Vol 35 issue 16

Monday, January 19, 2009

Volume 35, Issue 16

www.mediumonline.ca

Xpression Against Oppression: Dr. Norman Finkelstein speaks ANDREW HAMILTON SMITH NEWS EDITOR

The Ministry of Social Justice (MSJ) led an awareness campaign called Xpression Against Oppression (XAO) last week, which began on January 12 and concluded with a three-hour discussion featuring Doctor Norman Finkelstein on Thursday January 15 at CCIT 1080.

Doctor Finkelstein is a renowned academic with a controversial reputation for opposing Israel’s recent actions in Gaza despite being born of WW2 Holocaust-survivor parents.

“Israel’s right of self-defence is not really the issue here,” Finkelstein noted, “but [rather] about Palestinian’s right to defend themselves,” and to live free from economic embargoes or military attacks.

Finkelstein’s point of view is controversial because Israel has claimed all along to be engaged in a “defensive military operation against Hamas in Gaza” according to the Canadian Jewish Congress, suggesting very clearly that Hamas is the aggressor in this conflict. XAO and MSJ deny this is the case, pointing out that it was Israel who broke last year’s ceasefire

Photo/Matthew Filipowich

Dr. Norman Finkelstein addressed over 500 people who came to hear him speak about solutions to the crisis between Hamas and Israel. Dr. Finkelstein has been banned from Israel for ten years because of his views. agreement, and is therefore responsible for the conflict. Dr. Finkelstein for his part has been banned from Israel for ten years for holding such views.

Over 500 people were expected to turn up for the event and a dozen

Campus Police and Ontario Provincial Police officers were present to maintain crowd control.

Despite a few heated questions posed to Dr. Finkelstein, the event went smoothly and calmly, save for a few microphone problems throughout.

Dr. Finkelstein explained how the real question was: “Does violence and attacks help Palestinians to achieve their goals?” To resounding applause, he pointed out that while he wished Palestinians had chosen non-violent means, they ultimately

have the right to defend their homes and nation, citing Mahatma Ghandi to back up his argument.

He further argued that no one can afford to be bound by dogma or ideology in finding a solution to the forty-year occupation of the Gaza Strip and West Bank by Israel. “If the whole world has embraced the current two-state solution, how likely is it that any one group will be able to change that consensus?”

At one point, Finkelstein rejected a question from the audience about the truth in the Koran or Torah. “I don’t care what they say,” replied the scholar, who added that they have nothing to do with the on-going peace process and the two-state solution.

Compromise and adaptability are the only things that will lead to change, and the goal of allowing Palestinians to govern their own territory must be the paramount concern in any discussion. He pointed out that Hamas was elected in an internationally-monitored, free and democratic election. The rejection of Hamas as a legitimate government by the international community – Prime Minister Stephen Harper being the first leader to denounce Hamas and cut off aid – is hypocritical, Finkelstein suggested, especially “since they themselves determined the elections of 2006 to be legitimate.”

Conitnued on page 3

Child Care Centre plagued by delays ANDREW HAMILTON SMITH NEWS EDITOR

Photo/Andrew Hamilton Smith

A child reacts to news of further delays for the new Child Care Centre.

The University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) administration has announced that the planned Child Care Centre, which was initially supposed to be opened by January 2009, will not open in February as was recently announced at a November 18 meeting with students. UTM offered no timeline for completion, citing delays in obtaining construction permits from the City of Mississauga. At press time, the city had not responded to inquiries by Saaliha Malik, UTM Student Union (UTMSU) Vice President Equity, as to why the necessary permits had not been issued.

“In June or July, UTMSU had a meeting when Mark Overton, Dean of Student Affairs at UTM. He told us they had selected an operator (Early Learning Centre) and they had given us timelines claiming they submitted all the paper work for permits already,” explained Malik. When Dean Overton was recently contacted by UTMSU VP External Dhananjai Kohli, he stated that he was no longer involved in the project.

According to Malik, the contact person for the UTM Child Care Centre is Francesca Dobbin, manager of the St. George campus family day care.

Dobbins has apparently not replied to e-mails and has only visited UTM once in the past. “UTM just told me over an

e-mail that [the Child Care Centre] is not opening, and that they can’t even provide us with a timeline,” complained Malik, suggesting that the university may be violating its own policies, which recognize child care as essential to creating a better learning environment. “I am really angry about this” she added.

The University in 2003 created a University Child Care Advisory Committee (UCCAC) in order to further its policy of being “committed to the provision of child care programs and services on its campuses that further the University's academic mission.”

Continued on page 2

2 THE MEDIUM

NEWS

MONDAY, JANUARY

19, 2009

AMBIGUITY SURROUNDS GAZA AND CHILD CARE

Gaza ceasefire uncertain I g na t i e f f l e a d e r sh i p g i v es Lib eral spirit s a boost OTTAWA (Toronto Star) – Upbeat Liberals gathering on Parliament Hill heard leader Michael Ignatieff call for their party to become the “smart, compassionate alternative” to the Harper government.

“There is fear in the land,” said Ignatieff, who has been holding consultations across the country in advance of the return of Parliament on January 26.

Miller pr aises T oront onians a s h y d ro re s to re d TORONTO (Toronto Star) – “All power is restored,” a tired but relieved Mayor David Miller announced at 9:40 p.m. as he praised Torontonians’ calm under crisis during a blackout that enveloped Toronto's west end. “My feel ing right now is relief,” Miller told media gathered at City Hall last night, almost 24 hours after the power outage was announced.

O tt a w a t r an sit un io n re je ct s a rbi tr a ti on o ffe r, s t r ik e c o n t in u e s OTTAWA (CanWest News) – Leaders of Ottawa’s 2,300 striking transit workers reject ed a city council counter offer Saturday that could have seen the 39 day transit strike set tled in days by an arbitrator.

The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) had said last Friday that it would call off the strike if the city agreed to set aside the contentious issues of work scheduli ng, route assignment, hours of work, and working conditions.

E x o t i c g o a t h a n gs i t s e l f a t C a lg a r y Z o o CALGARY (CTV) – An exotic wild goat died at a Calgary Zoo in front of stunned onlookers on Friday, when it accidentally hanged itself from a rope. Witnesses said the two year old Turkmenian markhor first appeared to be in danger when it had difficult staying on its legs. “It could n't stand up,” said witness Aubrey Williams, a mother who had brought her family to the zoo. “That's when we noticed that from behind the log it had a rope around its neck.”

FIONA BUCHANAN ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Since December 27, 2008, Israel has been executing military airstrikes and artillery attacks in the Gaza strip, resulting in nearly 1,300 deaths.

Approximately forty percent of these casualties were civilians, including women and children. Israel claimed the motive for these attacks was to terminate Hamas’ rocket-firing in southern Israel. As of January 18, thirteen Israelis have been killed by Palestinian attacks; three were civilians.

Controversy surrounding who broke the cease-fire agreement between the two sides complicates an already confusing issue even further. “Israel broke the cease fire on November 4, 2008 by going into Gaza and killing six or seven Hamas militants,” explained Stephen Zhou, leader of UTM’s Ministry of Social Justice. “Hamas retaliated and they didn’t renew the ceasefire because there was a blockade on Gaza for the past three years.

Nobody could go out and nobody could come in. [Israel] cut off the electricity and they cut off the water,” he added.

According to the New York Times, eleven Palestinian militants were killed from November 4 - 14 following the Israeli raid into Gaza to destroy a tunnel being dug toward Israel. Shortly after, Hamas launched rockets into southern Israel and eighteen Israelis were injured as a result.

Photo/google.images

A Palestinian woman sits amidst the debris and rubble after the Israeli government declares a ceasefire on Gaza.

Hamas has claimed that they wanted to renew the five-month truce with Israel but insisted that Israel did not.

Israel held their position that it was Hamas who broke the truce by firing the rockets and mortars.

