How to choose a real estate agent

Ann Malka

You’re ready to place your home on the market and you need an agent. Here’s advice on how to choose a pro:

Referral

Speak to neighbours, family, and friends about agents with whom they have had dealings or check out which agents and brokers are active in your neighbourhood.

Compatibility

Interview more than one agent. Choose the agent who earns your confidence and makes you feel comfortable. Remember that your agent will represent you in the negotiations leading to the sale of your home, which should be accomplished with the least amount of difficulties and in the shortest timeframe.

Reality Check

If agents make promises that seem too good to be true, then you need to verify the claims. A good market analysis should enable you to determine a fair price for your home.

Support

An agent should represent his vendor through to the completion of the transaction, from the signing of the brokerage contract to the signing of the Act of Sale.

Ann Malka is an affiliated agent with Century 21 Vision and may be reached at 514-606-8784 or at annmalka.com.

Signing a brokerage contract

Ann Malka

Montreal realtor Ann Malka addresses some common concerns about contracting a real estate broker.

Who must sign the brokerage contract?

Your Deed of Sale and/or matrimonial regime determine ownership. Couples married without a notarial contract are governed under the regime of partnership of acquests, and must both sign the brokerage contract. Couples married with a notarial contract under the regime of separation as to property, when only one name is mentioned on the Deed of Sale, must also both sign the brokerage contract — one as the owner and the other as party to an Intervention of Spouse, indicating his or her assent.

Length of the contract

There is no minimum or maximum duration to a brokerage contract (except 60 days minimum in order to appear on MLS). When deciding on the length of contract to give your agent, consider the time of year and how long it will take your agent to properly market your home. Three to six months is the norm.

Inclusions/Exclusions

Prior to meeting your agent, decide what items will be sold with the property and what items you will be taking with you. Remember, things attached in a permanent nature are considered part of the property.

Pricing your home

Your agent should provide you with information on similar properties to yours that were recently sold, and those that are still active in your neighbourhood. The recently sold properties show you what buyers are willing to pay, and those still active make you aware of your competition.

Exclusive or MLS

Exposure is the key to maximizing the final sale price of your home. The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) provides information about your property to all the members of the Montreal Real Estate Board, as well as purchasers and realtors all over the world through www.mls.ca, at no extra cost to the vendor.

Disclosures

Be honest with your agent. If you know of any defects with your property, you must make your agent and purchasers aware of these problems in order to avoid legal disputes in the future.

Change of heart

Sometimes, no matter how informed and careful you are in choosing your agent, mistakes can be made. Most contracts can be cancelled at any time. Only those clearly marked “Irrevocable” are not easily terminated.

Ann Malka is an affiliated agent with Century 21 Vision and may be reached at 514-606-8784 or at annmalka.com.

Why people are dying to have a mortgage

Howard Richler

To paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, nothing is certain, except death, taxes and a mortgage.

This thought comes to me during the spring of our discontent — tax season, coinciding with the arrival of The Senior Times real estate issue. The etymologically minded will have noticed that at least two of the three blights itemized above involve the departed. “Mortgage” literally means “death pledge” as it marries the Old French mort (death) and gage (pledge). The depressing idea underlining this word is that if the mortgagor fails to repay the loan, the property pledged as security is lost or “dead” to him or her.

I’m sorry to be the bearer of such cause for angst to mortgage holders, but to mitigate the pain of the word “tax,” I thought I might be able to eviscerate its sting by an etymological deconstruction of terms connected to taxation.

During the Middle Ages in England, taxes were exacted from underlings by the upper echelons of society. Among these servile dues were the merchet — a fine paid for marriage, the heriot — seizure of a family's prime beast on the death of the tenant, and the compulsory use of the lord's mill for grinding the family corn.

