Student Strike, Social Struggle #11

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Mon, 2012-05-28 20:43

epaulo13

Student strike talks: Who's who at the tuition negotiation table?

Talks between the government and student organizations will begin again this afternoon, a little more than a month since the last discussions broke off. The negotiations should last over several days with both parties looking for a way to resolve the crisis.

Here’s a look at the crucial people involved in the negotiations and what’s been said about them in the past.....

http://montreal.openfile.ca/blog/montreal/2012/student-strike-talks-whos...

Mon, 2012-05-28 20:50

#53

Bärlüer

Actually, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois and Jeanne Reynolds won't be representing the CLASSE at the negotiation table, contrary to what that article says. CLASSE has a negotiation team of 4 persons (although only one will be allowed to be present at any given time).

Mon, 2012-05-28 20:53

#54

epaulo13

..txs bärlüer

Mon, 2012-05-28 22:11

#55

Unionist

[url=http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/societe/2012/05/28/001-juristes-man... of young lawyers are demonstrating this evening against Bill 78[/url]

Mon, 2012-05-28 22:48

#56

NDPP

It's a lovely sight this developing social solidarity, especially as compared to the deathlike political coma of the ROC. Of course if Charest were to settle with the students and withdraw bill 78, it all comes to a grinding halt right? Pity this isn't a revolutionary movement and prepared to keep going the whole nine yards because they're unlikely to be able to mount this kind of momentum again..

Mon, 2012-05-28 23:10

#57

Boom Boom

Les Casseroles will likely continue in protest of Harper, no?

Mon, 2012-05-28 23:26

#58

NDPP

I hope you're right Boom Boom but if a settlement is reached it's more likely simply back to business as usual..unless there is a conscious effort and mobilization to broaden and deepen the struggle.

Mon, 2012-05-28 23:34

#59

RevolutionPlease RevolutionPlease's picture

C'mon ROC, we can do it.

Mon, 2012-05-28 23:37

#60

Boom Boom

The casseroles facebook page suggests to me that something will go on regardless of a settlement with tuition fees, and, also, as many have already indicated, these protests have gone beyond being just about tuition fees.

Tue, 2012-05-29 07:05

#61

cco

Apparently Charest is summoning all the Liberal MNAs to an extraordinary meeting tomorrow, the day the Superior Court is supposed to hear arguments for an emergency injunction against Law 78. I can't find a link for it online (it was on RDI this morning), but if that's the case, perhaps he's planning to pull the trigger on an election after all, after a token negotiation?

Tue, 2012-05-29 07:07

#62

Unionist

Police arrested more than 70 demonstrators last night outside the building where negotiations were taking place. The demonstration was peaceful throughout, but of course illegal. Among those arrested was at least one member of the CLASSE negotiating committee, Philippe Lapointe. Apparently he joined the demo as he left the building, declining an opportunity to go back inside, but preferring to remain outside in solidarity. I'll provide links to stories if and when available.

ETA UPDATE: It was in fact 84 demonstrators who were arrested as well as a second member of the CLASSE negotiating team, Justin Arcand.

[url=http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/societe/2012/05/28/006-etudiants-35... arrests[/url]

Tue, 2012-05-29 07:12

#63

Unionist

cco wrote:
Apparently Charest is summoning all the Liberal MNAs to an extraordinary meeting tomorrow, the day the Superior Court is supposed to hear arguments for an emergency injunction against Law 78. I can't find a link for it online (it was on RDI this morning), but if that's the case, perhaps he's planning to pull the trigger on an election after all, after a token negotiation?

Here's [url=http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/dossiers/conflit-etudiant/201205/28/01... mention[/url]:

Quote:

Au gouvernement, l'échéance est déjà inscrite pour les négociations. Geste très inusité, le premier ministre Jean Charest a convoqué son Conseil des ministres et son caucus des députés pour une réunion en fin de journée demain.

Dans les officines libérales, on a vite compris que le gouvernement aura à ce moment tiré ses conclusions sur les négociations. On s'attend à ce que Jean Charest soumette alors sa décision pour l'expliquer à l'ensemble des élus libéraux.

