OK... Dunno who deleted my post.. but here.. have a laugh at this.




Languages act called 'Quebec Nazi Act'
Wikipedia page altered from computer in government office
Last Updated: Tuesday, August 24, 2010 | 2:41 PM ET Comments374Recommend134.CBC News
The Correctional Service of Canada has launched an internal investigation to find out how the Wikipedia page was changed from one of its computers. (CBC)
The Correctional Service of Canada has started an internal investigation into how the Official Languages Act was renamed the "Quebec Nazi Act" on Wikipedia.

The web entry was altered from a government computer. The English version of the online encyclopedia has now been corrected.

"We have somebody who put up some racist, hatred words, which is totally disgusting and unacceptable," said Liberal MP Denis Coderre, who noticed the passage on Aug. 12.

The Wikipedia entry had been changed to this:

•"The Quebec Nazi act is a law adopted by the Parliament of Canada in 1969 and substantially amended in 1988. The law gives Frenchspeaking Canadians more opportunity than English speaking Canadians in the government of Canada... It allows Quebecers to have preferential treatment in jobs over people who already live in Ontario."
After Coderre contacted Wikipedia, site officials traced the comments back to a federal government office located on Laurier Avenue West in Ottawa, and to a computer operated by Correctional Service of Canada.

"It comes from the Government of Canada. There are some issues you can't let go," said an outraged Coderre.

'[It's] totally disgusting and unacceptable.'
—Denis Coderre, Liberal MP for the Bourassa ridingThe politician is now calling for an inquiry into how the page was changed from within a government office.

The federal agency said it is taking the incident seriously.

"We're investigating and we'll [get] to the bottom of it," said Correctional Service of Canada spokesperson Christelle Chartrand.

Chartrand said criminal charges could be laid, depending on the results of the internal investigation.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/08/24/qc-nazi-act-wikipedia.html#ixzz0xfmtv6ES

well let's see... who can delete threads?!

  Perhaps I pushed someone over the edge....

As I stated the first time, this thread is better left alone.  Comments made no matter how impartial will always bring emotions to the table.  I did not request to remove your thread but I still believe you should live this one alone.

take care

The whole anglo act of defiance by re-writing a WIKI made me laugh.  

I had a client who came this close to pulling an entire division from Montreal (and 20 people would have lost their jobs) because one of their competitors decided to blackmail them by reporting the absence of French in a website mainly aimed at the rest of Canada.

Yes, I think fining a Chinese Market to put their signs in large French lettering and keeping the Chinese small is going to help preserve the French Canadian culture  ... for sure... (rolling eyes)

McDonald's and Coke, I believe, get a pass (we have had great discussions about whether <<l'hamburger>> is a legitimate French word in Quebec)....

me mess disturber?... Oui.  

Quoted from Mrhide

well let's see... who can delete threads?!

The Natzies!!!!

Ahahahaha

Quoted from Splitskull

The Natzies!!!!

Ahahahaha

I guess someone should make one of those Hitler videos about MAACA now... that would be so funny...



The Fuhrer  

Without stepping on anyone's feet here...

If English Canada allows various business to put out signs/advertising clearly aimed at their own nationality in their own language...I work in Markham where this is prevalent with Chinese business...and assuming Quebec is legally a French zone (I have no issue there), Why can't French Canada allow the same freedon English Canada allows?

It almost comes across as prejudice compared to everywhere else. Maybe the people in power were a bit too passionate about preserving the French culture in Canada.

Quoted from Sparky

I guess someone should make one of those Hitler videos about MAACA now... that would be so funny...



The Fuhrer  

ROFLMAO  

Quoted from wbradley

Without stepping on anyone's feet here...

If English Canada allows various business to put out signs/advertising clearly aimed at their own nationality in their own language...I work in Markham where this is prevalent with Chinese business...and assuming Quebec is legally a French zone (I have no issue there), Why can't French Canada allow the same freedon English Canada allows?

It almost comes across as prejudice compared to everywhere else. Maybe the people in power were a bit too passionate about preserving the French culture in Canada.

Rational and Emotional sides of the argument ... they don't mix ... both have their merits.

Quoted from Splitskull

The Correctional Service of Canada has started an internal investigation into how the Official Languages Act was renamed the "Quebec Nazi Act" on Wikipedia.

Wow, that's crazy.  I always thought it WAS called the QNA.... had no idea it was actually called anything else.  Who knew?  Better revise my Gr. 10 History overheads.......

funny thing is.. it appears the change was from one of the Canadian gouv. computers

It is prejudiced, but it is also a law, and you won't see the Supreme Court of Canada trying to trounce it again any time soon...what with the not withstanding clause and all ....

