mitZinecontents
frosh issue 2011 summer in review
14 Rupert Murdoch
4 Tim Blackmore
mitZinefeatures guestarticle
4
A Fistful of Splinters Tim Blackmore
westernlife
6
Rethink the Map Elizabeth Sarjeant
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Conceptual MIT Frosh Kit Elizabeth Sarjeant
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Do you want to contribute?
Taylor Pearce 4 [mitZine v11.i1]
arts&entertainment
10
The “End” of Harry Potter Erika Fabian
11
Amy Winehouse Dies Jonathan Forani Bridesmaids Erika Fabian Will and Kate Taylor Pearce Spy Kids in 4D Taylor Pearce
10 The “End” of Potter world
14
News of the World Phone Hacking Scandal Julian Uzielli
15
Norway Attacks Julian Uzielli Government Cracks Down in Syria Paul Craig The Canadian Election Julian Uzielli The Royals Come to Town Sarah Koopmans
mitZinestaff editor-in-chief Jonathan Forani
managing editor Taylor Pearce graphics editor Jordan Coop world editor Julian Uzielli arts & entertainment editor Erika Fabian western life editor Elizabeth Sarjeant web editor Jordan Pearson promotions coordinator Marisa Dametto
“In this issue you’ll find your summer. It might look a bit different than you remember - but that’s MIT.”
Editor’s Note
one.” Sometimes you might prefer to just let the strangers think you study in Massachusetts. Either way, defining written by Jonathan Forani FIMS is half the fun. et involved! Those people can This new worldview is often hard to help you. These are your new grasp. So this issue might help with best friends. Welcome to the breaking you in a little. best years of your life. Tearful goodbyes, drive-in movies, OK, now that that’s over, I’ll say that cottaging in the sun, part-time bitch this issue won’t be much of a resource. work – forget all that happened in They’d probably like it to be, but we the Summer of 2011. Outside of won’t dwell on the boring niceties of those boozy goodbyes and your flooryour introduction to Western. scraping for cash in the early morning humidity, a lot of other stuff happened You’ll get that. too. Sometimes we just ignore it. MIT is You’ve gotten it. where we learn to notice it. The mitZine might even have it for you What happened in Norway? What’s later. Just not in your Frosh Issue. going on in Syria? Who is Rupert In a way, what we’ve given you here is Murdoch? Why do we care about the perhaps the best resource you can have. Canadian Federal election? And how did Because, like how you have literally Will and Kate make it onto both of our entered a new phase of your life, you lists? Consider the summer for the West have also entered a new worldview – might be better named The Summer of the Riot, or depending how you look at MIT. the Vancouver and London riots, The Fair warning: people won’t get you. Summer of Facebook Policing. They’ll ask you, “What’s MIT?” and you might not even know what to say, Sometimes things are a little easier to except to clarify that it’s “the Canadian notice, like Harry’s swansong and Amy’s
G
fade-to-black. MIT is where we learn to rethink those things. As fun as Oxygen’s The Glee Project was (or wasn’t; can’t say I tuned in), maybe there’s more to this innocent façade (or reign of terror) that is Fox’s Glee. In this issue you’ll find your summer. It might look a bit different than you remember – but that’s MIT.
The Zine Team the editorial team of volume 11
editor-in-chief Jonathan Forani
managing editor Taylor Pearce
graphics editor Jordan Coop
a&e editor Erika Fabian
western life editor Elizabeth Sarjeant
web editor Jordan Pearson
world editor Julian Uzielli
promotions Marisa Dametto
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A Fistful of Splinters written by Tim Blackmore
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Y
ou’ve had this happen to you, I know. You’re at work or painting the house or doing some chore and suddenly you look at your hands and there are splinters in it. Your hands have gotten grubby, that kind of dirt that’s so hard to wash off. It feels like the dirt has worked right into your skin. And under all that dirt—splinters. They’re dug into the skin, causing little burning irritations, getting redly infected. The other morning I woke up and realized my hand was full of splinters. I don’t mean just the annoying or painful one or two that bug you, that make you wince every time your hand brushes against something, I mean dozens of the things. Sticking out every which way. Bleeding, causing me grief. I realized after a minute that when I’d woken up, things were fine. Then I picked up my phone. You know. Email the group, check the three or four different messenger programs that people keep filling up overnight even though they shouldn’t because they’re pocket messaging or drunk or both. And the tweets come stabbing in, with people trying hard to be pithy and smart, or worse, not trying. Then there are the news updates. Three or four news sites that push news out of the browser and into email. And in each mail (like going to St. Ives), there are forty links, and every link has forty sites, and every site has forty downloads....Any one of these things would be enough on its own to keep me occupied, if I thought about it long enough, for hours.
