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Why incels are a ‘real and present threat’ for Canadians

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This story contains graphic content.

It all began with a Facebook post on Jan. 19, 2019.

A Colorado man named Christopher Cleary took to social media and laid out the plan for an attack that was coming together in his mind.

« I’m 27 years old and I’ve never had a girlfriend before and I’m still a virgin, » Cleary wrote. « This is why I’m planning on shooting up a public place soon and being the next mass shooter. »

In this case, police tracked him down — en route to a women’s march in Utah — before he was able to carry out his plan.

But it doesn’t always work out that way when men who identify themselves as incels — or involuntary celibates — post such thoughts online.

In April 2018, Alek Minassian allegedly drove a van into pedestrians in Toronto, killing 10 and injuring 16 others. Before the attack, a post appeared on Minassian’s Facebook account that said « the Incel Rebellion has already begun. »

Involuntary celibates or incels are an online brotherhood of men who say they are unsuccessful in their romantic attempts with women.

Incels interact in forums online, like 4chan, Reddit and a few public incel boards, and even on popular social media platforms including Facebook and YouTube. They often express extreme feelings of misogyny and hatred.

In the worst cases, their online misogyny turns to violent fantasies, where many online encourage rape, violence and in some cases, killing.

Experts interviewed by The Fifth Estate have identified 120 instances of extreme violence in Canada by right-wing groups, including incels, in the past 30 years. This is compared to only seven by Islamist-inspired extremists.

Authorities in Canada and the U.S. are often quick to call these incidents « lone wolf » attacks, but criminologists and sociologists are sounding the alarm on incels and other growing internet subcultures that promote extreme violence. They say the threat posed by these groups isn’t being taken seriously enough. 

« These people are extraordinarily dangerous, » Mike Arntfield, a criminologist at Western University in London, Ont., told The Fifth Estate. « As soon as you have a suicidal, disoriented male, all bets are off in terms of what they’re capable of doing…. Many are suicidal and some are homicidal.

« This [group] has an organization to it. » 

Mike Arntfield, a former police detective and criminologist who holds a PhD in criminal justice, says online subcultures like incels need to be taken more seriously by authorities. (CBC)

A recent count by The Fifth Estate shows at least 60,000 people are active in the three main public incel forums online.

The origins of incel are widely considered to be in 1993 in Quebec, when a young university student known only as Alana created a website to talk about her involuntary celibacy with others. It was called « Alana’s Involuntary Celibacy Project. » On the website, incel was described as « anybody of any gender who was lonely, had never had sex or who hadn’t had a relationship in a long time. »

But those roots are long gone.

« It’s about their proprietary violence, that they think they have some sort of inborn inherent right and privilege to access women and women’s bodies and so that is the bit that animates them, » Barbara Perry, a criminologist specializing in hate crime at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, told The Fifth Estate.

Incel attacks

The term « incel » gained more prominence in 2014, when a 22-year-old man in Isla Vista, Calif. killed six people and injured 14 others before killing himself. It was discovered Elliot Rodger had an extensive online presence, including a series of YouTube videos he made and posted — reuploading as they were banned and removed.

He also left behind a 137-page manifesto he wrote titled « My Twisted World. » The last video he posted was called « Elliot Rodger’s Retribution. »

« Tomorrow is the day of retribution — a day of which I will have my revenge against all of humanity, » Rodger said in one video. « I will slaughter every single spoiled stuck-up blonde slut…. You will finally see I’m the superior one. The true alpha male. »

The name of Elliot Rodger may look familiar — it was in a Facebook post from last year, this time in Canada. The post appeared on a Facebook page on April 23, 2018, before a van rampage down Yonge Street in Toronto that involved running red lights, mounting sidewalks and running down pedestrians.

Minassian is charged with 10 counts of murder and 16 counts of attempted murder. His trial is scheduled to begin in early 2020, and his defence is unknown.

The post was pledging allegiance to the « Incel Rebellion, » and hailing Rodger, the mass killer many incels consider a hero.

This image of a Facebook post started circulating online a few hours after the deadly van attack in Toronto. Facebook has since confirmed the profile belonged to Alek Minassian. (Twitter)

Minassian wasn’t the first person to praise Rodger in online postings.

In the past four years, there have been several killings by people who either self-identified as incels or who mentioned incel-related names and writings in their internet postings.

Nikolas Cruz, the man who is charged with killing 17 people and attempting to kill 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., last year, praised Rodger online, saying « Elliot Rodger will not be forgotten. »

On Oct. 1, 2015, Chris Harper-Mercer killed nine people and injured eight others in a shooting at the Umpqua Community College campus in Roseburg, Ore., before killing himself. Harper-Mercer posted online about being involuntarily celibate.

