Page 16 Volume 58, Issue 24 march 18, 2004 Uniteruniter.ca/pdf/uniter-58-24.pdfCIS Championships - page 18 THE Uniter Winnipeg at Centre of Battle for CDC Contract U of W Partnership

Volume 58 , Issue 24 m arch 18 , 2004

SecretWindowLackseppth

SecretWindowLacksDeppthPage 16

In Martha We Trust?Page 10

T H E O F F I C I A L W E E K L Y S T U D E N T N E W S P A P E R O F T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F W I N N I P E G

Neil-Cam!Page 16

Neil-Cam!

CIS Championships - page 18

UniterTH

EUniterTH

E

Winnipeg at Centre of Battle for CDC Contract

U of W Partnership TakingAction Against Hate

page 2 m arch 18 , 2004uniter

n e w s

th

e

Volume 58, Issue 24March 18, 2004

S T A F F

Jonathan TanEditor In [email protected]

Michelle KulyManaging [email protected]

A. P. (Ben) BentonNews [email protected]

Cheryl GudzFeatures [email protected]

Jeff RobsonA & E [email protected]

Leighton KlassenSports [email protected]

Stu ReidProduction [email protected]

Julie HorbalListings [email protected]

Chandra MayorCopy Editor

Ted TurnerAdvertising [email protected]

Scott deGrootBeat Reporter

Kent Davies Diversions Coordinator

M.D.CohenDiversions Coordinator

Joe MylesDistribution Manager

THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORSEd Cheung,Jeanne Fronda, Dan Huyghebaert,

Brad Pennington, Jesse Matas , Christine

Esselmont, Jo Snyder, Carly Campbell,

Madeleine Kettner, Hywel Tuscano, Laurie

Bertram, Sara Loftson, Sheri Lamb, Mike Pyl,

Jon Symons, Eric Guillemette, Jonathan Ball,

Jenny Western, Jeremy Strub

Cover Photo : Leighton Klassen

The Uniter is the official student newspaper of the University ofWinnipeg and is published by the University of WinnipegStudents' Association. The Uniter is editorially autonomous andthe opinions expressed within do not necessarily reflect those ofthe UWSA. The Uniter is a member of the Canadian UniversityPress and Campus Plus Media Services. Submission of articles,letters, photos and graphics are welcome. Articles should be sub-mitted in text or Microsoft Word format to [email protected] for submissions is noon Friday (contact the section's edi-tor for more information). Deadline for advertisements is noonFriday, six days prior to publication. The Uniter reserves the rightto refuse to print submitted material. The Uniter will not print sub-missions that are homophobic, misogynistic, racist or libelous. Wealso reserve the right to edit for length or style.

Contact UsGeneral Inquiries: 204.786.9790

Advertising: 204.786.9779Editors: 204.786.9497

Fax: 204.783.7080Email: [email protected]

The UniterRoom ORM14

University of Winnipeg515 Portage Avenue

Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2E9

uniterth

e

B Y S A R A L O F T S O N

On March 24th in a historicpartnership, theUniversity of Winnipeg’s

Division of Continuing Educationand The League for HumanRights of B’nai Brith Canada willlaunch a unique program inhuman rights education and advo-cacy called “Taking ActionAgainst Hate” (TAAH).

Program Development andTAAH pilot workshops began in1999, assisted by a grant from theFederal Government’sDepartment of CanadianHeritage, MulticulturalismProgram. TAAH offers a step-by-step program for individuals,institutions and communitygroups to deal with discrimina-tion and hate-motivated incidentsthrough law enforcement, educa-tion and community action. Theslogan is protection, preventionand partnerships.

As part of the University’sProfessional Studies Programcurriculum, TAAH is formattedto its specific audience and set-ting. It can range from a one-hour session appropriate forclassroom presentations, to afive-day workshop with readingsand evaluations.

“This program will improvethe ability of communities andkey public institutions to respondmore effectively to ethnic, racial,religious, cultural and genderdiversity,” says Richard Nordrum,

the University of WinnipegProgram Director.

Active in Canada since 1875,B’nai Brith is a Jewish advocacygroup, whose mandate is to com-bat anti-Semitism, bigotry andracism in Canada and abroad. InJuly 2002, Alan Yusim, theLeague’s Midwest regionalDirector approached Nordrum todiscuss the possibility of forminga partnership. Within six monthsthey reached a formal agreement.

“To my knowledge, thisunique, significant partnershiprepresents the first occasion wherea major independent human rightsorganization has successfullyallied itself with a major CanadianUniversity to deliver a program ofthis magnitude. All of us involvedare proud to recognize this accom-plishment,” said Yusim.

The initial facilitator trainingsessions were held in May 2003,certifying participants to deliverthe TAAH course through publicofferings at the U of W or in-house workshops.

“Our goal is to combine ourexpertise with that of the Leagueand for our partnership group tojointly manage the TAAH pro-gram as it expands regionally andnationally in terms of public andcommunity education as the net-work of certified professionalsgraduate from the program,” saidNordrum. “These facilitators willrepresent diversity and other char-acteristics of the community i.e.,Aboriginal, cultural, ethnic, gen-

der, profession,” he added. Upon graduating, the facilita-

tor of the inaugural program ofstudy, Naomi Z. Levine, (B.A.,M.A., LL.B., C. Med.) served asdirector of TAAH training forBritish Columbia, the MidwestRegion and Atlantic Canada. Aformer Crown Attorney andDefense Counsel, Levine hasextensive experience in litigation,the drafting of policies andprocesses, conducting inquiries,and acting as an advisor on legalmatters for corporations, govern-ments, organizations, academicinstitutions and unions. She hostsher own weekly radio column onCBC called “Levine’s Law” and isrecognized by her colleagues as a

Canadian expert in matters ofhuman rights.

Inclusion of this unique pro-gram in the 1st InternationalAboriginal and Diversity LawEnforcement Conference is aprime example of how TAAH canbe used to increase awareness andinformed dialog about multicul-turalism, racism and culturaldiversity in Canada.

Levine is optimistic that thisprogram will take flight and con-tinue to raise consciousness.

“We also anticipate specifical-ly relevant elements of ‘TakingAction Against Hate’ to be includ-ed in other existing Universitydegree and certificate programs inthe near future.”

B Y S C O T T D E G R O O T

Manitoba Premier GarryDoer and City ofWinnipeg Mayor Glen

Murray traveled to Ottawa lastweek to sell our province as thenew disease capital of NorthAmerica.

Plans are in the works todevelop and build a state of the artinfectious disease research labora-tory that would parallel the infa-mous Atlanta Centre for DiseaseControl (CDC). Dubbed “CDCNorth” the proposed NationalPublic Health Agency will aim toco-ordinate federal and provincialresponses to health emergenciesand promote research, and the citywith the winning bid will benefitfrom millions in federal invest-ment and hundreds of new jobs.But fears run high that so calledWestern Alienation diminishManitoba’s otherwise stellar bid.

The birth of WesternAlienation can be traced back totwo main historical events—Trudeau’s National EnergyProgram in the 80s which forcedAlberta to sell oil at half the world

price to the benefit of industrialOntario; and the notorious multi-million dollar CF-18 maintenancecontract, awarded to Canadair ofMontreal in 1986, despite a lowerbid by Bristol Aerospace ofWinnipeg. The political falloutreverberated across the WesternCanada, and led to the birth of thereform party.

Now, almost twenty yearslater, Winnipeg is in the runningfor another major federal contract:the headquarters of the newNational Public Health Agency.And as it did in 1986, Winnipegfaces a serious eastern con-tender—Ottawa. But this timearound, the provincial governmentis leaving nothing to chance.

“Maybe in retrospect weshould have had something likethis right before the CF-18 deci-sion,” Premiere Gary Doer said oftheir trip to Ottawa last week withMayor Glen Murray and provin-cial business leaders to lobby thefederal government.

“If Prime Minister Paul Martinis serious about mending westernfences, he will locate a proposednational public health agency in

Winnipeg,” said Doer, who prom-ised to unleash “a political holywar,” if the bid is unsuccessful.

Winnipeg’s bid has two mainadvantages. First, Winnipeg isalready home to the CanadianScience Centre for Human andAnimal Health, Canada’s mainlaboratory for the study of infec-tious diseases. The lab handlesdangerous “level-four” virusessuch as Ebola, employs over fortyof Canada’s top scientists, and isconsidered state of the art interna-tionally. Second, the Province hasoffered millions in additionalfunding and logistical support. Buthaving Winnipeg MP Reg Alcockin cabinet is also an advantage. Ashead of the treasury board, Alcockhas taken a key role in theLiberals’ response to the sponsor-ship scandal, and therefore carriesconsiderable weight in PaulMartin’s government.

But despite Winnipeg’sstrengths, Ottawa’s bid should notbe underestimated. The vastmajority of Health Canada’s infra-structure is located in Ottawa, andkey policy decisions are madethere. Ottawa is also favoured by

Federal Health Minister CaroylnBennet, who claims most healthcare professionals also want CDClocated in the nation’s capital.

And although it is the under-dog, there is still the possibilitythat Vancouver’s bid, backed byPremier Gordon Campbell andgovernment Senate leader JackAustin, could emerge victorious.British Columbia boasts the B.C.Centres for Disease Control inVancouver, and the expertise ofthe University of BritishColumbia, which are its main sell-ing points.

B.C. and Manitoba, despitebeing competitors for the contract,have taken a similar stance that ifthe federal government were tolocate CDC North in Ottawa, itwould be a collective blow towestern Canada. BritishColombia’s Health Minister ColinHansen cautioned that an Ottawadecision would “feed Westernalienation,” concerns echoed byDoer. It’s a message the Liberalsmay be wise to heed, given thealready low levels of support inWest in the face of a possiblespring election.

Richard Nordrum and Naomi Levine Photo by: Alan Yusim

Eyebrows Raised Over IslamicTribunals in Ontario

Career Resource CentreAvailable On U of W CampusMost Students Unaware Facilities Exist

n e w sm arch 18 , 2004 page 3unitert

he

B Y S C O T T D E G R O O T

For Westerners, Islamic Law conjures up aseries of negative images: Taliban oppres-sion in Afghanistan; beheadings in Saudi

Arabia; or the stoning of female rape victims inNigeria for committing “adultery.” Because ofsuch instances Islamic law is often labeled barbar-ic, archaic and violent, especially in its treatmentof women. Yet for millions of Muslims around theworld, these instances are cruel distortions of anotherwise just system. To them, it is the applica-tion of Islamic law rather than the law itself that isflawed – a theory that will be soon tested in thecontext of Canada.

As a result of intense lobbying by OntarioMuslims, led by retired lawyer Syed Mumtaz Ali,Islamic law will soon be implemented in Canadain the form of Sharia tribunals with jurisdictionover civil cases.