...  the real Fuhrer (Harper) has too much to lose.

It was the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling that signs in Quebec have French predominance (as opposed to exclusive French which was ruled unconstitutional), but the Quebec Assembly vetoed that in 1988 in favour of ONLY French on outdoor signs (until they later amended it  in 1993 themselves to comply to the Supreme Court ruling)

Quoted from wbradley

It almost comes across as prejudice compared to everywhere else.

If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and looks like a duck, it's because it is a duck. So your chosen word is quite appropriate. But... I have always compared the whole language issue to any issue of discrimination.

Let us take feminism's case. In general history, men have somewhat oppressed women in some shape or form, and women have historically recently denounced this (with great merit of course).

BUT... you would think that the people doing the most arguing would preach the perfect balance, which would be equality. Well... unfortunately, feminism is the same as machism. It is one group pissing on the other. It's just that the sides have changed. but the methods remain the same. Demonize the other.

Sadly, the language issue is the same. In history (and I mean well over 200 years ago), a MINORITY of people in power on the English side oppressed the French side and created a sentiment of resent. Fast forward to 1945 and a political yet peaceful (and understandable) uprising started to happen, with an unfortunate climax in 1970 fueled by a small group of people, resulting in the other side flexing it's muscles... i.e Trudeau sending in the army. Which didn't help public opinion...

Now... unfortunately, both sides to this day like to manipulate things and open up old wounds. On the French side, there has always been a movement which demonizes anything Anglophone, and yes, there are groups on the English side that denounces all French as separatist-extremists. The thing is, the silent majority just wants everyone to get along.

to this day, I consider myself lucky to have been raised in BOTH cultures. And yes, I do take great offense when I see someone generalizing and stating such hateful things as "quebec Nazi" or "frogs" or any other hateful terms, just as much as "crisse d'anglais" and "tête carrée".

Call it what you will people... it is racism. On BOTH sides.

I believe that a Francophone calling an Anglophone a "maudit Anglais" is the same as an Anglophone calling a Francophone a "frog"...

... you are both racist assholes. Des trous de cul racistes.


Now... you have officially gotten your history lesson. Enough said. Like Gilles mentioned, nothing good will come from this discussion. Any posts about politics, language or religion always goes to mess due to racism, prejudice and social intolerance.


Sparky... a citizen of Earth (f*** the invisible lines), human (f*** skin color), and believer in a higher being (f*** whatever your religion calls him... God, Jesus, Jehovah, Allah, Yahweh, Krishna, Mohammed, L. Ron Hubbard, whatever...) .

Thank you and have a nice day. I know I am.  

ELE... everybody Love everybody... and just play pinball.

Well said Sparks

I think what this all boils down to is that the French can't take a joke  

*duck and cover*

My family is from England, so I've been raised to hate everyone equally    (I kid)

But i will say this.. as someone who works in the print / design industry, it's sometimes a real pain having to fit two different languages on everything.  The package designs in the US look so much nicer..

Martin Luther Sparky; "I have a dream"!

What do you say about clowns?  Think of all the poor clowns . They have been oppressed all these years.

Quoted from wbradley

Martin Luther Sparky; "I have a dream"!

I just hate intolerance in any shape or form. It has no place in today's society. I have travelled a lot for work and I have gotten to dabble in so many cultures. People that isolate themselves with intolerance are missing out in life.

J'adore le fromage supplémentaire sur ma pizza  

If I were in government, I would pass a law that at anytime some social intolerance happens, they should do what this song says:

Quoted from machine.slave

J'adore le fromage supplémentaire sur ma pizza  

Bravo! On voit que le français rentre bien! J'te donne un 10/10!  

Quoted from websherpa

...  the real Fuhrer (Harper) has too much to lose.

I hear this crapola comparison all the time, and I never get it .... are you really comparing Steven Harper to Adolf Hitler?  A guy who cuts a few social service programs and leans right to a guy who killed 6 million?  C'mon!    (Flame suit on)  You can hate Harper all you want, but you've got to be kidding to make any comparison at all.  

Way more that 6 million...in fact I think 10 million Russians died in the war.

Comparing almost anyone to Hitler , except maybe Pol Pot is pretty inappropriate.

Quoted from McMean

I hear this crapola comparison all the time, and I never get it .... are you really comparing Steven Harper to Adolf Hitler?  A guy who cuts a few social service programs and leans right to a guy who killed 6 million?  C'mon!    (Flame suit on)  You can hate Harper all you want, but you've got to be kidding to make any comparison at all.  