But I’m not about hours anymore. I’m about splinters. Some are in my eyes—YouTube is busy jabbing me with someone’s clever remix of Amy Winehouse’s posthumous reworking of Lady (apparently still alive) Gaga. And all I did to get a fist full of splinters was pick up my phone. I haven’t even gone to the main source yet—the iPad or the netbook or, good lord, the laptop or actual tower that stands in one place, and is connected to an Ethernet cable. If the smartphone fills my eyes, hands and brain with data shards, the bigger machines are like going to the sawmill of information: huge planks of data fire at me as I duck and weave, trying to focus on at least one thing, get one thing considered, one thing done. What I’m talking about is the way we’ve chipped data, or information, or maybe news, or just “updates” about our friends, down to such a fine degree that we expect everything to be short, important, and forgettable. We didn’t used to call it “updating” when we met friends when we walked together, we just called it, well...“meeting” (how lame-o is that?). But now social networks that all appear to be free (as long as you don’t mind the herpes of repetitive pop-up ads, ads synchronized to your buying patterns—more distracters), have branded human interaction. Thank heavens for “like” or “friend” or “thumbs up” because that saves me from having to respond to you personally. And why does it have to be forgettable? Because there isn’t time to remember it. Have you ever looked back over the day to see just how many tweets, e-mails, texts, messages, calls or splinters you’ve fired out there? Count. Take one day and count them all. There’s a jittery quality to all this. One of the things you have to learn more deeply at university than you’ve ever had to learn it before is how to handle your time. I’m still learning this, and I’ve been teaching at universities for 20 years. I log on to get that one piece
of email that must be answered, three hours later log off and realize that not only did I not answer the email, I can no longer remember who it was from, what it was about, or how it was important. I also didn’t get anything done except that I pulled email splinters that poked me and irritated my sense of calm enough that I took the data tweezers to them. But here at the university, just like you, I need to read books and articles, I need to mark papers and comment on them enough that people reading the comments can figure out how to make the next assignments better, I need to handle mail that solves problems (or at least doesn’t make them worse). And there’s more: I want to read books for pleasure, see whole movies uninterrupted, talk to my friends—not just throw little bits of data their way. I want to know how they are, and I want them to ask me, too. In order to care about things, we have to engage with them, stay focused. The splinter in your hand, eye, or brain, draws bright, burning attention to itself alone. There’s no time for consideration, pause, reflection or, for want of a better word, “thought,” if all of who we are is consumed with little shards of information being forced under our skin. I’m not sure if we can remember how to do one thing at a time: it’s harder than it looks. So here’s to the power of one: let’s give it a try.
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Rethink the Map written by Elizabeth Sarjeant
Talbot Bowl
Social Science Building
According to Warren Steele in MIT2500 (The Meaning of Technology), large, hideous buildings such as SSB were designed in the 60’s with the practical purpose of diffusing those anti-establishment hippie student protests. Now our protesting space is none other than a concrete beach. Western – 1, Hippies – 0.
University Community Centre
Not to be confused with UC (University College building), where many of you taking Arts and Humanities electives will have classes and/or tutorials. This one houses two Tim Hortons, a Booster Juice (affectionately BJ), and enough fast food to make up for the slow service upstairs at the Wave. Let’s get everyone swiping those meal plan dollars away.
If you’re ever unsure of where you’re supposed to be during O-Week, it’s right here. People are easier to control when packed into a small area on an incline.
North Campus Building
FIMS: we thinksit’s ours because our faculty offices are in there. Science: they think it’s theirs because they think everything is theirs. For those of you who’ve read 1984, have fun in your Room 101 lectures.