On July 31, 2016, a man named Sheldon Bentley killed an unconscious man in an alleyway in Edmonton. Bentley was convicted of manslaughter, and said he killed the man by stomping on his abdomen because he was frustrated with being involuntarily celibate for four years.

On Dec. 7, 2017, William Atchison killed two people before killing himself at a high school in Aztec, N.M. He used the pseudonym « Elliot Rodger » on several online forums and praised « the supreme gentleman. »

In November 2018, a man who identified as incel shot and killed two women at a Tallahassee, Fla., yoga studio.

Watch an expert explain the growing community behind some of these attacks. 

Sociologist Ross Haenfler explains the organized nature of incels. 0:40

Many on incel forums consider Marc Lepine — who, in 1989, killed 14 women and injured 10 other women at École Polytechnique in Montreal — the first incel killer.

Still, these attacks are often quickly deemed « lone wolf » attacks by authorities, and the public is told there’s no threat to public safety.

Experts in Canada and the U.S. are sounding the alarm bells on groups like incels, and encouraging authorities to take them more seriously.

« We’re missing something, » said Perry. « How is this not an attack on national security?… There’s a real and present threat associated with the far right.… I think we make a dangerous mistake thinking about it as only … a fringe movement. »

What is incel?

The Fifth Estate spent months infiltrating incel forums to get a sense of what goes on in these dark corners of the internet. Self-proclaimed incels often blame society and their genetics for not being successful in romantic endeavours. Using the term « involuntary, » experts say, indicates that incels have little self-awareness.

Incels believe women owe them sex, and in some cases people active on incel forums advocate for government-sanctioned girlfriends and sexual encounters.

« [Incel] became a religion of sorts, and it’s a recent ideology, » Arntfield of Western University, said. « These are people who’ve found each other online and can ruminate over what they can do. »

The ideology of incels focuses on the idea that attractive women, known as « Stacys » in incel terminology, are shallow and only attracted to « Chads » — men who are hyper-muscular and highly attractive.

In some incel forums, users encourage others to commit violent acts and highlight the initials of people they consider their heroes, such as Elliot Rodger, Alek Minassian and Nikolas Cruz, in their writings. (incels.is)

« The Chads are the high-status males who, from the incels’ point of view, are successful and are having sex with lots of women, to whom life comes really easily, » said Ross Haenfler, a sociologist who studies internet subculture at Grinnell College in Iowa.

« The Stacys are the shallow, self-obsessed women who only care about the looks of the Chads and therefore spurn any advances or attempts made by the incels.

« You also see, in the forums, just a lot of communicating of just simple rage … these incel men are really focusing on feminists as being the cause of their troubles. »

Some incels say they flock to the online forums because they are lonely men trying to find like-minded people to ruminate with and to help find solutions to their problems. Others are trying to stop the hate and the violence, saying this isn’t something they want to be associated with.

But increasingly, incel is a world of misogyny, hate and violence, experts told The Fifth Estate.

For many, being incel isn’t about regaining masculinity, but instead is about a highly misogynistic takedown of women through violent acts.

« It’s deeply disturbing to see that the answer to [their feelings] is the ‘Incel rebellion,’ as Alek Minassian called it, » said Haenfler. « That, to me, is not a rebellion at all. It’s just a retreat to the same classic forms of male domination. »

In many corners of the incel subculture, people like Rodger — and now, Minassian — are celebrated as heroes. Rodger is considered a « hERo » and Minassian an « AMazing hERo » — their initials used as monikers inciting others to attack.

Photos like these are common on incel forums, and are depictions of what users say an incel, left, versus a « Chad » looks like. (Know Your Meme)

« The Elliot Rodgers and other mass killers do sometimes take on a mythical quality because, for some incels, they embody the ultimate form of resistance against a feminist culture that doesn’t value them for who they are, » Haenfler said.

Incels may be a recent term, Haenfler said, but in many ways the social climate that produced them has been 50 years in the making.

« What we’ve seen is a long-term cycle of social change in which women, people of colour, LGBTQ people, immigrants and others have demanded recognition and rights, » he said. « There’s the sense on the part of the incels that those rights are coming at the expense of white, heterosexual men. »

Haenfler has been studying trends in alt-right and incel violence, and said he worries that things will only get worse.

