Opinion
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A statement of solidarity
I am using my editorial note this week to offer a statement of solidarity with The Manitoban, the student newspaper of the University of Manitoba (U of M).
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Post-post-punk
Within music circles, the prefix “post” is often attached to an ever-growing array of genres including post-rock, post-metal and post-harcore.
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The streetcar emerges
The terms “suburbs” and “suburbanization” often bring to mind the period after the Second World War, defined by rows of bungalows on tree-lined streets. Another image of the suburbs are the more recent stucco McMansions in far-flung areas of the city with garages standing guard over sidewalk-less streets.
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Ceasefire now!
On Oct. 7, while gathering with my family for Thanksgiving dinner, I saw the news from Israel. Like all decent people, I viewed the aftermath of Hamas’ massacre with horror.
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Cycling safety
As summer winds down, Winnipeg’s cycling safety remains in question. Despite some progress with various speed reductions in neighbourhood zones, poor city planning and toxic car culture still make Winnipeg’s biking community feel unsafe.
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AI: Tool or threat to creativity?
A recent lawsuit filed by 17 authors, including renowned fantasy novelist George R. R. Martin (the author behind Game of Thrones), against OpenAI has sparked a heated debate on the ethics of AI (artificial intelligence) and its relationship with copyright infringement in the digital age.
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A nightmare for elm trees
In front of Kilter Brewing Co. stands a beautiful elm tree. It’s taller than the building, and its branches spread out to shade nearly all of the patio. Right now, it’s covered in artwork from visitors during Nuit Blanche. Initials within hearts, smiley faces and abstract squiggles decorate the trunk and limbs, but, unfortunately, so does a stark, orange spray-painted dot in the middle of the trunk.
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The Uniter 30 returns!
This week, Manitobans took to the polls to vote in a history-making provincial election. But that ballot is small potatoes compared to your next ballot – the Uniter 30! This week, Manitobans took to the polls to vote in a history-making provincial election. But that ballot is small potatoes compared to your next ballot – the Uniter 30!
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Drowning in tech junk
In the modern world, tech junk inundates people’s daily lives. Old phones, chargers with frayed cables or the rarely spoken-to Google Nest devices represent the outdated, worn out or useless.
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The issues of foreign psychology
Coming to Canada as a person from a Slavic country, my view of psychology was very different from how people here usually think of the discipline.
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My Network moment
When I prepared to write my editorial last week, I was steaming mad.
Just hours earlier, on Wednesday, Sept. 20, a massive hate rally had gathered at the Manitoba Legislative Building, part of coordinated anti-2SLGBTQIA+ demonstrations across Canada. While counter-protesters were there, they were vastly outnumbered. I was angry, saddened and feeling hopeless.
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White lies
Sometimes, I feel like the wrong kind of African. I came to Canada when I was 17. Now, I am a citizen. All the time, I get the question: “have you gone back to Kenya since you left?”
I get it from immigrants and Canadians alike, and each time my answer is the same.
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Hateful, Horrid Heather
On Wednesday, Sept. 20, crowds of protesters descended on the Manitoba Legislature and The Forks to rally in support of “parental rights.” “Parental rights” is the anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate lobby’s newest dog-whistle term used to cloak their fight against basic human rights for transgender people.
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A people’s history of streetcars
In September of 1955, a streetcar made its final run down Portage Avenue. This was the last time a streetcar went down a Winnipeg street – nearly 70 years ago.
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Ghosts of Winnipeg past
As I write these words on Wednesday afternoon, the Windsor Hotel is on fire.
The hotel and music venue on Garry Street, built in 1903, has sat vacant since March, when it was closed due to a provincial health hazard order. Its future remained in doubt before the fire. Now, its fate is sealed.
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University culture in flux
As a smaller institution, fostering an internal culture is integral to attracting students to the University of Winnipeg (U of W). When I weighed my options, my perception of the university’s culture brought me in.
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Unclear critical-minerals strategy sparks demand for answers
While navigating the climate crisis, governments have to balance people’s needs with the planet’s health. Switching to wind turbines and electric cars obviously helps wean communities off coal and oil. However, renewable energy systems come with their own environmental risks.
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Social Media Muzzle
It’s the first week of September. Classes are back in session at the University of Winnipeg. That can only mean one thing: it’s the start of a new publishing year at The Uniter! Actually, that’s only one of many things it can mean. But as managing editor of this newspaper, it’s probably the only one that I would reasonably be writing about.
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Privileging ‘official’ sources
Even when the Winnipeg Free Press newsroom is empty, it’s rarely silent.
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Safe surrender sites are anti-abortion virtue signaling
This winter, a firehall in Landmark, Man. announced the opening of a Hope’s Cradle, a service that allows people, usually mothers, to safely surrender their infants in a temperature-controlled bassinet.