Ali, who was the first lawyer in Canadian his-tory to take his oath on the Qur’an in 1962, spear-headed the initiative because he believes it to beculturally important to Muslims. All of theTribunals’rulings must be approved by an Ontariocourt to ensure they do not contravene Canadianlaw – an important caveat in the eyes of support-ers, who claim this will mitigate the possibility ofbrutal and mysoginistic interpretations of Sharialaw.

The move has been praised by many acrossCanada’s 650,000 strong Muslim community,including Sumaiia Hafeez, a fourth year philoso-phy major at the University of British Columbiaand daughter of Nuzhat Hafeez, the chairperson ofthe BC Muslim Womens’Association.

“I’m glad that Canada seems to understandthe true meaning of multiculturalism,” she said.“There are many misconceptions about Sharia,but you have to really understand the beauty andthe history that’s behind it. We live in a multicul-tural society and all people should have the rightto practice their religion.”

Many women’s organizations, however, arestaunchly opposed. The International Campaignfor the Defense of Women’s Rights, for example,held a panel discussion titled, “Sharia Tribunals inCanada and Women’s Rights,” on March 7,2004. The press release for the event, endorsedby about half a dozen women’s rights groups,read “the attempt [to set up Sharia tribunals inCanada] will make it possible for politicalIslam to gain legal credibility to attackwomen’s rights.” These groups have alsoargued that in reality, even though both partiesmust be willing participants in the tribunals,women living in traditional Islamic householdswill face intense pressure from their husbands.

Other contentious points include stipula-tions that male children shall receive a greater

share of an inheritance than female children,wives may not initiate divorce hearings, and thatin the case of divorce, fathers are usually awardedcustody of daughters who have reached the age ofpuberty.

Mumtaz Ali himself has said Islamic familylaw would not be appropriate for child custodycases in Canada.

“Canadian law is very sensitive to the inter-ests of the child and the courts must decide cus-tody,” he said. He also admits that inheritance anddivorce rulings under Islamic law tend to favourmen, due to the historical origins of Islam.

But the interpretations of Islam are diverse.The views of Louay Alghoul, a practicing Muslimand second year law student at the U of M, arecase in point.

Alghoul believes that Islamic law is fairertowards women than men, as women receive agreater share of property in divorces. Andalthough sex outside marriage, homosexuality, alltypes of pornography and prostitution, consump-tion of any intoxicant, and all types of gamblingare subject to harsh punishments under Islamiclaw, they are criminal offences—an area outsidethe Tribunals’ jurisdiction.

“As long as the judgments of the Sharia tri-bunals are under the umbrella of Canadian juris-diction, especially the charter [of rights andFreedoms], I see this as an advantage,” saidAlghoul. “This is a great advantage to the Muslimcommunity because Muslims will find fulfillmentby abiding both Canadian law as Canadian citi-zens, but also abiding by God’s law.”

B Y J O N A T H A N T A N

Karen Sawatzky, the U of W’s CareerResource Centre (CRC) Librarian, hasbeen a little lonely at the CRC in room

OGM09 in Graham Hall, something she’s hopingwill soon change. The CRC officially opened inSeptember 2003; it is the first phase in the U ofW’s development of a Career Centre with recruit-ment for students and new graduates. The centrecurrently houses a variety of resources and fourcomputers to help students and recent graduateswith their job and career searches, however theCRC’s nearly hidden location means many stu-dents are unaware it exists.

As the end of the academic year approaches,students preparing to graduate, as well as contin-uing students, face the double challenge of com-pleting their studies while securing a career orsummer job. The CRC can act as a compass forstudent job searches, providing resources onbasics such as resume and cover letter writingright through to links to available internships andjobs.“If a student needs help directing their (career)search, then I can help them do that,” says KarenSawatzky of the services available at the CRC.

Sawatzky staffs the centre, acting as a refer-ence librarian for career services and doubles asthe Workopolis Campus coordinator. She is avail-able, on a drop-in basis, to help students navigatethe glut of reference materials to find the ones rel-evant to their job search goals. The centre is openbetween 9 a.m. and 4:30p.m., Monday to Friday,closing for lunch between 12:30-1:30p.m., andno appointment is necessary.

Despite the open-door policy, student use ofthe centre has so far been minimal. Most of the students that Sawatzky has helpedhave come to her through the university’sCounselling service, which offers career coun-selling. According to Ian Cull the U of W’s Vice-President Students, news of the centre is spread-ing slowly, mostly through word of mouth.

“The people who go see Karen have a good

experience, and they tell six friends, and theytell their friends, so she’s getting slowly busier.She knows the need is out there, and just wantsto help students get their (job search) needsmet,” Vice-President Cull said.

Ian Cull came to the U of W last year fromSt. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotiawhich has a more developed career search,placement and recruitment infrastructure.Until the mid-1990’s the federal governmentoperated career centres in every universitythrough the Human Resources andDevelopment Canada department. Whenfunding was cut, some universities took overthe operation of the centres and expanded. TheUniversity of Manitoba’s Career ResourceCentre has been around for 25 years. At the Uof W, the UWSA tried to maintain a careercentre but lacked resources and expertise.

Part of Vice-President Cull’s mandate is toimprove the transition for students from uni-versity into the working world. At St. FrancisXavier, Vice-President Cull helped improvetheir career centre, they opened a new centre,new resource room, enhanced their webcapacity and developed placement and recruit-ment with select employers from the publicand private sectors. His vision for the U of W’scareer centre is similar, phase two wouldinvolve hiring an employee to recruit corpo-rate employers and develop co-op and intern-ship programs.

Phases two and three are contingent onfunding from the provincial government. IanCull remains optimistic that funding will comethrough this spring to allow phase two of thecentre to begin in September. Both Sawatzkyand Cull admit the current space for the CRCis less than ideal, tucked at the end of a hall-way in Graham Hall, but the growing enrol-ment over the past few years has left alldepartments of the university competing forincreasingly scarce space. Vice-President Cullis confident that a more suitable space will befound in the future.

page 4 m arch 18 , 2004uniterth

e

n e w sSubletting Your

Apartment?Increase Rightsfor Sex-Trade

Workers: CriticFormer Prostitute Calls for

Criminal Code Changes

L A U R I E B E R T R A M

The University of Winnipeg Department of

Student Housing and Life

Subletting your place can be atricky affair. From searchingfor a replacement, to dealing

with your landlord, to getting yourdamage deposit back; it’s impor-tant to know all of the ins and outsof having someone take on yourlease.

Advertising your placeFinding the right person to

sublet or take over a lease can bedifficult, particularly in the springwhen many students are returninghome. Posting sublet noticesaround campus may not be enoughto fill that space so consider adver-tising online with the UW Off-Campus Housing Registry. A freeservice for UW students, the hous-ing registry provides a comprehen-sive list of affordable housingavailable in and around the down-town area. In operation May 1st toSeptember 31st, the registry adver-tises all listings through TheUniversity of Winnipeg website.To ensure that students have accessto quality listings, all propertiesare subject to inspection beforeapproval and posting. Postings bynon-students are subject to a fee of

$20 per inspection. For moreinformation posting your sublet onthe housing registry, please contactThe Department of Housing andStudent Life at 786-9900.

Dealing with your landlordOnce you have found someone

to assume the lease it is importantto understand your rights andresponsibilities as a tenant beforesigning over your place. There aretwo different ways for someone toassume your lease: subletting orassignment. Subletting impliesthat someone will temporarily takeover a lease, but that eventuallythe original tenant will return tothe property. Assignment is when atenant wants to move-out perma-nently but will arrange for some-one else take their place. If youwant to assign your lease to some-one else and are leaving yourapartment behind for good remem-ber that:

You must obtain the landlord’swritten approval for the new ten-ant. The landlord cannot unreason-ably withhold consent.

The new tenant pays a newdamage deposit to the landlord.You should receive your depositback.

The new tenant, landlord andyourself all sign an “Assignmentof Tenancy Agreement.” Once thisagreement has been signed you are

no longer responsible for the lease. Always remember to get a con-

dition report detailing any pre-existing damages if you are mov-ing into or out of a place. Thesereports are invaluable incase of adispute over a damage deposit.

If you plan to sublet, that is,you would like someone take overyour lease temporarily until youmove back in, please rememberthat:

You must obtain written con-sent from your landlord. Yourlandlord cannot unreasonablywithhold consent to a sublettingagreement.

You, your landlord, and thenew tenant must sign a “sublettingagreement.”

Sublets also mean that you willcontinue to be responsible for thelease, as well as any damages toproperty so be very careful whenchoosing your temporary replace-ment.

The original tenant can onlycharge the subletting tenant asmuch as they originally paid forthe apartment.

The landlord keeps the securi-ty deposit in your name.

The Residential TenanciesBranch (RTB) offers a number ofservices for tenants and landlordswith issues pertaining to rentalproperties. If you or someone youknow has questions or concernsabout subletting, damage deposits,or your rights as a tenant, pleasecontact the RTB at 945-2476.

B Y H Y W E L T U S C A N OUbyssey

VANCOUVER (CUP) — Sex-trade workers have been stigma-tized, demonized, maimed andmurdered for far too long, says along-time advocate for the rightsof sex-trade workers.

Jamie Lee Hamilton wasdrawn into prostitution in 1969 atthe age of 14 and has been a wit-ness to much of the activity onVancouver’s streets. Drawingupon experience from her involve-ment in the queer/transgenderedcommunity, activism and the sextrade, she was outspoken about theneed for rights for sex-trade work-ers at a recent conference at UBC.

She is lobbying for the abol-ishment of a section in the crimi-nal code that prohibits communi-cating for the purpose of prostitu-tion in a public place and anothersection that bans the existence oruse of common bawdy houses—“any place used for the purpose ofprostitution or the practice of actsof indecency.” Prostitution itself islegal and is usually propagatedthrough massage parlours orescort services.

Hamilton said these codescriminalize sex-trade workers andnot those who are actually makingthe streets dangerous.

“Sex-trade workers are notcriminals. Places where workerswork should not be criminalisedeither,” she said.

Hamilton admits to running asafe house for sex-trade workersand was charged with running acommon bawdy house in August2000.

“There is nothing commonabout it,” she said in response tothe charges.But there are many opponents togiving rights to sex-trade workers.Groups like the Coalition Againstthe Trafficking of Women deem

prostitution “exploitative ofwomen, regardless of consent.”

The local Vancouver RapeRelief and Women’s Shelter is alsostrongly opposed to prostitution,but could not comment by presstime.

Hamilton’s resolve to elimi-nate the codes is fuelled by star-tling statistics and the loss of per-sonal friends.