Not surprisingly “tax” as a verb took on the sense of “to take to task” by the 16th century and “to burden or prosecute” in the following century. “Income tax” was first introduced as a war tax in England from 1709 and occasioned this naive comment some years later: “The existing income tax should not be retained a moment after it is dispensed with.” Yeah, right!

While working on your income tax return you will no doubt encounter the nefariously wee word “fee.” Originally, under feudal law, this word referred to an estate held on condition of homage and service to your lord, who retained full ownership of the land. So although we might not be happy to pay a tax on services, we can take heart that the essence of the word was transformed as we moved from feudalism to capitalism. Originally, “fee” only referred to something owed to a superior as an obligation, whereas in the post-feudal period the word is more associated with choices available in the marketplace.

If you are exuding saline sweat and tears to earn the salary income tax is based on, you are etymologically correct. In Roman times, salt was so highly valued that soldiers were allowed a sum of money to buy salt, since salt was not easy to obtain and served the purpose of maintaining as well enhancing the savour of food. Later this money, called salarium, came to refer to the stipend paid to the soldiers. Hence, if you are indeed earning your salary, you are “worth your salt.”

If you are working your heine off to increase your purchasing power and fill coffers with goods and services taxes, take note of the original rapacious and disorderly meaning of the word “purchase.” The “pur” part is a variant of the innocuous French pour (for), but the “chase” element relates to hunting or wresting by force — in other words, obtaining an object by whatever means necessary. In Old French, an enfant de porchas did not refer to an adopted or “purchased” child but to an illegitimate one.

So, I hope this etymological perspective serves as a reminder to file your return by April 30th, and you need not feel guilty if you have attempted to lower your tax burden. Economist John Maynard Keynes claimed “the avoidance of taxes is the only pursuit that still carries any reward.”

Howard Richler’s latest book is Can I Have a Word With You? He can be reached at hrichler@sympatico.ca.

Caregiving with dignity

Bonnie Sandler

Language for children should not be used for adults, regardless of any cognitive deficiency. Adults with care needs should be treated with dignity at all times. This includes the use of proper language:

• Diapers – this is a word used to describe a product designed for infants and children who are not yet toilet trained. I cringe when I hear this word used around older adults. When dealing with individuals with incontinence issues we should not use the word diapers. Protective underwear, added under garments are just some examples of terms that are dignified and respectful.
• Babysitters – are sitters for babies. This term should not be used for adults who are unable to be alone. Using words like companions or caregivers is preferable.
• Activities – toys are for children. Although there are toys for adults it would be best to refer to these by their specific names ex: puzzle and not toy.

Bathing is another area where we have to be sensitive to a person’s dignity. Many individuals who require assistance with bathing and or dressing are uncomfortable being naked in front of another person. There are ways to keep a person’s body covered while providing the needed care. If the individual is feeling uncomfortable they may become agitated and thus combative. Using specialized clothing that covers parts of the person yet allows for full bathing/showering will calm the person and preserve his dignity. Even properly placed towels can be used.

Celebrations – Birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions need not be ignored because your loved one is no longer able to remember these special dates. Families can continue to honor these times with cakes and goodies and specially chosen gifts for their loved one. Comfortable slippers, a warm shawl or wrap, costume jewelry, or an activity appropriate to that individual are just some ideas. A CD with old time familiar music, a DVD of old sitcoms such as ‘I Love Lucy’ or special musicals can be enjoyed by all.

These are just a couple of tips for preserving your loved one’s dignity and honouring them with celebrations of special dates. As a caregiver you will discover different ways you can adapt your caregiving to ensure the dignity of your loved one.

Comments and questions can be sent to bonniesandler@gmail.com and may be used in future articles.

After the flood, sound the trumpet

Paul Serralheiro

Tales of destruction by flood are retold in nearly every culture, wherein the event is endowed with mythical qualities, an act of God that forces reflection on its victims. The devastating storm that flooded New Orleans is no longer news, but its aftereffects are still real to the survivors who are trying to pull their lives back together. Musical stories of that flood are told by two jazz musicians from the Crescent City — trumpeters and composers both — in their most recent CD releases.