I agree... My grandfather spoke to me about the war. Harper is disliked. Hitler was a monster. Not even a close comparison.

Quoted from wbradley

Way more that 6 million...in fact I think 10 million Russians died in the war.

Comparing almost anyone to Hitler , except maybe Pol Pot is pretty inappropriate.

I've read that Stalin's regime is responsible for 20 million civilian deaths.

As for 10 million Russians dying in WWII, what do you expect when you only give half your soldiers guns and shoot anyone that retreats? The Soviets are just as culpable there.

Quoted Text

The Soviets are just as culpable there.

Yes the actions of Hitler opened the door to others (Stalin) to commit atrocities of their own.

On the other hand my wife's grandparents retreated into Russia to escape the Nazis and although they ended up living as refugees in Kazhakstan,  and were basically slaves, none of them died at the hands of the Russians.

I read the Russian military dropped their troops from transports, most without parachutes into the snow. Some of the soviet soldiers survived however most died from trauma. People were expendable.  The enemy will eventually run out of ammo.

Nice tactic

A wonderful account of all this is very well depicted in the movie "Enemy at The Gates". There is a scene in which boats full of soldiers are crossing the river in St-Petersburg (Leningrad at the time) to where the Nazis were, and there is one officer aboard each boat. If a soldier did not want to get off the boat on the other side, the officer shot him.

Here is a stupid question... has there ever been a pinball machine with a swastika on it? I doubt it... Other than the "Meine Ehre heißt Treue" on Mata Hari and if stretching a bit, the SS-style lettering on Kiss, I don't think that there ever has been any serious mention anywhere.

I always thought it was a shame that the swastika got such a bad rap due to the Nazis. Before the Nazis made it a symbol of hate, it was an ancient symbol of peace. wearing one as jewelry was considered a peaceful and spiritual talisman.

Today someone sees one and they cringe.

Quoted from Sparky

Here is a stupid question... has there ever been a pinball machine with a swastika on it? I doubt it... Other than the "Meine Ehre heißt Treue" on Mata Hari and if stretching a bit, the SS-style lettering on Kiss, I don't think that there ever has been any serious mention anywhere.

I always thought it was a shame that the swastika got such a bad rap due to the Nazis. Before the Nazis made it a symbol of hate, it was an ancient symbol of peace. wearing one as jewelry was considered a peaceful and spiritual talisman.

Today someone sees one and they cringe.

I'm sure many have been spray painted on.

The chick Jesse James was boinking while he was with Sandra Bullock had at least one big swastika tatooed on her body.

Then again she was obviously a person of outstanding character.  

Quoted from Splitskull

the 2 swastika's are not the same. The german one is drawn the other way.

I agree... but many don't know the difference.

Quoted from Sparky

I agree... but many don't know the difference.

True enough ... when we lived in BC (Comox) an Egyptian guy had the reversed symbol on his gate ... town made him take them down

Hmmm... get off your high horses, I was likening political tactics of intimidation and propaganda, not human atrocities - nor did I make a direct comparison to A.H. except that the word Fuehrer means "leader".  Man you Anglos are sensitive.

Quoted Text

United States

Boy Scouts at the prewar (1937) national Scout jamboree in Washington, D.C., using swastikas as part of their Native American portrayalThe swastika symbol was popular[89] as a good luck or religious/spiritual symbol in the United States prior to its association with Nazi Germany, and was the divisional insignia of the 45th Infantry Division until the late 1930s. The symbol remains visible on numerous historic buildings, including sites that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Quoted from websherpa

Man you Anglos are sensitive.

ROTFLMAO!!! Hey... at least this thread is funny...

and let's top it off with Hitler himself!!

I cant see that pic at work, is it the bacon Hitler??

Quoted from wbradley

I cant see that pic at work, is it the bacon Hitler??

Nope. It's the one where he pisses and moans about the company owning the movie rights to "Downfall" (the movie people all use for the skits)having all the parody videos removed.

But in fact, all the Hitler parodies are funny as hell...

Quoted from websherpa

nor did I make a direct comparison to A.H. except that the word Fuehrer means "leader".  Man you Anglos are sensitive.

I call bullshit. If you were not directly making a comparison to A.H, then which "Fuehrer" were you making a comparison to. The work "Fuehrer" may translate to "Leader", but to my knowledge it has only been connected to one leader.

Quoted from Kingston Pete

I call bullshit. If you were not directly making a comparison to A.H, then which "Fuehrer" were you making a comparison to. The work "Fuehrer" may translate to "Leader", but to my knowledge it has only been connected to one leader.

