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Archive - 2003

December 22nd

December 22, 2003 Canadian News

Canadian News

December 22, 2003 International News

International News

December 22, 2003 Features

Understanding Cuba

Revolution and Misinformation
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    Cuba: A revolution in motion
    by Isaac Saney
    Fernwood Books 2003
Cuba. A small island nation. Cigars that Americans have to smuggle into their own country; sublime music played by old men; Caribbean vacations; quaint old buildings. They had a revolution, years ago. Some guys named Che Guevara and Fidel Castro were involved. There were others, but what were their names again? They overthrew Batista, the guy with the solid gold telephone in The Godfather: part II. They seemed to have good ideals at the beginning, but eventually turned into yet another corrupt communist dictatorship. Castro the despot rules with an iron fist, jailing those who dare to defy him. The country remains poor due to outdated, inefficient socialist policies. The US and others are biding their time, waiting for Castro to die so that democracy can be restored, and the Cuban people freed from his authoritarian grip.

Aside from the cigars and music, these are a few of the well-worn images of Cuba that Isaac Saney, a history professor at Dalhousie, would like you to reconsider.

- Reviewed by Dru Oja Jay -

Revolution and Misinformation

December 22, 2003 Accounts

Barn-Raising on Air: the Prometheus Radio Project

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Janna Graham helps the Prometheus Radio Project out with a radio barnraising in Immokalee, Florida.

December 22, 2003 Comics

The Uptown

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"The Uptown," by Heather Meek

December 22, 2003 Arts

Democracy and Fascism

Myth, Propaganda and Disaster provokes controversy in Australia
reichstag_fp.jpgMyth, Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America: A Drama in 30 Scenes made headlines because each of the major theatres in Sydney failed to pick it up for 2004, even though it completed successful runs at both The Playbox Theatre in Melbourne and The State Theatre Company in Adelaide.
- by Lynda Ng -

Myth, Propaganda and Disaster provokes controversy in Australia

December 22, 2003 Arts

Proffessor Undressor

Sumi-E Experiment (2003)
Many of today's most acclaimed electronica albums are recorded in the cramped bedrooms of computer-literate music nerds. Meanwhile journalists have invented the curious genre of "laptop music" to describe the trend.
- by Matt Brennan -

Sumi-E Experiment (2003)

December 22, 2003 Environment

Mustard Gas and Seismic Blasts

underwater-barrels_fp.jpgThe threat of chemical dumps in Atlantic waters
The coastal waters of Atlantic Canada have been polluted with a legacy of chemical, biological and nuclear weaponry. The primary culprits include the Canadian, American and British militaries, which have obsessed over our safety from alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, while the communities and eco-systems of the Atlantic region have been under attack from the very same weapons of mass destruction since the 1940's. Now, with corporations being given permission to do seismic testing in Atlantic waters, the impact of these dumpsites may be compounded.
- by Pierre Loiselle -

The threat of chemical dumps in Atlantic waters

December 1st

December 2, 2003 Canadian News

Canadian News: December 1

December 1, 2003 Features

Israelis Criticizing Israel

The occupation of Palestine from the inside, out

bulldozed_fp.jpg Public debate about Israel tends to be framed in terms of Israel as a unified country and its foreign opponents, anti-Zionist, anti-Semitic and otherwise. Widely ignored are the Israeli intellectuals and leaders who are strongly opposed to their country's actions, and the accounts that inspire their strong opposition.

Independent Canadian journalists Jon Elmer and Valerie Zink are currently reporting from the West Bank and Gaza. The following is a series of excerpts from interviews they have conducted with diverse critical voices within Israel. The full interviews and other coverage can be read on their web site, FromOccupiedPalestine.org.

The occupation of Palestine from the inside, out

December 1, 2003 Accounts

Interview: Guatemala After the Elections

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An interview with Simon Helweg-Larsen on US intervention, labour relations, and inequality in Guatemala after the elections.

December 1, 2003 Comics

The Curator

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"The Curator," by Heather Meek

December 1, 2003 Arts

From Margin to Main Character

deafening_fp.jpgDeafening brings disability to the centre of mainstream fiction

I always get suspicious when in coffee shops, on buses, trains, and coffee tables, or peering out of purses, I see the same book. It seems that everyone except me is part of the same book club, and they've all picked up the assigned reading for the month. Not too long ago, this novel was The Life of Pi, and the ubiquity of this brightly coloured, incessantly discussed novel made me want to avoid it, for the sole reason that nobody else seemed to. - by Laura Cardiff -

Deafening brings disability to the centre of mainstream fiction

December 1, 2003 Environment

Growth at Any Cost

miami_vice_fp.jpg"NAFTA on steroids" a site for protest and paramilitary-style police action

On November 20th, behind five ranks of riot police, a 10 foot high reinforced fence, water cannons, and light armoured vehicles, ministers representing thirty-four countries agreed to a "lite" version of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). - by Yuill Herbert -

“NAFTA on steroids” a site for protest and paramilitary-style police action

November 10th

November 10, 2003 Accounts

Privilege and Responsibility

"Privilege confers responsibility and the people who are called intellectuals, for no particularly good reason, happen to be privileged."

