Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
The TICKETMASTER MAFIA MONOPOLY flaunt new laws in Ontario within hours
Friday December 3rd, 2010 4:20 p.m.
CRUCIAL Blog Entry # 76
The TICKETMASTER MAFIA MONOPOLY and Flaunting of new laws in Ontario, with NO EFFECT or ENFORCEMENT
Talk about flaunting the law within hours of a new law being put into "effect" by Ontario Lawmakers yesterday.
Ontario's Attorney General passed a new law Thursday December 2, 2010 outlawing TICKETMASTER, (now to be called TICKETSHEISTER for the remaining of this article) from selling and then reselling tickets to hot concerts like TAYLOR SWIFT, JUSTIN BIEBER, U2, ACDC, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN and many more.
So what happens at 10 am the very next morning December 3rd, 2010, when the ink on the new law has not even dried? Tickets go on sale for TAYLOR SWIFT'S two Toronto dates in July 15 & 16, 2011 at the Air Canada Centre and at 10 am sharp and within seconds of tickets going "on sale" to the general public the www.ticketmaster.ca website is not allowing ANYBODY to buy pairs, four packs or 6 tickets, the ticket "legal limit" per person and the TICKETMASTER Outlet in Toronto can only process one (yes folks that's 1) order of 6 tickets together for over 38 000 seats being sold for the two Toronto concerts in July 2011. The 2nd person in line can only get 3 together and by the time the 3rd person in line makes his order for tickets, the best he can do is buy pairs for the Friday July 15, 2011 concert and NOTHING for the Saturday July 16th, 2011 concert. TICKETSHEISTER has moved huge blocks of tickets for this much sought after show and one of the hottest Tours of 2011 to a variety of re-selling websites. Multiply that by EVERY SINGLE CITY TAYOR SWIFT IS PERFORMING IN.
Meanwhile, a VAST INVENTORY of tickets for this concert go DIRECTLY to www.ticketsnow.com, a company OWNED & OPERATED by TICKETMASTER, rather TICKESHEISTER, and now are being sold instantly for 3, 4, 5 & sometimes more than 10 times the face value of these tickets. Where is Ontario's Attorney General and those that are supposed to be enforcing the law? No where to be seen or heard and families in Ontario and all over the world are frustrated, dealing with tears from their kids and pondering taking out a mortgage for a one night out concert experience now only reserved for those rich enough to pay the exorbitant inflated prices controlled by the TICKETSHEISTER MAFIA.
The only way for the law to be effective would be to shut down the www.ticketmaster.ca, www.ticketmaster.com & www.ticketsnow.com websites immediately and ban all sporting venues to deal with TICKETMASTER. The sales of all concert tickets should be regulated by a higher authority that have a little integrity when it comes to fairness to all consumers, and not a monopoly that flaunts its monopoly by re-selling tickets IMMEDIATELY WHEN THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO GO ON SALE to the GENERAL PUBLIC and sign exclusive sales agreements with all the major sports and concert venues in North America to control the sales of the tickets.
PEARL JAM spent MILLIONS fighting TICKETSHEISTER and lost. The consumers of the tickets did not voice their opinions loud enough by boycotting ALL TICKETS FOR ALL EVENTS for at least 6 months---the only way to break the TICKETSHEISTER MONOPOLY.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN and the Attorney General for New Jersey fought TICKETSHEISTER in New Jersey when even before his tickets went "on sale" for his last Tour they were showing up on www.ticketsnow.com and those looking to purchase these much sought after tickets were left out in the cold unless they had thousands to spend for the best seats in the house.
TICKETMASTER IS THE BIGGEST "LEGAL" SCAM IN THE WORLD.
Barry Diller & TICKETSHEISTER has made BILLONS on the re-selling of these tickets and it is time NOW FOR EVERYONE TO STAND-UP against this monopoly. US and Canadian Governments need to SHUT TICKETMASTER DOWN. NOW. PERIOD. We need to take a stance as consumers and hit them where it hurts, which is always only the pocket-book.
CRUCIAL MATTERS is calling for a BOYCOTT of all concerts for the summer 2011 season, (except for the one U2 show in July that we are looking forward to seeing and bought tickets for in 2009!)
TICKETMASTER blows chunks; especially their "convenience fee's".
Keep It Crucial.
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20101202/ontario-consumer-law-ticketmaster-reselling-101202/20101202?hub=TorontoNewHome
http://www.counterpunch.org/marsh0527.html
check-out
www.crucialmatters.com
Friday, November 26, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
33 CHILEAN MINER'S SAFE & SOUND! NOW WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE GO HALF A MILE UNDERGROUND FOR 69 DAYS?