“Taking it into context, [Palestine] has been under forty years of occupation. People are saying, ‘Do something about Palestine,’” said Zhou, interpreting the global outpour of support for Palestinians. “People are saying ‘Twenty days, 1,000 people – that’s too much. I’m going to take a Palestinian flag and I’m going to stand up for innocent Palestinian people who have been killed.’”

The Gaza Coalition at UTM gathered on January 14 to discuss the campaign opposing Israel’s attacks within

No timeline for child care Continued from front page At present, both the St. George and Scarborough campuses have comprehensive and accessible daycare programmes, leaving UTM as the only campus without one. With financial assistance from UTM administration, UTMSU has been running a temporary, five-child Child Minding Service in the Student Centre, which is not a fully licensed facility and was only intended to last for two months.

“The temporary Child Minding Service will remain open until a new centre is finally open on this campus,” stated Malik who also noted that “there are always people on the waitlist who are turned away.” A permanent and licensed facility is badly needed at UTM, Malik continued, adding that it would provide much higher occupancy and give parents security knowing that their children

have a permanent place to go. There has been little or no consultation with parents or students, says Malik, and the current operator was chosen by UCCAC behind closed doors, with no discussions with the UTMSU. According to its website, UTM claims that the Child Care Centre will open in February. The new Child Care Centre will be located near the Leacock Lane residences, and will “accommodate 26 children – 10 toddlers (ages 18 to 30 months) and 16 preschoolers (ages 30 months to 5 years).”

The University also has an Emergency Child Care plan, which is run through private operator Kids and Company, located near Square One. The cost to participate in this program is an annual membership fee per named child (not per family) of $350 for up to twenty visits, to any of the existing locations at any time during U of T's 12 month membership term.

the Gaza strip. The meeting focused on raising public awareness and educating students about the issue.

“I’ll be honest with you. I’m here but I don’t even know what’s going on. I’m just a student who was watching it on the news and felt moved, so I came here to find out more about it,” said Tina Madzima. She also mentioned that she felt that there should be information booths for students to easily access information about the conflict.

“I’m not informed enough to choose sides, but from what I’ve heard I disagree with what Israel is doing,” said Micheline Khan, a first-year life science student. “If there were information booths around campus, I’d definitely be interested in learning more,”

she added.

On January 10, UTM students took part in a worldwide protest against the Israeli attacks. A protest was planned for the following Saturday, but only three protesters demonstrated at the Israeli Consulate on Bloor Street.

The low turnout may have been due to reports that Israel declared a ceasefire in Gaza. BBC reported that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel had achieved its goal, and added, “we feel the pain of every Palestinian child and family member who fell victim to the cruel reality created by Hamas.” The ceasefire came into effect as of 2 a.m. on January 17.

However, Hamas was not involved in the ceasefire decision, nor did they express acceptance of the ceasefire.

Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoom said that Israel must withdraw their troops, lift the blockade and open border crossings in Gaza. Until then, he added, fighting will continue.

Only speculations can be made regarding what will happen now.

“There are a lot of criteria [to consider]. People have been talking ever since the early 90’s [but] anything is better than occupation. I don’t think that if the occupation was alleviated it would backfire on Israel,” MSJ’s Zhou said. Expressing his hope for a long-term resolution, he added, “in fact, if this occupation by Israel is alleviated, innocent people in Israel will stop dying. Palestinian people will at least have a chance at a normal life.”

UTM Campus Crime Report January 10, 2009 2:05 a.m.

Assault/Causing a Disturbance Campus Police witnessed two males fighting outside a residence. Peel Regional Police were called to assist and the males were investigated. No charges were laid.

January 11, 2009 5:07 p.m.

Trespass to Property Campus Police received a report that a male was trying to access the RAWC with someone else’s student card.

Campus Police investigated and the male was ordered off the premises.

January 11, 2009 10:20 p.m.

Mischief Campus Police found scattered flyers, posters and papers on the floor in the South Building. The area was checked and no act of mischief was detected.

January 12, 2009 10:08 a.m.

Parking – Vehicle Tow Campus Police and UTM Parking & Transportation towed a vehicle from Lot 2 as the vehicle displayed stolen license plates. Peel Regional Police

attended and are investigating the dri ver of the vehicle.

January 12, 2009 11:05 a.m.

Unauthorized Activity – Soliciting Campus Police investigated a female who was soliciting spa services for an outside agency. The female was warned. Her employer was also spo ken with and advised not to solicit on campus.

January 14, 2009 2:30 p.m.

Fraud – Uttering Forged Currency Campus Police investigated a com plaint of a male purchasing services in the Copy Centre with a counterfeit $100 bill. The male was no longer at the centre when campus police arrived.

January 15, 2009 12:39 p.m.

Fraud – Uttering Forged Currency Campus Police investigated a report of a male attempting to use a counterfeit $100 bill in the Bookstore. Campus Police investigated and the male was subsequently arrested. Peel Regional Police took over the investigation.

Wednesday, Jan. 21 10 am - 12 pm

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Presented by the Career Centre in partnership with the Department of Geography - details & signup online!

Resume & Cover Letter Workshop Tuesday, Jan. 27 2 pm - 4 pm Register @ www.utm.utoronto.ca/careers

TO REGISTER FOR EMPLOYER EVENTS, WORKSHOPS AND MORE, visit www.utm.utoronto.ca/careers

UTM CAREER CENTRE

MONDAY, JANUARY

19, 2009 THE MEDIUM 3

FINKELSTEIN STIRS CONTROVERSY NEWS

Finkelstein lecture offers students resistance stratgies Continued from front page

There were a number of tables set up outside the lecture theatre from organizations such as International Relief Canada, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, and Islamic Relief Canada (IRC), which is run by UTM Alumni Shaila Kibria. As executive director of IRC, Kibria is closely involved with the process of providing humanitarian support to Palestine, and offered ample statistics and logistical figures to demonstrate how aid is being distributed.

“From the first day of the airstrikes, Islamic Relief Palestine (IRPAL) provided hospital stores with medical supplies including essential equipment such as syringes, disposable surgical gloves, oral tubes and bandages,” explains Kibria. “IRPAL also provided the hospital stores with four large trucks filled with desperately needed food supplies for patients and their families.”

According to Kibria, packing of an additional 5,000 food parcels

began before the current conflict began, and they were to be distributed on January 4, but this was suspended due to the ground incursion

by Israel. The inability of aid organizations to deliver needed supplies means that civilians in Gaza suffer in ways not reflected in simple death tolls or casualty reports.

The XAO awareness week also featured other events such as a discussion with the Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance about land appropriation and political rights in that country. James Clark from the To r o n t o C o a l i t ion Ag ainst War spoke about Canada's role in Afghanistan, and a Palestine Poetry Night and Gaza Vigil was held on Wednesday. All of these events were successful and saw good turnouts, according to Steven Zhou, leader of MSJ. “I think we were able to send out a good message to a substantial amount of students, just to infuse some sort of activist responsibility in student life,” Zhou commented.

“I think students are in a good position to be active on issues about human rights and social justice due

What do you think about the possibilty of a TA strike at UTM? “If it is one week, ok, but we don’t want to end up like York students.”

Matthew Di Chiara, third year english student

to the common space we all share, and the opportunities available to learn more about the nature of hypocrisy surrounding our world.”

The MSJ group raised thousands of dollars towards the Gaza Coalition’s humanitarian fund by selling over 400 T-shirts on campus.

The highlight of the week was definitely the Finkelstein event however, which saw beyond capacity attendance – more than 500 people – and which made a meaningful impact on attendees. “I thought it was very informative, and I learned a lot of things I never knew before,” said second-year life science student Manar Srajeldin. Second-year psychology student Dania Srajeldin agreed that the lecture was “not emotional, but rather factual.”

Not everyone was pleased with D r. Finke ls te in’s v isit, thoug h.

