The Crazy Left unaccommodating on accommodation

A gaggle of the usual radical left subjects is already condemning a debate on reasonable accomodation as "racist and sexist."

Their diatribe produces golden gems of sociological claptrap like this:

In this respect, we reassert the dynamic nature of the various manifestations of our beliefs or cultural identities, which express themselves within a larger social and political context.

In particular, we observe that the analysis of the oppression of women and gender inequality, as expressed in the mass media, as strictly a phenomenon internal to religions, explicitly ignores the external, universal systems of patriarchy and sexism which all women face, while also definitively homogenizing religion.

Among the things they denounce:
- mass media
- the State
- capitalism (not quite sure what that has to do with Hérouxville)
- "imperialist feminist discourse", whatever that is
- war proponents
- colonialism/imperialism

Things not denounced:
- oppressive religions

CanWest to expand

CanWest Publications, the print media arm of CanWest MediaWorks, which is owned by CanWest Global Communications Corp., is expanding its CanWest News Service to open new bureaus locally and abroad.

What the glowing press release masquerading as a news story doesn't say, however, is that the reason for this expansion is that CanWest is pulling out of Canadian Press, the national nonprofit wire service that just about every news outlet in the country is part of because of its comprehensive coverage of Canadian affairs.

The expansion is necessary because CanWest has no publications east of Montreal and only a couple of bureaus abroad. Pulling out of CP (and by extension losing Associated Press copy as well) will save the chain a few million dollars but kill its main source of wire copy. Even the hiring of 25 new journalists isn't going to make up for all of that.

Nevertheless, I'm not entirely denouncing the decision. Wire copy (and especially copy from CP and AP) is so easy to get online that it gives almost no added value to the newspaper. Those 25 new journalists, however, will probably represent a net gain as far as the industry goes; CanWest represents only about 10 per cent of CP's revenue, far less than it used to now that free wire-service-only papers like Metro and 24 Heures are all over the place.

I could be wrong about this, but I'm hoping that this turns out positively for the industry. I just wish CanWest would do more with its seven-figure savings than hire 25 journalists and pocket the rest.

UPDATE: Deborah Jones has some comments as well on the announced expansion, and some concerns as well.

Today in the paper: Me!

My profile (subscriber-locked) of this blog (Page B2).

The first in the supermarket streeter series, and the accompanying video (Page B4).

And a Bluffer's Guide to celebrities in politics (no link due to a confusion in copyright).

Keep quite!

Here's a sob story about someone coming into town, trying to pay cab fare by credit card, and then giving the guy a 40-cent tip when she finally gets some cash.

Speaking of sob stories...

Did I mention I hate MySpace?

N.Y. man charged with money laundering ... TO TERRORISTS!

The big story is about sending $150,000 to the Middle East, but this man is also charged with laundering money through a Montreal bank account, also allegedly for terrorism purposes.

Rael's UFOland for sale

The world's most notorious attention whore Rael is back, on the front page of the Globe and Mail today with this story about his organization's "UFOland" up for sale for $3 million.

Any takers?

Ryan Larkin died

Ryan Larkin, he of the Oscar-winning NFB film Ryan, died on Valentine's Day.

UPDATE: CP has an obit

OMG: Dog, cat get along

It's all over the press:

Workers at the Meriden Humane Society are marveling at a short-haired mother cat that has adopted a 6-day-old Rottweiler puppy that was rejected by its mother.

Udder failure

Maybe the Vachibou wasn't such a good idea after all (byline is one of my J-school classmates who's clearly more successful than I am).

Reasons not to trust Wikipedia

From today's Gazette:

An item that appeared in last Saturday's Take 5 section ("If there is justice, NFL greats will get digital career replays") and attributed to Wikipedia incorrectly stated The Princeton Review had named Liberty University "the least sexually active university in America." There is, in fact, no such study.

Cranky old guy takes bus

I took the 105 today to get home. Behind me in line was an older fellow, tall with a trenchcoat. He seemed frustrated by something as he put on his tuque, as if he should be yelling at the weather for being cold.

As the bus pulled up beside the long line, he started moving forward ahead of me, as if that would make the line move faster. I quickly reclaimed my place as the line moved forward, and grabbed the last single seat just ahead of him.

I thought nothing of it until he sat down, then quickly got back up and walked toward the driver, with people still getting on. He complained: there's a window open.

To my astonishment, the driver actually got up, walked back and closed the window, explaining to the old man that it's the passengers, not the driver, who control window openings and closings.

