››Military budgets go up while NATO membership looks all the more appealing Matthew Fraser Editor in Chief
ll across Europe, the shockwaves of the Russian invasion of Ukraine are being felt. In some cases the shockwaves have been mostly contained to the news media and increased day-to-day speculation; in other cases, the effects have manifested themselves in a change towards military spending and other parts of government policy. In the case of Finland which was once invaded by Russia, the time has come to seriously consider joining NATO. According to polling reported by the Atlantic Council, a slim majority of Finns now support joining NATO while just next door in Sweden, 41 percent of Swedes now favour NATO membership. Should Finland formerly join NATO, the encirclement that Putin has long feared may creep back to the fore. In a sense, he will have gifted himself the very thing that he has most feared. And in some way, his threatening and hostile tactics have actually worsened and emboldened the movements he has hoped to dissuade. As a result of the crisis erupting on its Ukrainian border, Poland has chosen to increase its military budget. Despite sharing a border with Russia, Poland is already a Nato country and is not reacting kindly to the violence Russia has enacted on its neighbour. According to Reuters, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the ruling nationalist Law and Justice party stated: "There will be an amendment [to the defence plan]: 3% of GDP on defence next year, then we will increase it.” The Polish Government also intends to more than double its troop count from 143,500 to 300,000. In Denmark, the invasion has prompted a boost in defence spending. Reuters reported that Denmark would significantly increase its defensive budget but also begin weaning itself off of Russian natural gas. Denmark's new defence spending goal is 2 percent of GDP up from the 2019 level of 1.35 percent. To accommodate these spending
Illustration by Athena Little
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goals, Denmark has indicated that it is willing to run a national deficit by 2025. Yet it is not alone in its plans for higher defensive spending. Sky News reported that the UK was likely to increase its defensive spending in the upcoming weeks in announcements that would cover the lethal aid sent to Ukraine and potential increases in other areas as well. This is in addition to an earlier 24 billion pound increase in defence spending. These announcements dovetail closely with statements from Scottish National Party member Stewart McDonald who referred to previous UK defence cuts as “short-sighted.” As reported in The Scotsman, McDonald also criticized a personnel reduction by saying: “They're still going to cut the army by 10,000 troops. I don’t think that’s big or clever.” However, the change of the greatest magnitude has come after Germany made a blistering about-face following Russian troops violating Ukrainian sovereignty. As Vox reports, Germany went from blocking other NATO countries from sending its armaments to aid Ukraine and only sending helmets and a field hospital to
sending 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 stinger missiles to Ukraine. Not only that, the country erased its previous reluctance to spend on its domestic military and committed to spending more than two percent of the nation's GDP on its military. Like other European nations, Germany has also promised to move away from Russian energy dependence. I suspect that Putin wanted to scare Europe into obedience and caution by showing his wraith in Ukraine. Instead, it seems he has crushed his economy and mobilized his opponents to militarily prepare themselves for further confrontation. It is unlikely if not impossible that the near-term future of Russian-European relations will be favourable to Putin. Save for some of the older generations of Russian-speaking nationals of former Soviet Union nations, everyone is terrified of the consequences of being ill-prepared and hostile towards the Russian bear next door. Only time will tell how much this misstep will cost Putin.
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Lettitor A new cost from Putin’s invasion
Sports
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sports // no. 3 • Russian hockey bears the brunt of the sporting worlds response • The day the hockey world stood still: March 8, 2004 ...and more
Impact of Putin’s War in Ukraine on Sports
Photo of Putin by Jedimentat44 via Flickr
››Russian hockey bears the brunt of the sporting worlds response
Joseph Agosti Contributor
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week into the Russian invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin, the world is still reeling from the global impact it has made. The world has taken action with intense sanctions against the Russian economy, mainly by freezing Russian assets across the globe. Whether or not this is a sound strategy of deterrence is up for debate, but it is clear Vladimir Putin’s actions are amongst the greatest geopolitical threats the world has seen in nearly 80 years. While the economic sanctions will hit an already challenged Russian economy hard, it will be interesting to see how far the sports world will go in order to send a message to Putin. Putin is known to be a
lover of sports, with a personal favourite of his being ice hockey. One thing sports networks love to show is the old-timer's hockey game Putin participates in where he routinely scores 10+ goals on goalies clearly playing under duress. So it's clear sport is part of the cult of personality Putin loves to cultivate. It’s well past time global sporting leaders take away Putin’s favourite international pastime. In the past week, there has been much debate about just how many entities would ban Russia from international sporting competitions. That answer was quickly answered when FIFA disqualified the Russian soccer team from World Cup qualifying. You know things have gotten bad when an organization as corrupt as FIFA takes a stand. Next, the International Ice Hockey Federation banned Russia from all international ice hockey competitions
throughout this calendar year. They also removed the 2023 World Junior Hockey Championship from Russia where it was originally scheduled to take place. To make matters worse for young Russian hockey players, the Canadian Hockey League (CHL)—the biggest junior hockey league in Canada—cancelled the Canada-Russia Top Prospects game. They also released a statement claiming that they were considering making 16-17-yearold Russians ineligible for the CHL draft. While all these measures could have a global impact, none is as major as what has been proposed by Dominik Hasek. Hasek, one of the all-time greatest goaltenders was born and raised in former Czechoslovakia and has experience in oppressive regimes. Hasek has called for all Russian players in the NHL to have their work visas cancelled. Hasek has specifically called out Russian
superstar Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin, a known supporter of Putin, called for “no more war”, in a press conference last week. Ovechkin has been called out in the past week for his longtime support of Putin, having founded “Putin Team”, in 2017 a Putin-focused political group. It remains to be seen if the NHL takes Hasek’s relatively extreme advice. In the end, sports comes secondary in a global crisis like the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The main goal should be making sure that Ukraine comes out of this conflict as a whole and united country; something it seems Putin desperately wants to change. The economic sanctions imposed by President Biden and NATO leaders are a good start, but it may be prudent to hit Putin in his hobbies, just like you would a petulant child.z
sports // no. 4
theotherpress.ca
Vancouver Canucks finish another Eastern road trip
››Thatcher Demko pays homage to former Canucks goalie, Kirk McLean Brandon Yip Senior Columnist