For his Tale of God’s Will: A Requiem for Katrina (Blue Note Records), Terence Blanchard, the elder of the two trumpeters, was awarded a Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. With Blanchard, the rhythms are recognizably New Orleans, starting with the march-like drum beat that opens the suite of pieces, announcing the requiem that this project presents. The title of the disc asks listeners to consider the storm as part of God’s plan — how else to explain the destruction and loss of life and home for so many? This must have been the reasoning behind the music, much as it is in the Old Testament story. Blanchard’s trumpet voice is compelling in its nuance as it dominates the varied textures of the compositions, some of which originally appeared in Spike Lee’s documentary film “When the Levees Broke.” Blanchard, one of the young lions from Wynton Marsalis’ generation, has scored many a film in recent years and knows how to create mood and meaning with sounds. Here his sextet (trumpet, saxophone, piano, bass, drums and percussion) is augmented in several pieces by the lush, yet subtle strings of The Northwest Sinfonia.

The tunes urge the acceptance of God’s will, as in “Ghost of Congo Square,” “Mantra Intro” and “Mantra,” mixed with clearly programmatic pieces like “Wading Through,” “In Time of Need” and “The Water,” and references to past storms in “Ghost of Betsy” and “Ghost of 1927.” Inevitably, there is also grief expressed in the blues laments of “Levees” and “Funeral Dirge.”

The younger trumpeter, Christian Scott, a couple of decades Blanchard’s junior, leads a smaller group, with sonorities that are more contemporary. However, the mood in Anthem (Concord Jazz) is equally reflective. The twelve pieces featured have titles that directly reference the flood, like “Katrina’s Eyes,” and the title cut appearing in two versions, “Anthem (Antediluvian Adaptation)” and “Anthem (Post Diluvial Adaptation)” — the first having a kind of ominous foreboding vamp that launches the quiet storm of melody and rhythm, and the latter featuring a lyrical commentary by rapper Brother J of X-Clan on the human struggle that was brought into relief by the storm and its aftermath. Through it all, Scott’s keening horn (he plays trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn and slide trumpet) is a lyrical, compelling voice addressing the drama that is both social and cosmic. He and his quartet (horn, drums, bass, and guitar) offer jazz with a contemporary urban beat, but with lyrical content that maintains a thread with tradition.

It is fitting that the trumpet is featured in these almost religious musical mediations. Considered by ancient people as the sound of the voice of God and used as a heraldic instrument to announce divine interventions, it is strikes a deep, resonating chord in the human soul.

Model train show to benefit Sun Youth

Nicolas Carpentier

Model train enthusiasts will want to mark the weekend of April 19 in their agenda because one of the biggest model train shows in Quebec is back at Sun Youth for the third year in a row. The show was originally started in 1990 and held at various locations including Marché Bonsecours and the Montreal (Blue Bonnets) Hippodrome. Since 2006, the event has been back in the Sun Youth gymnasium where it all started 18 years ago.

I recently had the chance to speak to the person responsible for creating this event. His name is Ivan Dow and he has been an enthusiast for many years. For Mr. Dow, model railroading is a great hobby because it involves multiple aspects, such as electronics, architecture, landscaping and design. It also involves some history since layouts are often created with a specific era in mind. Mr. Dow will once again be present at the model train show exhibiting his “Thomas the Tank” layout.

The show's organizer, the British Model Railway Club of Montreal, will exhibit a four-square-meter modular layout created by its team of nearly 30 Canadian and British expatriate enthusiasts. Sun Youth has worked closely with BMRCM's David Tozer over the past several months to set up this event. He notes that it offers collectors a chance to discover hard-to-find items and competitive prices by bringing together multiple vendors under one roof. There will also be activities organized for children, teens, adults and seniors. Guests will be able to operate some of the layouts presented and learn about the technical aspects of model railroading with the many clinics and demonstrations offered.