Between 1985 and 1993 over63 sex-trade workers were mur-dered. When murderers werecaught, their sentences were pal-try, she said.

“There was a dramaticincrease of the victimisation of sextrade workers—just over five ayear. If that were happening to anyother segment of the populationthere would be outrage. Butbecause we were sex workers Iguess those that were in powerthought they could do whateverthey wanted to do to us,” saidHamilton.

The DTES Residents’Association realized that manywomen were going missing in theDowntown Eastside in 1997-1998.

Hamilton filed a Freedom ofInformation request to theVancouver Police Department andit was revealed on March 2, 1999that 22 women had disappeared inone year. A local pig farmer,Robert Pickton, is now facingmurder charges for 22 womenfrom the DTES. The DNA of up to31 women has been found at hisPort Coquitlam farm.

While both sides fight foreither abolishment or decriminal-ization it is very clear that thestreets remain dangerous, saidHamilton.

“Sex workers are still very,very vulnerable and still are beingvictimized,” she said.

Hamilton’s keynote addresswas part of UBC’s first Sexualityand Gender diversity conference,called Resolutions and Ruptures.

Uniter ClassifiedsNOW HIRING!Do you like working outside inthe summer?Do you like getting rewarded foryour hard work?Do you like setting goals andachieving them?

Student Works Painting is nowhiring for summer painter posi-tions. $8.50 - $10.00/hr. Please send your resume to:[email protected] or call333-5993 for moreinformation.Guaranteed chance to become

one of the newest and largestwave of millionaires in historywithin 6 months to 5 years. $20 US to join. 204-989-2333.

Correction from March 11, pg. 6: Be acontact for advertising inquiries aswell as seeking new clients in con-sultation with the UWSA Ad andSponsorship Coordinator.

To place a classified ad,call Ted at 786-9779 or [email protected]

m arch 18 , 2004 page 5uniterth

eThere’s an

o n g o i n gdebate about

the health of the Canadian media thatgoes somthing like this: one sidesays that the concentration of owner-ship in Canadian media dangerouslylimits the diversity of voices in thepublic sphere; the other side pointsout that while we do have largemedia companies that own multiplemedia outlets including variousmediums, they are still facing morecompetition than ever before, mean-ing there are more voices than everbefore.

This is a tricky debate, becausein some senses, both sides are right.The fragmentation of the media mar-ket, through the expansion of satel-lite, cable and internet networks, hasgiven citizens or consumers a nearunlimited amount of sources ofmedia content. So if the debate overconvergence and ownership concen-tration comes down to a shear num-bers game of counting how manyvoices the public has access to thanthe owners have it, there are morevoices now than ever before.

However, the relevance of thosevoces to the public in any particularcity or market is a different issuealtogether. Much of the new contentavailable to Canadian consumers isforeign, mostly American, on televi-sion even the Canadian networks filltheir prime-time slots with Americanmade sitcoms or reality TV.

Newspapers in Canada areowned almost entirely by a minutenumber of corporations and thatnumber might get smaller still.CanWest Global, which alreadyowns 40 per cent of Canada’s majordailies, has recently stated it wouldbe interested in acquiring assetsfrom BellGlobe Media, which ownsthe Globe and Mail and CTV. Thatscenario would place both nationaldailies and the two biggest privateTV networks in the country underthe control of one family, the Aspers.The synergies enjoyed by CanWestmeans they share content acrossplatforms and in various outletsnationwide, good for their bottomline, but not for journalists or thepublic. The number of jobs forCanadian journalists has decreaseddue to convergence, and with themso has the diversity of voices withinthe Canadian media.

Ian Morrison, spokesperson forthe Friends of CanadianBroadcasting appeared as the closingkeynote speaker at the PrairieRegional Canadian University Press(PRCUP) conference to address“Issues on the Canadian media land-scape.”

The group acts as a watchdog forCanadian content, working to defendand enhance the quality and quantityof Canadian content in English lan-guage audio-visual broadcasts. Theymonitor public and private televisionand radio networks, cable and satel-lite operators, the CRTC and the fed-eral government. The group is fund-

ed by donations from individualswhich amount to over $2 millionafter taxes each year. They representover 60,000 families across thecountry.

It may seem a bitodd that the closingkeynote speaker at anewspaper confer-ence was someonefrom a lobby groupconcerned primarilywith broadcasting,but the reality ofcross-platform jour-nalism added rele-vance for the audienceof student journalists.

Morrison’s speech concerned thepush by the cable industry for thegovernment to lift foreign ownershiprestrictions. Cable companies, liketelecommunication companies arecurrently allowed up to 47 per centeffective foreign ownership. Thefour major cable companies inCanada, Shaw, Rogers, Cogeco andVideotron (which was recentlybought by media giant Quebecor)are pushing for the removal of allforeign ownership restrictions.Morrison was in the midst of a west-ern Canadian tour designed to applypressure to the Martin government toleave the restrictions in place.

According to Morrison mostCanadians oppose further foreignownership in Canadian media,because the media is more than acommodity it is cultural influence.He cites foreign ownership restric-tions in the United States, as arecognition by their government ofthe importance of having domesticcontrol over the nation’s braodcast-ing and communication networks.

The only people who stand tobenefit from the lifting of restric-tions are the four families who ownthe four major cable companies. Allof these have regional monopolieson cable provision, controlling 90per cent of the market. These fami-lies could vastly increase their for-tunes by selling to American buy-ers. By removing the ownershiprestrictions the government wouldessentially increase demand forstock, while the supply wouldremain the same, meaning the own-ers could profit handsomely.

The dangers of such a move arenot limited to increasing the inun-dation of American content intoCanada. The telecommunicationssector in Canada has recently gotinto not only the internet businessbut the TV provider business aswell. With cable companies, begin-ning with Rogers, now entering thelocal telephone business, the linesbetween telecommunications andcable companies are becomingincreasingly blurred. So it is nothard to envision a scenario where-by the foreign ownership restric-tions for telecommunications com-panies are lifted based on their sim-ilarity with the cable business.

The broadcasters, some ofwhom are linked to telecommuni-cations companies, would not befar behind. In fact, Leonard Asperhas been quoted as saying that he

supports removing foreign owner-ship restrictions in the cable industrybut that he is bitterly opposed tothem being removed for cable with-

out being removed for the broadcast-ing industry. So we can see how allof the convergence over the yearshas left the three industries so linkedthat removing restrictions for onewould pave the way forthe sell-off of the othersas well.

Ian Morrison andthe Friends are touringthe ridings of all ofPaul Martin’s westerncabinet ministers to letthem know thatCanadians includingtheir constituents,oppose the furtherAmericanization of ourmedia and communica-tions.

The House ofCommons StandingCommittee onCanadian Heritage,

which included Winnipeg MP JohnHarvard, recently issued their reporton a two-year study of the Canadianbroadcast industry. The report is

entitled, “Our CulturalSovereignty” also opposesopening up the restrictionson foreign ownership.Morrison hopesthe Liberal gov-ernment will lis-ten to its ownMP’s and thepublic, beforebowing to pres-sure from the

cable companyowners.

The Americans arecurrently seeing what it’slike to have their mediavoices shrink,

Clearchannel nows controls mostradio markets in America. Before weend up with Fox and Time WarnerCanada as our major broadcasters,you might want to call your MP andlet them know that you support themaintenance of the current foreignownership restrictions.

E d i t o r i a l

J O N A T H A NT A N

Editor In Chief

The only people who stand tobenefit from the lifting of restrictions

are the four families who own thefour major cable companies. All ofthese have regional monopolies on

cable provision, controlling90 per cent of the market.

CKUW Campus/Community Radio 95.9 FM

Top 10 CDs - March 7-13, 2004! = Local content, * = Canadian ContentLW TW

NE 1 TRANS AMLiberation Thrill Jockey

3 2 ! PIPI SKIDFunny Farm Peanuts & Corn

NE 3 * MARILYN LERNERLuminance Ambiances Mag.

11 4 * EVAPORATORSRipple Rock Mint

NE 5 JOSH MARTINEZBuck Up Princess Good Luck

12 6 * KATE MAKIConfusion Unlimited Independant

NE 7 * THE STILLS AtlanticLogic Will Break Your Heart

NE 8 ! HEAD HITS CONCRETEThy Kingdom Come Undone Indie

17 9 * CONTROLLER, CONTROLLERHistory Paper Bag

16 10 * VARIOUS ARTISTSRequired Listening Do Right

Stopping the Big Sell-OffFriends of Canadian Broadcasting alarmed by proposed changes to

foreign ownership regulations in the Canadian Cable Industry


e

Managing Editor ($19,000 salary, 1 year term commencing April 19, 2004,30-40 hours per week)

Duties:

• Act as a representative on the Uniter Board of Directors

• Liaise with the University of Winnipeg Students’Association(UWSA), the publisher of the Uniter Newspaper.

• Attend all meetings of the Uniter Editorial Board and meet-ings of staff.

• Maintain regular office hours and otherwise take strides tomake her/himself reasonably available to other members ofstaff, clients and readers.

• Act as the newspaper’s business representative in a dignified,respectful, tactful and diplomatic matter.

• With the Editor in Chief, ensure all members of staff haveaccess to and act in accordance with the newspaper’s constitu-tion, code of ethics and other relevant documents.

• With the Editor in Chief, work to ensure that The Uniteroffice remains an open, safe and welcoming environment for allmembers of staff, volunteer and visitors.

• Actively encourage members of the University of Winnipegand wider Winnipeg communities to participate in the produc-tion of the newspaper.

• Undertake at all times to act in the best interest of the news-paper, its staff and its readers.

• In consultation with the members of staff and the Board ofDirectors, establish and abide by an annual budget.

• Work with the UWSA Business Manager to keep accurateand up-to-date records of all financial transactions and performbookkeeping tasks in the office.

• Coordinate and oversee the activities of the DistributionManager.

• Work with the UWSA Advertising and SponsorshipCoordinator to develop positive relationships with potential andcurrent advertising clients.

• Be a contact for advertising inquiries as well as seeking new

clients in consultation with the UWSA Ad and SponsorshipCoordinator.

• Work with The Uniter Production Manager on ad design andoversee final ad copy.

• Develop positive relationship with Campus Plus, TheUniter’s national Advertising Agency.

• Provide computer technical support to staff for Mac OS 9,Mac OS X, MS Windows 2000, and network file and printersharing on these platforms.

• Manage the staff usage of The Uniter’s equipment resources,including computers, cameras, telephones, desks, mail and faxservices.

• Take responsibility for performing, or arranging to have per-formed, all other tasks that may from time-to-time arise toensure the newspaper is at all times best serving its diversereadership

• Undertake to ensure The Uniter consistently serves its read-ers and clients with fairness and respect

• Accept primary responsibility for all matters pertaining toThe Uniter’s documentation, equipment, finances, payroll, andbudgets.

