Ryerson Free Press June 2009

june 2009

PRIDE &

PREJUDICE june is pride month: queer activists take on b’nai brith see page 6

NEWS Protests Continue against Sri Lanka’s War on Tamils 12,000 demonstrators took to Queen’s Park to demand action, the last large one before the death of the Tamil Tigers leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran

By Alexandra MacAulay Abdelwahab On the evening of May 13, thousands of people took to the streets in the downtown core, clasping banners and chanting passionately, to protest the mass killing of Tamils in the Northern region of Sri Lanka.

Leading the crowd was a man wearing a paper mask of Mahinda Rajapaska, the current president of Sri Lanka, and carrying two bloody dolls. Behind him, six people carried a black coffin on their shoulders with more bloody dolls inside it and a sign stating: “I ordered the genocide of Tamils.”

Further down, a banner that stretched the width of the street stated: “How many thousands more need to die in Sri Lanka before we break our silence?”

The United Nations reported that over the previous weekend, close to 1,000 people had been killed and described the situation in Sri Lanka as a “bloodbath.”

According to police estimates around 7 p.m., more than 12,000 people came out, filling the streets surrounding Queen’s Park and closing them down for several hours.

The crowd left Queen’s Park, where it had been protesting since before noon, at around 5:30 p.m. A team of police on bicycles led the marchers east on College St., south on Yonge St., west on Queen St. and north on University Ave. As the crowd passed by the entrance to the Toronto Eaton Centre on Queen St., shoppers lined the sidewalks and the overpass above the street to watch. The protesters continued marching non-stop until they were outside the U.S. Consulate where they paused to publically thank U.S. President Obama for calling for the fighting in Sri Lanka to stop, before returning to the legislature’s property around 8:45 p.m.

The protest was set to begin on the lawn of Queen’s Park at noon, though hundreds of people arrived early. They carried signs that were covered with graphic images, including some of dead children, and called on Canada to end its complicity in the genocide happening in Sri Lanka.

“We are citizens of this country, tax paying citizens, who have contributed in a positive way to our economy. We feel it is in our right to expect our government, to join with the U.N. and push for an immediate ceasefire, so that humanitarian aid can reach the innocent Tamil civilians,” said Sudarshan Raviendran, a graduate of Ryerson’s business management program.

Many protestors arrived with food items to be donated to the Daily Bread Food Bank. Organizers decided to have a food drive at the protest because they figured that since it was not possible to send food to their family in Sri Lanka, the next best thing would be to donate to the needy in their community.

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By the mid-afternoon, the protestors completely covered the front lawn and police dressed in full riot gear held the perimeter Queen’s Park Circle, the street around the legislature, in an attempt to keep protestors on the grass. There were other police on horseback.

Chants of “No more Genocide,” and “We want permanent ceasefire,” paused for a few moments around 4 p.m. when protestors noticed an airplane flying overhead pulling a banner that read “Protect Canada.

Stop Tamil Tigers!”

The chants quickly resumed, with many chanting even louder and protestors announced that they were Canadian citizens and not terrorists. The RCMP brought down the plane a short time later. Members of the Sri Lankan Sinhalese community in Toronto admitted to paying for the airplane message later on.

A group of protestors put on a demonstration of the Sri Lankan Army attacking a family, shooting them and taking away the children. One woman held a bloody doll with the stomach split open and several organs missing. Protestors say the Sri Lankan government has been employing this practice on fallen Tamil citizens in order to give their organs to injured members of the Army.

Nearby in a white tent, Gunam Veerakathipilal was fasting for the tenth day of his a hunger strike.

Since the beginning of his hunger strike on May 3, Veerakathipilal consumed only water.

PHOTOS BY DAN RIOS

Tamil protest closes the Gardiner Expressway

By Nora Loreto Editor-in-Chief

“Hey, you media?” I hear yelled at me from atop a guard-rail. Twenty feet above me stand a line of people, mostly men and mostly Tamil, all faced away from where I was standing.

Coming off of Spadina, I walked up the westbound ramp, a road that rarely sees foot traffic, if any at all. I’m told to walk towards the south side of the on-ramp, stand on the railing and put my arms up. With dozens of police behind me, and a dense crowd of people ahead of me, I followed the instructions.

Before I knew it, was being hauled by both arms up onto the Gardiner Expressway, by two men and placed shoulder to shoulder with other journalists and activists of all types.

That Sunday night was historic.

The sea of people, thousands and thousands of heads, pulled off a feat that no other collection of people have been able to do ever before in Toronto’s history.

Led by several head-strong activists, the group broke though a line of five police officers, ran up the on-ramp and stopped traffic on the Gardiner.

For the six hours that followed, children and adults chanted into the night in the hopes that someone would hear their demands.

With family and friends back home in Sri Lanka, who may or may not be alive, the crowd spent that Mother’s Day staring down lines of riot cops, demanding to speak with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

In 2006, Harper’s government listed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the World Tamil Movement as terrorist organisations.

Now, the Tamil Tigers represent the only hope many within the Tamil Diaspora have of ever seeing a separate Tamil homeland (Tamil Eelam).

And as the sun set, and as the red flags of Tamil Eelam and Canada held high by the protesters grew harder to see, that hope allowed people to bear the night as cold set in.

That day, it was reported that over 2000 civilians had been killed by the Sri Lankan army.

“It’s a war against a people, against Tamils specifically… hospitals are being bombed, people are starving to death…” pleaded Ghormy Theva, a business student from York University who had family stuck within the no-fire zone in Sri Lanka.

She stood at the eastern end of the crowd, right up against a row of police yielding batons and wearing gas masks. They faced a row of women and girls whose chanting never wavered. The riot officers, by-in-large men, traded off every thirty minutes or so. The women and girls stood their ground.

“We feel terrible about taking the Gardiner… [but] we can’t be silent. We’re doing this because we have no hope,” said Benusha Phemanatha, a third-year business management student at Ryerson.

Behind us was a line of abandoned cars, separated by cops in riot gear. Tim Horton’s was delivered by friends throughout the crowd and, after consuming the contents, cups became candle holders. Pizza was delivered too, and the demonstrators ate, and chanted, and watched to see if their message was getting through to decision makers. People were allowed to move freely up and down the ramp, and streets all around the area were closed to vehicular traffic.

I started to see more faces I recognised as the night went on. Activists from various struggles in Toronto: anti-war, education and labour, helped to buoy the numbers as tired children were brought home. Holding down the west-bound lane was

easy, there were enough people there. Holding down the east-bound lane was more difficult as the numbers were smaller and the riot cops had maintained a smaller area of protestors.

I happened upon the protest and had not anticipated to stay as long as I did. By 11:15 p.m. I needed to get home.

As I was leaving, on the west-bound lane, riot cops singled out a white man, Terrence Luscombe, and moved to arrest him. Three others were arrested, and many were hit or shoved by members of Toronto’s Finest. The decentralised leadership made a collective decision to call the protest off when a representative of Michael Ignatieff promised to raise the issue in Parliament.

One week after this protest, the Sri Lankan government declared victory over terrorism, as the Tamil Tigers surrendered.

Two weeks and one day after the protest, a picture of genocide continues to emerge, as The Times of London reports that more than 20,000 civilians have died at the hands of the Sri Lankan army.

The rally on the Gardiner was one of a string of rallies organised by Tamils and non-Tamils who strive for justice and peace in Sri Lanka. It was a massive show of support for an issue, and serves as a reminder to all engaged in progressive struggles that even with that level of community support for an issue of such basic human rights, those in power can claim ignorance of the situation.

Now, in the wake of the end to the 25-year civil war, who will pay for the blood spilled? Will the calls to stop the genocide be heard by those in power, or is it too late? Indeed, history will not be able to ignore the canary in this mine: tens of thousands of Canadians tried to warn them, Harper looked on.

Ryerson Free Press The monthly newspaper for continuing education, distance education and part-time students at Ryerson Address Suite SCC-301 Ryerson Student Centre 55 Gould Street Toronto, ON CANADA M5B 1E9

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Editor-In-Chief Nora Loreto

News Editor James burrows

Features and Opinions Editor James Clark

Layout Editor Andrea Yeomans

Culture Editor amanda connon-unda

Photo Editor Dan Rios

Contributors Alexandra MacAulay Abdelwahab

Michael Allen Max Arambulo james burrows Stephen Carlick Jessica Cobran Amanda Cupido Katia Dmitrieva samantha edwards dylan franks james howick mariana ionova marta iwanek Maiya Keidan meaghan kelly Salmaan Abdul Hamid Khan Tammy Kleine candice kung Nora loreto kate mills dan rios Adriana Rolston Lakshine Sathiyanathan elli stulher david thurton Angela Walcott romany williams Jeff Winch Alastair Woods

Cover Photos DAN RIOS

Publisher CESAR

PHOTOS BY NICK KOZAK/TORONTOIST

The opinions expressed in the Ryerson Free Press are not necessarily those of the editors or publisher.

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Ryerson Free Press june 2009 3

Gordan Campbell Re-Elected in BC

Campbell’s record on helping Vancouver’s homeless isn’t good. Now reelected, will they do anything in time for the 2010 Winter Olympic games?

By Romany Williams

On Tuesday May 12, British Columbians headed to the polls and voted for Gordon Campbell, leader of the Liberal Party, to be their Premier for the third consecutive time since 2001. In the majority vote, Campbell’s Liberals won by a margin of approximately 4 per cent, taking 49 seats to the opposing New Democratic Party’s 36 seats.

Campbell stated that his five main areas of focus would be the economy, education, health care, the environment, and building an ongoing relationship with First Nations. But with the 2010 winter Olympic games fast approaching, and an influx of thousands expected into the city, Campbell’s government is still struggling to tackle the issue of Vancouver’s large homeless population, especially in the city’s notorious Downtown Eastside.

A 2006 study by Vancouver advocacy group the Pivot Legal Society, estimated that 1,200 people are consistently forced to sleep on the streets without shelter, and that this number could triple by 2010 if nothing more is done to tackle the lack of housing available. In addition, welfare cases in Vancouver are up 47 per cent from last year according to an article in The Vancouver Sun. In September 2009 there were 21,793 welfare recipients capable of working as declared by the BC government, and as of March that number has risen to 32,014.

The rapidly increasing homeless population coupled with an unfavorable economic climate is making a solution to this issue that much harder to find.

“The government has been very diligently working to shore up spaces for the homeless, but the demands are outstripping the resources,” said Brian Venables, Director of Public Relations with The Salvation Army British Columbia. “The most important thing that we don’t want to do is displace the current homeless just because of the Olympics.”

In October 2008, Premier Campbell announced that the Province of British Columbia, in partnership with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (Vanoc), plan to create up to 156 units of permanent

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affordable housing for those in most need across BC. In addition, on May 22 Vanoc announced their $250,000 plans to create one or more temporary low cost hostels in Metro Vancouver as part of the effort to diminish stresses on current low income housing in downtown Vancouver. These hostels could hold up to 400 students, youth and travelers who want to come and experience the games but have nowhere to stay.

“I think that this is very insightful and preparatory on the part of Vanoc,” said Venables. “We don’t want a repetition of Salt Lake City where there were tons of visitors with nowhere to house themselves.”

The BC Housing Organization’s support of the Salvation Army allowed for the recent urgent renovation of two existing shelters on the Eastside, which freed up some 20 much-needed spaces for beds. 20 seems like very few, but each space created is a step towards a solution.

“There are no empty buildings for us to make shelters out of,” said Venables, “and with the economy we cannot attempt to buy any new ones either.”

Emergency plans are also in place in case there is an unmanageable influx of people for the games.

For example, reserved campsites throughout the lower mainland could potentially serve as accommodations for visitors with nowhere to go and the homeless.

“Even though there is such a struggle to meet the demands for low-income housing in Vancouver, the Downtown Eastside has more social housing than any other community in Canada,” said Venables.

While Campbell and the Liberal party have offered a few possible aids, it is corporate Vancouver that is providing most of the funds to support renovations in overcrowded shelters throughout Vancouver according to Venables.

“What state will the city’s homeless be in when 2010 comes around? I’m not sure,” he said, “but our only option right now is to revive the spaces we already have for the homeless and to hope for some new ideas.”

stevevoght@flickr.com

A more efficient RSU?

Despite two contentious motions, business continued. Could this signal a new era of RSU?

By James Burrows News Editor

Photos by NORA LORETO

It didn’t take long for the new Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) board of directors to go into closed session in what appeared to be the beginning of another tense year for the union.

In the end, however, the business seemed to conclude quickly with two notable decisions. Two positions were not ratified—the Senate representative on the RSU was simply voted down, while the ratification vote for the Student Group representative position, to be held by Osman Hamid, was put off until June’s meeting.

It was evident from the beginning that the two slates from the election were still sharply divided and the voting reflected this. Early business passed quickly but when it came to Hamid’s ratification, vice-president finance and services Toby Whitfield stated he was against Hamid’s ratification and asked if he could put the meeting into closed session in order to discuss further what he felt were confidential matters.

Hamid was a member of last year’s board of directors and was involved in a somewhat bizarre incident on March 30 of this year. Hamid, along with fellow board member Dana Houssein, called an emergency meeting in which he wished to ‘suspend the rules’ of the organization in order to force through a new health plan. After quorum was lost, however, Hamid continued his unconventional, quorumless meeting and passed a motion suspending the rules. Those remaining proceeded to pass the new health plan, despite the fact that their meeting would never count in official RSU minutes.

Although it remains unclear what was specifically discussed in closed session, one board member, after open session resumed, was heard to want to look into the matter closer in order to ascertain “how much his actions cost us, how much his actions affected us.”

President Jermaine Bagnall attempted to postpone the vote on Hamid’s ratification until June’s board meeting and looked somewhat annoyed when, in response, Whitfield attempted to have the vote on Hamid’s ratification postponed for a year, effectively eliminating the possibility that Hamid would remain on the board. This did not pass, however, and after a long discussion, Bagnall’s motion passed and the decision to ratify Hamid’s position will be left to the June meeting.

Hamid lost two elections last year and was elected last-minute to represent Student Groups by approximately 60 people. Hamid also ran for Vice-President of Finance and Services, losing by 664 votes.

The next vote asked for the ratification of Senate representative Joshua McLarnon. This year’s student senate election saw several candidates being accused of cheating after students complained that candidates were canvassing with laptops, while harassing and pressuring students to vote for them.

It is prohibited for a candidate to supervise a person voting.

It soon became clear that McLarnon’s position would not be ratified.

The debate shied away from blaming McLarnon for any wrongdoing, as he was never accused of any, but focused on the Senate’s decision to allow several student representatives on the Senate when rules were clearly violated.

Several people on the board were offended by the idea of allowing a student representative that was elected under such conditions, including Whitfield and vice-president of education Liana Salvador.

“This isn’t just an allegation,” said Salvador, “the university has formally acknowledged in their minutes that their was cheating in the elections and that they are not going to do anything about it.”

Furthermore, complained Salvador, the university has “taken it as a teaching opportunity and the way they are going to teach students that cheating is wrong is to allow students to sit in their illegitimately elected positions and give them a workshiop on democracy…the lesson to be learned is that when you cheat you don’t get to represent people. And the ramifications should be that you hold another election.”

The motion was finally voted down and it appears that the Senate representative will be vacant on the RSU board this year.

The positions of Residence director, Course Union director and Board of Governors representative, to be held by Yanna Chevtchouk, David Zhang and Arzan Bharucha respectively, were all ratified.

The meeting then finished relatively quickly, as few of the committee positions were contested. This was in sharp contrast to last year’s first meeting, which lasted many hours, with nearly every committee position being contested.

Ryerson Free Press june 2009 5

An Army of Lovers Cannot Fail Exploring Queer Resistance to Apartheid from South Africa to Palestine

B’nai Brith were echoed by several participants who voiced their opinions to speakers and the audience.

One particular audience member - a straight, white male - told the crowd they were hypocrites and that the event was hateful, extremist and completely unfair. His passionate speech began a tense discussion, but left many wondering what right a straight, white male has to lecture queer people–racialised queers in particular–about racism and homophobia. Interestingly enough, even after a lengthy speech outlining the similarities in the arguments in defense of apartheid South Africa and apartheid Israel, a few participants still angrily parroted the same phrase McCaskell had already identified and debunked.

One particularly irate man asked speakers, “Why Israel? Why not Iran or Saudi Arabia?” However, he may have bitten off more than he could chew as El-Farouk Khaki responded by speaking about a workshop and forum Salaam Canada held a week earlier about LGBT rights in Iraq and Iran. The event heavily criticized the homophobia and anti-queer violence present in both countries.

“We were there. We were all there. But where were you sir?

Where were you?” Khaki retorted to a thunderous roar from the crowd.

Such comments also sparked heated debate among the audience. One participant outlined the

need for critical reflections on the relationships between colonialism, racism and homophobia, and encouraged the audience to look at the history of queerness in the Middle East and also contextualize its contemporary repression to formulate better strategies to fight homophobia there. “After all, we should always remember that almost all the anti-sodomy laws in place in the Middle East were introduced by the British colonial authorities under the Indian Penal Code,” Khaki said.