It’s all happening at Sun Youth Organization (4251 St-Urbain, between Rachel and Marie-Anne) on Saturday, April 19 from 10 to 5 and Sunday, April 20 from 10 to 3. Admission $8 adults, $6 seniors, $4 children under 18, free for children under 6. Since parking around Sun Youth can be problematic, free parking will be available at Home Depot (on Beaubien, between Park Avenue and St-Laurent Boulevard) with a free shuttle service to Sun Youth.

For more information about this fundraiser please contact Mr. David Tozer at 514-245-7691 or at tozerdd@sympatico.ca.

Multitalented artist leaves her print everywhere

Nancy Snipper

Myrna Brooks Bercovitch

Myrna Brooks Bercovitch is an NDG artist who excels in experimentation. She crosses over all forms of expressing visual images. She is a printmaker, painter, watercolourist, and pastelist. Her collage and mixed media pieces are presently on show in Agora Gallery in Soho, New York City.

“I’m thrilled that New York is going to display my work for a year. It wasn’t my first choice,” she says, “but I couldn’t get a gallery here to show my collages — I was trying for three years. Curators told me my work was ‘too New York,’ whatever that means, but I took their advice, and went (via email) south of the border.” Her mixed media work on trees was recently shown at Montreal’s Café Volver, and her art has also been shown at the Georges Laoum Gallery (formerly the Montreal Museum of Fine Art store).

Myrna was a long time associate at Gallery Shore on Monkland and at the Saidye Bronfman Centre where she headed the children’s and teens’ art department. She is presently teaching collage at Henri Bradet Centre in NDG, but her soft spot for The Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors still remains strong.

Kimono and Blue Rose (watercolour, ink)

“I ran the art program there for three years. I loved doing it because the people there learned so much. It was a great way to connect to so many who have always wanted to express themselves through art. As an animator there, my idea was to introduce them to various art forms, develop their curiosity and stimulate imagination. They explored sculpture, jewelry-making, stained glass, and painting.”

She did this with ease, for she’s an eclectic artist. Her pastels of flowers are as inspiring as her watercolours that lyrically portray women draped in kimonos. Her beautiful faces reflect the pensive thoughts of women who seem to rise out of antiquity. Pompeii and Athens come to mind.

Myrna has also taken her printmaking talents to others with her fossil graphs. “I select the plants. I do it with kids and adults. We use my own garden to get the plants and flowers. I grow the ones that leave dyes — begonias, delphiniums, irises — and I also incude the weeds. It’s so much fun.”

Striped Kimono, Striped Landscape (watercolour)

Indeed, this grandmother of five keeps branching out. She’s presently taking classical ballet dance lessons at Studio Biz four times a week — she’s been dancing since 1972. Nothing holds this spirited artist down. She’s even created stage and set designs for choreographers. Now she’s ‘dancing’ her way to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts with her pastel workshops. Still finding time to create mixed media illustrations for Shoshanna Bret Anisman’s children’s book, titled ‘My Grandma Doesn’t Wear a Helmet’, Myrna has just written her own book on the creative process. It’s surprising she finds alone time to paint for herself, but she’s had a lifetime of experience doing that. “From the time I was small, I used to communicate my dreams by escaping from reality through collage and drawing. I found solitude in this. My family was traveling a rocky road which affected me. Fortunately my creative spirit took over. I was lucky.”

Humble by nature, this renaissance woman has embarked on many different paths. After nursing for three years and raising three kids, she spent seven years at the Saidye Bronfman studying the very art forms she now teaches. In 1980, she started formal art education studies, graduating from Concordia University at the age of 42. Nothing stops her desire to learn, through good and bad times. They say what goes around comes around, and this woman rightfully deserves the rewards she’s now reaping. She’s won five international prizes for her drawings and prints, and to date, has been the featured artist in 18 solo shows.