Just let him save face in peace. No need to fight it out. He obviously didn't mean any harm or offence by it. He isn't the first one to compare Harper to a dictator (and that's all he meant).

Quoted from Kingston Pete

I call bullshit. If you were not directly making a comparison to A.H, then which "Fuehrer" were you making a comparison to. The work "Fuehrer" may translate to "Leader", but to my knowledge it has only been connected to one leader.

No, no, no...  the original thread is about a Nazi reference no?  The Wiki changer was making reference to the Quebec Language Police using Nazi tactics, I alluded to the current Fuerher of the role of bilingualism in Canada.  You draw your own inference to twin Harper with A.H. ... that's called dark humour. Be offended if you want, but I never meant to offend anyone. Well except the Quebec Language Police.    Oh, and Harper and his reformed ilk.   Gotta love politics in a non-face-to-face forum.  It's all tongue in cheek my friend, I'm sure Harper hasn't persecuted anyone personally, he has his SS cabinet do it for him!  (ANd I don't mean Solid State....)  Ba da dum.  

I'll just exit quietly stage left now as no one seems to like ironically dark political humour any more.

And I was in no way offended, I'm not a big fan of Steven Harper or Adolf Hitler. Just pushing a few buttons. One thing I will say is I do love culture; mine and others. We get so touchy when we get outside our comfort zone; be in English if Quebec, French in Canada, or chinese/middle eastern/etc in any setting we don't feel it should belong.

I have tried and will continue to try to be open minded when faced with this. Not because I'm such a great person, but because I find there is always something new to learn. As a kid I grew up in the Maritimes. French was offered, but never stressed. A common attitude was (and may still be) that French is something not needed. That may be true in certain circumstances, but is very shortsighted. I have heard of people actually carrying gas cans when heading from the Maritimes to Ontario just to avoid stopping in Quebec.

Thus far I have been very lucky in life; I've travelled to every province in Canada, and to one of our territories. I have also been given the opportunity to travel to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. On each and every trip I've taken the time to try the local foods, learn at least a few phrases in the local language, and try to grasp something of the culture. On each and every trip I have been more than satisfied with the experience. Of note, as it has a bearing on the previous paragraph, is that contrary to everything I was informally taught as a kid, you should never try to avoid Quebec. I have yet to met a overly rude person there (people are just as rude in Winnipeg or Fredericton), and it has a lot to offer a person passing through.

One thing that has never really interested me though is government influence on culture (I feel the influence should flow the other way) I like my chinatowns displaying chinese signs, just like I like downtown Montreal wrapped in French. Don't get me wrong. Canada was founded by two distinct cultures, so I do believe at a Federal level we should be Bilingual and only Bilingual. At a municipal level though, the functioning language should be based on the local population's requirements.

Don't fool yourself, the government of Canada IS what defines our culture, as we are not a predominantly aboriginal people (even the aboriginals of this continent have a relatively short history here from an evolutionary perspective and share more in common with Asian ancestry than anything), nor do we have a relatively long history here. Bilingualism in Canada was an invention of the Trudeau Liberal era, along with a new flag to try to Unite Canada, and damn near succeeded too, but you can't please everybody.  Multiculturalism was born out of Liberal immigration policies that have ballooned our population in an attempt to create cross-global/cultural ties for better trading to compete with almighty America. This country was carved out by the sweat of immigrants. This country does not belong to the English, nor the French, the Aboriginal, the Chinese, nor any other culture, it belongs to whomever lives here and wants to be different from everyone else.

Our political, philosophical, and cultural differences within this forum are vast and varied - what does tie us together is our love of the coin mech.  The pinball and the video arcade game.  Heck, by Canadian standards that's enough culture to start our own country and succeed from Canada.  Afterall, no one understands what we're talking about when we say that our switch matrix is wrecking havoc with our solenoids because a diode is shorted, we even have our own language (and several dialects).  I say we attempt to annex Turks and Caicos again and start the world's largest Amusement Arcade there.

I'm open minded as much as the next guy.  It's just when it gets crammed down my throat is when I get pissed.

Quoted Text

One thing that has never really interested me though is government influence on culture (I feel the influence should flow the other way) I like my chinatowns displaying chinese signs, just like I like downtown Montreal wrapped in French. Don't get me wrong. Canada was founded by two distinct cultures, so I do believe at a Federal level we should be Bilingual and only Bilingual. At a municipal level though, the functioning language should be based on the local population's requirements.

