{w} SYMBOLS

FLASHPOINT {worldI} affairs} V. Volume {Issue

cloak&dagger {a}WAREHOUSE..read out {loud}

cloak

– y{our} cover this issue is a masterfully sketched painting of Justin Trudeau and celebrates our exclusive interview with him. Our candid sitting with the charismatic icon is one of many highlights of this issue.

Interview – Laurence Miall Photography – Sara McNeill Cover Portrait – Casey Watson Cover Design – Daryl Deskin

dagger

– We’ve been lucky enough to work with fantastic designers, photographers and artists to bring you some poignant covers in the past. Each compelling cover tells an intriguing story about the pages in each publication. From challenging stereotypes {November ’08 issue on PROFILING} to our depiction of urban progress {February ’09 issue on THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD}, our goal is to engage, intrigue and entertain.

y{our} turn

Want to design a MAGAZINE COVER for our upcoming issue: I am Spartacus? Send us your best shot and we just might use it as our next cover! Have a look through this issue and check us out online at www.thewarehousemagazine.com for inspiration.

Be ORIGINAL, Be CREATIVE, Be BOLD - send entries to access@stockthewarehouse.org -

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On Elections, the Media and Iran

Mohsen al Attar {writing room contributor}

Recipient of the {warehouse} magazine prize for urban perspective

Photograph: tnarik - Flickr.com

By now, talk of the Iranian elections will have traversed into the abyss of yesterday’s news. Outrage at the outcome reached its crescendo some seventy two hours after it erupted. Indeed, what began as a popular march quickly descended into a not-so-trendy crawl.

provide a useful case study by which we can assess various relationships within democratic societies.

FLASHPOINT..world affairs

The charge levelled against the Iranian ruling apparatus was simple, bordering on banal: the election was stolen.

This may have been true. In his corner, Mousavi had the At this stage, all but the most ardent Mir Hossein Mousavi pre-election polls which predicted a tighter race than the supporters – scores of middle and upper class professionals one witnessed. Granted, most polls were not in Mousavi’s upset at the disruption Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s pretenfavour and several of the triumphant ones were conducted sions have caused the Iranian investment climate but also by either his office or the offices of his supporters, but the some working class peoples concerned about their heightemergence of procedural irregularities encourages the exerened economic vulnerability – will have resigned themcise of healthy scepticism. selves to the president’s second term.

But then, the charge may have also been false. Like it Regardless of one’s personal feelings towards either the {him} or not, Ahmadinejad enjoys a solid base. In addiindividuals or the events in question, or towards the coun- tion to implementing a number of programmes of collective try altogether for that matter, some macro-level reflection social uplift during his first term – increases to public sector about the state of contemporary democratic societies is wages and pensions, affordable loans, and social services now warranted. funded by national oil wealth – he challenged political bulwarks including the domestic establishment {by exposing Admittedly, Iran occupies a middle ground between demo- corruption} and a biased international order {by standing cratic governance and theocratic rule. And yet, the idioup for the nation’s independence}. syncratic union of religion and politics does not negate the democratic credentials of similar states, namely Israel, the He did all this while shunning the egotistical extravagance USA, and France where zealous commitments to specific so common to political elites, continuing to reside in the faiths – Zionism, meritocracy, and secularism respectively same apartment and to eat the same foods as the poor – frequently prompt governmental action that harkens majority {far different, for example, from his British counmore to religious fanaticism than to rational deliberation. terparts who rather enthusiastically raided the trough}.

Thus, despite its particularity, the Iranian debacle does Neither benevolence nor courage nor modesty is lost on

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ordinary people.

Yet, for all his populist qualities, it should be noted that the benefits of many of his initiatives were nullified by excessive inflation for which his administration bears much responsibility {hence the participation of the poor in the protests}. Moreover, the somewhat selective – even sectarian – approach to the investigation of profiteering suggests that his hostility towards corruption is not as Robin Hoodesque as it may first appear. Finally, the further curtailing of personal freedoms under his watch has not gone unnoticed and merits collective condemnation.

global economic crisis? Or were emphasis placed on the contrast between Mousavi’s lavish lifestyle and Ahmadinejad’s common one?

Whether such matters are relevant depends on the position one holds. But there’s the rub; the media are not meant to hold a position at all. According to noted Israeli journalist Amira Haas, the role of the media is to monitor the centres of power. What better way to keep politicians in check than to present the stories, positions, and interests of the involved parties and let the public make up their mind. The media thus ensure the accountability of our elected officials; or so the tale goes.

In short, whether the election was rigged is difficult to know for, to date, all we have are unsubstantiated allegations There is a term for stories that contain little substance, and the balance of probabilities is evenly split. Just as the an obvious slant, and are devoid of any critical analysis: American Supreme Court preferred to let sleeping dogs propaganda. Cheerleading a particular position – there is a lay in the matter of Bush link between Iraq and v. Gore, ruling in favour of al Qaeda, Hugo Chavez Bush and denying a simple is a bad man, the solurecount, it is unlikely that tion to the economic this incident will be treated crisis is to throw more any differently by the politimoney at the financal class in Iran. In the end, ciers who got us into both the elections and the the mess – is the role ensuing protests will prove of a propaganda mato be little more than footchine. Today’s media is notes in Iranian history. a corporate-owned tool of propaganda, selectYet, this does not imply ing which stories to that there is nothing to popularise and which learn from the episode. Au to exclude, and, in the contraire, the events narprocess, how best to rate a highly educational shape our opinions tale about the role of media about issues of public in present-day society. import.

FLASHPOINT..world affairs

Few would question the media machine’s efficiency.

Once a major media outlet decides to run with a story – as was done with the Iranian election protests – there is little to arrest its circulation or to challenge the implications the particular telling makes.

Of the Iranians and non-Iranians supporting the protests – and they are numerous in Canada alone – an important distinction can be made between those reacting to the events and those reacting to the story of the events.

I suspect those belonging to the former must possess a perpetual feeling of dissatisfaction with the media’s porous and flimsy representation of Iranian politics, as if social reality can always be tucked away in neat little binaries: tradition and modernity, religious and secular, legitimate and illegitimate.

As Thomas Jefferson said, the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. By goosestepping with media representations of reality, we have abdicated such vigilance and, by extension, the very freedom democracy is meant to ensure. Ordinary people have become passive, pliant, and submissive expressing quasi Pavlovian reactions – four legs good, two legs bad – to news stories regardless of how superficial or contradictory they happen to be.

And so, Barack Obama can condemn Iran for its “crackdown on protesters” whom, he predicts, will find themselves “on the right side of history” {unfortunately for him, Tony Blair made the same prediction after invading Iraq}. He can do this three short weeks after visiting Egypt and consorting amicably with Hosni Mubarak, 28-year veteran despot and protest-crusher, and without any fear that a sycophantic press corps {and public} will confront him on the inconsistency. So is the state of media in twenty-first century democratic societies.

As for those in the latter category, I wonder whether they would be as vehement in their indignation had CNN, CBS, or the BBC reported the story differently. Would protesters be as in incensed had the media, for example, related some of the progressive aspects of Ahmadinejad’s presidency?

Then again, maybe Ahmadinejad is no more than a holoHad they focused on Mousavi’s economic programme, rife caust-denying fascist who stole the election. {w} with neoliberal truisms that lay at the heart of the current four

{a} WAREHOUSE

{a} founder’s note Kondwani Mwase {the stock boy}

withdraw your consent to apathy.. engage the world beyond your front door..

{w}ho are we?

While recognized as an urban lifestyle magazine with a conscience, the {warehouse} magazine has become so much more to its flourishing community of readers. It is a vibrant forum where readers are able to engage thought-provoking social issues or enjoy some of the lighter pleasures urban life has to offer.

Throughout it all…it remains sharply relevant.

{w}hat do we do? {a} WAREHOUSE..founder’s note

the {warehouse} magazine is redefining the political magazine. We do this by tackling issues that are at the core of what matters to the urban community. Politics, fashion and entertainment at a depth you’ve never seen.

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te

boy}

or..

{w}hen do we publish?

Our issues are published every two months.

Be on the lookout for our upcoming issues: Life on a Dime {fall 2009} and I am Spartacus {2010}. They promise to amaze and inspire!

{w}here can you find us? www.thewarehousemagazine.com You can also join our Facebook Group {listed under the warehouse magazine} OR check us out on Twitter for daily reflections about the world we live in {listed under awarehouse} To have your very own print edition mailed to you, just visit online and click on the read out {loud} tab to send us your request and contact info.

Otherwise, keep an eye open for our special editions at the following locations in the heart of Montreal; 3Monkeys Little Burgundy Wrapcity Space FB Café Olimpico Java U Cafemania Presse Café Second Cup Booster Juice

{a} WAREHOUSE..founder’s note

* * * * * * * * * *

{w}hy do you exist? to

breathe life into imagination.. to be the voice

to

change the world.. to serve the world..

of the

urban community..

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read out {loud} join the community read out {loud} is a platform for readers to communicate their thoughts, and a forum for these thoughts to be nurtured, engaged or challenged.

Topics in this space range from commentary on articles in this magazine, or elsewhere, to observations about the {insert adjectives here} world we live in. read out {loud} is YOUR platform. As a fundamental part of our effort to build a dynamic community of socially-conscious thinkers {there was never a genius without a tincture of madness – Aristotle}, we ENCOURAGE you to share your words, photos or other expressions.

If you have an idea, we have the canvas.

ONLINE REACTION TO WARCHESTRA ARTICLE BY SUNDUS ABDUL HADI Artwork that has a unique identity with constant attributes throughout the whole series. I would be able to recognize a WARCHESTRA anywhere anytime.....just as much as I would be able to recognize a music beat from a famous producer. – M.H. {a}WAREHOUSE..read out {loud}

{WARCHESTRA >>> page twenty-three}

ONLINE REACTION TO OUR 1ST PIECE ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING Why does it seem that some of these articles , by choice, or misinformation, are ignoring one of the major issues tied in with human trafficking in Canada, and that is the disproportionate number of Aboriginal youth, and youth in general, victimized by the sex trade and trafficking industry!

Trafficking does not mean crossing international borders! Aboriginal experiences are such a microcosm of what is going on in the poorer parts of the world at large, that there are things we can do here for our people, and THEN lend our knowledge to those out there that need it...have one eye turned in, and the other turned out, because by having both eyes turned out, we are choosing to ignore our own home - DJ {Human Trafficking in Canada >>> page nineteen}

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RESPONSES TO COMMUNITY POLL ON SYMBOLS We asked our community what symbol was most prominent in their lives…

For me it’s the anarcha-feminist symbol. the ‘woman’ half of the symbol tells me who i am and gives me strength among a community of radical women, men and trans people; and the ‘anarchy’ half of the symbol signifies the community, our anti-oppression politics and the struggle and hope for revolutionary social transformation. - Dr. Sandra Jeppesen To me, a door represents the possibility of choice, you can either choose to open a door or not, or to either close a door or not. In a symbolic sense it carries meanings of different possibilities and about having the courage to move into a new area of your life or closing a chapter on an existing part of your life. - R. Blanchard The most important symbol in my life is the envelope. I have a blackberry and whenever I receive a message, whether it’s a text or an email, that little yellowish envelope pops up. It lets you know that someone is either trying to say hello, send u chain email or receive some stupid spam trying to sell you some s***!!! – Ralph Frederick

To be completely serious, a frying pan. It’s what I work with every day in the kitchen.