“That’s not to say these kinds of restrictions wouldn’t have developed on their own-but we should always keep history in mind.”

In late May, rumors circulated that under the duress of B’nai Brith, the City of Toronto and the TD Bank of Canada have threatened to withdraw funding from Pride Toronto if they allow pro-Palestinian marchers to become part of the parade. Pride Toronto has decided to allow any group to participate as long as they adhere to the policies which govern all parade participants and register properly.

In a recent Jewish Tribune article, it was argued that allowing controversial political statements to be made at Pride Parade was contrary to Pride’s charter and the purpose of the parade.

Somehow, there was no mention of the fact that the early Pride Parades were in themselves political acts of resistance to homophobia,

transphobia, sexism and racism.

Aside from the large-scale corporatization of the Pride Parade, as long as there’s still homophobia, Pride is still a political act. Removing politics from the Pride Parade strips it of its history, its identity, its goals and its legacy.

I conclude this with hopes the Pride Toronto will make the right choice and uphold the queer community’s right to make politically uncomfortable statementsafter all, our very existence is still uncomfortable to many people, but that doesn’t mean we cancel Pride.

Speaking out against injustice, racism and violence anywhere takes tremendous courage, and the queer community has shown time and time again that it has the courage to speak truth to power, so why stop now?

Finally, seeing as B’nai Brith seems to have recently had concern for the LGBT community, I have no doubt in my mind that they will become passionately involved in our contemporary struggles like including gender-identity in non-discrimination agreements, confronting HIV-stigma, leveling the age of consent, and pushing for anti-homophobia training in schools. After all, how embarrassing would it be if they were just using the LGBT community for their own political purposes?

I can’t wait to see B’nai Brith’s float in the Pride Parade.

Israeli apartheid

By Alastair Woods

In 1986, a small group of gays and lesbians got together to form the Simon Nkoli Anti-Apartheid Committee (SNAAC) in response to the growing solidarity movement with those in South Africa resisting oppressive and racist state policies.

Today, more than 20 years later, another group of queer people have gathered together with the aim of dismantling a different apartheid state: Israel.

On May 23, Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) coordinated Coming Out Against Apartheid, a night of debate and discussion on the role, if any at all, that queer people should play while fighting against the apartheid policies of the Israeli state. The night promised to be one of openness, honesty and controversy-and it certainly did not disappoint.

The highlight of the evening was speakers from various organizations who came to talk about a very sensitive and politically volatile issue. Among the speakers were Rafeef Ziadah, third-generation Palestinian and member of the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, May, queer Palestinian artist and activist, El-Farouk Khaki, founder of Salaam Canada: Queer Muslim Community and Pride 2009 Grand Marshall and Tim McCaskell, founder of AIDS Action Now and former member of SNAAC. McCaskell urged the audience to overcome the ‘apartheid of issues’ that stipulates queer people have no place in broader struggles for social justice and domesticates gays and lesbians to become apolitical and apathetic.

May condemned the state of Israel for specifically targeting the LGBT community for support when the tolerance of diversity is almost exclusively predicated on a negation of one’s Arab or Muslim identity.

“We can’t say it’s okay to be queer but it’s not okay to be [Arab],” she said.

May’s argument highlighted one of the most important issues for queer Palestinians and Arabs in Israel/Palestine-that they can be queer, but not Arab. Haaretz recently reported on a social event organized by al-Qaws, a Palestinian queer group, that had to plan its events to ensure that participants could get home to the Occupied Territories without harassment by Israeli military and security forces.

Queer Palestinians must frequently

evade Israeli authorities by climbing over the apartheid wall and sneaking into Israel to attend parties, support groups and meetings.

That isn’t to say that life as a queer person in Palestine is perfect, it’s far from it, and this was a topic speakers addressed with honesty and openness.

Controversy erupted even before the event had taken place when B’nai Brith issued a press release titled, “B’nai Brith Canada urges LGBT community not to allow their agenda to be hijacked by anti-Israel agitators.” Axpart from the obviously absurd nature of the document –B’nai Brith doesn’t exactly have a great track record with the queer community–the carefully chosen wording of the title would ensure that legitimate political dissent and activity would raise the specter of terrorism in the minds of the reader.

The dubious claims made by

Queer Palestinians must frequently evade Israeli authorities by climbing over the apartheid wall and sneaking into Israel to attend parties, support groups and meetings.

sweet one@flickr.com

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PRofs DEbatE mERIts of aCaDEmIC boyCott

By Katia Dmitrieva

the palestinian/israeli cOnflict spilled into the halls of York University again this month. A respectful debate on the academic boycott of Israel descended into a shouting match between the audience of mostly students and the four guest panelists.

Accusations of racism were flung from amidst the packed auditorium floor in an Osgoode Hall meeting room when one of the speakers, Dr. Clive Seligman, made a passing remark about Islam. Seligman, a psychology professor at the University of Western Ontario, concluded his five-minute wrap-up that drew a sharp reaction from the crowd.

Seligman claimed that people who support Palestinian rights were taking the wrong road with academic sanctions: “And for those of you who say that you care about Palestinians, then why for God’s sake–or Allah’s sake–are you not putting pressure on Hamas and Hezbollah?” he asked.

The crowd’s reaction of outcries and boos spread like wildfire across Moot Court at Osgoode Hall, and threatened to shut down the discussion. In response, Seligman defended his perspective by claiming that the audience was simply upset over a difference in opinion.

“This is York University. You’re not interested in a contrary idea,” he said, before trying to conclude his position.

While the moderator, anti-racism activist Clem Marshall, tried to instill some calm and reason into the discussion, one audience member insisted that Seligman’s comment was sheer provocation. It even prompted one pro-boycott panelist, Dr. Abigail Bakan of Queen’s University, to state that another type of panel discussion was needed altogether.

“We’ve spent a lot of time talking about anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish racism. I think we also have to signal that we need to have a panel on Islamophobia,” Bakan stated.

The prevailing sympathy of the crowd was obvious in the cheers and standing ovation she received for her suggestion.

Noman Nasir, a student at York University, was the first in the room to stand and clap after Bakan’s statement. As a Muslim, he feels the effects of Islamophobia in Canada, and was shocked at Seligman’s back-handed “Allah” comment.

“I did feel a certain sense of spite in the way he said it,” said the aspiring law student.

Nasir’s view echoed the majority opinion of the room. Many in attendance were clad in keffiyehs—the Palestinian scarf—and one attendee wore a miniature Palestinian flag.

During the second audience question period, one man pointed out the irony “that there’s a discussion like this and there are no Palestinians in the panel” while another shouted from the upper balcony about the Palestinian “right of return”.

“If someone was late to the debate, they would have sided with the pro-boycott position, hands-down,” Nasir said.

The pro-boycott position is based on the view that Israel commits human rights abuses against Palestinians, violates international conventions and functions as an apartheid state. The boycott is aimed at Israeli institutions—not individual academics—that support

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or participate in the ongoing occupation of Palestinian land, and the oppression of the Palestinian people. Sid Ryan, president of the Ontario Division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)—a public sector union representing hundreds of thousands of workers in Ontario—attracted widespread controversy when he first announced his support for the boycott position.

Following the Israeli military’s attack on Gaza in December last year, Ryan called on Israeli academics in Ontario to condemn condemning Israel’s bombing of an Islamic university and “the assault on Gaza in general”.

Bakan’s argument on the panel echoed Ryan’s view.

She emphasized that Palestinian voices were unheard during an “encouraged siege of Gaza” and that “boycotts… are a non-violent method of saying ‘we hear you’.”

She insisted that condemning academic sanctions on the grounds that it politicizes a free and objective learning space is futile: institutions are inherently political. For Bakan, power plays are already at play, even in local learning spaces.

“We don’t have a developed curriculum around the reality of Palestine and Palestinians,” she said.

Panelist professor Howard Adelman refuted this view. He claimed that because universities like York are open places of debate and discussion, they need to remain open to every voice.

“It’s not a romantic view, it’s a reality view,” he said.

He pointed out that censoring any view goes against the university’s core purpose: to provide an open learning space.

His was the last word before the event wrapped up.

“The academic community should be a place to debate it, not assert political viewpoints and insist that that’s the truth,” Adelman emphasized.

Seligman shared Adelman’s anti-boycott views. “I don’t think this was an honest debate about boycotts. I think this was just another excuse to…demonize Israel,” Seligman said after the event ended. “And so I think they may have succeeded.”

But for Bakan, there is no other option but to boycott on an academic platform. She concluded her remarks by stating that boycotts allow us to “hear a voice that has been almost completely suppressed in Western world democracies. In the tradition of civil rights, we have to hear that call. We have to hear the call for extending civil rights to the Palestinians…and with that we will all rise together.”

DAN RIOS

fRom IDEas to WEaLth Ryerson students pitch ideas to eager investors

By Amanda Cupido ryersOn’s schOOl Of Business partnered with the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) to organize a co-investment summit.

On Friday, May 22, over 300 Angel investors and stakeholders traveled from all parts of Canada to attend the event. Angel investors are individuals who provide personal funds to developing businesses in exchange for equity.

The co-investment summit featured 15 presentations from different companies attempting to pitch their idea to potential investors.

Ryerson’s President, Sheldon Levy, made an appearance at the event. “It brings together great students with great ideas to the private sector,” he said. “It supports the ideas so they can go from great ideas to wealth.”

Mark Cornwall, an information technology management student at Ryerson, decided to attend after seeing multiple advertisements. “I’m very interested in the new technology available right now,” he said after watching the presentations.

One presentation in particular that was noted came from the Baylink Solutions Corporation.

Their idea including marketing a “Liberty” key which would allow BlackBerry devices to be docked on any PC. In theory, it would eliminate the need for laptops.

“I like seeing what’s out there in the industry,” Cornwall said. He found the presentations to be interesting. “I noticed there’s a strong push toward green technology.”

In the future, Cornwall hopes to be part of a team pitching ideas for Angel investors.

Andrew Fisher, Angel investor, was looking for realistic presentations. “I want to see the devil of the details,” he said. “I look at revenue and stability of revenue.”

Fisher said there’s many aspects he focuses on, including objectives, business plans and use of funds. “I also like to see companies focus on the customer,” said Fisher. “That’s the blood of every business.”

NACO is the association where formal Angel investor groups and individual Angels belong to.

Ryerson has their own chapter, the

“I noticed there’s a strong push towards green technology.”

Ryerson Angel Network (RAN).

Daniel Goldstein, Ryerson entrepreneur student and vicepresident of RAN, was excited to have a booth set up at the event.

RAN helps students and alumni make their entrepreneurial ideas come to life.

“In general, our goal is to provide students and alumni with investment,” said Goldstein who encourages student in any program to get involved.

“Our next step is to grow and attract more people,” he said.

For more information visit http:// www.ryersonangelnetwork.com

CHRISDLUGOSZ@FLICkR.COM

ryerson free press

june 2009

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Community resists Barrick Mine

By Marta Iwanek

michaeltyler@flickr.com

The presence of mining companies divides communities and threatens a sustainable way of living, Chilean Diaguita Huascoaltinos Indigenous leaders and activists told a group of about 30 people at a conference at the Munk Centre earlier last month. This is the current situation that the Diaguita community, located in the Huasco Valley of the Chilean Andes, is facing due to the Pascua Lama mine that Canadian mining company Barrick Gold says it is set to build.

The Diaguita Huascoaltinos say that large sums of their land have been misappropriated by the Chilean government and given away to Barrick Gold for its Pascua Lama Project, despite that they have title to it.

“Even though the community is the ancient owner of this land, we were never taken into consideration in the different stages of the assessment process that led to the Pascua Lama mine approval,” said Sergio Campusano through a translator. Campusano is the leader of the Diaguita Huascoaltino Indigenous and Agricultural community and along with other representatives from Chile had come to Canada for a series of conferences and speaking engagements to tell the Canadian public what was happening in Chile, due to Canadian mining companies.

The Diaguita Huascoaltinos initially tried to sue the Chilean government for misappropriating their lands in the Pascua Lama project however after exhausting all legal methods in their country’s court system and finding no answers, they have filed a lawsuit against Chile in 2006 through the Inter-American Human Rights Commission, which is being processed.

While Barrick Gold states on its website that it cares about corporate responsibility and highlights its social, educational and cultural initiatives in the area, which it says includes extensive consultations with the local communities, many in the Huasco Valley, including Campusano, feel that the company is buying off those in the area through donations and not paying attention to those who disagree with them. This is

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dividing their communities.

The Diaguita culture, Campusano explained, is very closely related to the land they live on, from housing to farming.

Furthermore, The pollution and degradation that the Pascua Lama mine will have on the Diaguita people, as well as the rest of the valley, threatens the Diaguita way of life.

The Huasco Valley is the last valley in Northern Chile that has not been affected by mining, said those at the conference. Not only are the Diaguitas opposed the mine, but for years environmental organizations, other residents in the valley, activists and the Catholic Church have been opposed to the project.

“We have been using this area for five centuries and we have not damaged the mountains, but these companies are in the area for 20 years and they have made much more damage than we have in 500 years,” said Campusano.

Although Barrick has repeatedly said on its website that its mine will release used and treated water only in emergencies and unforeseen events, while the rest will be stored and reused, there are constant reminders for the Diaguita community of the environmental impacts of mining projects. Most recently, on May 9, water from a storage pond at Barrick Gold’s North Mara mine in Tanzania spilled into the Tigithe River.

Campusano also talked about the glaciers, that Barrick agreed to not directly or indirectly touch in its 2006 environmental impact assessment. Glaciers have been diminished by approximately by 50 to 70 per cent, according to a 2005 report from the Chilean General Directorate of Water, during Barrick’s activity in the area. After this report came out, the environment minister in Chile blamed climate change, however other glaciers in the area had not diminished at the same rate, making it impossible to suppose it was climate change, noted Daniela Guzman, a biologist and Campusano’s helper and translator during his trip to Canada.

Joined by Jethro Tulin, an Indigenous leader from Papua New Guinea, whose

ovalito.cl@flickr.com

people and land are also being affected by a Barrick Gold mine, Campusano was able to attend Barrick Gold’s shareholder’s meeting in Toronto during his trip and tell his people’s stories directly to the shareholders of the company. Barrick Gold is just the first of a series of other mining companies who are exploring the area in hopes of building mines to extract minerals. However, Campusano and others at the conference believed Barrick’s Pascua Lama project was important to stop because it would open up the floodgates to other mining projects in the Chilean Andes.

Some believe that it is already too late to stop the project, due to the fact that the company has announced it will be starting construction. All we can do is let people know what is happening, said Jamie Kneen Communications & Outreach Coordinator for MiningWatch Canada, a national nonprofit which deals with issues of public interest when it comes to the practices of mining companies. “[It’s] a case that illustrates when a powerful company collaborates with a national government and ignores the wellbeing of the environment and local people.”

The open-pit gold and silver mine will be located more than 4,000 meters up in the Andes mountains. The project has been in exploration since the early 90s and after numerous delays and obstacles from a series of environmental impact assessments to taxation issues (the mine will be the first bi-national mine in the world, straddling the Chile-Argentina border), on May 7 the company said it had finally gotten the necessary permits to proceed with construction of the mine. However, there has been some confusion due to the fact that Chile’s General Directorate of Water announced on May 12 that two permits were still being studied.

“These are the important years. This is the finale of whether this project is going to happen or not,” said Christian Pena who has been following the Pascua Lama project for years while working on a documentary called Pascua Lama: The Thirst for Gold, set to be released early next year. He has seen the

project delayed time and time again. “There’s still doubt that this can happen.”

Pena co-organized the conference along with Casa Salvador Allende, a Chilean nonprofit organization in Toronto, with the purpose to stimulate debate on the issue. Some attending brought up the viewpoint that such a mine would create thousands of much needed jobs for those in the area, while other expressed how there would only be shortterm benefits and none in the long-term.

As well, Pena said that the location for the conference was “ironic” due to the fact that the centre gets its name from philanthropist, founder and chairman of Barrick Gold Peter Munk.

Pena said that he was amazed by the activism he witnessed in Chile while making his documentary. “The movements have done so much with so little,” he said, but they still need international support. The people in the area have told him that they will be there when the first drop of gold is taken at Pascua Lama and are not giving up hope.

Pena also believes the general Canadian public shouldn’t think about this as an external issue, as it is a Canadian company that is doing this. He later added that Barrick Gold acts as Canada’s representative when they go into other countries, as well as the fact that water affects us all in one way or another.

A private member’s bill is set to go before the House of Commons’ foreign affairs committee that hopes to create a guideline for “corporate accountability” for Canadian mining and oil companies. Bill C – 300 or The Corporate Accountability of Mining, Oil and Gas Corporations in Developing Countries Act brought about by Liberal MP John McKay, would hold Canadian mining corporations publicly accountable for their actions overseas, as well as allow for investigation of complaints by the Canadian government, which could possibly hinder the Canada Pension Plan from investing in companies who do not adhere to certain guidelines.

“These are not stories that are just in other countries,” said Pena. “We need to look at these as Canadian stories.”