De telles réunions extraordinaires sont rarissimes. La décision de déposer un projet de loi spéciale dans l'espoir de régler le conflit - le projet de loi 78 - était passée par le même corridor de réunions et de discussions avant d'être annoncée.

Tue, 2012-05-29 07:36

#64

Slumberjack

NDPP wrote:
Pity this isn't a revolutionary movement and prepared to keep going the whole nine yards because they're unlikely to be able to mount this kind of momentum again..

There's always the slim risk that inertia on the part of government, which is essentially all they're offering in the face of sustained, mass peaceful demonstrations, will result in momentum of a slightly less polite character in the streets. At which point the troublemakers, be they a few dozen or a few hundred thousand, are easily segregated through the use of the media from the general population, and examples made from those rude and brazen enough to disturb the comfortable sleep of the majority.

Tue, 2012-05-29 07:52

#65

Unionist

Recently, Anonymous took down the Ministry of Public Safety and the police ethics commission websites. Now this group of troublemakers is preparing, yet again, to besmirch Québec's pristine human rights' record and scare off tourists. Can nothing be done???

[url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/346279/20120529/anonymous-formula-one-... Threatens F1 Websites and Urges Montreal Grand Prix Boycott against Quebec Human Rights Law [/url]

Quote:

Anonymous has urged racergoers to boycott the upcoming Formula One Grand Prix in Montreal, Quebec, and threatened to take down the Formula One websites to protest against a bill that restricts human rights in the Canadian province. [...]

"It seems that Bernie Ecclestone has not learned anything from his experience in Bahrain," a statement by Anonymous said. "In this case, he now intends to run his race in Montreal, which just recently passed 'Special Law 78' - universally condemned by human rights watchers around the world as tyrannical, draconian - and leaving Quebec in clear violation of its basic human rights obligations."

The collective has announced that it will take all F1 websites offline on 7 June, dump the servers and databases and "wreck anything else F1 related we can find on the internet".

The hacktivists also called on all F1 fans to boycott the Grand Prix in Montreal and not to purchase any tickets online.

"We would like to remind anyone considering attending this abominable race, that last time Anonymous found all the spectators' personal data, including credit card numbers - un-encrypted on F1 servers," the statement said. "And we dumped this information on to the World Wide Web.

"So, we highly suggest that you join the boycott of the F1 in Montreal and we certainly recommend that you NOT purchase any tickets or F1 merchandise online. You have been warned."

Will they stop at nothing?? Heavens!

Tue, 2012-05-29 08:10

#66

Slumberjack

The government isn't prepared to approve of demonstrations that might put the image of the Grand Prix at risk. It has nothing to do with the merits of why people feel compelled to protest because the concerns of the economy will always be more important than that. It is in this light that 'special law 78' might be understood as both an act of desperation and as a warning to the population, which says we your government won't tolerate this pretentious exercise of democratic rights for much longer. It's bad for business.

Tue, 2012-05-29 08:13

#67

cco

So what else could this mean? Another special law? Charest selling some difficult concessions to his caucus? His resignation (we should be so lucky...except not, because Charest is the best chance for a Liberal defeat next election)? What does everyone else think?

Tue, 2012-05-29 08:40

#68

Unionist

cco wrote:
So what else could this mean? Another special law? Charest selling some difficult concessions to his caucus? His resignation (we should be so lucky...except not, because Charest is the best chance for a Liberal defeat next election)? What does everyone else think?

All your options are possible. Here are some more, since we're speculating - one of them is a joke, see if you can spot it:

1. [Extreme measures:] Charest announces another tentative deal with FECQ and FEUQ (maybe TACEQ too). Meanwhile, charges are laid against CLASSE and educational institutions are ordered to stop per capita dues checkoff, use of facilities, etc., as per Bill 78. Bureau-Blouin proclaims success in time to hand over the reins to Éliane Laberge on June 1. Sorry to be nasty, but wasn't he reported to have pleaded with demonstrators this morning to disperse so that they wouldn't be arrested?