The Spoke
The Spoke café (attached to the UCC) has good coffee and delightful-sounding bagels like Asiago Cheese and Six Vegetable. As delicious as a Mushroom bagel with Spinach and Feta cream cheese may seem, any flavour is sure to get old once you’re sneaking it into the library daily during exam time in #thatawkwardmomentwhen you realize you don’t have time to eat.
What is it about maps...
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that make us think we know where we’re going? They’re really only lines on a piece of paper. The difference between a map and a Disney colouring book’s connect-the-dots page is when you connect the dots on a map, they don’t form a picture of Aladdin. And yet, scarcely during O-Week will you come across Aladdin or his magic lantern, and everywhere you will find maps. We hope this one encourages you to think a little more critically than the one on the back of the Viewbook.
A Conceptual MIT Frosh Kit written by Elizabeth Sarjeant
The only thing better than a real Frosh Kit for O-Week is a Conceptual Frosh Kit. We know your O-Week is going to be materially great. Just look at all those T-shirts you got! Our goal with this issue is to make your week conceptually great, as well. Lensless 3D Glasses
Aside from being an Inappropriate Office Party costume staple, 3D glasses with the lenses popped out are our protest against society’s obsession with digital reproductions of real life. We say, why not live in real life instead? These glasses won’t shade you from the blinding O-Week sun, and they won’t make you feel like you could reach out and grab the tail of one of Mr. Cameron’s avatars. Instead, they might give you a clearer picture of the world around you.
Earplugs
Could the riots in Vancouver have happened if everyone on the streets had been wearing earplugs? Probably. But you know where we’re going with this. All that cheering (a) gets annoying after a few days, and (b) is a huge contributor to the crowd mentality that has brought so many level-headed people to their knees throughout history. Speaking of unique perspectives (and in MIT we always are), imagine being able to press the mute button on O-Week.
A Personal Bubble
Did you know that the world’s population, if standing shoulder to shoulder, could fit in a space the size of LA? For comfort’s sake, we usually take up the whole world. So imagine how much living space all of you shoulder-grinding frosh in Talbot Bowl would ideally occupy? We’d like to begin to compensate for the O-Week space discrepancy with this conceptual bit of privacy for those uncomfortable moments of aggressive yet unintended physical assault at the Beach Ball dance.
A Pair of Pants
Because there are only so many original T-shirt designs, and days a week you can be comfortable in a crew-neck. Realistically, FIMS won’t give out faculty pants instead of faculty T-shirts because not only would they be more expensive, but they’d be way too warm and restricting for most O-Week activities – the charity carnival bouncy castle, for one. Luckily, this is a conceptual frosh kit and therefore superior. What’s so great about your physical frosh kit, anyway? Think of all the cotton plants we’d be able to conserve without them.
...and a Bandwagon
So you can refuse to jump on it.
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harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids the top five A&E events of the summer harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids 10 [mitZine v11.i1] harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids harrypotteramywinehousebridesmaidswillandkatespykids
arts&entertainment
summer in review
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mitZinearts&entertainment Summer in Review the top five A&E events of summer 2011
1.
The “End” of Harry Potter written by Erika Fabian
I
n the months before the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, the eighth and final installment of the series, Warner Bros. advertised the film with the tagline “It All Ends.” This slogan plays upon the nostalgic notion that the end of the saga signifies the end of childhood for Potter fans who grew up with the series. On July 15, Part II became the largest debut in Hollywood history thanks to the 20-somethings worldwide who flocked to the premiere to pay their respects. Warner Bros. rightfully anticipated that obsessive fans would be feeling post-Potter pain, and advertised the film’s release as an opportunity to mourn. While the film had audiences tearyeyed, it is Warner Bros. who is truly suffering the biggest loss. The studio is anxious to say goodbye to its lucrative franchise, and they have been working to convince us that we are really going to miss it too. After all, their precious brand will die if you don’t miss it enough. When it began, Warner Bros. never could have predicted a bespectacled boy wizard would become a multi-billion dollar franchise, spawning obsessive fandom reminiscent of Beatlemania. When the series hit phenom status, Warner Bros. meticulously managed and nurtured the brand in hopes it would become a lasting multi-generational classic à la James Bond and Star Wars. The “Potterverse” has grown beyond books and films and spawned into a horizontally integrated entertainment brand that includes toys, games, and even an amusement park and museum exhibition. Despite the end of the films, the brand will continue to grow as long as there are revenue streams Harry has yet to dominate. The upcoming release of Harry Potter eBooks on J.K. Rowling’s website Pottermore proves that a single concept can be repackaged many ways to exploit its synergistic potential. There will always be something “new” for Harry fans to devour. “It All Ends” for Warner Bros. now that their $7.5 billion (and climbing) film franchise is officially wrapped. Fans have been convinced that they will miss Harry, but truly, his films and books can always be revisited. During her speech at the final film’s London premiere, Rowling assured the anxious audience that “the stories we love best do live in us forever ... Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.” Businesses cashing in on Potter will make sure of it. 12 [mitZine v11.i1]
3.
