Vol 34 issue 20

The Voice of the University of Toronto at Mississauga

MEDIUM THE

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2008

VOLUME 34, ISSUE 20

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Human Rights Film Fest reviews

Creative Corner

AFL celebrates 25 in TO

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Page 14

Litter piles up in Meeting Place SAIRA MUZAFFAR NEWS EDITOR Caretakers at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) were asked not to clean up after students for a 24-hour period as part of a special initiative to get UTM students to act more ‘green’ when it comes to littering.

The university’s Green Team organized this year’s Anti-Litter Campaign that was staged at the Meeting Place in the South Building. Starting at 10 a.m. on Thursday, February 14 and lasting until 10 the next morning, garbage on tabletops and the floor was left untouched to showcase the severity of the littering problem on campus.

Green Team organizers kept a visual record of the amount of garbage that accumulated over the course of the day and then worked along with volunteers to clean up at the end.

“This initiative is getting through to students and is the reason why the amount of litter decreased from last years results.”

- Milad Mohammadi, Green Team organizer Photo/Melissa Di Pasquale

UTM caretakers are given a break from cleaning up after students at the Meeting Place in the South Building as part of the Anti-Litter Campaign organized by UTM’s Green Team. The mess quickly piled up, leaving students disgusted.

The organizers had originally planned to expand the campaign to include several high-traffic areas on campus such as

Oscar Peterson Hall, but were not able to receive confirmation in time from the administration.

“We chose the South Meeting Place because it has the highest concentration of students and it was the site chosen for last year’s Anti-Litter Campaign,” said Green team organizer Milad Mohammadi.

The campaign organizers remained on hand during the campaign period to ensure garbage bags and recycling bins were emptied.

Regarded as one of the most ‘green’ campuses, UTM ended up surprising Mohammadi and the rest of the Green Team towards the end.

According to Mohammadi, the cleanup did not require as many garbage bags as the campaign organizers had come to expect from previous years.

“I truly believe that this initiative is getting through to students and is the reason why the amount of litter decreased from last year’s results,” said Mohammadi.

The Green Team had posted the campaign on Facebook, giving students a widespread message about taking littering more seriously.

“I believe the students are understanding the importance of being green and why initiatives like this are so important to educate individuals about environmental affairs,” said Mohammadi.

He also added that the Green Team is considering not to advertise the event in the future to highlight the full scope of the littering problem.

Islamophobia behind Iraq MEREDITH LILLY As part of Xpression Against Oppression Week, University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) students were treated to a lecture on Islamophobia featuring James Clark of the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War on February 15.

The coalition is one of the largest peace organizations in the Greater Toronto Area and represents over 60 labour, student, faith and community groups.

Its mandate includes opposing the war and occupation in Iraq, Islamophobia and racism.

Clark characterized the “War on Terror” as a “War of Terror,” citing Canada’s indirect support of the United States’ initiatives in Iraq through measures such as providing

armaments. This, he said, should serve as reason for Canadians to rally in protest.

Much of the address retold the progression of Canada’s involvement with anti-terror initiatives abroad since the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

Clark focused attention on Iraq as opposed to Afghanistan, the site of Canada’s current overseas military efforts, because far more resources have been poured into the Iraq war and there have been more casualties.

He estimated that around 1.2 million Iraqis have been killed as a result of the occupation and that 1.5 million died due to the economic sanctions imposed upon Iraq by Canada and the United States.

Fatalities in Afghanistan were in the tens of thousands, according to Clark, though no data is available.

He also predicted that the next

Canadian federal election will fall on the question of our presence in Afghanistan.

Around 1.2 million Iraqis have been killed as a result of the occupation and that 1.5 million died due to the economic sanctions imposed upon Iraq by Canada and the United States.

He believes that much of the support for the “War on Terror” is derived from Islamophobic sentiments in Canada’s popular conscience.

Clark pointed to a strain of racist backlash in the media that presupposes

a correlation between terrorism and Islam. He believes that to oppose the war, you must oppose the ideas behind the war. According to Clark, Islamophobia is behind the war.

Clark called on students to rally in support of civil liberties. He cited a ew York Times article which discussed the end of United States’ hegemony on the international stage and that the ordinary people of the global peace movement are now a superpower in their own right.

In order to build solidarity, he encouraged students to think collectively; to identify first with society so that no one would end being targeted in particular.

Clark used the old labour union slogan, “an injury to one is an injury to all,” to exemplify the larger social impact of racist and Islamophobically informed policies.

He lauded the efforts of the Canadian Federation of Students and affiliated unions, who issued anti-war buttons as part of their campaign to encourage world peace.

As part of its campaign against war in Iraq, the coalition organizes antiwar rallies that have seen thousands of people come out to support in the past.

These rallies have focused around issues such as siege on Fallujah, the Abu Ghraib scandal, and the disappearance of Arab detainees.

The coalition plans to hold a peace march on March 15 in Toronto as part of the global World Against War campaign.

Friday’s lecture was organized by the University of Toronto Mississauga’s Students’ Union, the University of Toronto’s Students’ Union, Ministry of Social Justice, and Students Against Islamophobia.

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Monday, February 25, 2008

NEWS

Panel discussion focuses on free speech MEGHA KUMAR ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR A discussion entitled “How free, How far?” brought a set of panelists together on February 13 in the Student Centre Presentation Room to discuss the limits of freedom of speech regarding the comments made by a particular University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) student.

The debate focused on the boundaries between free speech and action, the fine line between expression of opinion and offensive remarks, and the lack of a statutory law against offensive material.

The discussion was hosted by UTM student Meredith Lilly and moderated by an assistant professor in the department of geography, Pierre Desrocher.

The featured panelists included political science professor Mark Lippincott and UTM resource officer on diversity, equity and leadership, Jane Ngobia.

President of University of Toronto at Mississauga Students' Union (UTMSU) and co-host for the event Walied Khogali began with a speech on what UTM should do to combat hateful speech.

Due to the protection and privacy act, the panelists could not comment on the current case specifically.

Salman Hossain, the student in question, is an upper-year UTM student who is being investigated by the RCMP and the CSIS for posting online messages advocating the

killing of Canadian soldiers serving in Afghanistan.

In response, UTM students have joined a rapidly growing Facebook group called “Expel or Suspend Salman Hossain,” that has seen over 400 members posting angry retaliatory comments and photos praising the Canadian military.

Hossain has become an active member of the group, posting responses and arguments to the criticism against him.

During the panel, Lippincott began by asking whether UTMers have the right be offended, arguing that since offensive material is so widespread, we cannot have laws condemning it.

He added that freedom of speech is inevitable and necessary for society to function, and the difference between speech and actual action should not be confounded.

“There is a difference between advocating the death of someone and actually shooting someone. No matter how weird, ignorant, deranged, stupid or obnoxious comments are, we do not have the right to 'not be offended',” said Lippincott.

He also added that until we reach a point where there is “active recruitment leading to imminent danger to another person,” no direct action can be taken against a student.

The only appropriate response is with better, more convincing retaliatory speech, according to Lippincott.

Ngobia's role on the panel was to highlight UTM's stance on issues of hate speech.

She emphasized that UTM does take action on issues like this and that the student unions and clubs are doing all that they can to promote multiculturalism and raise awareness about other cultures.

“Although UTM is a diverse community, many people are compartmentalized within their own culture,” said Ngobia.

She pointed out that many students are not aware that there are 15 equity offices in UTM, as well as a community safety office.

There is also a graffiti campaign which fights against messages of a hateful nature and then reports to the campus police and the Peel Region police.

“We need to interact people in an intercultural context and be more aware of what is offensive in other cultures,” said Ngobia.

Lippincott, however, felt that not everyone can be aware of every cultural taboo and that in order for the government to know what citizens want, freedom of speech should not be censored on any grounds.

He emphasized that there will be no content possible for free speech if people establish the right to not be offended.

The panelists concluded the second round of discussions by agreeing that overall education and awareness is key, but that freedom of speech is unavoidable in educational institutions since there will always be someone who is offended.

The panelists took caution to avoid

mentioning Salman Hossain's name, but the subsequent question and answer session allowed students to express their concerns regarding the issue.

Several students agreed that comments such as the ones made by Hossain showed lack of character, ignorance and even stupidity.

A University of Toronto law student pointed out that Canadian law does not guarantee unlimited freedom of speech and that if it is not in the best interest of others, the right can be taken away from you. The zero tolerance rule against transgressions in institutions also limits freedom of speech. Thus, in a Canadian context, freedom of speech is not an excuse or a guarantee for one's opinions.

Lippincott admitted that students had genuine reasons to be concerned, but added that despite the disrespectful nature of the remarks, mere advocacy of killing was different than provoking or taking part in killing.

He said that disrespectful comments forewarned people in a sense so that they could respond in the appropriate way and take precautionary measures.

Students in attendance were keen on pressing for an official response from the university’s administration and faculty on the possible consequences for Hossain as a UTM student.

Ngobia said the Student Code of Conduct was a vague contractual agreement and could not be used to prosecute anybody.

The details of whether Hossain's statements were made with the intention of remaining private or advocating a public response remain unclear to most. Although, sources such as the ational Post say the messages are accessible through a Google search on the Internet.

The discussion ended with the panelists stressing that freedom should come with responsibility, but some people choose to neglect that.

The speakers added that students can respond to such actions by protesting against them, organizing more panels for dialogue, and spreading awareness amongst their peers.

“The discussion went very well - it was an honest, open dialogue with regards to freedom of speech and it showed how important it is to collectively speak out against all forms of discrimination,” said Khogali.

“We are completely against hate speech, and it's productive to have these discussions when students feel concerned about the environment they are in,” he added.

However, political science major and vice-president of UTM Young Liberals Sara Herrche said she was disappointed by the panel discussion.

“They never addressed the issue of whether Salman Hossain was getting expelled or not. It was an interesting discussion on free speech, the limits of it and privacy surrounding it but it was not clear how UTM is treating this particular issue and what the consequences are going to be for him,” she said.

Oppressed dummies

Photo/Matthew Filipowich

Dummy bodies were set up around the Student Centre as part of Xpression Against Oppression Week, shocking many students who stepped over them.