Without them I am nothing, with them I can create works of art through food.

– James Mitchell

AN EXERPT FROM A FUTURE ARTICLE BY ONE OF OUR FANS ABROAD

join the community read out {loud} nine

{a}WAREHOUSE..read out {loud}

May 19, 2009 will be a day many Malawians will live to remember as far as Presidential and Parliamentary polls are concerned. Malawians massively responded to the polls as over 90 percent of the registered voters went to vote in the election described by both local and international observers as the most peaceful and democratic voting held in the region in recent past. – Hastings Loka, Blantyre, Malawi

In my case the most important symbol would be photos. An image, it’s not moving but you can make it move with your imagination and create your own story of what could be happening in the picture. There isn’t any formula or equation to be done therefore there isn’t a right answer its just up to you to decide what it means. So with this I have a picture. – Jane Hedge

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RED TAPE..blueprint

and culture.

RED TAPE..blueprint

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{a}WAREHOUSE..editor’s letter thirteen

letter the editor {a} {a} letter fromfrom the editor twelve

{the writing room}

Kevin Wilson {the monk}

the warehouse is a voice. It is an avenue for expression. It is a social conscience. Reminiscent of the counterculture movements of the turbulent sixties or the beat poets who inspired a generation, our soul is rooted in a dedication to social activism and cultural awareness.

Clamour is an important issue for the {warehouse}

magazine, and our readers, as we continue to define our identity and purpose in the urban community. the warehouse is {re}defining the political magazine and you will see demonstrations of this collective effort explored in topics spanning from the playful to the profound.

Our fifth issue is fittingly devoted to the belief in raising our voice or, when appropriate, pen to the injustices we observe in our communities, and beyond.

A community is defined by its symbols. There is no better representative of a community than the ‘mom and pop’ establishments that bear the legacies of its inhabitants. It is said Home is where the heart is; and there is no better example of this idiom than La Maison du Parmesan.

Corporatization threatens the sustainability of family establishments such as these. At the epicenter of a multicultural metropolis, we often find ourselves having to shelter our communal individuality from assimilationist incursions by cookie-cutter corporations like Astral Media, whose recent acquisition of Mix96 and rebranding as Virgin Radio has all but spelled the demise of whatever distinctive local character that radio station upheld.

Our community must take a stand for what is most precious before Dingo and the Baby announce in fitting carnival fashion that it is a McStarMart world after all. {w}

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{a}WAREHOUSE..editor’s letter

While the corporatization of our community institutions is by no means a recent phenomenon, it is an ever-expanding epidemic. Consider this, how many city blocks can you navigate before encountering a Starbucks Coffee Shop or McDonald’s fast food chain? These neo-imperialist, supersized corporations are destroying the idiosyncratic charms that nurture cultural identities, which are becoming all the more problematic to guard from the seemingly insatiable consumption of globalization.

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FLASHPOINT {world affairs}

SHAPEBOOK-ing:

Friends

Profile

Inbox

thoughts on the 1st internet revolution

by Mohammad Miraly {contributor}

Read Where is the knowledge we have lost in

individual humans come in direct contact

Facebook, in a sense, represents the ideal of

information?’ T.S. El-

with each other to

‘the public’, as it is a

iot once asked.

share and discuss different information, an

collective of individuals, easily and quickly

It is a question that epitomizes the internet, a whirling landscape of all of humanity’s collective

exercise that directly influences opinion.

Our opinions are formed by our inter-

sharing information that is meaningful to them, without barriers. Here, one is exposed to an expo-

and

infor-

actions with the ideas

nentially

this

of others: our teach-

variety of information,

landscape has become categorised and controlled; its mass of information is sorted

ers, our parents, our friends, our heroes, our enemies. When we share our opinions

being offered quickly by the multitude of one’s contacts, all of whom come from dif-

at every instant and

with others, we do

ferent

it has become a tool for the management

so in what the German sociologist Jur-

and have different information to offer.

of

personal

FLASHPOINT..world environment FLASHPOINT...world environment

mation.

sixteen sixteen

Today,

knowledge.

increasing

backgrounds

The

gen Habermas calls

internet has become a central component of the public sphere, where ideas are debated and society’s

the ‘public sphere’, the social arenas and sites where ideas are shared, articulated, and negotiated.

This is where the clamour of the internet becomes clearer, where information becomes knowledge.

norms are shaped.

Facebook, being perhaps the most widely used social networking site currently

The internet is the quintessential public sphere, as it is purely shared information. aquintessential public

When we choose from the repository of information that is offered to us, we transform that information into

available, has come to play a major role

sphere, as it is purely shared information.

knowledge. And when we share that

in this debate, as it is where

W thewarehousemagazine.com

Find

knowledge with others, we are participating in what is the ultimate goal of the public sphere – to shape public opinion, the social imaginary.

The sharing of information runs the gamut from humourous

To be sure, much of the information we

receive on our home feeds is personal, or trivial, or even amusing. But this is reflective of the ebb and flow of our daily lives.

We are concerned with the goings-on of our friends, we are gladdened by the silly bits of news and humour that they share, we are enriched by the more informative and unusual pieces of information they post, and we are humbled by their accomplishments (of which some of them post too many pictures and videos).

But there is other information that we receive, which, as mentioned earlier, is relevant to issues of social change. We receive information about atrocities in war-torn countries, we engage in debates about marijuana use among public figures, and we learn about how to get involved

in animal shelters in our cities. This is civic culture at its most basic – citizens getting involved in issues that change and shape their societies. and videos).

It is in this way that the internet and Facebook, specifically, are vehicles for social change because they bring the issues directly to the people, and enable them to participate in the dialogue and, to paraphrase one man, to blog the change they want to see in the world. {w}

Start a Group Put Up a Note Add Pictures

Talk {online}

environment FLASHPOINT...world FLASHPOINT..world environment

The social imaginary, as articulated by Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor, is the set of values, institutions, laws, and symbols common to a particular social group and the corresponding society. It is the background repository that shapes how citizens envision their shared spaces. The public debate that transpires on the internet, and specifically within the system of Facebook, constantly contributes to our opinions and ideas about the world and its workings.

cartoons to touching videos to serious articles. Many of us would have never heard of Susan Boyle were it not for Facebook.

As well, the death of Michael Jackson was so influential that almost every Facebook status update was a eulogy for him, connecting and creating a shared sense of bereavement. And uncensored information about the bloody aftermath of the recent Iranian election was brought to the fore by the hundreds of people who posted and re-posted articles and videos – such as the disturbing image of the death of Neda – all of which has led some to describe this information-sharing as the first ‘internet revolution’, a testament to Facebook’s real power to inform and inspire.

seventeen seventeen

{elevating}urban landscapes Adam Panetta {megaphone}

A guilty conspirator in the creation and popularization of the musical abomination known as muzak, this month’s unsung hero is also guilty of tacit participation in countless bouts of impulsive office romances and spats of lustful infidelity, been the set-up man for practical jokes of the most offensive nature and on one occasion hosted the Arcade Fire for a spontaneous barebones rendition of “Neon Bible”.

You might be guessing our unsung hero is David Bowie, but that’d be wrong—albeit not by all that much given the clues I’ve provided so far. No, this month’s unsung hero has never recorded a single song and actually hasn’t actively participated in any of the events listed above. In fact, this month’s unsung hero doesn’t even have a pulse.

Essential to the landscape of modern urban spaces, an integral part of daily life for most people and occupying its own spot in the canon of modern folklore and popular culture, the elevator earns our praise as an overworked, underappreciated and essential pillar of modern society.

“we’ll one day see

combines vertical and horizontal movement.”

FLASHPOINT..unsung hero

While we generally recognize the important role elevators play in our daily commute, the New York blackout of 1977 showcased, like no other modern event, urban society’s dependence on the elevator. For lack of access, thousands of office buildings were instantly transformed into ghost towns and hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers remained stranded throughout the city’s countless high-rise buildings during the blackout.

Without a doubt, the invention of the first modern elevator

by Elisha Graves Otis in 1853 had a serious impact on the shape of modern urban landscapes, but a chicken-andegg debate arises: did the invention of the elevator spur the creation of taller buildings or did an acute need for taller structures in overpopulated areas drive the invention of the elevator? According to Raphaël Fischler, Professor at McGill’s School of Urban Planning, the answer is both.

“There has always been a race to the sky among building cultures,” explains Fischler. To understand Fischler’s point, consider the crumbling ziggurats of Mesopotamia, Egyptian pyramids and obelisks, Gothic church spires and ancient minarets scattered throughout the Muslim world. Phenomena like “urban density and trying to build tall precede the elevator, but the tall building [in a modern sense] is really a product of the elevator.”

“So what would

modern cities look like without

elevators?”

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an elevator that -Raphaël Fischler

“There is a tendency to want to ascribe a causal relationship between technology and social relationships,” adds Fischler. “It’s easy to say that the elevator caused urban sprawl but that would be ignoring many other factors […] like the car and regional social customs.” In reality, it takes a while for technology to influence architecture and other social trends. In other words, tall buildings didn’t spring up because the elevator was invented. A host of other inventions—like steel frames and safety mechanisms—needed to be created in order for architects to begin to even conceive of modern-era skyscrapers like the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building.

So what would modern cities look like without elevators?

Fischler claims that while New York and Hong Kong’s famous skylines would be virtually unrecognizable to us, “in global terms, the size and distribution of activities of our cities wouldn’t be so different.”

That’s not to say that Otis’ invention hasn’t profoundly affected our daily lives and the face of modern cities.

Over the past century, the elevator has solidified its role as an integral component to the functioning of modern cities and indispensable mechanism for most urbanites, not to mention its necessity in mining and other industrial domains. It’s also carved out a niche for itself in popular culture and modern folklore as the precarious location of adrenaline-pumping scenes in countless action movies, the anticipatory journey to luxurious penthouse suites, a space associated with uncomfortable social situations, moments of impulsive lust and fantasy and provided a face-to-face meeting ground—whether comfortable or not—for people of different affluence, title, ethnicity or social sphere.

What’s next for the elevator? Fischler speculates that maybe we’ll one day see an elevator that combines vertical and horizontal movement. In other words, a machine capable of going up several floors, then shifting its direction entirely to move through a building horizontally and bring you straight to your office door. Regardless of future innovations and incarnations and aside from its undeniable practical importance, the elevator, Fischler claims, “has a life of its own in popular imagination.” {w}

at

d t.”

seeing the noise:

the struggle to end the modern slave trade

Sal Ciolfi {guest speaker}

If the term “human trafficking” does not mean anything to you, then consider this: every year, an estimated 4 million girls and women are recruited, transported, defrauded, sold and coerced into lives they never chose. Most of these women experience some form of physical or sexual violence, and many are forced into prostitution or marriage.

It is, for all intents and purposes, a modern slave trade. So why aren’t more people talking about it?

“It is only recently that the general population has become aware of the problem,” says Lilliane Kohl of the Temple Committee Against Human Trafficking.

Kohl has devoted the last three years of her life to increasing public awareness of human trafficking and she believes Canada is only now beginning to realize how immense the problem really is.