Much ado about swine flu cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m

Migrant workers rights and racial segregation a concern in government reaction to swine flu; “novel” flu strain still poses threats

By Candice Kung Hand sanitizers and N95 masks were flying off shelves in the wake of a possible global pandemic. The recent H1N1 outbreak in Mexico –also known as swine flu—caused a global frenzy last month, leaving health officials scrambling to find a vaccine as the number of confirmed cases rose around the world.

With the virus now at a standstill, some say the situation was overblown. But even as the hysteria dies down, health experts still worry that the H1N1 virus might return from a crawl to full speed ahead this coming fall.

“The uncertainty is usually what creates the hype,” said Dr. Yvonne Yau, a microbiologist at Sick Kids Hospital where some cases of swine flu have been reported. “Right now, with respect to public health, this is something that is still being monitored and we’re not letting our guard down.” Health officials are worried about the virus mutating and a second wave hitting hard in the fall when the regular flu season starts.

“There isn’t any reason for panic or mass hysteria,” said Dr. Ashley Roberts, the medical director of infectious diseases at Rouge Valley Health System. “But certainly when information was sketchy at the beginning and before we had a better understanding as to what kind severity of illness it caused, I think there was reason for everyone to be put on increased caution and for there to be some level of concern.”

“It certainly does have the potential to be pandemic influenza but we’re not there yet,” said Roberts, referring to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) decision to raise the swine flu pandemic alert to level five. Though the H1N1 outbreak has not yet reached the level of a full-blown pandemic, governments around the world took it as a sign to step up precautions against the spread. Countries placed stronger restrictions on travel to Mexico and thermal scanners were installed in airports around the world.

But the hysteria inspired by swine flu extended beyond travel and border control.

Restaurants, cafes, businesses and even schools were shut down in Mexico City as Mexican officials tried to control the swine flu outbreak. Millions preferred to stay home rather than risk contamination.

Still reeling from the recent avian flu outbreak, concerns over swine flu left China and Mexico in a diplomatic row after Chinese authorities clad in biohazard suits forced dozens of Mexican travelers into quarantine. Egypt slaughtered 300,000 pigs despite the fact that there wasn’t a single case of the flu in the country and Iraqi officials killed three wild boars in a Baghdad zoo to ward off the virus. Russia and Ukraine have banned pork products imported from Mexico and the United States, and many countries are stocking up on large

doses of Tamiflu.

“It’s like a return to SARS when there were attacks of stereotyping,” said Chris Ramsaroop of Justicia for Migrant Workers, an advocacy group that works with migrant workers across Canada. “We have to be sensitive to these issues,” he said, fearing of a double standard and potential backlash that Mexican migrant workers may face as a result of the swine flu epidemic. It is now mandatory for seasonal and temporary workers from Mexico to undergo a physical examination before entering Canada.

“Migrant workers are being forced to undergo a second test and we see that as a form of racial segregation. Tourists don’t have to. There is a continuing link between swine flu and Mexicans. So far in Canada, all of those who have been diagnosed with swine flu have been Canadians or tourists—not Mexican workers,” said Ramsaroop.

Most confirmed cases of H1N1 outside of Mexico have so far been described as “mild” with symptoms resembling seasonal influenza including headache, fever, chills and coughing. On average, about 4,000 Canadians die of seasonal influenza each year. But what makes H1N1 a concern is that it’s a never-before-seen version of influenza type A and it’s uncertain how severe the outbreak will get. It was originally referred to as “swine flu” because it contains genes from flu viruses that normally circulate in pigs in addition to having avian and human genes.

“The fact that it is new or novel makes it more concerning for health professionals because the majority of the population wouldn’t have immunity to it and therefore all of us are vulnerable,” said Roberts. “That doesn’t necessarily reflect severity of illness. [The concern] is more about it being a novel strain that the human population has never seen before.”

Cases have now been confirmed in 42 countries around the world with a total of 86 confirmed deaths. Ontario now has a total of 352 confirmed cases and on May 23, a 44-year-old Toronto man marked the second death of a Canadian with the swine flu virus. Health experts are warning that though most reported cases are mild, the disease combined with other underlying conditions can have fatal consequences.

But with the H1N1 virus moving slower than expected, doctors worry that people will stop being vigilant. Yau said influenza cases in Toronto are still higher than expected for the end of the season, which could pose a problem if the H1N1 virus reappears in the fall. “Right now we still have intense precautions. As we progress further and know more about the clinical history and clinical spectrum that it causes, then it might change,” said Dr. Yau. “But don’t let your guard down.”

Ryerson Free Press june 2009 9

Education as a treaty right: A Campaign Focus for CFS The 55th National General Meeting in Ottawa gathered students from coast to coast to debate funding, tuition fees and access for all to postsecondary education

By The People’s Voice

Special to the Ryerson Free Press Funding for aboriginal post-secondary education will be a top priority of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) together with campaigns to combat skyrocketing tuition fees in the upcoming 2009-2010 school year, the CFS has announced after a membership meeting in Ottawa.

Almost three hundred delegates attended the 55th CFS National General Meeting during mid-May, which also addressed student debt and corporate influence on campuses especially at the governing board level, including how to increase student representation on governing boards.

There have been a number of provincial mobilizations of the Federation this past year, said Katherine Giroux-Bougard, National Chairperson of the CFS, pointing to student actions like the occupation of the Manitoba Legislature and mass mobilizations across Ontario. The CFS, Giroux-Bougard said, is focusing on the upcoming federal election as a forum to advance student issues. “[Our] discussions around the last federal budget have shown how it was a missed opportunity to invest in public education,” Giroux-Bougard said, noting that the current US administration has provided greater funding towards research and accessibility than Harper’s Conservative government.

A special guest to the meeting came from the United States Student Association.

Giroux-Bougard added that the Federal budget also short-changed students by providing no new funding to the Canada summer jobs programme.

“Overall, students live the burden of student debt every day, and understand well the detrimental impacts of reduced access to education,” Giroux-Bougard said. Through meetings like these, CFS membership votes on all motions, and develops strategy as well, she said. “I think that there is a lot of interest by members in carrying out an action plan engaged on the ground.”

Although there have been some positive developments on the provincial level such as Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario is rapidly moving to become the province with the highest tuition fees in the country.

National Chief Phil Fontaine of the Assembly of First Nations also addressed the meeting, highlighting the inadequate federal government role in Aboriginal education. Since 1996 there has been a two per cent funding cap on many social programmes for Aboriginal peoples, including post-secondary support. This is despite persistent inflation and the biggest demographic boom in Canada among Aboriginal youth in the same time. Between 1996 and 2006 there has been a 47 per cent increase in the Aboriginal population.

According to the Assembly of First Nations, almost 2,600 eligible Aboriginal students were denied access to education funding last school year. Statistics Canada reports that 43 per cent of Aboriginal peoples have obtained a high school diploma, while only 5 per cent have a university degree. (In the non-Aboriginal population the figure is 15 per cent for both, respectively).

The CFS has also prepared fact-sheets which note that while access to education is a right of all people, it is also a Treaty right recognized in the Canadian Constitution Act of 1982. The legacy of colonial education of Aboriginal peoples, however, includes residential schools and successive failed or inadequate government programmes including the current Post Secondary Student Support Programme.

Aboriginal peoples not only need more funding, one CFS fact-sheet says, noting that “the rights of Aboriginal peoples to self-governance extend to control over the education process.” They call for Aboriginal-led institutions that enable Aboriginal instructors, students and elders to develop curriculum reflecting the needs of communities and empowering students.

“The number of Aboriginal students with the grades to continue post-secondary education in no way matches the funding,” Giroux-Bougard said, adding that the National Aboriginal Caucus is very active on the issue and that the CFS plans to make raise this item much more in their general campaign strategy.

This is an edited version of an article that first appeared in the June 2009 issue of People’s Voice.

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Phil Fontaine, Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, addresses opening plenary at the 55th National General Meeting in Ottawa.

Representatives of the CFS National Aboriginal Caucus with Fontaine.

photos by JADEN KEITLAH

Mike White, former chair of the National Aboriginal Caucus, introducing Fontaine.

First Nations and a New Mining Act

By Kate Mills

As it stands today anyone can mine on your property without your consent, as per Ontario’s current Mining Act. If the Minister of Northern Development and Mines, Michael Gravelle gets his way that will all soon change After having discussions with Aboriginal groups, industry, ministries, and the general public since last August, Gravelle is proposing various amendments to the act that he says would modernize it in many ways. Right now the act is in second reading.

Key changes proposed include making significant Aboriginal cultural sites in Ontario off-limits to staking, immediate notification of First Nations communities after a claim is staked, and the requirement of miners to successfully complete a prospector’s awareness program, so they know their obligations to landowners, Aboriginal communities, and the environment before they can get a prospector’s license.

The proposed changes to the Mining Act come after the jailings of six leaders from Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inniuwug (KI) and former Ardoch Algonquin First Nation chief Bob Lovelace who, for peacefully protesting their constitutional right to share their lands, were thrown in jail and heavily fined last year.

Treaties between First Nations and government are supposed to be upheld under the constitution. This was clear to First Nations when the treaties were written, but have since been ignored by mining companies such as Platinex in the case of KI and Frontenac Ventures in the case of Ardoch. And they were allowed to be ignored under the Ontario Mining Act, which says you can mine wherever you please even if it is traditional land.

However, though federal law does trump

provincial, so after two months the K1-6 and Bob Lovelace were released from jail.

Some herald the proposed changes.

The Ontario Mining Association (OMA) declined an interview, but directed us to their website where they have quotes in support of the new legislation, including: “The Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle and his staff have done an excellent job in sticking to the scope of the changes in the Act,” said OMA President Chris Hodgson.

But others, including KI Chief Donnie Morris want further changes to take place.

Morris is one of the KI-6 who spent months in jail for protesting his rights.

“Revenue-sharing is not really defined. The government is given more power to say yes or no (to a mining project),” said Morris.

Revenue-sharing can make up a form of compensation in what’s known as impact-benefit agreements. Under the revisions there is no obligation on the part of the mining companies to share revenues from the mining profits with them, or employ Aboriginal people in mining work. Anne-Marie Flanagan, senior communications assistant to Minister Gravelle said she did not want to comment on why there is no obligation for mining companies to sign impact-benefit agreements.

Flanagan did say, “I think companies know if you want to go ahead you need to sign impact-benefit agreements. There are 40 such agreements in Northern Ontario, and I think this is happening on a much more regular basis now”.

The province did recently set aside $30 million to start sharing its tax revenues from mining and forestry with First Nations when the new Mining Act goes into law. Taxes from the mining compa-

nies is the kind of compensation Morris would like, but points out, “How far is 30 million dollars going to take you with 133 First Nation communities?.”

Gilles Bisson, the NDP party critic for Native Affairs agrees.

“It’s a drop in the bucket. It’s the equivalent of the province slashing the City of Toronto’s normal budget down to just 1 to 2 per cent of what it normally gets. The pie is a lot bigger than 30 million dollars. What the hell is wrong with the government? What First Nations want is real revenue-sharing. It’s colonialism.

It’s the province trying to limit its obligations under the treaties, which is to share the traditional land.”

Note that while a municipality such as Timmins will collect tax revenue from mining activities on their land, First Nations traditional land don’t have any right to collect tax revenue from mining that occurs on those lands. And the tax revenue that the city of Timmins collects from mining activities goes towards infrastructure such as roads and clean water. First Nations on the other don’t have the benefit of collecting tax revenues from mining activities, and then getting to spend it on such needed infrastructure.

Then there is also the royalties and tax revenue the province gets that takes place on traditional lands. Sharing that revenue with First Nations is something “The government doesn’t want to touch that with a ten-foot pole,” says Bisson.

The other major issue First Nations wanted addressed in the new Mining Act was a comfort in having the last say on what is going to happen on their territory.

Instead, “First Nations have no say on what is going to happen on their territory.

The new legislation creates a process by

which First Nations need to be consulted.

But if the consulting process between the mining company and the First Nation goes on too long the government reserves the right to say what ultimately happens on the land,” said Bisson.

Right from the very beginning stages of staking a claim, First Nations have no control over their traditional lands. The government says the treaty rights will be upheld in the amendments but that’s not true because a mining company can still stake a claim on traditional lands without consulting a local community.

It is true that in the amendments the miners would have to notify the Aboriginal community, but that’s immediately after staking that claim. This is still against treaty rights. The mining industry believes this gives them a competitive advantage because they are able to stake a claim without consultation. Investors, they argue, can then invest in a process that may happen from that point on.

What First Nations want is free, prior, and informed consent, which means no prospecting, staking, exploration or mine development can proceed without a written agreement in place, at the discretion of the First Nation. Not only is this upheld in federal law but also in Article 32 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a Delcaration that has been signed by all countries with the exceptions of New Zealand, the United States and Canada.

KI Chief Donnie Morris questioned the government’s commitment to their land rights, pointing out that in the consultation process regarding changes to the Mining Act his community was not even consulted.

“The government has yet to come to our community to get our input,” he said.

dsearls@flickr.com

Ryerson Free Press june 2009 11

lawmurray@flickr.com

E

very March, the Canadian Eastern coast transforms into the largest marine slaughter ground in the world. Thick, red seal pup blood stains the pristine white ice for miles. The sound of wet thuds echo across the barren landscape from hakapiks crushing pups’ skulls. The hunters joke, sing and whistle as carcasses cumulate along the Newfoundland ice.

Sheryl Fink, a senior researcher with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), has witnessed the Canadian seal hunt for years and said observing the slaughter of innocent baby seals never gets easier.

“The smell of the hunt is very distinct.

It’s the smell of engine exhaust, seal blood and cigarette smoke.”

While on average 300,000 harp seal pups are killed annually during the commercial hunt, a glimmer of hope still exists for the future. For the first time in history, a bill has been proposed to ultimately ban the Canadian hunt.

Proposed by renegade Liberal Senator Mac Harb, the legislation would ban the controversial and unethical commercial hunt. He said it is not worth the lives of hundred of thousands of harp seals, nor the dignity and reputation of Canada.

The bill emerged in the wake of the European Union banning the sale of seal products, further tightening the noose on Canada’s slaughter. A total of 30 countries have now banned the sale of seal products, including seven of Canada’s top 10 export markets.

Harb came to Toronto on May 14 to talk about why the slaughter was not viable, and kicked off an event at the University of Toronto saying, “I’m not an activist, I’m not an environmentalist and I’m not even a vegetarian and frankly, I knew nothing about what seals looked like.” But despite this, Harb said he still knew the commercial seal hunt was ethically wrong, and it was his responsibility to end it.

Over the years, the economic value of

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&

The Senator the Seal Liberal Senator seeks the abolition of the East Coast seal hunt

By Samantha Edwards

the hunt has rapidly declined. Canada’s seal hunt is a short-term activity, only providing a few days’ employment per year. The 2008 landed value of the hunt of $6.9 million, divided amongst approximately 7,000 sealers, means each sealer would receive on average about $1,000.

“The Government of Canada likes to claim that sealers make 35 per cent of their income from the seal hunt. I’m sorry, but if there is anyone whose annual income is this amount, we have much more serious problems than anyone would have imagined,” said Fink.

The low value of seal pelts, which are selling at $14 per pelt, an approximate 50 per cent drop from 2008 prices, are the result of an oversaturated market.

According to Greenland’s Minister of Fisheries, Hunting and Agriculture for Greenland, Greenland has stockpiles of some 140,000 pelts. Additionally, in the international fur auction in Copenhagen, not a single seal pelt sold in 2008. In Canada, reports of piles of pelts being dumped and covered in sawdust have been made in Newfoundland.

Even worst though, in the past 2009 season, many seals were clubbed, killed and left on the ice without even being skinned

because the markets for pelts do not exist.

According to Fink, conservation concern is also a reason for banning the seal hunt.

Environment Canada estimates that in 10 of the past 12 years, average ice cover in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the breeding area of the harp seal, has been declining. In fact, the IUCN Red List has pointed out that climate change impacts will have a severe affect on harp seals in the future.

Fink also said the inherently inhumane cruel practices that occur during the hunt are reason enough to ban the slaughter.

Video footage captured by IFAW from the 2009 season show pups being impaled by spiked clubs on their muzzle, face and neck, then dragged along the ice by sharpened steel hooks through the face or eyes.

Seals are also shot from moving boats, but are rarely killed immediately. Instead, blood spurts from their wounds and it can be several minutes until the sealer renders the pup senseless. Often though, they are only wounded by the sealer’s blow or gunshot, and escape or sink into nearby water before they are recovered. Approximately 26,000 “Struck and Loss” seals die this way every year.

Veterinary studies from 2008 by the European Food Safety Authority on Animal

Welfare said that seal hunt animals may suffer pain and distress, and the claim made by the Canadian government that 98 per cent of seals are killed humanely is “scientifically incorrect.”

The Canadian government has also made other claims in order to prolong the seal slaughter, including blurring the lines between the commercial seal hunt and the Inuit subsistence hunt. The commercial seal hunt does not involve Inuit and yet the Canadian government claims it is important and valuable to their culture and livelihood.