Monday, February 25, 2008

NEWS

Pooja for Saraswati SAIRA MUZAFFAR NEWS EDITOR

Around 70 students gathered in the Student Centre to celebrate and invoke the blessings of the goddess of wisdom, Saraswati Devi, on February 11.

The two hour long ‘pooja’ was organized by the university’s Hindu Student Council and was led by Shri Pandit Rupnath Sharma and Reverend Jason van Veghel-Wood.

Based on the Hindu calendar, it is a special day on which children are taught to read and write for the first time.

Books, instruments, and crafts are placed before the goddess for blessings and floral offerings are made on a grand scale.

According to Hindu traditions in the Vedas, Saraswate was a water

deity revered for purifying, fertilizing, and enriching powers.

The deity also represents the union of power and intelligence and is usually depicted seated or standing, holding a musical instrument called veena, a rosary, and scripture.

“As an international student I don’t get to attend a lot of events like this here so it was really good and it made me really happy .”

- Nikhita Rele, member of the Hindu Student Council The veena symbolizes knowledge of the arts, which is held in high esteem within Vedic tradition, while

the rosary represents the meditative skills necessary to acquire knowledge.

A majority of the volunteers involved in organizing the ceremony were of different faiths, according to the council president Rohit Dubey.

Dubey also stressed the importance of maintaining and celebrating diversity at the university.

“Events like the Saraswati Pooja are a medium or a stage which have been organized by the Hindu Student Council for the South Asian community to come out and get to know each other and reap the benefits from the resulting network,” he said.

Nikhita Rele, one of the council’s members, was pleased that the event was well received by UTM students.

“As an international student I don’t get to attend a lot of events like this here so it was really good and it made me really happy ,” she said.

Photo/Melissa Di Pasquale

Around 70 students came out to celebrate the Saraswati Devi, Hindu goddess of wisdom, on February 11 during a pooja organized by the Hindu Student Council at the Student Centre.

THE MEDIUM

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Monday, February 25, 2008

NEWS

UTM students U.S. embassy attacked write history Thousands storm Belgrade to protest against Kosovo SAIRA MUZAFFAR MEGHA KUMAR ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

On February 12th, The Professional Writing and Communication (PWC) Program hosted a book launch at the MiST theatre to celebrate the release of the second volume of “Writing History,” a collection of stories written and edited by University of Toronto Mississauga students.

The collection features personal stories reflecting on culture and history from around the world, edited by students Isa Cunanan, Kornelia Telesz, and Julie Tyios.

Although there were only about 15 students present and most of the readers could not make it due to the severe weather, the readers shared their stories with enthusiasm and visual aids.

The event began with an introduction by PWC director Guy Allen.

Professor Tracy Moniz read Audrey Crasto's story, “Bloody Friday,” about her encounter with a woman in the Canadian Holocaust Memorial Centre.

Sean Fitzgerald, a journalism student at Humber College and former arts and entertainment editor at The Medium, read a story based on his grandmother's memories of living in Italy during the Second World War. Fitzgerald amused the audience by mixing cultural references on Italian food and politics.

Andrea Grassi, former arts and entertainment editor for The Medium known for her 'quirky' style of writing, read a narrative about the theatre market in Toronto and Canada's first theatre, the Elgin and Winter Garden

NEWS EDITOR

Theatre complex.

“Tent city was here '02” by Doug Lee raised awareness on the renovation of Tent city from a shelter for the homeless into a Home Depot store.

Salma Tarikh's cross-cultural narrative on Pakistanis in Nairobi and Telesz's personal account of the Bloor Street viaduct was a reminder of Toronto's multiculturalism and the diversity of UTM students.

Julie Tyios, editor-in-chief of The Medium, wrapped up the book launch with her story “Fifteen-two and a Ghost” about a strange encounter in an old social club with a ghost-like haze. The wide range of the students' stories was well received despite the small audience.

The event also offered free fruit platters and other snacks.

“History is happening all around us - the recent immigration population have access to all this information, and the mixture of pieces show the range of backgrounds... and this was a Professional Writing event showing that students can be writers!” said professor Allen.

“I've seen the book take shape and it's great to hear the people actually perform their stories since they spent so much time working on it in print. It was great,” commented Proctor.

Moniz also said that she had had a great learning experience when teaching the course and that there was a lot of talent showcased in the book.

Also present was the current professor of the history and writing course Margaret Proctor, who is also the U of T coordinator for Writing Support and senior editor of the book.

A peaceful protest involving nearly 150,000 Serbs opposed to Kosovo’s independence turned violent when a crowd of over a thousand attacked the United States embassy in Belgrade, on February 21.

The crowd broke windows and doors and scaled the embassy’s walls to torch the U.S. flag leaving a part of the building in flames.

Police used tear gas to restore order shortly thereafter. Several other embassies in the capital were also targeted.

The protests have provoked great alarm and condemnation internationally, with the United Nations Security Council issuing a statement on the inviolability of diplomatic missions.

US officials also spoke out against the attack, saying the Serbian government should have done more to contain it. Under international law states are responsible for protecting foreign embassies within their borders.

The Serbian government has appealed for calm in the face of growing unrest. Factions of Serb army reservists tried to force their way through the border, claiming to support the Serb minority in Kosovo.

Protest rallies have also been held in the neighboring Bosnian Serb Republic. Rioting led NATO to close borders to Serbia in northern Kosovo.

Thursday’s attack came after days of protests and demonstrations in Serbia following Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence on February 17.

The troubled region had been in political limbo since the NATO-led war in 1999 that attempted to put an end to Milosevic’s campaign against ethnic Albanians. But when UN lead negotiations failed to secure an agreement between the sovereign Serbia and the disputed province, Kosovo’s provisional government declared independence.

Many Serbs, although an ethnic minority in the region, regard Kosovo as central to their cultural identity.

While the new state has been recognized by a handful of countries like the United States, Britain and Germany, Serbia has relied on Russian backing at the UN to have the unilateral move declared illegal as a secession without the permission and support of the ruling sovereign.

Those who see Kosovo’s independence as crucial to peace in the Balkans insist that it is an exceptional case to this norm.

In response, Serbia has recalled its

ambassadors from all the countries that have recognized Kosovo’s claim.

Meanwhile, Kosovars have spent the last few of days celebrating in and around the capital city of Pristina.

The country now waits for a European Union police mission of 2,000 to help set up its police and judiciary.

China, Spain, and Venezuela have also sided with Russians refusing to acknowledge the new state for fear that it would set a dangerous precedent for separatist movements within their national borders.

Canada has yet to announce where it stands on the issue, with government officials likely worried about separatist sentiments regarding Quebec.

Liberal leader Stéphane Dion has pressed for the federal government to join other nations recognizing Kosovo as country.

Serbia’s president has written to Ottawa stating that the claim of independence without the approval of Serbia and the Security Council effectively renders it illegal.

Thousands of Kosovars fled to Canada during Milosevic’s crackdown on separatists in 1999.

Around 1,500 people gathered in Queens Park in Toronto to celebrate Kosovo’s new status.

Write for us and save the world...

One Arts Editor at a time.

Email Saira at news@mediumonline.ca

Monday, February 25, 2008

THE MEDIUM 5

EDITORIAL

Opinion JULIE TYIOS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | editor@mediumonline.ca www.mediumonline.ca

EDITORIAL As Xpression Against Oppression Week fades into the past, it is important to remember that there are still very real issues facing our society today. Whether affecting us on a national or campus-wide scale, it is important to address these issues and dispel misunderstandings. But, how can we compete with the media setting the wrong example time and time again?

The latest one is something I saw on American TV the other night – yes, the ratings grab has gone to a new level. As I washed dishes, I listened to a trivia show called 1 vs. 100 with my mother. The show, for those of you who have not heard of it, pits one contestant against 100 people (“the mob”), who all must answer the same question every round. As players from the mob get the questions wrong, they are knocked out. Should the lone contestant get knocked out, the remainder of the mob splits their winnings, so it’s essentially one person against one hundred for a certain amount of cash. Hosted by Bob Saget, formerly of Full House and America’s Funniest Home Videos fame, the show is a low-IQ ratings grab made interesting by the reactions of a booing and jeering mob and the personality of the contestants.

Eric, a late 20-something Los Angeles native, took his turn on stage against the mob. Saget introduced him. Eric explained that he worked as a security investigator, which made Saget laugh and question how he did that. By Eric’s actions and words, Saget and the audience had clearly labeled him as a gay man, and it was obvious the show’s producers did too.

Cleverly, the camera kept flipping back and forth between Eric and one of the mob contestants, Ross the Intern. Ross is most notably from E! and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and is an openly gay male. I thought it was a little odd that the camera should focus so much on him and his reactions to what Eric said. I thought it was a little odder when the first controversial question came up: “Marriage is a sacred institution,” Saget said, and paused. “Which celebrity union lasted the longest?”

Eric answered correctly and was advanced to the next question. There was one about Levis jeans, asking which type of Levis did not have a zipper. Eric did not know, and relied on one of his help lines. He eventually answered correctly, laughed, and stated that he wasn’t a jeans kind of guy. “Whoa, my eyes are up here,” Saget responded.

How crass.

The next question, though, was what really made me angry.

“What 6-foot, 3-inch Johnson was the 36th President of the United States?”

The innuendo was not lost to the audience, who began laughing.

I don’t watch the show often, but I have never seen anything like this. I have to wonder if Bob Saget would have said the same zipper comment to a woman, or if a woman would have gotten a question like the Johnson one? I don’t think it was a coincidence.

The ridicule continued as the camera again focused on Ross and Saget asked him what he thought of Eric. Ross responded by saying he really wanted him to win, and even though he was part of the mob, he was rooting for him. The camera then flipped back and forth between the two to document their reactions while the audience laughed uncontrollably.

Shortly after, three girls sharing a spot on the mob (they may have been triplets, I’m not sure) wished Eric luck and blew him a kiss. Saget stepped in front of him and grabbed it. “They blew you a kiss,” he said, “but I caught it.” Well, why is that, Bob? Did you feel it would go to waste?