Thursday October 14th, 2010
CRUCIAL BLOG Entry #75
33 CHILEAN MINER'S SAFE AND SOUND! NOW WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE GO HALF A MILE UNDERGROUND FOR 69 DAYS?
Now that the 33 Chilean miner's have been successfully rescued after 69 days stranded more than half a mile underground in a dark, humid and dirty mine in Chile, we at CRUCIAL MATTERS are compiling a list of 33 people that would benefit society by being put in a similar position, and who would hopefully come out of an ordeal like this as people that would benefit society upon their return.
There seems to be no shortage of worthy candidates that have demonstrated their lack of moral aptitude, judgement or corruptness when it comes to being morally bankrupt or challenged, or through no fault of their own remain mentally challenged but feeling ideologically correct.
This could be turned into the world's greatest Reality TV Show. That or put the Miner's on a show called "Dancing with The Miner's" would be.
Here are our Crucial Candidates. Who would you add to the list?
1. Sarah Palin
2. British Petroleum former CEO Tony Hayward
3. George W. Bush
4. Rush Limbaugh
5. Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein
6. Dick Cheney
7. Donald Rumsfeld
8. Glenn Beck
9. Christine O'Donell
10. Toronto Mayoral Candidate Rob Ford
11. Canadian Prime-Minister Stephen Harper
12. Jon Gosselin
13. Osama Bin Laden (Voted "Best Suited & Able to live in Underground Caves for more than 69 Days")
14. Ben Mulroney
15. Brian Mulroney, former Prime-Minister of Canada who admittedly accepted envelopes full of Cash from Lobbyists
16. Hank Paulson
17. Bernie Madoff
18 thru 30. Those responsible on Wall Street for the Economic Collapse of 2008 and ongoing mortgage Crisis
31. Dalton McGuinty
32. Hugo Chavez
33. Robert Mugabe
and just for good measure we would throw in JUSTIN BIEBER and his hair if we had a Bonus pick to chose.
Again, we at www.crucialmatters.com do not wish any ill-will upon our candidates listed above, but we honestly feel that society would greatly benefit from them being buried deep underground for 69 days. Or longer.
Keep It Crucial.
Paul Benoit
Crucial Correspondent
Friday, October 1, 2010
THE SOCIAL NETWORK is one of the BEST MOVIES OF THE YEAR!! 4 STARS
Friday October 1st, 2010. 11:20 p.m.
CRUCIAL BLOG Entry # 74
THE SOCIAL NETWORK is one of the BEST MOVIES OF THE YEAR!! 4 STARS
Paul Benoit
just saw THE SOCIAL NETWORK with the woman I met on the social network, when I asked if anyone wanted to go see a movie on the social network, and now I'm on the social network talking about how good THE SOCIAL NETWORK is...18 minutes ago clear
Jesse Eisenberg does a magnificient job of playing Facebook Creator/ Chief Engineer Mark
Zuckerburg, but playing a geek wasn't too much of a stretch for Eisenberg.
Justin Timberlake plays Sean Parker, The Founder of Napster and helped steer
Facebook into the world of Venture Capitalists to take Facebook farther.
More to come. This movie rocks and will be Number 1 this weekend.
Keep It Crucial.
Paul Benoit
Founder or www.crucialmatters.com
& wishing he was Founder of
www.facebook.com
What's next?
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
THE TORONTO MAYORAL RACE & ELECTION 2010 - TORONTO BE AFRAID. BE VERY AFRAID!
Tuesday September 28, 2010 4:20 p.m.
CRUCIAL BLOG Entry # 73
The Toronto Mayoral Race & Election October 25, 2010
Toronto, be afraid. Be VERY afraid!
Canada's sixth largest government is heading down a slippery slope as the October 25th, 2010 municipal election grows ever so close.
With less than four weeks remaining before voting, the Front-Runner in this election is ROB FORD; a jovial, over-weight "every-man" who inherited a multi-million dollar labeling business founded by his late father. He prides himself on not spending any of his $50 000 plus council approved office budget and is an admitted City Hall outsider more prone to working against the grain, ruffling more than a few feathers, and seems to suffer from incurable foot-in-mouth disease which has not been seen around these parts since Mel Lastman ruled the Toronto roost back in the 90's. Throw in a domestic assault charge, a Driving Under the Influence & Drug possession charge and a propensity for irritating others and here you have a picture of the man that could become Toronto's next Mayor.