tart spreading the news, the Canucks took over New York for one day on February 27. Vancouver opened their four-game road trip by defeating the New York Rangers by a score of five to two at Madison Square Garden. At the time of writing, the Canucks’ record is 26-23-6. The team is sixth in the Pacific Division with 58 points; and five points behind a Wild Card playoff spot. After the game against the Rangers, Canucks coach, Bruce Boudreau, was impressed with the performance of Thatcher Demko—who stopped 31 of 33 shots. “I've run out of things to say because, I mean, he's been incredible,” he said as reported by Sportsnet. “The Calgary game wasn't a 7-1 game and this game wasn't a 5-2 game. If it wasn't for Demko early, it would have been a lot different. He comes to play every night.” Vancouver then played the New Jersey Devils the next day. Unfortunately, it would be another disappointing effort by the Canucks— losing by a score of seven to two. Vancouver concluded the road trip by playing the New York Islanders on March 3 and the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 5. Canucks backup goalie, Jaroslav Halák, had a forgettable game and was pulled after 26 minutes—giving up six goals on 14 shots. Sportsnet writer, Iain MacIntyre, described how poorly Halák has played in his March 1 column: “...the 36-year-old backup has allowed 13 goals on 37 shots in parts of three games. His save percentage in February was .649—a darkly appropriate number since his chief achievement was triggering a $1.25-million bonus for hitting his 10th start Monday.” Bruce Boudreau was perplexed in describing his team’s poor effort, which ended a modest three-game winning streak. “We talked about it in the morning meeting, the evening meaning, I mean, the preparation for the day,” Boudreau said as reported by Sportsnet. “I wish I had an answer to it. I don’t. I’ve racked my brain over why some games we can play so good in the first period, and then other games... if there’s going to be something bad, that’s going to happen in the first period. I read every important notice to these guys on what this game was all about tonight, and to not come out as well as we’re supposed to come out is shocking to me.” Iain MacIntyre says although the Canucks have been playing better—it may not be enough to secure a playoff spot. “That probably won’t be enough,” he wrote in his column published on February 28. “But with five wins in six games—three of them against teams that are among the NHL’s best—the Canucks appear to have found another gear just in time for the finishing kick to the regular season.” Canucks general manager, Patrik Allvin, provided his feedback on how the team has played since being hired in January 2022. Allvin is the first Swedish general manager in NHL history. He spoke with Sportsnet on February 26 where he said he is noticing too much inconsistency. “Being so inconsistent, winning one game,
Photo of Canucks jersey by 24 Habs via Flickr
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losing one game, that’s something where you want to find a better rhythm,” he said. “You want to be more consistent in what you're doing, and I think everything starts in practice (and) how you prepare yourself. The players need to take ownership over that. They need to prepare themselves every day to get ready to play. It's a privilege to play in the NHL and I think you shouldn't take anything for granted. I think a lot of players on this team have something to prove every single day.” In the game before the start of their road trip on February 24, the Canucks gave the Calgary Flames a good old-fashioned “butt-kicking.” Vancouver defeated Calgary by a score of seven to one, ending the Flames’ 10-game winning streak. Notably,
the game was highlighted by Canucks goalie, Thatcher Demko, paying tribute to former Vancouver goalie, Kirk McLean. Demko replicated McLean’s mask, gloves and pads. It was also vintage jersey night, as the Canucks wore the black, skate-logo jerseys (same jerseys Vancouver wore when they went to the finals in 1994). After the game, Demko discussed his homage to McLean. And it seemed appropriate as Demko played like “Captain Kirk” in 1994—stopping 29 out of 30 Calgary shots. “There's a lot that goes into it for me,” he said as reported by Sportsnet. “I always try to be very cognizant of... who's come before me and who's [paved] the way for guys like me coming in into the organization. I saw that we were only
wearing the jersey once this year, so I knew it was a good opportunity to kind of go all out with it.” Vancouver starts a long sevengame homestand at Rogers Arena (March 9 to 20). This is followed by a four-game road trip at the end of March with a home game on March 30 against the St. Louis Blues. Canucks’ schedule this week (all games at Rogers Arena) • Wednesday, March 9 vs. Montreal Canadiens (7:30 pm) • Friday, March 11 vs. Washington Capitals (7 pm) • Sunday, March 13 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (7 pm) Tuesday, March 15 vs. New Jersey Devils (7 pm)
issue 23// vol 48
sports // no. 5
The day the hockey world stood still: March 8, 2004
››'Sportsnet' writer, Iain MacIntyre, recalls Todd Bertuzzi’s infamous attack on Steve Moore Brandon Yip Senior Columnist
n the 2003-2004 NHL season, Steve Moore was a rookie playing for the Colorado Avalanche. He played on the fourth line before injuries moved him to the line with Joe Sakic and Paul Kariya. Oftentimes a player, who wants to remain in an NHL lineup, needs to do something to be noticed. This entails delivering a hard body check, getting into a fight or scoring a goal. On February 16, 2004, in a game with Colorado hosting Vancouver, Steve Moore did something to be noticed—by putting a questionable hit Canucks star player, Markus Naslund. Naslund was injured as he suffered cuts to his face, a chipped bone in his elbow and a concussion (Naslund missed the next three games). There is an unwritten rule in the NHL that you do not hit a star player—especially if the player is in a vulnerable position. It is off-limits, but Steve Moore did not heed that advice. Moore was not given a penalty. Sportsnet reported in a September 2014 article the NHL ruled the hit was legal. The Vancouver Canucks disagreed. Canucks coach, Marc Crawford, was livid after the game. Naslund’s teammates were furious as well. Todd Bertuzzi told the media that Steve Moore was a “piece of shit,” with Brad May stating there was now a “bounty” on Moore‘s head—as reported by CBC News. The seeds for pugilistic justice had been planted. Then Vancouver general manager, Brian Burke, was dissatisfied that Moore did not receive a suspension. “I think it's a marginal player going after a superstar with a headhunting hit,” Burke said as reported by The New York Times. Before Naslund’s injury, he was the leading scorer in the NHL. Naslund was playing on the famous “West Coast Express” line with Todd Bertuzzi and Brendan Morrison. It was one of the most productive lines in the NHL in the early 2000s. The Canucks and Avalanche met again on March 3, 2004. But it would be a civil affair, with no retribution by the Canucks. It should be no surprise due to NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman, being in attendance—issuing warnings to both teams before the game started. Steve Moore, who had the biggest target on his back, would get away unscathed. This set the stage for the Canucks’ next meeting against the Avalanche on March 8, 2004, at then GM Place (now Rogers Arena). It was the third meeting between the two teams in 21 days. And it was a fitting foreshadowing that the game occurred on a Monday night and was televised on Sportsnet. Colorado led 5-0 after the first period with Steve Moore fighting Vancouver‘s Matt Cooke. The bad blood and vows for revenge Vancouver had for Steve Moore appeared to have ceased. Unfortunately, that would not be the case. At the 8:41 mark of the third period, with Colorado leading 8-2, Todd Bertuzzi followed Steve Moore in the Canucks’ zone. Bertuzzi tugged on Moore’s jersey before punching him in the back of the head before falling on top of him as reported by CBC News. A dog pile ensued
Photo by Anna Machuik
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as fans cheered as Bertuzzi had finally settled the score with Moore. But soon the noise inside GM Place turned to silence. Steve Moore was severely injured. A pool of blood surrounded Moore’s face as he lay motionless on the ice. He was placed on a stretcher and taken to the hospital. Colorado won the game by a score of nine to two. But at that point, the game was an afterthought. Moore suffered a concussion and three fractured neck vertebrae. He never played another NHL game. Sportsnet writer, Iain MacIntyre, was inside GM Place the night Todd Bertuzzi attacked Steve Moore. MacIntyre was then covering the Canucks for the Vancouver Sun. He said it was a very dark moment for the NHL. “The crowd reaction, I think, was indicative of most people’s feelings: there was a bloodlust for retribution on Moore for the hit on Naslund, then horror after it occurred,” he said in an email interview with the Other Press. “It was clear after about 10 seconds that Moore was badly hurt, and I’ll never forget how instantly the mood in the arena changed. Afterwards, I was told that Bertuzzi had wept in the dressing room over what he had done, and
what it would mean for both [him] and Moore. As I wrote at the time, they were the two unluckiest guys in hockey that day.” CBC News reported three days after the Moore injury that Todd Bertuzzi had been suspended by the NHL for the remainder of the 2003-2004 season including the playoffs. The Vancouver Canucks were also fined $250,000. Bertuzzi’s suspension lasted 17 months, coinciding with the NHL lockout (310 days duration) that cancelled the 2004-2005 NHL season. In June 2004, criminal charges were filed against Bertuzzi for his attack on Steve Moore. CBC News reported in December 2004, Bertuzzi plead guilty to “...criminal assault causing bodily harm for the hit. He [was] sentenced to one-year probation and 80 hours of community service.” A decade passed before the Steve Moore and Todd Bertuzzi saga finally ended. In August 2014, Moore and Bertuzzi and the Vancouver Canucks settled with the terms confidential. CBC News reported Steve Moore had originally filed a civil suit in 2006, seeking $68 million in damages.