Ridiculing and bashing gays in the media is not an uncommon thing. And the sad thing is, it’s not uncommon in real life, either. I recently sat in on a meeting of OUT@UTM, the campus’s LGBTQetc. organization, where students confessed that sometimes, they don’t feel safe being who they are on campus for fear of ridicule from their peers. And many have already experienced it. And I know it’s not just a problem with this group – Islamophobia is also a problem at UTM and in the media. How can we let people get away with this kind of marginalization and ridicule? How can we let the media get away with it?

Images printed from the Hurricane Katrina disaster from reliable international news sources also set a terrible example. A photo comes to mind of a black man wading through waist-deep water carrying some supplies, with a caption underneath that declared it as looting. But, a very similar picture was also printed of two white people, also toting supplies, which labeled their goods as “findings.” Where do we draw the line? What kind of message are we sending?

It’s a shame that this is the attitude of the media that we receive our information from.

Our view of the world is tinted by these shameful declarations and misinterpretations of fact.

But if we stand back and let it happen, it will only continue, and we will remain misinformed.

Yours,

Julie Tyios

Read online and see the latest Medium 2.0 episodes at

www.mediumonline.ca I just found out the truth - Ali is the reason I had Singaporean Bird Flu! Of course. Thanks, Arts Boy, you owe me a month and a half of my life. Bug’s here today, he got a good rub from Auntie Nikita. Let me think about it, it. my Febreze bottle is empty. Sigh. Dan’s in snowy Ottawa for the weekend - no wonder you didn’t call. Ron won 4-0 tonight, congrats. Lickety-split. So, who was that downstairs? Cute. Arts Boy keeps shouting out the Oscars results. I know none of these movies. Tis the week of film in The Medium. Everything’s done early tonight, except your section. Thanks. We’re all waiting on you. I think Fargo’s on the menu tonight. It’s midnight, and juts waiting on arts. It’s the old in and out. Yep, a little of the oooold in and out. Um yeah, I’m gonna need you to come in on Saturday I think, yeah. And Sunday too. And don’t forget to put a cover on your TPS reports. Did you get the memo? I’ll send you another one. Rob doesn’t remember Fargo. “Youre stupid” - disgruntled Arts editor. Where is Miss Andrea? Meliss acame in tonight, did her job, and left. She’s waiting for arts. Still hate me? I won’t say I love you. Just for this. And no belly-touching, either. A lot of JT is coming out of Saira’s speakers tonight. The video looks retarded. I have an uneaten nature burger on my desk. Tempting. My knuckle remains broken. Stupid knuckle. Hard to type. Can’t wait for the joke issue. I finallly ripped down all the newspapers that were obscuring my window. The view is beautiful. I see rabbit and deer tracks and some random human footprints. Someone’s been smoking in the woods. Saira played a disappearing act on Rob. He changed her song. Uh oh. No blood was shed. What’s this about 7-11 shirts? I’m a little out of the loop. Arts Boy keeps bugging me to edit articles. I keep paying attention to the Bug. He loooves Auntie Nikita and wants her to bring him a cookie.

Speaking of cookies, Melissa left Oreo cakes. We’re all curious as to what those actually are. But they’re not Oreos! The office has been relatively quiet tonight and so I don’t have much blurb fodder. Bo-ring. Arts Boy chopped his mop off, and now he looks sort of like a respectable human being. I finally noticed that his ears had once been pierced. Badass. “Gotta fill that space” is the quote of the night. I listened to Paul Potts sing “Music of the Night” last nigh tand I cried. I’m such a girl. Amazing voice. Shut up, Arts Boy. Jello wrestling, yay or nay? I did it one year. That’s a picture of me on the opposite page. Spot the EIC! Nobody believes it’s me. :( I swear! I have all the photos to prove it. I see people running and walking down the five minute walk in a hurry. What for? I don’ tsee any buildings on fire at the moment. Speaking of that, what was with that gas leak in CCT the other week? I felt light-headed just walkign thorugh the atrium, but yet all sorts of people were sitting there studying. I don’t get it. Well, thank God the building didn’t explode. We would have lost our architectural awards. I’m sick of blurbing and there’s still 5 issues left. Blah! A thousand words of random, useless crap. Congrats toCraig MacBride on the job out west. Moving tomorrow, wow. Good luck! Don’t know if you’ll read this tomorrow, but good luck anyway. Keep in touch. Nobody appreciates the Phantom in this office.

Screw all y’all. Sam, you gotta come by more often and play games with us. ‘Twas fun. Happy birthday Arts Boy and Romano. Nikita brought you both a cake, so dont’ forget to say thanks. And no more calls at 3:30 a.m. Pleez. K thx bai.

Letters to the Editor Dear Editor, I've been off campus for a few weeks and despite the costs of parking and the smell of the South Building, I miss UTM. I write this week after watching episodes 7, 8, and 9 of The Medium's videocast from a cafe not too far from the South Building. I watched all three consectutively.

Seeing the colorful faces of students in familiar surroundings and hearing Walied's enthused accent as he protests, and watching Megha tell the news has really enhanced the delivery of The Medium. From Second Cup, I can smell the South Building. I’ve bookmarked The Medium 2.0 page in my browser .

Regarding the news in episode 8, I was disturbed after discovering the story on Salman Hossain – one of our very own students – and the RCMP investigation on him. Freedom of speech is one thing, but using that very same freedom to comprimise everyone else’s freedom stems from a premative psychology of hate, anger and deconstructive immaturity; the three ingredients that pull progress and human development back. This

guy can’t be one of us. I wonder if I know Salman from campus? I don’t trust the article from National Post to judge him just yet, and despite the Post’s sources, I give Hossain the benefit of doubt. Where is this dude?

Because he’s one of us, I’m writing to encourage The Medium to secure an interview with him. I’d interview him myself if I have to. No one in their right mind would think Salman can be super-serious. I’m sure Salman was just playing around, expressing things he wasn’t too serious about. Maybe encourage him to take a critical thinking course, PHL240 perhaps?

I would never imagine myself quoting a line from hollywood propaganda, especially a movie that disgusted me, but the movie The Kingdom comes to mind. The line: “We’ll kill them all” is awfully similar to what we’re dealing with here.

Salman, if you read this, write back and say something. If Salman actually speaks sincerely and thinks like Uncle Bin himself, he should speak formally about it. Perhaps start with The Medium?

EDITORIAL Please write to:editor@mediumonline.ca Letters to the editor will be edited for spelling, grammar, style, and coherence.

Letters will not exceed 500 words in print. Letters that incite hatred, violence or letters that are racist, homophobic, sexist, or libelous will not be published.

Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters and and other editorial materials reflect opinions of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, staff, volunteers, or Board of Directors of The Medium. In other words, just because we print it doesn’t necessarily mean we agree with it.

Submission does not guarantee publication. Submission of materials to The Medium presumes the writer has read, and agrees with, this policy.

MEDIUM

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I would like to welcome you back from reading week. Some of you spent time catching up on your readings, others sat for their deferred exams, while others spent time with family and on vacation.

Whatever you were up to last week, we hope you are energized and ready for the rest of the semester.

Fortunately UTMSU has plenty of campaigns/events and socials such as Environment Week to keep you get you active and informed in one of the most challenging issues of our generation.

I would also like to mention two very important points in this editorial, beginning with informing you all that the referendum that was conducted last week on the consolidation of representation, services and fees by your student union, UTMSU and EPUS has been endorsed by 95% of the part-time students that participated in the referendum.

This is a special moment in our union’s history. Your students’ union now represents all undergraduate students at UTM.

Please

Letters continued on next page

Majid Hashemi

Editor-in-Chief Julie Tyios

THE

Dear fellow students, faculty and members of the UTM Community,

Special thanks to our assistant editors: Arts and Entertainment: Andrea Grassi Rafay Agha News: Tejas Aivalli Megha Kumar Features: P. Andrew Hamilton-Smith Lujayn Ali Photography: Matthew Filipowich Sports: Christopher Sa’d Sunny Pathak

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Monday, February 25, 2008

OPINION

LETTERS Through this important structural move we will be able to improve the advocacy and services that are available to all undergraduate students. UTMSU is now able to lobby more effectively due to the strength in numbers. Part-time students will now be eligible for the UPASS and other great services, such as club funding, 2 cent photocopying, essay printing, food bank etc.

The second matter I would like to raise with each one of you is the UTMSU General Elections for the Executive and Board of Directors.

I would like to remind you all that your student union elections are next week on march 4, 5 and 6th. Please take this opportunity to get to know the candidates and ask them about their plans for our union.

Those plans should be your plans. I have had the pleasure to work with most of the candidates who are running in this election and I have to admit that I am impressed.

There are approximately 50 candidates seeking the 16 available positions and your vote. This is a sign of progress. In the past our union elections were plagued by acclamations. It was only last academic year that we experienced a change from the old, driven by a commitment by student leaders for a new progressive union with progressive values. The increase in interest in this election reflects evidently that our union has progressed from the apathetic past and has become truly representative of the students will.

I would also like to highlight some of the candidates that I have had the opportunity to work with over the past ten months. Mr. Malik who is the current Vice president campaigns was instrumental in securing funding for the temporary child care. He has also organized a Townhall on post secondary education, lobbied for a parking fee reduction and much more. Saaliha the current Minister of Equity has been phenomenal in her work on equity issues. She assisted in planning Unity Through Diversity and the No Means No campaign. Mr. Santiago, the current associate to the VP operations has been the maverick of change in our union’s finances; his dedication to bringing forth better operating practices has been of benefit to our union.

Dhananjai (DJ) the Minister of Social

Justice has been the driving force behind social justice work at our campus. His leadership in expression against oppression, amongst other social work makes him a formidable agent of progressive change.

Ms. Marijana Josifovska (MJ) the Minister of the Environment was responsible for the execution of one of the largest lectures this year - The David Suzuki Event, which was attended by over 2000 students and members of the community. Mr. Mubashir Ali has been instrumental in highlighting the issues that affect international students, his work on iSAC and his involvement in the union is commendable.

