Journal de bord

Canadians love Quebec but Duceppe may not have to work too hard to convince Canadians to let it go. Many are tired of the annoying lament from a province that keeps yelling at those who pay part of its bills and are concerned by the over-representation of francophones in our bureaucracy, our Parliament and our institutions.

The notion that we have to do whatever it takes to keep Quebec happy in order to keep Canada united is not only wrong, it’s counterproductive. In fact, the special treatment given to Quebec is balkanizing this country so that all the provinces are starting to consider Ottawa only as an ATM machine that dispenses money. The new mentality is affecting Ontario, the province that has paid the most, along with Alberta, to sustain the fake equation of a happy Quebec equals a united Canada.

The Star, Angelo Persichilli: “Be careful what you wish for, Monsieur Duceppe”.

Alphabetical echo from Eduard Haiman on Vimeo.

Young people on the Brooklyn waterfront on Sept. 11. © Thomas-Hoepker.

Slate: “I Took That 9/11 Photo”.

The Guardian, Jonathan Jones: “The meaning of 9/11’s most controversial photo”.

Il n’empêche que cette niche fiscale laisse un sale goût dans la bouche des journalistes. Tout le monde comprend bien l’injustice de la mesure et le souci éthique qui se pose. Dans ce débat, les journalistes sont juge et partie puisqu’ils ont le pouvoir de mobiliser ou non l’opinion publique. Ce n’est pas plus glorieux que les parlementaires qui votent eux-même leur rémunération.

Slate.fr, Vincent Glad : “Pourquoi les journalistes payent moins d'impôt”.

Aujourd’hui, la minorité anglophone ne fait plus la loi, les immigrants apprennent le français, et la majorité francophone est bien installée aux commandes. Dans le reste du Canada, l’hostilité de naguère a fait place à une tolérance teintée d’ignorance ou au pire d’impatience -quand le Québec fait la pluie et le beau temps à Ottawa, leur impose le Bloc, puis le NPD… Cela n’est pas peu.

Aucune des injustices et irritants qui ont mené à la création du PQ dans les années 70 n’est encore un facteur aujourd’hui. Et le Québec n’a pas eu besoin de se séparer pour y arriver! On peut donc comprendre qu’une majorité de Québécois -même parmi ceux qui pensent que l’indépendance est un idéal souhaitable -soient aujourd’hui moins pressés de remonter aux barricades d’un troisième référendum: le sentiment d’urgence n’y est plus. Le PQ a été l’artisan de ses difficultés: son action des 30 dernières années a saboté les «conditions gagnantes» d’un référendum…

Journal de Montréal, Benoït Aubin : “La réussite du PQ”.

According to Louis Dreyfus, CEO of Le Monde, discussions are under way concerning a possible partnership between The Huffington Post and the French newspaper La Correspondance de la Presse (a daily newsletter about the media business). Dreyfus doesn’t give many more details, but he adds that the pure-player LePost.fr, launched by Le Monde in 2007, could be used to launch the French version of The Huffington Post. If this is confirmed, it could be a smart move for Arianna Huffington.

Forbes, Benoît Raphaël: “The Huffington Post Could Partner with Le Monde to Launch its French Edition”.

Wikipedia: Barbarella (film).

Byturen.com.

Instead of putting an effort on who is and who isn’t a journalist, why not focus on where the audience is, how diverse the perspectives are and how to get the information more effectively disseminated to everyone? Especially when it sounds like taxpayers are footing the bill for this type of legislation (hard to believe, isn’t it?). If we want to get really raw here…

Why don’t we let the public decide what is credible media instead of letting those who are trying to control the message or those who are trying to hold on to their legacy instead of evolving?

Mitch Joel: “One Step Forward And Fifty Steps Back For Bloggers (And Society)”.

My name is Przemek. I live in Poland.

Gourd lamps are my passion and work. I absolutely love what I do. Take a look on my galleries…

The gourd is an annual tropical vine originating in Africa and Asia. Its dried, lignified fruits are used for various decorative as well as practical purposes.

My lamps are made from this unique fruit through a process of manual perforation and framing.

Wholly natural materials and the highest quality of craftsmanship allow for unusual effects. In each interior they create a unique atmosphere, which makes it possible to enjoy light in more than just pragmatic terms.

As the shape of the fruit is determined by nature, and the framing created manually, each lamp is one of its kind.

I want to make extraordinary lamps for people who appreciate original, exceptional things, highest quality, precision and caring for details.

The September 11, 2001, terror attacks by Al Qaeda were meant to harm the United States, and they did, but in ways that Osama bin Laden probably never imagined. President George W. Bush’s response to the attacks compromised America’s basic principles, undermined its economy, and weakened its security.

The attack on Afghanistan that followed the 9/11 attacks was understandable, but the subsequent invasion of Iraq was entirely unconnected to Al Qaeda – as much as Bush tried to establish a link. That war of choice quickly became very expensive – orders of magnitude beyond the $60 billion claimed at the beginning – as colossal incompetence met dishonest misrepresentation.

Indeed, when Linda Bilmes and I calculated America’s war costs three years ago, the conservative tally was $3-5 trillion. Since then, the costs have mounted further. With almost 50% of returning troops eligible to receive some level of disability payment, and more than 600,000 treated so far in veterans’ medical facilities, we now estimate that future disability payments and health-care costs will total $600-900 billion. But the social costs, reflected in veteran suicides (which have topped 18 per day in recent years) and family breakups, are incalculable.

Even if Bush could be forgiven for taking America, and much of the rest of the world, to war on false pretenses, and for misrepresenting the cost of the venture, there is no excuse for how he chose to finance it. His was the first war in history paid for entirely on credit. As America went into battle, with deficits already soaring from his 2001 tax cut, Bush decided to plunge ahead with yet another round of tax “relief” for the wealthy.

Joseph E. Stiglitz: “The Price of 9/11”.

Les guerres en Afganistan et en Irak représentent 17 000 $ par foyer américain.