2. Amy Winehouse Dies
written by Jonathan Forani Dwell on the irony of her “No, no, no” she won’t “Go, go, go” or mourn the loss of a talent snuffed short. Either way, one of the most disconcerting aspects of Amy Winehouse’s death in July was the coverage of it. Politics and entertainment in journalism are as blurred as the genres of Taylor Swift, but the “Rehab” singer’s passing was suitably fair game in entertainment coverage this summer. When the story fits, don’t expect any holding back. “27 Club” headlines. Coroner details. Speculation. Funeral coverage. Timelines. Tributes. ‘Tell-All’ books. It was all there – and still is daily. Now consider the response to her death. Some reacted with their wallets and album sales of Back to Black surged on the charts to the snarl of soulhipsters everywhere. Curiously though, as legions of people began claiming to be fans of the singer, genuine surprise seemed absent when the news broke that weekend. Maybe it’s because the digital age prepared us for it. Winehouse’s struggles with addiction were a tabloid staple over the last five years – culminating in June with YouTube clips of her final show in Belgrade that played like scenes from the final act of her inevitable biopic. With this, the first major musician death of our own generation, we have seen the rise and fall of celebrity more intimately than before. Sad but not surprising, that tiny penny fell from the pipe as we knew it inevitably would.
Bridesmaids
written by Erika Fabian Despite its chick flick packaging, producer Judd Apatow surprised audiences by maintaining his raunchy, offensive style of comedy in Bridesmaids. The film was an unexpected hit, surpassing Knocked Up as Apatow’s highest grossing production. While typical chick flick plot lines revolve around romance, Bridesmaids’ plot is about friendship, making the women who star in the film anti-heroines of the standard rom-com. “At the end of the day, it’s really terrible that we’re considered so groundbreaking,” says Bridesmaids director Paul Feig in response to praise. Does Bridesmaids’ success mean vindication for women in comedy, or a low point for our culture if supposed liberating humour is grotesque humour? Whether the film’s success is progressive or depressing, expect a new trend in upcoming comedies.
4.
Will and Kate
written by Taylor Pearce If you avoided all of Will and Kate’s Royal Wedding coverage, congratulations, you’ve just won a limited edition William and Catherine commemorative mug. For everyone else who wasn’t adept at keeping our TVs off, we experienced an onslaught of shows dedicated to Prince Will-he-get-hair-plugs and “Waity Katie’s” union. On this side of the pond, TLC dedicated an entire week of programming leading up to the nuptials, whereas every other entertainment show scooped up a British or British-sounding correspondent to offer commentary. Whether you tuned in or not, don’t forget, there’s a lovely William and Catherine Royal Tour of Canada Commemorative Plate to go along with that mug.
5.
Spy Kids in 4D
written by Taylor Pearce You probably didn’t have your calendars circled for the release of Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D this summer but any time a movie capitalizes on another sense, it’s worth making note of. So what’s the deal with 4D? Every moviegoer receives an “Aromascope” card with 8 scents for 8 scenes (side note: must be able to count to 8 to participate). Every time a number flashes on the screen, viewers swipe the corresponding spot on the card to release a mysterious scent. While 4D is a step up in sensory experience, I prefer the smell of popcorn.