According to Zhou, a few students expressed their disagreement with Finkelstein's views, suggesting he was not objective and did not give both sides of the story. “These concerns were solved after some discussion, and MSJ was always supportive of these students' right to express their concern.”

“In the end, all left happy,” he added, and described how in the future, his group may try to bring awareness to other issues such as Native rights, and African awareness. “Specifically, I'd like to look at the influence of the Black Panthers in the Black movement during the 60s,” mused Zhou.

“We all need a break, so the TA strike is the way to go; we need a break.”

Umar Shaikh, third year biology and mathematics student

“This strike issue is non sense; it should not occur. If it does, a lot of students will question the authority fig ures in this institution.”

Vince Vizmanos, third year biology student

“It would be bad. What will happen to us? Will our edu cations be delayed, will we get our money back? It’s a dumb idea, a waste of time and money.”

Lucas Di Mascio, first year english student

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Photos/Matthew Filipowich

The audience was beyond capacity at one point (top); volunteers collect ed donations to assist in providing aid to hospitals and organizations in Gaza (centre); IRC Executive Director and UTM Alumni Shaila Kibria.

MEDIUMONLINE.CA TO GET STARTED .

4 THE MEDIUM

OPINION

MONDAY, JANUARY

19, 2009

Letters to the Editor How to respond to a cynic

ALI KASIM EDITOR IN CHIEF editor@mediumonline.ca

EDITORIAL This past week, I was forced to think long and hard on whether I should respond to Gabriel Galang’s “Letter to the Editor.” There were several reasons I felt I shouldn’t. For one, I had already dedicated the last two editorials to the issue, and felt it was more appropriate to address another issue, like the Child Care debacle for instance. More importantly however, I felt I needed to pick my battles. I wasn’t going to be drawn into using the fourth page of this newspaper as a platform for a debate with someone who I felt, misread and misunderstood the context of my editorial. Thankfully, before dismissing everything, I sought an outside, neutral perspective first.

I came to realize that there was many a faux pas with my editorial from two weeks ago (“The Gaza Crisis”). Firstly, I had contradicted myself by preaching against scepticism while at the same time citing that the war between Israel and the Palestinians would “probably never end.” While I’m sure many would nonetheless share my latter sentiment (indeed, I still find it difficult myself to be positive on that point), that particular declaration went against everything I was trying to achieve in the editorial.

As I continued to reflect, not just on my editorial but on Mr. Galang’s letter as well, I realized there were various other details and sentiments that were questionably researched and represented respectively.

“Hamas refuses to accept Israel’s right to exist and will never change their view on this.”

Mr. Galang has since corrected me on this, citing a report from an Israeli newspaper that Hamas' political leader Khaled Meshal had stated in April last year that he would accept a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders and would grant a 10-year truce. I researched and found this to be accurate.

“Recently, a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas ended, and Hamas chose not to renew it, beginning instead to fire home-made (but increasingly sophisticated) rockets into Israel.”

For this point, I need only refer you to my source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7818022.stm.

On the BBC news website, it says explicitly that “Hamas chose not to renew the ceasefire” and that rockets were indeed fired into Israel before the Israelis’ began their offensive on December 27, 2008. Perhaps I might have done better to have also mentioned the six Palestine militants that were killed by Israeli soldiers during their first incursion into southern Gaza on November 4 2008, a time period that fell during the truce.

Mr. Galang claims that the truce is “a myth,” but while I can see how and why he would say this (brutal embargo et al), it’s clear that an official ceasefire was in place before December 27. Unfortunately, who it was that broke the truce depends so much on which media you prescribe to. Anyone who obtains their news from various outlets will know that BBC and CNN, for example, present contrasting details and facts for any one given political story. Who’s to say who is wrong and who is unbiased?

What bothered me the most however was the way in which some of my opinions were perceived.

“But war is war isn’t it? There’s no rule that says both sides have to weigh their punches equally.”

Mr. Galang goes on to link my sentiments to that of Saddam Hussein’s.

While that undoubtedly is a harsh comparison, I feel I should admit that the manner in which I presented my opinion was dubious in itself. Yes, I still feel that “war is war,” but regretfully, that rationale should not have been applied to the recent Gaza crisis. When 1,000 people from one side are killed while the other only suffers twenty or so casualties, then that is not war. That is something akin to a massacre.

The final point of contention I wish to address is my assertion that this crisis is “probably the most complex issue in the history of the world to date.” Mr. Galang declares that “the international consensus is quite clear” and goes on to list his reasons as to why, all of which I seem to agree with. Thus, I feel Mr. Galang is misunderstanding my point here. I never said the issue carried a complex moral dilemma. In my opinion as well, it doesn’t. But it does pose a distinctly complex argument from the political perspective of things. Yes, the rest of the world is on the side of Palestine. And yes, the U.S. stands alone in their support of Israel. But is there ever a clear-cut reason why? Anyone will tell you that that argument is hugely extensive.

My stance is simple: whoever we are and whatever we specialize in, we should always understand that there are aspects of anything that we don’t (and possible, won’t) understand. Should we ever be so arrogant as to think we do?

In closing, I feel that to have to explain and clarify all of the above is a bit of a shame, for it was never my intention to provide a history lesson. It wasn’t even my intention to present my political stance on the issue. All I wished to do was to sway past all the pontificating and instead highlight something which I felt was relevant to us a student body. That this is probably the most complex issue in the history of the world to date, and we as students of the world should never stop thinking about or educating ourselves on it. I regret that due to a few discrepancies, this intention didn’t fall through. But it was all I meant to say.

Yours,

Ali Kasim

Every time a crisis looms or a difficult problem prevails, an abundance of otherwise silent ‘cynical realists’ break out of hibernation and hurriedly attend to teaching all of us a basic science lesson – the lesson on Newton’s Third Law, which roughly states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. To rephrase this in context, complex problems necessarily require complex solutions.

Using this convincing (albeit fallacious) deductive reasoning, our fellow cynics have been able to successfully dissuade many of us against genuinely virtuous initiatives, the latest being the protests against the Israeli massacre of over 1,200 Palestinians. At face value, the argument is lucid and quite sensible.

That is, protests are no more than an unnecessary production of sound and wasteful exhaustion of kinetic energy.

The total sound produced by 15,000 pairs of screaming lungs for three hours on Bloor Street was barely audible to neighboring buildings, much less to the deaf ears (and consciences) of Israeli militants an ocean away. At best, the entire rally would be in luck if it received 15 seconds of some coverage on some mediocre station, in some parts of Ontario, Canada. So why the hell bother?

Besides warning against this apparently irresponsible disposal of time and effort, cynical realists take it one step further and even advise against monetary donations. Firstly, with heavy restrictions on border crossings for relief organizations – there is no guarantee that aid will arrive on time. Second, there is no way to warrant that your money will actually

be delivered to the impoverished and dying residents of Gaza instead of being embezzled by shameless authorities en route. If these two arguments were not enough to “turn you off,” one final nail is hammered into the coffin (belonging to a Palestinian girl): How many mouths do you think your five bucks will feed, and for how long? Strike three means you’re out, and also means the Palestinian girl is lowered into her grave.

The truth is, cynical realism can be many things, none of which is an antidote to painful ailments. In fact, most of the time, cynical realism operates in the opposite direction, ironically complicating the very problems it purports to disentangle.

Realism involves a practical and objective outlook on matters irrespective of whether the verdict is a positive or negative one. So why am I calling these realists cynical? Because a cynical realist will only criticize your efforts without offering a constructive suggestion or an alternative solution. In other words, they come off as “criticizing for the sake of criticizing.”

On January 17, 2009, Israel announced a unilateral cease fire in Gaza after three weeks of torturing the world. Will it last for long? History says no. Was it the result of the overwhelming political pressure? Could it be that moral guilt was resuscitated in deadpan Israeli militants?