How could this guy be in the lead at this point of the Mayoral race with less than four weeks remaining before we cast our votes? It seems that the collective reason for this is that most Torontonians are frustrated with the massive amounts of waste coming out of City Hall and that this election has not provided any other suitable candidates that rise above the rest and the one thing that Rob Ford is not is wasteful. Smart is yet to be determined.
The other front-runners of George Smitherman, Rocco Rossi & Joe Pantalone make ME want to vote for Rob Ford, which I think is the problem here in the first place.
George Smitherman is an admitted former addict of "party drugs", a former Minister of Health in the Provincial Government who was in charge when it was discovered that E-Health had wasted and squandered MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of taxpayer dollars when they were attempting to make Ontario residents health records digital and computerized. That financial fiasco should eliminate him automatically.
Rocco Rossi seems to have the smarts and ability to do the job, but seems to lack the necessary charisma to get votes or inspire the people.
Joe Pantalone is current Toronto Mayor David Miller's Deputy Mayor which for most voter's will eliminate him from consideration.
Sarah Thomson would get so mad and angry looking at or talking about Rob Ford that one could see smoke coming out of her ears. She turned me off instantly and as of today has ended her pursuit of the Mayor's job and thrown in her towel and thrown her "support" behind George Smitherman.
This would have been John Tory's election to win, but since he did not want to play the dirty game of politics anymore, Toronto faces the reality of having a sub-standard leader over the next several years.
Is it not possible to simply hire a "Mayoral Head-Hunter" and find THE BEST PERSON FOR THE JOB?? Maybe, it is time to rethink the whole voting system for such CRUCIAL MATTERS? If politics is treated like a game of self-preservation, saying whatever needed to get into office, then doing EVERYTHING against your promises and betraying those who voted for you (see DALTON MCGUINTY), let's find the best person and not leave it to chance, especially when usually less than 60% of eligible voter's show-up---it is a flawed system and one that DOES NOT WORK. PERIOD.
Any fool can get elected, sometimes even twice as George W Bush did, but when it comes to my city, my people and my future, I think that we all deserve more.
Keep It Crucial and be sure to make your Vote Count and your voice heard.
Paul Benoit
Director
CRUCIAL MATTERS
Monday, September 27, 2010
The BIGGEST RUMOUR at TIFF 2010-BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN would perform at The Horseshoe with JESSE MALIN September 15, 2010
Monday September 27th, 2010 1:20 p.m.
CRUCIAL BLOG ENTRY # 72
THE BIGGEST RUMOUR AT TIFF 2010-- BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN would Perform at The Horseshoe with JESSE MALIN September 15, 2010
Ten days before the potential legendary gig at one of Toronto's most legendary musical venues, The HORSESHOE TAVERN on Queen Street West, word was leaking out that BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, who was in Toronto for the TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) Premiere of "The PROMISE: The Making of DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN" would take the stage with JESSE MALIN at the 'Shoe on Wednesday September 15th: a totally plausible possibility considering that JESSE MALIN & BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN have collaborated and performed together previously and both were in Toronto on the same night. Was this a set up for a possible Springsteen jam at a relatively small bar or merely a coincidence of speculation ejaculation of epic proportions?
If this was a supposed "secret" gig, word was leaking out in many musical directions that the stars were lining-up for what could be one of Toronto most legendary gigs EVER. TIFF Officials were whispering and denying, Restaurant Manager's were regurgitating, Craigslist Ticket ads were listed for $300+ each for a "Bruce Springsteen Secret gig" and local promoter's and musicians were singing and the Buzz leading up to the JESSE MALIN September 15th performance was so great that multiple news trucks were parked outside the Horseshoe on the 15th reporting LIVE on the rumour and adding to the mill and to the intrigue.
Tickets for the show were only $15 at Ticketmaster and still for sale up until the day before. I bought mine and more than a dozen friends followed suit taking a $15 chance on a whisper and a prayer. The BOSS? The Horseshoe? $15? Are you serious???
On the morning of September 15th, the show had SOLD-OUT, the Buzz had reached manic proportions and tickets were selling on Craigslist for between $75 to $300 each.
JESSE MALIN and his band The St. MARKS SOCIAL took to the stage at 11 p.m. and added even more mystery by playing into the rumours and speculation by stroking the crowd with talk of how this gig had now elevated itself into the annals of Toronto Rock and Roll history, never confirming or dispelling the rumour. Jesse's performance was a high energy, crowd pleasing spectacle of hard hitting rock tunes, he came out into the crowd and asked everyone to sit-down in solidarity and brought the mostly Bruce crowd together. It was a great show, but Bruce was most likely in bed in New Jersey by the time Jesse Malin took the stage.