“Police and law enforcement agencies have only recently begun training personnel to deal with human trafficking. We have a lot of catching up to do,” she acknowledges, before relating how a number of other countries have already taken steps to improve and expand their anti-trafficking policies.

The global scope of human trafficking is partly why the illicit trade is so hard to combat, particularly since every nation handles the threat differently, with varying levels of effectiveness. To that end, a recent U.S. State Department’s report gauged the efficacy of 175 countries’ policies and procedures in the fight against human trafficking. It placed 52 countries and territories on notice, and threatened sanctions if anti-trafficking measures were not strengthened.

While the report maintains Canada’s anti-trafficking laws are sound, it stops well short of patting Canadians on the back. Worse still, the report claims the penalties for human trafficking offenses are too lax, while asserting the country’s authorities lack the resources and clout to enforce the laws currently in place.

Solely throwing money around, while forming and reforming anti-trafficking laws will not solve the problem. What is needed is a cohesive, integrative national plan. In fact, much of the criticism Canada has received stems from the inability of federal, provincial and local authorities to communicate and coordinate actions.

Part of the reason why human trafficking remains something “heard about and not seen” is the elaborate involvement of underground criminal organizations. Every year, crime syndicates benefit from an estimated $10 billion (USD) cash flow generated from the selling of human beings, money no doubt fueling other criminal activity around the world. To put this sum into perspective, only the trafficking of drugs and arms are believed to be more lucrative.

The United Nations recently introduced an international protocol to define trafficking in order to “Prevent, Suppress and Punish” those responsible. While taking on organized crime is certainly a lofty objective, Lilliane Kohl, for one, thinks we’re better off fighting the root of the problem.

“We must stop the demand for paid sex, and educate young women and men about gender equality and self-respect. No one should be able to buy a female’s body” she says, adding that gender roles and definitions are fundamental to the issue.

“We need to teach a new kind of masculinity that is not based on the need to dominate and control.”

Until that can happen though, people will have to stop playing dumb. After all, prostitution doesn’t exist in a vacuum. {w}

FLASHPOINT..in check

Part of the challenge lies in Canada’s unfortunate role as a transit point for many trafficking rings. Canada and the U.S. share the world’s longest undefended border and monitoring all the gaps where people may traverse undetected remains a daunting task, even for the 184 RCMP officers currently stationed for this very reason. To give you an idea of how bad the problem is, recent RCMP estimates suggest 2,000 people are trafficked from Canada to the U.S. every year, and this is considered a conservative estimate. Some NGOs, in fact, put the number upwards of 16,000.

not followed up on action here…we are not putting the law enforcement resources into this.”

For these reasons, and others, a 2006 study by The Future Group, an international anti-trafficking organization, came down particularly hard on Canada’s human trafficking record and treatment of victims.

Benjamin Perrin, a University of British Columbia law professor and co-author wrote, “Canada has ignored calls for reform and continues to re-traumatize trafficking victims, with few exceptions, by subjecting them to routine deportation, and failing to provide even basic support services.” Perrin did not soften his stance in a recent CTV interview, where he asserted “we’ve really Photo: Julica da Costa, Frances Liddane, change.org

nineteen

visit www.thewarehousemagazine.com to learn more about human trafficking twenty

CanCare

Vanessa Ciolfi, CanCare Foundation Co-Founder {guest speaker}

the {warehouse} magazine reached out to an inspiring group of young women who, seeing a problem run rampant around them, mobilized in an effort to fight back. This is their story in their own words.

Inspired by the vision of a world where cancer is no longer the predator and we the prey, we came together in 2001 to form the CanCare Foundation. With some of us as young as 19 years old, our mission was and continues to be the hope that our efforts will make a difference in our community, focusing on projects related to cancer research and patient care.

Our reach and connection with our peers is evidenced by the tremendous enthusiasm and participation our fundraising events generate for this very important cause. In this spirit, our fundraising efforts have taken many different forms, including fashion shows, advertising/sponsor books, charity dinners and public auctions. Knowing the vital importance of giving blood, we organized a blood drive and our humanitarian message was well received. We welcomed an impressive amount of blood donors, many of whom were first-time donors under the age of 30.

Our success could not have been achieved without the kind generosity of our many sponsors, some who have been supporting us since the very beginning. We are proud to be associated with the organizations and facilities that ultimately care for our cancer patients. Our role is to bring a human touch to raising funds in selecting projects that are both tangible and close to the heart.

Having been personally devastated by cancer, giving back to the community and this cause seemed only natural and was only made possible by joining forces with five dedicated and lovely young women: Helen Mavromichalis, Venessa Atsaidis, Veronica Atsaidis, Denise Karelis, and Mary Karelis – all essential parts in establishing the CanCare Foundation.

“Some look at things that are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were and ask why not?”

- George Bernard Shaw {w}

We are empowered to continue this movement knowing that cancer care has become a prevalent topic, one that our community supports wholeheartedly.

With incidence rates on the rise, particularly among young adults, the message that we have preached for photography: Jane Hedge twenty-one

FLASHPOINT..in check

Our philosophy is simple: with little steps we can achieve big dreams. Indeed we have. Since our inception we have succeeded in donating close to $300,000 to various projects which include, but are not limited to: the renovation of a family room at the oncology/gynecology ward at the Royal Victoria Hospital, the purchase of state-ofthe-art beds for the cancer stricken children at the Sainte-Justine Hospital, the first stem cell umbilical cord public bank in Montreal, and aiding La Maison Bleue in their expansion project to support additional women and families in need.

so long is clear. Cancer does not discriminate. We have a social obligation to participate in the betterment of our society. People of every facet can join together and unite for a common cause – a cause that has touched many families, some who have been left heartbroken by this disease and others who have been left inspired by the hope that one day we will finally see a cure.

united nations, united in principle Mohammad Miraly {contributor}

It is a natural human inclination to look to a higher authority when in peril. It is universal, from the beleaguered sibling seeking the aid of his parent to the Pandavas beseeching the deity Krishna in the Hindu epic the Bhagavad Gita.

In the contemporary global political system, there is no higher authority than the United Nations, whose explicit reason for existence is to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights and achieving world peace.

A lofty goal. But one that symbolises the heights of human nobility: to better the lives of our fellows through cooperative endeavour.

FLASHPOINT..foreign policy

The existence of the UN is necessary as a model or ideal towards which we can strive. Generally, the idea of multi-state federations is both popular and plausible: we have OPEC and ASEAN, NAFTA and AFTZ, and even a single currency on the European continent. Furthermore, the federated model is recognised as necessary: cooperation ensures survival, as it did in World War II. It lends legitimacy, too; even Bush needed a coalition of the willing to start his Iraq invasion.

To be sure, the Iraq saga was a clear example of the mucky politicization of the UN’s noble goals. A 2005 RAND Corp study found the UN to be successful in two out of three peacekeeping efforts. Nevertheless, many critics have stressed the UN’s uselessness in the face of disappointments such as its failure to implement resolutions related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to prevent the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, and to prevent genocide or provide assistance in Darfur.

These failures, it is argued, derive from the nature of the UN’s structure, which, due in part to its size, means that its resolutions are more suggestive than prescriptive: it is up to the member states to follow through on the resolutions. Regardless, the fact remains that we, all humans, cooperated to forge an image of a unified society; the UN is an amazing feat of human cooperation, and we cannot overlook it. That it depends on individual commitments and is sometimes ineffective is representative of human intwenty - two

stitutions and dispositions, generally. When, as individuals we do not have complete control or discipline to fulfil our obligations, how can we expect this body to have control over multiple states?

In a way, it never was meant to. The UN is not meant to be binding. Rather, it represents an ethical ideal towards which we strive, and upon which we agree. It works like the honour system, relying on the hope that we do not succumb to our caprices, that we are not ‘swayed by the whims and gusts of mortal passion’, to paraphrase a former President of the League of Nations, Aga Khan III. But that too is an ideal towards which we aspire and which we hope someday to realise, and our missteps on the journey are expected, and accepted. Our very striving, though, speaks to our nobility. It is one of our twin natures as humans to strive perpetually towards goodness, towards the betterment of ourselves and our fellows. This internal obsession is mirrored by the society we created through the institutions of liberal democracy – which seek to ensure the freedom of both body and mind – itself manifested macrocosmically by a global body such as the UN. It is a symbol of our unity, of our common desire for better things. Imagine a world without this sort of ethical watchdog; we would have multiple entities running roughshod over whomever they could, with no overarching principles ensuring the rights of humans. It is the sort of world conjured by the statements of one-time US Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton: ‘There is no such thing as the United Nations. There is only the international community, which can only be led by the only remaining superpower, which is the United States.’

Vae victis, woe to the conquered.

A central ideal of the UN is to prevent the tyranny of the strong over the weak. It is a liberal ideal that might cannot make right, unlike in the classic example of competing theories of international relations, the Athenian invasion of Melos in the fifth century BCE, validated by the Athenian formula: ‘the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must’. It is precisely this sort of conviction that the UN was created to combat.

As a symbol of good, of responsibility to humankind, the UN is necessary. To be sure, it requires reform – such as the massive programme initiated by Kofi Annan in 2005; but it nevertheless represents the quest towards a society of cooperative and converging civilisations, the sort of world envisioned by its founders in 1941, who wrote: ‘the only true basis of enduring peace is the willing cooperation of free peoples in a world in which, relieved of the menace of aggression, all may enjoy economic and social security; it is our intention to work together, and with other free peoples, both in war and peace, to this end.’ {w}

Sundus Abdul Hadi – the {canvas}

{WARCHESTRA}

THIS IS NOT HAIFA STREET Haifa street is located near downtown Baghdad. During the 35-year Ba’ath regime, Saddam Hussein housed his loyalists and senior officials in the modern building complex he constructed specifically for them. Around the corner from the complex lie shanties belonging to Iraq’s poor. Since the 2003 war, constant struggles and skirmishes took place on this particular street, making it one of the most dangerous places in Baghdad and leaving it in a dilapidated state, with political graffiti and bullet holes riddled on the walls of the buildings. In 2004, U.S. soldiers killed 13 Iraqi civilians and wounded 60 in a helicopter missile strike. That crime has been dubbed the “Haifa Street Helicopter Massacre”.

ZUHUR HUSSEIN Zuhur Hussein is one of Iraq’s most iconic songstresses, who reached the height of her career in the 1950’s singing traditional Iraqi songs. In this painting, the lyrics of one of her songs are painted onto the black cloths that hang from Baghdad city walls.