“I am blessed because I get to do what I love create my own way and share it with others.”

Grandparents and special needs kids

Gisele Rucker

Grandparents want the best for everyone in their family, but especially their grandkids. Abby Kleinberg-Bassel is a Special Needs Consultant who welcomes questions from concerned grandparents, whose grandkids are displaying developmental problems.

“Usually grandparents have heard about me from other people who know about my work,” she says. “They're referred by their doctor, or friends, or they're just taking a stab in the dark. They call me and say, ‘I have a grandchild and I'm concerned because…’ and they might name Global Developmental Delay, Down's Syndrome, Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, or Asperger's Syndrome,” Kleinberg-Bassel explains. “The bottom line is they are worried.”

Grandparents call because they see that something is wrong and their own children (the parents of the child) do not want to or cannot deal with the problem. Either the parents are unaware that anything is amiss or are unable to face the idea that something might be wrong. Sometimes, to Abby’s dismay, the grandparent informs her that the child’s paediatrician has advised the parents to ‘wait and see, maybe they’ll grow out of it.’ For her, precious time for early intervention is being lost.

“They want to know how to help without being intrusive,” she says. “I ask if they've told their children that they're contacting me, because there is the important issue of confidentiality. If the parents haven’t been told, I may advise the grandparents, but it does have to be the parent who contacts me to provide services for the child. I ask them if there has been a diagnosis of the child and then we talk about the services I can provide.”

Therapeutic services range from assessment, diagnosis and treatment in the areas of Speech, Occupational, and Physiotherapy, to Psychological services for assessment, behavioural programs, or one-on-one educators.

Kleinberg-Bassel provides support for the family and helps them obtain the government services they are entitled to. “When grandparents want to help, they need to know how to help,” she says. “For instance, if the child’s parents are willing, grandparents can come to the meetings and observe the sessions. They can choose to participate monetarily or by providing emotional support, or can give the parents a break, because they know how to be effective with the child when the parent is not around. Equally important is the ability to form a bond with the child, so there is the possibility of a positive interaction between the grandparent and the grandchild.”

She suggests grandparents

• Be proactive by helping children find appropriate resources.
• Be supportive because worrying and meddling will only increase the stress for the family.
• Encourage rather than criticize, being forewarned that suggestions can be perceived as criticisms.
• Be sensitive to the mood, the situation, the setting and the problems.
• Let your children know that you are there for them.

Abby Kleinberg-Bassel has worked with young children with Special Needs and their families for 38 years. She says the earlier the child receives necessary help, the greater the results. “Research has shown that Intensive Early Intervention is critical in order to ensure making gains in the child’s development,” she says. “The reality is that the earlier a problem is identified, the sooner appropriate services can be put into place to ensure your grandchild makes progress. The public system can assess the child, but the waiting period can be excessive — from six months to three years. If they do not want to wait so long, they can obtain private assessments and services for their grandchild.”

Abby Kleinberg-Bassel can be contacted at 514-313-2010 or 514-748-2193.

What to consider when purchasing a property

Ivan Cons

For many Canadians purchasing a home is the biggest investment they will ever make. The majority of most Canadians’ wealth is tied up in the equity of their homes. One of the advantages of owning a home is that the gains on a sale are tax free under most circumstances. There is much to consider when purchasing a property. Look for a qualified real estate agent, one with references who knows the neighborhood you are interested in.

It is important to understand how mortgages work. Talk to several financial institutions and/or a qualified mortgage broker. Pay attention to mortgage ratios (the ratio of your total mortgage payment to your total income). Do not forget to factor in your debt load.

Remember to get preapproved before you purchase. The process is quick and easy and facilitates the sale.

Make sure you are aware of your financial details.

Understand the impact of your credit history.

Create a budget that incorporates your mortgage expense plus any other unforeseen expenses that may arise including your existing financial commitments

Have questions ready regarding the property you wish to purchase.

