A Look Back at 2013

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January 6, 2014

That’s right, 2013 is finally over — and after 365 days of international espionage, prime time twerking, and endless Rob Ford updates, most of you will probably be jumping for joy to think of the fresh new year ahead of you. But before we inevitably make the same mistakes in 2014 as we did last year, The Peak has compiled a list of the past year’s greatest hits, from Alice Munro’s Nobel Prize to water on the Red Planet.

Music

Kendrick Lamar gained “Control” A year after releasing the critically acclaimed good kid, m.A.A.d city, Kendrick Lamar made headlines for his verse on Big Sean’s “Control.” In it, he called out his contemporaries — including Drake, Pusha T, Tyler the Creator and A$AP Rocky — saying, “I got love for you all, but I’m tryna murder you niggas.” A call to arms and a celebration of hip-hop competitive spirit, Lamar’s verse stands as one of the best verses of the year.

It was the year of the comeback 2013 was the year of the musical comeback. Some, such as David Bowie, My Bloody Valentine, Justin Timberlake, Boards of Canada and Daft Punk, returned to critical and commercial fanfare — others, such as The Dismemberment Plan, Black Flag, the Pixies, Deltron 3030 and Lauryn Hill, fell flat. Either way, 2013 was all about listening to albums you never thought you’d hear, from a new Pixies EP to the first My Bloody Valentine release in 22 years.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor snuff the Polaris Prize The ultimate prize for Canadian music, the Polaris Prize, was awarded to idiosyncratic post-rockers Godspeed You! Black Emperor for their 2012 album ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! The notoriously politically radical octet refused to attend, calling the ceremony “tone deaf” and “FUCKING INSANE” in an online statement. They pledged to use the money from the award to establish a program to provide prisoners in Quebec, the band’s native province, with access to musical instruments.

Kanye West was Kanye West Just like 2012, 2011 and basically every year since his debut, Kanye West dominated music news in 2013. Last year, he released his sixth studio album Yeezus, feuded publicly with Jimmy Kimmel, cancelled two concerts in Vancouver, dubbed himself “the nucleus” in an interview with The New York Times, named his child North (get it? North West!), and rode a motorcycle with a topless Kim Kardashian. We love you, Kanye. Don’t ever change.

Pharrell became ubiquitous Before 2013, you could be forgiven for not knowing who Pharrell was. By now, you’d have to be living under a rock to be unfamiliar with the producer’s signature tenor. Last year, Pharrell provided vocals to the summer’s two biggest hits, “Blurred Lines” and “Get Lucky,” as well as producing tracks for Earl Sweatshirt, Beyoncé, Jay Z, and Miley Cyrus. He also made a 24 hour music video for his track “Happy” and wrote the music for Despicable Me 2, the second most successful film of the year.

Science and Medicine

We found out how particles acquire mass The scalar boson or Higgs boson particle was first theorised all the way back in the 1964, but its discovery wasn’t announced until 2012. The particle confirms the existence of the Higgs field, which is crucial to our understanding of the Standard Model of physics. In 2013, two of the scientists behind the particle’s discovery, François Englert and Peter Higgs, won the Nobel Prize in Physics. However, despite intensive analysis, many questions about the particle remained unsolved, such as why it is so light, and whether different types exist.

NASA’s Curiosity Rover found evidence of life on Mars After its first full year on the Red Planet, the Curiosity Rover’s studies of Martian soil and rock yielded traces of oxygen, carbon dioxide and — that’s right — water. The Rover also discovered that a particularly large crater on the planet, named the Gale Crater may well be an ancient lake bed, complete with all the minerals necessary to have made life on Mars a genuine possibility.

An asteroid exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia On February 15, an asteroid entered the atmosphere above Russia at a speed of 18.5 km per second. The asteroid exploded midair, shattering windows and sending approximately 1500 people to the hospital with injuries. This was the largest natural object to have entered the Earth’s atmosphere in 105 years. Though the planet’s atmosphere absorbed most of the object’s impact, its original kinetic energy is estimated to have been over 20 times that of the atomic bomb.

Breakthroughs were made in the study of cancer immunotherapy In 2013, researchers studying cancer broke new ground. Instead of targeting tumours directly, cancer immunotherapy uses the human immune system to eliminate cancerous cells. The research has had positive results but is still in its experimental stages — though the academic journal Science awarded the research with its Breakthrough of the Year award, the journal’s news editor stressed “it’s important not to overstate the immediate benefits.”

The oldest DNA of a humanlike species was found Scientists have discovered the Homo heidelbergensis, an ancient humanlike species whose DNA is the oldest found by scientists not in permafrost. The remains were found in northern Spain, on a site called the Pit of Bones. Though the species are not our direct ancestors, they’re of the same genus, and the technique through which its DNA was discovered — by analyzing traces of mitochondrial DNA in bones — is likely to be used by scientists in the future.

Film and Television

Breaking Bad came to an end Whether or not you enjoyed Breaking Bad’s finale last year, it’s likely you were as glued to your TV as the rest of us — after five years of shocking plot twists, breathtaking New Mexican landscapes, and Bryan Cranston in his tighty whities, it’s no surprise Breaking Bad was so hard to say goodbye to. Though the final episode was the most discussed, the final season’s high point — and, arguably, that of the whole series — was “Ozymandias,” in which (spoiler alert!) Walter’s world finally came crashing down on him.