Ultimately, the biggest lesson to be learned from the Moore and Bertuzzi incident 18 years ago is there are consequences if you hit and especially injure a star player in a vulnerable position. When Steve Moore made the fateful decision to hit Markus Naslund, causing serious injuries to the then leading scorer in the NHL, many knew there would be retribution. Unfortunately, the Vancouver Canucks and Todd Bertuzzi took the retribution too far. Iain MacIntyre believes the Bertuzzi and Moore incident revealed how overt verbal threats of violence are just as harmful as the violence being delivered: “Obviously, you can’t sucker-punch somebody from behind. Everyone’s career is potentially a knee tear, skate cut, high stick or a punch away from ending. One thing that will never happen again in the NHL [is] players from one team publicly threatening the physical well-being of an opponent with the promise of revenge. In hindsight, those threats from the Canucks were [as] damaging as the incident itself.”
sports // no. 6
theotherpress.ca
Why the Lakers woes should come as no surprise
Photo by Fernando Peraza via Flickr
››Not even the magic of LeBron James can save them
Joseph Agosti Contributor
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his season, the Los Angeles Lakers have been a massive disappointment, with both their on-the-court play and off-season acquisitions failing to meet expectations. The Lakers, of course, employ LeBron James, who some consider to be the greatest basketball player of all time; he is someone who throughout his career has constantly exceeded even the most astronomical expectations. This year, however, has been different. LeBron, now age 37, is no longer able to carry a mediocre team to the NBA Finals as he did with Cleveland in years past. While LeBron’s scoring numbers are up, his three-point percentage and assist numbers have fallen off of last year's pace. Even with some of LeBron’s stats on the decline, he is still capable of being a topfive player in the NBA, as he recently made his 18th All-Star game in his illustrious career. The problem with the Lakers is not with LeBron’s on-court play, it’s his decisions off the court. How can that be, you may ask; throughout his career, LeBron has always had a hand in which players his team brings in during the off-season, from Kevin Love when he was on the Cavaliers, to Anthony Davis with the Lakers. For the most part, LeBron’s influence in player acquisition has been a
net positive, but not this season. Almost every move the Lakers made this past offseason has blown up in their faces, which weighs heavily on an aging LeBron and his General Manager Rob Pelinka. Going into the 2021-22 season, the Los Angeles Lakers had a dilemma: which players do they acquire for what could be one of the last years of LeBron James’ prime? The Lakers already had a championship foundation having won the NBA title during the 2020 Bubble Playoffs, with much of the championship core still around. With LeBron James and fellow superstar Anthony Davis, there was really no excuse not to surround them with toptier talent while they were still at the top of their game. Throughout his career, LeBron James has been partial to having two co-stars with him during his finals runs. From the original Miami Heat Big Three of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron, to the 2016 Cavaliers team where LeBron starred alongside Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. The 2022 Lakers already had LeBron and Anthony Davis, all they needed was one more superstar to fill LeBron’s quota. The general consensus among NBA experts was that the Lakers had a big choice on their hands. Available on the off-season was perennial All-Star DeMar DeRozan, fresh off a solid season in San Antonio, but no longer considered to be the All-NBA talent he was during
his prime with the Toronto Raptors. Another option was Sacramento Kings sharpshooter Buddy Hield, who could be acquired via trade. Both of these players would have filled major needs on the team, with DeRozan featuring playmaking and scoring, while Hield would have brought much-needed shooting off the bench. However, another opportunity presented itself: Russell Westbrook. Westbrook, widely considered to be a future Hall-ofFamer, has just finished a bounce-back campaign with the Washington Wizards. Westbrook and James, longtime friends, had long considered playing together and LeBron campaigned Pelinka to make the move. So, on August 6, 2021, the Lakers traded two young players critical to their 2020 championship in Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, up-and-coming centre Montrezl Harrell, and first-round pick Isaiah Todd to the Wizards in exchange for Westbrook. The fit between Westbrook and the Lakers was dubious from the start, with Westbrook not addressing the team's defensive or shooting woes, as well as a sky-high turnover rate the team could not afford. While Westbrook’s counting stats appeared good, nearly averaging a triple-double, Westbrook's turnover and three-point percentage ranked among the worst in the league. Things got so bad that at the trade deadline, it was rumoured that
LeBron James lobbied for Rob Pelinka to trade Westbrook to the Houston Rockets in exchange for veteran guard John Wall and a 2027 first-round pick. For context, Westbrook and Wall have been traded for each other before in the 2019 offseason with the Houston Rockets trading Westbrook to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Wall. Besides, as much as Westbrook has struggled this season, John Wall is arguably even more washedup, having barely played this season for a struggling Rockets team. So in summary LeBron wanted to trade his prized offseason pick-up in exchange for an old injury-riddled John Wall. This season has been a massive disappointment for the Lakers, as with a record of 27-34, they barely hold onto a playoff spot as of March 3. It’s fair to wonder what could have been if LeBron and the Lakers chose DeRozan and Hield over Westbrook this past offseason. DeRozan has recaptured his Raptor form having an MVP calibre season with the Chicago Bulls, while Hield has continued to provide elite three-point shooting the Lakers could desperately use. What could have been two major pieces for a championship team are thriving elsewhere, while the Los Angeles Lakers are stuck with a declining Westbrook, aging LeBron, and an injury-prone Anthony Davis, languishing on the playoff fringes.
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Arts
arts // no. 7 • Five animated films to watch or revisit before any upcoming Disney features • Developing ‘The Porter’ ...and that's a wrap!
