Adam Bielka
Halving the Orange lacks emotional punch
July 28, 2014In Halving the Orange, Michael Hetherington forges a universe in which SFU’s medieval studies program is not a small rump, but instead bolstered by quirky, world-renowned, (and unfortunately fictional) Allenbeigh College. Amidst the seemingly idyllic academic environment, however, are the seeds for conspiracy, drama, and intrigue which slowly become more apparent as the plot progresses. While Hetherington flips back and forth between over half a dozen different viewpoint characters, the bulk of the novel follows the journey of Isabella Allenbeigh, daughter of the college’s founders. Raised completely inside its walls, she is kept cloistered by fear of the outside and…
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Israel/Palestine: one state solution
July 21, 2014It is easy to label the erupting crisis in the Israel-Palestine corridor as a meaningless tragedy; in many ways, this is correct. What began as a small Israeli incursion into the West Bank to rescue three Jewish teenagers from a…
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Potential benefits of Middle Eastern radical groups
June 30, 2014In recent weeks, the media firestorm surrounding the rise of the radical jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has been intense. No surprise. The story of ISIS’ rise has all the right elements to make for…
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The “bad” Russians and “innocent” Ukrainians
March 17, 2014In flagrant defiance of Ukrainian sovereignty, Russia has invaded, occupied, and is preparing to annex Crimea. The ire these actions have provoked in the West is acute, with voices on both left and right vying to appear more upset. From…
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Lean times as opportunity for reform in Venezuela
March 3, 2014For 14 years, Hugo Chavez drove Venezuela down the path towards “Bolivarian Revolution” which sought to retract the country from the neoliberal mould that American influence had long pressured Latin America into accepting. Robust additions to welfare programs, price controls,…
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The ballot box versus the street
February 17, 2014From Turkey to the Ukraine to Thailand, 2013 was the year of the protester. In each of these cases, mass street protests were rallied against their respective governments with the opposition demanding reorientations in policy. In our societal milieu, we…
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Saudi Arabian revolution? Not so fast.
February 3, 2014Saudi Arabia is one of the least free and least democratic nations on Earth, in my opinion. As such, it is understandable that dewy-eyed idealists would be tempted to project their dubious prophecies of the inevitable global march towards democratic…
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A Particular Class of Women bares all
February 3, 2014It’s a play about strippers. “If you don’t read the play and invest in it, you might think it is just trash up on stage,” actress Courtney Vye says. But, to the people at NeverYouMind Productions, their staging of A…
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