Matt Smith passed the torch as Doctor Who After five years as the eleventh Doctor, strong jawed ingenue Matt Smith is finally moving on — and leaving Peter Capaldi, the foul-mouthed curmudgeonly star of BBC’s The Thick of It, in his place. Though Smith had his highs and lows inside the blue police box, he’ll likely be remembered as one of the better actors to take on the role, inspiring countless debates as to whether or not he was better than David Tennant.

Blue is the Warmest Colour won the Palme d’Or and controversy La Vie d’Adèle, the 2013 French film adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name, focuses on a love affair between two young women. The film was unanimously voted to win the Palme d’Or, the highest honour of the Cannes Film Festival. The award, which is usually given to the director, was shared by the film’s two female stars. Many have since criticized director Abdellatif Kechiche for pushing his actresses too far, citing the film’s lengthy simulated sex scenes.

Netflix ruled the world In 2013, Netflix went from a mostly innocuous DVD renting and streaming service to one of the biggest juggernauts in the TV business. Their earnings trampled expectations, their streaming service put competitors to shame, and Netflix original programs like Orange is the New Black and House of Cards stood up to televised counterparts, with the latter being the first web only series to win a major Emmy Award. Also, they helped bring Arrested Development back to life. What more can we ask?

12 Years a Slave tackled the trans-Atlantic slave trade Steve McQueen’s third feature tells the true story of the violinist-turned-slave Solomon Northup in unflinching detail, it’s hard to ignore its status as — potentially — the first film to successfully tackle the prickly topic of slavery in North America. Though the film isn’t without its issues, its stark portrait of institutional racism has more than its fair share of present parallels. It’s still the frontrunner for the Academy Award for Best Picture — deserving or not, it’s certainly better than Argo.

Politics

Rob Ford made us all ashamed to be Canadian In what might be Canada’s biggest political scandal since the King–Byng Affair, Rob Ford — Toronto’s incurably obnoxious mayor — admitted to smoking crack cocaine while in office. Ford further incriminated himself and ostracized Torontonian voters through a series of PR disasters, the most notable being his use of the phrase “eating pussy” to deny a claim of sexual harassment. Ford has since had many of his mayoral powers stripped by city council.

Civil war raged on in Syria Now in its third year, Syria’s harrowing and destructive civil war saw its most devastating year in 2013. The conflict arose out of the Arab Spring protests, and is currently being fought between the Syrian government and a unified group of oppositional forces, the latter of whom have received aid from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. Last year, chemical weapons — which have been banned by the UN — were confirmed to have been used by Syrian government forces. Though this has increased foreign intervention into the conflict, by all accounts the war seems to be far from over.

The United States government stopped working Unable to reach an agreement on how to curtail the nation’s debt and plan for the 2014 fiscal year, the United States government was forced to shut down for over two weeks last October. Though Democrats and Republicans eventually reached a solution, the two opposing parties have ceded very little ground since. Along with the fumbled rollout of President Barack Obama’s health care website, 2013 was a difficult year for politics down south.

The Senate spending scandal spilled into 2013 Beginning in late 2012, the Canadian Senate’s ongoing expenses scandal dominated national news throughout the year. The scandal arose when four Canadian Senators falsely claimed travel and housing expenses, leading to an extended government investigation. One Senator, Mac Harb, announced his retirement in August, while the remaining three have been suspended without pay. Many political commentators have since demanded that the Senate be reformed or even abolished, and Canadians have been left with no clear solution heading into the new year.

Edward Snowden opened Pandora’s Box Beginning in late 2012, Edward Snowden, a former contractor for the United States’ National Security Agency, began contacting journalists and documentarists in order to leak classified documents and other information to the public. After he fled the country in May 2013, the leaked information began to spread, and within months the global surveillance tactics used by the NSA and its international partners became common knowledge. The year’s biggest news story was the revelation we all suspected but hoped would not be true: We’re all being watched.

Literature

Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize in Literature Feminists, Canadians and short story lovers all rejoiced when the 2013 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature was announced as Alice Munro, the beloved Canadian author of such short stories as “Carried Away” and “The Bear Came Over the Mountain,” the latter of which was adapted as the film Away From Her in 2007. Munro has been writing short stories since 1950, and has been compared to such literary giants as Anton Chekhov and John Updike. She’s also won the Man Booker Prize, and been awarded the Governor General’s Award for fiction thrice.

Hyperbole and a Half took on depression Long known and beloved as one of the most irreverent webcomics on the internet, Allie Brosh’s crudely drawn Hyperbole and a Half tackled mental illness in “Adventures in Depression Part 2,” a follow up to a 2011 comic in which the artist first delved into her struggles with the disorder. Equal parts crudely funny and genuinely insightful, Brosh’s lengthy comic was eventually reprinted, along with Part 1 and several new stories, in an October print collection which was named an NPR Book of the Year.

