Andrew Tod
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Cycling safety not a top-down issue
Bike lanes are a hot item in Winnipeg. Even though sustainable transportation hasn’t had the role in the civic election campaign that many hoped it would, it is hard to overlook the large amount of money currently being spent on cycling (coupled with pedestrian) infrastructure.
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The summer of our disinterest
It was a damned hot summer throughout most of Canada. In fact, it was the hottest summer in roughly six decades according to Environment Canada. It was the kind of summer in which waves of humidity dull the brain and slow the body; in which, despite one’s best efforts, lethargy tends to set in.
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Proposed conservative Canadian television network will no doubt be boring
It was announced recently that Quebecor, owner of the Sun Media chain, will launch a cable news network aimed at turning the tide of liberal mainstream media. It will be called Sun Television.
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Under the railway’s influence
In the 1800s and early 1900s, the railway was the most important method of moving goods and people across Canada. In honour of The Uniter’s annual urban issue, we decided to look at five ways the railway shaped Manitoba.
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Something borrowed, something new
The federal Conservative government released its latest budget last Thursday, March 4. From most accounts, it was a document best left not talked about in any great detail beyond its uninspired nature.
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Consuming ourselves out of the environmental hole
The state of the human effects of pollution and wastefulness upon our world permeates our guilt-filled North American lives.
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Prorogation nation
A year after the word “prorogation” came into vogue after the great coalition fiasco of ’08, nostalgia seems to have gotten the better of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s judgment. Hours before the calendar turned to 2010, Harper decided his last act of the first decade of the 21st century should encompass everything his legacy has been indicative of to this point.
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The simplicity of the CBC debate
CBC Television recently underwent a makeover. Apparently, the reasons for the brand update were the result of, in the words of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting spokesperson Ian Morrison, “moving in the direction of the private sector,” where the style of news delivery frequently overtakes its substance.
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A raucous and raunchy performance
Conventionally, thinking about theatre brings to mind posh sensibilities, stuffy dialogue and, more often than not, appeals to good taste. Le Mort is anything but a conventional theatre performance.
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Free speech on campus
I can still recall the first protest I witnessed on campus. During my first year at the University of Winnipeg, a wild-looking group of Jesus freaks walked along the bike racks yelling that the Lord was coming, and we sinners were about to pay for our wickedness (that is, unless, we joined their church, but that’s another matter). Between summoning Jesus and yelling in the “gay marriage equals the devil”- style of Christian worship, this rabid band of devotees to the almighty seemed not to care that the students around them were outraged.
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The Scavengers’ Manifesto
Mass consumption is an unsustainable practice. The earth upon which we live will not be able to absorb the waste we so callously throw its way.
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JSA pulls out of project over author’s anti-Israel remarks
Acclaimed author Sandy Tolan, whose scheduled involvement in a unique peacebuilding project last year raised concerns about controversial speakers engaging in dialogue with local Israel and Palestine advocacy groups, is scheduled to speak in Winnipeg on Nov. 19 as part of The Uniter/Mouseland Press Speaker Series.
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Think of the children
Shock and despair were in large supply a few weeks ago when the so-called “balloon boy,” six-year-old Falcon Heene, was allegedly trapped in what looked like a large Jiffy Pop high in the sky over Colorado. As the initial story – which was suspiciously short on details – went, young Falcon had become entrapped in his father’s backyard balloon, which then took off in highly dramatic, made-for-TV fashion.
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The moral question
The fallout from Israel’s Operation Cast Lead still lingers, much to the annoyance of its new/old Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Iggy’s agenda
Federal election talk has wound down recently. Thankfully.
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Life in the Wrong Lane: Why Journalists Go in When Everyone Else Wants Out
Life in the Wrong Lane chronicles the turbulent professional life of television journalist Greg Dobbs. This compilation of recollections by the long-time television correspondent encompasses a lifetime spent traveling towards and immersing oneself within dangerous situations. As Dobbs himself points out, foreign correspondence consistently requires the willingness to approach and detail unseemly situations which would cause most people to escape rather than draw near.
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A hopeless illusion
When it comes to Barack Obama, surprise is hard to come by anymore. Since he first forced millions of politically-dispirited Americans to regain some semblance of adoration for America at home and abroad, he has managed time and again to astound in his success.
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Stephen Harper, denier of colonialism
Stephen Harper has a nasty habit of hypocrisy. If his political career thus far can be typified by anything, it is his eagerness to surrender his values to the throne of power.
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Let the debate(s) begin
Whoever thought that establishing a Canadian Museum of Human Rights would be so hard? Chances are that Gail Asper didn’t years ago when she began to funnel her late father’s dream of a testament to the too-often misunderstood notion of human rights into reality.
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Sharing time is over
“Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live.”
– Mark TwainI watched with sorrowing intrigue this past week as events unfolded in Toronto which sent shivers down the spines of cyclists across the country.