2. [Even more extreme:] Charest resigns, introduces his successor Line Beauchamp, in the hope that the mass confusion will put an end to the movement.

3. As a gesture of good faith (!), Bill 78 is repealed, and a tentative agreement is reached shortly after. This is a little more serious than #2. Whoever advised Charest to pass Bill 78 must have been tarred and feathered by now. They don't need it. All the mass arrests etc. have been carried out either under municipal bylaws, with individual fines almost as hefty as the $1000 minimum under 78, or under the provinicial highway code for obstructing traffic, or the Criminal Code. Bill 78 was supposed to terrify people, and it didn't. The only substantive part that was lacking before was the ability to starve and smash the student associations and federations, and they haven't dared to use that yet. See imaginary option #1.

4. None of the above.

What do others think?

Tue, 2012-05-29 10:53

#69

Boom Boom

I think Charest is in deep doo-doo, but maybe not. Haven't watched the news yet.

Tue, 2012-05-29 11:04

#70

NDPP

Quebec Student Talks Resume Amid More Protests

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2012/05/28/quebec-student-n...

"...Nadeau-Dubois said as the talks began that the government must be willing to bargain over its planned tuition fee hike and Bill 78, its controversial legislation that restricts public demonstrations and threatens steep fines for student groups that don't comply. If the government 'refuses to address Bill 768 and tuition fees, it's certain that there'll be considerable doubt about how much time we'll spend at the negotiating table,' Nadeau-Dubois said.."

Leo and his cooler FECQ-head..(and vid)

http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/societe/2012/05/28/006-etudiants-35...

oh well, the student leaders probably won't do any worse in their negotiations with the Liberal government than Andrea Horwath did here..

Tue, 2012-05-29 11:17

#71

kropotkin1951

I think an election call might be in the works. I don't know Quebec politics well enough to know which and how many of his cronies have their long knives out but as a general rule corrupt governments usually have no problem cutting off the head and replacing it if the "real" power brokers think it will keep the corruption pipeline flowing.

In BC the Liberals are in fire sale mode knowing they will lose the election next May. The question for me in Quebec is whether the polls are so bad or do the real crooks running the Quebec Liberal party think they have a chance at winning a snap election call. Otherwise they will go back to stripping the provinces' resources with more of the Plan Nord variety mega projects until they absolutely have to go to the polls.

ETA: #3

Tue, 2012-05-29 11:56

#72

Leigh

Two wrongs don't make a right; we each have a human right to personal privacy, also upheld by Babble Policy. It's hypcritical to say you're promoting human rights and freedoms by attacking others' human rights.

It's also hypocritical for Charest to say he's got no alternative than to raise tuition, when he's wasted hundreds of millions of dollars, if not more, in cost overruns with dubious private contractors. Ellen Russell at Rabble today also says Quebec, or any province/territory could choose to increase taxes, hopefully she means corporate and wealth taxes particularly as those are the sectors benefitting from government handouts, running up the bills unnecessarily for government.

Tue, 2012-05-29 12:03

#73

epaulo13

Quebec unrest generates more than 3,000 news reports in 77 countries: analysis

The civil unrest consuming Quebec is also seizing media attention abroad — with more than 3,000 news reports from 77 different countries in recent weeks.

That’s according to an analysis released Monday by Montreal-based company Influence Communication, which is monitoring Canadian and foreign media coverage of the conflict.

Influence analyst Caroline Roy said the student crisis generated 66-times more foreign news coverage in two months than Canada’s entire mission in Afghanistan — this country’s most extensive international undertaking since the Korean War.

“It’s pretty significant and I would say that we have rarely seen Quebec get so much coverage internationally,” Ms. Roy said.

She said the volume of foreign coverage spiked a couple of weeks ago, after Quebec adopted an emergency law that sets out to clamp down on demonstrations with strict rules and steep fines.

The nature of the coverage has shifted, even inside Quebec.....

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec-unrest-generates-mo...