Morrissey published his autobiography Cleverly titled Autobiography, the former Smiths singer’s long-awaited memoir chronicles his experiences in the indie pop quartet and as a solo performer. He’s surprisingly kind to his former bandmates, although not so towards the music industry bigwigs. Though the book received mixed reviews, it was notably illuminating on the topic of Morrissey’s sexuality, which he has since described as humansexual. Upon being published in the US, much of the book’s gay content was edited out, begging the question: are there homophobic Morrissey fans?

Boston bomber nabs Rolling Stone cover In a move that elicited controversy and proved people still read Rolling Stone, the magazine chose to feature Dzhokhar Tsarnev — the chief suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing case — on their cover. The cover of the Rolling Stone, which has long been a goal for up-and-coming musical acts, was argued to be unfit for Tsarnev’s innocuous portrait, which Slate went so far as to call “dreamy.” Whether or not the magazine made the right call morally, they certainly did economically — the issue doubled in sales amidst media backlash.

The Man Booker Prize goes to Canadian-born Eleanor Catton Proving again that our literature doesn’t suck, thank you very much, Canadian-born New Zealander Elizabeth Catton won the coveted Man Booker Prize — an award that, until 2013, was reserved for members of the British Commonwealth. Competing during the first year in which Americans became eligible, Catton wiped away the competition with her novel The Luminaries, which has the distinction of being organized around the movements of the Sun and Moon.

Culture

Twerking and selfies Every year, we learn to accept new words into our ever expanding cultural lexicon. Think YOLO or bromance. Last year taught us many new words, but the two most notable have got to be twerk and selfie. The former refers to the butt-jiggling dance that gained prominence after Miley Cyrus’ infamous performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, while the latter is meant for pictures of oneself posted on social media sites like Instagram or Facebook. Both have existed in one way or another for decades, and last year they were finally added to the Oxford Dictionary.

Super Pope In March 2013, Pope Benedict XVI retired from the papacy. His successor, Pope Francis, was born in Argentina, and worked as a nightclub bouncer before joining the seminary. Francis quickly distanced himself from his predecessor’s conservative reputation, spending time hanging out with children, making friends with rabbis and sneaking out at night to lend a hand to the poor. He’s criticized homophobia, income inequality, and radical religiosity. His mantra: “Who am I to judge?”

Feminism was embraced, publicly and privately Though feminism has too often been considered a dirty word in our society, 2013 was a pretty good year for gender equality. Malala Yousafzai preached nonviolent resistance, Wendy Davis stood for reproductive rights on the Texas Senate Floor, Robin Thicke’s sexist “Blurred Lines” was met with severe backlash, and Grimes took to Tumblr with an anti-sexist manifesto. There’s still a long way to go, but all things considered, 2013 gave feminists a lot to be proud of.

LGBT rights took two steps forward, one step back 2013 saw seven American states, as well as nations such as Brazil, France and Uruguay, legalize gay marriage. Kathleen Wynne became the first openly gay Canadian premier, Ukraine had its first LGBT Pride march, Jason Collins and Robbie Rogers became the first active pro sports athletes to come out, and Harvey Milk got his own postage stamp. On the other hand, Russia also enacted its infamous anti-gay propaganda legislation, leading some to encourage the boycott of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.

Phil Robertson, Paula Deen and the year of controversy 2013 was all about scandals — no, not that Scandal. I’m talking about Paula Deen’s N-word debacle, Alec Baldwin’s PR fiascos, Julianne Hough’s ill advised blackface Halloween costume, Saturday Night Live’s whitewashed cast, Miley Cyrus in general, Manti Te’o’s fake girlfriend, and Justin Bieber’s hope that Anne Frank “would have been a Belieber.” Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson’s recent anti-gay comments in GQ are the cherry on top of the controversy cake. Overall, 2013 was the year to get your knickers in a twist.

Build SFU selects SUB site

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EIC

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January 6, 2014

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After months of deliberation and consultation with students, Build SFU has chosen the Crossroads site as the location of the new Student Union Building.

The SFSS Board of Directors recommended the Crossroads location to the Joint Steering Committee on Dec. 4 after considering the responses of 4,166 undergraduate students to the online survey, distributed in September. Marc Fontaine, Build SFU general manager, commented on the decision, saying, “We’re really excited about the site selection and agree with students that the Crossroads site makes the most sense for our campus. It is right in the middle of campus and as close as possible to the majority of classrooms and lecture theatres.”

The initial project proposal for the SUB was presented to undergraduate students in Spring 2012. Last summer, the SFSS, along with architects from Perkins+Will, began investigating three potential sites for the student union building, which were narrowed down to two in November: Crossroads (located between the AQ and MBC) and Main Street (located above the Transportation Centre bus stop).

From the survey, it was concluded that students preferred the Crossroads location primarily based on its proximity to classes, as it is located further east than both Treehouse (the first site eliminated, located at the old Shell station) and Main Street. Forty-six per cent of respondents indicated that they spend a majority of their time on the east side of campus in the AQ and the Applied Sciences Building. Only 25 per cent said they spend most of their time on the west side in WMC, while 29 per cent prefer to hang out in the library, MBC, and the rotunda.

Comments on the centrality of Crossroads occurred often in the survey, with students labelling it as “the heart of SFU,” a convenient and frequented location, and “near the centre of everything.” Only 3.5 per cent of respondents commented that the SUB should provide a respite away from campus, affirming the belief that the majority desire an accessible, central location.

