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Archives | Editor |
 Thirsting after sanity
Why the UN decision to declare water a need, not a right, is absurd
2009-03-26
Editorial - Demonstrating that intellectual honesty isn't necessary for international agreements, a majority of countries declined to acknowledge access to clean water as a human right at a United Nations meeting in Istanbul this past Sunday.
At the conclusion of the fifth incarnation of the World Water Forum a majority decision was reached that access to clean water is a human need, not a human right. A minority contingent of 20 or so nations dissented from the majority point, declaring that water is, in fact, a human right. Shamefully, Canada was amongst those who opted for the easy way out and decided that turning their back on such an obvious right as water was the best option. The rational for such a morally bankrupt stance was that if access to clean water was considered a human right, then Canada might be legally obligated to provide water or services to nations that do not enjoy the same resource benefits that we do.
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 Grasshopper beats old master
Graeme Schnell wins second consecutive squash championship
2009-03-26
Sports Profile - Winning two sports championships in a row in most sports is difficult and squash is no different. Graeme Schnell, a squash player from the University of Calgary, successfully defended his Canadian University and Colleges Championship in Toronto on March 8, defeating the University of Waterloo's Eric Dingle 3-2 (11-9, 6-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5) in the final.
"It felt really good to win a second time," said Schnell. "The first one was more of a shock, this one I knew I was capable of winning."
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| Entertainment |
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 A spoken word celebration
2009-03-26
literature - Starting April 1, the usually staid and conservative Calgary downtown core will be infiltrated by beatniks, hippies and even a few Rastafarians. They're all here for the 2009 Calgary International Spoken Word Festival, Canada's largest spoken word festival and the premiere poetry event for Calgarians.
Presiding over the madness is Sheri-D Wilson, described in arts circles as the "mama of dada" and a Calgary-native herself. After leaving Calgary at the age of 17, Wilson traveled the world, living in cities like New York and Vancouver, honing her craft. After returning to Calgary 15 years ago, she's been involved in all aspects of the spoken word community. But it wasn't until the new millennium that she decided to make the huge leap into creating a festival devoted to spoken word in the city.
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Archives | Editor |
 Deconstructing Horsedog
A look at the world's greatest achievement since the pyramids
2009-03-26
Human beings have walked the Earth for roughly 200,000 years, according to scientists. In that time, we have discovered fire, mastered flight and made scientific discoveries that have revolutionized the way the world works. The creation of Horsedog makes every other human achievement seem like a small child's inane scrawlings. In the annals of Western civilization, only the Cosby Show and Webster's English Dictionary come close to having the cultural impact that Horsedog boasts.
Created by Nobel laureate Julie Phillips, Horsedog has garnered unprecented critical acclaim and catapulted the paper that publishes it from a ragtag publication full of typos and factual inaccuracies into one that publishes pure greatness on its comics page.
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