VALÉRIE PLANTE - Mayor of Montreal

VALÉRIE PLANTE - Mayor of Montreal -
By Bernard Bujold - 
The 2017 election campaign is launched and Valerie Plante is the one that dominates the race against the current outgoing Montreal mayor Denis Coderre. The two aspiring mayors are, so to speak, tied in the popular race. 
The challenge is big for Valérie Plante but it is achievable! As she says herself: "I've never lost a race..." 
To be followed on November 5th! 
SEE PHOTO ALBUM

THE FUTURE OF NEWSPAPERS IN 2017...

THE FUTURE OF NEWSPAPERS IN 2017... 
By Bernard Bujold - 
The leaders of the major Quebec media are rising to the barricades with regard to the lack of government support for the print media! 
We have to face up to the fact that paper medias are a thing of the past and we are in another reality. 
Personally, I grew up with newspapers but it was the great blackness compared to today. I remember as a young journalist and when the fax machine was making its debut. It took an eternity to send his texts and it is without considering the photographs on films that had to be developed ... 
Today, information has never been more democratic and accessible to all! In the past, if you did not have access to the mainstream media, you could not communicate with the population. 
The US election campaign of 2016 proved that social media is pure democracy! Today, the whole world is accessible through Twitter, Facebook and Google. 
It is true that newspapers have to give way, but so life goes on and let us never forget that no one or any institution lasts forever...
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THE BAGPIPER IS GONE FROM OGILVY MONTREAL...

THE BAGPIPER IS GONE... 
By Bernard Bujold -
With a $60-million reno underway to merge with Holt Renfrew, the decision was made to discontinue lunchtime concerts. 
Virtually every day at lunchtime for 72 years, a bagpiper has wandered through the upscale boutiques of the Ogilvy store on Montreal Ste-Catherine St., serenading customers from the fifth floor to street level for about 20 minutes.
See story The Gazette

THE QUEBEC ECONOMY IN DANGER ...

THE QUÉBEC ECONOMY IN DANGER ... 
By Bernard Bujold - 
The acquisition of Jean Coutu is not a good sign for the Québec economy in the long term because if Jean Coutu was controlled by a private family (the Coutu), Métro is a group entirely controlled by its stockholders and may possibly be one day the target of a share buy-back from an outside group. 
As far as Bombardier is concerned, some observers (including myself) are also seeing a possible merger with an outside group, for example a European one. The acquisition of one group by another is always very fragile at the corporate culture level and Tim Horton is the most obvious example of a recent failure (stock transaction in 2014). Since its acquisition by the Burger King Group, it is the deep crisis within Tim Hortons Canadian franchisees. 
To be continued... 
SEE STORY LA PRESSE 
SEE STORY LE JOURNAL DE MONTRÉAL 
SEE STORY THE GAZETTE

THE GIRL WHO TAKES AN EYE FOR AN EYE OR THE HUMAN DESTINY

THE GIRL WHO TAKES AN EYE FOR AN EYE OR THE HUMAN DESTINY 
(Continuing Stieg Larsson's Millennium Series)- 
By Bernard Bujold- 
I just finished reading the novel THE GIRL WHO TAKES AN EYE FOR AN EYE by David Legercrantz. A work polar style whose main action takes place around a worldwide illegal scientific network adoption of twins. 
Over the years, dozens of couples of identical twins (mirrors) have been placed in completely opposite families to determine whether the adult fate of these twins is determined by the genes (inheritance of the parents) or by the social environment of the parents of the adoption. In this novel MILLENNIUM SERIES number 5, a twin is placed in a very rich industrial family while the other is placed in a poor farmer's house. The fate of each is obviously determined according to his social environment rather than because of the biologic origins. 
The novel embroiders a whole romanticized polar action around the adoption but the important is the conclusion that the children of wealthy parents will accomplish more than those of the poor parents. Money is a powerful tool, if not the only real tool to fully accomplish oneself in human society. 
Beyond this conclusion on the potential of twins, MILLENNIUM 5 is also very captivating in the writing and rhythm of the narrative fiction and several critics even say that Lagercrantz would be a better writer than the original author of the three first volumes of MILLENNIUM Series, Stieg Larsson who died suddenly in November 2004 of a heart attack. Lagercrantz had written volume 4 which sold more than 6 million copies. 
I agree with this conclusion and it is evident that Lagercrantz is endowed with an exceptional talent although the characters were created by Larsson which greatly facilitates the task of an author continuing a literary work. 
The two star characters of the MILLENNIUM since the first volume: Lisbeth Salander and the journalist Mikael Blomkvist are of course at the center of the new novel number 5 and they will return in the next volume 6 already promised by the author. Lovers of journalism will appreciate the chapters of the novel with Blomkvist while lovers of internet technology will love the chapters featuring Lisbeth. 
A beautiful book that I loved reading on the veranda during this first weekend of the fall season 2017... 
Happy reading to all! 
The book is available in English as in French but the original has been written in Swedish. 
SEE BOOK SITE