Fontaine stressed that the Build SFU architects also valued student opinion when deciding how to allocate space in the new SUB. The survey showed the lack of study space, lounge space, and affordable food as the main issues that prevent students from spending more time on campus.

To remedy these issues, the space programming draft — a potential floor plan for the SUB — has designated one third of the space for lounge space; one third for student organizations, clubs, and DSUs; one quarter for meeting and multi-purpose rooms; and the remaining space for food and SFSS admin offices.

Despite napping space being described as something that would entice students to spend more time on campus, Fontaine is reluctant to allocate lounge space for that purpose. “We’re not quite sure how to make that happen. Going into the selling of sheets and things gets complicated,” shuddered Fontaine. “It’ll probably be really comfortable couches.”

Regarding the space assigned for meeting and multi-purpose rooms, “Mostly it will be group study areas, rather than individual study cubicles,” explained Fontaine. “The building is intended to be a lively, active place where people can interact and make connections.”

There is less space allocated for food services in Crossroads than in the plans for Main Street, however Fontaine feels that connecting the MBC food court to the new SUB will prove satisfactory. “I think this site allows the existing food vendors to thrive and to improve their services,” said Fontaine.

While this decision ends the site selection phase of the Build SFU project, the next step is to refine the space program for the site. Once this is finalised, the architects will move into the design phase of the building, which is expected to be completed December 2014.

New years resolutions? Meh.

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EIC

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January 6, 2014

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So you’re standing in a room surrounded by several of your friends, drink in hand, and grinning from ear to ear. Perhaps you’ve taken in some fireworks, or even had a special New Year’s kiss. There is something about the atmosphere on New Year’s Eve that inspires hope, and many decide to make resolutions to make themselves better people. The “New Year, New Me” Facebook statuses start rolling in, along with emphatic goals that are broadcasted to the world: “I’m going to lose ten pounds!” or “I’m really going to start being on time for things,” or “This year, I will eat healthier and exercise more!”

While admirable in theory, this tradition really results in shallow resolutions for which people quickly lose motivation. Most goals I see people set in order to “better” themselves are superficial, usually focused on improving physical appearance. Accordingly, the number of people who actually keep their resolution beyond the first couple weeks into January is pretty close to zilch. A year is a long time to work on a goal and one that is associated with shallow crap isn’t going to cut it. This is precisely what makes New Year’s resolutions so meh…they are made in naive hope and are then quickly forgotten.

Why does this resolve to change only come around during New Year’s anyway? Shouldn’t we strive to be our best every day of the year? To live while we’re dying, and, as Oprah says, to live our best life? Why do we settle for creating clichéd goals that are based on wispy fantasies of what we want to achieve but are too lazy to pursue?

Resolutions in themselves are completely unnecessary. For the people who make them and say, “new year, new me,” I say, well of course! So much can change in a year — you’ll be meeting new people, visiting new places, having new experiences. Most of this newness is unplanned and spontaneous — much like life in general.

Improving oneself is a combination of conscious decision and a subconscious response to the events that have taken place in one’s life. Learning from whatever life throws at you is the best way to become a better person.

The only resolution that should be made is to resolve to have the best year possible by riding through life’s ups and downs. That’s truly the best way to ring in the year.

The top 10 films of 2013

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Peak Web

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January 6, 2014

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10. Gravity dir. Alfonso Cuaron

A big-budget passion project of this level is no small event, and in a way it’s disarming that Gravity, Alfonso Cuarón’s four-years-in-the-making sci-fi opus, is so thematically simple. But on a level of craftsmanship, it’s insanely complex, and finds Cuarón and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki at the absolute peak of their game. Dr. Ryan Stone’s journey through open space, floating from one wreck to another, is not only a moving ode to the will to live, but one of the greatest special effects achievements in cinema history. And if you didn’t manage to catch it in 3D — where those thousands of debris flecks, space station corridors, and the surface of a helmet line the z-axis with perfect compositional confidence — well, you blew it.

9. At Berkeley dir. Frederick Wiseman

Long a chronicler of the institution, Frederick Wiseman’s study of The University of California, Berkeley finds him in his most comprehensive and daring mode. At Berkeley is a self-consciously slow and detailed film, one that demands a near-interactive commitment from its audience to yield its best rewards. But when that commitment is made, details and connections between its scenes slowly surface, all culminating in a massive sequence detailing both a student protest for free tuition (among an incoherent slew of other demands) and the institutional response to it. Wiseman’s conclusions may surprise you.

8. To the Wonder dir. Terrence Malick

The Tree of Life was just about as seminal an arthouse phenomenon as they come, and most any follow-up was bound to have its flaws put under a microscope. To the Wonder isn’t another rewriting of the narrative ruleset, but it is another work of astounding and emotional craftsmanship. Terrence Malick has placed more faith in the emotional power of elliptical editing than ever, and that in conjunction with his customarily sweeping, swirling visuals and expressionist sound design gives a sense of love’s dance between intimacy and estrangement, and the faith needed to survive that struggle.