Applicants should have experience with advertising sales,budget planning, handling accounts, managing personnel, andassisting others with computer use. Sales skills, customer serv-ice and/or management experience is an asset. Superior com-munication and time management skills are essential.

Editor in Chief ($19,000 salary, 1 year term commencing April 19, 2004, 30to 40 hours per week)

• Act as the liaison between The Uniter and student groups on cam-pus.

• Act as a representative on The Uniter Board of Directors.

• Chair all meetings of The Uniter Editorial Board and meetings ofstaff.

• With the Managing Editor, ensure all members of staff haveaccess to and act in accordance with the newspaper’s constitution,

code of ethics and other relevant documents.

• With the Managing Editor, work to ensure that the Uniter officeremains an open, safe and welcoming environment for all membersof staff, volunteer and visitors.

• Maintain regular office hours and otherwise take strides to makeher/himself reasonably available to other members of staff, clientsand readers.

• Offer training when applicable to contributors/staff in the areas ofstyle, writing, reporting, and research, and ensure that all writingmeets CUP standards.

• Attempt to recruit and maintain contributor involvement, and setaside time to meet with staff and community members.

• Act as the newspaper’s primary public representative in a digni-fied, respectful, tactful and diplomatic matter.

• Worked with all members of staff to continually improve indi-viduals’ skills, providing feedback in a formal setting at least onceper semester.

• Coordinate the efforts of the other editors, assigning tasks whennecessary.

• Check the final proof each publishing week for factual inaccura-cies, libel, misquotations, spelling and grammatical errors, inconsis-tencies, missing stories or advertisements, layout problems, and foranything else that would detriment the quality of an issue.

• Edit editors’ submissions for style, content, structure, grammarand spelling to ensure the overall high quality of the newspaper.

• Determine, with input from Editorial Board, the front-page con-tent each publishing week.

• Write a weekly editorial.

• Edit and comment on letters submitted for publication.

• Work with Editorial Board and Staff in goal-setting and long-term planning for The Uniter.

• Liase with Canadian University Press (CUP), ensuring Uniterinput for CUP membership decisions.

• Identify training opportunities for staff and develop skill-buildingworkshops.

• Accept primary responsibility for all matters pertaining to TheUniter’s editorial content.

The primary role of the Uniter newspaper is to report on issues and events ofimportance and/or interest to the students of the University of Winnipeg, and to pro-vide an open forum for the discussion of these issues and events. The Uniter newspa-per upholds the principle that the Uniter must be a free and responsible press, pro-viding fair and objective coverage of news and politics, the arts, culture, social affairs,

sports and other matters affecting the newspaper’s diverse readership. The Uniter alsoserves as a training ground for journalists.

Towards these ends, all Uniter staff members agree to abide by The Uniter’s codeof ethics, constitution, and other relevant policy documents, including the job descrip-tions set out below:

The Uniter is Hiring!


e

The following Editorial positions are based on a32-week term, beginning August 16, 2004 and

terminating March 31, 2005. Successful candidatesfilling editorial positions will be expected to spendsubstantial volunteer hours over the summer monthsfamiliarizing themselves with the position and plan-ning for the year ahead. In addition, editorial staffmembers are expected to attend weekly staff andeditorial meetings, and actively engage in constitu-tional review and planning throughout the course oftheir employment.

News Editor ($150 per week)

The Uniter is looking for an organized individual with excellentleadership skills to coordinate a comprehensive four- to five-page news section that will examine university issues, as well aslocal, national and international news relevant to The Uniter’sdiverse and knowledgeable readership. In addition to demon-strating a critical eye for news content, the News Editor will beresponsible for assigning, writing and editing news stories, whileproviding volunteer and staff writers with support and develop-ment. The News Editor will also chair The Uniter sub-commit-tee on Recruitment for the duration of his or her term. This posi-tion represents a time commitment of 20+ hours per week.

Features Editor ($150 per week)

The Features Editor will be responsible for organizing a 4-pagesection consisting of in-depth reporting on a wide variety of topics,including current events, social issues and cultural phenomena.Candidates should have previous experience with feature writingand interviewing. The Features Editor will work in conjunctionwith the all section editors as well as volunteer and staff writers toresearch and write compelling articles and critical exposés with aparticular focus on activities relevant to or occurring within the uni-versity community. The Features Editor will chair The Uniter’ssub-committee on Alumni for the course of his or her term. Thisposition represents a time commitment of 20+ hours per week.

Arts & Culture Editor ($150 per week)

We are seeking a multi-talented individual with a diverse back-ground in all things artistic to fulfill the position of Arts &Culture Editor. The successful candidate should be capable oforganizing a four- to five- page section that will incorporatetimely coverage of a broad range of local, independent and orig-inal arts and entertainment topics. The Arts & Culture Editorwill work closely with volunteer and staff writers to preparewell-written commentary on music, film, art openings and soon. This candidate must also work to cultivate good workingrelationships with promoters, record labels, artists and publicrelations departments locally, nationally and internationally.The Arts & Culture Editor will also help coordinate U of W andcommunity events listings and act as co-chair of The Uniter’ssub-committee on Fundraising. This position represents a timecommitment of 20+ hours per week.

Sports Editor ($150 per week)

The Sports Editor will provide the Uniter readership with com-pelling sports coverage, with a specificfocus on campus sports events,clubs, and activities. He/She willedit, assign and write sports commen-tary and analysis as well as developand maintain positive working rela-tionships with campus athletic teams,departments and directors. Coverageshould reflect a broad range of sports,fitness and leisure activities. Successfulcandidates will work closely with thePhoto Editor to provide superb visualcontent to accompany written content.The Sports Editor will also act as co-chair of The Uniter’s sub-committee onFundraising. This position represents atime commitment of 20+ hours per week.

Comment Editor ($75 per week)

The Comment Editor will coordinate a weekly 2-page sectionfull of compelling arguments and opinions on a variety of cur-rent events and issues. The successful candidate will ensure allcommentary and analysis is fair and balanced and in accord withthe mandate of The Uniter. He or she should be familiar with awide variety of campus, local, national and international issuesof relevance to The Uniter’s readers. The Comment Editor willbe responsible for editing stories in the section for grammaticalerrors and will work with the Editor in Chief to edit articles forlibelous content. The Comment Editor will co-chair The UniterResearch and Story Development sub-committee. This positionrepresents a time commitment of 10+ hours per week.

Humour Editor ($75 per week)

The successful candidate for Humour Editor will be responsiblefor all things funny in The Uniter, organizing and generatingcontent for a weekly 1-2 page Humour Section. The HumourEditor will work closely with the Photo and Graphics Editor(s),Comment Editor and volunteer contributors to solicit and devel-op humourous written and visual content for the section as wellas for other sections of the newspaper. He or she will be respon-sible for editing all submitted material for grammatical errorsand libelous content. The Humour Editor will act as vice-chair ofThe Uniter’s Recruitment Committee. This position represents atime commitment of 10+ hours per week.

Photo Editor ($75 per week)

We want photos! Lots of them! Show us how you see Winnipeg,the U of W, and student issues. We’re looking for an individualto take, solicit and organize photos to accompany articles, to beused as cover images, and for photo essays. Candidate will coor-dinate photo assignments from section editors as well as devel-oping visual content in conjunction with our Graphics Editor.Photos can be taken with an SLR or Digital Camera. Candidatesmust be familiar with Photoshop and Mac OS X. The photo edi-tor will also liaise with the Photo Club and volunteer photo con-tributors. This is a 10+ hour per week commitment.

Graphics Editor ($75 per week)

If you are a visual or graphic artist who is interest in giving TheUniter a graphic edge and identity let us know. We’re looking fora talented individual to work with our Photo Editor to developand improve visual content in the newspaper. The GraphicsEditor would work with section editors to build strong graphiccontent to accompany articles and themes, as well as workingwith the Humour and Comment Editors to recruit design andgraphic volunteers. This is a 10+ hour per week commitment.

Web & Network Manager ($75 per week)

The successful candidate will be responsible for giving TheUniter its first official web presence, updating the site with newcontent from each issue. Applicants should be proficient inDreamweaver, and be familiar with Mac OS X operating sys-tems. The Web & Network Manager will also be responsible forensuring The Uniter computer network runs efficiently and isbacked up on a regular

basis. Theselected can-didate willact as thep r i m a r yt e c h n i c a ls u p p o r tperson forthe office.

The following positions are based on a 32-weekterm, beginning the week of August 16, 2004 and

terminating March 31, 2005. Successful candidatesfor will be expected to attend a volunteer training andplanning session over the summer in preparation forwork commencing in fall term.

Beat Reporter ($50 per week)

The Beat Reporter will work closely with the News, Photos andGraphics Editors to write two assigned news stories per week andarrange for corresponding visual content. The chosen candidateshould demonstrate a critical eye for news content and should pos-sess superior writing and interviewing skills and works well underpressure of deadlines. A familiarity with the university and studentissues is an asset. The Beat Reporter must be able to work well ina collaborative environment as well as individually.

Copy & Style Editor ($50 per week)

The Uniter is looking for an individual who demonstratesexceptional technical editing skills to fill the position of Copy& Style Editor. The successful candidate will assist the EditorIn Chief in completing final edits for the newspaper during theweekly production of the paper. He or she will check the entirecopy for grammatical and stylistic errors. The Copy and StyleEditor will also be charged with compiling newspaper styleresources for staff, and developing and refining a Uniter StyleGuide over the course of the year. Applicants must be availableto edit copy in The Uniter office.

Listings Coordinator ($50 per week)

The Listings Coordinator will be responsible for collecting andcompiling on- and off-campus event listings for The Uniter'scomprehensive Listings Section. The Listings Coordinator willalso be responsible for familiarizing faculty, student groups orother interested parties on and off campus with the proceduresfor submitting listings. The successful candidate will be anorganized individual with ready Internet access.

Distribution Manager($100 per issue for each of 25 issues)As the person primarily responsible for distributing 6,000 + copiesof the Uniter on and off campus, the Distribution Manager willrequire a valid Manitoba Drivers License and a car, as well as anopen schedule on Thursdays, The Uniter's publication date.Newspapers will be couriered to the university in the morning andthe Distribution Manager will be responsible for distributing news-papers to drop points on and off campus every Thursday afternoon.As part of this weekly routine, the successful candidate will beresponsible for keeping track of The Uniter's newspaper stands andmaintaining their good condition. The Distribution Manager will beasked to note the effectiveness of drop points, manipulating news-paper drops to maximize the paper's pickup. The position will alsodemand that the successful candidate assist the Managing Editor inacquiring new ad clients by promoting the paper at our businessdrop-off points and cultivating positive working relationships withthese potential clients. The successful applicant will have provencapable of working in a setting demanding reliability and independ-ent work.