Even at the end of the performance, hopeful fans stood by staring at the mike stands and guitars whispering "if it's gonna happen, it will be now..." and for over 30 minutes they just stood and stared as the house lights refused to be turned-on and the stage equipment was left intact, teasing us all further into staying well past when most would have.
Whoever started this rumour (Jesse Malin's management? the Horseshoe? the Concert Promoter Collective Concerts?) congratulations as it took on a life of its on, provided a sold-out a Jesse Malin concert on a Wednesday night and sold a few more beers than the Horseshoe would have otherwise.
The end tally was a great Jesse Malin show, a Bruce Springsteen No-Show, and some people paying inflated prices for a rumoured performance that never materialized.
Had BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN taken the stage at the Horseshoe Tavern on September 15, 2010, it would have been one of the MOST CRUCIAL Nights in Toronto's music history.
Had BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN taken the stage at the Horseshoe Tavern on September 15, 2010, it would have been one of the MOST CRUCIAL Nights in Toronto's music history.
Paul Benoit
Director / Crucial Correspondent
CRUCIAL MATTERS
paul@crucialmatters.com
www.crucialmatters.com
Friday, September 24, 2010
BREAKING NEWS! LINDSAY LOHAN in Jail after Court Appearance in Los Angeles September 24, 2010
Friday September 24th, 2010 12:20 p.m.
CRUCIAL BLOG Entry #71
BREAKING NEWS
Lindsay Lohan was remanded into custody and denied bail this morning in a Los Angeles Courtroom by Judge Elden Fox for violating terms of her probation after TESTING POSITIVE for both Cocaine and Adderall. Lindsay could be in custody until her next court appearance which is not slated until October 22, 2010. Lindsay Lohan was handcuffed in court before being taken into custody.
For someone who claims in the latest VANITY FAIR cover story that she just "wants my career back", this set-back will not only halt production on her supposed Linda Lovelace biopic, but could also jeopardize her clothing line distribution, and once again this once rising star is looking at life from one of the bleakest and loneliest places on earth; a cold jail cell in a forced rehab situation.
It appears that Lindsay's family and team did not think that this would happen so suddenly and that Bail would be granted yet again, but after numerous chances and run-ins with the law, the latest dirty drug-screen's have landed Lindsay in the one place where celebrity does not matter, crucially or otherwise.
Lindsay Lohan is being transported in a Sheriff's car to her new Jail facility now.
We at CRUCIAL MATTERS hope that this is the bottom that she can now dig herself out of and wish her a Robert Downey Jr. like recovery both personally and professionally.
Keep It Crucial.
Paul Benoit
Crucial Correspondent
CRUCIAL MATTERS
paul@crucialmatters.com
www.crucialmatters.com
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
"SOUND Of SUNSHINE" album by Michael Franti & Spearhead is RELEASED TODAY!!!
Tuesday September 21st, 2010. 1:20 p.m.
CRUCIAL BLOG Entry #70
TODAY IS THE DAY THAT The BEST ALBUM of THIS CENTURY is released!! "SOUND OF SUNSHINE" by Michael Franti & SPEARHEAD is available in stores and online TODAY and watch for them on Ellen DeGeneres today and George Lopez tonight.
Michael Franti will certainly go down as the "Bob Marley of our generation" and he is the most important artist touring today according to Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records and original Producer of Bob Marley & U2.
Power to the Peaceful y'all & SHAKE IT, SHAKE IT SHAKE IT and visit www.michaelfranti.com for more information and TOUR Dates!!!
Keep It Crucial!
Paul Benoit
Crucial Correspondent
www.crucialmatters.com
Friday, September 17, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
SLASH F'n RULES
Saturday September 11th, 2010 4:20 p.m.
CRUCIAL BLOG Entry # 69
F'N SLASH F'N RULES
Friday night in Toronto, SLASH's heartbeat was raised to the ALARM / CODE RED level on his built-in pacemaker / heart-beater, and it was begging it to slow down. To the Sold-Out crowd that collected at Kool Haus to see the legendary axeman, that heartbeat that was the heart & soul of Guns & Roses was beating just perfectly fine.
After years of playing CRUCIAL MUSIC since the 80's, torrential and torrid touring, throw in a little drug addiction, saturate it in alcohol, a pending divorce, and throw in some good sex for measure, more drugs & rock'n roll, SLASH's heart has been maintained by a team of Doctor's and a well-oiled mechanism keeping him here, heart beating and fingers thrashing for the last several years. Thank God. By his own admission, SLASH admits that he should be dead at least 50 times, coming close to the edge and brink like so many brilliant musicians before him.