Honourable Mentions 6. The Voice crafts the perfect marketing tool for Christina Aguilera 7. The MMVAs show us why CanCon is important 8. Ryan Dunn drives drunk on Twitter 9. Michael Bay is unleashed on the world again; this time with recycled footage? 10. The Glee Project expands Glee’s reign of terror 11. Religion is funny on Broadway with The Book of Mormon 12. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a lovechild 13. Justin Timberlake’s life imitates art 14. Soap operas get killed off TV
Memorable Quotes “Michael Bay, Hollywood’s answer to the Antichrist.” (Lou Lumenick reviewing Transformers: Dark of the Moon in New York Post) “Who the hell is Kim Kardashian? Who are these people and why are they famous... I just don’t understand what these people did to be in a position of having everyone ask their opinions about stuff... I don’t understand what’s happening. It’s actually frightening.” (Edie Falco on reality TV stars in New York Magazine) “Matthew McConaughey has played the same useless fuck for 15 years. #failuretolaunch” (A tweet from MIT Instructor of the Year Warren Steele @hydrotheory) “There is this sort of unholy alliance that has existed forever between art and commerce, show and biz. And today it’s out of balance and it’s too much on the biz, and it’s too much on the commerce and it’s too much on the marketability.” (Jeffrey Katzenberg, Dreamworks Animation CEO)
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world
summer in review
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mitZineworld Summer in Review the top five world events of summer 2011
1.
News of the World Phone Hacking Scandal written by Julian Uzielli
E
asily the most significant media event of the summer was the series of events spurred by the collapse of the 168-year-old News Of The World. Staff at the best-selling British tabloid — owned by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. — were accused in the early days of July of illegally hacking into the voicemails of celebrities, politicians, and most notably, 13-year-old murder victim Milly Dowler. The paper was also accused of illegally accessing bank account information and medical records of British Prime Minister David Cameron and his family. In the aftermath, the tabloid was shut down and several high-ranking British politicians and police officers either resigned or were arrested in connection with the crimes. The fiasco couldn’t have occurred at 16 [mitZine v11.i1]
a worse time for Murdoch, as News Corp. was on the cusp of taking over the successful British satellite news network British Sky Broadcasting. The takeover would have put unprecedented amount of British media influence into Murdoch’s hands, raising questions about monopolization of the news. So contentious was the scandal that in a bold display of defiance to News Corp.’s hegemony, Britain’s Parliament tabled a motion supported by all the parties urging Murdoch to scrap the deal, which he reluctantly did. The government inquiry is ongoing. The story took a sinister turn on July 18, when Sean Hoare, the scandal’s original whistleblower, was found dead in his home. Police ruled that his death was “not thought to be suspicious,” though one cannot help but wonder at the extraordinary timing of this apparent coincidence.
At an emergency session of Parliament held the following day, Murdoch was questioned in connection to the scandal. Though he began by calling it “the most humble day of my career,” and apologized to the victims, he denied any personal responsibility for or knowledge of the crimes, and refused to resign. The fact that Murdoch even showed up to the summons from Parliament speaks to the extent to which his ego and influence were deflated by the scandal — until now, the Prime Minister would be granted an audience with Murdoch, not vice-versa. Though Murdoch’s iron grip on news outlets around the world remains largely unshaken, Parliament’s actions are promising; the whole affair has dealt a much-needed blow to Murdoch’s ego. For now, at least, the voracious march of News Corp. has been curbed.
3.
2. Norway Attacks written by Julian Uzielli On July 22, Norway was devastated by a car bombing in Oslo and a mass shooting at a youth camp on the island of Utøya, killing a total of 77 and injuring nearly 100 more. The lone perpetrator was captured and identified as Anders Breivik, a right-wing extremist and Norwegian citizen. It was soon revealed that Breivik’s motives were political and racist in nature. On the day of the massacre, he posted a 1,500-page ultranationalist manifesto online, large parts of which were plagiarized from the writing of Ted Kaczynski (better known as the Unabomber). It calls for a holy war against Islam, “cultural Marxism,” and multiculturalism in Europe. The press had to walk a fine line when dealing with Breivik: while it is obviously important to report the news in detail and without censorship, this unfortunately serves to draw attention to his dubious cause. Though he may be insane, Breivik is not stupid: in his manifesto, he mentions (and promptly demonizes) several authors whose names frequently grace the pages of MIT syllabi, including Antonio Gramsci, Karl Marx, and the Frankfurt School (not to mention the un-cited Kaczynski). However, his work betrays his disturbingly narrow worldview, which is organized into a series of binary oppositions, and deliberately seeks to make an “Other” of anyone who disagrees with his hatefuelled proclamations. Tragically, it appears the colossal irony of starting a holy war to prevent, as he called it, “the ongoing Islamic colonization of Europe,” was lost on him.