The student leaders seeking the seats on the Board of Directors are willing to commit their time and effort in improving the state of our student union. However you get to decide. So make an attempt to ask questions and talk to the candidates. There are plenty of opportunities. Our electoral officers have organized an All Candidates Debate on Wednesday 27th of February at 2 p.m at the Blind Duck. Come out to this event and influence your elected leaders, but most importantly support them, if you agree with them. We can not bring about change if we do not work together in the spirit of Student Solidarity.

It is also important to emphasize that our union can only bring about change and progress if its leadership has the vision, commitment and inspiration to bring forth progress. We have accomplished and overcome tremendous obstacles this year, but there is more that needs to be done. I am proud that there are plenty of individuals ready to bring forth new ideas that will take our union to new heights.

I would like to end this week’s editorial by reflecting on a quote from Mr. Barack Obama who is seeking to be the next U.S president who said “I am asking you to believe. Not just in my ability in bringing about real change in Washington... I am asking to believe in yours.” Mr. Obama gets it; responsibility is not the only prerogative of your student union representatives.

It is the right of each on of us. We have to believe and commit to change.

J-E-L-L-NO? For the past few years, students have been able to relieve their March Madness stress through the sexual celebration of Sex Pub headed by the UTM Sexual Education and Peer Counselling Centre (SEC). Sex Pub is notorious for its good-natured debauchery in the form of Tightey-Whitey contests, halfnaked painted people and of course, the popular traditional JELLO-Wrestling Competition. But this year, things may be changing Sex Pub is a Sex Positive event put on

by UTM SEC where, in addition to promoting the fun aspects of sex, they hope to promote the responsibility that should go hand in hand with that. It is within our conscience to promote an event that creates a safe environment for those who attend. However, Sex Pub, by nature, has been a controversial event and it has been met with a fair amount of criticism over the last few years that it’s been held. Primarily, the concern is directed at the JELLO-Wrestling Competition. Some of the members of the Executive Team at SEC suggested no longer having the competition; however a uniform decision to remove it altogether was not easy to come by.

And so we’ve decided to allow the voice of the greater student population to decide. We want YOUR input. It may

seem silly to have such a heated debate over the content of JELLO and whether or not its contents will be present at Sex Pub, however, engaging in critical reflection and dialogue is an important first step to creating informed opinions about sexuality, and how it is viewed and treated in our society, and ultimately our ability to becoming sex positive beings. But before you form your opinion, meet the opposing sides: In this corner we have those who believe that JELLO-wrestling promotes the misogynistic side of sex in which women are objects. Let’s call them the JELLO-Shooters. In the other corner we have the JELLO advocates who believe that sex and Sex Pub is a celebration of our bodies and that there’s nothing wrong with JELLO-wrestling, especially since those who are doing it are volunteers who have given their consent. Let’s call them the Cosbys.

Between the six executives at SEC we were unable to come to a unanimous decision. “I told Sulmaz, our Head Coordinator, that I’d JELLO-wrestle her for the final decision…that didn’t go over well” claims Aimee Bessada, Advertising Director.

But in order to come to an agreement, we’ve generated some ideas for change.

1)Have both females and males wrestle in the competition. In previous years it’s been female contenders only, but perhaps having males wrestle as well will remove the female-focused objectification.

2) Have all the participants wear those novelty tees with the full size bikini-clad woman’s body on them. You know, the one your friend’s Dad always wears while flipping steaks at the neighbourhood BBQ? That one. It certainly creates an ironic statement by covering up a real woman’s body and replacing it with the media’s version of what that should look like.

We’re publishing this article at the beginning of our Sex & U Month, not only as a shameless plug for our event, but mostly to hear from those in the student population who consider this an important issue. Send us your opinions and ideas via E-mail at info@utmsec.ca, post on the Facebook group Sex & U ’08, or come to our Body Image Discussion which is taking place on March 3rd from 2 p.m.-4 p.m. (Student Centre Board Room).

So there you have it, The Cosbys vs.

The JELLO-Shooters. They’ve both weighed in their points, now you be the judge.

The SEC executive

In student Solidarity, Walied Khogali

photo/Denyse Gibson

Monday, February 25, 2008

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THE MEDIUM

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Monday, February 25, 2008

Arts & Entertainment ALI KASIM, EDITOR | arts@mediumonline.ca

Human Rights Watch ALI KASIM A&E EDITOR

Responsible for arguably the most celebrated film festival in the world, the Toronto International Film Festival Group is also into informing audiences about important human rights issues.

Showcasing filmmakers from all over the globe, the Group allows for the new and established filmmakers to provide insights and commentary into human rights issues, and, not to mention, some fascinating cinema.

Co-presented by Cinematheque Ontario, the fifth-annual festival will run from February 29 to March 5 at Jackman Hall, in the Art Gallery of Ontario. Seven new films from six countries will be screened, including the Oscar-nominated Taxi to the Dark Side, which documents the death of a taxi driver in a US military prison in Afghanistan.

Taxi to the Dark Side The court-martial of American soldier Private Lyndie England a few years ago raised enough eyebrows around the world to attract attention to Abu Ghraib, the Baghdad prison for the USled coalition occupying Iraq. Since 2004, reports have surfaced regarding abuse, torture, sodomy, and even the homicide of prisoners held in Abu Ghraib.

Culling the opinions and anecdotes of convicted soldiers, legal experts, FBI

specialists, and former prisoners, writer/director Alex Gibney pulls no punches as he paints a damning picture of torture tactics condoned by the American government, leading all the way up to the desks of Donald Rumsfeld and George W. Bush.

In an almost Michael Moore-like fashion, Gibney, who also narrates the documentary, uses the story of a young taxi driver named Dilawar in Afghanistan to provide the framework for an examination of unprecedented US government policies that remain to this day unclear and controversial in their guidelines.

In 2002, Dilawar was picked up by US forces with his passengers in the desert and taken to Bagram prison in Afghanistan. Five days later, he was dead. Injuries to his legs were so severe that he would have had to amputate them had he lived.

The majority of the film focuses on various other infamous examples of torture by American soldiers. In fact, Dilawar’s tale is left behind after the first thirty minutes. Nonetheless, it is an important device to the film – the best answer to the moral questions thrown at the audience. Is the systemic abuse justifiable? Just look at the taxi driver who died after five days in captivity.

The film doesn’t say if he’s guilty or innocent, and it really doesn’t have to – to the Bush administration, all that mattered was that they had one less “suspected” problem to worry about. As Bush phrased it, “put it this way, they’re no longer a threat to the United

States.” Consider as well the fact that as of September 11, 2006, detainees in all American prison camps (from Guantanamo Bay to Abu Ghraib) hit 83,000, none of whom were brought to trial.

Much of the documentary is spent on discussions over the legal guidelines and the bureaucratic pussy-footing around the definition of “torture.”

After 9/11, certain terms were decided to be re-defined to the convenience of the War on Terror. This, of course, caused a great deal of confusion over what exactly the rules were – the basis of reasoning used by many of the American soldiers who were courtmartialed for their involvement in brutal interrogative tactics. And it is these interviews which make the film so chilling – when you look at and listen to the some of the soft-spoken soldiers like Damien Corsetti and Will Brand, you struggle to fathom just how they could be capable of such actions.

“We’re just told that, ‘Soldiers are dying. Get the information. Just get the Information,’” says a mild-mannered Corsetti.

Questions, answers, emotions, and

photo/www.outnow.ch

graphic details are undisguised. With an endless slideshow of pictures portraying prisoner brutality (the nudity is not spared), the well-paced establishing shots, and the excerpts of the interviews carefully arranged, Taxi to the Dark Side is an expertly crafted documentary. No surprise to learn that Gibney picked up the award for Best Documentary Screenplay at the recent Writers’ Guild of America Awards.

The only disappointment is perhaps the lack of even handedness surrounding the debate. Indeed, the quotes you hear from the politicians do little to help their own argument, but one cannot deny that Gibney does betray his politics with his overwhelming presentation of a highly controversial issue.

Nonetheless, Gibney’s side of the argument is as close to winning as it can be. To steal a line from Brian De Palma’s Casualties of War, “Even in war, murder is murder.” Like former suspect and prisoner Moazzam Begg relates, “If you weren’t a terrorist when you got there, I’m sure you would be by the time you leave because of the way you’ve been treated.”

You wonder what will happen when the actual terrorists get their hands on this convincing documentary.

More festival film reviews on page 10

An Interview with Ramin Bahrani Stand-alone filmmaker of Chop Shop discusses his battle against Hollywood and the pursuit of originality ANDREA GRASSI ASSISTANT A&E EDITOR “I don’t think I am anti-Hollywood, I think Hollywood is anti-me,” says a cool Ramin Bahrani to me over the phone from his home in Brooklyn, New York. Bahrani is a filmmaker with a clear vision, a want to express this vision freely, and a need for this vision to be taken as it stands – without “blanket terms.”

Society’s need to name, label, and classify is rather frustrating to the Iranian-American filmmaker who has been described as an immigrant, a third world filmmaker, and a neorealist. But what Bahrani wants you to experience is just Bahrani: an individual voice with a lot to say.

A native to New York, his hometown seems to be the landscape of choice. It has been the backdrop for his acclaimed film about a hot dog vendor’s life in New York, Man Push Cart (2006), and the soon-to-be-released Chop Shop (2007), the narrative of an orphaned brother and sister as they also struggle to survive the city’s open streets.

Set in the “iron triangle” – a mecca of auto body shops in Queens, New York – the landscape is almost unrec-

ognizable. The small area in the shadow of the Shea Stadium was the perfect spot for Bahrani to shoot Chop Shop.

“For about a year I just hung out there, walked around, got things to eat from the set-up bodegas. People would ask me what I was doing, and I would say, ‘I’m writing a short story for school, and I really don’t want to do it’…basically sounding as uninteresting as possible so [locals] wouldn’t ask too many questions.” Bahrani befriended a lot of the shop owners and tradesman, and so the extras in the film and some of the actors were the real deal.

Last year, a movie critic from Variety magazine classified Bahrani’s Chop Shop as “…far more associated with Third World cinema than with American movies…”. But what is Third World cinema? It is a broad term for cinema featuring various cultures that are minorities or other discourse groups that are distinctive through their geography, race, social constructs, or beliefs. These groups are largely ignored in mainstream cinema, and thus, are garnered didactic in style and purpose.