The world needs more SLASH, and we thank his good Keith Richard genes for allowing him to bless us with his presence and guitar prowess.
After the unprecedented success of Guns & Roses record-breaking debut APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION, SLASH had cemented himself in the Axe-God Hall of Fame. The touring, success and creative & psychotic differences between the members of GnR, mainly AXL ROSE, brought the band to its own destruction in the era of stupidly epic and expensive videos and long gestating albums---think CHINESE DEMOCRACY, probably the Flop of all time, but SLASH sure does live on.
As the anchor of GnR, SLASH's rift's on "Sweet Child O Mine" & his Toronto encore "Paradise City" will forever be instantly recognizable and as some of the best music of the 80's and still today.
SLASH F'n Rules!!!
Long Live SLASH! See this Tour if you possibly can.
Keep It F'n Crucial y'all!!
Friday, September 10, 2010
PRINCE of POT MARC EMERY GETS SENTENCED to 5 YEARS IN A SEATTLE COURTHOUSE
Friday September 10th, 2010, 4:20 p.m.
PRINCE of POT MARC EMERY GETS SENTENCED to 5 YEARS IN A SEATTLE COURTHOUSE
CRUCIAL BLOG ENTRY # 68
PRINCE of POT MARC EMERY GETS SENTENCED to 5 YEARS IN A SEATTLE COURTHOUSE
Today, September 10th, 2010 at 1:20 p.m. Pacific time in a Federal Courtroom in Seattle, Washington, self-proclaimed Prince Of Pot Marc Scott Emery was sentenced to 5 years in Jail for distributing seeds to a very keen US customer base.
UPDATE at 5:20 p.m. http://www.theprovince.com/news/Prince+Marc+Emery+sentenced+years+prison+judge/3507601/story.html
The crowd outside waved signs reading “Free Marc” and chanted their support as passing cars honked their horns.
Emery was arrested in 2005 by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and indicted for selling marijuana seeds online and through the mail to customers in the U.S.
"Jail is a cruel and lonely place and I regret that my actions have brought me here," Emery said in a written statement to U.S. Federal Court Judge Ricardo Martinez. "Five years is an awfully long time to consider what I've done. I admit that I was arrogant in flouting United States law.
We all hope and pray that Emery is granted a Prisoner Transfer through the Prisoner Exchange Treaty between the US and Canada so that that he can serve his sentence closer to home and loved ones and also so he can be released much earlier under Canada's more lenient parole laws.
This does not end the chapter of "Pot Prohibition" in the US, especially as laws get more lax and the benefits start to outweigh the harms of Marijuana. The Medicinal benefits have always been there but more governments are seeing the potential tax-boom fiesta that small amounts of decriminalized amounts of Marijuana would bring into the coffers.
If small amounts of marijuana had been decriminalized under the Liberal government leadership of Prime-Minister Jean Chretien back in 2002/3 our country of Canada could have been Global Leaders in the movement to lessen the harsh laws that have imprisoned hundred's of thousands worldwide, and our example would have provided our Health Care and Education systems a much need boost to fund world-class services like never seen before. Maybe that hope will come back with a Liberal or different government.
IT IS TIME FOR MARC EMERY TO COME HOME AND SERVE HIS SENTENCE ON CANADIAN SOIL.
KEEP IT CRUCIAL FOR MARC EMERY!
Paul Benoit
Producer / DirectorCRUCIAL MATTERS
paul@crucialmatters.com
www.crucialmatters.com
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Prince+Marc+Emery+sentenced+years+prison+judge/3507601/story.html#ixzz0zAJuavNL
Today's Facebook Status by Marc Emery, updated by his wife Jodie.
The day is upon us -- sentencing in US Federal Court at 1:30pm. Whatever the sentence is, my supporters MUST demand I be sent home to serve my time in Canada! Contact the Public Safety Minister (Canada) and the Bureau of Prisons (USA) at http://www.FreeMarc.ca/ if you REALLY want to help me!
---
Paul Benoit
Producer / DirectorCRUCIAL MATTERSpaul@crucialmatters.com
www.crucialmatters.com
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Time to TIFF in Toronto! Welcome to the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival
Thursday September 8th, 2010. 4:20 p.m.