The old man didn't seem pleased. As if the world should apologize for inconveniencing him.

Landry gets special treatment

So says The Gazette's Peggy Curran:

"Only a fraction of the $35,000 Concordia University will pay former premier Bernard Landry this semester is for teaching, with the rest covering "other tasks," like networking and forging links with business leaders and government, Concordia officials said last night." more...

Why spend all that money on education when you can hire people to schmooze?

You think he'd see it coming

Now I'm the last person in the world who would make fun of someone's family name.

But you can't help but chuckle when the guy whose car is firebombed (subscriber-only, but the intro paragraph should be enough) is named Denis Laflamme.

Highway robbery

$1,000 to see The Police?

I can't even think of any prostitutes who would charge $1,000 for two hours of entertainment.

For my lady friends on Valentine's Day

A photo of hot man-on-man action at the Genies.

Sober second thoughts

It is now legal to stone women in Hérouxville.

Logic triumphs again

1. New superhospital will have fewer beds than the hospitals its replacing. Big shots say that's fine because despite an aging population, hospitals are more efficient and fewer beds will be needed. Also, flying monkeys will sprinkle pixie dust on patients to speed their recovery.

2. Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital has run out of beds in the ER and has 85 patients on stretchers. This news item has no relation to the previous one.

Peep shows are theatre, judge rules

You can't make this stuff up. An Amsterdam judge rules that peep show club owners get to take advantage of tax breaks for theatre companies.

HD-DVD set free

Proving once again that information cannot protect itself, HD-DVD has been hacked, which will make copying them possible.

BoingBoing's Cory Doctorow makes the point eloquently: When will these companies stop trying to fight a battle that will only get harder for them?

Homolka's mother status downgraded to "unconfirmed"

The nurse union spokesperson who apparently confirmed Karla had a baby is now backtracking faster than Mel Gibson, Ted Haggard and the French army combined.

So technically we don't know for sure that she had a baby. But no doubt all the papers and TV stations have scrambled investigative teams to get the truth out.

You win again urinator

Brilliant spellcheck at the Ottawa Sun reminds us how computers will stop all typos from getting into headlines.

The Rocket steals Genies but loses the big prize

Bon Cop Bad Cop won only two: best picture and best sound.

The Rocket won in 9 of 13 categories it was nominated in, including a braindead obvious best actor award.

Those poor books

A lot of bloggers are up in arms about this La Presse story on the dumping of 500,000 books. English translation/commentary is here.

alt.wesley.crusher.rules.rules.rules

Another hilarious yet insightful review of an early Star Trek: The Next Generation episode from my hero Wil Wheaton. Wil's other ST:TNG reviews

The Left

During the Feb. 7 Day of Action protest, it seems some students were protesting against other students. The leftist group Our Concordia screamed that the Concordia Student Union wasn't doing enough, even signing a petition to that effect.

Also this week, The Link profiles student groups who get their own taxes on students, to try to steer the debate on whether student-funded organizations should have to defend their fees every three years.

The other side of Montreal

This Uncyclopedia page about Montreal has been circulating the local blogs. It makes no sense and is unfunny for anyone over the age of 15, so it'll be spreading like wildfire soon.

He peed freely

Charges dropped against the National War Memorial urinator Stephen Fernandes. He had been charged for the all-encompassing "mischief" (which is legalese for "old people were offended").

The Fraser-Hickson saga continues

Just when you thought it was all over, the dead horse gets another beating.

It's coming

The metro party, at the end of March.

St. Catherine Street is on fire

LCN has some details. CJAD has photos. Word on the street suggests it's on the north side of St. Catherine between St. Mathieu and Fort.

UPDATE: The Gazette has details. Photos from Josh Brown and Christelle FV.

Steps to journalistic success

1. Find a store owner with a temper and unhappy customers.
2. Go to his store with camera in tow.
3. Keep the camera rolling as reporter and subject get into a sissy fistfight.
4. Watch as he barricades himself inside his store and the cops haul him away for assault.
5. Sell the footage to CNN.
6. Profit.

Mainstream media investigates

How online teens (read: idiots) talk, from Canadian Press. Not that I've ever heard teens talk like this. Maybe it's because I'm out of touch.

Has h@x0r d0odism become mainstream?

We've made Fark

A Fark.com post today about this Ottawa Citizen story on how purchases of the gun Kimveer Gill used for the Dawson College shooting have gone up since.

A typical comment from the thread: "Why would sales triple when it has such a lousy kill rate?"

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