Maybe it was those protests?! I cannot say which of these events was most responsible. What I can say for sure is that cynicism had no piece of this pie.

My dear reader, always remember that

“Re: The Gaza Crisis” As it relates to the Palestine-Israel conflict, there are people who are completely ignorant of the issue but find it necessary and imperative to inform others of their non-contribution. I am particularly referring to an editorial in a previous issue. It was argued with confidence: "There’s so much to debate on the subject, and almost unlike anything else, it bears so many different perspectives, so many sides to the whole argument."

For the last 30 years Israel and the United States have been isolated from the rest of the world in refusing to follow U.N. Resolution 242 which calls for Israel to fully withdraw from Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem (the pre1967 borders) according to international law. In exchange, the Arab states and Palestinians will have to recognize Israel’s right to exist. This consensus is voted on every year (for over 30 years now) at the U.N. Security Council and the United States and Israel always reject it. The voting is not even close. In 1989 it was 151 to 3 (U.S., Israel and the Island State of Dominica). From 2001 to 2004, it has been the U.S., Israel and Federated States of Micronesia on one side and the rest of the world on the other.

It is commonly asserted that Hamas is not recognized by Israel and its allies because it will not recognize Israel. An even more important question that is conveniently tucked away in light of historical facts: is there any Israeli party that recognizes Palestine within its internationally recognized borders? Is there a single party that agrees in complete accordance to the international consensus that has existed for over 30 years?

Haaretz (Israel's influential daily) reported on April 21/08 that Hamas' political leader Khaled Meshal explicitly stated that he would accept a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders and would grant a 10-year truce. So much for the claim that they refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist.

As far as the recent outbreak of violence is concerned, it is common knowledge now that Israel broke the truce on November 4/08 via airstrikes on Gaza.

The editorial also fails to mention that Gaza was under a brutal embargo which caused the U.N. to warn the world of an impending humanitarian crisis. This entire concept of a truce is a myth. Even if it is not, Israel still broke the imaginary truce.

The editorial makes short comments regarding the attacks on Lebanon in 2006. It is common knowledge today that the following broke the informal truce: • (June 9, 2006) The killing of a Palestinian family picnicking at a Gaza beach which prompted Hamas to end the informal ceasefire.

• (June 24, 2006) Israel captured two Palestinians who they claimed to be Hamas members but was vehemently denied by Hamas. The difference between the abduction of General Shalit to this: Shalit was in Palestinian territory while Israel crossed the border to abduct the two Palestinians.

Between September 2005 and June 2006, according to an Israeli human rights group B’tselem, 144 Palestinians in Gaza were killed - 29 were children by Israeli forces. No Israelis were killed during the same time period.

As the editorial relates to his concept of the non-existence of "proportionality of war", I cannot say much about it. It is the same moral stance held by Saddam Hussein when he gassed rebellious Kurds but the editor is entitled to that opinion.

There is no complexity. The international consensus is quite clear as embodied in Resolution 242. Palestinians were displaced from their land. It was an ethnic cleansing and this fact is not disputed

by Israel’s own mainstream scholars.

Their properties have been taken and they have been living in abject poverty ever since. They have been actively kept in this condition by Israel and the United States through real and tangible policies: from illegal settlements, brutal embargos, bombings, assassinations, politically motivated arrests and that editorial’s noncontribution.

Gabriel Galang www.criticalmood.com

regardless of your age, gender, race or religion, the difference you make, no matter how small, will always crush the indifference of a cynic, no matter how large. And it is to you and every frustrated activist, fatigued protestor, burnt out volunteer, sleep-deprived organizer, emotionally devoured mother and sickand-tired student that I dedicate the following story. Perhaps the cynic should read it too.

Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf's edge and the beach.

Back and forth this person went. As the man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the tide.

The man was struck by the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached, the person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.

As he came up to the person he said, "You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish.

You can't possibly make a difference."

The man then stooped down and pick up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the bystander and said, "At least I made a difference to that one."

Mohammed Ashour President UTM MSA

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MONDAY, JANUARY

19, 2009 THE MEDIUM 5

Classified in confidence Esteemed East Coast rapper chats with The Medium about his new album, life on a major label, and hip hop.

MICHAEL DILEO A&E EDITOR

From his modest beginnings in Enfield, Nova Scotia to his current standing in major-label hip-hop, Classified (nee Luke Boyd) has shaped a path that few, if any, Canadian rappers can claim to have followed. Having been in the game for over thirteen years, Classified has been influential in the rise of East Coast hip-hop, and his work with renowned artists has gained him recognition worldwide.

2008 was a busy year for Classified.

After spending a few months on the ever Say ever tour with D12, Joe Budden, and Royce Da 5’9�, he struck a major-label deal with Sony BMG music, and is in the process of releasing his fourteenth studio album, Self-Explanatory. Recently, The Medium got a chance to speak with Classified about his music, life on the big stage, and hip-hop.

The Medium: How was the Never Say Never Tour with D12, Joe Budden, and Royce Da 5’9�?

Classified: It was a little different for us doing it with some people we didn’t know, but it went really well, we got along with all the artists. And hopefully we played for a few people who have never been to a Classified show before.

TM: Are you going to hook up with them again?

C: Yeah, we’re actually going over to Europe halfway through March and then heading over to Australia in September and then bringing them back to Canada to show them what we do here.

TM: You have a new album coming out soon (Self-Explanatory). How is it different than your last one?

C: Musically, we used a lot more live instruments and stuff, but I’ve still got that hip-hop sound. My stuff kind of comes from that sample-based stuff in hip-hop and I’ll always have that sort of influence. But I tried to use some live violins and stuff. Just all around I think it’s more musical. Lyrically it’s my growth: where I was a couple of years ago when my last record came out to where I am now. Mentally, physically, everything, just where I’m at. It’s the growth I guess.

TM: Any major influences?

C: Yeah, just the artists I worked with on this album. I got to work on a couple different tracks with Maestro, Choclair and Socrates from Toronto.

TM: I heard Joel Plaskett contributed.

C: Yeah I did a track with Joel Plaskett, that down-East connection type thing. I liked a lot of his music. I thought he did unique and different shit. On the track he plays drums, piano, and guitar. We went to his studio and just kind of hung out for a day.

He had this piano loop that he had an idea for and we just built it from there.

We also did some work with Chad Hatcher and Mic Boyd.

TM: Mic Boyd (Classified’s brother) helped out?

C: Oh yeah, always got the Classified/Mic Boyd track. He’s on two tracks.

TM: What’s your favourite track on the album?

C: Depends man, depends. It depends on the mood I’m in, you know what I mean? One day it’s one track, and another day it’s another one. Today I’ve been liking “Quit While You’re Ahead,� the one with Choclair, Maestro, and Moka Only.

TM: Any stories behind that one?

C: That track was built over a year.

That was a track that me and Maestro started with and I wanted to get some of the other guys on it because it’s sort

of a track talking about people saying how you should quit while you’re ahead, and then saying fuck that, we’re still doing the thing, you know what I mean? So we got Choclair, I’ve worked with him before, and showed him the track and he was feeling it.

Then I wanted to get someone from the West Coast so I called up Moka Only, and he was feeling it. I remember I sent him the beat at like 5 o’clock on a Thursday night and by Friday morning I had his verse in my inbox ready to go. We never got to get in the studio with him, but it was cool doing it with Maestro and Choclair.

TM: What do you think will stand out from the record?

C: Just my honesty man. I’m a real guy that does normal shit just like everybody else and it comes out in my music. But I’m growing up, doing different things and it did give me fresh shit to talk about. The older we get and how we think about things differently.

How the album is musically as well, I think it’s a really, I don’t want to say 90s sounding record, but I was heavily influenced by early 90s hip-hop. So it’s got that bang, but it’s got melody too with all that instrumentation; makes it sound current and fresh.

photos/urbnet.com

TM: You’re pretty big in the Canadian hip-hop scene. How do you feel about where it is and where it’s going?