In fact, Inuit hunt fewer than 1,000 harp seals in the Eastern Canadian Arctic, mostly adult seals, and only during the summer months. Furthermore, Inuit use all parts of the seal whereas the commercial hunt mainly uses only skins for novelty fur products and trinkets.

While significantly fewer seals were killed this past season, approximately 66,000, the bill proposed by Harb was effectively clubbed to death when it was not seconded. However, Harb said he would propose his legislation again and again until it is approved.

Despite the frosty reaction received from his fellow Senators, Harb has gained national and international attention for his efforts.

“We received a flood of thousands and thousands of e-mails, so much that they broke down the server of the Senate in the House of Commons and collapsed 50 Senate computers…we were able to deliver 200,000 e-mail petitions in wheel barrows to the House of Commons.”

Harb described the amount of public support he has received as truly phenomenal and said while it would take a collective effort to pass the historic and long awaited bill, he is ready to take on that challenge.

“We can bring [petitions] in wheel barrows, we can bring them in trucks, and if we need to bring them in trains to Parliament Hill, we will do that.”

Korex strike approaches its first anniversary

By Meaghan Kelly

In the midst of the recession and the resulting storm of layoffs, bailouts and shutdowns, it may not be terribly surprising to hear of approximately 110 skilled workers walking the picket line down by the Don Valley Parkway.

This is not, however, breaking news. This is the anniversary of the news that barely broke the surface.

It has been one year since workers at the Korex soap factory walked out.

One would think this anniversary is no cause for celebration, but this picket line is throwing a party on June 2 to commemorate “the milestone of sticking together” throughout this largely ignored strike, according to Art Jessop, President of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) Local 132-0.

In an era of ethical-chic, buying local is often touted as top priority but those who work locally, appear to be less on the radar. When asked if the lack of media coverage was discouraging, CEP’s National Representative Dave Moffatt simply responded, “That’s just the way things are.”

After a year, the livelihoods of the factory workers are still up in the air. Moffat described this as a “wait-and-see operation.” On June 2, workers from Local 132-0 still won’t be asking for any more than they were a year ago, when they were asking for little.

Pensler Capital Corporation, run by Sandy Pensler, had purchased the factory from Unilever in 2001. The union had offered concessions in order for Pensler to grow the business, such as a wage freeze, but Jessop believes this “wasn’t good enough.”

After their contracts expired in 2007, “Pensler wanted ‘draconian cuts.’” Unwilling to give up their wages and benefits, a successful strike vote took them to the picket line, which would become their worksite for one year with no clear end in sight.

When Local 132-0 voted to strike, they weren’t asking for raises. “We wanted the status quo,” noted Jessop, in order to maintain their contracts and further attacks to their job security. One year later, the status quo is in a precarious position itself, and there may be fewer jobs to save.

Down at the Gardiner and the Don Valley Parkway, the factory that makes your laundry detergent and dish soap sits empty, save for its constant picket

line. With Local 132-0 on strike, the factory was run by unskilled, temporary workers, leading to safety concerns.

Now, no one works at the Korex factory. In February of this year, Korex filed for bankruptcy protection and any money owed to the workers was then put on hold, along with the future of the company.

Moffat expressed concern that Korex was not going to run into the future, and that workers would not only lose their jobs, but that bankruptcy protection would mean that Pensler did not have to dish out owed severance pay.

According to Jessop, just having returned from a day in court negotiating, the judge spoke to that concern. Pensler was informed that he must come to a successful resolution in order to get bankruptcy protection, which includes paying the workers their severance fees, with a 3.5 million dollar paycheque.

“People are entitled to pay-out. Striking workers do have their rights coming to them,” said Jessop.

Their right to severance pay is finally ensured, but what else is coming to them is a little less clear.

“Pensler is trying to restructure a deal with another company to come in and operate a warehouse facility,” Jessop said, “basically a scaled down version of the Korex factory.” This would require far less employees, about one-sixth of the workers formerly employed. While this is “better than nothing,” the union isn’t backing down. The key demands remain: any jobs members performed before the strike get equal pay, severance packages for those who get laid off, and vacation entitlements from 2007 to 2008.

In Jessop’s view, it’s in Pensler’s best interest to get a swift resolution in order to continue the business of restructuring. While the prospects could seem bleak (Moffatt described the purpose of meeting with Pensler as “to see what might be salvaged”), Local 132-0 seems to be looking at the future with a grim optimism. “We’re sticking to our guns,” Jessop said, with a hint of resigned pride.

If there is any cause for celebration with the prospect of restructuring and the ensuring job loss hanging over workers heads, it’s that Korex can’t forfeit severance packages as once predicted. After a year of tried patience during a forgotten strike, that’s cause for a party.

photos by dan rios

Ryerson Free Press june 2009 13

FEATURES The end of Canadian peacekeeping?

By Mariana Ionova

Ray Kokkonen, along with his fellow veterans, marks national holidays by donning his blue beret, decorating his chest with polished medals and proudly marching in a long, winding column through the streets of Saint John, New Brunswick. Peacekeeping is a central part of Kokkonen’s identity. He believes the same holds true for Canada.

As president of the Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans’ Association, Kokkonen has seen first-hand just how important peacekeeping is to Canadian veterans and the pleasure they derive from their service.

“People are very, very proud of it,” said Kokkonen. “It’s an honour to wear the blue beret.”

This pride is shared by many Canadians. It stems from a long history of heavy involvement in United Nations peacekeeping that, over the years, has become Canada’s trademark in the international community. In the last 60 years, Canada has contributed over 120,000 troops, taken part in nearly every UN peacekeeping mission and, along the way, earned respect both at home and abroad.

But Canada’s generosity seems to have run its course in recent years. Only 126 Canadians are currently on UN peacekeeping missions, according to the most recent available UN data. Canada, once a major contributor of troops, has dropped to 55th place on the list, and now lags behind France, the United States and the United Kingdom.

“Canada has always provided relatively huge numbers for UN peacekeeping operations, and we are now down to a busload,” said Joan Broughton, Public Information Officer at

the United Nations Association of Canada.

The Canadian government acknowledged that the UN is in sore need of troops when Ambassador John McNee, Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations, addressed the Security Council in January. But McNee made no promises to contribute troops.

“We must be cognizant of the strengths, but also the limits of peacekeeping operations, and only mandate those missions that have reasonable prospects of achieving results,” said McNee. “The international community must be realistic about what is achievable within the resources we are willing or able to provide.”

Instead of pouring the majority of military expertise into UN peacekeeping operations, as in the past, the Canadian government has opted to concentrate its resources in the NATO-led, UN-sanctioned operation in Afghanistan, where approximately 2,500 Canadian troops are currently deployed.

The large-scale mission has drained Canada’s already limited army reserves and few troops are left for other commitments.

“I think there are probably some situations where one might argue that there could be Canadian forces usefully sent,” said Broughton. “But, from the Forces’ view, they’re already stretched too thin. It’s simply an inability to be everywhere.”

But although the operation in Afghanistan is not a peacekeeping mission by definition, the Canadian government maintains that a commitment to peace underlies Canada’s involvement in the conflict.

“The fundamental commitment to peace and improving the lives of others remains a cornerstone of Canada’s foreign policy,” said McNee during his address and went on to say that Canada’s presence in Afghanistan is “a part of this commitment”.

In Broughton’s view, however, the mission in Afghanistan differs in that it does not ask troops to simply mediate but it requires them to actively end a conflict. As a result, Canada has left its peacekeeping role behind for the much more contentious duties of a “peacemaker.”

“When you get involved in a situation like Afghanistan where there are significant political implications, you are clearly taking one side over the other,” said Broughton.

“Peacekeepers by definition are neutral. They don’t take sides...And the fact that we have chosen to deploy most of our military forces into peacemaking instead of peacekeeping is a choice we’ve made as to where we will put our focus.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade did not comment on Canada’s current level of involvement in UN peacekeeping despite multiple invitations to do so.

It is not yet clear how Canada’s drawback from peacekeeping will affect national and international public perception but, according to Broughton, Canada’s reputation has begun to suffer.

“I think everybody knows that Canada cannot be called upon to contribute troops,” said Broughton. “We’re not there with anything like the kind of clout we had before.”

Clothesline Project builds hope, challenges violence

By Adriana Rolston

“I couldn’t say the word ‘rape’ for a long time,” said Larisa Storisteanu, a volunteer with the Clothesline Project (CLP) at Ryerson, which took place from May 1 to 4.

Hosted by the V-Day group at Ryerson, the project allowed women who have experienced abuse to share their stories, emotions and messages of hope on donated t-shirts. The t-shirts were then displayed publicly.

According to the CLP, making and hanging that laundry can be part of the healing process.

Storisteanu, a former part-time visual arts student at Ryerson, first heard about CLP a few years ago.

She was raped by a former employer and wanted to participate in an event she felt was a positive way of reconciling her experience with violence. Storisteanu is also assistant director of Canadian Artists Against Sexual Assault, a student group that has raised funds for the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre by auctioning artwork created by women who have survived violence.

“It’s definitely hard opening up about it but its harder keeping silent,” she said, sitting beside the growing clothesline, her mint colour eyes emphasized by wavy auburn hair.

Decorated t-shirts were strung between four trees alongside Kerr Hall South as women sat at tables and sketched out stories with markers. Traffic on the sidewalk stopped to converse with volunteers about the workshop and across the street more shirts swung in the breeze beside Lake Devo.

The first CLP event took place

adriana rolston

in 1990 as part of the “Take Back the Night” march and rally in Massachusetts. The founding group felt that hanging laundry, long seen as women’s work, would be a natural medium to express provocative, educational and constructive art. The project has now spread worldwide.

Virginia and Ashley Tran, who started V-Day at Ryerson, chose to organize CLP as a way of providing a supportive, artistic and activist workshop for the Ryerson community. In partnership with Ryerson’s Women’s Centre, they started collecting donated shirts for the clothesline in December.

Virginia, a freelance artist better known as “V”, sat beside the growing clothesline in a billowy white shirt and silver hoop earrings. She said that many women who participated or approached the tables of t-shirts had stories to tell, and V-Day volunteers were there to listen.

One woman’s story stood out for Tran: “A lot of times women don’t know it’s abuse until it’s too late.”

For many women, name-call-

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ing by partners can seem like a silly or insignificant reaction. “It’s about noticing and identifying the early stages of it, and how it escalates into an abusive situation,” said Tran, who has experienced violence with men in the past.

“Not only are we acknowledging the victims, but we’re building them up as well,” said project coordinator Rehana Hirjee, in grey tights and jean shorts, who sat alongside the clothesline with Tran.

She feels that women lack the outlets to express their experiences with violence and can remain silent out of fear that an abusive significant other will discover their disclosure. The Clothesline provides a safe place to tell those stories.

“It’s a silent protest, I think.

Once you read it, it has such an impact,” said Hirjee, with long dark curls framing her face.

Each shirt was colour-coded to symbolize the form of abuse and whether the victim survived.

“He spat on my face and he hit me...he called me a bitch and he kicked me…one black eye and a bleeding head…I vow never to

go back and not to listen to what he says,” read a lime green shirt, representing a survivor of incest and sexual abuse, which hung near Lake Devo.

But women aren’t the only survivors of violence. Earlier in the afternoon a man who had been abused by two of his former wives asked Hirjee if there was room for men who were victims. “Why not?” replied Hirjee.

“I want men to know, ‘listen we’re in this together,’” said Tran, her hair pulled back in a low ponytail. “V-day isn’t a pro-woman, antimen group. We’re pro-human.”

Jeff Perera, a social work student currently organizing Ryerson’s White Ribbon Campaign (RWRC), came out to support the CLP workshop on Saturday, and hopes to work with V-Day in the future.

The RWRC is an organization of students, staff and faculty dedicated to ending men’s violence against women through awareness and education.

Perera’s aim is to create a space for Ryerson’s male population to discuss its role in violence without blaming. “It’s not the ‘oppressor, you are the enemy’ discussion. Let’s find how we can be part of the solution,” says Perera.

Perera’s mother was a victim of violence. He believes that remaining silent about the issue allows it to fester and grow. “You’re part of the problem or part of the solution,” he says.

V-Day also sold “I (heart) vagina” t-shirts and buttons and received donations for future cam-

paigns, as well as for the Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children, an organization that provides community education, justice and safety programs.

None of the stories that were written on shirts will be lost, said Tran. V-day intends to hold another CLP on campus in September and will reuse shirts created during their first workshop. She wants to spread the message that anyone can start a CLP, and hopes to collaborate with other projects across Toronto.

“We essentially want the CLP to be a Toronto collective that started here at Ryerson, and that’s beautiful. So we’re calling out to people,” says Tran.

Wearing a long, patchwork skirt, with a feather tied in her hair, Storisteanu sat beside the red t-shirt that she decorated the previous day, which symbolized rape.

“It is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy,” the shirt read, which came from the poem “Desiderata” by Max Ehrmann, surrounded by a circular design that branched off into curls.

Underneath were the words, “I’m working on forgiving you…slowly… taking it day by day.”

Although she feels that many things have contributed to her healing process, Storisteanu says that witnessing the messages of other women was empowering for her.

She knows that voicing what she went through potentially helped someone else.

“It doesn’t make you feel so anonymous, sharing your story.”

charlotte ireland

Charge Bush with war crimes, says law prof

By Alexandra MacAulay Abdelwahab Former United States President George W. Bush could be charged with war crimes for violating sections of international law, according to Michael Mandel, a lawyer and criminal law professor at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School.

“George Bush is about the biggest homicidal maniac of our time,” he said during a meeting about why Bush should be charged with war crimes.

Mandel delivered his talk on May 22 at the United Steelworkers’ Hall in Toronto, an event that promoted a rally protesting Bush’s visit to Toronto the following week. On May 29, Bush delivered a speech with former US President Bill Clinton at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside to say: “War criminals not welcome here!”

Mandel is familiar with US foreign policy.

In 2004, he published a book called How America Gets Away With Murder: Illegal

Wars, Collateral Damage and Crimes Against Humanity. Nearly 100 people attended the meeting to hear him speak, along with American war resister Chuck Wiley, who spoke about his experience in the Iraq War. When Wiley could no longer support the war, he became a conscientious objector and came to Canada in February 2007. Wiley served in both the Army and the Navy during his 17-year military career.

According to Mandel, there are numerous international laws that Bush has violated during his time in office, especially in relation to his illegal war in Iraq. International law states that wars can only be fought in self-defence, and must be backed by the United Nations Security Council. The Iraq War was launched pre-emptively, and was not backed by the UN. Mandel also explained that Bush could be charged under Canada’s Criminal Code: under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, enacted in 2000, the Crown is able

to charge war criminals who enter Canada.

According to Mandel, Bush could also be charged for wilfully depriving prisoners of war of a fair and equitable trial, as was the case at Guantánamo Bay, or for sanctioning the use of torture, as was the case at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

On the same day as Mandel delivered his talk, Désiré Munyaneza had become the first person convicted under Canada’s War Crimes Act for crimes committed in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Munyaneza sought refuge in Canada in 1997. He was arrested in October 2005.

When asked if the same law could be used to charge Bush with war crimes, Mandel explained that charges can only be filed with the support of Canada’s Attorney General. There is no chance that the current Attorney General, Robert Nicholson, will ever allow such charges to be filed against

Bush, or any other former US president.

“It is because Canada’s hands are just as covered in blood as the Americans,” Mandel said. “We’re aiding and abetting everything they’ve done. So why would we charge them?

We’re just as guilty as they are.”

However, Mandel said that there is another way that Bush could be charged with war crimes in Canada. Under Canada’s torture laws, any Canadian citizen could prosecute someone whom they believe has committed torture.

Canadians do not require their government’s formal approval or support to initiate this type of prosecution.

In 2004, the last time Bush visited Canada, Mandel and members of Lawyers Against the War pursued this approach to hold Bush to account for his crimes in office.

The courts eventually threw the case out, because the judge said the issue was being dealt with in the US.

omar mosleh

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1. Subway car getting repainted at Greenwood TTC Maintenance Yard.

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2. A display at the old Toronto Stock Exchange on Bay Street. Ping pong balls represent various demographic groups and the type of homes they inhabit.

3. A closeup of a shelf in one of the many library rooms at Osgoode Hall.

4. A rusted piece of machinery of unknown purpose at the Don Valley Brickworks.

5. Toronto Reference Library on Yonge Street, north of Bloor.

6. Detailed view of stained glass window at Osgoode Hall.

PHOTOS BY DAN RIOS

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It’s tImE to aCt to stoP tamIL sUffERIng

By Tammy Kleine It’s late at night. Everywhere you look there are scenes of hungry children crying out for their mothers, women clutching at meager possessions and armed soldiers looming in the background. These people are defenseless. They are poor. They are powerless.

And according to the Sri Lankan government, they are terrorists who warrant imprisonment in internment camps.

Many human rights organizations claim that the forced detention of hundreds of thousands of Tamils in the camps proves their claims about an ongoing genocide of the Tamil people. The United Nations estimates that over 70,000 Tamils have been killed in the decades-long conflict in Sri Lanka.