Bahrani agrees there is a void in mainstream cinema. However, in a 2007 interview with Cinematical, Bahrani refuted that his films are of any type of “third world,” as if his portrayals were of the invisible and marginalized.

“This is how the majority of Americans live,” says Bahrani. “From what position of authority can some critic in LA tell me that my country is a third world? In the same respect, these blanket terms just don’t apply. For instance, Iranian cinema and the film

40 Shades of Blue have elements of realism, but it is different from Man Push Cart. Junebug is Iranian cinema and different from Man Push Cart.”

It is because of its realism is it didactical filmmaking? No. Bahrani just wants his films to be separate entities, and to not be deemed as morality plays.

So I ask Bahrani, from straying Third World, should we take the Teshome Gabriel approach to Third World Cinema dislike and move forward with Third cinema – a movement in which the social consciousness of the film takes the foreground? No, this is just another label.

“There is a social aspect, but this is due to the class and economic struggles in the films. Most Hollywood cinema has no interest in this class.”

Not only does Bahrani push borders and film categories, but he also pushes the classic and celebrated definition of an “actor.” To Bahrani, resume and education don’t weigh past raw and immediate talent.

“There was once a six-year-old girl who auditioned for me. The role was originally for a six-year-old boy. She was so good that I changed the script to a girl and created something more intriguing.”

Lead in Chop Shop, Alejandro Polanco (Ale) is absolutely captivating.

Playing an entrepreneurial 12-year-old hustling to live, Ale plays out right on target. The largely amateur cast put on an incredible, noteworthy performance that captures the true essence of the script’s intentions.

Ahmad Razvi, the lead in Man Push Cart, also appeared in this film, and is a testament to Bahrani’s belief that actors

can be molded by good filmmaking.

“Ahmad is a perfect example of this,” says Bahrani, “he wasn’t a trained actor…but later became a “role model” to the kids on the set of Chop Shop… they really looked up to him… and his acting improved so much from Man Push Cart.” Since Bahrani often casts actors that in their own lives (Razvi was actually a hot dog vendor in real life), are similar to the characters they play, his actors have been criticized as, although brilliant, “just playing themselves.” One large misconception of Bahrani’s work is that they are a lot like documentaries and the films just naturally align themselves. I suppose this is a compliment to both his filmmaking and the skill of the actors however, as Bahrani’s films is nothing impromptu. Chop Shop was shot scene-

by-scene, twenty to thirty times.

Viewed by Bahrani as separate entities, each of his films strives to scave classification, and to be celebrated for what they are.

“Why should I give [Hollywood] anymore power against feelings of hope and courage that exists?” says Bahrani when I ask him about his pursuit of filmic originality.

So where does the essence of Bahrani lie? In fresh environments and believable stories: “…I don’t want to create a world I can’t believe…more importantly, these films fill a void in me [not the industry’s catalogue]…no one has made these films.”

Chop Shop will screen at the Toronto Human Rights Film Festival on Tuesday, March 4.

photo/www.outnow.ch

Ramin Bahrani (center) on the set of Chop Shop.

Monday, February 25, 2008

THE MEDIUM 9

ARTS

River of gold Up the Yangtze provides a rare glimpse into the dam project that has sparked political, environmental, and social controversy.

ODILIA YIM

Fifteen minutes is all you need to understand why and how this film was hailed as the best Canadian documentary at the Vancouver International Film Festival and listed as one of Canada’s top ten at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Up the Yangtze is not an ordinary documentary, but rather something spectacular that will captivate you until the very end.

Recently presented at the Sundance Film Festival, this is the first feature-length documentary from Montreal-based director Yung Chang. Four years in the making, the film looks past the technical difficulties and engineering issues associated with the Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydroelectric dam in the world and biggest national project for China since the Great Wall. Instead, Chang takes us on a personal journey, focusing on the social and emotional impacts: the lives of the ordinary and rural Chinese people who have been forced to relocate and sacrifice their livelihood for their country in order for this national project to come into

fruition.

Up the Yangtze takes audiences on one of the many “farewell cruises” along the Yangtze River (known as “The River” – the longest in China, and third-longest in the world) that have become a tourist haven for those who want a final peek at ancient China. It is said that these cruises are a chance for Chinese people and tourists alike to bid a final goodbye to the country that China once was. Upon completion of the Three Gorges Dam – a symbol of China’s economic progress – many of the quiet towns and historical monuments will be submerged when the water rises to a level that will drown out all remnants of the past. The massive flooding as a result of the dam has displaced two million people already and is anticipated to forcibly move another four million citizens.

Cited by many as a potential catastrophe, the documentary looks beyond China’s flashy lights and focuses on those from the lower classes of society; those who are given unfulfilled promises and meager restitution for their life-changing moves. In particular, it follows the experiences of two young people from different backgrounds and work ethics on one of the farewell cruise ships. One, Cindy Yu Shui, is a shy yet mature 16-year-old middle school graduate who must leave her family and small hut by the water’s edge to take on a job aboard one of the over-glamourized “apocalyptic” cruise ships.

The dramatic and emotional scenes are mixed with comedic moments to lighten the spirit of the film. It is astounding how open the

photo/www.outnow.ch

individuals are at describing their hopes, turmoil, and broken dreams.

They handle themselves with grace and dignity when faced with this despairing situation where they are uprooted from the only way of life they know. This is especially evident in the children, like Cindy and her younger siblings, who still have optimism living in such poverty. A heartbreaking and poignant scene is captured when Cindy speaks to the camera after realizing that her dreams of a being a scientist may never be fulfilled.

The cinematography is nothing short of breathtaking, showcasing

the natural beauty of China’s rural countryside as the backdrop to life and survival inside modern China.

Chang’s theme is apparent from the monologues of the many Chinese inhabitants: the individual must be sacrificed for China - a store owner describes the changes as “sacrificing the little family for the big family.”

It reveals that the people still have faith in their government, even after the many evident occasions of corruption. Through his beautiful storytelling interspersed with his own and his grandfather’s memories of China, Chang successfully highlights the compassion and elegance

among the disorder and upheaval.

The seniors speak of the way China was – the country that no longer exists. Up the Yangtze presents a changing picture of China, floating along it the bits and pieces leftover from the historical culture which will soon be buried underwater. This documentary is not to be missed as it demonstrates the resilience and loyalty of the Chinese people and the unprecedented change that is sure to transform their landscape forever.

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Monday, February 25, 2008

ARTS

Human Rights Watch Film Festival: A lighter fare of documentaries A Love During the War Director: Osvalde LewatHallade Congo/Cameroon 63 minutes ASHISH SETH

When Dedier learns that his father is on his deathbed in Kinshasa, he travels to the region to tend to him. Expecting to be back in a fortnight, two weeks turn into six years as Dedier becomes trapped in Kinshasa, a region embroiled in conflict, war, disorder, and chaos.

The ensuing six-year war will claim three million lives. Rape will run rampant in the region for years. Dedier will learn to survive. A Love During the War is a documentary film about the love between a Congolese journalist, Aziza, and her husband, Dedier; lovers who are separated against the backdrop of the Congo-Kinshasa war of 1996.

Director Osvalde Lewat-Hallade has constructed a very impersonal, wellpaced, sparse documentary that is not too preachy. It does, however, suffer a tad bit from conventional simplicity.

The twenty-nine-year-old filmmaker from Cameroon does well to capture the struggle and misery of Aziza and Dedier through interviews sandwiched between clips from the conflict-ridden region in a very simple and consistent manner.

Good pacing and consistency mean that we’re never exposed to one individual’s account for too long. However, the interspersed clips never really highlight the intensity of the interviews. And the sparse music, although at times poignant as it creates the feeling of irony, is dry and almost stereotypical of

the Congolese people.

The main issue explored in the documentary is the unfair treatment of women in the Congo, which takes off halfway through the film when LewatHallade introduces the rape victim that Aziza has been helping. The seriousness of the war increases exponentially as the film progresses, making the reunion between Aziza and Dedier that much more amazing. As the title would suggest, amidst the rape and disease of the conflict, love can still blossom in a field of embers.

Lewat-Hallade succeeds in bombarding us with facts and primary accounts that make us aware and attentive about the issue. But, that is all her documentary does: it shocks us with facts, transposed against clips like any other documentary. Its conventionality makes you realize you’ve seen all this before in a different context.

In its simplicity, A Love During the War is also creatively sparse. It’s true; creativity can interfere in the objectivity of a documentary (Michael Moore, anyone?), but as a viewer, I do not see myself coming back for a second viewing. Even by documentary standards, the film’s overall simple and blunt delivery is, well, simplistic and boring.

Hard facts can’t sustain audiences for long. Lewat-Hallade also can’t help but employ cheesy dramatizations – the scourge of documentary filmmaking – which boast bad acting, bad writing, and bad production values. Perhaps we should never do a dramatization with primary sources. With all its negatives however, Lewat-Hallade does succeed in giving us an objective account of the women’s rights issues in the Congo.

A Love During the War will screen at the festival on Wednesday, March 5.

We’ll Never Meet Childhood Again Directors: Sam Lawlor & Lindsay Pollock UK/Romania 80 minutes ANDREW NGUYEN

For a film about HIV-infected children called “We’ll Never Meet Childhood Again,” this British documentary manages to avoid being overly tragic or sad.

Instead, it paints a picture that is quite hopeful despite of its gloomy subject matter.

We’ll ever Meet Childhood Again is about a group of children from a spital in Bucharest, Romania who were abandoned as babies because they were infected with HIV. According to the film, over ten thousand children were infected with HIV in hospitals and orphanages between 1986 and 1991.

The children were put into special foster homes where they would get the care and attention they couldn’t receive in hospitals. The film rarely deals directly with these children, however, and instead, spends most of the 80 minutes with the people who became their foster parents. The story of these children is told through their words and recollections.

A theme that runs throughout the film is the dedication these foster parents have. Having raised many of these chil-

dren since they were toddlers, the foster parents see the children as their own.