7. Computer Chess dir. Andrew Bujalski

A film whose budget and production scale is low enough to circumvent much of the studio system’s infernal apparatus is always appreciated, especially when it uses its means to such unusual and invigorating ends. In the guise of an 80s pseudo-documentary shot with black and white video cameras from the 60s, Computer Chess follows a national competition held in a hotel conference room, where the often eccentric or maladjusted competitors face irrational breakdowns in both their computers and their day-to-day lives. It’s an Altman-esque ensemble comedy that isn’t afraid to get weird, and when it does, it’s equal parts funny and profound.

6. Before Midnight dir. Richard Linklater

The third film in a series now spanning three decades, Before Midnight ambles back into a day and night in the life of a couple who met in Vienna in 1995, and finds that their lives and relationship are more complicated than ever. The series’ usual high-minded intellectual dialogue is present, as is its skill of embedding in that dialogue conflicts and backstories that explode in the climax. But Midnight excels on a different level than its predecessors, as middle age brings Céline and Jesse to a new place in the trilogy (for now), where fleeting decisions of love and family are now for keeps.

5. The Act of Killing dir. Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn, Anonymous

The Indonesian killings of 1965-1966 — an act of total political retribution involving political executions, mass extortion, and genocide — have long remained nationally underexposed. Like the great Holocaust documentary Shoah, The Act of Killing evokes the past not with archival footage or photos, but by examining its effect on the present. Director Joshua Oppenheimer invited former members of a notorious death squad to stage filmed re-creations of the atrocities, to which they enthusiastically agreed. The result is more surreal, more damning, and more complex a study of perpetrators as human beings than anyone could have expected.

4. The Wolf of Wall Street dir. Martin Scorsese

As black as comedy comes, Scorsese’s biopic of ultra-hedonist stockbroker con-man Jordan Belfort is one of the most formally alive films in years, in the truest sense, hyperactively leveraging its conceits to remind and engage us with its structure. The Wolf of Wall Street fires off unreliable narration, battling voiceovers, chronology switch-ups, and more, constantly calling attention to Belfort’s performative charisma. Even the three-hour length, utterly exhausting given the insane pace, is a tool to exhaust us and make the last hour’s less-entertaining fall from grace as unromantic as possible. And any doubt of whether Scorsese condemns Belfort’s ilk is erased by the gut punch of a final shot.

3. Side Effects dir. Steven Soderbergh

It comes as no small joy that Side Effects is the most complex and difficult work of Steven Soderbergh’s career; one that’s been long marked by genre dissection and structural gamesmanship. The coup of Side Effects’ Hitchcockian shift (more Vertigo than Psycho, really) is that the seemingly divergent narrative tones work so well on their own terms. Side Effects betrays our sympathies and expectations, to be sure, but it’s so much more than the sum of its parts: its move from takedown of the pharmaceutical system to a psychological thriller about obsession is not just a nifty trick, but a comparing of bureaucratic systems with personal motives that grows richer the further past its surface you dig.

2. Leviathan dir. Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel

At least as recognizable as “horror” as it is “documentary,” Leviathan builds upon the sheep-watching splendour of Sweetgrass, co-director Castaing-Taylor’s previous film, with an intense and surreal view of offshore fishing. Leviathan’s endless visions of gulls, spilled fish guts, and the gruelling tedium of seamanship are harrowing enough on their own, but its up-close visuals lift GoPro cameras to expressionist heights that are matched by the film’s overwhelming sound design. Leviathan feels like the most furied and complete response to the ever-expanding possibilities offered by consumer cameras, creating a sensory experience unlike any other documentary.

1. Prisoners dir. Denis Villeneuve

Prisoners is first and foremost a straightforward thriller, more in the vein of hardboiled detective novels than the realist police procedurals that earn so much more praise these days. That might belie its allegorical power; Prisoners is far from the lousy kidnapped-kid cash-grab that trailers suggested. It subtly reveals itself as a savagely powerful investigation of torture and undue process. Condemnation and sympathy often emerge in the same breath. But what makes the film really astounding is its superlative craftsmanship, particularly its astounding visual splendour and metaphor, which marks both a career-best for world-best cinematographer Roger Deakins, and a major breakthrough for Canadian auteur Villeneuve.

Finding sense in anarchy

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EIC

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January 6, 2014

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Thousands of Brazilian teachers and students continue to act as the vanguard against austerity measures by President Dilma Rousseff’s government. In reaction to the hollowing out of public services and rampant corruption, protesters have rallied, marched, confronted the police, shut down highways, and camped in city squares to put pressure on the government.

A common factor at some of these events, as Vancouver Sun’s Bradley Brooks pointed out, has been the presence of an apparent group called “black bloc.” People participating in a black bloc wear all black, including masks, and are often shown clashing with the police.

Black bloc is not an organized faction. Rather, its members are people using a particular tactic of protest — they are regular people, who probably spend most of their time in the calmer settings of activism and work. Black bloc, then, is not an underground organization, but a tool used to ensure anonymity when protesters know there will be conflict with the police.

Often, in light of media images of black bloc activists smashing windows and burning banks, the concept of anarchy is aroused. Unfortunately, anarchism as mere destruction reduces a proper analysis of what it, as a type of political thought, represents. More than being about destruction, anarchism is about establishing ideas and solutions that meet the needs of everyone involved, all with the equality that comes from a lack of central leadership.