Five animated films to watch or revisit before any upcoming Disney features ››A list of movies to entertain your days in between Disney release dates
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ith Disney producing more animated films this year, like it or not, refreshing adventures are on the rise. From the coming-of-age movie, Turning Red, to the Toy Story spin-off, Lightyear, there’s tons of stories to look forward to in the future. Until these upcoming movies are released, though, what do you do in the meantime? Well, the following five animated films are the answer to that question. They’re worth watching or re-watching while awaiting Disney’s newest debuts. The Iron Giant (1999) The story about a small-town boy befriending a giant robot from space continues to amaze me with its heart and humour. Directed by Brad Bird—who’s now known for The Incredibles franchise. The Iron Giant is a classic film whose
simplistic, sometimes moody, animation has held up well since its 1999 release. The story benefits from the cool Super 8-esque mystery of the robot to convey how drawn yet fearful we become towards technology. Overall, it’s a movie that deserves to be appreciated more for its central themes of family and friendship. Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) Disney’s old yet timeless ocean adventure, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, is about young scientist Milo Thatch (voiced by Back to the Future’s Michael J. Fox, unbelievably) as he takes a crew of explorers to find the fabled city of Atlantis. The film still endures today with its likeable characters and exciting fantasy action. The movie’s fluid animation, especially of Atlantis’s ancient ruins, is elevated by James Newton Howard’s emotionally epic musical score. Looking back at it after so many years, the story also has surprisingly mature themes from the destructive effects of exploration to the value of learning
from the past. The film is undoubtedly entertaining while boldly tackling important subjects for its audience. Treasure Planet (2002) Another old Disney animation, Treasure Planet, follows rebellious teenager Jim Hawkins (Joseph-Gordon Levitt) as he and his crew search for the titular world’s legendary fortune before a bunch of space pirates do. This movie tends to be overshadowed by Disney’s more popular animations, but it’s still a fun swashbuckling adventure. The film adapts Robert Louis Stevenson’s book, Treasure Island, with thrilling sci-fi action and visually stunning locations. Robots (2005) A talented voice cast and a whimsical world of robot characters power Blue Sky Studios’ iconic animation. The story is about young inventor, Rodney Copperbottom, who helps the poor denizens of Robot City in the face of a corporate conspiracy that
seeks to outmode them forever. The film’s ending and main villains are a bit cheesy, but these are compensated by pop culture parodies, the wacky clockwork settings, and memorable antics. The best part of the entire movie is Copperbottom’s friend, Fender, hilariously voiced by the late Robin Williams. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) The stop-motion animated feature from DreamWorks follows British inventor Wallace and his intrepid dog Gromit as they protect their town’s vegetable gardens from a veggie-loving super bunny called the were-rabbit. This wholesome movie may sound like a Halloween flick, but it can be enjoyed anytime of the year. The film has a good balance of comedy from the titular duo’s banter and eerie twists from the were-rabbit mystery. The animation is still incredible to see with its highly detailed, colourful sets and lighthearted characters.
Photo by Teppei
Jonathan Pabico Senior Columnist
arts // no. 8
theotherpress.ca
Developing ‘The Porter’ ››The creative team on the show’s momentous success Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist he new CBC show The Porter tells the untold history of a group of railroad porters and the Black Canadian community in a neighbourhood in Montreal. The show not only makes history but is a surprise hit. It got a lot of people talking as many thought it unlikely that there would be a Canadian show with a mainly Black cast and crew. After a lot of planning and surprises, the creative team was able to produce a show that shines a light on an unappreciated aspect of Canadian history with brilliant acting. On February 28, the cast and creative team discussed The Porter during a talk presented by VIFF online. It was split into two conversations; one with three of the show’s creators including Arnold Pinnock (who is also in the show as a porter), Marsha Greene, and Annmarie Morais moderated by Diggstown creator Floyd Kane and one with the show’s directors Charles Officer and R.T. Thorne moderated by the President of the Directors Guild of Canada Warren P. Sonoda. Pinnock got the inspiration for the show after reading several books on the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and visiting St. Antoine in Montreal where the show takes place. Wanting to tell the story of the first and largest black-led union, he pitched the show to CBC by showing pictures of the neighbourhood instead of doing the usual pitch deck. The executives were wowed by something that they did not know before and resonated with it, convincing them to develop the show. The show’s creators first planned how all the characters were going to get to a certain point by the end of the season. Then Morais and Greene go inside the writers’ room and make sure that the production is on schedule as the showrunners. Both then discussed the process of co-writing an episode where they would be together writing sections of the episode. One would focus on the difficult issues in it and the other would do the less serious scenes in the episode while implementing their experiences to resonate with the audience. All of them also talked about the challenges of bringing the show to the camera as well as times when they were proud during the filming of the show including when Pinnock wore the porter uniform on his first day of shooting. I asked them during the Q&A what was the hardest scene to write in the first episode and Morais responded with its first scene where a police officer inspects Club Stardust where the characters hang out. She and Greene had to negotiate how to approach it and ended up beginning the episode in silence before everyone has a fun time at the club to show joy before the struggle of the porters is presented.
Photo by CJ Sommerfeld
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In the other conversation, Officer and Thorne—who both have a background in directing music videos—described how they set up their shots while making sure that modern-day Winnipeg where the show is filmed is not seen. Both visit each
other during filming to get an idea of what is going on and maintain the flow of the show. Thorne did a lecture on how having an idea is not the problem but selling it is in a competitive market.
Thanks to its creative team who were amazed by its history, the story of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters is finally known to everyone with The Porter and the founders get the respect they deserve.
Wanting to tell the story of the first and largest black-led union, Arnold Pinnock pitched the show to CBC by showing pictures of the neighbourhood instead of doing the usual pitch deck. The executives were wowed by something that they did not know before and resonated with it, convincing them to develop the show.
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Life & Style
life & style // no. 9 • PC gamers might actually be able to play games in 4K in the near future • Frank Sinatra’s classic ‘My Way’ has led to several killings at karaoke bars ...and that's everything!
GPU prices are returning to normal
Photo by Teppei
››PC gamers might actually be able to play games in 4K in the near future
Tariq Ghanzi Contributor
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oming out of the pandemic, things like shopping and travelling have been really attractive. At the same time, cars and trucks have been less available while general electronics have seen their stock reduced. If you are a gamer you have been struck with the semi-conductor shortage because the gaming industry is built on the semi-conductor. Both the Playstation 5 and the XBOX series consoles saw their releases suffer big time due to the lack of available semi-conductors to put in the consoles. However, if you are part of the PC master race, the semi-conductor shortage has hit you right in the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit).
Since the beginning of the pandemic, GPU prices have climbed and climbed some more without a seeming end in sight. It didn’t help at all that people working from home suddenly realized that their home computers or whole setup might not cut it so they scrapped the old for something new. Businesswire reported a 26.1 percent growth in the year-over-year global shipments to a massive 91.6 million units shipped in the fourth quarter of 2020. That’s a freaking ton of new computer parts being made and sold. On the GPU side, there has been a long trend of the few units available selling for way over the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP). In July 2021, Techspot reported some GPUs in Australia selling for $1800, practically $1000 over the MSRP of $810. Yikes.