Their story is like any family’s. The parents recall the first time one of the children addressed the foster mother as “mummy.” They recall someone in the family succumbing to disease. They recall the kids being teased at school, and even the irritability of the kids as they reach adolescence.

Filmmakers Sam Lawlor and Lindsay Pollock opt against focusing on death; it is after all, about the lives of these children. Throughout the film, we see the children laugh and joke around, all in good spirits despite their situation.

The only real glimpses we see of the effects of HIV/AIDS are in the opening

montage, with children bearing ganglions and lesions on their skin.

The use of consumer-grade video cameras and home footage shot by the foster parents create a very personal and authentic atmosphere. All in all, this is a good documentary that is surprisingly optimistic considering the subject matter. Though the documentary does tend to over-emphasize how normal these children’s lives were, it still feels true enough.

We’ll ever Meet Childhood Again will screen at the festival on Sunday, March 2 in Toronto.

photo/humanrightsfilmfestival.ca

Ceausescu’s babies: Between 1986 and 1989, a staggering 10,000 babies were infected and today 60 per cent of Europe’s HIV-positive children are Romanian.

And the winners are...

ALI KASIM A&E EDITOR

(There will be Blood) Best Actress: Marion Cotillard (La Môme )

The 80th Annual Academy Award winners were announced late last night. No surprises, except for perpetual unknown Marion Cotillard winning Best Actress honours for her sterling performance in La Môme.

The Coen Brothers, who picked up the Best Original Screenplay twelve years ago for Fargo, went two steps further this time after bagging the Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay awards for their tour-de-force o Country for Old Men. The film picked up a total of four Oscars - Javier Bardem won for Best Supporting Actor.

Daniel Day-Lewis trumped George Clooney and Johnny Depp to clinch Best Actor honours as his portrayal of a struggling silver miner in Paul Thomas Anderson’s There will be Blood. The win was the second of Day-Lewis’s career after winning in 1990 for My Left Foot.

In the other major categories, Juno and first-time screenwriter Diablo Cody won for Best Original Screenplay.

The major list of winners: Best Picture: o Country for Old Men Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis

Best Director: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen ( o Country for Old Men)

Best Original Screenplay: Juno (Diablo Cody) Best Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen ( o Country for Old Men) Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem ( o Country for Old Men) Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton) Best Cinematography: There will be Blood (Robert Elswit)

Best Editing: The Bourne Identity (Christopher Rouse) Best Documentary (Feature): Taxi to the Dark Side (Alex Gibney) Best Animated Feature Film: Ratatouille Best Foreign Language Film: Fälscher, Die (Austria)

Best Art Direction: Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Shiavo)

THE MEDIUM 11

Monday, February 25, 2008

Features NIKITA KING, EDITOR | features@mediumonline.ca

Naturally fake cosmetics?

KAREN AKHTAR I seem to be one of the unlucky souls who is ultra-allergic to almost every regular product on the market. Most regular hair care products cause my hair to fall out in handfuls. Well-known brand name facial care products often leave my face parched and flaky, or prone to unsightly acne. It made me wonder what kinds of chemicals are really used to create these products. For example, I had recently discovered that a St. Ives Apricot Facial Scrub, a product that promoted itself as “all natural,� contained silica - a preservative used in packaging. Suspecting that harsh chemicals in regular products were putting my body through chaos, I decided to look into what really goes into these products that claim to be made of “natural� ingredients.

According to American eco-friendly advocacy organization the Environmental Working Group, many cosmetics that are sold as “natural� actually contain toxic chemicals that can harm human health. Their web site reveals the test results of different products, with accompanying toxicity ratings. A score of 0-10. 0 indicates a

harmless product, with 10 as the most toxic. It assesses each product for allergies and immunotoxicity, restrictions, warnings, developmental/reproductive toxicity, cancer agents, and other concerns. It also goes through each ingredient of the selected product, exposing the potential adverse reactions they can cause.

The Body Shop has thirteen highly toxic ingredients in their products. According to the rest of the results, The Body Shop met most of the criteria for being harmful.

The results from the web site were rather startling. The Healing Garden, a company that calls itself “organic,� had an average toxicity rating of 5-7. Their products had six highly toxic ingredients; one with a toxicity rating as high as 7-8. They met all of the criteria for hazardous products and were found guilty of animal testing.

The Body Shop, recently bought off

by L’Oreal - another firm that tests on animals - had toxicity results that

weren’t that impressive either.

Although The Body Shop received an overall toxicity rating of 1-9, The Body Shop has thirteen highly toxic ingredients in their products. Their toxicity rating was as high as 7-9. According to the rest of the results, The Body Shop met most of the criteria for being harmful.

Burt’s Bees scored a toxicity rating of 0-6, which is rather high for a company that claims to be all natural. The most toxic ingredients that are used in Burt’s Bees products are in its fragrances, which received a toxicity score of 8. It met all the criteria for being harmful because it scored high in its assessment for neurotoxicity, allergies and immunotoxicity, silica, cancer agents, and biochemical or cellular level changes from product use.

It amazes me what passes for ‘natural’ on the market these days.

Considering what really goes into these products, many of these self-proclaimed eco-friendly firms seem to have made up their own idea of what natural is. The practices of false advertising and using harmful chemicals in personal care products are unacceptable. Instead of spending large sums of cash and wasting all that effort into

photo/Melissa Di Pasquale

Body care products aren’t exactly made solely from flower extracts and water.

Many body care products may be a lot more toxic than you think. marketing harmful products, large companies could use their resources to research ways to improve their harmful products. Our well-being and that of the

Earth depend on it.

For more information on the toxicity levels of body-care products, visit: www.cosmeticsdatabase.com

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12 THE MEDIUM

Monday, February 25, 2008

FEATURES

Creative Corner illustrations/Claudia Infusino

Justice revisited To read Sartre in church Out of custom To smoke or not to smoke.

To experience.

To spend your time writing about the supposedly insignificant things in life like barbershops or trees, or microwaves To reserve the right of indifference towards everything after reading l’étranger by Camus.

To sin, to feel the need to throw up

each time somebody mentions a book by Coelho as if it were literature To be critical, and love it.

To trust no one for a while out of mere curiosity.

To read Burroughs, Ginsberg, and Kerouac as if their works comprised passages from the bible.

To get caught up in it all Not knowing the end result - Trevor Abes

Green Team ink KONSTANTIN BEILIN The Green Team is a group of environmentally minded students at U of T Mississauga that work together to improve sustainability on campus.

The Think Recycle ink jet recycling program is one of the many programs coordinated by the Green Team. Ink jet program coordinators help the environment by collecting used ink jet cartridges on campus and sending them off for recycling, and also help the university by giving the funds generated from this program back to the campus.

UTM students help this program by bringing ink cartridges to the Info Booth in the Student Centre. The Think Recycle program provides rebates on the ink cartridges and plants one tree with Tree Canada for every 12 ink cartridges that are recycled.

The ink jet team has been making considerable progress since the beginning of the academic year to improve healthy environmental feelings around the UTM campus. It has been very successful this year as several new departments have joined this program.

But, there might be people who do not care about the environment and will wonder how the campus itself will benefit from this program. The campus receives a monetary reward from the Think Recycle program which goes to UTERN. The University of Toronto Environmental Resource Network (UTERN) is a U of T student organization dedicated to funding studentbased environmental projects on the three campuses. UTM students can

become a part of this program by bringing their ink cartridges to the Info Booth in the Student Centre.

These ink cartridges are picked up by the Green Team ink jet coordinators and are sent off to the Think Recycle program. They provide rebates on the ink cartridges and also plant one tree with Tree Canada for every 12 ink cartridges that are recycled. It’s a win-win situation you don’t want to miss!

Disposing ink jets into the garbage causes excess landfill waste because the plastic that the cartridges are made of is useful.

Thousands of empty printer cartridges are disposed of in landfills across the country and can release dangerous and harmful gasses into the atmosphere when they come in contact with decaying biological waste. This not only kills birds that feed around landfills, but the birds also end up spreading the dangerous materials to different animals along the food chain. Ultimately, we end up consuming our own waste.

Plastic can take up to 1,000 years to decompose, so these cartridges don’t break down right away like biological waste. They stay in the soil, disrupting the biological life existing in the ground such as bugs, soil bacteria, and worms. The work of the ink jet team is just a small step in the fight for a cleaner future.

Small steps like theirs lead to great achievements.

The ink jet team works together in harmony with the whole Green Team to try to make the future more sustainable for future generations using campus-based ideas to open the minds of students. If you wake up tomorrow morning with some awareness gained from this article you should remember that the Earth is the home not only to the human species, but to millions of others.

After all, how would you feel if someone came into your home and trashed it? The bottom line of all this is that if you can, try to help your local environment any way you can, everyday.

Monday, February 25, 2008

THE MEDIUM 13

FEATURES

PETA - the vegan way or else...

NIKITA KING FEATURES EDITOR

“Your mommy kills animals” is one piece of kid-targeted People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) literature that aims to encourage kids to become vegetarians. Your ignorance is never bliss when PETA steps in.

Instead, ignorance makes you their victim. Whether it’s offending religious groups, ridiculing meat-eaters, scaring young children, and intimidating businessmen and families in their own neighbourhoods, PETA believes the vegan way of life is the only way to truly escape animal cruelty.

PETA is an animal rights organization based in the US. Claiming to be the largest animal rights group in the world, PETA has affiliated offices in Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, South Africa, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

Their slogan is: “Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment.” Although PETA has their hearts in the right place, they seem to think that disrespect is the only way to discipline people into their way of life.

Fast-food industries are the latest targets of PETA’s attacks. In past years, PETA intimidated Burger King and Wendy’s with bad publicity to encourage them to improve their animal welfare standards. Now both Burger King and Wendy’s are striving to favour suppliers of chickens that use gas or controlled-atmospheric stunning rather than electric shocks to knock birds unconscious before slaughter. It is considered a more humane method, though only a handful of slaughterhouses use it. Now other fast-food franchises are trying to buy eggs and pork from suppliers that do not confine their animals in cages and crates. As improved as this may sound, KFC is not too fooled about what PETA may be really trying to do.

