October 31, 2008
Strike at York University?
York University may find itself embroiled in a strike next week. The strike may be the last resort for teaching assistants, graduate assistants, research assistants, and contract faculty, if negotiations regarding wage increases and job security, among other things, do not prove fruitful. Sadly, the media, with its poor research and resultant inaccuracies, has not been helping the situation. The Globe... [More >>]
October 30, 2008
In conversation with Norman Lofts
The ninth edition of the Planet in Focus International Environmental Film & Video Festival wrapped this Sunday, having screened over 100 of the world’s best films on a wide range of environmental themes and subjects by Canadian and international filmmakers. Awards were handed out prior to the final screening and Norman Lofts was presented with the Canadian Long Form Award for his documentary... [More >>]
October 30, 2008
Obama and NAFTA
The American Presidential election is coming to a close next tuesday, November 4. Canadians might be watching this election as if it were a tv show – amused, entertained, titillated, yet ultimately detached. But let’s not forget just how much our future is wrapped up in the dealings of those south of the border. Case in point, our economies are very much intertwined at the moment. With... [More >>]
October 30, 2008
Obama infomercial was puke-tacular TV
On Wednesday night the Obama-Biden ticket broadcast their already infamous “Barack Obama: American Stories” infomercial, above, across seven TV networks simultaneously. Initial ratings indicate 30 million people tuned in. I hope it brings him some votes, because he’s obviously the better candidate of the two. But seriously, folks: what a nakedly manipulative, shamelessly sentimental... [More >>]
October 30, 2008
Random acts of kindness 2.0 with Montreal’s Akoha.com
Today I stumbled across Akoha, a new website/game/social experiment that has recently started in Montreal and is slowly working its way across the land. Akoha works by turning good deeds into a points-based game. Which sounds horrifying, in a way, but still strikes me as a better grade of electronic past-time than, say, Grand Theft Auto. It works this way: you sign up and receive a deck of instruction... [More >>]
October 29, 2008
Obama and socialism
McCain, Palin, and their Republican acolytes have recently taken to calling Barack Obama a socialist. In making that “charge” (apparently socialism is a very bad thing in the States) they point to Obama’s progressive, or punitive, depending on how you look at it, income-tax plan. In his plan, people making more than $250,000 will face increased tax rates. The rest will experience... [More >>]
October 29, 2008
The presidential election is only six days away!
Six days from now, on November 4th, America will decide its president. They will either choose the Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, or the Republican, John McCain. But what would choosing either amount to? Many of us know what the candidates have said they will do as president, but, of course, what one says and what one does are often two different things. Michael Walzer, the political philosopher... [More >>]
October 28, 2008
ThisAbility #2: Human Frogger
You are all afraid. I see the fear wherever I go, it’s in how you move out of the way of my path, six feet ahead of me, before I’m even remotely close to your personal space. It’s in how you carefully shuttle your partner out of harm’s way, as I’m coming down the sidewalk. It’s also in the relief on your face, as I somehow miss your toes while I navigate through... [More >>]
October 27, 2008
Soldiers and terrorists atwitter
The global War on Terror has a new front: Twitter! The American military has now taken up the idea of tracking the Twitter accounts of terrorists in the hopes they can intercept their moves and whereabouts. Of course, this tactic could just as easily backfire, proving to be counter-productive and a great waste of time. For one, Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists hepfully points... [More >>]
October 27, 2008
A birthday message for the National Post
Canada’s second mostly-coast-to-coast newspaper, the National Post, turns 10 years young today. It published its first issue on October 27, 1998, and has been keeping the country entertained with its amiably loony notions ever since. Despite corporate owner CanWest’s current cash-strapped status, we hope you’ll be around for many years more, scrapping and quarreling with us all the... [More >>]