In the song, she sings to her mother who has passed on, weeping and asking her mother to return back to her, to stop being a “stranger from in front of her eyes”.... I use this song as a metaphor for Iraq, the mother, who all are calling back for amidst the backdrop of war and occupation. Black cloths are customarily draped on neighbourhood walls to announce the passing of a neighbour, a sight too regularly seen since the war in Iraq started in 2003. The two men’s RPG’s are removed and replaced by clarinets, as they are propped underneath a US watchtower. twenty - three

UNDERCURRENTS..alternative expression

WARCHESTRA is a series of paintings about war and culture. The paintings are mostly mixed media collage and acrylic paint depicting media-fed images of Iraqi and Arab insurgents as cultural producers. I have chosen to use a collage technique for most of the paintings in order to reclaim the images found in the media of violent and insurgent Arabs and in effect, censoring their weapons with objects of culture. Trumpets trump AK-47’s, clarinets covering RPG’s, blast walls emulating zithers, and grand pianos crashing from the sky as bombs, are just a few of the transformations these paintings have conceived. My position as a cultural producer of Iraqi origin has informed the work’s desire to highlight culture amongst the backdrop of war. The need to confront stereotypical images of Arabs during this critical time of war and representation carries a sense of urgency evident in Warchestra. This series is also a commentary on political dynamics of the Middle East amidst the ongoing wars in Iraq and Palestine, and most importantly, the American occupation of Iraq and its socio-political-economic significance.

UNDERCURRENTS..alternative expression

BAGHDEAD This painting was the first born out of the WARCHESTRA series.

Trumpets trump RPG’s and AK47’s out of the militants hands, in a poetic form of both censorship and a call for change. Warchestra is calling out to cultural producers and creative minds to alter their destiny and to change the way the mass media depicts people of Arab origin, especially at a time of war. WARCHESTRA is not simply a call to “make music not war”, but to actively use cultural production as a form of resistance.

THE FORGOTTEN Since the chaos that ensued from the ongoing illegal U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iraqi musicians and intellectuals have been under constant threat of kidnappings and death from various militias operating within the country. According to The Iraqi Artist’s Association nearly 80 percent of the singers during Saddam’s era have fled the country and that at least 75 singers had been killed since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. There are thousands of Iraqi musicians, writers, composers and other intellectuals living in exile in neighbouring countries such as Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and further. Some having been exiled since the oppressive Ba’ath regime under which musicians and intellectuals were under pressure to perform propaganda songs in the name of Saddam Hussein or else their careers and lives would be at stake.

This particular painting visually emulates Hostage Videos and cross references that composition with that of a traditional Iraqi “Chalghi” band posing for a photograph.

The text in the painting reads the lyrics of a traditional Iraqi folk song: “Those who have forgotten us, when will you remember us? When will we cross your mind? When will you help our situation? Love, you have left us with no explanation; You shut the doors in our face and abandoned us. Where did you come from on the day you set your eyes on us? Where did you find us? Your eyes have scarred us. You who have forgotten us, when will you remember us?” twenty - four

POPPING CULTURE {lifestyle}

We’re waiting for Justin Trudeau outside a brown, two-storey building on rue Faillon in the northern Montreal neighbourhood of Villeray. It’s drizzling and cold. And it’s a Sunday morning. I suspect that most people would rather be in bed.

“Did I keep you waiting long?” Trudeau says apologetically, emerging with an assistant from a silver sedan. The interview was scheduled for ten; it’s scarcely four minutes past.

Pierre Elliott Trudeau was Canada’s first and only superstar politician, but his son’s success relies on more than mere renown. It relies on working while others might be relaxing. Justin Trudeau was credited with rolling up his sleeves to earn his victory in the riding of Papineau during last October’s general election. In a tough fight, his margin of victory was about 1,200 votes, less than 3% more than his main rival, the popular Vivian Barbot of the Bloc Québécois.

With an easy smile, Trudeau makes us welcome in his office, which overlooks the street. Wherever the lighting will work best for us, that is where he’ll sit, he offers. We settle down on either side of a coffee table. He is flanked by two flags, one is Canada’s and the other is Québec’s.

“Nobody will ever be able to say that I was handed an easy win,” Trudeau says about his choice to run in Papineau.

POPPING CULTURE..{bio}graffiti

But the riding was also more than a place to test his mettle.

Trudeau clearly also very much admires the social landscape of the place.

“There’s a great neighbourhood feel; rents aren’t too expensive; there’s lots of families; there’s a great dynamic,” he says.

I ask him where in the riding is his support strongest, and conversely, where is it weakest? In his reply, I get a quick lesson in local demographics and it’s easy to picture Trudeau, the school teacher, a job he held in Vancouver in his early thirties. During his father’s career, this riding was Italian in the east, French in the middle, and Greek at its western flank of Parc Ex. Since then, recent waves of migration have created a more diverse mosaic, with Haitians and Hispanics settling in the east of the riding, and South Asians dominating Parc Ex in the west.

twenty - six

Read Part II online

Trudeau admits that his name helps him politically, especially with the older generation of Greeks and Italians. With young voters he gets by on the strength of the reputation he has forged for himself. The toughest crowd? Obviously, the sovereignists. He paraphrases the things he’s become used to hearing on the street: “I see you with coming with your Canadian flag... Stay away from me.”

But you can’t picture Trudeau fighting with his adversaries. Nor can you picture him debating at length with reporters, as his father did during the October Crisis, when he famously uttered the words, “Just watch me.”

The son seems a far more careful person. I ask him about something he said to a Maclean’s Magazine writer in 2002, well before he’d embarked on a political life.

His quote in the published article was, “I pretty much don’t do anything without being aware of the consequences.”

How does that contrast with his self-proclaimed openness and candour?

POPPING CULTURE..{bio}graffiti

There is some verbal fumbling around without any clear answer. He interrupts the interview briefly and diverts our attention to outside, where an ambulance and a police car have arrived. He’s worried that when we entered the office, we might have accidentally triggered the alarm. But it turns out that the emergency – whatever it is – is occurring inside the apartment building opposite us.

“The Man helped out on that one,” Trudeau jokes, a tacit acknowledgement, perhaps, that comparing his calculating side with his professed candour presents the closest thing he’s encountered to a question for which there is no quick answer.

“There’s always been a responsibility for me, being aware that I didn’t want to embarrass the family,” he says. “There are no crazy pictures or stories about me being a wild partier out there, because I did sense, even as kid, that I was representing my family, and there’s a name, and I don’t

want to embarrass my father... There’s always been a sense of consequences.”

twenty - seven

twenty - eight

the golden age of hip hop hop hip the of p agee of age of hip hipho den hop gollde the n ag go the golden Roland Best {contributor} “If skills sold, truth be told, I’d probably be, lyrically Talib Kweli. Truthfully, I want to rhyme like Common Sense, but I did 5 mil, I ain’t been rhyming like Common since…” - Jay-Z, Moment of Clarity (2003)

Now let’s jump off right here and talk about the cat that these two legendary MCs are referring to. That’s right; it’s the C.O. double M.O. to the N. For the hip hop heads lucky enough to be a fan of this dynamic genre in the early 90s, Common will always be known as Common Sense. The world knew him by this name from the time he broke onto the scene from the South Side of Chicago in 1992, with his debut album, “Can I Borrow a Dollar?”, until just after 1994 when he released his sophomore album, “Resurrection”, a hip hop classic. He had to drop the “Sense” when a reggae band out of California with the same name sued him; this is when he became “Common”, but only by name, as the musical path he marched down was the exact opposite…

they want to rhyme like someone else – especially MCs of the caliber of Jay-Z and Talib Kweli, two of the illest lyricist in the game. Even when they are just being clever with the wordplay, it’s still impressive.

If you listen to Common’s joints, his style and sound for each album, you can see he’s not afraid to take risks with his art. It’s not every day that you see an emcee switch things up so much on an album following one that received such high praise. Common has been flipping things up from one album to the next since day one. Check the massive switch in his flow from his first to second album. He used a distinct, altering pitch style with his voice on the debut album and then ditched it on “Resurrection”. Even after 17 years in the game, Common still symbolizes a unique freshness in hip hop. He’s even more relevant now then he was when he dropped his “Resurrection” gem. I would love to breakdown each track from this album, and every one that followed, but there are simply not enough pages in this magazine to cover the extent of his greatness. You can get a glimpse into the level of respect and admiration Common has not only received from the fans, and more importantly from his peers, from the two quotes at the start of this article. This is definitely not a common practice in hip hop.

It’s an extremely uncommon occurrence for MCs to say

It would be hype to hear from you and get your thoughts not only on Common and his I Used to Love H.E.R. joint, but also on some of the other Golden Age albums, tracks, flows, even on hip hop of today…whatever you feel. You decide what level you want to engage in, and hopefully we can link up in a solid dialogue. To get at me, all you need to do is send me your comment(s) through read out {loud}, the {warehouse} magazine’s sick interactive segment for its readers – but this time around I’m going to flip it to “Listen out LOUD!” So, make sure to select the appropriate amount of heat (nuff blazin’ tracks to choose from) roll that volume knob to the right, sit back, feel the vibe and enjoy the ride! Then please holla back and accept this invite to write, recite, get HYPE…aight!

It’s imperative for current hip hop fans to get an understanding of the roots from which the hip hop of today has grown. To me, this track symbolizes an important period of hip hop, spanning from the early 1980’s to the mid 1990’s, a “Golden Age in Hip Hop”. If you take my highly recommended trip through the tracks that originally blessed the eardrums of that time, you will see why this era has been stamped with such an impressive title.

Be sure to check out part two of “Common and his Uncommon Ways” coming at you online. We’ll kick it like the start of the video and drop the needle to the wax, to find out exactly why Common Sense used to love H.E.R. {w}

POPPING CULTURE..trend watch

“If lyrics sold then truth be told, I’d probably be just as rich and famous as Jay-Z. Truthfully, I want to rhyme like Common Sense, next best thing I do a record with Common Sense…”

- Talib Kweli, Ghetto Show (2004)

twenty - nine

Now Playing! Education by Hollywood “...you ready for the history exam?”

''Yeah, i'd like 2 tickets to the 9 o'clock show of Hotel hotel Rwanda please...''

BUS STOP

“I'm not worried, I'm gonna pull an all nighter.”

TICKETS

BOX OFFICE Stephanie.pipicello

POPPING CULTURE..trend watch

the CIA in Hollywood “Curbing the THREAT!”

CIA

CIA

ASSISTANT PRODUCER

PRODUCER

Stephanie.pipicello

thirty

MILLIONAIRES, SLUMDOGS AND YOU Fazana Natasha Soobramanie {contributor}

Boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl, girl is taken from boy …again, boy finds girl…again and they live happily ever after. It is the timeless once-upon-a-time, happy ending formula that makes fairy tales feel so good.

In the months after the release of the box-office hit Slumdog Millionaire, there are many that have been left feeling not-so-good by this fairytale of controversies.

Many critique the film’s Hollywood, A.K.A. Westernized, portrayal of India {Mumbai} that propagates a poor, underdeveloped nation of slums. The use of the derogatory label “Slumdog”, referring to the main character, only added more fuel to this Hollywood wannabe Bollywood inferno.

As I heard about the controversies, I felt a little sheepish over my enjoyment of this movie - in fact I have seen it three times to date and counting. Why did I not feel more disdain over the mis-education we were all receiving?

Did I not care that the land of my forefathers was falling victim to a highly publicized smear campaign?

“It is the timeless once-upon-a-time, happy ending formula that makes fairly tales feel so good.”

In my world they are separate bedfellows and I consider it a blue moon when the two inhabit one body successfully. The only place I expect to receive an education for under $20 is the museum, not a movie house. Okay and the occasional Google search I’ll admit…but I digress When did we start holding Hollywood accountable for our cultural enlightenment? Is it they who bumped my trusted Encyclopaedia Britannica out of existence? I thought we were blaming the internet for that one.