November 10, 2003 Features

Freedom of the Press is for Those Who Own One

irving_fp.jpgThe Irving Media Monopoly in New Brunswick

Living in New Brunswick where all of the English language daily papers are owned by one company means that there is very little variety in the type of news that is available to New Brunswick readers. We face classic problems of monopoly media ownership in which homogeneity and a narrow range of opinion are common features of the news media.

- by Erin Steuter -

The Irving Media Monopoly in New Brunswick

November 10, 2003 Comics

Mondays

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"Mondays," by Heather Meek

November 10, 2003 Canadian News

Video Solidarité

November 10, 2003 Accounts

Journalists Question Media Ownership in Canada

"Media concentration is worse in Canada than in other industrialized countries; in New Brunswick, way worse."

November 10, 2003 Environment

Harvest Goon

fatalharvest_fp.jpgFatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture: Review
Our connection to the environment is perhaps most apparent when we sit down at the dinner table to eat a meal. That "we eat our daily bread without being conscious of the massive loss of topsoil, diversity and farm communities involved in its production" testifies to North American's disconnection from the land that sustains us. It is this disconnection that is allowing corporations to hide the very real and terrible impacts of the industrialization of our food supply, and it is this disconnection that Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture addresses.

Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture: Review

November 10, 2003 Arts

A Serious Lack

artist'scallforjustic_fp.jpgAmerican Visual Artists and Bush's War
I have to admit that the abundance of American flags bothered me when I first came to New York a few months ago. And the bumpers stickers saying 'God Bless Our Soldiers' didn't ease my mind much, either. But I breathed a sigh of relief whilst walking past the offices of the faculty of my fine arts program; on almost every door was an anti-war poster from the internet.

American Visual Artists and Imperialism

November 10, 2003 Arts

Can'tLit

Books Recently Seized or Detained by Canada Customs
"The past 20 years have shown Canadian censorship to be legal, durable, and popular. Canadian censors--whether government officials or common citizens-- have shown little confidence of the abilities of other people to think or behave responsibly after reading 'objectionable' books and magazines."

Books Recently Seized or Detained by Canada Customs

October 20th

October 20, 2003 Features

"Anybody but Bush"

Canada-US relations and the next Presidential election

anyonebushbush_fp.jpgThe relationship between Canada and the US has been rocky since George W. Bush took office. Some have blamed this on a personal disconnect between Jean Chretien and President Bush. For example, in March 2003 Liberal MP David Pratt said "I don't think things will change until our leadership changes"--i.e., when Chretien leaves office. Many pundits and politicians agree with Mr. Pratt.

But is this realistic? Exactly how does the relationship between a Canadian Prime Minister and a US President affect Canada-US relations--and how might upcoming federal elections in both countries change the situation?

- by Susan Thompson -

Canada-US relations and the next Presidential election

October 20, 2003 Accounts

Snapshot of an Occupied Land

Jon Elmer of From Occupied Palestine.org reports on curfew enforcement in the West Bank town of Jenin.

October 20, 2003 Arts

Mail Order Tielli: Infinite Joy from a Subscriber's Perspective

tielli_fp.jpgIt was a chance I was happily willing to take. Apparently, so the story goes, Martin Tielli's close friends and acquaintances assured him that one cannot simply unload four albums of music on the listening public in one skull-cracking whump. Thus, it was decided to bleed out this music one record at a time. To help finance the project up front, subscriptions were sold; each subscriber would receive four albums over the course of one year. The project would be named Tielli 2003: a fitting tag for what looked to be an epic undertaking.
- by John Haney -

October 20, 2003 Environment

Cheam People Shut Down Railway and Halt Logging

cheam_fp.jpgAt about 4 pm on October 2nd two trucks pulled to a halt while straddling the railway tracks that bisect the Cheam Reserve. A small crowd, including members of the Cheam Nation and supporters from local communities, gathered around the trucks forming a human blockade against the trains. Earlier that day, elder and former Chief June Quipp had warned Canadian National Railways that trans-Canadian train travel would be halted, and that she was good on her word.
- by Yuill Herbert -

A saga of resistance

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The Dominion is a monthly paper published by an incipient network of independent journalists in Canada. It aims to provide accurate, critical coverage that is accountable to its readers and the subjects it tackles. Taking its name from Canada's official status as both a colony and a colonial force, the Dominion examines politics, culture and daily life with a view to understanding the exercise of power.

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