Tue, 2012-05-29 12:05

#74

Leigh

i don't really have a lot of time today for scenarios and guessing games, though i'm sure they're important..

it did bother me that students said they graduate with too much debt, insufficients jobs are available, housing and other costs are out of reach..i know students in other provinces and their families face similar challenges.

Tue, 2012-05-29 12:20

#75

epaulo13

drift....

Students squat Faculties at the Universidad de la Laguna in the Struggle against Cuts

The following report was sent in by an activist involved in the ongoing occupation on May 23rd:

My name is Florencia, I am one of the students who are occupying the Fine Arts building at the Universidad de La Laguna in Tenerife. Let me explain why we are here.
On April 20th, the Spanish government published a Royal Decree in order to reduce the budget in education by 3,000 million euros, for which the following measures will be taken:

Controlling the growth of the Universities and the creation of new centers. (We are specially affected by this, since our building is seriously damaged, old, and inappropriate, and they will stop building the new one, that is halfway built by now.)
Controlling the hiring of teachers (200 professors will be fired in our university alone)
Roughening the requirements for accessing scholarships. This will make it nearly impossible for students to balance studying and working. Soon only the wealthy will be able to access higher education.
Controlling thoroughly the teacher’s research.
If Universities overdue the budget they will be fined.
University fees will rise significantly. Enrollment for an undergraduate degree currently costs around 700/800 euros, but next year it will rise up to 1,900.

http://ism-global.net/

...end drift.

Tue, 2012-05-29 12:44

#76

Boom Boom

Leigh wrote:

It's also hypocritical for Charest to say he's got no alternative than to raise tuition, when he's wasted hundreds of millions of dollars, if not more, in cost overruns with dubious private contractors. Ellen Russell at Rabble today also says Quebec, or any province/territory could choose to increase taxes, hopefully she means corporate and wealth taxes particularly as those are the sectors benefitting from government handouts, running up the bills unnecessarily for government.

From a HuffPost link:

Another option kept out of discussion is corporate taxes. In 2011, Quebec eliminated the corporate tax on paid-up capital, denying itself hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue each year. Or take the general corporate income tax rate, which, at 28.4 per cent, means that Quebec has one of the lowest rates in North America.

Certainly, the argument that corporations should pay for universities via taxes is particularly strong, given that they benefit immensely from a skilled workforce. After all, would any of the big pharmaceutical companies in Quebec have even considered locating in the province if there were no talented researchers to hire?

and:

"...And what about mining royalties? Quebec is extremely well endowed with raw materials and natural resources, but are citizens getting a fair share of that wealth? In 2011, MiningWatch Canada and Québec meilleure mine observed that the province "still ranks near the bottom of the heap in the collection of mineral royalties," and that it "was only paid $114 million on revenues of over $5.6 billion." It is no coincidence that only a couple of months after Premier Jean Charest went on his province-wide dog and pony show to sell off Québec's immense northern riches, through his Plan Nord, students went on strike over plans to raise tuition fees."

Tue, 2012-05-29 12:48

#77

NDPP

Chile: Students March, Support Quebec Strikers

http://www.ww4report.com/node/11123

"...The students continued to call for a return to free higher education, dismissing as inadequate the concessions made recently by rightwing president Sebastian Piera, who proposed raising the corporate tax rate so the government can provide low interest student loans. On May 24 a number of Chilean academics and student leaders, including FECH president Boric and Vice President Camila Vallejo Dowling, signed a declaration of support for the Quebec movement.

The signers strongly denounced Law 78, which the Quebec government passed on May 19 in an effort to end the student strike by criminalizing many types of protest and penalizing calls for these protests. 'The people of Quebec ahve stood with the people of Chile during long years in active solidarity,' the Chileans wrote.

'It is for this reason that we feel called upon to express and demonstrate our broadest solidarity with the student organizations and their leaders, with their union federations and with the whole citizens movement.."