We have seen depictions of everything from the Jewish holocaust, the Rwandan genocide and the abolition of slavery, to a Kryptonian masquerading as a reporter and who killed Roger Rabbit…

I implore YOU consumers of the mass media, was it not just that: a depiction?

Whether they are based on historical events or not, actors lie at the mercy of scripts, which lie at the mercy of writers, who lie in the hands of producers and directors and myriad other individuals employed to achieve a singular purpose: make a movie that people will go see. Yup, you got it, “its all about the Benjamins, baby”. Wait a second, did I just quote P-Diddy?

The politics that govern those processes are not immune to the vice of ‘creative interpretations’.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for learning in different spaces and lessons from different places, but when did we become so passive as to demand this education instead of seeking it ourselves? {w}

thirty - one

POPPING CULTURE..trend watch

So I asked myself: ‘what did movie-goers leave the cinema having learned about the people of India’. The culture, the environment,

the history? What had I learned? My answer was simple and resounding “not a damn thing”.

Not because I did not enjoy the film. Nor was it because I thought the depictions inaccurate, the story wanting for historical revelations, but simply because I did not expect an education; I expected entertainment.

POPPING CULTURE..{bio}graffiti

Geoffrey Lansdell {contributor} Muhammad Ali was perhaps the first athlete to achieve mainstream fame in the early days of the broadcasting age.

And unlike many of today’s stars who bask in the spotlight like they’re sun tanning, Ali was a celebrity worth celebrating. Politically astute, poetically inclined, and spiritually enlightened, Ali used his pulpit of fame to scintillating effect.

Ali’s cockiness was more of a game than shallow self-promotion; for every boast, you’d get a few slogans of wisdom.

Fully aware that he was a cultural icon at the dawn of mass media, he once observed that he was “the most recognized man that ever lived, ’cuz there weren’t no satellites when Jesus and Moses were around, so people far away in the villages didn’t know about them.”

In the early 1960s, as an up-and-coming fighter, Ali still went by his birth name – Cassius Clay. After 19 straight victories, many of which by knockout in the round he had called during pre-fight trash talking, Clay quickly earned the right to speak his mind; and as time would tell, the young man from Louisville had a lot to say about life outside the ring. By February of 1964, Clay had earned a title shot against Sonny Liston, the reigning heavyweight champ.

The only problem was that Cassius Clay was on the verge of becoming Muhammad Ali, which didn’t bode well for the fight’s promoter, Bill Faversham. thirty - two

r}

“And so it was; Muhammad Ali was born.”

In the pre-fight build-up, rumors of Clay’s involvement with Malcolm X and The Nation of Islam had been making the rounds. Needless to say, from Bill Faversham’s marketing perspective, Clay was better off being billed as a brash young prodigy from the American South than as Muhammad Ali, a devout Muslim and member of the mysterious Nation of Islam, motivations unknown. In any case, the ListonClay fight finally took place after Clay had agreed to keep his newly-minted identity in the dressing room – at least until after the fight.

The fight itself was a seesaw affair that Clay won in strange fashion when Liston refused to answer the bell for the 7th round. So on February 25, 1964, Cassius Clay became the Heavyweight Champion of the world; and the next day, he dropped his ‘slave name’, replaced it with Muhammad Ali, announced his affiliation with the Nation of Islam and stated the following: “I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and in peace…I’m not a Christian anymore.” And so it was; Muhammad Ali was born.

As the 1960s wore on, so too did the Vietnam War. In 1967, shortly after defending his name against Terrell, Ali stood up for his identity by refusing to serve his country. At the time, the war was in its eighth year and President Lyndon Johnson had greatly expanded the war effort in an attempt to end what was turning into a fiasco both on the ground and in the public eye.

The Vietnam War, it is important to note, was the first war any public had seen on TV. Similarly, Ali was one of the first athletes of the television era, and his charisma and charm made for great TV. In 1966, when

In April of 1967, during his induction into the U.S. Armed Forces, Ali backed up his words. Ali refused to step forward when his name was called; and, as a result, he was arrested and prosecuted for draft evasion, and his boxing license and heavyweight belt were revoked. He didn’t end up serving jail time, but his willingness to sacrifice freedom as well as his boxing career was a profound statement about the relative insignificance of the sports world. In Ali’s self-affirming words, “I know where I’m going and I know the truth, and I don’t have to be what you want me to be.

I’m free to be what I want.” His words may sound very American, and yet Ali was branded a traitor for his vision of freedom.

Despite the public backlash Ali dealt with, it goes to show how difficult it is for celebrities to stand in the limelight and take a social stand. And yet, if the advertising era has taught us anything in the 40-plus years since Ali refused to go to war, it is that democracy in America has everything to do with what famous people think and say. So much now depends on the opinions of our heroes; and when people like Ali use their popculture pulpits to drop the odd political bomb, people pay attention.

But in an era of delinquent and grossly overpaid athletes, perhaps the greatest crime in the sports marketplace is the total failure of athletes to talk about anything beyond the game. Can you imagine Tiger Woods declaring a personal moratorium on Nike products until his multi-million-dollar sponsor stops operating in sweat shops? Or how about Sidney Crosby limiting his annual salary to $1 million because anything more would be an insult to the toiling men and women of Steel City? Just imagine the power these young athletes could wield if only they believed in something beyond the myth of winning. {w}

“I ain’t got no quarrel against them Viet Cong. They never called me nigger.”

- Muhammad Ali thirty - three

POPPING CULTURE..{bio}graffiti

For the next few years, Ali defended his identity as well as his title. In 1967, after several title defenses, Ali fought Ernie Terrell in one of the more venomous matches boxing has ever seen. The fight took place at the Houston Astrodome, and after taunting Ali by calling him ‘Clay’, Terrell spent 15 miserable rounds being pounded by a furious Ali, who shouted at him, “What’s my name, Uncle Tom? … What’s my name?”

asked about the possibility of joining the war effort, Ali had this to say: “I ain’t got no quarrel against them Viet Cong. They never called me nigger.”

on new technology, social intercation and human adaptation

Jacqueline Soobramanie {contributor}

I t

a l l

s t a r t e d

w i t h

t h e

While the initial purpose of the answering machine may have been to ensure that you never miss an important call again, it didn’t take very long for people to realize that this brilliant invention had an imbedded solution to the ongoing frustration of the obligatory phone call.

POPPING CULTURE..wordplay

All of a sudden, if you conveniently timed your call to Great Aunt Myrtle’s weekly bridge games, you still technically called her without having to endure her hour-long lecture on the importance of nuptials.

But what happens when Aunt Myrtle gets home, and decides to phone you back?

Did you cleverly scheme to “accidentally” miss her only to fall prey to answering your own phone? Does the hunter become the hunted?

Not to worry, because the advent of another invention – that of Caller ID – gave you the ability to selectively be “too busy” to answer your phone.

Clearly, not everyone has a meddlesome Great Aunt Myrtle, whose only preoccupation in life is to see you married off. But the above scenario does beg the question: Have all of the inventions that have hyper-connected the world really disconnected us from real human relations? Has the communication revolution actually intensified our isolation?

Consider this. Where once bus riders bade the driver a “Good morning”, harried scholars and businesspeople now swipe their pass while yammering on their mobiles, with barely a pause in conversation. People with MP3s glued to their ears have purchases rung up without ever acknowledging the cashier on the other side of the counter. And, honestly, how many times have you sent a text message instead of making a phone call, because you “didn’t have the time”? I’ve caught myself popping off an email to a colleague in the office three meters away from my own thirty - four

a n s w e r i n g

m a c h i n e .

desk instead of just walking over to say what I had to say.

When’s the last time you saw an actual bank teller? SMS, MSN, virtual dates, virtual tours – the list is expanding at an astounding rate.

Technology has fundamentally changed social interaction. It has removed a large portion of the random factor – so while, yes, in some sense, we are still communicating a message to those it needs to be communicated to, we are communicating static thoughts and have eliminated much of the unknown that was once part of just getting through the day. Even communicative mediums that have the capability of two-way dialogue are comparatively limited – you have almost complete control over how and when a response gets to you. You choose when to check your email, just how soon to race over to your cell phone, your availability status on MSN (which may or may not reflect your actual availability) or, wonder of wonders, when to just unplug and ignore.

We’re hyperaware and hyper-connected. We’re barraged by an onslaught of information. But by creating a context in which we can receive this information devoid of human contact, much of it is rendered useless. Status updates are only useful insofar as the effect they have on social interaction.

Is this a crime? No. Is this a tragedy? Not quite – we’re human; we will inevitably adapt and change to our social landscape as much, if not as quickly, as we adapt and change the fundamentals of the landscape itself. But, maybe taking off the headphones when walking through the mall or making that call to Great Aunt Myrtle wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all. {w}

La fumée me brûle les yeux, mais j’essaie de bien conserver mon sourire: c’est ma seule clé pour obtenir ce que je souhaite, des billets de train. Assise, cette bête mâche lentement et agressivement son cigare birman. Sa chemise complètement déboutonnée et impose à mon regard un ventre nu et poilu qui déborde par dessus la ceinture. Une cicatrice démontre un conflit jadis avec une ethnie frontalière et ses tatouages en bamar le protègent de tout mal. Son pantalon brun foncé remplace le longyi traditionnel, cette étoffe de coton que tous birmans portent autour de la taille. Sa carabine américaine M16 repose par terre à ses pieds. Tout employé de la dictature doit porter le costume officiel, pantalon brun, chemise verte foncée avec le sigle officiel du militaire: deux fusils rouges croisé sur chaque épaule. La casquette est réservée seulement pour ceux qui occupent un grade élevé. Aung Aung, mi-homme, mibête, n’en porte pas.

D’après moi, il est au service de cette junte gouvernementale du Myanmar, l’ancienne Birmanie,depuis son enfance. Il a atteint sa quarantaine, mais la vie birmane lui donne plutôt un début soixantaine. Il veut bien exercer son travail pour me prouver que le Myanmar est reconnu comme pays développé, mais malheureusement l’image qu’il dégage me convint difficilement qu’une dictature militaire soit ce qu’il y a de mieux pour un peuple, encore mieux que tout autre système social politique.

Un deuxième homme, dont j’ignore le nom, se présente à mes côtés en crachant à quelques pouces de mes sandale: une salive {continuer sur la page 38} thirty - five

UNDERCURRENTS..alternative expression

Marcel Mueller - the {lens}

La Dictature

UNDERCURRENTS..alternative expression

thirty - six

People’s Desire - Oppose those relying on external elements, acting as stooges, holding negative views.

- Oppose those trying to jeopardize stability of the State and progress of the nation.

- Oppose foreign nations interfering in internal affairs of the State.

- Crush all internal and external destructive elements as the common enemy. thirty - seven

UNDERCURRENTS..alternative expression

UNDERCURRENTS..alternative expression

rouge vin provenant de la noix de bétel. C’est une noix qui agit comme analgésique un peu comme la feuille de coca d’Amérique latine. Enrobée d’une pâte de coconut et de curry, la noix est enveloppée d’une feuille appelé le Hmang Plu. Ce narcotique logé entre la gencive et les molaires goutte à la fois sucré et amère. Après seulement quelques minutes de mastication, l’absorption se fait et l’effet devient perceptible. Ce produit a été banni en 1996, favorisant ainsi une image international favorable au Myanmar. Pourtant, on la mâche encore aujourd’hui et les rues de ce pays sont encore et toujours recouvertes de taches rougeâtres. Suivant son geste méprisant, il présente des excuses avec un demisourire mesquin et hypocrite. Mon sourire s’efface.