THE FALL SEASON 2017

FALL SEASON 2017 -
By Bernard Bujold -
Officially the fall season 2017 begins today Friday September 22nd, but in reality Quebec is rather living an Indian summer with temperatures above 29c. According to meteorologists, the daily temperatures will remain above 20c until mid October and then it will be cooling with snow in the regions to the north. We should be expecting a winter 2017 with a lot of snow all over Quebec and starting in November for the central regions... 
Time will tell! 
For the moment, let us welcome the fall of 2017 and enjoy the nature that smiles at us! 
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SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE...

SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE... 
By Bernard Bujold Nothing could be more enjoyable than a good Sunday morning coffee in town! The experience is even more pleasant when this coffee is prepared by your favorite "barista"... 
Buona domenica ... e la felicità per i newlyweds! 
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THE INDIAN SUMMER 2017

THE INDIAN SUMMER 2017 - 
By Bernard Bujold- While the fall is on our doorstep (September 22) , the summer 2017 will remain well established until the end of September and, according to experts in the weather, with sun every day and temperatures averaging 24C. But we must take advantage of it because the same meteorologists predicts that by mid-October we could have snow on Quebec and that winter will be very cold with a lot of snow... 
Happy end of summer 2017! 
SEE PHOTOS

FACEBOOK TO OPEN A CENTER IN MONTREAL

FACEBOOK TO OPEN A CENTER IN MONTREAL -
By Bernard Bujold
Facebook announced the opening of a new artificial intelligence center in Montreal on Friday September 15, 2017, marking the latest move by a U.S. firm to tap into Canada’s expertise in the technology, according to two people familiar with the matter. 
Facebook plans to relocate staff from its headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., and also tap local talent, one person said. Late Thursday, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would deliver remarks in Montreal Friday at an event hosted by Facebook. A spokesman for Facebook didn’t immediately return a request for comment. 
Facebook opened an office in Montreal in 2013 (advertising) in a move to better serve Quebec and French-speaking businesses looking to expand their presence on the social network. It also has offices in Toronto and Vancouver. 
The new Facebook’s investment in Montreal comes within a year after Google also opened a new artificial intelligence lab dedicated to deep learning, a type of machine-learning technology. (source WSJ)
SEE STORY THE MONTREAL GAZETTE

HILLARY CLINTON - WHAT HAPPENED

HILLARY CLINTON - WHAT HAPPENED -
By Bernard Bujold- 
I read the Hillary Clinton book overnight and, as a political junkie that I am, I loved it very much. 
Hillary is very open in the book about the 2016 election and one could conclude that her book is a map about what not to do to win an election... 
Hillary admit it, she did not listen to her instinct during the campaign and instead many times she took the advice of her staff. Conclusion: if you want to win in politics, follows your gut feeling! 
Another thing that struck me is the back cover photo of the book. The photographer, Mario Testino, did a great job, so to speak... 
The real conclusion: this very well-written book is a real Christmas gift for Donald Trump as Hillary repeat the same arguments that Donald said. Happy Christmas Donald and happy reading to all the other political junkies out there! 
SEE BOOK WEBSITE