But Zak Islam of Digital Trends reported some great news for the PC gaming community: GPU prices are slowly moving back to where they belong! When he analyzed data from 3Dcenter, he found that from February 13 to March 6, the Nvidia RTX 30 series were 41 percent over MSRP as opposed to the previously recorded 57 percent. Though that is still way too high, at least the prices are turning around and heading back to where they should go. But another big piece of is that some of the necessary manufacturing will be coming back to the United States and hopefully spreading the ability to make semi-conductors out across multiple markets. Because of the way that global production has made every country depend on each other for products, the
pandemic shipping delays have hurt us all. CNET reported on February 8 that the US government had proposed $52 billion in subsidies to help Inntel build a massive production plant in Ohio. President Biden was so confident that he even invited Intel’s CEO Patrick Gelsinger to the State of the Union address so he could highlight the plans they had made. Though it's unlikely that gamers will be getting new cards at reasonable prices this year, it is worth hoping that early next year will see some near MSRP prices. However, given the surprises that have blessed us over the past two years, I’m not sure if that’s something to bet on.
››A few pieces of a multifaceted and complicated story Matthew Fraser Editor in Chief
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ocial media and the news world writ large have been consumed by the senseless invasion of Ukraine Vladimir Putin ordered on February 23. Under the guise of a “special military operation,” Putin sent scores of the nearly 200,000 soldiers he had amassed along the borders into Ukraine. What has followed has been images of heartwrenching destruction and the sheer calamities of war. But what are some of the historic linkages between the two nations, and how exactly has the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) played into the current situation? One of the things that Vladimir Putin has insinuated which have caused great concern in the west and Ukraine is the idea that Ukraine owes a debt to Russia and may in fact not be a legitimate country. Part of the root of this idea comes from the shared history and origin of the two nations from Kievan Rus. According to worldhistory.org, Kievan Rus was a federation of states and peoples ruled from what is modern-day Kyiv. The area encompassed by these rulers includes Belarus, Russia and Ukraine with tendrils expanding further north and south as well. The story as told in the Russian Primary Chronicle is that the Rus peoples— often interpreted as Scandanavian Vikings—were invited to rule the lands by its inhabitants. As the Rus maintained the lands and its peoples, deeper bonds through marriage and culture drew them together. As the medieval kingdom continued from 862 to 1242, there was considerable time for cultural and ethnic connections to be built. Due to its natural resources and strategic position, Ukraine has been known as the breadbasket of Europe and Russia at different times. In their recounting of the industrial history of Ukraine, the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH) recounts Polish nobility owning land in the modern Ukrainian territorial boundary while 18th-century governments in Moscow extended their rule to the Black Sea for trading and strategic reasons. Around the same time, the Donez Basin—commonly known as Donbas—saw its first iron rolling mill erected with machinery imported from Britain. The online Encyclopedia of Ukraine divides Polish-ruled Ukraine as Western Ukraine while Slobidska Ukraine was more oriented towards Russian Tsars. As the Russian Empire consolidate more of southern Ukraine under its power industrialization was rapidly outstripped by agricultural advancements save for a few port cities like Odesa. However, by the end of the 18th century, industrial development would begin to spread through Ukraine. Both ERIH and the Encyclopedia of Ukraine mark the formal abolition of serfdom in 1861 as a major turning point in the modernization of both the Russian Empire and Ukraine's economy. Throughout the 1870s and 1880s railroads built throughout Ukraine would benefit the region through its reduction in transportation costs. Coal from Donbas helped considerably the advancement of the nation's economy while the newfound transportation ease helped the export markets of Ukraine open. As these advancements progressed Western and Slobidska Ukraine were linked. However, the years spanning 1913-1933 were incredibly destructive to the burgeoning nation of Ukraine first due to the effects of WWI then due to its initial independence in 1917 followed by the violent 1920 annexation by the USSR. As explained by the University of Alberta’s Holodomor Research and Education Consortium, quotas and policies levied against the Ukrainian people by the Stalinist government outpaced the economic gains made by the Ukrainians and starved millions more to death. In a period known as Holodomor—translated as “death by hunger” from Ukrainian—the USSR violently collectivized land and forced farmers to work on the now state-owned farms. The relatively wealthier farmers and all resistors were branded as state enemies and sent to prison labour camps known as gulags. As the quotas climbed higher without being met, the Communist Party responded by fining farmers their planting seeds, meat and even their potatoes. Crackdowns included police forces searching houses and watchtowers to ensure that now crops were kept for the Ukrainian farmers. The cruelty reached such heights that a law was passed to keep Ukrainian peasants from fleeing the country. Roughly 20 years after the horrors of Holodomor, Nikita Krushchev gifted Crimea to Ukraine in a move that to this day is ill-understood and contested. The decision was announced via Pravda, the official newspaper of the Societ Union. Historian Lewis Siegelbaum wrote on Seventeen Moments in Soviet History, an
informational website for the Michigan State University wrote that the decision had been justified at the time by the “economic commonalities, territorial closeness, and communication and cultural links” shared by Ukraine and Crimea. Though Siegelbaum would describe the gift as “essentially meaningless” at the time, it would explode into importance roughly 60 years later. As the Cold War drew to its end in the 1990s, then-Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev proposed that the Soviet Union join NATO. As Madeline Roche outlines in her 2019 Time magazine article, the proposal was made during the negotiations with U.S. Secretary of State James Baker that would ultimately reunite Germany. And yet, Gorbachev’s successors in both Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin have floated similar ideas. In 1991, immediately after the fall of the USSR, Yeltsin personally wrote to NATO with this “long-term political aim.” At the time it made sense, NATO had been formed to “Keep the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down;” but with Germany reunited, the Soviet Union broken up and America comfortably in the driver's seat, what was NATO’s purpose? Despite the interests of successive Russian leaders, the doors to NATO remained closed in no small part due to the organization's democratic and human rights requirements. However, NATO itself and NATO member states have signed
Secretary-General of NATO George Robertson recalls Putin demanding preferential treatment into NATO as opposed to waiting “with a lot of countries that don’t matter” to get in. In Robertson’s telling, he includes the statement that Putin wanted “to be part of that secure, stable prosperous west that Russia was out of at the time.” It seems that the failure to join NATO fed Putin’s fear of encirclement. On February 9, 1990, US Secretary of State James Baker famously told Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would move “not one inch eastward.” Though this was said, it was not written down or officially promised. As Nato has grown larger and countries like Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have joined NATO, a hostile circle has ostensibly begun to take shape around Russia in the eyes of Putin and many members of the Kremlin. In 2007, Putin himself said: “I think it is obvious that NATO expansion has no relation with the modernization of the alliance itself or with ensuring security in Europe. On the contrary, it represents a serious provocation that reduces the level of mutual trust,” as reported in an RFE/RL article. The same article notes that NATO refused to fast-track Georgia and Ukraine into NATO, but assured the two nations that they would have the freedom to eventually join NATO. In the eyes of Putin, this was unacceptable, and four months after the assurance was given, Putin invaded Georgia. Six years later, Putin would invade and annex the same Crimean Peninsula that had been given to Ukraine 60 years earlier. These aggressive military actions were clearly evidence of a broader anger that Putin felt; he would later explain this anger in part by saying: "They have lied to us many times, made decisions behind our backs, placed us before an accomplished fact [of our humilliation].” Much of Putin’s view of this humiliation