“PETA’s objective is not to improve animal welfare but to eliminate meat, poultry and other food of animal origin altogether from the human diet,” defended YUMS! Brands, the parent company of KFC. KFC has come under fire from PETA’s Kentucky Fried Cruelty campaign. “They desire a totally vegan society and will say or do anything to achieve this objective.

PETA even approves the use of violence.”

PETA seems to fail to see the bigger picture of compromising animal well-being with human well-being.

Even if animal testing could lead to a cure for AIDS, PETA would still stand against animal testing.

PETA does in fact, financially support the Animal Liberation Front (AFL) and many people see this as a terrorist group because it promotes violence, arson, and anarchy.

“Blowing stuff up and smashing windows is a great way to bring about animal liberation,” stated PETA vegetarian campaign coordinator Bruce Friedrich at an animal rights convention in 2001.

A video clip on PETA’s website features footage at a slaughterhouse in Moorefield, West Virginia. The video clip shows live chickens supplied to KFC in over-crowded conditions, developing diseases from high ammonia levels, and becoming lame and crippled from drugs that speed up growth. Then, when they're caught for slaughter, they are often thrown violently into small containers, resulting in broken legs and wings. The video also showed the operation of a beak-trimming machine used on young chicks.

But throughout the video, the narrator doesn’t talk about the alternative and more humane methods of slaughtering the chickens. Instead, at the end of the video clip, PETA promotes a vegan diet and even offers a free vegan starter pack. Instead of raising awareness on how the public can negotiate with KFC to treat their chickens better, PETA attempts to turn all of KFC’s customers against the company.

“PETA is trying to mislead the public with an outdated and questionable video on chicken production,” argued YUM! Brands. “The system shown is not used in our industry anymore.

“Only the sharp tip of the beak is removed, not the large portion as shown in the outdated PETA video.

Precision laser technology is rapidly replacing blade systems,” they added.

KFC, however, is not that innocent either. In July 2003, a complaint was filed with the Competition Bureau, a Canadian government agency charged with ensuring fair competition among businesses. The activists contend that through statements in news releases and on its web site, KFC Canada had attempted to gain an unfair advantage in the Canadian marketplace by deceiving consumers about its nonexistent animal welfare program. PETA filed a successful lawsuit charging similarly deceitful statements against KFC in the US. The deceitful claims on KFC’s old web site claimed that chickens raised for slaughter suffered no pain, their suppliers used “state-of-the-art” slaughter equipment, humane treatment of the birds was ensured, and that KFC prohibited its suppliers from giving chickens growth-promoting substances.

The website also lied about KFC maintaining an animal-welfare policy for nearly a decade.

PETA made eight demands on KFC for better treatment of their poultry.

According to the PETA’s victory report, Cheryl Bachelder, president of KFC, pledged to install cameras in all of the company's 29 slaughterhouses by the end of 2004, with a plan to audit

the tapes monthly. KFC also agreed to ensure that its suppliers would add stimulation devices to the perches in the chicken sheds, to move quickly to kill chickens in electric stun baths rather than merely immobilizing them, to implement humane mechanized chicken-gathering systems, and to provide increased space for chicken housing. KFC promised to report back to PETA on a regular basis to verify its compliance, and agreed to meet those five of PETA’s eight demands. But soon after, PETA warned that the Kentucky Fried Cruelty campaign would continue more energetically than ever until KFC agreed to meet rest of their demands.

KFC has tried to meet PETA halfway. But if PETA just exploits KFC’s past inefficient methods of slaughtering chickens to scare off their customers, KFC can only be wary about PETA’s seeming mission to drive them out of business. Despite an occasion where PETA activists poured fake blood over David Novak, the CEO of Yum! Brands, KFC’s management seem to have tolerated PETA’s abuse.

To date, PETA still continues to harass KFC with their Kentucky Fried Cruelty campaign.

Fast-food industries should not have their arms twisted to do whatever PETA wants. Indeed, PETA does raise valid points about promoting the importance of treating food animals properly and killing them as humanely as is possible. But throughout their attack on KFC, PETA solely focuses on the well-being of the chickens and hardly ever mentions anything about the prevention of growth hormones injected into chickens that are

unhealthy for human consumption.

With the fast-food industries struggling to finance the improved treatment towards the animals, it’s scary to think what kind of cheap artificial hormones they are going to start pumping into the animals to compensate for their expenses.

PETA seems to fail to see the bigger picture of compromising animal well-being with human well-being.

PETA strongly believes that animal consumption or animal testing, whether for toxicity testing, education and training, or basic or applied research, is wasteful and unreliable. PETA also believes that if animal testing could lead to a cure for AIDS, they would still stand their ground against it - even if it’s for educational purposes. But if PETA is so offended by even being in the same room with someone who runs animal testing, why then is PETA not against veterinarians? Did veterinarians not have to dissect animals and test different medications on them to improve possible treatments in the future for the very animals PETA protects and love so much?

Sure, some of PETA’s advertisements may do an offensive job in helping people understand the suffering animals experience by comparing it to human suffering. PETA claims that compassion has no boundaries but overstepping the boundaries of respecting others is just abusing a possibly good cause. PETA does have a strong history of saving millions of animals that they can be proud of. If PETA truly is a worthy cause, they shouldn’t need to bully and manipulate people to see that.

Monday, February 25, 2008

14 THE MEDIUM

Sports ROB SILVA, EDITOR | sports@mediumonline.ca

Australian football explodes in Toronto EMILE STUDHAM

The Ontario Australian Football League (OAFL) was formed in Toronto in 1989, started by the Toronto Mustangs and the Panthers playing in the first Lionel Conacher Cup. Since this first simple game, where a group of homesick Australian boys got together for a kick, the league has evolved into the largest Australian football league outside the golden shores of the mother land.

With the beginning of the 2008 season set to start in May, this group has grown into a 10-club league with over 330 playing members from Guelph, Hamilton, Ottawa, Etobicoke, and also the GTA. The teams, comprised of 24 players a side, are looking forward to the biggest year yet as they begin to prepare to compete for the twenty-year anniversary of the Conacher Cup. This year, the OAFL signed two full-time employees and revamped a junior development program called

Auskick Canada. In 2003, when Auskick Canada was created, the program was able to teach over 11,000 kids throughout schools and summer camps this unique sport that kids absolutely love.

The Australian Football League (AFL), the governing body of the sport in Australia, has noticed the potential of the sport here in Toronto.

They sent AFL coaching legend Kevin Sheedy for a tour and to report on the successes of the league. The tour, conducted last September, was part of the AFL’s 150th anniversary celebrations. The third International Cup event scheduled to take place this August in Melbourne is a another part of the celebrations. The Canadian national team, Northwind, will be competing in this worldwide event against 16 countries, including New Zealand, England, Ireland, South Africa, and the USA. 2008 is the big year for Australian Football in Canada, with the league going all out to increase its public awareness. And, with it being an

International Cup year, the league is looking for major sponsors to support all the fantastic projects they are currently working on and have more people playing this action-packed sport.

The Ontario Australian Football league is currently looking for new players and sponsors to help develop its public profile and have more Canadians playing the great sport that they call “Footy.”

For those interested, Chet Long, a recent UTM graduate, plays for the Etobicoke Kangaroos and is training with Team Canada. Chet welcomes any fellow UTMers to join in the amazing sport. If you have any questions you can contact Chet at chet@albiongolfcars.com. You can also log on and visit: www.ontariofooty.com or call the Director of Marketing and Game Development, Emile Studham at 416660-6738.

If you want to check out the sport on Youtube visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_hqos Nvv5E

photo/www.aacc-houston.org

Deadline day approaches MIKE IP

On February 26, the National Hockey League’s trade deadline will have come and gone and another year of trade rumours will quickly turn into trade reflection. After this weekend, the teams with playoff chances and teams with playoff hopes will be established and should start the snowball of trades expected.

With Peter Forsberg unlikely to come back to the league, many teams will shift gears to the plethora of available healthy players who are already fit for game action. Buffalo’s defenseman Brian Campbell and Atlanta’s forward Marian Hossa will likely be moved depending on how their respective teams do over the course of this final weekend before the deadline.

The Toronto Maple Leafs should be sellers at the trade deadline and captain Mats Sundin—the subject of the most speculation in Leaf Nation— seems determined to hold onto the notrade clause in his contact. It appears that if he does move, there seems to be a good chance he will land in

Vancouver for a prospect and high draft picks.

Tampa Bay squanders among the bottom four teams in the league and speculation suggests they will try to move defenseman Dan Boyle if they realize they can’t afford to sign him to a new contract. As a top four defenseman, the Ottawa native will surely help a team looking to go deep into the playoffs. The New York Rangers appear to be the most likely candidate for Boyle’s services.

Centre Oli Jokinen of the Florida Panthers has drawn interest around the league, but reports suggest the majority owner of the Panthers does not want to move the star player.

However, if Florida continues to slip further from a playoff spot, picking up some draft picks and prospects may be the more reasonable course of action for the team.

The first major trade generally sets the price point for other trades. This year’s trade deadline is indeed full of talented players for teams hoping to get a boost before the post-season begins. But until a major deal happens, teams will be reluctant to be the first to make a move.

photo/sportsnet.ca

Brad Richards may be on the move, according to a recent rumour. Sources say the Tampa Bay forward, who has a no-trade clause, has given Lightning management permission to bring him offers, but only wants to go to a team in playoff contention.

Monday, February 25, 2008

NBA shaken up after trade deadline quake CHRISTOPHER SA’D ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

The 2008 NBA trade deadline ended last week as a three-team, eleven-player trade rattled the league.

With Pau Gasol going to the Lakers, Shaquille O’Neal going to Phoenix, and Shawn Marion shipping out to Miami, big things had to happen on deadline day for teams to match the upgrades that the Suns and Lakers made. Just last week, Dallas picked up Jason Kidd from Jersey and Atlanta landed Mike Bibby. What other big move could we ask for? How about an eleven-player trade?

It was Wednesday when Chicago, Seattle, and Cleveland traded players as if they were cards, with “Big Ben” Wallace ending up a Cavalier when it was all said and done. Big Ben, Joe Smith, Wally Szczerbiak, and Delonte West all flew to Cleveland for Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Shannon Brown and Cedric Simmons, who all went to Chicago. Seattle got the scraps as they obtained Donyell Marshall, Ira Newbie, and Adrian Griffin. Eleven players packed their bags for one reason: so the Cavs could get a center to play with “King” James.