Other say it’s over 100,000.

The most recent siege began in January this year. Since then, the Sri Lankan government has committed numerous atrocities against the Tamil population, killing thousands and injuring many more.

Government forces have shelled schools, hospitals and other civilian areas, including so-called “safe zones” where Tamils fleeing the war have tried to seek refuge.

Tamil citizens around the world have protested these actions, accusing the Sri Lankan government of ethnic cleansing under the guise of “fighting terror”. In Toronto, home to the largest Tamil community in Canada, protestors have called on the United Nations and Western governments to use their power and influence to stop the war. Many have compared the current conflict in Sri Lanka to the Rwandan genocide that took place over several months in 1994. Over 800,000 people died before the international community intervened.

Tamil Canadians and their allies aren’t the only ones joining the protests. Prominent Sri Lankan expatriates have raised their voices to condemn the war. Grammy- and Oscar-nominated artist M.I.A. is among them.

“I have a really great opportunity to bring forward what’s going on in Sri Lanka,” the singer said on the Travis Smiley Show earlier this year. “There’s a genocide going on and it’s ironic that I’m the only Tamil. I was there when the war started and fled as a refugee to England when the war started.

Since I’ve fled until now there’s been a systematic genocide which has kind of been a quiet thing since

no one [in the West] knows where Sri Lanka is.”

The ban by the Sri Lankan government on all media in the war zones has contributed to a lack of reliable coverage of the suffering of Tamils in Sri Lanka. Recently three British journalists were deported from Sri Lanka for exposing the widespread abuse of Tamils at the hands of the Sri Lankan Army. The only news available is one-sided propaganda reports by the Sri Lankan government-controlled media. Humanitarian organizations have also been banned from entering the war zones, limiting the testimony of aid workers.

But now that the official conflict has come to an end, international observers have called for inquiries into possible war crimes by the Sri Lankan government.

Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, recently demanded an independent investigation into the conduct of Sri Lankan forces during the war, in response to the growing list of accusations. Human rights groups have applauded Pillay’s call, but worry it may be too late. Sri Lanka now has total control of former Tamil-held lands where it continues to mistreat the Tamil population.

Over the last few months, Tamil Canadians and their allies have struggled to bring this issue to the attention of the government and the wider public. Rallies, marches, street blockades and occupations have become commonplace in the streets of downtown Toronto. Although some people have responded with irritation to the protests or object to the use of the term “genocide”, a human catastrophe among Tamils in Sri Lanka is nevertheless well underway.

The world can no longer ignore the fact that the death toll from the current war could be in the tens of thousands, and that Tamils continue to suffer, even though the war is now officially over.

The international community must show support for human rights, dignity and justice. It must act now to save the Tamils.

Since this article was written, reports from the Times of London have estimated that “more than 20,000 Tamil civilians were killed in the final throes of the Sri Lankan civil war, most as a result of government shelling.”

IMPERIAL BRITISH CARTOGRAPHERS

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A spectre is haunting campus: Marxism comes to Ryerson

By Salmaan Abdul Hamid Khan

Marxism 2009 at Ryerson’s Student Centre featured sessions on how Marxism is still necessary today.

CHARLOTTE IRELAND

Marxism 2009: Global Crisis, Global Resistance was a three-day festival of over 30 talks that took place at Ryerson University from May 29 to 31. With over 200 people attending, the event proved to be an entertaining, educational and eye-opening experience. In between the book-browsing, the seminars and the thoughtful discussions, I was able to sneak in a quick interview with Lisa Karoway, a representative of the International Socialists, the organization that hosted the event.

This is our conversation.

Who are the International Socialists?

The International Socialists are a revolutionary organization that works toward peace, justice, equality, and that wants to build a better world based on human need, not profit. We try our best to work with other organizations and to engage the working class in the struggle against capitalist exploitation and oppression.

How do you plan to bring about a socialist revolution?

There isn’t really a set plan or a step-by-step procedure.

It’s all about engaging and working with other organizations in the fight for justice in the here and now. We try to identify the root cause of the problem and bring people together in a common struggle to find the solution. It’s really all about ground-

work. The struggles we fight now help prepare us for the bigger task of re-organizing society on a more fair and just basis.

Why is socialism the answer to some of our current problems?

First of all, socialism brings power to the vast majority of people and puts them in control of their lives. Right now no one has the inherent right to live free of exploitation and oppression, and that’s because of the way our system— capitalism—is structured. Capitalism is a destructive system: it destroys the environment, puts profits before people’s needs and breeds war. Countless industries waste time, energy and resources on manufacturing all kinds of useless trinkets, for example. But if the majority of people had real power, they could organize industry toward the production of more useful necessities and services such as food, housing, healthcare and education.

You say that capitalism is something that is destructive toward the environment. How would a socialist society differ? Is it not also focused on rapid development and mass production, as was the case in Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)?

The USSR was not a real socialist society. The workers did not really own or control the means of production, and

Growing up Urban A look at Montreal’s inner-city plant life

By Jessica Finch Montreal is a beautiful city with a unique personality.

Its character is reflected in its people, its downtown and its natural environment. Like many major cities, Montreal’s downtown is busy with heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic, leaving trees and greenery in the city’s core almost non existent.

Certain plants, that many would consider weeds, have proven to be resilient in this city pushing their way through the cracks in sidewalks and roadsides. While plants struggle in the city, they thrive on Montreal’s Mount Royal, an urban, picturesque natural park.

Within the city, Mount Royal is a popular tourist attraction providing great views and extensive bike trails. As many people are discovering, however, the true beauty

of this park lies in its finer, natural details. Lana Kim McGeary, an herbalist and PhD student at Concordia University, is very familiar with the mountain and holds Plant Identification Walks here to help others discover the beauty as well as the medicinal values of the area’s plants. In her view, “Many people [in the city] have become disconnected from plants and consider them weeds.” By walking on the mountain and really getting in touch with these plants she encourages an understanding of the role nature plays in our lives. On May 16, McGeary gave one of her first guided plant walks of the season.

The walk began by examining one of Montreal’s most common plants, the dandelion. McGeary said that, “… plants [like dandelions] that grow in abundance close

to us are meant to be consumed.”

While often overlooked or disregarded, the dandelion has many nourishing characteristics. They taste great in salads and can be made into wines or oils that can actually help with liver function.

The leaves as well as the flowers and buds can all be eaten, and the white sap or ‘milk’ in the dandelion’s stem can help control age spots and warts if consistently applied.

Further up the mountain, McGeary explains the potency of violets, ground ivy and stinging nettles, all plants that can be made into tinctures, a maceration of the plant in alcohol or vinegar.

Turning these plants into medically viable tinctures can be a lengthy and difficult process, but before picking the plants it is important to

they had no real democratic rights. They might have had rights on paper, but not in reality. In a real socialist society, workers would have the power and means to challenge the destruction of the environment. They would have the power to create alternatives, and not get overshadowed by large corporations. In a capitalist society such as ours, the corporations are in control of these critical decisions. Whatever they wish, the government follows.

Is a socialist revolution possible in the developed, rich nations? Does it have to happen there before it’s possible in the developing world?

It must absolutely be a global movement in order to be successful. As Lenin once said, “If this (socialist revolution) does not happen all over the world, it would destroy us”. If Canada had its own revolution, what do you think the reaction would be from our neighbours down south? …It really needs to be a global and collective movement.

How could one get more involved with the International Socialists (IS)?

A great way would be to join the IS campus club at your university or college (if there’s one on your campus). Or you could always drop by one of our branches or visit us online: www.socialist.ca.

understand them in depth.

Many plants, as McGeary describes, “have a small window of opportunity [in which they can be picked]” to truly benefit from the plant’s properties. Picking certain plants after their ‘window’ or harvesting the wrong part of a plant can be dangerous as some may contain or release toxins. If that plant and its rhythm of growth are understood the likelihood of getting sick diminishes. It is also crucial not to overpick a certain species as doing so can destroy that plant colony in the area.

McGeary offers many

workshops on Montreal’s plant life and holds demonstrations on how to create tinctures, oils and other remedial products. For additional information on natural goods, walks or workshops in Montreal contact Lana Kim McGeary at abundanceliving@hotmail.com.

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Ryerson Free Press june 2009 19

OPINION Tamils mourn, the Sinhalese celebrate With new death counts totalling in the tens of thousands, Tamil-Canadians are left to wonder if real peace will ever be possible in their homeland

By Lakshine Sathiyanathan Unity in Sri Lanka is inconceivable. The “end” of the war posits extreme and indefensible polar positions. While the Sinhalese majority burst into jubilation in the capital city, the end held different implications for Tamils in the war-torn north.

The declaration of an emphatic military “victory” in the humbly dubbed “war on terror” is deceiving. The defeat of the Tamil Tigers becomes the false belief that with the Tigers, Tamil aspirations for an independent state have been squashed. Worse, the catastrophic civilian causalities that have been ignored and revered as a victory is indicative of the abhorrent nature present in Sinhalese nationalism.

Once a civil war, for some a liberation struggle, the labels have become polarized since. The recent escalation in violence and the end to the war has dwindled the conflict into a two-way race – war on terror versus genocide. Many Sinhalese adopt the former.

They are the ones who engage in moral hypocrisy – supporting a stance for no more legitimate a reason than denouncing the other, in mere efforts to fulfill an untold obligation to their ethnicity. The rationale behind their position is clear; in some cases, it comes down to their last name. Morality should not be tied to family trees.

Such blind support is the product of contrived ethnic loyalty, moral idiocy and the perversion of the global “war on terror.”

They are indoctrinated with extreme Sinhalese nationalism, evident in the determination by successive Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lankan governments to transform multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-lingual, multicultural Sri Lanka into a Sinhalese-Buddhist state. Sri Lanka strives for uniformity, not unity.

The desire to destroy the Tamil national identity carries over to some in the Sinhalese community in Canada. Fitted with Sri Lankan governmentprescribed blinders, Sinhalese-Canadian protestors condemned the Tamil Tigers in counter-protests, blanket-branding Tamil-Canadian protestors as “terrorists.” They use the terrorist rhetoric as a guise to divert attention from the Sri Lankan government’s own grave humanitarian abuses and blatant disregard for “its people” in its military offensive.

They make no distinction between Tamils and the Tamil Tigers. We are terrorists. We are Tiger-sympathizers. We support a ruthless terrorist organization.

Condemn the Tigers, if you must.

But save the Tamils.

They refuse to acknowledge the Tamil Eelam flag, or what they call the Tamil Tiger terrorist flag, as the symbol of our national identity. We do not identify with the orange strip meant to represent us in the periphery of the Sri Lankan flag. We will not raise the flag of the country that has oppressed us

and pushed us to the peripherals of its society.

Attacks on a Toronto-area Sinhalese-Buddhist Temple and a Sinhalese restaurant have been conveniently exploited to further alienate the Tamil community.

These attacks have been incorrectly pinned on rising Tamil fervour and so-called Tamil Tiger tactics.

Tamils continue to be the easily accessible scapegoat for some.

Sri Lanka’s Consul General Bandula Jayasekara claimed the restaurant fire as an act of Tamil Tiger militancy. But the Sinhalese family who owned the restaurant did not wish to speculate or point fingers at Tamils or Tamil Tigers without evidence. His statement as a diplomat deliberately perpetrates communal animosities in his bid to hold power and strike fear. His sentiment is anti-Tamil under the front of anti-Tamil Tiger.

The unity and triumphant rejoicing that the Sri Lankan government speaks of is yet another ploy in the self-satisfying narrative it continues to write. A united Sri Lanka is indeed a bold-faced lie, when thousands of Tamils are living in dire conditions, segregated from the rest of this rejoicing society. Confined to tarpaulin tents and surrounded by barbed wire and armed soldiers, they have fled the war zone, only to be bombarded by the frighteningly familiar images of war yet again. Tamils mourn, the Sinhalese celebrate.

They make no distinction between Tamils and the Tamil Tigers. We are terrorists. We are Tiger-sympathizers.

ANDREW LOUIS/THE VARSITY

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PoPE IssUEs no aPoLogy to sURvIvoRs of REsIDEntIaL sChooLs

Unlike Stephen Harper’s apology last year, Pope Bennedict XVI only issued words of regret over the role of the Catholic Church in cultural genocide

By David Thurton ask alvin dixOn if any good came from his eight years of residential school education and he’ll tell you, but, be prepared for words of humiliation and scorn.

“How can you say any good came out when you’re removing children from family homes and communities? How can you expect any good to come out of that?

That’s a dumb stupid question. Get it through your head!

“You were physically punished, you were emotionally abused, you were mentally abused, you were psychologically abused. There’s absolutely no saving grace from removing children from parents and family. That by itself is an act of major abuse,” Dixon said.

It’s clear that years of hurt and pain still linger in Dixon’s heart and those of other residential school students.

“If you read the statement issued by the Vatican. It’s not a statement of apology.

It’s a statement of regret,” said head of the National Residential School Survivor Society Michael Cachagee.

But if he and other survivors were looking for an apology from Pope Benedict xVI for the Catholic Church’s role in the residential schools they didn’t

get one.

Just in time for this month’s one-year anniversary of the Canadian Government’s historic apology to residential school students, the Pope addressed the church’s role in the residential school scandal.

At its height in the 1930s, the Catholic Church operated three-fifths of all residential schools across Canada. An 1884 amendment to the Indian Act took Aboriginal children under age 16 away from their parents and forced them to attend boarding schools.

While one intention of the schools was to educate First Nations children, the schools also intended to assimilate them into the dominant European culture on the basis that the their Native culture was inferior.

Like Stephen Harper’s apology where residential school survivors sat in the middle of the parliamentary chamber and heard an apology from the leader of the federal parliament, a contingent of former residential school students met with the Pope and heard his words.

But, unlike Harper’s comments, the Holy Father’s words were not broadcasted and media were excluded from the papal audience. And more importantly, the Holy Father never apologized to the residential school survivors.

A statement from the Canadian Council of Catholic Bishops said the “Holy Father expressed compassion toward the Aboriginal communities of Canada for the unfortunate events that occurred in the residential schools for over a century.”

This, “If you read the statement issued by the Vatican. It’s not a statement of apology. It’s a statement of regret,” said head of the National Residential School Survivor Society Michael Cachagee.

A statement of regret, Cachagee said, cannot be transferred into Aboriginal languages.

“The only way I can apologize in my language is to admit that I was wrong and promise not to do it again.

The word apology doesn’t fit into the lexicon of our people,” the residential school survivor said.

Back in 1991, the Canadian Catholic Church did apologize to Indigenous people for running residential schools.

“We are sorry and deeply regret the pain, suffering and alienation that so many experienced. We have heard their cries of distress, feel their anguish and want to be part of the healing process,” the statement read.

It also apologized for the ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious imperialism that Europeans and the church imposed on First Nations people. And the Canadian Church also said it has paid to date approximately $75 million in compensation to residential school students.

Without question, Canadian church leaders clearly admitted their guilt and commitment to repair the past in these statements and actions.

But, Benedict’s statements failed to build the reconciliation that the Canadian government and churches started and need to be committed to build in the future.

Moreover, because the Pope didn’t acknowledge the church’s sins he failed to renew the church’s tarnished integrity that desperately needs to occur in the minds of many Canadians who have become disillusioned with the church and organized religion.

Recalling the mission of Saint Francis of Assisi, a thirteenth century saint called by God to reform the corrupt church of his time, the National Anglican Indigenous Bishop Mark MacDonald expressed a similar need for reform among Christian Churches of today.

“I don’t understand why we as church institutions we are trying to say look how wonderful we are. I think people will be more impressed by sincere repentance.

Staking out our prerogatives as institutions.

“We’re really at a time when our authority must be two things. It must be our humility and message.”

PAPA@FLICkR.COM

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Reena Katz vs. the Koffler Centre for the Arts

Katz’s recent exhibition showcases the rich Jewish history of Kensington Market. Why did the Koffler Centre pull funding from her exhibit?

By Jeff Winch Just when I thought humankind was moving forward, it happily steps back into the parochial past.

Reena Katz has been shunned by her own community.

The emerging artist is deeply proud of her Jewish identity and history and she was preparing for the biggest show of her career. It was to be an ambitious and multidimensional performance piece titled each hand as they are called.

Then on Thursday, May 7, she got an e-mail from the Koffler Centre for the Arts saying they wanted an emergency meeting, but not saying what the emergency was.

The next morning the meeting took place. It was one of those brief events that turns your stomach and capsizes your month, perhaps changes the trajectory of your career.

At the meeting Lori Starr, director of the Koffler Centre, told Reena and her curator Kim Simon and that the Koffler Centre could no longer associate itself with the project or Reena because of her connection to Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW).

This came as quite a blow.

Reena had not hidden her association with IAW from anyone, in fact she asked the Koffler Centre if it would be a problem right from beginning of the process, about a year earlier. She was told that as long as the work did not touch on the issue of the Palestinians then there would be no problem. But the work does not in any way whatsoever touch this issue. In fact it’s about Jewish history and its roots in Toronto’s Kensington Market. So what’s the problem?