comes from his extensive and welldocumented disdain for the end of the Soviet Union which he has infamously called the “greatest geopolitical tragedy of the twentieth century.” As David Remnick explained in The New Yorker, when Yeltsin appointed Putin his successor, Putin believed it was his duty to end “a prolonged period of Russian weakness and humiliation.” Putin has himself argued that his goal is not to rebuild the Soviet Union or recreate a long-gone Russian empire. Putin recently promised Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that he was not attempting to recolonize previous Russian states—according to reports from Russian state media. However, when it comes to Ukraine, Putin seems to believe that there is not even a shred of sovereignty for him to respect. In a 2008 article in Kommersant (translated approximately as The Businessman) Puttin is said to have exclaimed at then-President Bush: “What is Ukraine? Part of its territory is Eastern Europe, and part, and a significant one, was donated by us!" Likewise, in a sprawling and self-indulgent essay Putin works to illustrate his view that the “true sovereignty of Ukraine is possible only in partnership with Russia.” Coupled with the Russkiy Mir foundation—literally translated as “Russian World Foundation”—it becomes clear that though Putin may not wish to reform the Soviet Union itself, he believes he has a right as the heir to Russian glory to certain lands and global influence. Given the non-exhaustive and admittedly thin recounting of Russian-Ukrainian relations given here and the influence NATO has cast on the relationship, it should be clear that this invasion was long in the making though completely the fault of Vladimir Putin. He was not called on or forced into this invasion. He took this cold-blooded and aggressive step willinglly and uncoerced. However, it should also be clear that there is a deep history and connection that must be respected to properly address and end this conflict. Unfortunately, the hand that has the most power to end this is Puttin’s.
Former Secretary-General of NATO George Robertson recalls Putin demanding preferential treatment into NATO as opposed to waiting “with a lot of countries that don’t matter” to get in.
Illustration by Martha Alejandra Espinoza
multiple deals and treaties including the 2002 Russia-NATO council and the currently apropos 1994 Budapest Memorandum. Signed on December 5, 1994, the memorandum included signatories from the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom and Ukraine. As outlined by CTV News, the memorandum served to help bring Ukraine and other former Soviet Nations into the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and transfer their nuclear arms to other nations—namely Russia. In turn, the US and UK put forth “security assurances” if Ukraine was invaded and to respect the “Independence and Sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine.” However, assurances are not the sameas guarantees, acknowledged former US diplomat Steven Pifer who himself participated in the memorandum. A guarantee would have given Ukraine nearidentical protection as being a NATO member state which according to Pifer was something he (ostensibly) and other “U.S. officials made clear [was] not on offer." The 1994 memorandum was followed by a series of sovereign states joining NATO including the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland in 1999; Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia in 2004; Albania and Croatia in 2009 and Montenegro in 2017. Given that many of those nations border Russia, Putin’s attempts to join NATO make a certain amount of sense. A 2017 article published on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) outlined a conversation Putin recalled where he broached the topic of Russia in NATO and was told by then-President Clinton that he had “no objections.” Although, Putin would also recall that the “entire U.S. delegation got very nervous" upon hearing this. The Guardian published an article in November of 2021 in which former
life & style // no. 12
theotherpress.ca
And now, the end is near... and so I better not sing
Photo by Teppei
››Frank Sinatra’s classic ‘My Way’ has led to several killings at karaoke bars
Brandon Yip Senior Columnist
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hen Frank Sinatra sang “And now, the end is near,” the opening lyrics to his 1969 hit song, “My Way.” Who would have thought those words would have such dark overtones. The song was written by Canadian singer, Paul Anka; and it has been immensely popular in karaoke bars worldwide. Unfortunately, “My Way” has also been at the centre of several incidents of violence in the Philippines. Several people have been killed when the song had been sung in numerous karaoke bars. According to a February 2010 article in The New York Times, in the early 2000s, six people died in karaoke bars for singing “My Way.” In an October 2019 article in Esquire magazine (Philippines edition), in 2007, a karaoke bar security guard in San Mateo, Rizal, shot a 29-year-old man for singing “My Way.” The article states, “Apparently, the young man was off-key, and when he wouldn’t stop singing, the guard lost his shit, pulled out a .38 calibre pistol, and shot him dead.” Rodolfo Gregorio, a barber in the Philippines, stated that he enjoys singing karaoke. But he avoids singing “My Way.” Gregorio says he does not want to put his life in danger telling the New York Times,
“I used to like ‘My Way,’ but after all the trouble, I stopped singing it. You can get killed.” Gregorio also states the song is very polarizing for so many people at karaoke bars: “The trouble with ‘My Way,’ is that everyone knows it and everyone has an opinion.” ABC News reported in December 2008 that some bars in the Philippines removed “My Way” from their karaoke song catalogue because it resulted in too many arguments. However, the violence at karaoke bars is not relegated to the Philippines. In the late 2000s, ABC News reported that a man in Malaysia was fatally stabbed for keeping the microphone to himself at a bar. As well, a man in Thailand killed eight of his neighbours in a rage after they sang “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver. And in the US, at a bar in Seattle, a woman after hearing a man singing “Yellow” by Coldplay—criticized his version before punching him. One reason Sinatra’s classic song has caused violence is due to its evocative lyrics. Butch Albarracin, owner of Centre for Pop, a singing school based in Manila, offers an explanation why “My Way” causes such a strong reaction with people. “‘I did it my way’—it’s so arrogant,” he said to The New York Times. “The lyrics evoke feelings of pride and arrogance in the singer, as if you’re somebody when you’re really
nobody. It covers up your failures. That’s why it leads to fights.” Raina Lee, the author of Hit Me with Your Best Shot: The Ultimate Guide to Karaoke Domination, has studied the phenomenon of karaoke culture. She says karaoke becomes very personal for some people. Many people sing songs that become their favourites, and oftentimes their versions of songs they belt out are not always the “favourites” for the people having to listen. “There is definitely a lot of drama in a karaoke room," Lee said to ABC News. “People really feel a sense of ownership over their songs. Karaoke is this form of expression where anyone can have their three and a half minutes of fame.” Lee also states television shows like American Idol, The X Factor and The Voice have popularized and increased peoples’ desire to be more extroverted by singing karaoke at their local bars. “It’s a way for people to perform in this star-obsessed culture,” she said. “If you can take over a bar for a few minutes…it’s low risk and can be really gratifying if you sing and people think you’re really great.” In March 2018, Coconuts Manila reported the House of Representatives Committee on Public Order and Safety in Manila, reviewed a bill seeking to limit karaoke hours—to decrease further violence in karaoke establishments. The
bill was issued as House Bill number 1035 and “proposed by Quezon province Rep. Angelina Tan...” The bill stipulates that karaoke sessions will only occur between 8 am to 10 pm; and it also declares, “It shall be unlawful for any person or business establishment to cause unnecessary disturbance to the public.” In addition, any businesses that breach the 10 pm curfew would be fined 1,000 PHP (Philippine peso), equivalent to $19.21 US dollars. Also, further punishment would be six months in jail and businesses losing their license to operate. Notably, House Bill number 1035 was created to deescalate further violence as Coconuts Manila reported, “In November [2017], a man in Navotas City killed his friend after the two fought over a karaoke song. Just last month [in February 2018], a man stabbed and killed his friend inside a karaoke bar.” In the end, singing karaoke is meant to be a pleasurable activity—for friends and family to enjoy. Karaoke should be fun and not be a competition. No one should have to lose their life because a person is unable to sing “My Way” perfectly in its entirety. But if you are brave enough and choose to sing the Sinatra classic a wise recommendation would be that you should know how to sing first before asking for the microphone.