Je le fixe brièvement, je regarde vers ma sandale et de nouveau vers lui en lui offrant un sourire, à mon tour, mesquin et hypocrite. Il se retourne vers le quai de la gare, fait quelques pas et de toutes ses forces recrache entre les jambes des passagers qui se ruent vers le train de Mandalay qui quitte bientôt. Il est 8h45. Il fait très chaud.

Ils sont une douzaine à se partager la tache d’émettre des billets de train. Aucun ordinateur mais beaucoup de papier, un ou deux crayons pour le groupe, ils se les partagent entre eux. Le plus jeune sert de messager. Attentif à Aung Aung, lorsque le signal est donné, il quitte à la course pour livrer des bouts de reliure à travers la ville. Un autre est chargé de la caisse et deux autres camarades s’assurent qu’il ait bien compté les khats, monnaie du pays. Deux s’occupent de répondre au téléphone, un employé officiel et l’autre est sûrement son ami.

Le reste de l’équipe, employés et amis, se balade entre les deux tables de ce petit bureau et le banc extérieur qui surplombe la gare de Yangon. Un toît en taule recouvre les quatre murs dont les fissures dans le béton ressemblent au Delta de l’Irrawaddy qui se jette dans le golfe du Bengale. Typique de la capitale mais aussi des édifices officiels, un barbelé entoure le quai où seulement une légère ouverture sert de porte d’entrée et de sortie. Ils sont tous très maigres. Leurs vêtements salis et déchirés par l’usure et par la poussière qu’écartent les trains lors

de leurs arrivés en gare les distinguent de Aung Aung qui porte seul, l’uniforme.

Jusqu’en 1962, avant l’arrivée de Ne Win au pouvoir, le Myanmar était un des pays les plus riches d’Orient, du moins en Asie du Sud-est. Sa production d’un riz de première qualité et ses ressources naturelles surpassaient bien d’autres dans la région.

Comment un empire si riche économiquement, un pays si puissant culturellement puisse s’écrouler?

Deux mots: pouvoir et armée. La réponse semble assez simple mais la raison est complètement autre.

Comme étranger, notre regard satisfait une curiosité, une perception de l’extérieur. Mais cette vision peut difficilement expliquer le comportement de certain de ces gens, de certain de ces systèmes sociaux ou politiques qu’on retrouve dans ce coin du globe. Le Myanmar me fascine. Comment l’être humain peut-il exercer la torture et participer aux horreurs de la guerre, et parallèlement vivre d’une philosophie de vie qui reste un exemple pour l’humanité? Je parle ici de dictature et de bouddhisme. Le Myanmar reste aujourd’hui le pays le plus bouddhiste sur terre.

Malgré le vacarme du départ d’un train, les hommes réussissent à entendre le téléphone sonner. Pour m’impressionner, Aung Aung retire son cigare et suivant un vif signe de main, un jeune lui décroche l’appareil et lui tend. Quelques paroles à voix haute confirment aux autres que c’est lui qui a été choisi responsable de l’émission des billets. Il raccroche, viens vers moi et me tend quelques bouts de papier et me fait signe sur l’horloge au mur, qui ne fonctionne point, que le départ se ferra sûrement aujourd’hui.

J’acquitte ma facture en khats. Trois hommes se mettent à compter la somme. Aung Aung se rapproche de mon oreille et devant les autres, en serrant dans ses mains sa carabine, me demande en plus si j’ai des dollars américains ou des euros. Je retrouve mon sourire du départ. Pas le choix. Il est 12h45 et je ne sais toujours pas quand je vais partir et c’est le seul moyen d’y arriver. {w}

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Border Jumpers:

Changing Racial Politics in Popular Music Lisala Halapua {contributor}

Irony takes many forms, and in August 2009 it takes that of Lil Wayne’s newest endeavor: a metal album. The irony lies in America’s history, where white artists proved themselves adept at appropriating typically black music for mainstream ears. Entitled Rebirth, Lil Wayne’s album will play this role in reverse.

Elvis embodied the idea, adapting R&B from the black community and turning it into a personal fortune. With swiveling hips and porcelain looks, Elvis introduced a ‘new’ musical genre to the teeming masses. The mid-20th century would see infectious grooves and melodies provided with a vehicle more palatable to heartland America.

Sixty years later a new artist would emerge to emulate these feats. Going by the names of Slim Shady or Eminem, rapper Marshall Mathers would sum it up playfully in his 2002 hit single Without Me: ‘I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley, to do black music so selfishly, and use it to get myself wealthy’

And yet Lil Wayne is also exhibiting fluidity between genres that are often demarcated by race. Where metal is associated with “whiteness” both on the stage and in the audience, rap is perceived to be grounded in the black, urban ghetto.

For all of Eminem’s early success, he had to tread a tenuous path overshadowed by the image of Vanilla Ice. Authenticity was negotiated with American audiences in

part through his identification with the economic underclass. Through his lyrics and the semi-autobiographical film 8 Mile, Eminem successfully substituted the ghetto with a trailer park. For genres have expectations placed upon them, and as much as rock stars need to be debauched, rappers somehow need to emerge from society’s basement.

This is because genres are not arbitrarily constructed by store managers; they are the creations of society. What we expect to find in a given category is what they provide; and what they provide is what they assume we will expect.

In short, genres tell us as much about who we are as a society as they do about what’s on the shelf.

These machinations are seen in the history of the R&B that spawned Elvis, and now commingles with hip hop. At the turn of the 20th century, an R&B enthusiast would be looking for their records under the genre ‘coon music’. The connection between how both the people and their music were being categorized is embarrassingly clear. R&B’s status within the music store serves as a testament to the African-American experience in wider society. And it could also explain Elvis’ freedom from the racial politics encountered by Eminem. If a music’s originators were nothing but ‘coons’, audiences could easily disregard its cultural heritage.

What do we now make of Lil Wayne’s unhindered movements between metal and rap in the 21st century? Perhaps society is shifting in ways that makes the idea of ‘race music’ in any form redundant. Perhaps this borders on utopian dreaming, at least for the moment. Or maybe it is the rap genre as an art form that is being primed for renovation.

Lil Wayne’s genre jumping may be an indication that the rap genre has hit its creative ceiling and new channels are being sought out. Having stagnated in gangster rap for over a decade, the posturing and regurgitation of rap as we knew it may be set for change as we need it. {w}

POPPING CULTURE..trend watch

And get wealthy he did, propelling five of his six official albums to the number one spot in America. But the advent of Lil Wayne’s Rebirth is set to turn this idea on its head, the advance party already formed with the release of the singles Prom Queen and Hot Revolver. Sitting heavily on the auto-tuner, perhaps he will in turn be treating white music so selfishly too.

Photo: Seo2 | Relativo & Absoluto - Flickr

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UNDERCURRENTS..alternative expression

Casey Watson

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ERGONOMICS {wellness}

Bangladesh Revealed Adam Panetta {megaphone}

Bright Lights, Big City - Big Noise, Big Smog & Big Mess {the clamour of dhaka} Scarce resources, shrinking land and a lack of job opportunities have transformed Bangladesh into what some describe as single-city state. The prospect of steady work in textile factories or driving a bicycle rickshaw in Dhaka attracts people from outlying rural regions to the capital city every day, which has resulted in a four-fold increase in Dhaka’s population over the past 25 years and made it the fastest growing city in the world. While officially, Dhaka is said to have a population of 13 million, in actual fact the number is said to be much higher, somewhere between 15 to 20 million and growing every day; in a span of merely 15 years, the city’s population has managed to double. Locals lament the growing traffic problem, which in many cases has transformed a daily 10-kilometer commute into a horrendous 5-hour back-and-forth ordeal.

Choked by smog, infested by a mushrooming number of cars and rickshaws and underpinned by lamentable infrastructure, drainage and sewer systems, navigating the city can be a challenge to say the least, especially during the monsoon season.

ERGONOMICS..road less travelled

Expats and the wealthy local elite find refuge from the mind-numbing cacophony of car horns and crowded city streets by seeking out the comfort of Dhaka’s copious international clubs, hotel lounges and burgeoning café and restaurant scene.

Such luxuries remain wildly out of reach for most residents, who settle instead for 8-cent cups of tea and sweet biscuits at impromptu tea stands.

Carving Out A Life {new livelihoods & old traditions} The worldwide hub of NGO activity, it’s estimated that over 20,000 non-governmental organizations currently operate in Bangladesh.

While the words NGO and Bangladesh are almost synonymous with microcredit to international audiences, many organizations are focusing their efforts on other areas, like asset transfer, land entitlement, political and social activism as well as livelihood programs. The latter often aim to harness local skills by scaling up traditional crafts and practices into small businesses and providing beneficiaries in remote areas with access to markets for their goods.

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Slum Pickings {inside dhaka’s korail slum} There are an estimated 3 million people living in Dhaka’s numerous slums. The Korail Slum, which has existed for almost 40 years and is the largest slum in Dhaka, is home to 120,000 people, most of whom left rural areas to find jobs as textile workers and rickshaw drivers in Dhaka. As if a cramped living environment, deplorable hygienic conditions, lack of clean water and proper latrines weren’t enough, the inhabitants of the Korail slum have dealt with repeated attacks from government-hired henchmen over the years. According to a local NGO worker, as numerous governments have wanted to tear down the slum in order to eventually sell the land {and wipe out what they see as a blight on the splendid image of their fair capital city}, they’ve routinely sent police and even employed henchmen to bully slum dwellers out of their ramshackle homes. Several years ago, part of the slum was set ablaze, killing dozens of people and destroying hundreds of homes.

While the incident was officially attributed to fighting between local gangs, doubt surrounds the plausibility of that explanation and, in a chilling vein of thought, some experts believe that the fire was part of a nefarious government plot to clear out the slum.

Salty Bengal Tiger Land {life on the edge of the sundarbans}

ERGONOMICS..road less travelled

Khulna lies on the southwestern fringe of Bangladesh and is home to the Sundarbans {which translates into “beautiful jungle”}, an enormous swampy forest that lies at the feet of the Ganges. The forest is home to numerous species of birds, deer, snakes, crocodiles and, most famously, the endangered Royal Bengal Tiger.

For nearby villages, the Sunderbans represents the source of all traditional livelihood opportunities. It is where they fish, collect firewood and find wild honey, all of which they make use of, but mostly sell to buy rice and other basic necessities. It’s also a very dangerous environment to earn a living. Tiger and crocodile attacks have historically been a danger but recently, the most common threat appears to be pirate kidnappings.

These criminals, armed with speedboats and weapons, prey on local fisherman, kidnapping them and holding them ransom. As these patriarchs are often a household’s only source of income, families do and pay what they must in order to retrieve their men from the pirates’ clutches. The pirates’ demands often force extremely poor families – who can barely afford to survive as it is – to borrow money and sell what little assets they possess in order to get their loved ones back. forty - three

BIXI THE

VÉLO-LUTION IS HERE!