Experience an asset. The ability to consistently perform wellunder pressure is essential.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS ISApril 9 AT 12:00 PM.Applications Forms are available at the Uniter office, or viaemail. For further information call 786-9790 or [email protected] . Resumes, references and portfoliosshould be attached to applications. Mail or deliver applica-tion in person to The Uniter Office, ORM14 Bulman Centre,515 Portage Avenue, Wpg, MB R3B 2E9.

Only those applicants selected for interviews will be con-tacted. Applications are encouraged from all interested par-ties, including aboriginal people, people with disabilities,and visible minorities. International students may also apply.

Production Manager ($150 per week)

The Uniter is looking for a hard-working, creative, and talented individual totake on the responsibilities of Production Manager. The successful candidatewould be responsible for the overall design and final layout of the newspa-per on a weekly basis. Must be proficient in Quark, Adobe InDesign andPhotoshop using a Mac OS X platform. Applicants must be available forproduction in The Uniter office from Sunday – Tuesday. Some additional addesign will be required and paid accordingly. The Production Manager mustfeel comfortable instructing staff and volunteers interested in learning moreabout production and design. Time commitment is 20+ hours per week.

The Production Manager position is based on a 32-week term, beginning the week of August 16, 2004 andterminating March 31, 2005. The successful candidatewill be expected to spend several volunteer hours overthe summer months familiarizing themselves with theposition and planning for the year ahead.


e

l i s t i n g sON CAMPUS COMMOTIONWHATS WHAT AT THE U DUB

EXPLOSION OF FORMS ANDTEXTURES: ART OF THE 1960sFROM THE BAS-SAINT-LAURENTMUSEUM'S COLLECTION

Gallery 1C03 Until March 27

MASSAGE-A-THONMarch 17-182nd Floor Duckworth

EXAM PREPERATION WORKSHOPThurs March 185:15-6:30, 2C11

SHANNON MERCERSat March 20Ekhardt-Grammate Hall, 8pmTix $14-$26 @ 786-9000

CONFRONTING RACISM - APROGRESS REPORT

Wed March 24, 7pmEckhardt-Gramatte Hall

EXAM ANXIETY WORKSHOPWed March 2412:30-1:30pm, 1C21

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:2nd Annual University of WinnipegStudent Film FestivalFestival Dates: Thursday, April 29 - Saturday, May 1, 2004Location: Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall (3rd Floor Centennial Hall), University of WinnipegEligibility: Students registered at a post-secondary institution in Manitoba between April, 2003 and April, 2004Entry Fee: No ChargeDeadline: Monday, April 12, 2004

CAREER RESOURCE CENTREGraham Hall - 0GM09Open 9-4:30 Mon-FriAssistance available for researching jobs, internships or post-graduate education, as well as developing resumes and cover letters.

U of W FITNESS CLASSESMon - Hi/LoWed - Boot CampFri - Core Body12:30-1:15Tue - Step/HiLo ComboThu - Tae-Box12:05-12:50Register at the Duckworth Centre Desk

GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONALSTUDIES APPLICATION EXPENSES BURSARY

Applications in Awards Office

AVCC AWARDSSee www.avcc.ca/programs/scholarships

PUBLIC EMPLOYEE RETIREMENTRESEARCH AND ADMINISTRA-TIVE SCHOLARSHP

$4,000 award for grad student in public administration, finance, business administration, or social sciencesApplications at www.gfoa.org/forms/scholarship-PER.doc

DANIEL B. GOLDBERG SCHOLARSHIP

$10,000 award to a grad student in F/T master's study preparing for a career in state and local government financeApplications at www.gfoa.org/forms/scholarship-Goldberg.doc

ANTHONY J. BESARABOWICZBURSARY

$1,000 to a returning student with 1 year teaching experienceApplications in Awards OfficeDeadline March 19

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THEBLIND SCHOLARSHIPS

Visit www.nfb.org for applica-tions and info. Deadline March 31

CANADIAN JAPANESE MENNONITE SCHOLARSHIP

$2,000 for student pursuing graduate studies in protection of minority rights in CanadaInfo in Awards OfficeDeadline April 1

JOHN GYLES EDUCATIONAWARDS

Up to $3,000 Visit www.unb.ca/scholarships/undergrad/jgles.pdf for infoDeadline April 1

PROVINCE OF MANIOBA ROUNDTABLE FOR SUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENT SCHOLARSHIP

$1,000 each to an undergrad and graduate studentVisit www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/susresmb/scholarshipDeadline April 2

CANADIAN FRIENDS OF THEHEBREW UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS

Up to $5000 for students wishing to attend 6 week/1 year program at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Information and applications in Awards OfficeDeadline April 2

NATIONAL ABORIGINALACHIEVEMENT FOUNDATIONSCHOLARSHIPS

Visit www.naaf.ca for info and applications

2004 OSLER, HOSKIN & HARCOURT NATIONAL ESSAYCONTEST

$1,000-$5,000 PrizesEssay topic: "How can Canadians improve their standard of living without sacrificing what they hold to be distinctly Canadian values?"Open to all F/T university studentsVisit www.rotman.utoronto.ca/essaycompetition for infoDeadline April 5

CANADIAN RETAIL INSTITUTESCHOLARSHIPS

Ten $1,000 scholarships to business-related studentsInfo and applications at www.retaileductation.orgDeadline April 16

LUCENT GLOBAL SCIENCESCHOLARS AWARD

For 1st year students majoring in computer science, computer engineering, electronic engineering, specialized technical telecommunications major. Applications at www.cbic.ca. Deadline April 15

PHYLLIS P. HARNS SCHOLARSHIP

$2,600 to a F/T undergradInfo and applications at www.ppfc.caDeadline April 15

GREAT CANADIAN MAPPINGCHALLENGE SCHOLARSHIP

Submit a paper that uses GIS Tools and DMTI Spatial datasetsRegulations at www.dmtispacial.comDeadline April 30

MILLENIUM EXCELLENCEAWARD PROGRAM

National In Course Awards$4000-$5000 to 3rd year students working at 80% course load Info & applications in awards office. Deadline June 21

HELEN BETTY OSBORNE BURSARIES

Applicants must have financial need, dedication to field, commitment to volunteerism, & proof of Aboriginal ancestryInfo at www.helenbettyosbornefdtn.caDeadline May 30

PERCY LANHAM BURSARIESApplications in Awards OfficeDeadline July 15

UKRAINIAN CANADIAN FOUNDATION OF TARASSHEVCHENKO

$25,000 Kobzar literary award in recognition of Canadian literature represented through a Ukrainian Canadian themeInfo & applications at www.shevchenkofoundation.caDeadline May 13, 2005

SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATIONVisitwww.scholarshipscanada.comwww.millenniumscholarships.cawww.finaid.orgwww.studentawards.com

ROUND THE PEG PURSUITSWHAT'S WHAT AROUND WINNIPEG

Thurs March 18SoundsA SEASON FOR NONVIOLENCESONGWRITERS FESTIVAL

Feat. Jake Chenier, Lianne Fournier, Dan Frechette, Beth Martens & Dan Donahue, Nathan Rogers, Steve Shellenberg, Trio, and Joy StadnichukWest End Cultural Centre (586 Ellice Ave - 783-6918), 8pmTix $10-$12 @ Music Trader, Metamorphosis, Into the Music & Homemade Music

WordsPAUL RUMBOLT

McNally Robinson Grant Park, 7:30pm

CAROL MATASLaunch of Play BallMcNally Robinson Grant Park, 8pm

DramaCAFFE

U of M Black Hole Theatre, 8pmTix $11 adult/$9 student/senior @ 474-6880

SERAPHIN POUDRIERLe Theatre de la ChapelleTix $19.75-$21.50 @ Franco Manitoban Cultural Centre or 233-8053

THE WINSLOW BOYMTC Mainstage(174 Market)Tix $10.70 - $49.22 @ MTC box office

PEEPSHOW: AN EROTIC COMEDY

Out of Line Theatre(Winnipeg Film Group - 3rd Floor Artspace)Tix $7-$10 @ 786-7980

I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT,NOW CHANGE

PTE(3rd Floor, Portage Place)Tix $11.77-$29.96 @ PTE box office - 942-5438

MovementCARMINA BURANA

Royal Winnipeg Ballet(Centennial Concert Hall)Tix $12-$58 @ RWB box office or 856-2792

Fri March 19

SoundsMANITOBA METALFEST

Feat. Diadmegon, Hollow Ground, Cast, Liqurd, Head Hits ConcreteThe Zoo(Osborne Village Inn)Tix $6 @ door

EPPTIDE, VELVET PILL, FOURROADS

Pyramid Cabaret (176 Fort - 957-7777)

RAY BONNEVILLEWest End Cultural Centre (586 Ellice Ave - 783-6918), 8pmTix $15-$18 @ WECC & Ticketmaster

FROLICH HILDEBRAND TRIOMcNally Robinson Portage Place, 6:30pm

SMALL ROOMSMcNally Robinson Grant Park, 8pm

PIPI SKIDCD release partyRoyal Albert Hotel (48 Albert - 943-8433)Tix $7 @ door

DramaCAFFE










Sat March 20SoundsMANITOBA METALFEST

Feat. Putrescence, Bitchsplitter, Electro Quarterstaff, Descend into Nothingness, NeuraxisThe Zoo(Osborne Village Inn)Tix $6 @ door

JAMES KEELAGHANWest End Cultural Centre (586 Ellice Ave - 783-6918), 8pmTix $17-$20 @ WECC & Ticketmaster

MICO, BURNTHE8TRACK, PROJEKTOR, NOVELLA

Pyramid Cabaret (176 Fort - 957-7777)

DUOTANGCollective Cabaret (108 Osborne - 475-2239)

A TASTE OF NEW ORLEANSMcNally Robinson Grant Park, 8pm

DramaCAFFE

U of M Black Hole Theatre, 8pmTix $11 adult/$9 student/senior

@ 474-6880









Sun March 21

WordsWORLD POETRY DAY CELEBRATION

McNally Robinson Grant Park, 2pm

DramaSERAPHIN POUDRIER

Le Theatre de la ChapelleTix $19.75-$21.50 @ Franco Manitoban Cultural Centre or 233-8053





PTE, (3rd Floor, Portage Place)Tix $11.77-$29.96 @ PTE box office - 942-5438

Mon March 22WordsCARLA HARTSFIELD

Reading & autographing Your Last Day on EarthMcNally Robinson Grant Park, 8pm

DramaSERAPHIN POUDRIER

Le Theatre de la ChapelleTix $19.75-$21.50 @ Franco Manitoban Cultural Centre or 233-8053