« I wish, with all my heart, I could say that we’ve seen the last of these mass killings, but in all honesty, the cultural ingredients are there. The foundation is there. That hasn’t gone away. So, in the foreseeable future, I’m very sad to say, I anticipate more of these kinds of killings. »

The most active incel community existed on Reddit — a « subreddit » called r/incels — until October 2017 when Reddit announced a new policy to ban « content that encourages, glorifies, incites or calls for violence or harm against an individual or a group of people. »

A Reddit moderator said: « Apart from the constant anger and violent threats (which these Neckbeards would be incapable of), these are the last 2 posts that got it banned:

  • Users helping out another member by advising on how to chemically castrate his « Chad » roommate.
  • An Incel pretending to be a woman and asking about how rapes are investigated, along with how rapists could get away with it. » 

On Nov. 7, 2017, it was the first subreddit to be removed from the website. At the time of its removal, the subreddit had more than 40,000 active members.

But censorship of these chat forums doesn’t seem entirely effective, because as soon as one forum or website is shut down another « just pops back up, » Perry said.

Experts like Barbara Perry, a criminologist specializing in hate crime at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, are sounding the alarm on alt-right violence, including incels. (CBC)

« It’s not going to do much good to engage in trying to insert counter narratives into their little echo chambers because they’re going to be shouted down, » she said. « Whoever’s intervening is going to be attacked and going to be dismissed. »

Instead, Perry said that an important starting point is for people to be having « conversations with our sons, with our nephews, as well as our girls. »

« We’ve talked to girls and young women for eons now about how they can protect themselves, how they can defend themselves from the violence as well as the language, and it’s time that we turn the table and … ask men to be accountable for their behaviour, » she said.

‘Increasing concern’

Earlier this month, Canada’s minister of public safety said right-wing, white supremacists and neo-Nazi groups are an increasing concern and threat to Canadians.

« The van attack along Yonge Street in Toronto earlier last year had those kinds of roots, » Ralph Goodale said after a speech on national security at the University of Regina.

He said in the case of the van attack, the suspect was inspired by what he saw on the internet.

But Perry said there has been relative silence from the federal government about the threat posed by the far right.

« If you look at the … reports on the terrorist threat in Canada, either far right isn’t mentioned or they’re dismissed out of hand as … not a threat, not organized, not coherent, and therefore not a risk, » she said.

And while Perry said she’s tracked 120 instances of alt-right violence in the last 30 years in Canada, during the same period there were seven incidents of Islamist-inspired extremism.

« I think that really puts in context what the risk is. »

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Anglais

Nostalgia and much more with Starburst XXXtreme

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Get a taste of adventure with Starburst XXXtreme based on the legendary NetEnt Game. The nostalgic themes are sure to capture fans of the classic version as they get treated to higher intensity, better visuals, and features. The most significant element of the game is its volatility. Patience will not be an essential virtue considering the insane gameplay, and there is a lot of win potential involved. It retains the original makeup of the previous game while adding a healthy dose of adrenaline. 

Starburst Visuals and Symbols

The game is definitely more conspicuous than before. The setting happens over a 5-reel, 3-row game grid with nine fixed win lines, which function if a succession from the left to the right reel is present. Only those players that that attain the highest win per bet line are paid. From a visual standpoint, the Starburst XXXtreme slots illustrates lightning effects behind the reels, which is not surprising as it is inherited from the original version. Available themes include Classic, Jewels, and Space. The game is also available in both desktop and mobile versions, which is advantageous for players considering the global pandemic. According to Techguide, American gamers are increasingly having more engaging gaming experiences to socialize to fill the gap of in-person interaction. Starburst XXXtreme allows them to fill the social void at a time when there is so much time to be had indoors. 

Starburst XXXTreme Features

Players get to alternate on three features which are Starburst Wilds, XXXtreme Spins, and Random Wilds. The first appears on reels 2,3, or 4. When these land, they expand to cover all positions while also calculating the wins. They are also locked for a respin. If a new one hits, it also becomes locked while awarding another respin. Starburst XXXtreme offers a choice between two scenarios for a higher stake. In one scenario with a ten times stake, the Starburst Wild is set on random on reels 2,3, or 4, and a multiplier starts the respin. The second scenario, which has a 95 times stake, starts with two guaranteed starburst wilds on reels 2,3, or 4. it also plays out using respin game sequence and features. The game also increases the potential with the Random Wilds feature to add Starburst Wilds to a vacant reel at the end of a spin. Every Starburst Wild gives a random multiplier with potential wins of x2, x3, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, or even x150.

The new feature is sure to be a big hit with the gaming market as online gambling has shown significant growth during the lockdown. AdAge indicates the current casino customer base is an estimated one in five Americans, so Starburst XXXtreme’s additional features will achieve considerable popularity. 

