In this issue...
• Second Cup immediately terminates Jewish hospital franchisee after she's caught on video making hateful comments at Montreal protest
• Las Vegas Formula 1 fans use escalators and a legal loophole to watch race for free
• By the numbers X 10 + 1
• Is your tip actually going to the worker you're tipping? CBC Marketplace investigated.
• Elsipogtog First Nation basket-making course keeping traditional Indigenous skills alive
• Give the gift of delicious recipes this Christmas! Buy them now! Acadian Recipes and More - Volumes 1, 2 & 3, and Forgotten Recipes - Volume 1
• The next Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Trivia Night will be held on Monday, January 27!
• Christmas Day is on Wednesday, December 25!
• Before you go: 7 things you may have missed in the news
• Enjoy the outdoors with the Greater Moncton Walking Group
... and trivia, quotes and more!
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Second Cup immediately terminates Jewish hospital franchisee after she's caught on video making hateful comments at Montreal protest
The utter stupidity and hypocrisy of this (former) Second Cup franchisee is just incredible. Imagine owning two Second Cup franchises at the Jewish (!!) General Hopsital in Montreal and then participating in a protest where you're caught on camera yelling hate speech and giving the Nazi salute. I mean, c'mon! What did you expect?
Article excerpt: "Second Cup Café has taken back two of its franchise locations in Montreal following allegations of hateful remarks and gestures made by the franchisee in a video that was widely circulated online during a pro-Palestinian protest on Thursday.
The locations are at the Jewish General Hospital.
In a statement shared on its social media accounts, the coffee chain said the franchisee’s actions breached their agreement and violated the company’s values of inclusion and community.
'Second Cup has zero tolerance for hate speech. In coordination with the hospital, we’ve shut down the franchisee’s café and are terminating their franchise agreement,' the company said.
The footage shows a woman wearing a keffiyeh, black sunglasses, and a medical mask, chanting 'the final solution is coming your way.'
The video also appears to show the same woman giving a Nazi salute during the protest.
Montreal police said on Monday the incident is under investigation by its hate crimes section.
Peter Mammas, the president of Foodtastic, Second Cup’s parent company, told CTV News that they were made aware of the video on Saturday afternoon.
Mammas said several employees identified the woman in the video as Mai Abdulhadi, the franchisee of the Second Cup café at the hospital."
People have the right to protest. That's true. They also have to accept the consequences of their actions.
Second Cup should be commended for the swiftness of their actions here. They moved at lightning speed - and they came out of this with their reputation intact. As for the franchisee, well, have fun with that!
Read: Second Cup takes back Montreal franchise over hateful incident.
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Las Vegas Formula 1 fans use escalators and a legal loophole to watch race for free
Formula 1 (F1) fans attending an event in Las Vegas found a loophole where they could watch the race for free by continuously riding and up and down an escalator with a view of the track. They would get fined if they stopped moving, but a loophole in the law prevented being fined as long as someone was riding the escalator - so that's what they did. Multiple times! Sounds crazy, but it worked!
Article excerpt: "The second annual Las Vegas Grand Prix brought over 300,000 F1 fans to Sin City this weekend, but not everyone paid for a ticket.
Some crafty spectators found a free and creative way to watch the race by riding an escalator - over and over and over again.
TikTok user @VegasStarFish captured the hilarious scene outside the Fashion Show Mall as folks took turns riding a set of escalators throughout the race, sneaking glimpses of the action as F1 cars roared past.
The escalator’s elevated position overlooks one of the 50-lap spectacle’s most exciting turns, providing a better view than many paid seats at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit.
Fans could be seen lining up politely, snapping photos and recording videos as they looped up and down the moving staircase."
Well, I guess you can't blame them, but if you're a true F1 fan, you could at least buy a ticket and enjoy the entire experience.
Read: Vegas F1 fans use clever escalator trick to get free view of race.
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Is your tip actually going to the worker you're tipping? CBC Marketplace investigated.
Request for tips have become much more "in your face" lately. But when you do decide to tip, don't assume it's going to the person who served you! CBC Television's Marketplace investigated where tips go through 100 hidden-camera interactions.
"Be it buying a burger and fries or getting your car repaired, enter your credit or debit card into a machine and you might get a not-so-subtle nudge: how much would you like to tip?
But a hidden camera investigation involving 100 businesses by CBC's Marketplace has exposed there's no guarantee the tip you leave is going to the person it was intended for.
CBC journalists went undercover, posing as consumers, to businesses - including sit-down restaurants, fast food, retail, auto service centres and self-serve kiosks - counting up who's asking for a tip, why, and where all that extra money is really going.
While it's illegal for employers in some provinces to pocket tips, front-line employees say it's still happening: the undercover team heard that complaint at six Ontario fast-food establishments, while research found that hundreds of employees have filed complaints of their tips being held back in Ontario and other provinces that have similar tip-protection legislation.
Marketplace is not naming the businesses it visited in an effort to not identify the workers who spoke to undercover journalists.
'Some of those places are actually breaking the [employment standards] law, but it's easy to hide,' says Michael von Massow, a professor at the University of Guelph who studies the economy of food and tipping.
The complaints come as Canadians are leaving bigger tips than before.
Square, a technology and payment services company, says the average tip in Canada left on its platform jumped from 16% in 2019 to 20% in 2023."
I always tip, but I also hope that the money is going to the person I'm tipping or being shared among staff, at least.
Read: More and more places are asking for tips. Hidden cameras reveal who is and isn't getting them.
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Elsipogtog First Nation basket-making course keeping traditional Indigenous skills alive
I was so proud to be part of the unveiling of works by the new basket-making class at Elsipogtog First Nation last Wednesday, November 27. (See top photo.)