PTE (3rd Floor, Portage Place)Tix $11.77-$29.96 @ PTE box office - 942-5438

Tues March 23SoundsTOM JONES

Centennial Concert Hall, 8pmTix $35.75-$100 @ Ticketmaster

WordsBILL ZUK

Launch of Janusz Zurakowski: Legend in the Sky, 8pmMcNally Robinson Grant Park,

DramaCAFFE



THE WINSLOW BOYMTC Mainstage (174 Market)Tix $10.70 - $49.22 @ MTC box office



Wed March 24SoundsMATT MAYS & MATTHEW BARBER

Pyramid Cabaret (176 Fort - 957-7777)Tix $12 @ Into the Music, Pyramid Cabaret

WordsDIG YOUR ROOTS

Live national campus/community radio broadcast feat. spoken word of Nico Rogers, Kevin Matthews, Julie ParrellMondragon Bookstore & Coffeehouse, Tix $5 @ door

DramaCAFFE



C o m p i l e d b y J U L I E H O R B A L , L i s t i n g s C o o r d i n a t o r

MATTHEWBARBERWednesday,April 24PyramidCabaretw/ Matt Mays& El Torpedo




Thurs March 25DramaCAFFE



THE WINSLOW BOYMTC Mainstage (174 Market)Tix $10.70 - $49.22 @ MTC box office



ON THE WALLS WHAT'S WHAT IN WINNIPEG'S GALLERIES

COLLECTORS SHOWCASERare & vintage Aboriginal paintingsWahsah Gallery(302 Fort Street - 942-5122)Until March 27

WANDERING THROUGH THEINSIDE

By Ruth MaendelMain/Access Gallery(121-100 Arthur - 956-2089)Until March 27

CROSSCURRENTSMartha Street Studio(11 Martha - 779-6253)Until March 26

101 TALISMANS FOR A HAPPYDEATH

By Joseph ConlonAceartinc. (290 McDermot - 944-9763)Until March 20

WANDERING THROUGH THEINSIDE

By Ruth MaendelMain/Access Gallery(121-100 Arthur - 956-2089)Until March 27

URBAN MEETS RURALBy studentrs from Elmwood, R.B. Russell, St. John's & CarmanGraffiti Gallery (109 Higgins)Until March 23

MUG SHOTBy William EakinThe Annex (290 McDermot - 284-0673)

UNRAVELLING TIME By Judy JohnsonMedea Gallery(132 Osborne - 478-7233)Until March 27

PENTIMENTO<Site> Gallery (55 Arthur - 942-1618)Until May 31

ANGST - GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM

Winnipeg Art Gallery (300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)Mezzanine GalleryUntil April 25

THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILDWinnipeg Art Gallery (300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)Gallery 1 Until May 16

IN THE CLUBSWHAT'S WHAT IN WINNIPEG'S HOTSPOTS

BLUE AGAVE (365 Donald - 9435538)Live music & DJs

BRAEMAR VILLAGE BAR &RESTAURANT

(349 Wardlaw - 949-7200)Live entertainment & dancing

CHAOS CHAMELEON(2nd floor - 108 Osborne - 475-3328)Thu - 80s and 90s NightFri - Twisted w/ Brian St. ClairSat - Loaded Mod & Soul NightSun - Goth/Industrial Night

CLUB 200 (190 Garry - 943-6045)Tue & Sat - Go Go Dancers & DJ WillieWed - Karaoke Thu - Wild & Wacky Bar GamesFri - DJ Willie

DJANGO'S(3740 Portage - 837-5831)Sat - Jim HumpageSun - Blues Jam w/ Mark Conroy Band and Magic of Christopher

EMPIRE CABARET(436 Main)Thu-Sat - Roman-themed dance club

GIO'S(155 Smith - 786-1236)Fri & Sat - GLBT Dance PartyWed - Karaoke, DJs Kris, Ian & Big DThu - DJ Perry

HAPPENINGS(274 Sherbrook - 774-3576)Thu - DJ MarcusFri - Lipstick Lounges drag showSat - DJ Kris

LATIN GARDEN(500 Portage - 774-8440)Fri & Sat - Oscar y su Grupo Sabor

PHAT DADDY'S(165 McDermot - 284-7428)Thu-Sat - Hip Hop

PONY CORRAL(444 St. Mary - 942-4414)Mon - Monday Night RawFri-Sat - Danny KramerSun - Hospitality night

ZEN LOUNGE(333 Portage - 944-8881)

Thu - RCW WrestlingFRI - Wet Fridays feat. R&B, Hip Hop, Reggae

IN THE PUBSWHAT'S WHAT IN WINNIPEG'S CHILL SPOTS

CHOCOLATE SHOP KARAOKEBAR & GRILL

(268 Portage - 942-4855)Nightly - Karaoke 10pm-2am

EDDY'S GARAGE (61 Sherbrook - 783-1552)Wed - Brent Scott BandEvery other Thu - Mike & the Eastwood GangFri & Sat - DJ Dubb

FINN MCCUE'S IRISH PUB(The Forks - 888-6900)Mon - Open jam nightWed - Trivial nightThu-Sat - Live Celtic music

KINGS HEAD KNIGHT'S PUB(120 King - 957-7710)Thu - The Knights of Jam Band Battle w/ Airfoil

POCKETS(171 McDermot - 957-7665)Wed - KaraokeSun - Curtis Newton w/ Blair Depape, David Caissy, Steve Broadhurst

REGAL BEAGLE PUB(331 Smith - 942-6411)Live music on weekends

ROCA JACK'S(2037 Portage - 897-7622)Tue - Live musicFri - Live local music

TOAD ON MAIN(172 Main St - 942-8623)Monday Night Improv Supper Club7:30 & 9:30

WINDOWS LOUNGE(161 Donald - 975-6031)Fri & Sat - Brian Paul

PSAsYOUTH EMPLOYMENT SERVICES

Free employment counseling, job

training & postings, resume writing services330-267 Edmonton St.www.youthemploymentservices.com

MUSIC FOR YOU & ME Weekly music classes for parents/kids age 2-4 Manitoba Conservatory of Music & Arts(105-211 Bannatyne)Call 943-6090 for info

COMMUNICATE IN NEW LANGUAGES

for business,Travel or personal interestArabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish and ESL (pronunciation, conversation, and grammar & writing)Register by calling 982-6633

BECOME A MENTOR FOR THEIMMIGRANT WOMEN'SASSOCIATION OF MANITOBA

Call 989-5800 or email [email protected] for info


e

If you have anything you wantincluded in our listings:

1- email [email protected]

2- fill out a request for @ the Uof W Info Booth

3 - send a fax to 783-7080

D I V E R S I O N S

B Y M D C O H E N

Pac-Man

Ifeel sorry for Pac-man. I meanhis entire existence is com-prised of running around a

maze eating pellets. Who came upwith this idea? Some rogue labassistant tired of just watching themice run through some randommaze so he took it upon himself tocreate a world where he controlledthe mouse as well. Actually… thatmight be a good video game, butit’s the payoff that bugs me. Wespend all our time controlling thisguy and for what? Points. Does thismake sense to anyone? I couldunderstand if we won patio furni-ture, but what is our fascinationwith points. They’re no good to usin the real world. I doubt braggingabout how many points I got inZelda is going to help me get adate. Maybe if she thought pointsreferred to something else, but eventhen, scoring with anyone namedZelda wouldn’t help. Regardless,Pac-man still has a sad existence.He risks his life all day fending offghosts and his only true rewards area few pieces of fruit. I guess thevideo game producers caught on tothis because they gave him a wife.That had to be the worst thing forPac-mans self esteem. I’m sure hefeels bad enough about beingforced to eat pellets all day, buthaving such a meaningless career isnever going to support a family.

What is he going to pay the mort-gage with… bananas? There’s noway that those are going to put hiskids through university. I guessMrs. Pac-man realized this becauseshe went out and got her own jobeating pellets and fruit. Now theyhave twice the fruit but it’s still notgoing to pay the electricity bill andall they have to show for their lifeare a bunch of points. To make mat-ters worse, the pellet and ghost eat-ing bracket has decided to doubleproduction and have sped up thepace. This prevents the couple fromspending any real quality timetogether. The double shifts arecausing Pac-man to have troublesperforming in bed. Finally, hewalks in on his wife having a threeway with Frogger and DonkeyKong. The bills still aren’t gettingpaid and there’s talk of replacingone of the ghosts with one of thegiant paddles from Pong. Does thissound like a dream scenario? PoorPac-man. He puts up a brave frontbut sometimes you have to wonderif he really was stuck in the cornerwhen the ghosts were coming.When is it all going to end? Maybeone day Pac-man will be able toretire from his job and sit aroundwith the ghosts and laugh about theyears of torment. He’ll finally getthe chance to go home with a fullpension of cherries and spend sometime with his kids. I just hope thatwhen his time comes nobody hastold him that he has to do it twomore time until he’s finished.

s t r a i g h t f a c e dHeard Inthe Halls

B Y K E N T D A V I E S

Place: Manitoba Time: 11:34

Female: Did you hearthe Pixies are coming tothe cum?

Male: What’s the cum?

Male 2: The BurtonCummings Theater.

Male 3: I think it’s pro-nounced the Walker.

Place: AshdownTime: 2:19

Male: Hey what’s thedifference between MelGibson and God?

Male 2: What?

Male: God doesn’t thinkhe’s Mel Gibson.

Place: Riddell Hall Time: 4:13

Female: I just hate theseelections; all these fuck-ing strangers are alwaysbugging you.

Male: Who are you?

Blurred VisionB Y K A D

One more reason for the

corporate networks to

have a five second delay.

Blurred VisionB Y K A D

After much controversy

Gibson brings Jesus to

the small screen.

Iknow whatyou’re thinking.Just what I need,

one more article on the woman of thehour Martha Stewart.

Martha is everywhere. She is thecover story on every tabloid, enter-tainment and news magazine in theU.S. She’s even making headlines inCanada (gleaning three separate arti-cles in the Winnipeg Free Press inone day alone).

But like her or leave her, MarthaStewart is redefining how we react topop culture icons, big business andquestionable ethics. She has becomean example for the demise of the richand the powerful to the satisfactionof the “little guy,” as one juror in hertrail proudly proclaimed.Studying the ‘demise’ of MarthaStewart is important because it pro-vides us with evidence of the suspi-cions we may have had all along;that women in big business, politicsor media, have one helluva timestaying at the top.

The Good Mother & Wifevs. The Bitch

A glance at popular magazineheadlines will tell you that Marthahas fallen from grace, has been dis-graced, and well, will never saygrace at a festive-dinner-party-for-eight again.