Someone in a position of power (a board member it seems) found out about Reena’s political beliefs and decided they were too controversial. It was decided that the Koffler Centre would disassociate itself from the exhibit.

On Friday, May 8, Lori Starr issued a press release. This public statement came as a surprise to Katz and Simon. It was not mentioned at the meeting with Starr, who phoned them shortly afterward to tell them there would be an announcement.

What she didn’t say was that it would be sent out nationally 20 minutes later and that it would be harsh in tone and misleading in the nature of its wording.

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For instance, the release completely sidesteps the content of Katz’s work and targets only her relationship with IAW. The release is designed to mislead the reader about the mandate of IAW and, by association, Katz.

“It [the Koffler] will not support any individual who actively seeks the demise of Israel as a Jewish state.”

The statement issued on the Koffler website goes even further: “The Koffler Centre of the Arts will not associate with an artist who publicly advocates the extinction of Israel as a Jewish state.”

Notice the use of the words ‘demise,’ ‘extinction’ and ‘Jewish state,’ which conjure up images of the Holocaust.

I urge anyone to go to the IAW website and find any statement that could even be remotely construed as calling for the extinction or demise of Israel. IAW is working to free the Palestinian people from Israel’s brutal and illegal occupation.

They only want the same basic human rights and freedoms entitled to all human beings to be given to Palestinians, who have been denied these things for over 60 years.

The writer(s) of the Koffler Centre’s ridiculous statements are trying to create fear and hysteria to immunize Israel from criticism and legitimize their decision to “disassociate” from Katz – a decision that’s been extremely controversial within the arts community and beyond.

Katz has repeatedly requested a meeting with the board to explain her views. She was refused. And yet the Koffler website states that: “The nature of Israel and its policies are, like any other state, subject to dialogue, debate and examination, and the Koffler Centre of the Arts has no intention of stifling that dialogue.” What blatant hypocrisy.

Reena Katz isn’t even saying anything on the topic with her work, which is a celebration of Jewish culture and history. She is being punished only for her beliefs, ones she was not even expressing in her relationship with the Koffler Centre.

This is really insidious territory, bordering on ‘thought-crime’ from Orwell’s 1984.

The Koffler Centre has now revealed itself as being against freedom of expression and in support of a rogue state.

Here is the very first line of the Koffler Centre’s mandate: “The Koffler’s mission is to create a more civil and global society by fostering mutual understanding through the exploration of arts and culture.” Unless, of course, you have beliefs that are critical of Israel, like Reena Katz and the majority of the International community. I’m sure those two great men of culture and understanding - Stephen Harper and Jason Kenney - are applauding the Koffler decision. Is the Koffler entering a new era of neo-con ‘with us or against us’ membership?

The money is still available for the show, apparently. “The Koffler Centre of the Arts will honour its financial commitments,” reads the statement. But Katz has already had to postpone the show’s opening. Because of the Koffler shunning, some of the participants have pulled out. The Jewish seniors at Baycrest she had been working with, via two social workers, are supposedly no longer interested.

But Katz hasn’t heard it from the people themselves, only via a message sent through the social workers, who don’t want Katz to speak to the seniors directly. The Koffler Centre has begun downloading all the administrative tasks onto Simon and Katz, trying to make it as difficult for them to execute the show as possible. Lawyers are involved now, and on it goes.

This whole business smacks unpleasantly of McCarthyism, except that it’s even more twisted and regressive.

The false demon here is not Communism, it’s justice and peace!

And the ‘good guys’ are not fighting for democracy or freedom, they support continued oppression and colonization of the Palestinians and theft of their land.

The Koffler Centre and other pro-Israeli groups (should they be called anti-Palestinian?) probably feel they have taught Reena Katz a lesson. I expect they also think this move will silence other critics of Israel in the arts community.

But Reena Katz will be proven right in the end and she will triumph. Those who shun her now don’t seem to realize that history will not look back on them kindly.

For interested readers, Kim Simon’s and Reena Katz’s response to the Koffler Centre’s actions can be found at http://eachhand.org

Don’t sIt on thE nEWsPaPER

By Amanda Cupido

riding the subway can be boring and sometimes my iPod just doesn’t cut it. Being a student means I am not about to blow five bucks on a magazine, but rather, I take advantage of anything that is free. The Metro is one publication that has helped me through some of the most boring subway rides.

Last week I picked up a fresh paper. Of course, the fresh ones are the papers that aren’t all ripped and falling apart and found on the seat. No, I had picked up a crisp issue; a bundle of stories and images that take you from politics to entertainment to random statistics printed at the top of certain pages.

I got on the subway and after skimming through the paper, I realized I had not finished a reading that was required for my evening class. I set the Metro on the seat beside me – still in perfect condition. I figured someone would appreciate reading a copy that doesn’t have the Sudoku ripped out or a mysterious slimy substance on the cover.

Sure enough, two stops later, a woman approaches and picks up the paper. With a smile on my face I knew the lady was probably happy to find such a great copy on the seat. A rarity.

But then something caught my eye. The woman was not reading the paper but had placed it on her seat and was sitting on it. I stared at her for a second and let the scene soak in. Why would anyone do that? Was the seat dirty? Did she like the feeling of crispy paper? Whatever the reason, I found it disrespectful.

Do people realize how much time goes into a paper?

Think about the reporters, the people who were interviewed, the editors, the photographers... the list goes

on. Each story is read and reread in order to be sculpted into perfection, or close to it. Each word is thought of, written and put together with others words to make art.

Yes, articles are art. They can be hard-hitting, they can leave you in awe and you can bring it up in conversation to appear cultured.

Although some publications are free, it does not take away from their value. Just as much time and effort was put forth in producing it. Sadly, this particular lady did not think twice about any of that.

Her stop approached before mine and as she stood up, my eyes darted to the concave figured issue of the Metro.

Although reshaped, it was still intact and somewhat crisp. I was relieved. Someone else may be able to read it.

But then, the unthinkable happened.

The woman picked up the paper and scrunched it up into a ball... or as much of a ball that she could make with the thick, knowledge enriched issue. The doors then opened and she walked out and threw the paper in the garbage.

And just like that, my heart plummeted. Maybe it’s because that paper would have been timely for several more hours. Maybe it’s because I’m worried about print journalism surviving in today’s world of online updates and bloggers. Maybe I felt an artist’s work was being tossed. I’m not sure. What I do know is a lot of work had been disregarded.

I can’t make anyone appreciate the paper, but as you flip to your favourite section or use it as a seat cushion, know that a lot of people worked hard to meet a deadline and produce a canvas for you to enjoy, so enjoy it.

ALLABOUTGEORGE@FLICkR.COM

takIng thE baIt

As technology evolves, so do the ways in which students’ personal information can be stolen

By Jessica Cobran these days, it seems like someone always has a trick (or scam) up their sleeves.

Whether its card skimming (when a merchant or bank machine has a device that copies your bank card information) or credit card scams, there’s always something to be weary and cautious of. email phishing Email phishing is becoming a pretty popular scam.

You may have heard of it before. The way email phishing works is you receive an email from your “bank.” The email looks real, for the most part, because it contains the bank’s logo. However, most of the emails, although very slick, do contain spelling and/or grammatical errors. Sometimes even the email address may look legit but it may conceal the scammers address. The email usually involves some type of problem that requires an urgent response and they usually ask you to follow the link and enter your banking information (i.e. card number and PIN/password).

Let’s say you click on the link but don’t put in your information. Just by clicking on link you have installed a tracking cookie. Even worse, if you clicked on the link and put in your information they now have access to your banking.

In an age where students tend to be more tech savvy, you may have already heard a thing or two about email phishing, and perhaps you are knowledgeable enough to avoid it. card skimming Card skimming, which is also on the rise, is an issue that seems to be less obvious than email scams. Perhaps you one day are walking down the street and pass by a bakery and decide to pop in and buy a treat. Because

hardly anyone carries cash anywhere, you whip out your debit card. Little do you know, the bakery has a machine equipped to copy your card information. Next thing you know, your bank is calling you saying they suspect fraud on your card and to go into your nearest branch with two pieces of I.D. The smaller the merchant the more likely this is to happen to you. Once your card information has been copied, it can be used to create a fake card and withdraw money from your account. credit card calling Another scam is one where a person calls you on behalf of the credit card company stating that they just found fraud on your card and they try to confirm if you made that particular purchase. When you say “no” they proceed to confirm that there has indeed been fraud committed on your credit card. The scary part is that these imposters have your name, address and even your card number. They confirm everything with you to make sure they have the right information. Lastly, they ask you to confirm the three digits on the back of the card. This is the only piece of information that they do not have and once they get you to give it to them, they start charging away on your credit card.

Now this information is not to get you ‘noid, it’s here to help you be prepared.

Banks and credit card companies advise that you should never give your credit card information or personal information over the phone, unless you initiated the call.

When at a store, keep an eye on what the merchant is doing with your card. They also recommend that you change your PIN often.

Whatever you do, just don’t take the bait!

ryerson free press

june 2009

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CULTURE Getting RUFF

By Michael Allen

In a darkened Royal Cinema, at the heart of Little Italy, Ryerson University’s latest crop of filmmakers gathered to share their work with their families, friends and even some industry professionals.

After months of work, the festival kicked off with a gala on May 13, followed by screenings May 14, 15 and 16. Latecomers had to watch from the aisles as there was scarcely an empty seat every night. The attendees were served a wide variety of subjects and styles and found themselves expecting the unexpected.

The Ryerson University Film Festival (RUFF) has become an annual tradition for the School of Image Arts. It’s an opportunity for the graduating film class to showcase their work and hopefully get a little exposure that will help set them on their career path.

In keeping with the collaborative nature of the program, RUFF is a production on par with any large-scale film project, organized and run entirely by the graduating students. The director, fourth-year student Karen Harnisch, is proud of the grassroots approach her and her classmates took in organizing the event.

“This was the first year that we did not rely on any outside funding,” Harnisch said.

Whereas in previous years outside sponsors have covered the budget, in an industry feeling michael allen the pinch of the recession, the student-orga-

nized festival has relied heavily on the resourcefulness of its organizers.

“In our program everyone makes it clear what their strengths are and what they can offer on a production. We use our skills to the fullest and the same applies to organizing RUFF,” said Harnisch.

As a way of cutting costs, volunteers pooled their own talents. For example, two fourth-year film students designed a website for the festival, a task previously outsourced to a third party.

Michael Conford, a Ryerson film professor who has attended many RUFFs in the past, was still excited about this year’s screenings.

“Every year is different,” said Conford. “It’s always about the surprise. Sometimes things work out on screen in ways you didn’t expect them to when you first read the script.”

Conford and other fourth-year professors had their hands full deciding which films would get the go-ahead or green-light to proceed. Of the more than forty ideas submitted by students last fall, twenty-nine scripts have now transformed into the short films of RUFF with every student in the class having lent a hand in each production.

Students competed for their share of production grants from local film companies to off-set their expenses but in the end, the majority of films have been funded by the students themselves.

“They were well-executed considering the production value,” observed Aidan Leach, a York University grad who attended the festival in support of his Ryerson friends. “The diversity of the whole class is clear in the variety of the films.”

Conford believes the audience plays an important role in the festival. “It’s a completely different experience screening work to an audience because they’ll see things in a new way that the filmmaker never expected.”

Even though RUFF may be the last act in their careers as Ryerson students, it’s perhaps the first real test for the graduates to get honest feedback from a fresh perspective. Attendees are always happy to lend their feedback, because as Leach observes, even if something isn’t from a genre you normally watch, “a well-made film is still a well-made film.”

Reviews from the Ryerson University Film Festival

By Maiya Keidan

Walking into Toronto’s Royal Theatre on College Street is like stepping into a time machine. Built in 1939, it even smells like history. Deep breath. Musty greeting. It’s clean but definitely damp-smelling. The seats squeak when you fidget. Nevertheless the giant screen is the perfect place for screening the culmination of months of work of the Ryerson film students. The following are movie highlights of two days of festival-going, Friday and Saturday.

Friday Clockwork and Steam This film, written and directed by Brendan Inglis, revolved around an elderly man who attended to a steampowered machine. His life was as mechanical as the machine, activities confined to strict time increments, signaled by a buzzing sound. By the end of the twelve-minute video, I learned to despise that buzz. The only spark of happiness in this senior’s life is when adopts a pet robot. Once their friendship grows, the man dies. I have to admit this definitely wasn’t my favourite. It felt like the creators were trying to shove the whole I’m-an-artistic-film-student idea down our throats. Does it have to be so slow moving to make its point?

Snow The filmmakers went on a camping trip to film this movie, which was intended to showcase humanity’s ability to return to its natural roots. It’s funny, I talked to a number of people about this film and they all said the same thing…I don’t get it. It was difficult to follow, at best and I didn’t draw any meaning from the film until I read the program. However, the musical score for this film was absolutely beautiful and I loved the authenticity of it all, such as the truly red-fromthe-cold nose of the main actor. It was just real.

Life on Earth This film features a young girl who is dragged to a “Believers” camp by her parents. Her father indulges the mother in her belief in aliens out of love, meanwhile smirking with his daughter about it. Though the father’s acting was sub-par, the story is beautiful and the woman who plays the

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mother makes up for it. It becomes apparent that the mother is mentally ill and the father refuses to accept it. Their realization of her madness is tragic. If it weren’t for the father character’s insincere acting, you wouldn’t have been able to tear your eyes from the screen.

Harvest Harvest wasn’t a film in the traditional sense. It was a performance-type dance in which the protagonist is dressed entirely in white. She begins the film by frolicking in a field until she finds herself dead on the ground. She runs into a room, playing the movie on a number of television screens where she is encircled by frightening black figures who dance around her, painting her with blood, until she is entirely covered. Drew Lint, director, writer, and production designer said the film represented the cycle of life and death. “It’s terrifying at first but the blood becomes a rejuvenation force,” he said. The dancing was perfect for those who enjoy contemporary dance.

Grass’ War on Global Warming This is an absolutely hysterical fifteen-minute mockumentary-style portrayal of an environmental activist, named Grass. The movie begins with Grass presenting his sad, little organization, PETE, before a high school. Later in the movie, he’s told not to come back. As life continues to decline for Grass and his movement, he tells the cameras, sitting in the chair, he’s going to keep doing what he’s doing. This film is the environmental version of Napoleon Dynamite mixed with The Office. I literally did not stop laughing the entire movie.

On a deeper note, this film also questioned the importance of perseverance and causes.

are magically solved when they meet on the same steps of the park again and “really see” one another.

Johnny Apocalypse I was poised to hate this film for its description of a fifteen-year old boy, animated, and placed in an end-of-theworld scenario. But I absolutely loved it, against all reason.

In fact, this film was my favourite of the whole festival. The whole place erupted into loud applause at its conclusion. I loved the narrator’s voice and the crackling of the campfire at the beginning. His voice reflected the tone of the piece, low and strong.

Ultra Ultra is people running. More specifically, it’s a documentary of a 50 km marathon. All you see is someone running. All you hear is the tapping of feet and the panting of breath. My reaction? I got the point in the first minute.

Sitting through the next six was unbearable.

Sara 1992 After losing her father, a young girl takes a trip up to a cabin. Dressed in her father’s hunting gear, she canoed across the lake with shotgun in tow. Predictably, it accidentally fired and there is a moment of uncertainty in the audience. One man whispered, “oh no.” A few seconds later we realized she was fine and hadn’t been hit. She packed up the boat and continued back to the cabin. Even more touching than the film is director and co-writer, Jessica Toombs’ real-life story.

When Toombs was fourteen, her father passed away of a heart attack.

“Are you at risk too?”

“Probably,” she shrugged, voice rising an octave higher.

Saturday Avec Elle This is a poignant love story between two women who meet in a park. Performed entirely in French, and subtitled in English, their love consisted mainly of staring into one another’s eyes, while singing or painting. Like most couples, they eventually grow apart but their relationship problems

The Re-Tell Tale Heart A young man loses his mind and is driven to stealthily murder his employee in this version of the Tell Tale Heart.

Though the film dealt with dark subject matter, it was told like a fairytale. The furniture and costumes were oversized and dramatically cartoonish. The shadowing and crossover between real life and animation was particularly notable.

Mike Tyson: Older, less angry, and humanized by the lens

James Toback’s film Tyson provides a rare glimpse at Mike Tyson

By Max Arambulo Boxing’s most famous heavyweights could not be more different.

Muhammad Ali was charming, yet supremely confident, and he was arguably the most important figure in the civil rights movement.

Mike Tyson was a boogeyman, goldtoothed and vicious, but also, as the new documentary Tyson argues, a scared and insecure individual.

The film, directed by James Toback, begins with Tyson’s impoverished childhood and ends with his current battle with addiction. Of course, it also covers Tyson’s road to becoming a 20-year-old heavyweight champion and there are clips from his most important fights including his win over Trevor Berbick and his most recent defeat at the hands of journeyman Kevin McBride.