Opinions
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opinions // no. 13 • People are hating on a positive feminist expression and it's disgusting • Blocking Russian propaganda may not help us at all ...and that's it!
AnnaLynne McCord was right ››People are hating on a positive feminist expression and it's disgusting
charli pitchblende Contributor
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the toxic masculinity reacted to her having the temerity to try to fight violence with feminist love and united in trying to crush her spirit and it’s disgusting. Especially disgusting is the way that people have lined up to laugh at and shame such a noble effort. Don’t people know that the power of strong feminist motherly love can literally shape how a child sees the world? Don’t people realize that the gross masculine energy that Putin has displayed can’t be countered by more warlike masculine energy but only the uplifting love energy of feminism? People should really just close their eyes and listen to the truth of feminism and help us make the world a better place instead of hating. McCord’s original post on Twitter has been viewed over 30 million times but the majority of quote tweets are just so negative. It's like people can’t fathom that feminism could have helped address the problems of Putin’s lived experience and that if more feminism was used in the world, we wouldn’t have these problems anymore. If we could all just recognize how bad the lack of feminism has been for the world, we could turn it all around and really begin healing. McCord’s video could have helped that happen, but people are too polluted by toxic masculinity to realize.
Graphic by Martha Alejandra Espinoza
n February 24 (or 23 depending on your time zone) Russia, under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin invaded its neighbouring sovereign country, Ukraine. Ukraine’s neighbours throughout the European Union were caught off guard and alarmed by the harmful actions Putin took and there was a lot of fear and confusion for people around the world. But the consequences were really bad for those in Ukraine; as a result of this invasion, millions of innocent people have been forced to flee and millions more have been forced to consider the horrors of a war that nobody needed. As all this shock and confusion spread throughout the world and across various countries, a lot of people felt the need to contribute their voices to anti-war activism. I mean, it makes sense, war is a scary time and people want to prevent it. Why shouldn’t those who can go to a protest or gathering not go? In Russia, those protests can land you in jail. Many people changed the images on their social media pages to show the Ukrainian flag, some people have been sharing resources for people to donate to, while others have tried to help out using their natural
creative talents. Actress AnnaLynne McCord falls into the third category. The former 90210 star released a video on February 24—the day after the invasion news had been broken in her timezone—as a powerful and heartfelt response to Putin’s actions. The video and the poem it contained are entitled “Dear Mister President Vladimir Putin.” Throughout the video’s two-minute runtime, McCord uses her gifts as a writer to express the heart-wrenching agony of failed motherhood and the missed opportunity that could have prevented Putin from being a dictator. McCord exposes the way that unconditional feminine love is the only way to end the cruel evils of masculinity; McCord basically exposes the one way that could have prevented the psychopathy that Putin’s masculine drive has become. In fact, the feminist energy she embodied might be the only way to save the world from destruction. But instead of people realizing the truth in her vulnerability and understanding the importance of the eternal feminine energy, the sheer power of toxic masculinity was harnessed to put her down. People mocking her on Twitter began to trend and many socalled news articles pushed an anti-feminist agenda meant to humiliate and discredit her. It was like all of
It was like all of the toxic masculinity reacted to her having the temerity to try to fight violence with feminist love and united in trying to crush her spirit and it’s disgusting.
opinions // no. 14
theotherpress.ca
Does anyone benefit from this media blockade? ››Blocking Russian propaganda may not help us at all
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s the Russian invasion of Ukraine has entered its second week, much of the Western world—particularly America—has worked to find ways to target Putin and the government he controls in order to both punish and dissuade negative actions. One of the ways that has received increased support and embrace has been to target state-sponsored Russian media outlets; the most targeted of Russian outlets are Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik. Corporations including Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram), Apple, Alphabet (owner of Google), and Microsoft have all agreed to pull the media sites from their app stores or restrict access to their websites. The E.U. recently enacted a ban on both RT and Sputnik. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission said in a statement that the purpose was to arrest the spread of Russian disinformation about the ongoing invasion. This makes sense, given that within Russias borders Putin has claimed that there is an ongoing genocide against ethnic Russians (a claim that has been proven false) while also attempting to frame the invasion as a “special military operation” and a peacekeeping mission. With that in mind, it seems logical to want
to prevent the spread of whitewashing lies and harmful untruths through censorship. Unfortunately, the goal is not properly met through these actions and the unintended consequences are dire. For one, many western politicians and media outlets have massively discredited themselves by referring to just about anyone with a non-hawkish stance towards Russia as a Russian propagandist or asset. As recently as February 15, conservativeleaning financial website Zero Hedge was accused by U.S. intelligence officials of “amplifying Kremlin propaganda” according to ABC News. A little earlier on February 3, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki accused Senator Josh Hawley of “digesting Russian misinformation and parroting Russian talking points” when asked to respond to an op-ed he had written for Axios. These accusations undermine the initial credibility of labelling media outlets as propaganda. The idea that someone who speaks directly for the White House could be seen as credible after labelling someone as hawkish and inflammatory as Hawley a Russian asset is ludicrous. Even if you find the arguments made by Zero Hedge to be disagreeable, them not salivating for war with Russia is not the same as being compromised or influenced by Russia. And there are countless other examples of American
outlets and individuals being maligned as Russian assets including Hillary Clinton's infamous attack on Tulsi Gabbard. However, of primary importance is the fact that Russian media is the only way to get an accurate understanding of what the Russian people are thinking and what their interpretation of the situation is. Even if you do not agree with the Kremlin's stance and actions, they are reactive through their propaganda to the shifts in public opinion. For instance, RT posted an article entitled “Putin explains why Ukraine attack went beyond Donbas;” even though nearly every word contained within the article is a direct parroting of the Kremlin thought, we can see that the Kremlin is being forced to justify the hypocrisy of it’s actions to the population. More importantly, the more aggressive Russian media organizations reveal some of the more dangerous ideas held by the Russian government. An English-language article posted on Pravda included one of the most chilling threats of nuclear destruction in the line: “Boxed into a corner, surrounded by western armies and blockaded with sanctions, the little red buttons may seem the only viable alternative to a humiliating defeat.” [Emphasis from the original article.] The article also included a scathing critique of western consumerism and the threat to destroy “the limited capabilities of
the Ukrainian army and causing severe damage to its infrastructure” and leave “an already economically declining west to pay for rebuilding [it].” Seeing as we are facing down a proven unpredictable foe, it is imperative that western civilians and politicians should have as much access to the information Putin is willing to give us to judge our best forward movements. On the other hand, Russian media may be the only place where we can actually witness and properly judge the Russian population's rejection of Putin’s war. The ongoing anti-war protests across Russia have resulted in nearly 6,000 arrests including a group of school children who were arrested with their mothers. The original post by Novaya Gazeta that I saw seems to have been removed, but it seems unlikely that anyone will have a faster and more accurate accounting of what is happening in Russia than Russian media. Unfortunately, the Kremlin has just passed a law to punish media outlets spreading “fake news” with up to 15 years in prison for their transgressions. The irony is that now a Russian media source is banned from telling the truth and even if they could, they’d be banned from sharing it with western audiences. If nothing else, we know that media control is a goal shared by both the Kremlin and the EU.