C: I think it’s good one way because there are so many artists making music right now. Like it can be broken down by provinces and you can name like five or ten rappers from each province where before you could count all the rappers that you knew in Canada on two hands. So it’s just a lot more artists doing stuff. But at the same time we’re not that much further than we were ten years ago in the industry. The industry is in shit and shambles right now because of CD sales and everything else. But for Canadian hip-hop just to compete, there’s not much money behind it, not much planning, and not much foundation behind it in the industry, but the scene is great.

TM: What about hip-hop in general and the state it’s in now?

C: I think there is some awful hip-hop right now, but I also think there’s really good hip-hop too. I think a lot of the stuff that you see in the media... well, I don’t feel most of it. But the underground shit, if you go look for it on the internet, there’s a lot of good music being made.

TM: Going on a tangent here, you just switched to a major label. Any reason behind that?

C: Just to get my music out to more people. It’s always what I’ve been trying to do, with my last two records put out on my own label. And it’s kind of still like on my own label. It’s honestly no different than having it on my own label other than I have more people to push my shit and get it out there and have them invest their own money so I don’t have to invest mine. The deal was totally on my terms and I control everything. I brought them two or three songs when we first started talking and they were feeling them, and they said okay, we’re going to do it. So I went back to Enfield for nine months, made the album, brought it to them and said, “this is my first video, this is my second� and they were cool with it all and respected what I had done over the years and believed it had been working. Don’t fix it if it ain’t broken.

TM: Any more videos planned? I know you just released one.

Classified performing during a video shoot.

going to be going to radio and stuff. So hopefully I will release ten videos.

C: Yeah, that video wasn’t supposed to be a video really, it was just going to be a little internet thing that we did to get things going for the album. But some people were feeling the love so we ended up putting it out. MuchMusic was feeling it so they started spinning it. But we’re going to have a lot more videos. I honestly want to do a ton of fucking videos for this shit. Because it’s so easy to shoot a low-budget video on YouTube now you know? So you can do that for the tracks that aren’t

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6 THE MEDIUM

MONDAY, JANUARY

19, 2009

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT HART HOUSE REVIEW

Jerry springs on Hart House Jerry Springer and musical theatre combine for a show you will never forget, but beware, it isn’t for the faint of heart SHAREEN PATHAK

Jerry Springer: The Opera is the most profane, lurid piece of musical theatre you will see in your life, and may possibly be the most entertaining one as well. Written by Stewart Lee and Richard Thomas, the British musical is every bit as vulgar and lewd as the trashy TV talk show that served as its inspiration. The show has been the subject of numerous complaints and controversy in recent years, with its broadcast on BBC Two eliciting more than 55,000 complaints. And why not? It is certainly not for the faint hearted. Four letter words are the subject of most of the songs, kinky sexuality is the norm, and even Jesus isn’t spared.

Toronto Star columnist Richard Ouzounian puts down his critic’s pen to direct the musical which opens on one of the highest notes you’ll ever see or hear on stage.

The first half is devoted to a reenactment of the real TV talk show.

Brandon Kleiman has created a set that doesn’t disappoint, transforming the Hart House Theatre into a real Jerry Springer show set equipped with a band, seating for the audience (the chorus) and a TV “cookie� for Springer’s guests.

Springer (Byron Rouse) is fantastic – the only non-singing act in the show, his quick delivery and impeccable comic timing makes his performance outrageously believable. The show gives us an inner insight into what it must mean to be Jerry, and how he may occasionally be visited

One scenario ends with a grand aria. Left to Right: Brandon Hewitt as Zandra, Ian Bender as Tremont and Jocelyn Howard as Peaches.

by his conscience in the form of a personal Valkyrie (Sarah Palkin). He also delivers some of the most memorable lines in the show: “It’s easy to occupy the moral high ground. What's more difficult is to occupy the moral low ground.�

Springer’s guests in the first act include a man cheating on his fiancĂŠe with her best friend and a transvestite, a man with a baby fetish cheating on his wife with a woman who calls herself “Baby Jane,â€? and a pole dancer married to a redneck who turns out to be a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

The KKK also has an uproarious appearance, with a tap dancing number that brought the house down.

Act II takes place in Hell, where Jerry’s Warm Up Man from the first act, played by JP Bevilacqua, turns into Satan and forces Jerry into doing a special show in Hell. Bevilacqua easily delivers the best performance of the night, which is hard to do considering that every single cast member performed as if they were born into their roles.

The charred, broken down version of the Jerry Springer set in Hell is inspired, with cracks in the walls and red glitter flashing from every corner.

During Jerry’s show in Hell, Satan confronts a gay Jesus (Benjamin Mehl) who is later accosted by the surprise guest, his mother Mary (Brandon Hewitt) and Adam and Eve (Scott Gorman and Linda Gallant), who berate him because it was only “one measly little apple�.

Even God (Greg Finney) gets in on the act, arriving like a celebrity on the shoulders of his angels, asking Jerry to come to Heaven to help him judge humanity.

Eventually, an all out brawl ensues,

photo sources/Hart House

The Jerry Audience after something shocking. which Jerry breaks up of course, delivering a neat little speech about the nature of good and evil and ying and yang. Baby Jane tells Jerry he must return to Earth and Jerry wakes up in his studio, having been shot, and dies in his security guy’s arms.

The show is physically challenging both for the cast and audience, and the cast and crew involved do a fine job keeping their energy up. The show is near two hours long, but the length does not tell at all because the audience is gripped throughout.

Director Ouzounian, and choreographers Shannon Cote and Sarah Harris do an outstanding job – every single cast member performs like a professional dancer and looks – thanks to Ming Wong – like a star.

Lily Ling has extracted gorgeous sound from a full band complete with

brass instruments and woodwinds, and she herself puts on a fine performance as conductor. The only thing that seems to detract from the show are the sometimes long winded numbers, which seem to be less for entertainment and more to show off the singing prowess of the cast. However, since the vocals are brilliant – coached by Greg Rainville – the audience really doesn’t mind.

Overall, Jerry Springer: The Opera may not be to everyone’s tastes, but even those who will object to its profanity and irreverence will have to give a standing ovation Ouzounian’s production and his cast’s performances. If you want something over the top which will give your eardrums a good exercise, Jerry Springer: The Opera is on at Hart House Theatre until January 31.

In light of the forthcoming historical inauguration of president-elect Barack Obama, we at The Medium have decided to dedicate this edition of “What’s the Dil-Eo� to all the music related to his presidency.

Not surprisingly, Obama is a strong supporter of music and music education – a key part of his grassroots initiative – and as such, his personal taste has become a discussion topic for critics worldwide, and much of his inauguration ceremony is centered on a largescale concert held at the Lincoln Memorial.

Streamed for free by HBO, We Are One, also known as Obama-stock, features one of the most star-studded lineups to ever be heard or seen. That, and the fact that well over 500,000 people will be in attendance.

Just to give you a taste of what concertgoers will experience in the course of the day; Bruce Springsteen, U2, Pete Seeger, BeyoncĂŠ, Mary J. Blige, Herbie Hancock, Bon Jovi, and many others will be playing sets which will be accompanied by talks from Martin Luther King III, Tiger Woods, Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker.

Is it possible not to be happy with this? I’m not talking about policy or pork-barrel spending and earmarks here. I’m talking about the excitement surrounding the presidency and politics

in general. It is truly amazing how this event is bringing people together and the concert is just another example of the extent to which the country is getting involved. The inauguration itself is a big enough deal to get a few hundred thousand down to Washington, but the set list is the icing on the cake.