CRUCIAL BLOG Entry # 67
WELCOME to the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival! It's Time to TIFF! www.tiff.net
The Toronto International Film Festival kicks off its stellar 35th year anniversary tonight, September 8th, 2010, with the Gala Screening of SCORE: A HOCKEY MUSICAL; a fitting way to start the biggest (and some say best) Film Festival in the world with a musical ode to our much beloved national sport -- sorry lacrosse, but hockey runs mad in our blood, our consciousness and our souls. Just think Gold Medal Hockey Game in Vancouver this past February: Hockey Glory & polarizing moments in Canadian history.
The red carpets have been dusted-off and rolled out and the parade of Stars emerging in Toronto has already begun. Javier Bardem, Bruce Springsteen, Ben Affleck, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Stone, Natalie Portman, Matt Damon, Edward Norton are all here to reap FREE SWAG, FREE BOOZE & FREE PRAISE. There are far too many Stars to name them all that will be descending on Toronto in the next 10 days. The only person missing is Mel Gibson.
TIFF 2010 consists of over 100 Films, 300 000 tickets, line-ups around the block, some bars & restaurants open until 4 a.m. (as they ALWAYS SHOULD BE). The electric energy in Toronto over the next 10 days is palpable and it is the best 10 days of the year HANDS-DOWN.
This year we have the christening of the brand spanking new BELL LIGHTBOX and a real shift from the heart of Toronto's Film Festival from Yorkville to King & John, much in thanks to the Reitman family who donated the land that their father had bought and had previously been a modest car wash before being erected as a 40 story monolith of art, film, culture, food, drinks & substance this year. TIFF certainly has a new home and it will be very CRUCIAL element for this Festival when they move in permanently in 2011. The paint is still drying on the building and screws being put in.
What has attributed to this Festival of Festivals such large success? September is perfect for film. The weather is turning, there is a whole new market leading up to Christmas and 2011 with great films about to be released and where else can you create BUZZ but from the largest, most well attended Film Festival in the world. Some say that if SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE did not play here two years ago, that multiple Academy Award winning film might not have even been distributed and released in North America and the Producers were contemplating releasing it straight to DVD.
Time to enjoy & celebrate innovative cinema, and good times. See you over the course of the next 10 days!
Keep It Crucial & enjoy your TIFF if you're here in Toronto!
Paul Benoit
Other Crucial Links for TIFF 2010:
www.tiff.net
www.nowtoronto.com
www.thestar.com
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
"COMBAT OPERATIONS" END TODAY IN IRAQ
Tuesday, August 31, 2010. 10:20 a.m.
Crucial Blog Entry #66
"COMBAT OPERATIONS" END TODAY IN IRAQ
Over seven years ago at 5:34 in the morning of March 20, 2003, US Troops followed by a 34 country coalition of forces invaded Iraq under the pretense that Saddam Hussein was harboring "weapons of mass destruction" and that morning started the most expensive war in the history of the modern world. $748 Billion dollars and climbing spent on death, destruction & security when if spent productively would have given education, health care & more prosperity for American's at home and ALL Iraqi's who now have sporadic electricity, very little food & clean water, high unemployment at over 35% and constant threats in their lives let alone the daily bombings and attacks that they must all endure due to ongoing and what seems like never-ending sectarian violence.
We always hear about the economical cost of war but we rarely speak of or hear about the HUMAN COST of war. The human cost of war is the most tragic consequence of these conflicts: innocent people being hurt and killed; disillusioned soldiers not knowing what they are fighting for, coming back "broken", leery and battle fatigued and to make matters worse, into a depressed economy. The human cost of the war was too much as soon as that first person died.
The cost continues to mount: as of today, 4408 American lives have been lost and families shattered. Estimates state over 100 000 Iraqi's killed and how many of those killed were innocent men, woman or children? Thousands of Iraqi families affected. Thousands & thousands more of US & Iraqi injured.
The US involvement is winding down before a full withdrawal in 2011 but now we must ask "WAS IT WORTH IT?" Today President Obama speaks to US troops at Fort Bliss Texas before addressing the nation from the Oval Office tonight. He must now try to convince us that a war he did not start or support ended as well as it could have under his leadership. And somewhere in Texas, an Ex-President who started this mess is blissfully cutting his grass.
Combat "operations" stop today on Tuesday August 31st, 2010 and the Middle East is as conflicted as ever and the US is no less safe from terrorist attacks and world-wide animosity. From a high of over 160 000 US troops in 2007 to now having less than 50 000 in the "transition" helping to train the Iraqi army and police, this war started under false pretense, misinformation and one man's demented desire to try to end a conflict that his father had started with the Gulf War in the 90's.