The film is an extended interview with Mike Tyson, Toback’s camera rarely anywhere other than right in front of Kid Dynamite’s face. Tyson looks generally healthy, but he’s clearly older. His face is wrinkled and his eyes, which were once beady and full of only ill-will, are now narrowed, empty strips. That infamous Maori tattoo on the left side of his face seems to have shrunk. He also shows off a Che tattoo on his stomach which is flabby and flowing over his belt.

Tyson simply talks. We don’t hear any of

the interviewer’s questions. All we get are the answers in that all-too-familiar high pitch.

He recalls moments with an odd serenity.

There are occasions, though, of emotion.

Sadness, mostly, not anger. For instance, he recalls, with his voice hitching, the influence of his original trainer Cus D’Amato: “I knew, physically, no one was ever going to fuck with me ever again.” About the famous Barbara Walters interview he did with his first wife, actress Robin Givens, Tyson is again not angry. He says that Givens lied about their marriage and about the alleged emotional abuse.

But he explains, rather romantically, that their marriage was simply a mutual mistake by two kids too young to know better. Mike Tyson, who once wanted to eat children, now waxes nostalgic.

Toback integrates fight footage into the film with the enthusiasm of a true fan. The 90-second Michael Spinks fight is showed in its entirety with the original ringside commentary. Toback more often manipulates and edits the footage so the sport doesn’t overwhelm the movie. Sometimes, he uses an interesting split-screen technique to show a vicious punch simultaneously from different angles so that we get a 360 degree experience of a single moment. He also manipulates footage from outside the ring, from interviews and news reports, to further reveal

Tyson’s character. For instance, he zooms in on Tyson during a presser for the Lennox Lewis fight. There’s a moment where, among dozens of members of his entourage, he seems terrified, eyes wide as he rubs his head. The post-prison version of Tyson was a different animal, one who couldn’t trust anyone around him.

Still, Toback does not take too many

artistic liberties. He mostly lets Tyson tell his story. And Tyson is an amazing storyteller.

For his part, Iron Mike takes even fewer liberties. This is a confession from a truly tragic and intelligent man. It’s an incredibly powerful film that might do what no hookuppercut combination could: elevate Tyson’s standing as a fighter. It might even elevate his standing as a human being.

His face is wrinkled and his eyes, which were once beady and full of only ill-will, are now narrowed, empty strips.

A film about two women and the Iranian Revolution, 30 years on Film Review: The Queen and I, Directed by Nahid Persson Sarvestani

By Amanda Connon-Unda This year marks the 30th anniversary of the revolution in Iran when many Iranians fled the country, demonstrations erupted and protesters were killed. Eventually the ruling Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his wife Queen Farrah Diba were exiled and the government of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini replaced them.

Thirty years on, a new documentary about Farrah Diba has appeared, which reveals the complex relationship between a filmmaker, Nahid Persson Sarvestani, and her subject.

At Hot Docs festival this May in Toronto, Iranian-born filmmaker Nahid Persson Sarvestani revealed her new film to a Toronto audience, that chronicles her encounters with the striking 70-year-old former Queen of Iran, Farrah Diba.

Persson Sarvestani was in Toronto at Hot Docs to serve on the jury for the award going to the best Canadian feature.

She was accompanied by fellow jurors in this category, Sky Sitney, director of programming at SilverDocs and Geoff Pevere, a columnist at The Toronto Star.

With credits to her name of more than 20 documenta-

ries, Persson Sarvestani has a refined and nuanced personal approach in her latest film. Her own story as a former communist protester in Iran, the death of her brother during that time, and her later exile to Sweden are all of importance in her film. Compared with Farrah Diba, Persson Sarvestani’s life has some striking similarities, even for all of their differences. For one, both women had been exiled (Diba was in Paris, France) and both had a longing for home, and a hope for the future stability in their home country.

As the film’s story unfolds before the viewers eyes, we learn of the sensitive nature of making a film about a person whose Royalist advisers are not forthcoming with granting access to her, because they fear the filmmaker will reveal their Queen unfavourably. The whole film brings to the fore the issue of compromising one’s political views for the sake of making a film, and in the end the very process and the relationship with her subject become much more important to the filmmaker than any political statement could be.

In a curious and transparent way, politics are however not brushed under the rug.

Toward the end of the film Persson Sarvestani still deals with challenging interview questions about politics and the acts that Diba’s husband committed during the Iranian Revolution. Meanwhile, the arduous task of reconciling the differences between these two women whose politics are opposed is fully realized.

At the end of the film what is most apparent is a common bond of humanity and womanhood, amongst two people who have become dear friends.

The Queen and I is playing in North York, at the Empire Theatres at Empress Walk movie theatre.

Ryerson Free Press june 2009 25

Jes Sachse’s erotic photos revealed CONTACT Annual Toronto Photography Festival

By Adriana Rolston A stream of customers and artistic admirers wandered amid vibrators, porn and Alleviate, Jes Sachse’s erotic photography series, which hung inside Come as You Are (CAYA) on May 7, as part of Toronto’s CONTACT photography festival.

In a jean vest, with a blonde fringed faux hawk and a silver lightning bolt dangling from her ear, Sachse publicly addressed the negative reactions her debut Contact show received during its initial week of exposure. “If work is self- representative we often take the hit,” she said to the crowd on opening night.

Her collection will be featured at CAYA until June 15th, and focuses on visible disability and self portraiture through the lens of the subject, in an attempt to transcend the stereotypical gaze of disability. From freak shows to the medical text narrative, Sachse uses her own body to juxtapose clichéd imagery in playful and provocative ways.

She plays with gender ambiguity in a series entitled “Hair.” Standing at the foot of a basement with her breasts covered in tin foil and a surgical mask over her face or a pylon grasped between her legs, wearing a moustache.

Sachse was born with a rare condition known as Freeman-Sheldon Syndrome and has scoliosis which curves the spine.

Sarah-Forbes Roberts, one of the co-owners of CAYA said that last spring she invited Sachse to participate in CONTACT 2009 at their venue because she feels there needs to be a place to showcase diverse artistic images of bodies that aren’t mainstream.

“It’s sort of this moment that throws open the door to what is beautiful,” said Roberts, who feels Sachse’s work ties in with the store’s mandate of accessible sexuality.

Her eclectic hodgepodge of photography dates from 2006 up until this past December when she decided to invite viewers into the private space of the bathroom, as opposed to the “yes we can” public image of the wheelchair roving individual. One photograph in particular has generated quite a response.

Sachse stands nude in the shower, grasping the edge of a white plastic curtain as hair dye runs in between her breasts, over her short torso and in between her long legs. A heart reading “crooked” is etched on her chest as tattooed squid tentacles wrap around her arm. Her head is tilted, mouth open, eyes challenging the camera.

“It makes you uncomfortable because I’m naked but I’m also not looking at you in this very renaissance-woman-naked-on-a-couch kind of passive stare, I’m engaging you,” she said.

Audience reactions ranged from “Is that attractive?” to “Why would anyone want to see that?” Sachse worked with Cory Silverberg, part coowner of CAYA to print an educational Q&A response to be posted in the store with copies available for visitors to take.

She realizes that feedback has less to do with her and more to do with the viewers. “You kind of plant a seed. In that act I’ve done my job.”

But backlash has erupted from more than one source. After submitting a blurb about her show to CONTACT organizers in December, which was published on the webpage and printed in distributed magazines, Sachse noticed it was altered without her notification.

The updated version indicated that observers of Alleviate would be extended an invitation to take a “fresh look” at physical disabilities.

“I felt like it really fucked with everything else I wrote because the whole point is to replicate the most tired archetypes that are associated with disability and to self represent and make new ones,” said Sachse, who felt the word “fresh” was a huge contradiction.

“Here I am trying to sell disability. Disability like you’ve never seen it before kind of deal,” she said in a mocking tone. “I was so mad.”

Last year during the Erotic Blender Art Exhibit at the Gladstone Hotel an Eye Weekly reporter who interviewed her commented on how articulate she was before remarking that “disability is so en vogue,” said Sachse.

This is the type of vibe she has received from the Toronto art scene.

“Any media attention has had to do with the fact that disability is, I don’t now, the new black or something.”

But Sachse plans to incorporate these experiences into her art in a variety of different media. Currently in the works, a collaborative documentary will follow the responses her work has received over the years and include other politically like-minded artists. She will continue exploring ways to photograph the medical narrative, infantalization, iconography and censorship associated with disability.

“My method of dealing with stuff is tongue and cheek kind of humour. I’ve come to realize doing the work itself is enough in terms of addressing it. Adding to the dialogue is enough.”

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“Any media attention has had to do with the fact that disability is, I don’t know, the new black or something.”

photos by adriana rolston

DOORS OPEN…NOBODY HOME Behind the scenes of the Canadian literature scene

By James Howick After spending a lot of years working in events I can honestly say that the success of an event is made or broken by the quality of the venue. It seems odd that so much will hinge on an inanimate object - something that doesn’t talk or serve drinks, something that hasn’t put in the hours to bring everything together and pull in a crowd. But it’s true.

You may not think that having an author reading in a brewery would be an ideal location, and you’d be right. Literature and alcohol mix in all kinds of beautiful and mysterious ways (just ask any writer to elaborate), but having a reading series in a brewery is the worst kind of insult. Not only do the tinny vats of mash and abundance of brick walls make the readers’ voices utterly disappear, but their attention is being superseded by a thing which they love almost as much as the craft itself.

I went to the Steam Whistle Brewery to see a friend and accomplished local author read from her latest short story collection. She’d come prepared to read five or six of her stories, be up for maybe half an hour with an attentive, appreciative crowd. She is an accomplished writer and spoken word artist, and has been at it for twenty years. After two stories she thanked the crowd and sheepishly stepped down from the stage.

“Let’s get out of here,” she said.

She was compensated with two cases of Steam Whistle Pilsner and we retired with some of her writer friends to a

sunny backyard to conduct a post mortem. What became apparent in almost no time was that this day was part of the broader pattern in Canadian literature - the failure of the hype machine.

The writers in this round table discussion, as it were, are all accomplished, each with multiple published works. They all have works that were critically acclaimed, which is the polite way of saying nobody bought it. One was even award winning, which is the polite way of saying a few people bought it.

I am seated with the product of this system; a group of witty, talented, disenchanted and pissed-off writers. We talk about how every time they release a new work they have to feign excitement for the people around them. My friend is now on her fourth publication and she says the hardest thing to do is not to complete the work, but to care when it’s completed.

“People come up to you,” she says, “and they’ll say ‘Oh, you must be so excited!’” The group howls with laughter.

Excitement, it would seem, is not the order of the day when publishing Canadian literature. She has four published books and she still can’t get an agent. Even with three of her short stories being adapted for screen, no one seems to care.

Can lit has always suffered the fate of anonymity, and so the fact that great works produced by my companions on this day are going unnoticed is nothing new. But in these times, suffering for one’s art is becoming something of a joke. The strength and integrity of the craft used to be its own justification for one’s participation in it, but with so little to gain the first question out of one’s mouth is “Why?” The emotional attachment of a writer to his or her work provided its own answer and rewards once upon a time.

But after generations of toiling for the craft and remaining in obscurity, even writers (who are not for want of rational thought) are arriving at the logical conclusion that it just isn’t worth it.

One of the writers kisses her husband as he arrives with their newborn baby. She laments that she has not had much time for writing these days since the little bundle of joy came into her life. She still makes time for her music, though. After all, she says, if she puts on a concert people will actually show up and pay attention.

“Can lit has always suffered the fate of anonymity...so the fact that great works...are going unnoticed is nothing new.”

James Howick is a writer and independent filmmaker who, of course, also has a day job to support his creative pursuits.

photos by dan rios

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Toronto’s Jazz Festival brings jazz to diverse audiences With the big-names of jazz performing at Nathan Phillips Square downtown, TD Jazz Festival announces a diverse line-up, including neighbourhood pub gigs across the city

By Angela Walcott

An exciting line-up for the 2009 TD Jazz Festival was announced in April at the Jazz 91 FM radio headquarters in downtown Toronto. This year’s acts include talented artists from the US, Japan as well as some homegrown artists.

The festival is known for its ability to pull in the big names in jazz music, and the 22nd annual event is shaping up to be no different.

The festival which has generated $250 million for the GTA economy in recent years will welcome jazz crooner Tony Bennett, who will play the Canon Theatre on July 5.

Iconic saxophonist Sonny Rollins will also play an exclusive show at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Meanwhile, oldtime darling Dave Brubeck will be back once again to wow the crowds on Canada Day and American-born and Canadian-based singer Jackie Richardson will perform with Joe Sealy on June 28. The multi-talented energetic crowd-pleaser Joshua Redman, who has been performing at the festival for over a decade, will make another appearance this year as well. Redman, who once received a perfect score on a law school entrance exam and was subsequently accepted into Harvard law school, decided that music was for him and has played the saxophone ever since.

The Nathan Philips Square Mainstage will be graced by one of jazz music’s all-time greats, Branford Marsalis. This year, the three-time Grammy winning artist marked the tenth anniversary of his quartet with the release of his new CD, Metamorphosen. He is set to perform a double-bill with the Dave

Holland Quintet at Nathan Philips Square on July 3. Another notable performer, Freddy Cole, brother of the late Nat King Cole, will appear at the Fleck Dance Theatre on June 26.

A nice feature about the TD Jazz Festival, which continues to be a long-standing tradition keeping fans coming back year after year, are the series of free events that are on offer. Exactly 1,500 free public events have been performed since the festival began back in 1987.

This is something that is especially appealing to many, particularly due to the tough economic times that people are experiencing. This year’s free events include performances from the Shuffle Demons and Jane Bunnett.

Popular venues apart from Nathan Philips Square include The Rex and the Enwave Theatre at Harbourfront. What makes the festival attractive to a larger audience is the fact that it is spread across town, providing a diverse selection of performers for Toronto residents to choose from. The Late Night Jams in neighborhood pubs and bars ensure the festival is accessible, even to people in search of jazz who won’t have to go far from home to find it.

Festival-goers purchasing a three-day pass receive a 15 per cent discount while those purchasing a five day pass receive a 20 per cent discount. Both are available through Ticket Master. To see a full event listing, visit the TD Jazz Festival website at www.torontojazz.com. The festival runs from June 23- July 5.

Dane Cook comedy matures, losing its edge

Cook’s performance overshadowed by opening acts

By Amanda Cupido

Dane Cook has changed his style of comedy for the “Isolated Incident” tour.

After performing live at the Air Canada Centre on May 8, the packed stadium witnessed a darker side of the comedian. This included several jokes being about the recent death of his parents, which made the atmosphere awkward and unnerving.

Cook’s energy was high and his delivery was solid, but the content was lacking. He was commentating instead of story-telling. For instance, a classic story he performs from his “Vicious Circle” tour outlined his itch to perform a “B&E.” He took the audience every step of

jimp79@flickr.com

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the way up until the moment he breaks down the door. Instead of this signature style, he spent a lot of time describing his perspective on specific celebrities - like Britney Spears.

He also spent a large part of the act talking about a homemade porn that he saw on the internet.

It sounded like a conversation amongst prepubescent boys rather than a comedian charging over $200 for one seat at the lower level.

Nevertheless, Cook got laughs and was encouraged to come out for an encore. His closing bit revolved around hate mail he received stating, “Your parents died of cancer so they could get away

from your bad jokes.” No matter what is said after a statement like that, it is hard to let out a genuine chuckle.

Opening acts included Al Del Bene and Robert Kelly. Both had the audience in hysterics, especially Kelly. He talked about his weight loss experience and how when people ask him “How did you do it?” he is always tempted to make up abstract solutions such as only drinking “turtle juice.”

Expect to see both of their names in the future. Dane Cook is growing up and with that comes a different point of view from the comedian who invented the Super Finger.

Our Lives on Screen

By Dylan Franks

Summer is a busy season for Toronto homos. Pride Week waits just around the corner with plenty of rainbow flags and ripped abs, but before the parties of Pride Week roll around the LGBT community rolls out the red carpet for the Inside Out Film Festival. This year the festival turns 19 years old and marks its growth with more parties, venues and films than ever.

The Inside Out Film Festival was conceived in 1991 by Torontonians looking for an event to celebrate the work of the LGBT community both in front of and behind the lens. Since its earnest beginnings, the festival has grown annually to attract crowds of 32,000 people strong from every artistic and sexual background.

The festival still serves in bringing together flmmakers and their audiences. But above all the Inside Out Film Festival showcases the LGBT community’s inextinguishable creative force and talent.

This year the festival screened 250 films making use of some of Toronto’s numerous beautiful theatres like the Bloor Theatre as well as famous city landmarks like the Royal Ontario Museum. Thousands of men and women, gay and straight, filmmakers, actors and their appreciators had access to some of the world’s boldest and bravest queer cinema. Queer voices from around the world hit the screen in works from countries like China, Spain and Germany. The festival programming includes films that touch on a wide range of social issues that address the young and old and those in between.

The festival is a breeding ground for talent and innovation in film. Films including Were the World Mine and Ian Iqbal Rashid’s Touch of Pink, which screened at Inside Out, later moved on to critical and commercial success. While the veterans of the gay film scene shine, Inside Out also provides opportunities for young queer artists to express themselves as people and expose their work as directors, producers, actors and writers, making the festival a great place for networking for film students and film buffs alike.

