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Micheline's Blog

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Micheline's Blog

Tag Archives: October Crisis

The Art of Fantin-Latour & Canadiana

30 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Canada, Sharing

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Allan MacEachen, Henri Fantin-Latour, Lester B. Pearson, Mendelssohn, Mitt Romney, October Crisis, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Republican

Cerises (Cherries), by Henri Fantin-Latour (1877)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

Henri Fantin-Latour (14 January 1836 – 25 August 1904) was born in Grenoble (Isère).  He studied at l’École de Dessin (from 1850) under Lecoq de Boisbaudran and at l’École des Beaux-Arts, in Paris, beginning in 1854.  As did many students registered at l’École des Beaux-Arts, he copied the masters in the Louvre.

Fantin-Latour befriended many artists, some of whom became prominent Impressionists or transitional figures, such as Édouard Manet.  For his part, Fantin-Latour chose to paint in a more conservative and crisper manner and worked with Gustave Courbet.  But Fantin-Latour also met American-born British artist James MacNeill Whistler who very much admired Fantin-Latour still-lifes and introduced Fantin-Latour to a British public.  Fantin-Latour was so successful in Britain that he became better known in England than in France.

Fantin-Latour married Victoria Dubourg, an artist, and spent his summers at her family’s country estate near Orne, Normandy.  So, by and large, he lived a very stable life which is reflected in his art.  He never reached stardom, but his art has endured and will no doubt continue to endure.

In 1875, aged 68, Fantin-Latour died of lyme disease, a tick-borne disease that was almost impossible to treat before antibiotics became available.

Yesterday’s Blog: Tough Leadership

Yesterday’s blog depicted what I would call “tough leadership.”  The October Crisis of 1970 was a major event in Canadian history.  Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau implemented the War Measures Act which had never been done in peacetime.  His “Just watch me” has remained as famous as his “There’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation,” a statement he made at the time the Omnibus Bill (Bill C-150) or the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968-69, designed when Pierre Trudeau was Minister of Justice and the Right Honourable Lester B. Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972), Canada’s Prime Minister and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate for his role in defusing the Suez Crisis.

The Sixties in Canada

The sixties, the late sixties in particular, were pivotal years in Canada.  First, under the leadership of Lester B. Pearson, Allan J. MacEachen designed Canada’s Social Programs: universal health care, the Canada Pension Plan, the Canada Student Loans, etc. (also see Social Programs in Canada)

Second, the Omnibus Bill (C-150), or the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968-69, was passed. “It proposed, among other things, to decriminalize homosexuality, allow abortion and contraception, and regulate lotteries, gun possession, drinking and driving offences, harassing phone calls, misleading advertising and cruelty to animals.” (Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968-69, Wikipedia)

Third, Prime Minister Pearson convened the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism which led to the Official Languages Act (September 9, 1969), since amended but nevertheless in force.

Forthcoming Articles

  • More on the Noble Savage
  • A short article on Still-Life painting
  • An article on Refus global (Canadiana)
  • A rough translation of Chant d’un Patriote (click to see the French lyrics)
Henri Fantin-Latour
composer: Felix Mendelssohn (3 February 1809 – 4 November 1847)
piece: Song Without Words, Op. 109
performers: Miklós Perényi (cello) and Zoltán Kocsis (piano)
 
© Micheline Walker
October 30, 2012
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The October Crisis: “Just Watch Me”

29 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Quebec, Separatism

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Canada, FLQ, October Crisis, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Pierre Laporte, Pierre Trudeau, Quebec, Richard Cross, Robert Bourassa, War Measures Act

October Crisis: http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/civil-unrest/the-october-crisis-civil-liberties-suspended/just-watch-me.html

In October 1970, Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau invoked Canada’s War Measures Act to protect British Trade Commissioner James Cross and Pierre Laporte, Quebec’s Vice-Premier (second in command) and Minister of Labour.

On 5 October 1970, Richard Cross is abducted from his home by two members of the “Liberation Cell” of the FLQ (Front de libération du Québec, Quebec Liberation Front).

On 10 October 1970, the Chénier cell, a terrorist cell of the FLQ, abducts Pierre Laporte (25 February 1921 – 17 October 1970), Quebec’s Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour.

On 11 October, the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) broadcasts a letter from Pierre Laporte to Robert Bourassa, the Premier of Quebec.

On 12 October, the Canadian Army starts patrolling the Ottawa region, Ottawa is Canada’s capital.  They were requested to do so by the Federal government.

On 13 October the CBC interviews Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau (18 October 1919 – 28 September 2000).  He says his now famous “Just watch me.”

On 16 October, Quebec Premier Jean Robert Bourassa (14 July 1933 – 2 October  1996) and Jean Drapeau, the Mayor of Montreal, formally ask for help on the part of the Government of Canada.  The War Measures Act is implemented.

On 17 October, Pierre Laporte is “executed.”

On 3 December, after being held hostage for 62 days, kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross is released by the FLQ Liberation Cell in return for their being granted safe passage to Cuba by the government of Canada after approval by Fidel Castro.  They are flown to Cuba by a Canadian Forces aircraft.

On 23 December, Pierre Trudeau announces that troops will withdraw from Quebec on 5 January 1971.

On 28 December, members of the Chénier cell, who murdered Pierre Laporte, are arrested.

