Stranger than Fiction

I haven't posted anything in a long time. Can't really say why... too busy, too sick, too much introspection that needed and still needs to stay out of the public sphere. However I couldn't stay quiet about this. To begin with, this semester started within the limits of the surreal. But I'm not talking about the lights of the Eiffel Tower or the excessive French nationalism that has shadowed my steps these past months. What I want to talk about is an e-mail that I got this weekend from the Concordia Student Union concerning Bill 78 that the Quebec government wants to pass in order to stop student protests against the tuition fee hike. I am not going to post the entire thing, but this excerpt strangely reminded me of 1984:

We are communicating with you about this proposed legislation now because we are concerned that following its anticipated adoption, the CSU and other student associations may be unable to issue public criticism about its contents without risking extraordinary sanctions or risking our ability to continue serving students through regular operations.

One of the functions of this law is that it puts a legal onus on student associations like the CSU to attempt to enforce the law’s contents on its student members.

As a result of some of the implications of this proposed legislation, we feel it is our responsibility to explain that you that you may receive some communication from the CSU not as a result of the political will of the membership or its representatives, but because it will be forced to comply with a law that is neither just nor justifiable. Therefore, in the coming months we ask you to please think critically about the nature of the communication you receive from us and other associations.

Between this bill and the increasing possibility of an Eurozone break-up, it's getting harder and harder to distinguish between reality and fiction. J. K. Rowling, if Voldemort is for real and still trying to take over the world, this is as good a time as any to tell us that we're witches and wizards and that we at least have magic to fight him!