Scott French {Contributor}

It’s noon on a hot Friday in Montreal’s downtown financial district; a stream of sun-glassed cyclists on silver bicycles slips past legions of flip-flopping tourists and well-heeled professionals on the Claire Morissette bike path that spans de Maisonneuve Boulevard.

Two, then three and soon half a dozen taxis lie dormant across the street from the bike path at a taxi stand. Between cell phone calls, a few of the men inside those cabs grumble that the silver BIXI {bicycle + taxi}, the City of Montreal’s extensive new network of 3000 publicly shared bicycles, are stealing their clients.

ERGONOMICS..the main event

“It’s getting ridiculous,” one cabbie parked at the taxi stand near Stanley complains.

“I saw a guy with a tie, suit and briefcase riding one of them the other day. So, of course I’m losing money!”

Judgements aside, the cab driver’s observation drives to the heart of the BIXI revolution: cycling as a means of commuting in Montreal is finally hitting the mainstream.

Be it tourists lazily pedalling through the Old Port or late-night revellers precariously weaving their way home on Laurier, row upon row of BIXI bike docks in the 300 stations spread across Montreal’s downtown core are empty.

But amid the buzz of the initiative’s wild popularity, an important question stands out: how successful will the BIXI program be in tackling challenges like traffic congestion and air pollution? The answer is far less clear than the City of Montreal may want to admit. forty - four

The city’s transportation czar, André Lavallée, whose countless public appearances are ensuring this revolution will be televised, recently released some promising figures. In the six short weeks since the first phase of BIXI’s implementation in May, the program boasts 175,000 rides spanning over a million kilometres and reducing a potential 226,000 kilograms of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere.

But as Ahmed El-Geneidy, assistant professor at McGill University’s School of Urban Planning points out, we need to look closer at who BIXI consumers are and what their travel habits were before declaring any victories on reducing air pollution in the city.

“Who’s using the BIXI and why are they using it? How did they get around before?” the professor asks. “To what extent do they know their users were going to use a car, got out and used a BIXI instead?”

Indeed, if BIXI riders are anything like SmartBike riders in Washington, D.C., they aren’t usually driving down to the corner to get a litre of milk from the dépanneur but are most likely walking instead. A survey of SmartBike members found that had the bikes not been available for use, 71 per cent might have walked to their destination while 35 per cent might have taken some form of motorized vehicle.

An even more sobering statistic reveals the uphill battle BIXI developers at Stationnement de Montréal will face in converting drivers into riders: a survey of transit users in the Greater Montreal region by the Agence Métropolitaine de Transport (AMT) in 2003 found that only 1 per cent of respon-

dents commuted daily by bicycle while 67 per cent travelled by automobile, 14 per cent took some form of public transit, while the remaining 18 per cent took some other form of transportation or combination thereof.

“Will BIXI users rise to 10 per cent of commuters?” El-Geneidy asks, the gadfly who, for the record, admires the BIXI initiative.

“No, it’s impossible. What’s needed is education to encourage people to take bicycles and public transit.”

BIXI developers have so far followed the scholarship on ensuring the success of public bike sharing systems to the letter by keeping the initiative downtown where there is a viable market of potential cyclists making the free 30-minute commutes easily.

But if developers hope to effect greater environmental change by reaching out to that ‘impossible’ 10 per cent of commuters, or even two to three per cent of commuters, the success of the second phase rolling out in August in boroughs farther away from downtown like N.D.G. or Villeray is crucial because these commuters are more likely to drive downtown to work than their colleagues already living downtown.

“We want to break the culture where car is king in Montreal,” Darren Becker, spokesperson for André Lavallée, says.

Observing a rush-hour traffic jam featuring a dozen bicycles halted single-file at a stoplight near Greene ave. in Westmount, that assertion certainly seems promising. {w}

CASEY WATSON

fresh paint

the

{warehouse}

magazine is proud to introduce Casey Watson to our community.

After graduating from Dawson College in Fine Arts, Casey Watson is continuing her education at Concordia University where she is pursuing her BFA in painting and drawing.

Even though Casey’s passion seems to be painting and drawing, she has worked with variety of materials ranging from metal and wood to clay and plaster. Trying not to take herself too seriously Casey’s art is often playfully innocent and sometimes even comical.

Her art consists of a lot of self-exploration, including some interesting pieces where she compares herself to mainstream society. Watson’s upcoming collection is one that deals with pop culture and the bizarre trends people follow in today’s society. Celebrity culture, the Internet, fashion and advertisement are among the unique blends that the viewer will certainly be able to relate to.

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UNDERCURRENTS..alternative expression

Follow the Shade

Tracy Lyall {contributor}

Have you ever found yourself lost while wandering the corridors of a strange city?

I mean really lost, intentionally lost, with no real care to find your way or any intention of making it anywhere on your travel list? If you’ve never sauntered down a road fully prepared to lose your way, then I highly recommend you give it a try.

On a recent trip to Spain, my travel companion and I decided to do away with our carefully composed itinerary, determined instead to get a little lost. We knew there was a lot to see in this vibrant Iberian peninsula, but for once weren’t stressed about fitting it all in. What a liberating way to travel!

During a midday promenade in beautiful Salamanca, almost buckling under the sweltering 40-degree heat, we decided to play a game we affectionately came to call Follow the Shade. The city seems to wind its way outward from the University of Salamanca located in the centre, offering an endless maze of cobblestone streets and narrow alleys. The towering sandstone of the Ciudad Dorada’s Plateresque architecture offered the most alluring refuge and much needed reprieve from the overwhelming burn of the Salamancan sunlight.

We followed the path the shade laid out for us and, at first, laughed at how strange it was that our memories of Salamanca would be based solely on how the sun fell upon the city as we explored its picturesque quarters. We soon came to appreciate how this improvised route would lead us to some of our most treasured and otherwise undiscovered experiences.

Our adventure down one shaded alley took us to a tiny sun-strewn terrace, the perfect spot for scrumptious tapas and a delightful glass of Rioja. The owners seemed surprised to see turistas as we had wandered well off the beaten path, far from the overpriced restaurants profiled in the unread pages of our guidebook. Thanks to the path of the sheltering shade, we sampled some fantastic local fare and met some incredibly kind and genuine people.

As a thorough planner and itinerary-faithful traveler, I can fully appreciate how many might see this sort of haphazard way of exploring a city as impractical when considering how much there is to see in such a limited amount of time. I can also understand how some could be reluctant to pay a great deal of money on a Spanish tour only to miss the Islamic splendor of the Alhambra; but if you can spare an afternoon, perhaps two, take my advice and lose yourself in the shade of a city.

It’s worth taking a chance on the unknown every once in a while. You never know what brilliant adventures lie hidden in the sheltering shade of an unfamiliar city. {w} forty - seven

ERGONOMICS..road less travelled

Emboldened by our rewarding exploits, we ventured further with our impromptu flamenco eventually following the shade to a Moroccan-inspired tearoom secluded from the bustle of the main tourist district. This charming shop reflected Moroccan decor in both an elaborate and simplistic way. We sat upon the bright blue and red cushions, sipping mint tea, once again grateful to the shade for having led us to yet another oasis we would have otherwise never stumbled upon.

not so {virgin} territory Michaela Di Cesare {contributor}

In January 2009, Astral Media announced Mix96, the FM station that claimed to play Montreal’s best music, was being rebranded a Virgin Radio station. Rebranding is no new trick; the station went from 95.9 FM to Mix96 ten years ago. Since this latest metamorphosis, however, many are wondering what this corporate takeover will mean for listeners, while a growing number are upset about the delocalization of a beloved Montreal radio station that renders it a global clone of other Virgin ventures.

No one at Astral Media or Virgin Radio chose to comment on these concerns when I extended the invitation to do so.

The first reservation that tends to surface when discussing a U.S. based acquisition of a Canadian radio station is what will happen to local content? Not that Mix96 was necessarily known for championing home-grown artists before; but what incentive would they now have to play Canadian music when the mission statement of this deal screams globalization and the effacement of local culture?

ERGONOMICS..the soapbox

Interestingly enough, the greatest change does not necessarily have to do with the lack of Canadian content, but with the lack of international content. Sunday nights on Mix 96 used to be the venue for ‘Rhythms International’,

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co-hosted by Angus Mackay and Richard Lafrance. The program, regarded for bringing world beats to Montreal listeners, has completely disappeared from Virgin’s line-up.

In many ways, Rhythms International represented what is Canadian to many Montrealers.

Yet, this takeover may have its positive elements too. The recent ‘Virgin Fest Montreal’ music festival attracted a throng of B-calibre talents like the Black Eyed Peas, New Kids on the Block, Simple Plan and Akon.

Liana Rizzutto, a 21-year-old McGill student who attended the festival thinks “it’s great that Virgin is branching out from the radio station to live shows. We’re a visual generation. We don’t listen to music on the radio; we watch the videos online.” Pop extravaganzas like Virgin Fest are bound to stimulate the economy, as well as reinforce Montreal’s already well-established reputation for hosting a good time.

The question must be put to you, readers and radio listeners. Should we oppose the globalization of Canadian radio on principle or does the new Virgin Radio offer something more to listeners than the clichéd gimmicks and mindnumbing distractions often associated with this brand of radio broadcasting? {w}

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The Looking Glass: Contemporary Exhibit Honours 1969 Bed-in In 1969, Richard Nixon became president of the U.S., the war in Vietnam entered its tenth year, Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s Omnibus Bill decriminalized homosexuality and abortion, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono arrived in Montreal to take up residence at Suite 1742 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel for their now legendary Bed-in for Peace.

For seven days, Montreal was the epicentre of the worldwide anti-war movement. John and Yoko turned an ordinarily calm and conservative hotel into an impromptu press conference of frenetic activity, entertaining reporters and famous guests (including LSD guru, Timothy Leary ), as well as recording “Give Peace a Chance.” Forty years later, the upheavals of 1969 are alive again on the walls of The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Imagine, a multimedia exhibition honouring John and Yoko, welcomes, free of charge, thousands of gallery goers from around the world.

Parisian Curator, Emma Lavigne, with extensive assistance from Yoko Ono herself, has built a bright, spacious place that invites people to play and participate. You can laze around on a giant bed, have a game of chess in which all the pieces are painted white, play the piano or write a message for peace and hang it on a “Wish Tree.”

One lucky visitor per day even gets to talk direct to Yoko Ono on the telephone.

The museum’s curatorial spokesperson, Thierry Loriot, describes Imagine as “a monster exhibition” that turned out much larger than anyone initially expected. Guests “from seven to ninety-seven” have enjoyed the tour, liberated to interact with the art and to photograph anything they please. This is not your stuffy, elitist art show where no one dares emit any sound louder than a whisper.

ERGONOMICS..the main event

John and Yoko were enthused with the same spirit of playfulness and boisterousness from the very beginning of their relationship. They met in 1966, an event that John described dramatically: “Imagine two cars of the same make heading towards each other and they’re gonna crash,

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Laurence Miall {contributor}

head-on. We’ll, it’s like one of those scenes from a film – they’re going 100 miles an hour, they both slam their brakes on and there’s smoke everywhere and they stop just in the nick of time with their bumpers almost touching but not quite.”