At the festval, after the films screen, fans fete at gala events that highlight the city’s queer artist community and their diverse talents, ranging from performance art to more mainstream fare like a concert featuring queer musicians Gentleman Reg. Some of the city’s coolest hotspots like the Bata Shoe Museum were used, where this year’s opening gala was held, or the more downscale venue, Cinecycle.

Nineteen years ago the Inside Out Film Festival came out to Toronto and the world, announcing its presence. A mix of fearless fun and artistic and sexual rebellion sparked the beginning of what has grown into the largest Canadian festival of its kind and it shows no signs of letting up. The festival serves to bring people together behind the films and their audiences but above all, the Inside Out Film Festival showcases the inextinguishable creative force and talent with which the LGTB community infuses life.

Bi-vailable.

Pansexual.

Bicurious.

Heteroflexible.

Film Review: Bi the Way, at Toronto’s Inside Out LGBT Film Festival

By Adriana Rolston “Is this just another bisexual chic moment or is this generation having its own bisexual revolution?” asked directors Brittany Blockman and Josephine Decker in their documentary Bi the Way, which was featured at Toronto’s Inside Out Film Festival on Sunday May 17th at the Royal Ontario Museum.

The director duo traveled across America, from New Orleans to Nevada to New York to Utah in order to find out if falling somewhere between gay and straight is possible or just a passing trend.

They followed the stories of five individuals while interviewing

a slew of teens, adults, media professionals, sexual researchers and psychologists about whether being attracted to both sexes can be normal.

“I think they’re just half foot in the closet and half foot out,” said one woman on camera, laughing and widening her stance for emphasis.

Many interviewees agreed with this point of view, noting that popular culture practically began endorsing bisexuality with titillating same-sex moments on the programs like the O.C., and even more visibly when Britney Spears and Madonna kissed.

“MTV was holding a mirror up to their audience and giving their audience a blowjob,” said Dan Savage, The Stranger’s “Savage Love” sex columnist. Savage noted that youth who believe they are bisexual might realize otherwise in 10 years.

There are some examples in the film of youth who identify as bisexual but leave the audience unsure if they just haven’t figured out their identity.

David is one of those individuals. The 24-year-old had girlfriends in the past and now casually dates Kevin, but wants a stable relationship with him. His bisexuality is questioned by his parents, who ac-

cept him but don’t understand him.

Then there’s Pam, a former cheerleader who was expelled for getting caught kissing a female classmate and had to face the wrath of her conservative father when he discovered her bisexuality.

“Girls are catty bitches and guys are pigs…Can’t get along with any of them but you can’t live without them either,” she said.

The film mentioned a study done at Northwestern University in the U.S. which tested how sexual responses to pornography factored into women’s sexual orientation.

Those tested viewed both heterosexual and lesbian porn clips, interspersed with landscape scenes.

A tampon-shaped probe in their vaginas measured arousal and found that regardless of the type of erotic videos, women responded similarly.

A related study was conducted the following year with men and showed that they were predominantly turned on by either straight or gay porn, but not both.

“My question is, what kind of films did they show them? Was it good porn?” asked a middle-aged, bisexual man, incredulously. “That study showed that I don’t exist.”

One thing the study may have revealed is that bisexuality, at least in the mainstream, is more com-

mon among women, said a female sex researcher at Northwestern. Or maybe they just prefer the scenery.

“Watching a naked man walk on the beach is about as stimulating as watching a landscape,” she said.

Although there are those in the film who dispute it, Bi the Way

“Is this just another bisexual chic moment or is this generation having its own bisexual revolution?” showed that a new generation of young people have redrawn the map of sexuality and for many bisexuality is more than a roadside attraction.

“Why can’t I have my cake and eat it too?” asked Tahj, a bisexual 18-year-old from New York.

Dan Savage summed it up best, “Do what turns you on, because you can’t run away from yourself.”

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RECORD REVIEWS Past meets present, digital meets organic and genres merge on this complex pop masterpiece.

The Dirty Projectors’ front-man Dave Longstreth studied music at Yale University and it shows.

Bitte Orca can only be classified as pop music in that there is no other real way to describe it. There are handclaps, chipper guitar strums, taut rhythms and the like, but the constant shifting of tempo, rhythm, key and instrumentation expose a musical complexity not often seen in the genre.

The album’s nine tracks are stuffed with enough ideas to satiate any listener, and the songs’ occasional Dirty Projectors lengthiness – Bitte Orca never feels overbearing or emotionally overwrought. Longstreth has found a way to make music that is at once involving and deep without getting angsty or dramatic, a feat that today is too seldom seen in music.

He has created something definitely romantic that never resorts to tired clichés and sappy ballads to convey intense feelings, relying on emotionally evocative potential of music, rather than the bluntness of lyrics, to do so. Bitte Orca is a well of positivity, full of sunny melodies and falsetto split between Longstreth and singer Amber Coffman, whose back-and-forth singing structure is conversational and pleasant. Their exuberance is consistently apparent.

Their singing range impressively vast, especially on first single “Stillness is the Move.” The single showcases the band’s strengths at once: the ability to meld the digital (electronic beats) with organic music (plucked guitar, string swells); the incredible singing range (Coffman is all over the scales here); the sheer enthusiasm and melodic complexity of musicians playing with technical ability and musical creativity in equal measure. The album bounces around from genre to genre, making “pop” the only umbrella-term under which the music can be collected.

The album almost sounds worldly in its scope. The classical-sounding guitar of “Temecula Sunrise” sounds almost Spanish due to the use of scales, “Remade Horizon” borders on the tropical between its gently strummed guitar and rhythmic bass plucks, and songs like “The Bride” and “Two Doves” remind the listener of American musical theatre and opera. However, even to make these remarks is slightly reductive, as the songs on Bitte Orca never stay in the same place for very long. Album centrepiece and title-track (albeit in English rather than what I believe must be Latin) “Useful Chamber” is perhaps the best example of this as well as the best song on the album. At six-and-a-half minutes, it travels the most territory. Beginning with a hip-hop-esque opening that later moves through guitar plucked verses with stabs of distortion, a minimalistic and rhythmic prechorus and finally, an explosive and triumphant chorus. Only six songs

into the album, this track ensures the words “Bitte Orca” will stick in the listener’s mind - As if they hadn’t been already.

Rating: A

Inconsistency and musical apathy mar the third Grizzly Bear LP This album might be the most highly-anticipated “indie” album of the summer. As details and tracks leaked onto the internet steadily, hype surrounding the album grew to outrageous proportions. I never got around to Grizzly Bear’s 2006 breakout album Yellow House and saw Veckatimest as my opportunity to see what the fuss was about. As it turns out, I was underwhelmed.

On Veckatimest, the band seems to have all the right ingredients, they just can’t seem to get the recipe right all the time. This is surprising, since the opening two tracks, “Southern Point” and “Two Weeks” are very promising. The former boasts a bouncy beginning that later opens up to interesting chord changes accentuated by call and response vocals and thundering drums; the latter is the first single, a stomper of a song that chimes with piano and guitar triplets that, along with the choral voices, lend the song an epic and atmospheric quality. Quickly, though, the album spirals into a seven song slump starting with “All We Ask” and ending with the lazy “Hold Still.” The songs sound terribly lethargic, as though the band had come up with a few fleeting moments of quirky melody and interesting chord changes and then surrounded them with the sound of musicians half-falling asleep, awakening only intermittently to provide sparkles of musical potential. The closest to success of this batch comes at the end of “Ready,” when the voices and guitar in the song are whipped into a frenzy that sounds like they’re stuck in a carousel.

Grizzly Bear – The moment Veckatimest is spooky and engaging, but amongst such a blur of musical banality, it only briefly captures the listener’s attention. In an attempt at fairness and thinking that perhaps I was just missing something and the album might be a grower, I listened to it over and over for weeks, sure that I was just missing something but every time I was left uninspired and finding it hard to pay attention for long. The wait for something magical arrives with “While You Wait for the others,” surely the best song on the album. Finally, Grizzly Bear seem to have managed what they achieved on the opening tracks, but it’s too late; one beautifully sung and melodically powerful epic can’t make up for seven songs worth of boredom and two more mediocre tracks following. Their C+ mark, if you’re puzzled, is earned only by the interesting (though half-baked) ideas throughout the album and how great it would have been had Grizzly Bear simply

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By Stephen Carlick had more of them.

Rating: C+

Proving that the individual is still relevant through sheer melody and musical fearlessness First, a disclaimer: the last thing the musical landscape needs are more Feist impersonators. As far as I’m concerned, the guitar singer-songwriter is inching ever nearer to obsoleteness. There’s only so much one person can do without co-operation and the bouncing of ideas off of peers, and as every singer from every band (and their mother) have begun to deem it necessary to record a solo LP, the field has grown increasingly more crowded. However, records like Actor come along every so often to demonstrate why the singer-songwriter still has a relevant role to play in music. Annie Clark (St. Vincent is her stage name) wrote her album in a very unconventional way. Since the musical compositions of singer-songwriters are limited to their technical ability, (ie. Though you can dream up anything to be played on a guitar at any speed, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can also play it; your mind might be a better composer than St. Vincent – your fingers Actor can keep up with), she decided first to record the whole thing on “Garageband” (a free composition program on Macs) to satisfaction. When she was finished, she forced herself to learn all the parts, thereby challenging herself to play a composition that she had first imagined without the confines of her technical ability. The result is a creative and dynamic album that feels cohesive despite never staying in the same place long. As her haunting voice fades into album opener “The Strangers,” gentle strings and plucked acoustic guitars delicately push the song towards an ending that veers through flute tremolos and wildly strummed distortiondrenched guitars, a move that immediately demonstrates Clark’s musical fearlessness and establishes her as a creative songwriter willing to flout the boundaries seemingly surrounding the singersongwriter (females in particular).

The albums floats effortlessly through electronica, folk, trip-hop, rock and musical theatre without once sounding contrived, largely due to her interesting sense of melody and elegant voice. Though her music is dynamic and interesting, it’s on the tracks where her melodies are most intriguing that Clark sounds her best. Tracks like “The Neighbors” and “The Party” seem at once mysterious and engaging, as her melody draws the listener into the songs and keeps them intrigued by jumping from one melodic phrase to the next and then introducing instrumentals that bring the songs to terri-

tory that Clark’s peers never reach.

Thus, Actor is suitably titled: it’s an album by a woman with many hats whose sense of melody and drama, coupled with her sense of adventure, makes for an album that demonstrates the continued relevance of the solo musician in an age where too many are sacrificing it for commercial gain.

Rating: A-

Hip hop’s elder statesmen maintain their artistic integrity, increase demand for proper LP De La Soul has never released anything deserving of less than a B-.

They’re the unsung heroes of hiphop, three fearless individuals who never sacrificed their ethics or artistic integrity for sales and remain, 20 years after their classic debut (3 Feet High and Rising), one of hip hop’s most consistent icons.

Their latest, Are You In? may tread dangerously close to sell-out territory, (what with Nike commissioning their album for its “Run” series, with forty-five-minute albums designed to soundtrack a workout by gradually building up tempo until the last five minutes, at which point the album “cools down.”) But aside from making various references to running, they never sacrifice their vision. In short, this is a De La joint, not a Nike one. The album is one non-stop track, meaning that it is divided into about nine five-minute movements that make up an album that is essentially a dance-hop epic. Posdnuos, Trugoy, and Maseo misstep only once, on a four-minute long distorted-guitar cheese-fest that begins around the twenty-first minute and ends at the beginning of the twenty-sixth, when the song kicks back into groovy gear. The album begins with a slow, soulful and positive introduction that wishes the listener a “good morning” before slipping fluidly into a more fleshed-out version of the intro, where a trumpet quietly foreshadows where the album might be going. However, in the twelfth minute the instruments fade out quickly to an old school drum groove that eventually transitions to a distorted and crackly Posdnuos flipping rhymes.

The rhyming continues as the aforementioned guitar De La Soul – Are part, accentuYou In? ated by jazzy interludes, raises the tempo and gives way to a ten minute electrojam that buzzes, blips, and bumps like a DJ’s techno set. At the fortyminute mark, the album settles back into a slinky, soul-sampled groove, allowing De La to close out the epic on terms they are familiar with. Lyrically, the album has moments of vapidity (see every time they mention running), but overall, it’s an effort full of the questions that make De La Soul some of the most intelligent rappers still going, as they interrogate society’s materialism, narcissism and obsession with money. Musically, the album is

fun and flowing and MC’s Pos and Trugoy sound surprisingly engaged, coming in between the various instrumental breaks to drop lines that prove both that they’ve still got it and that the next proper De La Soul LP might just be worth waiting more than five years for.

Rating: B+

Jittery teen-pop is too novel, shallow and irritating Chances are you’re already annoyed by Passion Pit without even knowing it. If you’ve seen that irritating PSP ad on television where the game console floats across Canada against a white background while a shrill voice sings against an even shriller background sample, you and Passion Pit are already wellacquainted.

If you happen to like that song, you’re in Passion Pit – luck, because Manners the rest of Manners sounds the same way. It’s a bouncy electronic ride through adolescence sung by a man with a voice so high and nasal he makes the children often singing backup on tracks sound intimidating. The album is catchy, certainly, but catchiness does not a good album make. It might be too catchy: my first time around listening, I already found myself able to sing along to choruses, rendering my listening experience boring.

Needless to say, my second listen through the album was excruciating, as each song sounded like one that I’d already heard too many times before, like they’d all been jingles for ads that play too often.

In this way, Manners comes to sound novel, like a joke album that while perhaps mildly funny the first time, suddenly loses its effect when you’re expecting the punch-line. The only mildly successful songs on the album are “Moth’s Wings” and “Swimming in the Flood,” which use more mature instrumentation and subtler use of melody, but even then, “Moth’s Wings” sounds uncomfortably close to a teenage, electronic version of U2’s epic simplicity. Only the latter song, which expresses mood and emotion more subtly than its surrounding tracks, comes close to affecting the listener in a real way. In short, the album sounds juvenile and like so many albums before it, may soon find itself without fans once they’ve grown up and moved on to more compelling music that adheres to the sympathetic contract. This album would have blown me away when I was young, and I expect it will do quite well both critically and commercially on the back of its catchiness and melodic repetition, but today, it fails to challenge me and sounds tired and novel already. What will blow me away is if, five years down the road, I don’t find a copy or two in every second-hand store in Toronto.

Rating: C

What TIFF is to film, CONTACT is to photography Snapshots from CONTACT annual photography festival

By Elli Stuhler

The thirteenth annual month-long photography festival usurped the galleries of Toronto this May, celebrating the impact this modern medium has on our perception of visual representation.

With over 220 venues and 1000 artists, it may have been hard to keep track of what was where. Here are some highlights:

of vintage photographs that she has manipulated through layers of encaustic, pastels, oils and sculpture. The photos she uses range from turn of the century to mid forties and explore the dynamics of the individual within a group, how one stands out or blends in through their posture, expression or mere radiance.

Salt and Earth Jonathan Taggart Ryerson Gallery

Still Motions Various Artists Gladstone Hotel

About an hour north of Toronto, near the town of Caledon lies Whole Village, an ecovillage where Taggart lived, worked and documented. An ecovillage is, as the artist statement explains, “a response to concerns over a lack of community in our society and the urbanization and impoverishment of farmland.” His photographs depict life in the village with rich black and white imagery of leafy crops, rotting wooden plank fences and the humble gazes of its inhabitants.

While the second floor of the hotel boasted exhibits of over 30 photographers, the third and fourth floor of the historic Gladstone Hotel in Parkdale was reserved for something which, like the Beverly Owens project, stretches our idea of what a photograph is. The images here consisted of different media (from clicking vintage projectors to bluray) and were projected onto the wall or played on flat screen video screens. Instead of being portrayed in a single frame, these pieces were actually video loops, but had enough stillness to them to blur the lines between photo and film.

Too bad for the artists however, who had their thunder stolen when the Gladstone also offered an open house for their exquisite artistdesigned hotel rooms.

Iran Revisited Sanaz Mazinani Toronto Image Works Thirty years after the revolution in Iran, Mazinani aims to reveal life in Iran with the complexity of Western influence in a traditionalist country and the identity crisis that ensued. The exhibit juxtaposed women in traditional headscarves and women in Western dress talking on cell phones, and of beach patios overshadowed by Armani billboards.

All Present and Accounted For Beverly Owens The Beverly Owens Project Beverly Owens acknowledges that photography reaches beyond the shutter button and that image modification reaches beyond photoshop. She does this with her exhibit

Jeff Bark Nicholas Metivier Galler (Part of Various exhibits) Named one of the 50 best bets

by Toronto Life magazine, New York dwelling photographer Jeff Bark’s exhibit for CONTACT is his first on this side of the border.

With his smooth fleshy tones and soft shadows, his dreamy nudes are an Ingres painting come to life.

His surreal Flesh Rainbow series consists of nude bodies drenched in vibrant colours, but where the bodies are naked, the faces are concealed be it by plants, twisted towels or pillows.

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