Tue, 2012-05-29 12:52

#78

Boom Boom

CBC reports: Negotiations are set to resume at 1 p.m. ET today between student leaders and Quebec's education minister, after the first day of another round of talks ended with no resolution to the province's long-simmering student crisis

Tue, 2012-05-29 13:05

#79

Boom Boom

Photo of the day!

Tue, 2012-05-29 13:21

#80

Boom Boom

Don Macpherson: F1 puts negotiations on the fast track

The Charest government is feeling pressure from tourism industry and businesses that have been disrupted by the strike

(the author takes a shot at CLAC at the end)

Tue, 2012-05-29 14:36

#81

epaulo13

..sorry boom boom that you can't watch this!

Run SPVM Run

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fyyz-ugpl8k

eta: comment made

Oui, c'est effectivement au coin de Saint-Denis et Ontario. J'ai assisté à cette scène de la terrasse du St-Bock où j'étais pour prendre une bière en toute neutralité. Remarquez la présence des deux voitures de police qui ont été abandonnées volontairement à cette intersection pendant un très long moment. À mon avis, il s'agissait d'un acte volontaire pour provoquer un débordement pour discréditer le mouvement : ce qui ne s'est pas produit! Finalement, le SPVM est revenu en force par la suite.

Tue, 2012-05-29 16:35

#82

Boom Boom

Charest just gave a brief press conference and said the negotiations are going well - he himself was in the discussions for an hour, and said they will continue.

In other news, the head of CLASSE pled 'Not Guilty' to the charge of 'contempt' for allegedly counselling students to defy the law.

Tue, 2012-05-29 19:58

#83

epaulo13

NDPP wrote:

oh well, the student leaders probably won't do any worse in their negotiations with the Liberal government than Andrea Horwath did here..

..there's a real democratic difference between this and the horwath situation in that it is the student assemblies who will decide what to accept or reject.

Tue, 2012-05-29 21:36

#84

epaulo13

United Church takes students’ side in protests

Representatives of Canada’s largest Protestant denomination added their voices Sunday to a growing number of social justice groups denouncing the Charest government’s special law aimed at bringing an end to months of student unrest.

About 300 delegates attending the Montreal and Ottawa Conference of the United Church of Canada adopted a motion calling for the law to be annulled, saying that rather than restore peace and order, it has “thrown oil on the flames.”

The motion denounced violence by “a minority of protesters and some police” and called for a negotiated settlement. It called on both parties in the dispute to “approach the search for a negotiated settlement in the spirit of flexibility and compromise.”....

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/United+Church+takes+students+side+protests/6687921/story.html#ixzz1wJQV12za

Tue, 2012-05-29 21:53

#85

Freedom 55

Boom Boom wrote:

Don Macpherson: F1 puts negotiations on the fast track

The Charest government is feeling pressure from tourism industry and businesses that have been disrupted by the strike

(the author takes a shot at CLAC at the end)

Don Macpherson wrote:

On Sunday, the radical anti-capitalist CLAC [b](not to be confused with CLASSE)[/b] issued a call to disrupt Grand Prix events in protest over five causes.

Although, Sun News hilariously [url=http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/canada/archives/2012/05/20120507-15... them with CLAQ[/url], la [url=http://www.bibliopolis.net/claq/]Confrérie de la Librairie Ancienne

du Québec[/url].

Sun News wrote:

Federal spies are in Quebec to gather intelligence on subversive groups suspected of infiltrating student demonstrations to instigate violence, QMI Agency has learned.

[...]

Also of interest, sources said, are three communist groups - the Revolutionary Communist Party (PCR-RCP), [b]the CLAQ (Confrerie de la librairie ancienne du Quebec)[/b], and the Union Communiste Libertaire.

Tue, 2012-05-29 22:05

#86

Leigh

http://cupe.ca/government/act-hidden-budget-bill-begins-sell-off

Students, and all Ontarians, would likely reject privatization of all Ontario government services, buried in McGuinty's omnibus bill.