Springsteen and Billy Joel have already held fundraisers for the Obama campaign, and Springsteen has performed on a mini-tour following the Obamas where he played some of his most political work, including versions of Seeger material. Apart from that, a number of bands have contributed to the Democratic cause in their own ways, whether it be mentioning it during their concerts as Radiohead did, or flat out professing their support to the campaign in interviews or on their websites, like the Arcade Fire. Wilco, one of Obama’s favourite bands, performed a special tribute for the man, and Bette Midler lent her backing through a very profitable fundraiser last year.

I have never heard of a time where so many artists have been so instrumental in shaping the political spectrum, and, as I’m sure Obama himself would admit, become some of the largest contributors to a campaign. It is refreshing to see them work together for a political cause – something that is usually preached and never followed up on.

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8 THE MEDIUM

MONDAY,JANUARY

19, 2009

UTM’s Passport to Wellness not a grand one. But all that may not matter. Psychological studies have shown that it only takes three to four weeks to form a new habit, and that the simple act of recording every time a beneficial activity is performed boosts confidence and inspires people to continue to perform these activities.

ALAIN LATOUR FEATURES EDITOR

When the Roman poet Juvenal, with quill pen in his hand, wrote the words Mens sana in corpore sano (“a sound mind in a sound body”), he made it clear to all that an education was about more than getting a job. His dictum has survived centuries, but like many of today’s students, it’s not in good shape.

Indeed, an unsavory mix of narrow academic specialization, lack of exercise, Facebook overindulgence, and multitasking-induced stress has damaged many of today’s students, reducing us to a status quite unlike Juvenal’s quote.

Thankfully, a new program at UTM aims to change that – in more ways than one.

As of January 16, students wishing to get started in a wellness pro-

All they require is a quick visit to the Athletics Department in the South Building, where they can pick up a two page document entitled “Passport to Wellness.” photo/Dick Schmitt

Just your average professor. gram that encompasses social skills, physical fitness, intellectual growth, and mental soundness can do better than borrowing a book on Ancient Greece from the library.

All they require is a quick visit to the Athletics Department in the South Building, where they can

pick up a two-page document entitled “Passport to Wellness.” They also need to register for a minimum of four UTM-supported activities, ranging from a Tai Chi class to writing for this paper.

One session in each activity earns students one mark in one of

the passport’s four areas. Once all areas are full, participants in the program will be entered in a contest where two of them, one male and one female, will win an MP3 player.

The program lasts for only a month and admittedly, the prize is

What truly matters is that students now have centralized means to make the most of current UTM offerings, and thus of their university experience. For isn’t that what school is supposed to be about?

Making friends, learning beyond the classroom, helping others, strengthening your discipline, becoming fit, and of course, forging a sound mind inside a sound body?

The wheels on the bus AMIR AHMED

The University of Toronto’s tricampus model fosters greater course selection, the ability to educate more students, and the fuzzy feeling of superiority from having multiple campuses across the GTA. There is, however, one downside – if downtown students were to commute to UTM by TTC and Mississauga transit, they would have to leave home at least two hours before classes began. That’s why, with such a sprawling community, UTM must have a reliable transportation system in place.

“Sometimes... the buses don’t arrive on time and then some times show up two at a time. I also wish they ran more during the summer, or week ends.”

Enter our equally loved and hated shuttle bus service, about which an anonymous student once commented: “Overall it’s just a school bus ride, but my friends sometimes complain that the buses don’t arrive on time and then sometimes show up two at a time. I also wish they ran more during the summer, or weekends.” This patron could easily be speaking for most of us.

There is no disputing however,

that the shuttle buses linking UTM to St. George allow for a fairly fast, direct, and environmentally sound travel between the campuses. As winter hails upon us and public transit becomes more difficult, it’s only fair that we come to appreciate the shuttle buses for what they provide, and accept them despite what they don’t.

I t i s w o r t h y to note tha t the University does not own the buses – despite their tricked-out appearance – or even hire the drivers; all are provided by a third-party company.

While the majority of departures occur during the weekdays, as of last year the shuttle bus service has initiated two departures on Saturday for the purpose of students attending weekend classes.

By Fall 2009 the number of daytime departures would increase from twenty three to thirty six, while the number of evening departures would increase from five to nine.

Other improvements to the service can be expected in the not-toodistant future. As per a new proposal, by Fall 2009 the number of daytime departures would increase from twenty-three to thirty-six, while the number of evening depar-

photo/uberfrau2006 via Flickr

They’ll be here soon. tures would increase from five to nine. The University also plans to increase the number of buses to five.

The bus schedules are of course influenced by the weather, both physical (snowstorms) and political (strikes). In the first case, schedule changes would become available at the service web si te (www.utm.utoronto.ca/shuttle). In the second case, the buses would continue to operate as per the current schedule, with only the drop off points changing. This would also be advertised through the service web-

site.

One bus driver said she had “no complaints” with how the bus service operated or how the students behaved.

Asked if she ever experienced nervousness over the weather, she replied, “You don’t get nervous; you can’t get nervous. You just have to do it, like the TTC, every day. My first day was tough. The driving was different. The turns were different. And you have forty people in the back.”

No w, if on ly we could fit in another forty.

The Features section will be holding a volunteer meeting on Thursday January 22 at 5 p.m. at The Medium office. If you wrote us for in the past, or want to in the future, this meeting is for you.

MONDAY, JANUARY

19, 2009 THE MEDIUM 9

IMMIGRATION

FEATURES

Is Canada failing immigrants?

KAREN AKHTAR ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR

In 2002, Sepideh, an Iranian-trained physician, immigrated to Canada with her family. They settled in Toronto and within no time at all, found themselves trapped in low wage employment.

Things began to change when Sepideh visited a doctor to discuss her deteriorating health. The doctor, himself an immigrant, encouraged her to enrol in the University of Toront o’ s l i c e n s i n g p ro g r am.

Sepideh gained entrance into U of T in 2003 and completed the program in four years. Thereafter she and her family moved to St. John’s where Sepideh is practicing medicine to this day. Meanwhile, her husband, who holds a chemistry graduate degree, is working on his PhD at Memorial University. Sepideh and her family became Canadian citizens in 2007.

Many stories similar to Sepideh’s can be found at the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website. The

I always get itchy right after I have sex. I think I might have caught an STD from my boyfriend but I don’t know how to bring it up with him. I’ve never been very comfortable going to the doctor and I’ve been putting off getting my first pap test for years. I just really don’t want to be probed down there. I know this isn’t the kind of question that you can answer in writing, but what do think I should do?

Probed? This isn’t an alien movie. You were right when you said that I couldn’t answer this question for you in writing. I can suggest a couple of reasons why you might be getting itchy after sex but there’s no way to be sure without getting it checked out.

Assuming that it is vaginal itchiness, here are a few causes: 1) You have contracted a sexual transmitted infection (STI).

Vaginal itching can be a symptom of some STIs. Once the STI is diagnosed you will be prescribed a treatment, but all that has to be done by a doctor.

2) It’s a urinary tract infection (UTI), which is just another word for bla d d e r i n f e c t i o n . U T I s a r e incredibly common for women and are diagnosed via a simple urine test at the doctor’s office. If this is the case, there will be minimal-tono probing.

3) A latex allergy. If you’re still hesitant about going to the doctor

hard work of these citizens is definitely commendable, and everyone c o n s i d e r i n g moving to Canada should know of it. But is the picture of Canadian immigration always that rosy?

Jennifer was paid for an eight hour workday even though she was putting in fourteen hour shifts. This happened not with one employer, but with several.

Jennifer Wasike from Kenya had no choice but to enter the Live-In Caregivers Program, sponsored by C i t i z e ns h i p a nd Immigration Canada, to attain permanent residence in Canada, even though she had worked as a high school teacher in the past. According to a story in The Epoch Times, Jennifer was paid for an eight-hour workday even though she was putting in fourteen-

hour shifts. This happened not with one employer, but with several. One of them even limited the amount of food served at mealtime, and so Jennifer was constantly hungry. In another instance, her employer, ironically a taxation lawyer, neglected to deduct enough taxes from her pay, resulting in Jennifer receiving a bill from Revenue Canada for $2,758. Both the CIC and her employer refused to pay it, so she had to scramble to take out a bank loan.