Anarchism is about establishing ideas and solutions that meet the needs of everyone.

Anarchism’s anonymity was central to the Occupy movement, which the media found so difficult to cover precisely because its protesters did not have a unified voice conveyed through leaders. This type of organizing is called “direct democracy,” the cornerstone of anarchist politics. Direct democracy does not entail a complete lack of authority, but authority upon which everyone can agree.

Justifying anarchy’s ideals should not be that foreign, at least to western Canadian residents. Central to anarchist’s ideals is a strong distrust of party politics; this is something we need only to look to the provincial leaders of BC and Alberta to justify. BC’s Christy Clark and Alberta’s Alison Redford just agreed about building the Northern Gateway oil pipeline across the provinces, without the approval of the public — polls show that a majority of BC residents do not approve the project.

Rather than hope to elect a candidate that will better serve the public next time, anarchists simply acknowledge that, for decades now, politicians have failed to serve the interests of the public. Rather than wait for politicians to better people’s lives, let alone stop catastrophes like climate change, anarchists prefer to try to do it themselves. They organize to make collective decisions about actions to take — actions which sometimes lead to conflict with the police and governments.

Whether anarchists can organize to offer tangible alternatives to the current state of affairs remains to be seen. However, it is worth remembering that these efforts are driven by a sense of despair. Many people who have tried to do everything right, worked hard, gone to college, etc., are finding themselves evermore burdened with debt and poor job prospects. The current system is incredibly good at wasting human resources. In Canada, for example, most students expect to graduate with over $26,000 in debt, while the youth unemployment rate is almost double the national average.

Rather than condemning anarchists, we should take a moment to step back from the media images which portray them as inherently violent, and realize that behind the scenes is a complex network of people working in whatever way they can — as activists, volunteers, or teachers — to change the world for the better. These are people, like you and I, who struggle to be successful in a world where the odds are against them.

Sorry, Snapchat

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EIC

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January 6, 2014

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So you’ve got the latest phone and have just downloaded all the latest apps. Aside from the basics — Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter — you’ve decided to socialize with trendier programs like Snapchat and WhatsApp. Everyone knows that what you post on the internet technically always exists out in cyberspace, but what about when you use apps that supposedly have “no trace?”

Snapchat, an app that has been steadily rising in popularity as a form of instant messaging, allows users to send pictures to their friends that get deleted automatically after a pre-determined delay. The premise of a self-destructing photo allows users to communicate with a sense of security; they won’t negatively affect their reputations, friendships, careers, etc. It also has become an increasingly popular platform for sexting, as the app will not store any data you send.

It is pretty clear why Snapchat has become such a popular messenger; however, I’m afraid I have to say sorry to Snapchat, as their idea isn’t so iron clad.

Friends that receive your pictures can still screenshot whatever you send, and although the original application had built in warnings when a screenshot was taken, new iOS updates of the app do not show such warnings anymore.

Society has groomed us into taking multiple selfies a day, and constantly craving more “likes.”

In addition, many websites and programmers now have access to all those dirty pictures you might send. Snapchatleaked.com, for example, cultivated and published a collection of screenshots users took while using the app.

Richard Hickman, a 24-year old forensics examiner, can retrieve Snapchat photos despite the disappearing photo magic Snapchat claims, in a procedure that takes about six hours. His private firm based in Orem, Utah will recover photos for $300 – $500 for anyone from lawyers to parents to the police.

Most of us probably have nothing to worry about, other than some hideous selfies we have taken to express mundane life events to our friends, but I am sure that you’d think twice about a nude pic or incriminating photo if you realized how accessible those images really are.

Of course, Snapchat’s privacy policy explicitly states that there is no guarantee your data will always be deleted, so they aren’t too concerned if one of your picture messages happens to be let loose. As far as they know everyone reads those terms and agreements before using an application, right?

Society has groomed us into taking multiple selfies a day, and constantly craving the attention for more “likes,” no matter what the social media platform. We focus so heavily on celebrities and try to recreate the claim to fame on a micro scale. We constantly update our statuses, tweets, and photos in a frantic state of social connectivity, without fully realizing the fundamental reasons driving us to do so.

Snapchat is merely a reflection of a larger societal problem — the need to be recognized and gratified instantly. Who cares about privacy, when the very people we worship publicly display their private lives? Who cares about the effects of our sneaky Snapchats being found — when “all publicity is good publicity”?

Snapchat reveals that we are more concerned about our perception of social connectivity online than the actual consequences of our online actions. How can I tell this? Despite reading this article, regular Snapchatters will probably sign away their privacy by posting or sending a picture within hours.

But don’t worry, it’s not our problem: it’s society’s, right?

Mr. Right-Wing: Stuck with Harper

By

EIC

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January 6, 2014

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Over the Christmas break, I received a surprising piece of mail. It was a letter from the federal NDP, wondering which of the party leaders I believed was best suited to lead our nation. I thought this was odd, considering that the next federal election is scheduled for 2015, well over a year away.

