcasters. The Conservatives have remained silent.
Camille Labchuk, the party spokesperson, said once again they will fight for May’s inclusion.
Ignatieff rolls out campaign promise that benefits students
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has made his first big campaign promise, and it's a policy that could benefit students.
The Learning Passport plan would hand students cash for class. In return, Ignatieff said the plan would help make Canada the most educated country around.
By 2012 you could receive one thousand dollars a year for post-secondary studies up to a maximum of four thousand dollars. Students from low income families could receive up to fifteen hundred dollars a year – to a maximum of six thousand dollars.
And just where would all that money come from? The permanent measure would cost one billion dollars. And the funding would come from the corporate tax cut plan the Liberals intend to cancel.
Students would be able to withdraw the money through a service that already exists - the Registered Education Savings Plans.
Royksopp @ Club Soda
The Norwegian electro/dance duo Röyksopp, composed of Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland, recently stopped by Club Soda for a night of great music. It had been a while since we’ve seen the duo in Montreal and so their return was greatly anticipated – so much so that they played to a sold out Club Soda! I must say, I’ve been a fan ever since I heard “Remind Me” from their debut album, Melody AM, in Robot Food’s Lame (my favourite snowboarding movie). What I’ve always liked about them is their mix of downbeats, drum machines, guitar and vocals, which, when blended all together, give the duo their distinctive sound.
So, last Saturday I was really excited to have a chance to see them live, but I didn‘t know what to expect. Was I going to see two guys, their synthesizers and their drum machines, or not? I wasn’t disappointed at all; yes the two were behind their synths, and they also had two guitarists with them. When the show opened, the two guitarists were dressed in black and sporting what looked a pillowcase over their heads while they played the familiar notes of “Eple”. They managed to build enough hype to last the whole show with the just first songs! Most of them are fan favorites: “So Easy”, “Remind Me” (my favourite) and “Sparks” (complete with live vocals by Anneli Drecker). The guys were able to balance their set list with songs from both of their last two albums, Junior and Senior.
Although they did go on for more then an hour and a half, the crowd was hooked on every song! Those on the floor didn’t stop dancing for the entire show; and you know the show is good when even the people in the balconies start dancing! Thankfully, the sound at the club soda sounded good for once.
I find it really nice when groups aren’t afraid to experiment with new sounds or wear props during a show. During “The Girl and The Robot”, Torbjørn wore a robot looking mask and Anneli had a faux-fur feline mask on while she sang “Tricky Tricky” at the end of the concert. They experimented with new sounds by performing a dubstep-inspired version of ‘’Have Another Cherry’.”
Even if they didn’t play a few songs I would’ve loved hearing live, like “Triumphant”, “Silver Cruiser”, “Circuit Breaker” and “A Beautiful Day Without You,” the concert was awesome! Yes, awesome and amazing! It was one of those concerts you come out of wanting more (in the good way). It should’ve gone on for hours, but all good things come to an end. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take that long before the boys come back to Montreal!
-Alex Menjivar co-hosts Phantastiq Cypha on Fridays from 4-6pm
Quebec City Takes Another Step Towards Possible Olympic Bid
The Quebec government has taken a big step towards the possibility of submitting a bid for the Winter Olympics. The government has hired the architecture and design firm Populous to help prepare a prep bid.
Sam Hamad - the minister for Quebec City- says Populous knows what to do as they are very specialized in sports infrastructure. Populous has worked on the planning and design of almost every Olympics since ninety ninety six.
Hamad says the province is proceeding with the bid even though Quebec City has not made an official decision on whether they want to host the games.
The province hopes to bid for either the two thousand twenty two Winter Games or two thousand twenty six.
Brennan Richer
When Brennan Richer came to CJLO, the station was a very different place. Some DJs hosted for themselves, using the air time as an outlet to express themselves. Others hosted for their community, as a means to promote the culture of their musical taste. Lastly some hosted with all that and more in mind. Not only to promote their show, their genre but for everyone. Brennan Richer has always been one of those DJs and has paved the way for a generation of DJs who approach their shows in that manner. As the host of The Almighty Riff, he has been a staple of the Sunday line and has been a key to building its popularity.
What makes Brennan special is his ability to pull anyone in. Imagine a quiet Sunday evening, you turn on your radio, start going through the dial all of a sudden you hear a voice. It’s not just any voice; the person on air is confident, charismatic and loves the music he plays. He’s very knowledgeable and his goal is to give you an experience that will keep you coming back every week. That would be Brennan and listeners tuned in every week for his unique style and great showmanship.
With that said The Almighty Riff will be having its last show this week. CJLO would like to thank Brennan for his years of dedication, his love for the station and wish him the best in all his future endeavors.
Make sure to tune in this Sunday April 3rd for The Almighty Riff Finale at 6pm EST.
Concordia Trade Union Workers Protest
The Metallos union local 9538 represents carpenters, steelworkers and other tradesmen that uphold the buildings on Concordia’s two campuses. One member called out the university for raising tuition fees for students while executive’s wages stay high. He doesn't feel that union workers can survive on these low wages.
According to union member Pat Tafuto, the proposed deal did not offer three categories of tradesmen raises at all. Tafuto and about 20 others picketed outside of the Loyola campus in solidarity with their colleagues from the Sir George Williams Campus. Despite being in the same union, the two campuses have different contracts.
The staff at SGW have been without a contract since May 31, 2008. About 60 of them have protested angrily, chanting loudly in the street.
The Loyola union workers are not in contract negotiations yet, but they will be soon. They are awaiting anxiously the outcome of negotiations downtown. The members would not say if they will resort to a strike, but Tafuto hopes it will not resort to that. Until then, workers plan to picket during their lunch breaks to get the attention of Concordia administration.
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