Let's encroach in retinal_strain's territory

As opposed to what most news outlets will tell you, FIFA ruled neither for nor against wearing the hijab while playing soccer [cbc] and version de Patrick Lagacé [cyberpresse].

Pretty crappy: Jackie Perrin on the CBC called it the hajib when introducing Adrienne Arsenault's report on the FIFA non-decision. Hello?

Litvinenko saga continues

Washington-based Russian intelligence expert shot twice (but hasn't died!) in his driveway after pointing finger at Putin in Litvinenko case.

Top X meme

Comment with the words "Top Ten" or "Top Five", and I will reply with a subject for which you will generate a top ten (or top five) list. Post the listand instructions in your own journal.

sabotabby asked for: Top five stories that les anglais miss out on by not reading the French-language press.

Many of the French articles I link in my blog attempt to do exactly that, so I doubt that I will be very original to my readers here, but I'll try to go beyond the usual.

1. Québec election headed towards a minority government: Actually, this is something that the French media have started talking about a little bit, but not considered as a real possibility, as there hasn't been a minority government in Québec in over 100 years, unless I forget some freak government somewhere. So anyway, the poll numbers look like this: Liberals, low 30s, PQ, high 20s, and ADQ, low 20s. Now what's actually happening is that there are many PLQ/PQ races in Montréal, many PQ/ADQ races in rural Québec, and many ridings in Québec City are three way races with the ADQ set to go to the latter, following the results of the last federal election where Harper picked up most of his Québec seats. I think that the PQ will lose lots of support on election day, due to abstentionism and to last-minute giving-a-chance-to-the-runner votes in favour of Dumont.

2. Québec election, small parties: First election for Québec Solidaire, the new lefty party that was the result of the merger of all of the splinters in the Québec left. They're polling lower than the Québec Greens, the latter which are actually doing well at 7% or so. QS is a bicephal party, with a policy of being lead by one man and one woman. Amir Khadir is a doctor that's done lots of work overseas (before being a doctor, he was involved in anti-Shah, then anti-Islamist Iranian student activism in Canada), while Françoise David is one of the best-known Québec feminists. Khadir once ran for the Bloc in the past, and then in the last provincial election ran for the UFP, one ancestor of the QS, where he was trailing just behind the PQ candidate that eventually won. As long as the ADQ constitutes a menace on the right in the Québec political spectrum, the PQ will always gather most of the left vote and I don't give much chance to QS to accomplish much.

Okay, I'm drawing a blank here. Hmmm.

3. The Habs have been sinking like a rock since Christmas and are currently in a position to miss the series. La Presse's hockey journalists are calling for Habs GM Bob Gainey's head.

4. Job losses in the pork industry?

5. Alright I give up. I don't think people are missing out on much outside the political arena. :P