This newsprint tabloid looks strangely similar to the defunct anarchist monthly, Demanarchie. And lo and behold, much the same people are involved. Having ended up in jail more than once (and subject to much government surveillance ever since), these guys just aren’t going to give up. And already their new paper has attracted similar attention – when some folks heading to the recent summit in Quebec were arrested for having various minor weapons in their car, the police told the media that the presence of a copy of Le Trouble meant that they really meant trouble. (Boy, cops are so smart!) So what’s all the Trouble about? It’s about being generally pissed off with the state of things more than it is about being a strict anarcho-leftist or what have you. The articles are generally light and easy to read, with lots of satire and sarcasm thrown in for good measure. A special preview of the Summit proved fun reading even after the smoke had cleared, with most of their predictions surprisingly not coming true. Two articles examine the recent move by the Ontario Govt. back to labour laws last seen circa 1800 – namely, the now-legal 60-hour work week. Of more local interest is an article on a very hostile, illegal eviction of the tenants of a downtown Montreal building. A highly critical view of a recent film spouting separatist propaganda (15 February, 1839) correctly criticizes both the accuracy and the selectivity of the history covered in the film – and also shows the astuteness with which the editors avoid taking sides in the increasingly irrelevant “nationalism question”. With no ads, the content just doesn’t stop – I’ll only mention the full page accorded to the activities of the Blood Sisters group (urging you to “take your vagina in your own hands”) as proof that the scope of this paper covers all revolutions. Heed the call! (Louis Rastelli)
tabloid, vol.1, #4, March 2001, French, 16 pgs., $1, CP 32018, St. André, Montreal, Que, H2L 4Y5