Government Cracks Down in Syria
written by Paul Craig Since March, an estimated 2000 people have been killed in anti-government protests in Syria, as tanks and snipers of President Bashar al-Assad’s national security forces regularly fire into large civilian crowds. During a crackdown in August, more than 300 were killed in a single week. Outside of Syria, the protests are referred to as ‘pro-democratic’ and ‘peaceful’ (by Stephen Harper, for example), and the brutality of the Syrian regime is being roundly admonished. However, the Syrian state media (i.e. propaganda) prefers a rather different reading. Under the subheading “The Reality of Events,” one article damns the collective efforts of the protesters, setting them up as criminals who deserve no leniency. Whatever the spin, a government unrepentantly firing on its own citizens makes for a revolting situation; unfortunately, there does not appear to be an end in sight.
4.
The Canadian Election
written by Julian Uzielli On May 2, Prime Minister Stephen Harper was re-elected with a majority Conservative government. Michael Ignatieff ’s Liberals suffered their worst loss in the history of the party, while Jack Layton’s NDP had their best-ever election, finishing with 103 seats and forming the Official Opposition for the first time. Tragically, Layton succumbed to cancer on August 22 The NDP wasted no time in showing their desire to oppose Harper, mounting an ambitious yet ultimately fruitless 58hour filibuster to block the Conservatives from legislating postal workers back to work, following their strike and then lockout from Canada Post in June. Meanwhile, the new government is expected to table Internet-related legislation, which is sure to draw the ire of many MIT students, including measures to legalize warrantless surveillance of Canadians’ online activities by authorities.
5.
The Royals Come to Town
written by Sarah Koopmans Polls show that Canadians are divided about the role of the monarchy in Canada. Public opinion seems to be split between adoration and indifference, with a healthy amount of criticism thrown in for good measure (read: perhaps royal tours aren’t the best use of our tax dollars). Though the official popularity numbers for Prince William and Duchess Catherine’s recent whirlwind tour have not yet been released, polls conducted prior to their June 30 arrival showed that 54% of Canadians aged 18-34 were indifferent. Will and Kate arguably have the best chance for reviving faith in the monarchy: their joke-making and jeans-wearing set them apart from their tradition-steeped predecessors. But will it be enough to convince Canadians that being part of the Commonwealth is a good thing?
Honourable Mentions 6. London riots embarrass the UK 7. Vancouver riots embarrass Canada 8. Canada blocks asbestos from UN Hazardous Substances List 9. Anthony Weiner is made a fool of. Why do we care? 10. Casey Anthony verdict shocks the world 11. Jack Layton dies 12. Obama kills Osama 13. Obama hosts a town hall via Twitter. Take that, real life.
Memorable Quotes “I find it a little baffling when Americans get so gaga-eyed over a princess. And particularly Lady Di, who was just this anorexic, bulimic narcissist.” (Ann Coulter on Royal lust on The Insider) “Does asbestos mean something different in French than in English? Because in English, it means ‘slow, hacking death.’” (The Daily Show’s Aasif Mandvi when visiting the town of Asbestos, Quebec, re: UN hazardous materials list) “I do not understand why nothing has happened.” (Harold Camping the day after there wasn’t a rapture) “Now let’s say you get a flat tire. How about a Hooters tow truck that serves wings?” (Toronto City Councillor Doug Ford, expanding on his idea for a fully privatized highway/tunnel underneath the Gardiner Expressway; he was being serious)
Check out mitzine.ca for exclusive commentary on additional summer events. [mitZine v11.i1] 17
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