US Weekly’s cover mockinglyreads “The Fall of Miss Perfect”.

People magazine reveals the storybehind “her sad call to her mom” and“her daughter’s tears.” Newsweek,rather, prefers a more to-the-point“Cooked!”

Sure some wordplay is expected,considering the industry Stewart hascultivated forherself, butwhen doesthe cleverj a r g o nb e c o m em a l i c i o u s ,contemptu-ous and sex-ist?

Considerthe frequen-cy of theword “bitch”used on pow-erful womenin the publiceye. Are allthe SheilaC o p p s ’ ,R o s i eO’Donnellsand MarthaStewarts outthere, reallythat sinister?

L y nC o c k b u r n ,entertainment and lifestyle editor ofThe Winnipeg Sun, makes a distinc-tion between “bitch” in lower caseletters and BITCH in caps. The latteris used when women reclaim theword, the former is not. When askedif Martha Stewart is deserving of her‘bitch’ reputation, she says, “If it’s incapital letters yes, but not if it’s that

generalized thing that’s used todemean women. Lower case is, anywoman who’s mouthy who getscalled a bitch just because. Like wedon’t go around calling ConradBlack or The Donald ‘that mouthybastard’ and both of them are.”

Dr. Joan Grace, professor ofPolitics at the University ofWinnipeg, believes successful bus -nesswomen face higher moral andethical standards than their male-counterparts.

“It’s kind of an interesting casebecause there are a lot of dimensionsgoing on here. It’s not just her beinga successful businesswoman, it’s acertain kind of business: a cultivat-ing and protection of a happy home;a mother, a good wife. I think withall of that combined, she has been nodoubt fodder for the media.

“I’m not saying men are neverheld to account for actions such asthis, but I think the Donald Trumpsof the world would be celebrated for[their] business acumen whereasshe’s held up to a standard of “is thatreally what we want in our protectorof home and hearth, our archetypemother and wife?”

Martha’s Faithful

Although Martha Stewart hasher share of detractors, she also has anumber of fans willing to support herthrough thick and thin.

Some of the more devout areinvolved in SaveMartha.com - awebsite that tracks all the latest newsregarding Stewart. SaveMartha.commade March 13th National SaveMartha Day and rallied across theUnited States at hometown K-Marts(distributors of Martha Stewart’s line

of house-wares).

Pictures ofmiddle-agedwomen withs h o p p i n gcarts full ofM a r t h aS t e w a r tbrand itemsis about thef u r t h e s timage fromf e m i n i s myou canimagine. Buts o m e h o wtheir rallyingcry, not tomention their‘popaganda’posters, aresurprisinglyfamiliar tof e m i n i s tactivism.

S a y sSave Martha! editor John Small, “Agroup of Martha Stewart fans gottogether and decided the kind of neg-ative coverage in the media of topfemale executives that we’ve seenrecently deserves a response.Savemartha.com is a place toaddress this concern and to ensurethat we preserve due process while

this investigation goes on. Fans ofMartha need a place to come andvoice their opinions and concerns.”

Punishment Doesn’t Fit the Crime

So why do women face tougherstandards in the public sphere?“Can you spell sexism?” repliesCockburn. “I think we do have adouble standard for successful menand successful women which is nodifferent than any double standardthat we have in any other walk oflife. It’s just there.

“The thing that really pisses meoff is how personal it’s gotten. Theattacks in the media are written bya great variety of people – men,women, journalists, people of allwalks of life – but everybodyseems to take it to this personallevel.”

Joan Grace believeswomen in politics and busi-ness are scrutinized on whatthey say, because there’s anexpectation for women to beconsensus builders and toproject a certain kind of car-ing image. Yet whenthey do, theyare criticizedfor being toosoft or notl e a d e r s h i pmaterial.

“When youthink of theB e l i n d aStronarchs of theworld, they’reasked certain ques-tions that menwould never beasked.”

Grace says lastweek Stronarch wasinterviewed by a CBCjournalist, and the first thing thefemale reporter asked was howStronarch was going to managebeing a single mother with two chil-dren and a political career. “Now ifshe was interviewing StephenHarper, that wouldn’t even be partof the interview strategy. It would-n’t be one of the questions.”

So like her sisters in the spot-light, Martha Stewart must facereality. She must contend with a

cynical public and media industrythat sets harsher standards forwomen. She will have to endure ajudgmental public and further scruti-ny into her private life, as she con-tinues to fight her conviction and thepossibility of 10-16 months in jail.

Somehow, although the verdictdoesn’t look good for Martha now,her legions of fans and her wide-ranging influence could just save herfrom doing time after all. Then, willjustice be served? Maybe. But youcan bet facing the wrath of the pub-lic and mainstream media will harmher more than any low-security facil-ity ever could. And nobody, not even

rich, successful business people,deserve that.


e

F E A T U R E S

The MarthaTM Media CircusMedia, Public Not Sympathetic to Female Executives

C H E R Y LG U D Z

Fe a t u r e s E d i t o r

H O T I S S U E S

“I think (the mediacoverage is) far too

gleeful! Oh, whoopee!We can stick it to her!Whereas from what Ican gather, she may

have embezzled50,000 bucks. But

Conrad Black anyone?It can be millions andno one’s treating himthat badly. And The

Donald – you can’t tellme that he hasn’t

done a fewnaughties.”

- Lyn Cockburn,Winnipeg Sun

B Y C A R L Y C A M P B E L L

(in collaboration with Christine Esselmont and Madeleine Kettner)

“Does diversity deserve tobe defended?” These were the closing

remarks of Irshad Manji at a seminarheld on March 3rd in Winnipeg.Manji’s lecture entitled “Israel,Islam and Diversity,” was part of across-Canada tour to promote dis-cussion amongst university studentsand the general public.

Though it seems innocentenough, the above question is in factpolitically and emotionally charged,since Manji has controversial opin-ions on religion and politics.

Manji, a self-described “MuslimRefusenik,” is an author, televisionproducer, and media entrepeneur.Her accomplishments are impres-sive: she is the president of VERB, atelevision channel being developedto engage young people on issues ofglobal diversity, and from 1998 to2001, she made media history ashost and senior producer ofCityTV’s Queer Television, theworld’s first program on commercialairwaves to explore the lives of gaysand lesbians.

Her ventures also include host-ing Big Ideas, TV Ontario’s weeklyshow aimed at college and universi-ty students, hosting and producing Inthe Public Interest, a regular featureon Vision TV, and co-starring inFriendly Fire, TV Ontario’s debateseries that tackled issues rangingfrom immigration to religion to mil-itary culture.

At 23, she became NationalAffairs Editorial Writer at theOttawa Citizen—the youngest edito-rial board member at any majorCanadian newspaper. She hasrecently authored a book, TheTrouble with Islam: A Wake-Up Callfor Honesty and Change, which is anopen letter about why she feels thather fellow Muslims must do more todefeat anti-Semitism, the oppressionof women, the scourge of slaveryand other human rights violationsthat are prominent in Islamic soci-eties worldwide.

Personal Is Political

In her book as well as in her lec-tures, Manji describes how and whyshe came to be a Muslim Refusenik.

Manji was born in East Africa,and she immigrated with her familyto Vancouver in 1972. Though herparents were devout Muslims, upontheir arrival Manji was placed in afree baby-sitting service offered at achurch, and she attended a publicsecondary school. It was in theseinstitutions that Manji says shedeveloped a keen curiosity andlearned to ask lots of questions. Shelooked forward to attending amadressa, or Islamic religiousschool, assuming that her experi-ences there would be similar. Manjispent every Saturday from ages nineto fourteen at the madressa, whereshe tried to ask questions about her

religion, andbecame frustratedwith the responsesthat she was given.

“Even backthen,” Manji assert-ed, “I had enoughfaith to ask ques-tions.”

The first ques-tion that Manji wasconcerned with waswhy the girls could-n’t lead prayers.Her teacher’sresponse to thisquestion was “Readthe Koran.” Manjicontinued to ask such questions, andat age fourteen she posed the ques-tion, “Where is the evidence of theJewish conspiracy against Islam?”This question got her expelled fromthe madressa.

Manji made it clear in her lecturethat she didn’t mean to imply that allmadressas are like this, this had sim-ply been her experience. It was atthis point, however, that Manji real-ized that she had a choice to make:she could either become a secularNorth American, or she could giveher faith another chance. “Andanother...and another” she added.

Thus, Manji committed herself

to studying Islam in great detail.In doing so, she’d discovered aprogressive side of her faith—atradition that Muslims had onceheld, called ijtihad, or “independ-ent thought”. Manji argued thatthe “trouble with Islam” is that,unlike most current world reli-gions, Islam is mainstream funda-mentalist. Still, she believes thatIslam has the potential to “under-go a reformation that empowerswomen, promotes respect for reli-gious minorities, and foster acompetition of ideas.”

Defender ofIsrael

Manji receivedan invitation from aZionist organizationto travel to Israel.She accepted. “In thespirit of Itjihad after9-11, I couldn’t holdback,” she stated.

Manji went toIsrael not expectingto have the experi-ences that she did.At the end of her trip,she had nothing but

praise for what she saw there. “Why do I defend Israel?” she

asked the audience. Manji explainedthat she was surprised to find a trulydiverse society within Israel—asociety where bilingualism (Hebrewand Arabic) is mandatory throughoutthe country, where Arab citizens arerepresented by four parties in thegovernment (four more than in anyother Muslim state), and where freepress is encouraged and a wide rangeof opinions are readily available.

There was freedom for all reli-gions to be practiced legally inIsrael. She said that Arab citizens ofIsrael can take their grievances to an

independent judiciary—and win. Shealso praised Jerusalem’s ultra-ortho-dox Jewish mayor for having madethe bid to host the 2005 “LoveWithout Borders” Gay Pride Parade.She felt that no such event could everbe conceivable in the Arab world.Manji added that she didn’t want tosay that Israel had perfected plural-ism, but she was clearly impressedwith the diversity that she saw there.She explained that she didn’t defendIsrael because she had been “brain-washed by Zionists”.

“I defend Israel because I defenddiversity,” Manji declared.

“The Trouble With” Manji?

Manji’s assertions have been metwith much controversy and debate.She has received praise and supportfrom many, including young Muslimswho want Manji to “be their voice,”yet there are still many others whodisagree with her arguments. Manji’scritics say her assessment of Islamregarding anti-Semitism, women’srights, gay and lesbian rights, andother human rights issues, are gener-alizations that aren’t consistent withthe views of the majority of Muslimsaround the world.