I totally agree, but to outlaw English on a window is silly when we live in a bilingual society.  Hell if someone wants to post French here let them.  I walk into a Chinese market and see signs written in Chinese and I don't get offended and run around screaming where's the English and call my local MLA.

P.S. I was born and raised in Vancouver, we were taught to think that BC was all there was to Canada; if you crossed the mountains you would fall off the edge of the earth.

Quoted from websherpa

what does tie us together is our love of the coin mech.

Cheers to that.

Quoted from Sparky

ROTFLMAO!!! Hey... at least this thread is funny...

and let's top it off with Hitler himself!!

My vote for the best lines in this parody:  "They're doing nothing while these F#@*#@# Nazis start destroying the world!"  "Don't worry, he'll realize the irony soon."  

Quoted from Cobra99

I'm open minded as much as the next guy.  It's just when it gets crammed down my throat is when I get pissed.


I totally agree, but to outlaw English on a window is silly when we live in a bilingual society.  Hell if someone wants to post French here let them.  I walk into a Chinese market and see signs written in Chinese and I don't get offended and run around screaming where's the English and call my local MLA.

Then you completely not understand the idea of the law.
The idea isn't to forbid english, but to force french. When you are 1% of the continent, surrounded by 99% of another culture, you need to make your own prevail in some way to ensure it remains alive. The "french police" ensures that movies are available in both french and english when they hit the theater, they ensures that french versions of books and videogames are available, and they ensure someone who only speak the official language can read what this store has to offer.

Need I to mention that the laws aren't 100% enforced?
Go to the old pointe-clair, get into the first store you see, read the name of said store in all-english. Get in there and say "bonjour, comment allez-vous" and be looked at just like you're an alien. That being done in an officially french province, with french-nazi laws, where the laws state that the work language is french.

If you find it normal, let's see it the way around.

Would you like to get into a store near you place and be served in french? Forced to speak french at work?

The nature of those laws is to ensure that french speaking people actually are able to function in french.

Trust me, as a young avid videogamer who didn't speak english, I found hard to understand solid gear - or even super mario bros. - when I was a kid. Those laws makes that I am no longer a stranger in my own country.

Nazi? no. protectionism? Certainement!

"stranger in my own country" - hmmm... considering that over 80% of the population of Quebec considers French their "mother tongue" and 90% speak French or are bilingual, I don't think you're in much danger for the moment. We likely can't claim the same statistic of English here in Ontario or in B.C. at least.

No offense intended, and this is not personal, but the National Assembly of Quebec originally did want to forbid English on all outdoor signs (and Levesque was hated by much of English Canada for invoking the not withstanding clause in the face of an unconstitutional law), people still remember the FLQ, and there was contraversay over the right to English schooling if I remember correctly.  It is only over time that things have started to "soften", and over time the French culture (as assuredly as the English one) will dissapate and change, just as every culture and every language in the history of mankind has changed through migration, evolution and changing politics.

Hell, one of the more succesful charismatic Canadian politicians of the past few years is Gilles Duceppe. Of the federal political leaders, he is easily the best.  And hell, here he is running for election in a Federal jurisdiction on a separatist platform (isn't that the very definition of treason?) - only in Canada you say?

One of the more successful cultures that engaged in protectionism was feudal and even post war Japan. Even into more recent times they successfully practiced cultural protectionism (for a developed nation) ... but with the advent of the Internet, loss of economic power, the pervasiveness of Rock, Roll and Rap, and an ever shrinking world, even that bastion of distinct culture is starting to meld into the global culture that we are all starting to evolve towards. Think Pizzicato Five.

The Nazi reference is black humour expressed from an English perspective.  Only niave people would think that it is an advantage to communicate in just one language, or to isolate themselves from other cultures...oh, hey isn't that one of the main defining hallmarks of Naziism then and now (but then I digress once again).

My purpose is not to piss off (although I likely have to have my foot surgically removed from my mouth), but to stimulate thought, protest and discussion, even when its contraversial.  We live contraversial lives. We get no where being silent, alone in our own beliefs. We enrich ourselves and our lives by sharing our thoughts, including the most uncomfortable truths - because it's only then that we learn of each other's perspectives.

..that and I like playing devil's advocate.       yé-yé

I agree with preserving French heritage and culture. However, if I was a Francophone Canadian I would want my kids to be bilingual so they dont limit their awareness of everything around them.  Its not as though France gives a crap about Quebec.

I had a discussion with an engineer I work with who is from Montreal. I told him I was astounded that there are so many kids in Quebec that literally dont speak any English at all. His reply was, "Good, that makes it easier for my kid to compete for a job in the future."

Plus, there are so many fewer channels to watch on TV.