Verify what similar properties have sold for in your neighbourhood of choice. There are many resources online that can provide this type of information.

Once you find a property that you feel is acceptable, determine your offer. Be prepared to negotiate and try not to go over budget.

Purchasing a property can be a very emotional time. Seek counsel from others that you trust.

For non-residential property or for rental or commercial properties, one must be aware of the impact on disposition that capital gains may trigger. In addition there may be recapture of depreciation that will add significantly to the amount of tax that must be remitted on disposition. One is best advised to speak to one’s accountant or tax professional in order to clearly understand if this investment is suitable.

Finally, it is recommended to insure the mortgage so that in the event of sickness or death, the obligation to the lender is taken care of. There are many ways to procure this insurance, either through financial institutions or through simple term life insurance which offers guaranteed rates of 10, 20, or 30 years. There are many advantages to purchasing the insurance with an independent life insurance broker:

• You choose the beneficiary.
• The premium does not change for the term of the insurance.
• If you elect to refinance your mortgage with another institution, your insurance is portable and there is no need to reapply.
• Policies are available that insure well beyond the age of 70.
• The amount of the insurance will never decrease.

Ivan Cons can be reached online at imcfinancial.ca.

A balance of flavours perfected at Anancy

Nancy Snipper

When Anancy's George Grant found Jamaican chef Dave Holness out of 150 applicants to cook up authentic Jamaican dishes for his 3-month-old dream restaurant, he was ecstatic. Holness trained at Jamaica’s HEART Institute, was the executive chef for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and garnered cuisine kudos in Grand Cayman. Now Montreal diners can enjoy his palette-pleasing creations at Anancy Restaurant. Holness has refined Jamaican dishes, creating a balance between herbal input and taste bud appeal for the public up here. My dining companion Dale Newton and I were surprised by the recurring ‘lightness’ in our choices — each devoid of grease and pungent spices.

We started with the chicken soup. Pumpkin seasoning with thyme added flavour accent to the fabulous string bean-shaped dumplings, potatoes, carrots and chocho (similar to small shallots). This soup was my thumbs-up favourite. Dale went crazy over Anancy’s conch fritters. She last sampled such treats in the Bahamas. Rumour ranks these fish cakes as aphrodisiacs, but we didn’t attribute our love of main meal selections to these awesome appetizers. Still, my amorous sentiments were heightened when I bit into the jerk chicken. Wow! It was so tender — utterly pleasing with its Holness balance of seven herbs. I tasted ginger, garlic and pepper, and spied pimento and bits of red and green pepper, but the rest remained a mouth-watering mystery. Dale chose ackee, a yellow veggie resembling a cooked egg yolk in taste and texture. It was exotic. Salty cured cod pieces added great flavour.

I snuck one of the dumplings that go with ackee’s tasty salad mixture. They were sensational — like a donut without the hole or the sweetness. In fact, I quickly became an Anancy dumpling addict, stuffing myself with ‘festivals’ as they are called — three are on the menu as extras. I allowed Dale the last one. She found festivals exciting. I replaced dessert with Blue Mountain coffee. Dale sipped chocolate chai tea — a perfect finale for our Jamaican feast. All we needed now was a beach to stretch out on. There was, however, a waterfall cascading down the glass at the entrance. Art-filled terra cotta walls enhance the warmth. Incredibly affordable, Anancy is a treat on all accounts!

Anancy is located at 6587 Somerled. Info: 514-486-2629

Hillary jeopardizes Democratic win

Neil McKenty

It is remarkable that the two candidates running for the Democratic nomination are so strong they risk weakening their own party. Imagine another three months of trench warfare between Senators Clinton and Obama. The collateral damage for the Democratic party is that this slugfest can only help Senator McCain now and in the general election next fall.