After fears that traditional Indigenous basket-making skills were being lost, the community got together to teach seven members how to make baskets thanks to the expert guidance of master basket-maker Sandra Racine.
There was delicious food, too: corn soup, moose meat, blueberry cake, blueberry preserves and bannock!
Thanks to all media for the excellent coverage, including CBC Radio, Téléjournal Acadie, Global TV News and the Times & Transcript!
I saw a piece of art created by Sandra in the Artisan Gift Shop and couldn't leave without it, so I added it to my small-but-growing collection. (I rarely buy art, but this was too beautiful to leave there!) Was happy to pose with the artist (Sandra), too! (See bottom photo.)
Thanks to Lynn Francis and the Elsipogtog Economic Development Department for putting their trust in Bricor Communications to help with this event!
To purchase baskets made by the students and other Indigenous art and gifts, visit Elsipogtog's Artisan Gift Shop located at 29 Big Cove Road in the community (located in the same building as the Economic Development Department). Hours are Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The store will be closing for the holidays on Christmas Eve (Tuesday, December 24) at 1 p.m., so be sure to visit before then for some beautiful and unique cultural gifts!
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Give the gift of delicious recipes this Christmas! Buy them now! Acadian Recipes and More - Volumes 1, 2 & 3, and Forgotten Recipes - Volume 1
My three volumes of Acadian recipe books (English and French) and Forgotten Recipes - Volume 1 (English only) are out now and make a great Christmas gift. They are available on Amazon Canada, Amazon USA and in some local retail outlets. (Click on the photo for a larger version.)
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The next Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Trivia Night will be held on Monday, January 27!
The next Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club Trivia Night of the 2024-2025 season will be held at St. Louis Bar & Grill, 1405 Mountain Road, Moncton, on Monday, January 27, beginning at 6:30 p.m. $10 per person (cash only). (Facebook event listing: bit.ly/3Z9PQ3m)
Participants may play as teams or individuals. The winning team gets 50% of the door receipts as their prize.
It is strongly suggested that participants arrive by 5:15-5:30 p.m. for a seat. Trivia begins at 6:30 p.m. sharp and is usually over by 8 p.m. Everyone welcome!
Please note that restaurant reservations are NOT available for this event. First come, first served. Limited seating of approximately 50 guests.
Participants may bring an optional non-perishable food item (box of granola bars, Kraft Dinner, cereal, etc.) for distribution at Krista Richard's Community Sports Program events, of which the Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club is a sponsor. Any donations will be gratefully received and provided to Krista for distribution to her program participants (school-aged children from Moncton-area schools).
Since Rotary Trivia Nights began in 2016, the Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club has donated more than $20,000 to Atlantic Wellness, Karing Kitchen, Ray of Hope Kitchen, Salvus Clinic, The Humanity Project, BGC Moncton (Moncton Boys & Girls Club), Junior Achievement New Brunswick, Project Linus - Moncton Chapter, Habitat for Humanity, Junior Achievement New Brunswick, Children's Wish Canada and Krista Richard's Community Sports Program, among others.
The Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club gratefully acknowledges the kind and generous sponsorship of our restaurant partner, St. Louis Bar & Grill.
PLEASE NOTE: There is a no telephone rule at these events. The answers cannot be researched except among discussion with your team members.
The remaining Trivia Night schedule for 2024-2025 is as follows:
• Monday, January 27, 2025
• Monday, February 24, 2025
• Monday, March 24, 2025
• Monday, April 28, 2025
• Monday, May 26, 2025
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Trivia: Did you know?
Of all the film adaptations of Charles Dickens' beloved A Christmas Carol story, the only one to have won the Oscar is the 1971 animated version featuring the voices of Alastair Sim and Michael Hordern reprising their 1951 film version roles of Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley, respectively. It won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.
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Quotes of note
• 1. "Blow, blow, thou winter wind, Thou art not so unkind."
- William Shakespeare (1564-1616), "As You Like It" (see photo)
• 2. "I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt."
- Lewis Carroll, “Through the Looking-Glass”
• 3. "Winter is nature’s sleep."
- H.S. Jacobs
• 4. "Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together."
- Vesta Kelly
• 5. "Every avalanche begins with the movement of a single snowflake, and my hope is to move a snowflake."
- Thomas Frey
• 6. "No winter lasts forever, no spring skips its turn."
- Hal Borland
• 7. "Even the strongest blizzards start with a single snowflake."
- Sara Raasch
• 8. "I was just thinking, if it is really a religion with these nudist colonies, they sure must turn atheists in the wintertime."
- Will Rogers
• 9. "The problem with winter sports is that – follow me closely here – they generally take place in winter."
- Dave Barry
• 10. "Welcome to winter, when 50% of drivers should have their licences temporarily suspended."
- Kelley Armstrong
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Enjoy the outdoors with the Greater Moncton Walking Group
In December, the group is walking on the Humphrey Brook Trail in the Lewisville area of Moncton from Tuesday, December 3, until Tuesday, December 31. Meet-up is at the bottom of Martin Street. (Participants may park on the street.)
In January, the group will be moving to Mapleton Park from Thursday, January 2, until Thursday, January 30. Meet-up is in the parking lot next to the Rotary Lodge off of Mapleton Road.
The group meets for walks every Tuesday and Thursday at 8:30 a.m. New participants are always welcome! For more information, please contact Wayne Harrigan at 506-386-2187 or via email.
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About this newsletter
Brian Cormier's Weekly Update is distributed weekly from September to June. If you're reading this newsletter online and want to subscribe, please email me, fill out the subscription form on my website, or subscribe via the "Join Our Email List" button at the top of the newsletter (if you're viewing this in a browser.) This newsletter is not published in July and August and on holidays.
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