Delving deeper, I discovered that Tom Mulcair, Leader of the Opposition, suggests that the prime minister will call for new elections as early as the January throne speech, and is thus preparing his party for an election in the spring of 2014. This is a vain effort to make his name known, though, because the Conservatives will most likely not call for an election.

Unlike his predecessor Jack Layton, Mulcair is relatively unknown to many Canadians. In political conversations I had over the holidays, for instance, he was most often referred to as “the other guy.” While Harper continues to make headlines simply by being in office, and while Justin Trudeau turns heads with admiration for China’s dictatorship and alleged comments to teens about why marijuana should be legalized, Tom Mulcair seems absent from the political news of the country.

Why would the Conservatives gamble their hard-fought victory away before they have to?

Unfortunately for him, this probably won’t change anytime soon. An election will most likely not be called by the Conservatives, simply because an early election poses too many disadvantages for them.

For starters, the Conservatives are not in a position to lose control of the government without an election, and unlike previous years, the Opposition parties do not have the votes in Parliament to force the issue. When Harper had a minority government, calling a new election was a strategic move designed to increase Conservative power within the House of Commons, eventually leading to the majority government he now enjoys.

Having now won that hard-fought victory, why gamble it all away before you have to? With public confidence in the Harper government still smarting in the wake of the senate scandal, a spring election would surely cost the party their majority, something they will certainly try to hang on to as long as possible.

Furthermore, an election in the spring would upset many of the long-term policies of the Harper government, the most important of which being the balancing of the federal budget. Currently, according to both the conservatives and Jim Flaherty, the Minister of Finance, Canada has the strongest economy of the G7 nations, and is on track to balance the budget and continue to lower its national debt, barring another economic crisis.

Elections are expensive undertakings, with the preliminary estimated cost of the last federal election coming in at $291 million dollars, according to the Report of the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada on the 41st General Election of May 2, 2011. Having been elected on a platform of fiscal responsibility, it is hard to imagine the Conservative government using that kind of money to call an election that will not likely win them another majority.

Finally, waiting another year gives the Conservatives more ammunition when it comes to pointing out the flaws in their opponents. Every day that Justin Trudeau leads the Liberal party is another day in which he shows how little he is capable of doing so, and both NDP and Conservative supporters are likely looking forward to seeing how Trudeau sticks his foot in his mouth in 2014. Likewise, I am sure they will start looking at Mulcair to see if they ever should deem him a threat in the political arena.

So for all those Canadians out there, including Mulclair, hoping to get rid of Harper early, 2014 is not your year.

Safety in surveillance

By

EIC

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January 6, 2014

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In June 2013, former American National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden exposed a series of government-led, top-secret surveillance programs that collected data and supposedly breached the privacy of unaware American citizens. This led to a public outcry, and increased scrutiny of the government of the United States and its allies.

In response, the Canadian public soon learned that the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC), and the more commonly known Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), might similarly be able to monitor phone conversations and collect data as an act of public surveillance on Canadians. These warranted but discreet programs are protected by Canadian government policies and are considered lawful.

Canadians are concerned that their civil liberties are being compromised and their privacy invaded through government surveillance. Surveillance and policing are, overall, not well-received in our democratic society, and for good reason: one needs to only look to George Orwell’s 1984 for drastic repercussions of constant surveillance.

If exploited and used with the wrong intention, surveillance can have adverse effects, especially towards society and its citizens. But, given the right situation, government surveillance and the collection of data can be positive to society in the scope of public and national threats.

Consider the work that anti-terrorist organizations like CSIS and CSEC do for Canada. Some argue that they are irrelevant, considering that the last prominent successful terrorist related-event in Canada was the Air India Flight 182 in 1985. But consider this: there have been no incidents since because of the work that these government agencies do. Their successes are simply less publicized; they remain discreet in order to keep similar operations and investigations running. If they were overt about these operations, then terrorists would know how to evade authorities.

Without government surveillance, these terrorist attacks could have had devastating effects.

To say that terrorism does not exist in Canada is just ignorant. In 2006, in what is now called the Toronto 18 case, 18 individuals conspired to conduct a series of terrorist attacks in Toronto and Ottawa. Canadian homegrown terrorism became real when the plotters allegedly planned to pack 14-foot U-Haul trucks with fertilizer bombs and detonate them outside the Toronto Stock Exchange, and storm government buildings, including Parliament Hill and CSIS headquarters.

After intense undercover investigations and surveillance by CSIS, the RCMP were brought in to make the arrests. As a result, eleven people involved admitted guilt or were found guilty in court, and all others but two released early-on, one being a youth, signed peace bonds as a corrective measure. Without government surveillance, these terrorist attacks could have easily had devastating effects and repercussions.

More recently, in April 2013, two individuals were arrested after allegedly plotting to attack a VIA rail train in the Greater Toronto Area. According to a counter-terrorism investigation held by the RCMP, this plot is the “first known al-Qaeda planned attack . . . in Canada.” Police have yet to release specific details of the investigation, however the men in question are facing terrorism charges.

How would our government have known that these plots existed had it not been for public surveillance? How would they know before it was too late? Yes, Edward Snowden’s actions have sparked some much needed debate in Canada, which has led a call for the re-evaluation and analysis of said “comprehensive measures” warranted by Canadian law. I have no problems with this; we are a democratic nation, and it is our role to keep our government accountable. But, as a society, let us not negate the fact that these operations are meant to keep our nation safe.