Because she is behind in so many categories – elected delegates, popular vote, states won – the New York Times has concluded Mrs. Clinton has no more than a five per cent chance of winning the nomination at the convention in Denver next summer.

So is it any wonder calls are increasing that Clinton should sit down, review her situation and bow out. Among others, the distinguished Democratic Senator Leahy from Vermont has urged her to do just that.

But Senator Clinton, displaying uncommon energy, resiliency and resolve, has made it clear she is staying the course at least until the primaries are over in early June. Even her critics admit she has every right to do so.

So what would it take for Senator Clinton to win? For starters, she would have to pull ahead in the popular vote to balance her second-place spot in number of states won and in pledged delegates. Unfortunately for Clinton, almost nobody who has done the math thinks that she can win the popular vote without re-votes in Florida and Michigan.

Mrs. Clinton is more than 700,000 votes behind in the popular vote. With 10 states and territories still to vote (including Pennsylvania which she will almost certainly win), perhaps another six million votes could be cast if turnout is very high.

To get the lead in the popular vote, she would need to win 56 percent of all the remaining votes – or well more than 60 percent of the votes outside of North Carolina and other states she is expected to lose. So far, though, Mrs. Clinton hasn’t won 60 per cent in any state except Arkansas, where she had reigned as first lady.

So any way you slice it, Mrs. Clinton’s chances of winning the popular vote are negligible. And without the popular vote, she is toast. In view of that bleak prospect why does Mrs. Clinton stubbornly insist on soldiering on? Her own people say she’s not a quitter and she will hang in right through the convention. Her critics are not so kind. Some say her real strategy is to destroy Mr. Obama’s chances of winning the general election so that she can compete again in 2012.

Meanwhile, the big winner of this Democratic fist-fighting is Senator McCain. A recent Gallup poll found that 19 percent of Mr. Obama’s supporters said they would vote for Mr. McCain in the general election if Mrs. Clinton were the nominee. More startling, 28 percent of Mrs.Clinton’s supporters said they would defect to Mr. McCain if Senator Obama were the nominee.

In addition, each Democratic candidate is inflicting wounds on the other, wounds the Republicans will rip the scabs off come the general election next fall. Mrs. Clinton says she would have walked out of Obama’s church given the hateful comments of his minister. She also said both she and Senator McCain are qualified to be commander in chief, pointedly omitting Senator Obama. The Obama campaign underlined Mrs. Clinton’s big fib about fleeing sniper fire in Bosnia.

Granted, tempers may cool by November. But dragging out the contest only deepens wounds and reduces time for healing. In nine of the last 10 presidential elections, the nominee chosen first ended up winning the general election. And if the Democratic nominee has been crippled, that would hurt Democrats running for other offices as well. When Mrs. Clinton goes down to defeat how many of her Democratic friends will she take with her?

I freely confess that up until the beginning of this year I supported Hillary Clinton for president. And, if despite all the odds, she is still selected and elected, I think she would make a good president. But I have now concluded that Senator Obama might make a great one. His speech on race relations was the best since Bobby Kennedy in 1968. He has special appeal for young people. He would put a new face on America in the world of nations.

Hillary has waged a gallant campaign. She could have a brilliant future in the Senate. But I believe the time has come, for the sake of her party and for her own sake, for Hillary to gracefully bow out.

A different kind of seder

The vast majority of Jews in Montreal, like the vast majority of Jews all over the world, are preparing to celebrate Passover. For two consecutive nights they will gather at the seder table to recount the Exodus story. As they observe one of the most fundamental traditions in the Jewish calendar, they will exalt God for the role he played in the deliverance of Israel from slavery in ancient Egypt.

A small minority of Jews, however, will be gathering for a very different kind of seder. These are the Jews who declare: “If the exodus from Egypt occurred, then it means that God intervened in the world. If the story is true, he took it upon himself to hurl plagues upon the Egyptians and part the seas for the Hebrews. Well, if he could involve himself directly in the affairs of humanity in ancient times, then why not in modern times? Why not at Auschwitz?”