Big Ben is not there to replace Zydrunas Ilgauskas and not there for points, it’s all about the rebounds.

Ilgauskas is having a career year with 13.6 points and 9 rebounds per game, but with Anderson Varejao out and averaging 8 rebounds a game, Big Ben is there to keep the boards clean and King James will deal with the rest of the load.

It was also a perfect time to bring in Delonte West to fill in as a temporary guard. With Daniel Gibson out for at least 4 weeks, West is definitely equipped to handle the job, but, West is going to have to put up at least 12 points per game and perhaps a couple of threes while he’s at it.

One of the big reasons why the Cavs were blown away by the Spurs in the finals last year was because they didn’t have a good enough center, and James simply couldn’t do everything himself. This time they finally focused on getting a bench with depth and now they have a legitimate chance to get back to the finals. That is, of course, if they can find a way to beat the Boston Celtics. Then, you throw in the always-competitive Pistons, and let’s not forget about the Magic and Raptors. It will definitely not be an easy task to pick a team to come out of the East.

The Raptors stood silent through the whole trade deadline. Many say Colangelo should have made some moves, maybe for rebounds or blocks, a task that Big Ben could have helped with. Instead, they moved point guard Juan Dixon, the player with one of the best stealing percentages. With Dixon gone, and T.J Ford out again, Darrick Martin will have to fill in.

Ford has been out for practically the whole season, playing twenty-two games and starting fourteen. Dixon was supposed to fill in the extra minutes that Jose Calderon couldn’t play, and did a decent job with the eight minutes on average per game. Unless Colangelo has something up his sleeve, Darrick Martin is not the answer for the Raptors. Instead of picking up the point guard to serve on the bench, he picked up Primoz Brezec, another seven-foot glass of European hope, instead.

The problem is that Colangelo is

THE MEDIUM 15

SPORTS

focused on the surge of European Orlando, Boston and Cleveland. The players coming into the NBA and Raps may be ready for a deep run in nothing else. Andrea Bargnani is seven the post-season, but let’s worry about feet tall, can shoot a ball, has been winning a series first, a task that will great, but he lives up to the stereotype not be easy. that white men can’t jump. Calderon, however, has opened many eyes around the league since taking over for T.J. Ford as starting point guard, and has recorded career high stats with a turnover ratio of five assists per turnover.

The Raptors are fourth in the Eastern NBAE/Getty Images Conference, and the East has become Ben Wallace poses for a photo as a new member of stronger year by year the Cleveland Cavaliers. with teams like Detroit,

UTM women’s div 2 soccer update HASH JAUNBOCOUS The UTM women’s division 2 soccer team looked to rebound from a loss to St. Hilda’s in week one when they took the pitch against the UTSC Raccoons.

UTM fielded a full squad for the first time this season and gelled quickly, playing a solid game with some great one-touch passing, and various give-and-go plays.

Precision passing led by Katelyn McNeil and Stacey Arseneau and great ball control from strikers Sonia Azam and Sandra Chabot helped the Eagles gain the offensive zone. Azam particularly played a key role for UTM’s attack and showed great patience with the ball as she connected with a strike, giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

Jessica Vallentin made some

huge saves, giving UTM the lead heading into the second half. The Eagles held the 1-0 lead late in the game, until the Raccoons managed to capitalize on a loose ball off a rebound and knotted the game at one apiece. The game ended a 1-1 draw. The UTM women’s division 2 soccer team’s record currently sits at 0-1-1.

photo/Google Images

16 THE MEDIUM

Monday, February 25, 2008

SPORTS

Who is the best middleweight Gatorade? Gimme in the world? some of that Haterade!

The Medium’s assistant sports editor, Sunny Pathak, gives a unique look into the world of sports. No salami and cheese here, mama, just the goods served hot and fresh with some ice-cold Haterade.

vs.

PRIDE Champion

UFC Champion

UFC 82: Pride of a champion KYLE WHITNEY

The Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) middleweight division has seen Anderson Silva bulldoze his way through every opponent he has faced, but he is about to square off against the only man who stands between him and UFC greatness.

On Saturday, March 1, UFC will host UFC 82: PRIDE OF A CHAMPION to unify the UFC and PRIDE FC middleweight championship.

UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva has defeated every challenge that has been put in front of him, but his toughest challenge might be the PRIDE middleweight champion Dan Henderson.

This is a great match for all mixed martial arts (MMA) fans, as the two best middleweights will square off to fight and see who the best 185-pound fighter really is.

Anderson Silva has proven that he is the real deal - not only has he beat

some of the UFC’s best fighters, he has knocked them out or won decisively.

His style of fighting has puzzled his opponents, from his all world jujitsu skills to his incredible stand up fighting which consists of kicks, knees, and punches thrown in impressive combinations.

Silva has yet to lose in the UFC, going an impressive 5-0 (four of them by knockout). His last loss was at PRIDE: SHOCKWAVE in 2004 when he lost to Ryo Chonan due to submission.

Silva has made a reputation in the UFC for having the most deadly hands and feet in the organization, and has yet to find a worthy challenger to test him for his championship. So, what better test than a man that holds a title in the same weight class as him?

Dan Henderson is coming off a loss in the unification match against the now-undisputed light-heavyweight champion, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Henderson is ready to fight and redeem himself in

the octagon.

What makes Henderson such a worthy challenge for Silva? Well, Henderson has faced many of MMA’s best fighters in different weight classes and has beat them, so fighting at a set weight that Henderson feels comfortable at will be a definite advantage for the PRIDE champ.

Henderson is an all-world wrestler and has very powerful knockout abilities which could be a threat to Silva, since he has yet to face a fighter that is as aggressive and as strong as Henderson.

UFC 82: PRIDE OF A CHAMPION will be a pay-per-view like none other, and will set the landscape for the middleweight division, as no fighter in the weight class can test either of these two champions. If Henderson wins he will finally make a name for himself in the UFC, but if Silva wins he will have beat everyone in his division and will be considered the greatest middleweight champion and fighter in UFC history.

S.O.S for Leafs: Smitten over Stamkos... I have come to the realization that Leaf fans have an IQ of about 22, maybe 23. That’s the combined number of goals scored by Thomas Kaberle, Kyle Wellwood, Pavel Kubina, and Bryan McCabe in 191 games. Add the plus one for McCabe’s own goal. Finishing last in the standings does not guarantee the number-one spot in the 2008 draft. Last year, the Philadelphia Flyers had a 25 per cent chance for numero uno, while the Chicago Blackhawks had only 8 per cent. Just imagine, Jonathan Toews playing with Daniel Briere. Add in the fact that the Leafs have the ability to screw everything up twice, it’s possible that Leafs would draft Japanese center Taro Tsujimoto of the Tokyo Katanas from the Japanese Ice Hockey League. Oh, Leaf fans – another thing… your new boss in town, Cliff Fletcher, coined this phrase when asked about the NHL draft: “Draft, smaft…” Taro would look great in blue and white.

Superman that…

Dwight Howard not only won the Slam Dunk competition, but the man of steel is now the man of Youtube and in the hearts of every NBA fan. “Dwight Howard Superman” on Youtube brings up three hundred and ninety-one entries. His Superman dunk on Youtube has close to 1.2 million views. Are you kidding me?

That’s just sick, wicked, and nasty.

photo/nba.com

More time wasters: Forget studying and look up “Frank Caliendo + Charles Barkley” in the library. Turn up the sound real loud so others can enjoy.

Crash landing for Apollo 33: Blah, blah, blah. The weeks leading up to New Orleans, the feel-good story of the NBA, spoke about Moon’s creativity, his inspiration, the hours of work with assistant coach Jay Triano and former Raptor Juan Dixon and my favourite, his time with the Harlem Globetrotters. Well Moonboy, you flopped. For those that were excited about his stint with the Globetrotters, one-time dino Oliver Miller was part of the team. That can’t say much about showtime. I’m just saying. Think about it. Oh and this Facebook group about Moon being robbed at the All-Star game, that’s just silly.

Better than “My dog ate my homework”: I trade e-mails weekly with Damian Goddard, formerly of Raptors TV, now with Sportsnet. Damo is a funny guy and calls it like it is. Discussing the ‘bitchfest’ that was Roger Clemens vs. Brian McNamee, Damo really got me thinking. If you miss a midterm or a final, perhaps even if you’ve been caught for plagiarism, I have the perfect excuse for you: simply say, “Sorry I ‘misrememphoto/Boston Herald bered.’” If it worked for Roger Clemens in Congress, it’s gotta Debbie Clemens is said to have used work at UTM. In fact, I am so HGH. No wonder she is so tired. confident that it will work that the person who uses that exact line will get lunch on me at Mr. Sub. Debris from Apollo 33: "I got it," Jamario Moon said. "I've got it in my pocket right now. I believe in me and I'm sure those guys believe in what they do. But I think I've got some nice dunks. I've got a couple (in reserve) in case they do something crazy and make me go a little deeper into the hat. I believe in myself." Yeah, that was real crazy when you put that piece of tape two feet in front of the free-throw line and then you jumped from inside the key. Yeah man, that was awesome. Good for you. Complaining afterwards about the rules and having to use a partner. I have a feeling I won’t be seeing you in Phoenix for next year’s All-Star festivities.

photo/uefa.com

On Sunday, Tottenham Hotspur defender Jonathan Woodgate scored the winning goal in extra time to give his team a 2-1 win over West London rivals Chelsea in the Carling Cup final at Wembley. Didier Drogba had given the Blues a first-half lead, but Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov equalised in the 70th minute from the penalty spot to force extra time.

Varsity Blues: I really hope these guys win. Let me explain to you why, we, the city of Toronto, need this. We just lost the Indy/Champ Car race and reports indicate a slight hit to our economy (about $50 million, chump change). If these guys could just win one game, they’d paint the town red - er, Blue! The beer would flow like wine. $50 million worth of beer, I think it could happen – what else is OSAP good for?