When Bernie Sanders Stopped Playing the Hits
You may have seen that meme. The one contrasting two Bernie Sanders rallies. In the first image, taken when he was still running for President, Bernie’s in a stadium surrounded by thousands of people. In the second, he’s promoting Hillary Clinton to about 150 people in what looks like some sort of auditorium: So, what […]
FTB Podcast #30: Pipelines, Green Party Problems and the STM
Jason is back for a new season of the FTB Podcast! Panelists Mirna Djukic and Cem Ertekin discuss the Dakota Access Pipeline, the problems happening within the Canadian Green Party with an interview from Quebec Green Leader Alex Tyrrell and our News Roundup segment. Plus the Community Calendar and Predictions! Host: Jason C. McLean Producer: Hannah Besseau […]
Charlotte Under State of Emergency After Two Days of Unrest
Forty-four hours after the police shot and killed another person of colour, Charlotte (North Carolina) is under a state of emergency. One man is on life support and the mayor is raising the possibility of imposing a curfew amidst calls for peace and demands for answers. It all started Tuesday with a despairingly familiar scenario: a […]
Fashion and Gender Politics: Dresses With Pockets are Like Unicorns
As a woman who has shit to do I have often struggled with the fact that most of my clothing does not have pockets in it. Why a pair of pants would have faux pockets blows my damn mind. The only female clothes that have pockets are usually the smallest cut off booty shorts where […]
Montreal Music Shows This Week: POP Montreal 2016
I hope everyone’s saved up a little money and a lot of energy because tonight marks the beginning of the most frantic week of concerts this year, a.k.a. Hipster Christmas, a.k.a Indie Music Mayhem, a.k.a. the 2016 installment of Pop Montreal. From September 21st to the 25th most (if not every) small and medium sized […]
Canada’s Laws and Penalties for Sex Crimes Against Kids
On September 15, 2016 Graham James, the former junior hockey coach convicted of sexually assaulting players he coached in the nineties was granted full parole after seven years in prison. His victims included retired NHL stars Theo Fleury and Sheldon Kennedy, whom James repeatedly assaulted by abusing his position as coach. Though James has admitted […]
SPVM Body Camera Pilot Project Enters its Second Phase
Forty police officers will be equipped with body cameras this autumn in the Montreal boroughs of Montréal-Nord, Plateau Mont-Royal and Lachine. This is the second phase of the SPVM’s portable camera pilot project. The first phase saw around 30 SPVM agents wearing body cams in public locations (mostly in the metro) where they frequently intervened […]
The STM’s Fines Aren’t Just Annoying, They’re a Human Rights Violation
For over a decade, the primary focus of the Montreal Transit System (STM)’s security efforts has been to catch and fine fare dodgers. Yesterday, one of their main tactics was ruled to be a human rights violation. You may have seen them. Groups of security guards trying their best to come across as a paramilitary […]
Denis Coderre: Cut the Mic and Turn Up the Volume
Some politicians are fortunate enough, or charismatic enough, to have their own Mic Drop moment. The kind of no-nonsense moment they will be remembered for fondly. Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, on the other hand, just had a Cut the Mic moment, literally. It happened at a Ville Marie Borough Council meeting. Thanks to Gerald Tremblay, […]
Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy: Why Pimp and Promote are Different
Why is Pimp not an appropriate synonym for Promote? The official dictionary definition of the word pimp is: (noun) 1. A man who controls prostitutes and arranges clients for them , taking part of their earnings in return. synonyms procurer, procuress, madam verb informal – make something more showy or impressive, ex Pimp my ride. […]
Montreal Music Shows This Week: SonReal, Honey Beard & La Mécanique, Double Experience and Hip Hop You Don’t Stop
From hip hop to synth pop to nerd rock and back again we’ve got it all in this week’s preview. Well actually we’ve got three things and then it repeats. Apologies, I was going for an exciting first sentence and overshot a little. On a very expected note: keep an eye out next week for our […]
Dawson Shooting: The 10th Anniversary of our Community Tragedy
Today is the ten year anniversary of the Dawson Shooting. This may sound cliche, but I really can’t believe it has been a decade. I remember exactly where I was when I first heard about it. I was in a dep, I won’t say which one to avoid linking them in any way to a […]