The answer for these Jews, of course, is that there were never any plagues hurled nor seas parted. The Exodus story is literature. God did not act at Auschwitz because “God” is and always has been a human-created idea. These Jews, typically known as secular humanists, adhere to Jewish culture and values while ignoring (and when necessary disproving) the superstition of a divine force in the universe.

Secular humanistic Jews hold that the ancient fable of liberation from Egyptian captivity ought not take precedence over the twentieth century’s stark reality of German genocide. Accordingly, for some of them, the proper role of a seder is to remember and honour the six million who perished in the Holocaust.

For one night they put aside the Hagaddah of Passover, and replace it with the Holocaust Hagaddah. The history of anti-Semitism, the advent of the Nazis, the strangulation and annihilation of European Jewry, the complicity of a bystanding world — all are retold in the Holocaust Haggadah.

Participants in this seder do not recline comfortably at a sumptuous feast. Rather they sit on a bare floor in ragged clothes and partake of icy bread. As they tell the terrible story, they reconstruct, in infinitesimal microcosm, the plight of the six million. They do it to remember in a symbolic way the immeasurable horror of the Holocaust.

After the murder of the six million, infers the new Haggadah, it is unacceptable to go on as before. The enormity of the crime commited against the Jews demands nothing less than a fundamental alteration of custom. It requires, in the service of fitting remembrance, reformation among the Jewish people.

Such reformation is not only appropriate, but increasingly necessary. Everywhere in the world Holocaust denial is a growth industry. How can the Jews send a message to history and create a beacon powerful enough to remind all of posterity that the Holocaust happened?

They can do it by radically updating a basic component of Jewish ritual. This is the message of the Holocaust Haggadah, and eternal intent of the Holocaust seder.

Michael Carin is author of The Future Jew and may be reached through the website www.thefuturejew.com.

Graffiti artist throws you into your own imagination

Megan Callahan

For most people, the word "graffiti" is synonymous with vandalism, street gangs, young punks and hoodlums lurking in alleyways. This presents barely a fraction of what graffiti encompasses. For Dawson College graduate Peru Dyer, graffiti art is his career, his passion and his way of life.

Peru was born in Lima, Peru, where he spent his first 16 years. As a boy, the graffiti he saw in his hometown left deep impressions, and prompted him to began exploring and researching other graffiti artists. When asked what it was about it that attracted him, he says, "The movement and colour combination in graffiti was only the hook for what was to be a lifelong journey into the exploration of shape and form."

He describes graffiti artists as a close-knit community. Through his craft, Peru met people from all around the world who not only shared his passion for it, but shared values and moral understanding on numerous issues. He recalls staying with strangers who took him to their secret spots to paint, decorating abandoned factories and forgotten train tunnels. It is not lost on this community that their work is often seen as little more than defacement of other people's property. "Most people see graffiti as the media has portrayed it — an eyesore and waste of tax dollars," he says, and not as it can and should be: "as a protest against endless advertisements no one asked to have thrown at us... [or] as a statement to call attention to a growing class division."

Peru has exhibited his work in galleries throughout Europe and has created a career in muralism, but confesses that even though he can get paid to paint a mural, he still enjoys going out at night to illegally beautify an alleyway. "Some feel safer walking through that alley. Some stop and get something beyond our understanding from it," he says. Becoming a respectable gallery artist is often frowned upon by graffiti artists, seen as "selling out". "But it's a good way to pay the fines when we get caught!" he says.

To wrap up our interview I asked Peru what kind of message he's trying to convey through his art. "After ten years I've learned that today's youth need guidance from the people they look up to. I am doing my part by devoting my expression to spiritual matters and to social injustice. If I can take you away from your daily routine and throw you into your own imagination, even for a second, then I can die a happy man."

To view Peru's graffiti art, visit celphexploitedart.com