Coming in hot

By

EIC

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January 6, 2014

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As students return to school for the spring semester, student-athletes everywhere are still in the thick of their competition schedules, having paused only for a quick holiday visit with family and friends.

The women’s basketball team returned to competition on Dec 30, the first day athletes were allowed back after a short Christmas break, beating former CIS rival Trinity Western University 65–41 in a slow but methodical non-conference game. The game served as a way to get back on the court and prepare for their first Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) games of the season.

The Clan got their conference schedule on the right foot, handing defending GNAC champions Western Washington University (WWU) an early season loss. A strong team performance and solid defence were the keys to the Clan’s 62–58, home-court victory, led by captain Erin Chambers who tallied 27 points on the night. Katie Lowen added 12 points and four steals to the campaign and Marie-Line Petit had 10 points and three steals of her own as well.

It was the ninth match between the two teams since SFU joined the GNAC, with WWU having edged the Clan in six of the previous eight meetings but this time around, the Clan’s momentum in the second half gave them the edge to pull away with the victory.

Unfortunately they were unable to come away with the same result later in December when they faced West Texas A&M, ranked 10th in the NCAA’s Div. II, losing the lead with minutes remaining in the game to fall 77-73 on neutral ground in Washington. Despite the loss, senior Chelsea Reist had a breakthrough game scoring a season high 18 points, as she found the confidence and consistency that fans have come to expect.

Although the loss of Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe was a source of worry for fans and statisticians, the Clan women have been able to come together in the early moments of the season and prove that a strong team effort can help patch the hole left by the All-American’s departure. Ranked fourth in the pre-season GNAC poll, the Clan have already upset the pre-season runner-up WWU, and will look to continue their winning ways into 2014.

The first games of the calendar year will prove a good test to see how the Clan can carry that momentum, as they embark on their first road trip of the new year. As long as the Clan women come ready to play to each game and don’t take any GNAC opponents for granted, the 2013-14 season has the potential to see repeat success from a year ago. As head coach Bruce Langford said early on, “It is anyone’s game in this conference.”

Supreme Court of Canada strikes down anti-prostitution laws

By

EIC

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January 6, 2014

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On Dec. 20, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC), made the unanimous decision to strike down Canada’s anti-prostitution laws. The ruling was made on the case Canada v. Bedford, brought forward by Ontario sex workers Terri-Jean Bedford, Amy Lebovitch and Valerie Scott in 2010, which challenged the constitutionality of anti-prostitution laws in Canada.

These laws were found to infringe on the rights of sex workers to the security of the person as outlined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. According to associate professor for SFU’s Department of Political Science, Genevieve Fuji Johnson, “This was a very important ruling for the advancement of human rights.” She continued, “All of us have rights that should not be violated by the Criminal Code or any other piece of legislation.”

Prostitution is not technically illegal but laws surrounding the act were in place in order to prevent it including prohibiting common bawdy-houses, living on the avails of prostitution and communicating in public for the purposes of prostitution.

Fuji Johnson explained, “This dualism puts sex workers into very precarious positions in which they are not able to work in safe locations, work with others, hire security guards or drivers, or negotiate with prospective clients.” She also pointed out that if sex workers are victims of violence, these laws make it very difficult for them to seek police help.

“This was a very important ruling for the advancement of human rights.”

– Genevieve Fuji Johnson, SFU associate professor

The SCC’s media release states that anti-prostitution legislation “prevents the implementation of safety measures that could protect prostitutes from violence.” John Lowman, SFU professor of criminology and expert witness in the case said that these laws “make little sense as a package.”

Lowman adds that this advancement may press the government to criminalize the buying and/or selling of sex once and for all. The federal government was given a total of 12 months by the SCC to redraft the laws.

Various women’s groups with aligned views came together as intervenors in the case under the name “The Women’s Coalition for the Abolition of Prostitution.” Their particular view is that Canada should follow the example of other countries, such as France and Sweden, and adopt a similar legislative model — a model in which the purchase of sex is criminalized, but not the sale of it.

This ‘Nordic model’ was put forth to the SCC but was not adopted. One criticism offered by Lowman is that this model assumes that all prostitutes are forced into the trade. He said, “In order to accept the Nordic model, you have to treat women involved in sex work as the equivalent of children . . . I believe that women have agency.”

Fuji Johnson also believes that this model “falls short.” Instead of creating protection, she argues that this would only exacerbate the problem; “Even when criminalized, buying and selling sex happens. Criminalization tends to push prostitution further underground, where sex workers are more vulnerable to violence and exploitation . . . [it] only disempowers and hurts sex workers.”

She also feels that this system overreaches by criminalizing sexual activities among consenting adults. Instead, Fuji Johnson suggests we look more at providing the funding for housing, health, and social programs necessary to enable those who personally articulate an interest in leaving the trade.

Fuji Johnson concluded, “I think it’s very important for members of the SFU community to think clearly and seriously about these issues . . . It’s always important to have an informed opinion concerning the laws and policies that govern us, especially when lives are at stake.”