John and Yoko became more than simply a couple – you could say they became a force of nature, moving across the world like a weather system, driving the peace movement everywhere they went. Whereas their self-appointed successor, Bono, styles himself as a friend and counsellor to world leaders, John and Yoko were typically adversarial in their relationship with the powers that were, often taking to the streets to protest the ongoing atrocities perpetrated in the name of America in the jungles of Vietnam. When they mailed acorns, symbolizing peace, to world leaders, South Africa’s president and Jordan’s King Hussein vociferously objected.

John described the Bed-in as “one big advertising campaign”; but from the outset, it was clear this would not be like a Coke or Pepsi commercial. The Bed-in did not ask people to consume; it asked people to imagine and enact a radically different world.

The Imagine exhibit does a nice job of contextualizing the Bed-in among the events of the 1960s, and in the chronology of John and Yoko’s respective endeavours. When you enter, there are beautiful photos of John and Yoko as children, their families, and the obligatory photographic homage to John’s famous friends and music partners – The Beatles.

Particularly instructive is the guide to Yoko Ono’s importance as one of America’s leading contemporary artists. A massive screen projects her famous work, Cut Piece, in which Yoko sat on a stage and had members of the audience come and cut off pieces of her clothing. As you progress through the exhibit, you can see the escalating intensity and artistic collaboration of John and Yoko in numerous fields: film, music and art. A body of work emerges that beggars any contemporary output of today’s so-called stars. What meaningful political contributions can you expect from Nickelback, 50cent, or Nelly Furtado? Imagine makes you long for a time when art mattered.

In the final analysis, profiting from a sense of nostalgia is perhaps the only aspect of the exhibition that a detractor might justifiably decry. Whether or not you feel the pantheon of 1960s icons have become clichés, it’s hard to argue that they did not – in their day – matter. And so, to fastforward to our own day, in which Dick Cheney continues to proudly support America’s torturing of its “enemies” in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, Imagine provokes the loaded question, “Can the peace movement still make a difference?”

It’s not an easy question to answer, but it’s certainly courageous of the museum to invest so much effort and money in keeping it alive. {w}

utor}

Helene Elsborg {guest speaker} I’m a Danish girl living in Montréal, a city renowned for its raucous nightlife and raunchy underbelly. The strip club capital of North America, it was really just a matter of time before I was introduced to one. After all, almost every guy I know has been to a ‘gentleman’s club’, though some decidedly more frequently than others.

So one Friday night I decided to join some of my closest guy friends to see what all the fuss and fantasy was about.

The first thing I noticed as I walked through a metal detector and past two huge bouncers was the size of the place. It’s huge!

I looked around, curious as to the cast with whom I would be sharing this experience and what I discovered didn’t surprise me much: they’re all men. But what did interest me was the variety of men, from all walks of life, every age and personality type you could possibly imagine.

Yelling and hollering, almost everyone staring in the same direction, their glaring eyes led me to the stage, as a bronze Amazon

with bleach blond hair and clear four-inch heels emerged onto the platform. “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the lovely Melina!”, the MC’s cheesy voice boomed from the loudspeaker.

I started to feel a little awkward at first; should I look or look away? But before long, I found it very hard not to stare. After all, that’s what we’re all here to see. By the time Melina took to the stage for her encore, I felt as though she were dancing for me alone, and found myself wondering whether the men around me were feeling this way too.

I feel many women get caught up with the stereotypes surrounding strip clubs and stripper culture without ever having been to one. And fair enough, strip clubs may not be for everyone. But what do Dr. Seuss and your mother have in common? That’s right, try it and you might like it. And that’s all I’m suggesting. {w} fifty - one

ERGONOMICS..sex & sexuality

I have heard a lot of people say strip clubs are for fantasies. Maybe their popularity is based in a sense of escapism, but that’s not to say these places don’t have a lot to offer both men and women, single and committed. While, as a single lady, a strip club may not be the ideal place to pick up, it could be a fun place to go with friends – to relax, have a good time and, of course, enjoy the diverse theatrics. And if you’re in a relationship and choose to go with your partner, the night could turn out to be a very special bonding experience. It’s a great way to energize your sexual batteries, explore new possibilities and stimulate your imagination to hopefully spark some new fantasies. Imagination and experimentation, after all, can really spice up your sex life with any lover.

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UNDERCURRENTS {the arts}

33 Revolutions Tim O’Connor {contributor}

“Artists to my mind are the real architects of change, and not the political legislators who implement change after the fact.”

- William S. Burroughs In dissecting the cannon of popular music that has enabled or encouraged social change, one must walk the fine line of choice between songs that reached a wide range of people due to their popularity and those songs that truly made a difference. The current wave of doom and gloom that exists in mainstream media rides on the break of a tidal wave of reported hope and change in the wake of Barrack Obamas’ election. Before we descend into further cynicism and apathy, let us be reminded of those moments in time where artists expressed themselves and revealed something about our condition, our world and ourselves.

This is a playlist for those in need of inspirational lyrics or a soundtrack to accompany their revolution:

1) Song: Hurricane by Bob Dylan Relevance: Helped to raise awareness and support for wrongly imprisoned Rubin Carter. The Hurricane was eventually freed after serving 20 years “for somethin’ that he never done”.

2) Song: Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud by James Brown Relevance: Through relevant lyrics and a vibrant sound, ‘The Godfather of Soul’ popularized and empowered being ‘Black’ at a time when perceptions were ‘coloured’.

3) Song: Amazing Grace by John Newton Relevance: Based in part on the author’s lament over his role as a slave ship captain. Although conflicted throughout his life in regards to religion, Newton’s revelation came after years of torment and introspection into his previous occupation and beliefs.

4) Song: Give Peace a Chance by John Lennon Relevance: Recorded in Montreal’s Queen Elizabeth Hotel as a response to the Vietnam War. Celebrated as the defining song of the anti-war movement – “all we are saying…”

5) Song: I Am Woman by Helen Reddy Relevance: The feminist anthem!

UNDERCURRENTS..the playlist

6) Song: War by Bob Marley Relevance: Lyrics derived from a speech by Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia to the United Nations petitioning world peace. Although Marley’s entire cannon reflects a socially conscious agenda, War is perhaps the most quoted and performed of his repertoire.

7) Song: God Save the Queen by Sex Pistols Relevance: An anthem for the disenfranchised youth during the Queen’s Jubilee year in 1977. Banned in the U.K.

“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; none but ourselves can free our minds.”

- Bob Marley {c.1979}

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{w}

8) Song: What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye Relevance: An entire album’s worth of social commentary, as powerful today as it was then. Still stands as the number one R&B album of all time.

9) Song: Fight the Power by Public Enemy Relevance: “To revolutionize make a change” 10) Song: La Marseillaise by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle Relevance: The adopted anthem of the French Revolution – the anthem of one of the most significant and socially relevant events in human history.

r the French NGO Objectif ternational. At age 23, he e than 21.000 km around presenting clown shows ges and schools. A selfo-journalist, he now lives

res detail the daily actions of militants and activists, U RZQ ZD\ IRU FKDQJH DQG

the world, presenting clown shows

These pictures detail the daily actions in orphenages and schools.

A selfmade photo-journalist, he now lives in Montreal. and work of militants and activists, 多JKWLQJ WKHLU RZQ ZD\ IRU FKDQJH DQG These pictures detail the daily actions and work of militants and activists, justice. 多JKWLQJ WKHLU RZQ ZD\ IRU FKDQJH DQG justice.

1-3. Anti Police Brutality Protest -

Montreal, Protest March 15th 2009.

1-3. Anti Police Brutality Montreal, March 15th 2009.

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable

Valerian Matazaud the {lens}

{CLAMOUR}

1-3. Anti Police Brutality Protest Montreal, March 15th 2009.

These pictures detail the daily actions and work of militants and activists, fighting their own way for change and justice. {w}

Anti Police Brutality Protest - Montreal, March 15th 2009.

- JFK

six

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable

UNDERCURRENTS..alternative expression

After graduating in oceanography, Valerian Mazataud became a science educator for the French NGO Objectif Sciences International. At age 23, he cycled more than 21.000 km around the world, presenting clown shows in orphenages and schools. A selfmade photo-journalist, he now lives in Montreal.

- JFK

sixteen

n Matazaud the {lens}

UNDERCURRENTS..alternative expression

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ceanography, me a science NGO Objectif At age 23, he 0 km around clown shows ools. A selfhe now lives

daily actions and activists, U FKDQJH DQG

Brutality Protest March 15th 2009.

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Those who make

UNDERCURRENTS..alternative expression

8-9. June 2009. Remi Kanazi, a Palestinian-American poet based in New York City, reciting spoken word at the recent “Beats for Palestine” fundraiser concert in Montreal.

10. Mohamed Khatib, leader of the protest movement.

seventeen

2009. Remi Kanazi, a Palestinian-American poet based in New York City, reciting spoken word at the recent Palestine” fundraiser concert in Montreal.

poken word at the recent

expression UNDERCURRENTS..alternative UNDERCURRENTS..alternative expression

en

8-9. June 2009.Remi Remi Kanazi, a Palestinian-American poet based inpoet New York City, reciting spoken at the recent spoken word at the June 2009.

Kanazi, a Palestinian-American based in New Yorkword City, reciting “Beats for Palestine” fundraiser concert in Montreal. recent “Beats for Palestine” fundraiser concert in Montreal.

10. Mohamed Khatib, leader of the protest movement.

10. Mohamed Khatib, leader of the protest movement.

seventeen

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Mohamed Khatib, leader of the protest movement.

10. Mohamed Khatib, leader of the protest movement.

{OUR COMMUNITY}

DESIGN TEAM {the stock advantage}

Ideas remain confined in the shadows until liberated by the crafts{wo}men who bring them to life. For our community, those remarkable liberators are Stephanie Pipicello {ART DIRECTOR}, Lisa Chan {ART DIRECTOR-PRINT}, Lauren Diez d’Aux {PRINT}, Naomi Frerotte {PRINT} and Daryl Deskin {PRINT, WEB & COVERS}.

the {writing} room Our community of contributors includes writing room contributors {recipients of the {warehouse} magazine prize for urban perspective}, contributors, and guest speakers. To all those involved in the writing room, we thank you for being our catalysts…

Cristina Rosu Jane Hedge Natasha Soobramanie

Geoffrey Lansdell

Joanna Fox

Jason Hopkins

Laurence Miall

Katie Peirse-O’Byrne

Michaela Di Cesare

Laura Kneale

Mohsen al Attar

Livia Perini

Tim O’Connor

Marcel Mueller

Tracy Lyall

Marco Barone

Zodwa Nyoni

Michelle Franklin

Angela Wilson

Miriam Hakim

Bram Levinson

Peter McDougall

Christine McIntyre

Valerian Matazaud

Corey Ramirez

Rodney Ramsey

Domenic Brizzi

Sam Labrier

Sundus Abdul Hadi Ron Maheedy Elizabeth Darlington Emil Niec Eric Hatch

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Sean Bower Sean Keogh Mohammad Miraly Sal Ciolfi Scott French Fazana Natasha Soobramanie fifty - nine

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www.thewarehousemagazine.com

FLASHPOINT {world affairs}