What We Think About The Game

The gambling market has continued to diversify post-pandemic, so it is one of the most opportune times to release an online casino-based game. Thankfully Starburst XXXtreme features eye-catching visuals, including the jewels and space themes. These attract audience participation and make the gameplay inviting. The game also has a nostalgic edge. The previous NetEnt iteration featured similar visuals and gameplay, so the audience has some familiarity with it. The producers have revamped this version by tweaking the features to improve the volatility and engagement. 

That is characterized by the potential win cap of 200,000 times the bet. Starburst XXXtreme does not just give betting alternatives for players that want to go big. The increase of multipliers also provides a great experience. If the respins in the previous version were great, knowing that multipliers can go hundreds of times overtakes the game to a new level. 

Players should get excited about this offering. All of the features can be triggered within a single spin. Whether one plays the standard game or takes the XXXtreme spin route, it is possible to activate all of the features. Of course, the potential 200,000 times potential is a huge carrot. However, the bet size is probably going to be restricted and vary depending on the casino. It is also worth pointing out that a malfunction during the gameplay will void all of the payouts and progress. Overall, the game itself has been designed to provide a capped win of 200,000 times the original bet. 

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Anglais

‘We’re back’: Montreal festival promoters happy to return but looking to next year

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In downtown Montreal, it’s festival season.

In the city’s entertainment district, a musical act was conducting a sound check on stage Friday evening — the second day of the French-language version of the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Tickets for many of the festival’s free outdoor shows — limited by COVID-19 regulations — were sold out.

Two blocks away, more than 100 people were watching an acoustic performance by the Isaac Neto Trio — part of the last weekend of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, a celebration of music from the African continent and the African diaspora.

With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit capacity, festival organizers say they’re glad to be back but looking forward to next year when they hope border restrictions and capacity limits won’t affect their plans.

Charles Décarie, Just For Laughs’ CEO and president, said this is a “transition year.”

“Even though we have major constraints from the public health group in Montreal, we’ve managed to design a festival that can navigate through those constraints,” Décarie said.

The French-language Juste pour rire festival began on July 15 and is followed by the English-language festival until July 31.

When planning began in February and March, Décarie said, organizers came up with a variety of scenarios for different crowd sizes, ranging from no spectators to 50 per cent of usual capacity.

“You’ve got to build scenarios,” he said. “You do have to plan a little bit more than usual because you have to have alternatives.”

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Anglais

MELS new major movie studio to be built in Montreal

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MONTREAL — MELS Studios will build a new film studio in Montreal, filling some of the gap in supply to meet the demand of Hollywood productions.

MELS president Martin Carrier said on Friday that MELS 4 studio construction will begin « as soon as possible », either in the fall or winter of next year. The studio could host productions as early as spring 2023.

The total investment for the project is $76 million, with the Quebec government contributing a $25 million loan. The project will create 110 jobs, according to the company.

The TVA Group subsidiary’s project will enable it to stand out « even more » internationally, according to Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. In the past, MELS Studios has hosted several major productions, including chapters of the X-Men franchise. The next Transformers movie is shooting this summer in Montreal.

Péladeau insisted that local cultural productions would also benefit from the new facility, adding that the studio ensures foreign revenues and to showcase talent and maintain an industry of Quebec producers.

STUDIO SHORTAGE

The film industry is cramped in Montreal.

According to a report published last May by the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec (BCTQ), there is a shortage of nearly 400,000 square feet of studio space.

With the addition of MELS 4, which will be 160,000 square feet, the company is filling part of the gap.

Carrier admitted that he has had to turn down contracts because of the lack of space, representing missed opportunities of « tens of millions of dollars, not only for MELS, but also for the Quebec economy. »

« Montreal’s expertise is in high demand, » said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who was present at the announcement.

She said she received great testimonials from « Netflix, Disney, HBO and company » during an economic mission to Los Angeles in 2019.

« What stands out is that they love Montreal because of its expertise, knowledge and beauty. We need more space, like MELS 4, » she said.

There is still not enough capacity in Quebec, acknowledged Minister of Finance, the Economy and Innovation Eric Girard.

« It is certain that the government is concerned about fairness and balance, so if other requests come in, we will study them with the same seriousness as we have studied this one, » he said.

Grandé Studios is the second-largest player in the industry. Last May, the company said it had expansion plans that should begin in 2022. Investissement Québec and Bell are minority shareholders in the company.

For its part, MELS will have 400,000 square feet of production space once MELS 4 is completed. The company employs 450 people in Quebec and offers a range of services including studio and equipment rentals, image and sound postproduction, visual effects and a virtual production platform.

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