Graphic by CJ Sommerfeld
Matthew Fraser Editor in Chief
Humour
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humour // no. 15 • The cheeky art critic column • Improbable predictions because no one can predict anything ...and that's it!
Portrait of William de Morgan Holding Lustre Vase Owen Hebbert Contributor
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s someone who often sees paintings and thinks “heh, that’s funny” and then researches them as much as possible, I would like to share a particularly bitter truth of my trade: the more you know about a painting, the less funny it seems. Sadly, this is also true of dictators, sexual reproduction and the lemur. I will illustrate the point by discussing this portrait by Pre-Raphaelite Evelyn de Morgan of her husband, William. My first impression upon seeing this image was “Aha! De Morgan has painted her husband clutching the urn she has promised he’ll wind up in if he ever again uses the phrase “probably good enough” to describe one of her paintings.” And that struck me as funny because I am what I am. What possible reason would there be for a man to be illustrated clutching an urn—even if it is, confusingly, referred to as a “vase.” Apparently, people in Victorian England had a different approach
to displaying flowers which seemingly involved a little round lid. Well, perhaps if I knew the first thing about the history of pottery, I would understand that William de Morgan played a not insignificant role during the Arts and Crafts Movement in England by reviving the art (and craft) of “lustreware”—a practice whereby a crockery objet d’art is finished with a metallic, iridescent glaze. It seems that Mr. De Morgan was really good at this. He was also really good at writing and Mrs. De Morgan has, kindly, placed several of her husband’s better-known novels on the bookshelf behind him. It’s worth noting that it wasn’t until he started writing that she finally got to stop subsidizing his art (and craft) with the income she generated by painting. This just goes to show that taking a pottery class doesn’t make you ready to quit your day job, Alex. Even though he is the subject of the work, I should be loath to discuss the artist’s husband more than the artist herself. I should also be loath to meet anyone who uses the word “loath.” Don’t even think about it; I know that I’m doing
it, but I’m a terrible ass. Evelyn de Morgan— originally Mary Evelyn, but went about without the Mary after a while because she thought that it would fool people into thinking her a man... named Evelyn— was a pioneer whose entrance into the almost exclusively masculine world of professional art was only made possible by her remarkable ability and tireless work ethic. To be perfectly honest, if I was attempting to present the stunning talent of this woman, this is one of the last paintings I would choose as it does a far better job of showcasing her love for her husband than her competence as a painter. I trust you see my point now. I think it is pretty clear that the snarky, cheeky attitude with which I originally approached this work has been overtaken
Painting of William De Morgan by Evelyn De Morgan
››The cheeky art critic column
and boarded by piratical sentiments of admiration, curiosity and respect. What a woman! What a man! What a marriage! What a vase! The price of this change of heart? Humour. That’s the price. I am so terribly sorry.
Improbable predictions because no one can predict anything ››Look at the world right now and say these are too crazy, I dare you
rational explanation. Therefore, I propose that deep in the Atlantic Ocean there is a chamber that houses Cthulhu and once a sufficient amount of rage fills the world he will awaken and burst from this chamber causing a massive earthquake and a bunch of tsunamis that will wreck the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean. There will be momentary global unity as humanity unites and struggles to subdue the ancient beast but it will ultimately be a failure.
Tariq Ghanzi Contributor Cthulhu rises from the deep and asserts dominance over the world At this point, we may as well speculate on the existence of an eternal and boundless evil creature that exists literally just to cause fear and terror. That’s almost a faster way to explain some of our ongoing problems than any normal,
Kanye West locates Atlantis and claims it as his own, dubbing the lost world “Donda World” Kanye West in the throws of agony from his ongoing divorce will buy a random submarine company and promise to record Donda 3 in an as of yet unconstructed underwater studio. While scouting a location, West will accidentally find a hitherto unknown portal that he opens. His submarine will be instantly dragged into this portal via ancient yet highly advanced technologies that are completely incomprehensible to modern scientists. His comrades on the submarine will almost instantaneously collapse in awe but West will instead launch into a long and unprovoked tirade about the evils of Pete Davidson AKA “Skete” Taylor Swift will be arrested for running an underground kindergarten fight club The country singer will have her personal computer hacked by eager fans awaiting an album and they will find a hidden folder labelled “Young Scrapers.” They will be shocked to see Swift officiating a bare-knuckle child fighting match with kidnapped children and clones of famous people created without the original human's consent. One
particular video featuring a Tom Cruise clone versus a Vin Diesel clone engaged in mortal combat will be of particular horrifying interest to the world. The real Tupac will come back Though it has long been suspected that Tupac may be hiding in Cuba, the legendary rap star is hiding in Indonesia under the name “Thug Bao.” He has maintained himself by running a 1950’s theme drive-in diner that specializes in homemade root beer floats and banana splits. Pac will return to America and resign immediately with Death Row Records—now owned by friend and former label mate Snoop Dogg—and record a plethora of songs he has written over the past decades to release an unprecedented triple-disc album available exclusively as CDs for a year before it’s official streaming service release. Tyra Banks will become the first sovereign citizen with a nuclear warhead Unbeknownst to the world, former supermodel, Tyra Banks has been studying rocket engineer and nuclear warhead design for several years, while using her modelling empire to amass wealth and scientists. In an immaculate and evil plan, Banks has been marrying off models she has discovered to scientists and arms dealers in return for their cooperation and support. She will then use their favours to purchase a series of small islands in the Indian Ocean and then secretly assemble her nuclear arms on and around the island. She will then declare herself the sovereign ruler and sole inhabitant of Tyrastan and demand a seat on the UN security council or she will destroy several small cities.
Graphic by Anna Machuik