Jennifer’s s tory doe s have a happy ending however. She eventually attained permanent residence in Canada, flew her family up here, and found reasonable employment.

Other stories, however, are not so sweet-ending.

The Elmvale 11, a group of eleven Filipino men who arrived in Canada on the promise that they were to receive a job building two icebreakers for the Canadian Arctic, have one such story. Their job was supposed to pay $23 an hour including overtime pay, housing, and meals. Instead, they were forced to pick up garbage, dig ditches, and

work at a water bottling plant. They had their passports taken away and were forced to live in a small, dirty farmhouse. They were fed scarcely and slept in cramped quarters.

Eventually one of the men, Eric Martinez, decided to contact the Philippine embassy, whose staff rescued the men days later.

According to a 2007 report released by Campaign 2000, an anti poverty organization, children of immigrants in Ontario are twice as likely to be poor.

F urther evidence shows t hat many immigrants in Canada are particularly vulnerable to poverty.

According to a 2007 report released

by Campaign 2000, an anti-poverty organization, children of immigrants in Ontario are twice as likely to be poor. And a 2007 report

released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives shows that in the previous year immigrants who had been in the country for five years or less struggled the most to find employment, despite being university-educated.

Stories and data like these show that immigrant exploitation is an issue that needs to be taken seriously by the Canadian government.

They also show that many immigrants are actively working to improve their lives, and make important contributions to our society – contributions that many Canadians often take for granted.

As in the case of Jennifer Wasike, how can we possibly ask immigrants to work hard, be well-educated, and build a good life in Canada when many of them often find their skills and education unrecognized by the government, and that they must put up with any low wage, dead-end employment they can get?

If made for Canadian citizens, we wou ld likely consider these demands unfair and reasonable.

Shouldn’t we expect the same of immigrants?

and you are using latex condoms (by far the most common kind), try s w i t ch i n g to p olyurethane condoms. These tend to be a bit pricier but you can get them for free from the SEC office.

I’d like to stress that these are just suggestions. It would be next to impossible for me to diagnose in writing even if I had a medical degree, which I don’t. You need to go to the doctor. Although you’re nervous about the examination, you need to understand that doctors see naked people everyday. The sooner you get it over with the better.

Once it’s over, you’ll be amazed at how painless it actually was.

Lastly, if you aren’t comfortable going to your family doctor, you should try a walk-in clinic or the Peel Healthy Sexuality Clinic. The anonymity could make the experience less intimidating. All women need their healthy dose of probing.

It’s time for you to get started.

Have any sex-related issues? Email your questions to sex.column@ utmsec.ca. Please note that this column is intended for educational purposes.

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10 THE MEDIUM MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 2009

FEATURES THE PAKISTANI SITUATION

Pakistan: collateral damage DANISH S. KHAWAJAH

The current international terrorism calamity is leading its way into global attention once again. In the past, Afghanistan has been habitually accused for much of the terrorist activity around the world, with many of the world leaders considering it to be the hub of terrorism. The situation has since changed. Attention now has been diverted to Afghanistan’s brotherly neighbor country, Pakistan.

With a population of just over 160 million, Pakistan has for the last 40 years been an integral player in the Asian capital market, exporting large amounts of rice, wheat, cotton and leather goods every year. More significantly, Pakistan has the world’s seventh largest military and was internationally recognized as a nuclear state in 1998, when prime minister at the time Nawaz Sharif launched the Ghauri and Shaheen nuclear missiles in response to India’s own Prithvi missile.

Pakistan’s governmental system has always been a chaotic structure with constant internal conflicts brought about by overpopulation, heavy international interference, and the actions of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan (FATA) in the western provinces.

The FATA area consists of some

popular cities such as North and West Waziristan, Bajaur, and Kara Kurram.

These are cities which boast some of the most attractive sceneries one can imagine, comparable even to the beautiful landscape of Interlaken, Switzerland. But all that picturesque beauty has recently been sacrificed to make way for anti-aircraft gunships, burnt buildings, and floored rooftops.

There is no longer any sight of human life or natural greenery.

The FATA area is “suspected” to be under the influence of the terrorist organization of Al-Qaida. Due to the recent American invasion, the organization is “suspected” to have migrated to the FATA region, just a few hundred kilometers from the Afghan border.

The American “War-on-Terror” has already caused a global crisis not just for the nations attacked by America, but America itself as they experienced a huge economic setback. Sherard Cowper-Coles, a British Commander in Afghanistan, was reported as saying “we have no alternative to supporting the United States in Afghanistan, but we should tell them that we want to be part of a winning strategy, not a losing one.”

When the attention diverted to Pakistan, General Parvez Musharraf, Pakistani president and chief of army staff at the time, promised the Bush administration that he would not require any assistance from NATO forces, and would rather settle the

throw image/niagra.arfc.af.mil

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dilemma with alternative tactics.

Those alternative tactics later proved to be the ultimate collateral damage for Pakistani soil. The diagram drawn

by Musharraf’s hand-picked government officials was to take military action against their own Pakistani nationals in the FATA region. In December 2003, almost 60,000 Pakistani troops were transferred to the FATA region border to demolish the tribal code.

The diagram drawn by Musharraf’s hand picked government officials was to take military action against their own Pakistani nationals in the FATA region.

The tribal areas and their code of governance go back to the ruling times of the Mughal dynasty in the South Asian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperor, who ruled the entire region at that time, was unable to impose his authority within the tribal areas lead by the Pashtun tribes. The Pashtun tribes were immensely popular within the entire constituency and known as warriors who would give their lives to protect their territory.

It was not just the Mughal emperors who faced difficulty occupying the Pashtun’s tribal areas. During the

colonial invasion, the British rulers had a tough time bringing the tribal areas under British control. The British lost over 300 soldiers before they gave up on their efforts of invading the Pashtun tribal areas.

The Pashtuns have always maintained their code of governance and have managed to govern their areas with peace and orderliness; reacting only once when their territory was threatened by the “outsiders”. This time, “the outsiders” were their own fellow citizens – the military uniformed soldiers who held the highest regard for the tribal people but were enforced to take action against the innocent Pashtun children and women due to the orders sent by the general headquarters of the Pakistan military.

General Musharraf was now officially contributing to the American led war on terror by slaughtering his own fellow Pakistani nationals on one side and Pakistani military soldiers on the other. The Pakistani army has lost more soldiers then American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq combined.

Following from this, the Pakistani public reacted vigorously against the Bush administration as well as General Musharraf’s regime, which later developed into the cause of disintegration for Musharraf’s government.

Pakistan has spent a little over $23 million on ammunition in FATA, but was aided only $12 million by the Bush Administration. Clearly, it’s not

just the citizens and soldiers being sacrificed, it is also a huge economic set back for a country which has claimed huge amounts of IMF loans this year.

The current government in Pakistan is led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) which is co-led by the widower of Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari who was formerly imprisoned for corruption and manslaughter charges.

The tribulations inherited by this government has not reached any conclusions. Asif Ali Zardari is famous among the Pakistani population for being a western romancer and he is not just supporting the “war on terror” but also taking a step forward by allowing American gunships to operate within the sovereign state of Pakistan. Thousands of innocent civilians are killed every day, in comparison to just a few hundreds of terrorists every month.