"What you see in Iraq is not victory" says Abu Risha, a tribal leader, who says he gets only 5 hours of electricity a day. "Before we had one dictator, now we have hundreds of dictator's."
"The Americans only left death and destruction--handicapped people, orphans, widows, and an immature political system. This is what we get with U.S. liberation and democracy?"
Musician / Activist Michael Franti from the band SPEARHEAD sings and preaches that "You Can Bomb the World into Pieces but you Can't Bomb the World into Peace." www.michaelfranti.com We need to heed these words and come up with better solutions than those that we have come up with over the last 100 years of senseless violence, terrorism, war and hate.
The cycle of violence has to stop and a bigger and better cycle of love, light & prosperity has to emerge FOR ALL GLOBAL citizens if we are going to continue successfully in this "civil"-lization. We have been conking each other over the head for far too long and have not really learned a single thing since that first man picked up that first stick to wreak violence for foolish reasons.
Please forward your solutions to President Barack Obama and to us here at www.crucialmatters.com or to paul@crucialmatters.com, and try to do one kind thing today for one total stranger and see if that leads us on the right path.
Keep It Crucial & Power to the Peaceful!
other Information:
http://www.iknowimnotalone.com A truly inspiring Award-Winning Documentary by Michael Franti who travelled to Iraq, Gaza & Israel in 2005, discussing the human cost of war with teachers, musicians, poets & soldiers.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/barack-obama Up-to-the-minute details of President Barack Obama's August 31st, 2010
http://www.cnn.com/ More news on today's event's
Monday, August 16, 2010
MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES by Stephen Harper & The Conservatives is Injustice for ALL.
Monday August 16, 2010. 4:20 pm
Crucial Blog Entry #65
MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES by Stephen Harper & The Conservatives is Injustice for ALL.
Last week Canadian Prime-Minister Stephen Harper, Stockwell Day & the Conservative Government announced that MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES would be ushered into Law to combat "Organized Crime" and that an additional $9 Billion dollars would be spent on enforcing and imprisoning more Canadians for greater lengths of time in newly built "Super Jails".
Could this be the Conservatives WORST IDEA EVER? It sure does sound like it to CRUCIAL MATTERS. www.crucialmatters.com
At a time when the United States is finally acknowledging that its decades' long "WAR ON DRUGS" is a MASSIVE FAILURE and they are actually loosening their laws for simple possession, Canada wants to follow in its tragic footsteps. The US is now reluctantly conceding that the "War On Drugs" was a colossal moral, social and bitter legal battle, handing out MASSIVE sentences for sometimes just handfuls of drugs and not getting the "Big Fish" that they were seeking in the first place. The "WAR ON DRUGS" has led to VERY harsh, unjust and extremely long prison sentences that in the past were reserved for the hardest criminals guilty of the most heinous crimes. The WAR ON DRUGS is a war on people: our brothers, our sisters and our neighbours.
President Barack Obama announced and signed into law on August 3rd, 2010, that the Crack Sentencing guidelines and Minimum Mandatory Sentences would be reduced to more reasonable levels for offenders. Simple Possession of Crack in the US Federal System led to Minimum Mandatory Sentences of 5 years, no questions asked and no leniency allowed to the Judges. See www.famm.org for more information from FAMILIES AGAINST MANDATORY MINIMUMS.
With that announcement by Barack Obama, he has now paved the way for more justice for people that were granted very little when they were caught with 4 or 5 grams of Crack. And now Canada wants to commit the same moral mistakes.
There are now over 2.3 million people incarcerated in US prisons and their willingness to Lock-Up there own people is unmatched in the modern world. One in every 100 American adults now wallows in jail at a cost of between $36 000 and $50 000 per year, per inmate. You could send them to Harvard for that. The percentage of people under some form of parole or probation is 1 in 31. When it comes to the percentage of population locked-up, the US incarcerates five times more people than Britain, nine times more than Germany and 12 times more than Japan. This is NOT a goal that Canada should be trying to emulate.
This money could and should be pumped into Education and quality Health Care for all, rehabilitation and re-integration into society and more positive steps forward rather than draconian stiff sentences, leaving people and families broken and locked-away uselessly for lengthy periods of times.
What have we learned from US MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES for?
1. That "MANDATORY MINIMUM" sentencing guidelines introduced during the Reagan / Bush 1 era in the 80's gave convicted felons major time in Federal Institutions and took the power out of the very qualified US Judges by setting Guidelines that people had to be sentenced within. Cookie-cutter sentencing that Judges detested for the lack of control that each individual case and circumstances deserved.