— Chénier Postcard

Tough Leadership

There are times when political leaders take a strong stand against persons who put explosives in mailboxes, threaten the bulk of society or kidnap important figures.  Trudeau was criticized for involving the army in what was a serious crisis but not a war.  He was condemned by Civil Libertarians.  Pierre Elliott Trudeau would not allow what he thought was nonsense.

The Chénier cell, Pierre Laporte’s murderers, was named after Jean-Olivier Chénier, a medical doctor and patriote who was killed as he was leaving the burning church were many of the men he had led into battle had found refuge during the battle of Saint-Eustache (14 December 1738) FR. He died at the age of 31, but his memory lingers. He’s a saint to Indépendantistes and there was a celebration in Saint-Eustache on 10 May 2012: la Journée des patriotes.

During the October Crisis, 497 persons were arrested under the War Measures Act,   435 were released, 62 were charged and “32 were accused of crimes of such seriousness that a Quebec Superior Court judge refused them bail.” (October Crisis, Wikipedia.)

Félix Leclerc: “L’Encan” et “Le Patriote”

images

© Micheline Walker
29 October 2012
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The River Runs Deep: Thoughts on the United States & Quebec

03 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Sharing, United States

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

imprint of the past, James Cross, October Crisis, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Pierre Laporte, Quebec, United States, War Measures Act

 
 The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863), by Currier and Ives
 
Photo credit for this post: Wikipedia
 
Yesterday, as I was going through my Reader, I inserted the following blog among “my favorites:”
http://bell-book-candle.com/2012/09/02/4-freedoms/.
 
BellBookCandle made a very useful comparison of the Republicans and the Democrats. It is a succinct list, in point form, of the 4 freedoms as viewed by each party.
 
I also read the following blog.  I like the rewording.  Obamacare becomes Obama cares.
http://teapartyslayer.com/2012/09/02/punishing-the-one-guy-on-our-side-is-just-plain-dumb/ 
 
And then we have the numerous articles written by Obamacrat: http://theobamacrat.com/2012/09/02/11029/
 

These are truly useful sites.  Would however that we could make sure voters read these posts.  They may never read them, but US citizens can make sure his or her “neighbour” goes to the Election Polls.

 

WordPress authors are supplying excellent rhetoric, but I believe that those of you who live in the United States should perhaps consider making sure one of your neighbour votes.  I’m using the singular: one, instead of the plural, because it may not be possible for one person to speak to more than one other person.  One has to be realistic.  But you could make a difference.  What if that person is not on the list of voters or needs a ride to the Election Poll, etc.

Scars from flagellation (whipping)
(Cicatrices de flagellation)  

Moreover, a thought that came to my mind about a month ago has started to make sense.  Not long ago, some persons who are now the bad apples among Republicans were slave owners.  This could help explain why they do not want to pay taxes and why their money is deposited in offshore accounts.  This could also help explain why too many jobs are shipped abroad.

These people bought and owned people, and it was not illegal to do so.  In fact, by and large, owning slaves was not even viewed as unethical.

In short, for many Republicans, the Civil War (1861–1865) may not be over.  The river runs deep…

Quebec indépendantistes

What informs my thinking at the moment is the behaviour and mindset of Quebec indépendantistes whose heroes are the patriotes of the 1836-1838 insurrections and the persons who spent a night in jail during the October Crisis of 1970 when, having said: “Just watch me” to journalists, Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau used the War Measures Act.  Terrorists had kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross and killed Pierre Laporte, Quebec’s Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour.

I could be wrong, but I believe the imprint of the past can be like a scar.  Last week, nuts were thrown at a black CNN camerawoman and she was called an “animal.”

The river runs deep…

Micheline Walker©
September 3rd, 2012
WordPress 
 
performers: Kathleen Battle (born August 13, 1948)
& the Boys Choir of Harlem
piece: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
conductor: Zubin Mehta (NY Philharmonic)
 
 
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Late News & Élisabeth Vigée-Le Brun

07 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Canada, Quebec

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Front de libération du Québec, Gazette, Jean Charest, Le Devoir, National Post, New York Times, October Crisis, Quebec

Portrait of a Young Woman, by Élisabeth Vigée-Le Brun (1797)

Élisabeth Vigée-Le Brun (16 April 1755 – 30 March 1842) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There was a development in Quebec news yesterday. A group of terrorists has been formed: the Quebec Revolutionary Army/Armée révolutionnaire du Québec. They left a white powder in the Sherbrooke office of the Premier.  The threatened area was evacuated but it turned out the powder was harmless baking soda: bicarbonate de soude.

The new army may dissolve, but they may also have announced that they intend to use deadly weapons. No one knows. Up to the October Crisis (1970), members of the Quebec Liberation Front/Front de libération du Québec, the terrorist branch of the séparatistes, as indépendantistes were then called, deposited bombs in mailboxes.

In Le Devoir, Quebec’s leading French-language newspaper, a journalist stated that Jean Charest, Quebec’s Premier, was afraid of the students. Shame on Jean Charest!  Yet, a week ago, lawyers and jurists were finding fault with Bill 78. It was then considered an encroachment on the freedom of individuals. It often comes down to the brilliant sentence Jean Cocteau formulated to the effect that one had to know just how far one could go too far.

English

The Montreal Gazette: http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html
The National Post: http://www.nationalpost.com/index.html
The Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/
 
CBC News: http://www.cbc.ca/news/
CTV News: http://montreal.ctv.ca/
 

French

Le Devoir: http://www.ledevoir.com/
La Presse: http://www.lapresse.ca/
 
© Micheline Walker
June 7, 2012
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