This FATA invasion of American troops could lead to a much higher conflict, and before things fall out of control, I would suspect yet another martial-law in Pakistan, as there are already visible conflicts between the military and the government of Pakistan. The collateral damage continues until one side calls for a ceasefire, which if history serves right should be the Pakistan army as the Pashtuns have never called for a ceasefire before. Pakistan, as a country, is suffering on all three fronts: the civilians, soldiers, and economically.

photo by matthew filipowich

MONDAY, JANUARY

19, 2009 THE MEDIUM 11

A new face for UFC prime time SUZANNE CARTE BLANCHENOT

Franklin vs. Henderson, a fight the fans asked for. It’s funny though, I don’t remember requesting an opportunity to see Franklin get his face smashed in again. Yet, at the end of the night I was surprised, and pleased, to say that it was the best fight of the night for Ultimate Fighting Championship 93 in Dublin, Ireland.

This was not the only fight the Irish gathered to see. The co-main event marked the return of light heavyweight UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman against the resilient Brazilian Shogun Rua. Before the main events, Ireland’s own Marcus Davis faced off against Chris “Lights out” Lytle in a brutal encounter which left both fighters bruised and swollen.

Franklin and Henderson lasted the full three rounds with equal matching – both men traded blows and took turns pinning each other against the mat. At the end of the first round, Franklin suffered two forehead gashes that were professionally controlled by his corner men. Henderson tried to capitalize on Franklin’s cuts in the second five-minute round by tackling

Franklin down for a ground-and-pound fiesta. Franklin however, did his best to maneuver out of Henderson’s iron claws.

The fight nearly ended during the last thirty seconds of the third round when Henderson landed a vicious eye-poke on “Ace” Franklin, leaving the latter with a swollen right eye and no break to recover visibility.

The final decision, which came by surprise to some fans, went to Henderson and left an already heated Franklin visibly upset. The two fighters were not only duking it out over the event purse but also the chance to coach in the upcoming ninth season of the UFC reality show against middleweight contender Michael Bisping. It was a step closer to a championship bout.

Franklin coached the second season of the popular show and has gone on to make many guest appearances training various rising stars. The ex-high school science teacher is very camera friendly (even after Silva gave him a new nose) so I expect to have not seen the last of “Ace” on UFC President Dana White’s reality empire.

Earlier on, Coleman and Shogun prepped the audience for the main event with a sluggish, and amusing fury of

fists. Coleman made his name in the sport from 1996 to 1999, back when UFC was a single-digit pay-per-view.

This was Coleman’s comeback fight, and a tough one against Shogun Rua, who desires to make his mark in the UFC. Exploding out of their corners, both men exchanged blows with Coleman getting the first takedown by sweeping the leg of Shogun. The end of the first round saw Coleman visibly fatigued, and at the bell he wandered around aimlessly looking for his corner.

At the end of the second round Shogun looked for a little break in momentum, glancing at the clock while holding his opponent in a submission attempt to bide some time. It did not look pretty as the two worn out fighters stood in the third round with arms at their sides trying to muster up enough strength to make the final impression.

Shogun escaped Coleman’s attempt for a ground attack and kneed him while he was down on his knees, drawing a warning from referee Kevin Mulhall – a competitive and careless mistake. With a minute to spare, Shogun delivered a flurry of punches catching Coleman with a couple of hooks, and ending it with a

photo/nbcsports.com

Dan Henderson landing a punch on Rich Franklin at UFC 93. devastating upper cut. The event ended with a TKO for Shogun.

The matchup between Welterweights Marcus Davis and Chris Lytle was the card opener of the night, and they delivered a stand-up battle for 15 minutes before Davis emerged victorious via a three round split decision. Both men left with swollen left eyes, but it was Lytle’s red ribs that turned the judges to look at the impressive kicks that Davis landed. It was a dynamic, close fight that could have easily gone either way, but the home crowds of Ireland were hyped to see their own prevail and cheered Davis on for the win.

During a post-fight press conference, White announced another Montreal date in April, pitting the “Iceman” Liddell against the victorious Shogun Rua. It’s a second chance for Liddell and an extra step on the ladder for Shogun.

The league has also created a programme on Spike TV, following the big guns of UFC 94, George St.Pierre and B.J. Penn, as they prepare to fight “to the death.” The rubber match that we have been waiting for is upon us, seeing the “stone cold champion from the frigid streets of Montreal and a hot-blooded challenger from the black sands of Hilo Bay” back in the octagon.

12 THE MEDIUM MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 2009

SPORTS

NEW SEASON FOR UTM TEAMS

Not enough women at UTM tryouts UTM sports is facing a reoccurring problem with a lack of participants at intramural tryouts JOEL FERNANDES This week, tryouts began for a number of intramural teams, and while a large number of men came out for a chance at sports glory, the number of female athletes in attendance dropped drastically from past years.

Harbouring the impression that you will get cut from the team because you don’t have the competitive juices to make it, many female students have apparently decided not to tryout at all.

However, that is simply not the case.

The RAWC and its various teams

are aiming to recapture the glory and prestige of a championship trophy over their heads. But without any athletes, UTM’s chances are surely slim. In order to attract more athletes, Jack Krist, program coordinator of the RAWC has promised to supply females with enough equipment in a number of sports such as ice hockey, soccer, and field hockey, as well as provide training time with their prospective coaches.

Even though tryouts are officially over, many, if not all, the women’s teams are still accepting new applicants. The RAWC wishes to attract more women for the volleyball and

T h e A r i z o n a C a r d i n a l s a r e he a d i ng f o r t h e S u pe r B ow l i n T am p a.

GLENDALE, Arizona. (AP) – Capitalizing on Larry Fitzgerald’s three first half touchdown receptions, then coolly marching downfield to Kurt Warner’s 8 yard scoring pass to rookie Tim Hightower with 2:53 left, they beat the Philadelphia Eagles 32 25 Sunday for the NFC championship.

H ea t c o n s i d er i n g s w a p f o r R a p t o r s ’ O ’ N e a l TORONTO (Yahoo Sports) – The Miami Heat have been seri ously considering a trade package for center Jermaine O’Neal that would send power forward Shawn Marion to Toronto.

Heat coach Pat Riley first needs to see O’Neal’s progress before he’ll make the leap of faith on a trade. Nevertheless, O’Neal, 30, was telling league associates as recently as Friday that he believes there’s a good chance he’ll end up in Miami.

“If he’s healthy,” one source close to O’Neal said Friday, “it could very well happen.”

U ni t e d t a k e o v e r r e i gn s ENGLAND (BBC Sport) – Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov's late winner sent champions Manchester United to the top of the English Premier League table for the first time this season.

Berbatov headed home from close range after a fine cross from Carlos Tevez on the right in the 90th minute just as the game was heading towards a draw.

Second placed Liverpool have a chance to regain top spot when they face Merseyside rivals Everton at Anfield on Monday.

"I almost felt like a bridesmaid in Mats Sundin's wedding."

-Brendan Shanahan on his recent signing with the Devils.

/thestar.ca

basketball teams, citing that last year they were forced to shut down the hockey program due to a low turnout, a measure that the intramur a l s p r o g r a m d oe s n o t w a n t t o repeat again this year.

Harbouring the impres sion that you will get cut from the team...many females have apparently decided not to tryout at all.

To encourage students to try out for hockey, the RAWC has booked

the Erin Mills Twin Arena from 10:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Sunday nights to provide free skate time for students. The motive behind this generous foregoing activity is the opportunity for Krist and his staff to scout for prospective talent to fill their hockey rosters. The program is currently proceeding till February 8.

The tryouts were a resounding success for the men’s teams, as a number of prospective athletes c a m e o u t t o s h ow t h e i r m e t t l e .

Soccer, basketball and ball hockey were the top three sports in student turnouts.

UTM's new soccer team is expected to face a number of chal-

lenges ahead, with over seventy students turning out for the chance to play. With the strong display of talent, the soccer team has a high chance of going all the way to the finals.

This year, the division 1 men's basketball team has been plagued with the injury to point guard Elias Sibet. Sibet has since returned from t o f u l l f i t ne s s a n d t h e t ea m i s expected to be at or near the top of the league by the end of the school year.

So once again ladies and gents come on out and try out for our sports teams, you may have better luck than you might think.