No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks. So last week, parents everywhere said goodbye, temporarily at least, to their little ones. Some were shedding tears, others were rejoicing in the fact that they would be able to walk naked in their reclaimed homes once again!

I recently addressed the annual meeting of Quebec lawyers on the topic “The Genocide Convention and Universal Declaration of Human Rights Sixty Years Later: What have we learned? What must we do?”

It’s no surprise that the new program “Ethics and Religious Culture” is causing such a flurry of activity. Why were the ministry-established structures for consultation — such as the Central Parents’ Committees, governing boards and even school commissioners — NOT utilized by the minister?

Your editorial Unanswered questions (July 2) raises issues I’ve been asking for years. Many of us know the questions. What are the answers? Thank you for putting these matters back in the “go” column. I hope it doesn’t slip under the radar again.

Kris Kristofferson once said about the folksinger Ramblin’ Jack Elliot that he wasn’t called Ramblin’ Jack because he traveled a lot; he was called Ramblin’ Jack because of the way he talked.

"Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." $"/> $"/>~ George Orwell $"/> $"/>We are now in the midst of a grievous struggle against an implacable Islamist foe whose demands hearken back to the hegemony of the theocratic tyrannies of the Middle Ages. The line in the sand must be drawn.

French social critic Hervé Juvin’s book L’avènement du corps (The Elevation of the Body), argues that our ability to live longer has seen the birth of a hedonism of self-preservation replacing the hedonism of self-indulgence.

The sidewalks, curbs, and traffic islands will be re-built and a bike path will be added this summer on Cardinal Ave. from Sources Blvd. to Thorncrest Ave. Construction started July 7 and will take about six to eight weeks to complete.

The Montreal Transit Corp.’s announcement two weeks ago that they would increase service on several bus routes across the island has done little to appease a Rivière des Prairies resident who has petitioned the MTC to improve express bus route 148.

It was a happy Canada Day for the C.S.R.D.P. Stingrays as they downed their local rival, the Sharks, 4-1 in U11 boys soccer action Tuesday night at Lorenzo-Prinze Park.

Since I began in the fitness industry 28 years ago, many people have approached me who want to lose body fat. Sure they also wanted to improve their fitness level, be more toned, more flexible and build muscle, but usually they grab their “area” of discontent and exclaim, “help me!”

That 1 Guy’s show is a must-see when it comes to originality. $"/> $"/>The musician, whose real name is Mike Silverman, put on an awe-inspiring performance of rhythmic, vocal and comic ability over the past few days at the Montreal International Jazz Festival.

There is still time left to catch some of the action at the 29th edition of the Montreal International Jazz Festival which comes to a close this Sunday.

American folk music artist Pete Seeger and his grandson Tao Rodriguez-Seeger are set to perform with bluesman Guy Davis in a matinee, family-oriented concert on Saturday July 5 (3 p.m.) at the River’s Edge Community Centre (350 Côte St. Antoine) in NDG.

For the third year in a row, women’s groups from local congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently came together to lend a helping hand. More than 100 women gathered at a local church building to work on humanitarian aid projects.

When the highest court in the land releases a ruling involving the largest and most widely held company in Canada, Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE), you have to stand up and take notice. OK, maybe you don’t, but I do.

Macleans Magazine recently reported that before Maxime Bernier got in such hot water and was still the flavour of the day in Quebec, an interesting switch was being plotted.

What is it with the fools running NDG? They shut down one library in spite of community protest and demonstrations on the pretext that there were not enough readers, not enough money and whatever. Then they announce the introduction of a new library, virtually around the corner from the first.

Good articles last week about the bureaucratic and fining ways of our current administration in CDN-NDG ( Borough inspectors seek to crush criminal garbage elements and editorial Enough is enough ). Well, we should be fining them for neglect and unfulfilled green promises: I take my daughter to our local Oxford (Georges St. Pierre) park here in St. Raymond and the water fountain beside the ...

It is with building annoyance that I read articles and letters to editors about the Quebec government being responsible for the lack of English textbooks in our schools. Who exactly makes up this faceless government? Who are the real “responsables” behind this educational ineptitude?