After 17,000 years of accumulating examples of art, people are still asking, "But is it art... what is art?" Can't we answer that question by now? - by Max Liboiron -

Nike AGC cross trainers arrived on the shelves of Mountain Equipment Co-op's only Atlantic Canadian outlet this August. Canada's largest cooperative is confident in Nike's commitment to greener products, sustainable practices and international labour codes. "They're not perfect, but are certainly putting lots of effort and resources into changing their ways," says MEC's CEO Peter Robinson.- by Norma Jean MacPhee -

"Black Creek Pioneer Village", by Heather Meek

On August 15th, 50 million people in the United States and Ontario found themselves in the dark, but many argue that North Americans have been 'in the dark' about the global context of their energy consumption for far too long. The 'biggest blackout in history' can shed some light on the inequalities of global energy consumption. The course that policy makers chart in the future must stretch beyond blackouts to looming problems that face all societies across the globe.

- by Yuill Herbert -

Yes, you read the headline correctly, and no, I can't believe it either, but apparently scientists have invented a brain machine that dramatically enhances musical performance, thus paving the way for a new race of highly skilled super-musicians. According to the BBC, "the system - called neurofeedback - trains musicians to clear their minds and produce more creative brain waves. Research, to be published in the journal Neuroreport, indicates the technique helps musicians to improve by an average of 17%...

-by Matt Brennan -

Under NAFTA, Mexican farmers move from ejido to foreign finca*

On the same day that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into force, January 1, 1994, a group of Mexican peasants marched out of the mountains and the jungles and directly into the media spotlight. At the time, President Carlos Salinas was celebrating Mexico's new status as a "first world" nation and basking in the glory of his own sudden prominence as a major world leader alongside United States President Reagan and Canadian Prime Minister Mulroney. It was only the peasants who recognized NAFTA for the disaster that it was destined to be, and said !Basta!, - enough is enough.

- by Paul Harris -

On the "international senate" of investors and lenders, the IMF and Brazil's Lula, and Negri, Hardt, and Foucault.

We hold elections, but do our political parties practice democracy?

In November 2003, Paul Martin will--barring unimaginable circumstances--be chosen as Canada's next Prime Minister. Legally and politically, this choice is not made by the Canadian public at large, but rather by a private club known as the Liberal Party of Canada. Even given that the Liberal Party has over 500,000 members (according to recent reports, a larger membership than any political party in Canadian history), most Canadians will not have a say in this decision. Indeed, it is already too late for anyone who wanted to vote in the party's leadership election -- to vote, members had to join by last June. And if you had the foresight to join the party four months before the election, you also have to pay a membership fee, and be prepared for a potentially long journey on voting day in order to cast a ballot.
- by Dru Oja Jay -

Crime in our Midst, by Heather Meek

In a world where crushed metal, urinals, and stripped paintings all parade under the banner of "fine art", many have cried out against the alienation of the viewer by contemporary art and art-systems. In reaction to this, a new type of art and art-viewing has arrived, based on the all-too-familiar behaviours of consumerism.- by Max Liboiron -

Are the forest fires in Western Canada part of climate change? Scientists say that it is likely, and environmental groups are urging Canadians to begin making the connection between the burning forests and the country's rising greenhouse gas emissions. - by Yuill Herbert -

"CIA-sponsored operations included bombing of hotels and industrial installations, sinking of fishing boats, poisoning of crops and livestock, contamination of sugar exports..."

Summer Camp, by Heather Meek

Canada's current Big Shots in the international art world, Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, have brought credit, fame and funding to the previously "suspect" genre of sound art. Why? Because they're so dang good. An exhibit of "Recent Works" is running at the illustrious Whitechapel Gallery in London, June 7 to August 24, 2003.
- by Max Liboiron -

Canadian radio is like loveless sex. It's predictable, unimaginative and over in five minutes. With the exception of campus and community stations, we don't expect Canadian contemporary radio to broadcast sound art. It just doesn't fit into the rigidly formatted program schedule of the CBC, and it certainly isn't safe enough for commercial radio.
- by Janna Graham -

Hundreds of "Green Zone" protesters arrested during WTO ministerial in MontrealFrom July 28th to 30th, finance ministers from 25 countries and the European Union, gathered in Montreal for a 'mini-ministerial' of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Despite the declaration of Canada's Trade Minister, Pierre Pettigrew, that "the anti-globalization" movement had "completely disappeared," thousands gathered in Montreal to express their opposition to the WTO. A day later, it seemed that Pierre Pettigrew had been right; hundreds of activists had indeed 'disappeared' from the city's streets. Over the course of two days, police arrested 342 people, many through what NDP leader Jack Layton called "indiscriminate" mass arrests.
- by Hillary Lindsay -