Schedule 28 allows for privatization of healthcare, OHIP, school boards, hospitals, even municipal public services, water, parks, and sell-off of public assets, with only a nod from a single 'privatization' Minister (rather than through parliament, and many ministries' legislation);

and allows private corporations to charge fees, kept for private profit, currently illegal under the Financial Administration Act.

Most Canadians, Quebecers, First Nations, and others would likely reject Harper's elimination of staff responsible for oil spills, (CBC As It Happens, this evening) and other cuts (babble threads -'Harper's austerity')

Tue, 2012-05-29 22:10

#87

kropotkin1951

Sun News wrote:

Federal spies are in Quebec to gather intelligence on subversive groups suspected of infiltrating student demonstrations to instigate violence, QMI Agency has learned.

Look in the mirror is my advice to them then arrest themselves for being fascists.

Tue, 2012-05-29 23:43

#88

genstrike

Boom Boom wrote:

Charest just gave a brief press conference and said the negotiations are going well - he himself was in the discussions for an hour, and said they will continue.

In other news, the head of CLASSE pled 'Not Guilty' to the charge of 'contempt' for allegedly counselling students to defy the law.

Who is this Morasse guy who is bringing the charges forward? I'm curious if he's just a random right-wing student or if he's in Charest's pocket.

Part of me thinks that not even the Charest government is stupid enough to jail Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. Seems to me like arresting a charismatic leader of a movement at such a critical time and essentially making him into a martyr figure is more likely to backfire on Charest than it is to help him. That said, the Quebec government has already shown themselves to be prone to stupid jackboot antics with bill 78.

On the other hand, jackboot thugs like Charest and Raitt just never learn.

Tue, 2012-05-29 23:57

#89

Boom Boom

Yeah, jailing Gabriel would be a huge act of stupidity. No question. Charest is the one who should be doing jail time for so massively mishandling Quebec finances.

Wed, 2012-05-30 00:01

#90

6079_Smith_W

Boom Boom wrote:

Don Macpherson: F1 puts negotiations on the fast track

The Charest government is feeling pressure from tourism industry and businesses that have been disrupted by the strike

(the author takes a shot at CLAC at the end)

Don Macpherson wrote:

On Sunday, the radical anti-capitalist CLAC [b](not to be confused with CLASSE)[/b] issued a call to disrupt Grand Prix events in protest over five causes.

Although, Sun News hilariously [url=http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/canada/archives/2012/05/20120507-15... them with CLAQ[/url], la [url=http://www.bibliopolis.net/claq/]Confrérie de la Librairie Ancienne

du Québec[/url].

Actually when I read the first reference I thought it was this CLAC:

http://www.clac.ca/

Wed, 2012-05-30 00:13

#91

Unionist

genstrike wrote:

Part of me thinks that not even the Charest government is stupid enough to jail Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.

Forty years ago this month, the Liberal government of Robert Bourassa (or rather, the courts enforcing Bourassa's strike-breaking law) sent the leaders of the three union federations to prison for one-year terms, when they were found guilty of violating a court injunction by calling on workers to defy the law. They ended up serving about six months each. And a few months later, Bourassa was re-elected. The workers' movement wasn't strong and united enough to defend itself and its leaders.

The charges against Nadeau-Dubois are the same - although if you look at the words he spoke (talking about "picket lines"), it's hard for me to see how he will be convicted. But I've underestimated our unjust society in the past, so don't take my word for anything.

IMO the Charest government is neither smart nor stupid. It is calculating. Same as the PQ and the CAQ. They will all gauge the strength and unity of the movement, and act accordingly.

On April 27, Minister of Public Safety Robert Dutil [url=http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/actualites/education/201204/27/01-45194... accused[/url] Nadeau-Dubois of inciting violence, and said it was up to the police and the courts whether they wanted to charge him. So this charge isn't just being brought by some crusading asshole. It answers a call issued at the highest level, but in a way where the government can keep its hands "clean" if need be.

These are dangerous times, but full of excitement and opportunity as well. When I went out and banged my pot at 8 pm this evening, it sounded like the melody of a new dawn breaking. That and the lightning and the thunder made for a heady combination. I can hardly wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Wed, 2012-05-30 00:16

#92

Freedom 55

Haha, yes, there's that CLAC too. Same acronym, [i]very[/i] different politics.