2. Federal Inmates were FORCED to do 85% of their time sentenced, only getting 54 days a year "good-time" for every year incarcerated. Add this to longer and harsher sentences and the punishment usually always outweighs the crime.
3. That system was also based on trying to turn the convicted felons into "INFORMANTS" to rat out their friends, foes, innocent people or ANYONE just to get their sentences reduced by allowing Judges to go below the Guidelines for "cooperating with the authorities". When faced with a 10 or 15 year sentence people will say anything or do anything to get out of these lenghthy sentences.
4. The US is now the most imprisoned people percentage-wise in the world thanks mostly to Mandatory Minimum Sentences..
5. Turning the Prison system into a Private / For Profit business has lead to increased lobbying for harsher laws & sentences. If business is "good" for your "Prison-For-Profit" then you will want to throw as many people away as possible and spend the very least in food, housing, education and rehabilitation since it is a Profit driven business.
6. The US Federal Bureau of Prison business is UNICOR. "Employee's/ Inmates" work for pennies a day to produce products the US Government sell for market value at "slave-labour" wages. Last year's sales totalled over $900 million dollars. UNICOR benefits from having more people in prison sentenced to longer periods of time. See www.unicor.gov for more information on UNICOR and Federal Prison Industries.
At a time when California and other liberal minded states are loosening laws in regards to marijuana possession and seeing the benefits of both the medical and social use of marijuana, we need to look towards the future and see that legalizing marijuana and perhaps other illegal substances and eliminating MINIMUM MANDATOTY SENTENCES for drug offenses is the morally right thing to do. Billions would be saved immediately and that money would be able to be pumped into the Education & Health Care systems, benefitting us all.
For Canada's elected officials to want to go down this proven failed route with MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES is a tragedy waiting to happen that is easily prevented. Say NO to MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES and get in touch with your local Member of Parliament to voice your opinion on this very Crucial Matter.
Keep It Crucial.
Producer / Director
CRUCIAL MATTERS
416.889-2451 Mobile Studio
paul@crucialmatters.com
www.crucialmatters.com
other Information & Crucial Links:
www.famm.org FAMILIES AGAINST MINIMUM MANDATORIES, Washington D.C
www.unicor.gov US FEDERAL PRISON INDUSTRIES
www.ussc.gov/guidelin.htm US Federal Sentencing Guidelines
www.cannabisculture.com Marc Emery's website and Prison Blog
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
TREATING YOUSELF MEDICAL MARIJUANA & HEMP EXPO. July 2010 in Toronto
Tuesday July 27, 2010. 1:20 pm
CRUCIAL BLOG ENTRY # 64
TREATING YOURSELF MEDICAL MARIJUANA & HEMP EXPO 2010. Toronto, Canada.
Last weekend Toronto hosted the 1st of hopefully many TREATING YOURSELF MEDICAL MARIJUANA & HEMP EXPO at the Metro Toronto Convention Center where ironically enough less than 3 weeks ago the G20 "leader's" of the world were meeting and dining behind a $1.5 BILLION DOLLAR Security/ Militarized Zone Fence.
With more that 100 exibitors, Medical Advocates, numerous sustainable & smoke-enabling products, Film Documentaries, Discussion Forums, Live Music, Comedy and more comedy, this extremely well-organized event really demonstrated the MANY benefits of both Medical Marijuana and Sustainable Hemp products that we as a society are not fully taking advantage of because of archaic laws & backwards beliefs written by "Law-Maker's" that get blind-drunk most nights and completely ignore the benefits our society could reap.
The world of benefitting from Medical, Recreational MJ & Hemp use is here & now and if it were not for disastrous Political Campaign's by Ronald & Nancy Reagan (Just Say No BS) to Bush War I & Bush War II and a Republican Clone of a Prime-Minister in Canada, Stephen Harper, the movement that gained so much speed and momentum over the last 10 years, lost it with The Conservatives coming into Power in Canada, shelving the Liberals & Jean Chretian's personal plan to Decriminalize small amounts of MJ, which is unfortunate for ALL CANADIANS since we all would have benefitted in the long-term with better Health Care, Education and better Substance Abuse Programs.
To Decriminalize small amounts is the CRUCIALLY RIGHT THING TO DO!! California is leading the way!!
Keep It Crucial.
Paul Benoit
Producer / Director / Crucial Correspondent
CRUCIAL MATTERS Live Report:
Also more media from the TREATING YOURSELF MEDICAL MARIJUANA & HEMP EXPO:
Hemp Clothing:
www.haswesh.com
Activism:
www.michellerainey.com
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
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