Wed, 2012-05-30 00:41

#93

Boom Boom

He (Gabriel) probably has the support of these folks:

Wed, 2012-05-30 09:55

#94

Bärlüer

Freedom 55 wrote:

Although, Sun News hilariously [url=http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/canada/archives/2012/05/20120507-15... them with CLAQ[/url], la [url=http://www.bibliopolis.net/claq/]Confrérie de la Librairie Ancienne

du Québec[/url].

Sun News wrote:

Federal spies are in Quebec to gather intelligence on subversive groups suspected of infiltrating student demonstrations to instigate violence, QMI Agency has learned.

[...]

Also of interest, sources said, are three communist groups - the Revolutionary Communist Party (PCR-RCP), [b]the CLAQ (Confrerie de la librairie ancienne du Quebec)[/b], and the Union Communiste Libertaire.

They're not kidding around, those librarians. I hear they have at their disposal dangerous chemicals for the "preservation" of "books".

Wed, 2012-05-30 11:53

#95

Unionist

Boom Boom wrote:

He (Gabriel) probably has the support of these folks:

The government was [b]not very happy[/b] about this demo of 500 lawyers. One of the organizers works for the SAAQ (the government auto insurance agency). Yesterday, Liberal transportation minister Pierre Moreau (also a lawyer) had a public tantrum, in which he declared that his colleague should be "severely sanctioned" for his "disloyalty" to the employer - he mentioned that the sanction could be anything from a verbal reprimand to dismissal.

Isn't this how desperate regimes behave just before the people put them out of their misery?

[url=http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/Politique/2012/05/30/001-ministre-p...

Wed, 2012-05-30 12:14

#96

6079_Smith_W

Unionist wrote:

Yesterday, Liberal transportation minister Pierre Moreau (also a lawyer) had a public tantrum, in which he declared that his colleague should be "severely sanctioned" for his "disloyalty" to the employer - he mentioned that the sanction could be anything from a verbal reprimand to dismissal.

Wow. That's a bit of a gaffe. I mean we all know they think they own the law, but they aren't supposed to come out and say it openly.

Pay no attention to the man behind that curtain!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZR64EF3OpA

Wed, 2012-05-30 12:36

#97

NDPP

'Financial Dictators Rule US, Canada: Analyst (and vid)

http://presstv.com/detail/2012/05/30/243817/canada-governmet-control-plu...

"Canadians have turned their initial tuition hike protests into a much broader protest movement with assorted demands ranging from economic demands to environmental and humanitarian issues. Panelists Edward Corrigan, Michel Chussodovsky, Enayatullah Andrabi

Wed, 2012-05-30 12:59

#98

kropotkin1951

Why is it that Press TV is the only news channel I try to watch that does not stream properly. It pauses and jerks and makes one want to turn it off. Why is that does anyone know?

Wed, 2012-05-30 13:12

#99

Unionist

kropotkin1951 wrote:

Why is it that Press TV is the only news channel I try to watch that does not stream properly. It pauses and jerks and makes one want to turn it off. Why is that does anyone know?

It worked fine for me. Although in this case, I must confess to some skepticism when the announcer stated that an independent Québec was at the centre of the current movement. I also see little value in sourcing an Iranian interview with three non-Québec personalities if one wishes to gain an understanding of the movement. But that's just me.

Wed, 2012-05-30 13:15

#100

NDPP

Sabotage should not be ruled out. I'm sure that those who infect Iran with Stuxnet and Flame can and probably do tricks with Press TV as well.

Wed, 2012-05-30 13:36

#101

kropotkin1951

I just wonder if my corporate internet provider is somehow involved. You are right Unionist that Press TV is not a reliable source on most things. Like the CBC though if you pick through the propaganda you can find some relevant facts. I more wanted to see what the people of Iran are being told about the events rather than looking at it for a good analysis.

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