One of those critics is UWSAVice President of Student Services,Farnoosh Ali, who attended Manji’slecture. Ali said that she was curiousabout the event because peopleseemed to have extreme opinionsabout Manji (being either extremelyfavorable or extremely unfavorable ofher). A Muslim herself, Ali said thatshe evaluated Manji’s opinion ascoming from a person who wanted totry to push her own career, and thatshe hadn’t analyzed in-depth thecomplex issues that she tried toaddress. Ali feels Manji was incon-sistent when she promoted freedomof the press, because she praisedIsrael for having a free press, yet shefailed to recognize or address that shewas being sponsored by the Asperfamily (CanWest), whose own papershave come under intense criticism forlack of editorial freedom.

Ali also remarked that Manjiseemed to divert questions she could-n’t answer by turning them into anaudience dialog, which to her,reduced Manji’s credibility.

Ali added that there was confu-sion between the actions of leaders ofpredominantly Muslim countries, andthe actual views that Islam promotes.Islam does not promote regimes likethe monarchy of Saudi Arabia, nor thebrutality of Saddam Hussein, saysAli. Hussein was in fact fightingagainst Islam. She felt that Manjimade the views of extremists seemlike the typical views of the 1.3 bil-lion diverse Muslims on the planet.

“Why are you trying to simplifymy identity?” Ali wondered.

U of W ReactsDave Rapiz, director of the

LGBT* centre at the U of W, attend-ed the lecture as well. He was inter-ested in hearing Manji’s thoughts on

Continued on Page 12

B Y J O S N Y D E R

Irshad Manji’s new book, “TheTrouble with Islam: A Wake-Up Call for Honesty and

Change,” has aroused a lot of heat-ed discussion. Not just that, buthate mail and death threats.

Manji considers her book to bean “open letter” to both Muslimsand non-Muslims, calling oneveryone to ask questions regard-ing mainstream Islam.

With most religions, fanaticsremain on the fringes, this is not sowith Islam. Muslim fundamental-ists are the mainstream. The Koranis vague and contradictory, shesays. So much so that it is a jokethat anyone can claim to makeconcrete interpretations regardingits holy message. She argues that itis a complex yet human book.

Manji tells the story of herdevelopment not only as a Muslim,but also as a thinker in “TheTrouble with Islam”. She talksabout attending madressa (Islamicschool) as a child and beingordered to either stop asking ques-tions or to leave. She chose toleave madressa, but not Islam.

Why can’t we criticise Islam?Why can’t we ask questions?Manji demands to know. Thethrust of her book is that reasonand faith should not be separated.There is no reason not to think.

And certainly Islam has left theglobal community with plenty tothink about. According to Manji noother religion is “producing asmany terrorist travesties andhuman rights transgressions in thename of God.” No other religion isas seemingly intolerant. So myquestion to Manji is, why believeat all?

For Manji the salvation ofIslam relies on one thing, ijtihad,Islam’s lost tradition of independ-ent thinking. Ijtihad existed in aperiod in history when Christians,Muslims and Jews worked andlived together in a “culture of tol-erance”. Ijtihad is the one hopethat mainstream Islam can become

the diverse and tolerant culture itonce was, a culture that embracesintellectual inquiry. Diversity is ofutmost importance to Manji. So ishonesty.

As someone who grew up inthe west she embraces her free-dom. She loves what the west hasto offer her as a woman, as a les-bian, as an intellectual and as a dis-sident. Is this wrong? I mean she’sright, we’ve got it pretty good.Manji feels that had she beenraised in a Muslim country, shewould be an atheist in her heart,and not very free at all. That isbeing pretty honest.

The possibility of revivingijtihad is enough to sustainManji’s dedication to Islam. And,faith plays a big role too. Withoutit, how could she continue? Herbook so thoroughly punchesholes through fundamentalistMuslim beliefs and behaviourthat I find it stunning she canbelieve at all. Can we acceptManji’s challenge to confrontintolerance even if doing someans we may be labelled intol-erant ourselves, because I thinkthat is what she means by a“wake-up call for honesty”.

Some will find this book chal-lenging, maybe offensive, somewill find it enlightening and otherswill find it over confident.Regardless, it is worth reading.

The Trouble with Islam: A Wake-Up Call for Honesty and Change

B O O K R E V I E W

F E A T U R E Sm arch 18 , 2004 page 1 1unitert

he

Irshad Manji Strikes A Chord“Muslim refusenik” draws support and criticism from U of W community

H O T I S S U E S

Manji pictured here with Salman Rushdie


e

F E A T U R E S

B Y J E A N N E F R O N D A

Imagine patiently waiting in lineto go through airport securitywhen all of a sudden a security

guard instructs you to walk off tothe side and remove your shoes.You’ve done nothing wrong, butyou follow the order anyway. Thisis airport security, after all, so theremust be a good reason. There mustbe some bomb threat, someannouncement that a salivatingmaniac wearing a taupe trench coathas strapped a thick belt of dyna-mite to his waist and is runningloose in the airport.

But as you step to the side younotice something—everyone thatwalks through the metal detectorwithout a delay is Caucasian. You,on the other hand, are a person ofcolour.

That’s exactly what happenedto Nana Ansu, a second-yearapplied computer science student,while he was in a U.K. airport. It’snot something that’s easily forgot-ten, and he spoke about it while sit-ting with some of his friends in theU of W cafeteria. All the other stu-dents who were also at the tablewere persons of colour.

“The fact that you’re black –they profile you,” he says. “If youhave a routine check it’s okay, butnot when you go beyond that.That’s discrimination right there.”

According to the CanadianHuman Rights Commission, racialprofiling involves investigatingsomeone based on their nationalorigin, religion, or race. And that’ssomething many U of W studentsare opposed to.

“I think racial profiling iswrong and that everyone should bechecked no matter what,” saysBenjamin Omole, a third-year busi-ness administration student.

Another student says that anyperson, no matter what their race,can be a victim of racial profiling.

“I think it just happens to every-one,” says Sophia Kinhnarath, a

first-year studentsitting across thetable from Ansu.“You can profileArabs too.”Kinhnarath saysone time she waswalking throughairport securitywith her father andher brother whensecurity guardsdecided to searchher brother. Shesays that at the timeshe figured it wasjust a routine secu-rity check, but nowshe thinks herbrother might havebeen searchedbecause he looksArab.

Ansu maintainsthat people ofcolour should notbe singled out.

“The colour ofmy skin may be dif-ferent from yours,but when you turnoff the lights ourblood is the samecolour. Why is thecolour of a man’sskin more impor-tant than the colourof a man’s blood?”

Many other stu-dents also say racialprofiling is wrong.

“I don’t thinkit’s right,” saysthird-year sciencestudent AnnaCameron. “A per-son is a person andyou can’t judgeexternally. It’s defi-nitely not right.”

Segregation on Campus

It’s hard not to notice the racial or

ethnic backgrounds of the studentswho are sitting at the other tables inthe cafeteria because there seems tobe some segregation. A quick scan inthe room reveals that Caucasian stu-dents are sitting at tables with, for the

most part, otherCaucasian students.But it’s also commonto see students ofcolour congregatingat tables with otherstudents of colour.

Even thoughmany students areopposed to singlingpeople out, it’s inter-esting to see thatmany students aresitting with people ofthe same ethnic back-ground. This doesn’tmean U of W stu-dents agree withracial profiling or areseparatists or racists.In fact, all the stu-dents who agreed totalk about racial pro-filing said they dis-agreed with it.

Although studentVictor Goncalvesdisagrees with thepractice, he says heunderstands whypeople discriminateagainst others.

“Given currentevents you can seewhere people arecoming from,” saysthe fourth-year envi-ronmental studiesstudent. “When yousee a certain groupdoing the same thingall the time then theyget targeted. It stilldoesn’t make it[racial profiling]right.”

The main argu-ment that Goncalvesis using is, of course,

stereotyping. And that’s somethingLisa Sinclair knows a lot about.

Racial Stereotyping FeedsOn Stereotypes

Sinclair, a psychology instruc-tor who’s been teaching at the U ofW since 1999, says racial profilingis based on stereotypes. She saysstereotypes are used so people cansimplify and organize their envi-ronment by placing informationinto categories, but she saysthere’s a risk that goes along withthem.

“What’s most dangerous isthey’re subtle and they [people]don’t even know they’re usingstereotypes,” says Sinclair. “Wedon’t always know we have nega-tive attitudes because a lot of ithappens unconsciously. Even ifyou use racial profiling you mightnot know all of the hidden biases.We think we’re treating peoplefairly, but we’re not.”

Another risk with using stereo-types is that they can perpetuatelies. Stereotypes are used to gener-alize from one person to an entiregroup, and Sinclair says that thisshouldn’t happen particularlybecause stereotypes can perpetu-ate something that’s false.

“There doesn’t have to be truthto a stereotype at all,” she says.“Stereotypes can colour the mean-ings of things. People can find allthese reasons to explain why aman is more qualified than awoman for a job, for example.”

Finding tangible evidencepointing to the negative effects ofracial profiling isn’t easy. Sinclairsays there hasn’t been a lot ofresearch done about the psycho-logical effects of racial profiling.One study found that the costs tolarger society and individuals arenegative, and include effects likepost traumatic stress disordersymptoms and stress and mistrustbetween minorities and the policeforce. And it’s not surprising thatresults like this ring alarm bells.“We’re living in a culture of fear,”says Sinclair. “Do we combat fearby becoming more extreme in ourviews or do we try to educate peo-ple about these views?”

H O T I S S U E S

Not White = Not SafeRacial Profiling Angers Students

Continued from Page 11diversity. Rapiz stated that hebelieved Manji to be “one coura-geous woman”. He was impressedby her courage and convictions, aswell as her openness to other peo-ple. Rapiz added that he looks up tosomeone who can defend diversity,and that he saw connectionsbetween her political and religiousviews and her attitudes presented onQueer TV. Rapiz was unsure if hisopinion of Manji reflected the opin-ions of all LGBT collective mem-bers, but he felt very positive aboutthe lecture.

Dr. Joanne Boucher, a U of Wpolitics professor, was also in atten-dance at Manji’s lecture. Interestedin Manji’s political ideas, as well asthe contemporary politics of theMiddle East and America, Boucherthought that Manji’s calling upon

the moderate voice within her faithto speak up against extremists was apositive thing. She feels that criti-cism from the political left is good,but also that it is completely one-sided.

She feels that most leftists caneasily cite many wrongdoings ofIsrael and America (and do), but donot proportionately cite the rampanthuman rights abuses within manyother countries such as Syria orSaudi Arabia.

The problem, she says, is notwith criticism, but with the dispro-portionate criticism towards Israel,America, and Britain paired withthe seemingly silent voice concern-ing the long-term basic humanrights abuses against minoritiessuch as women and homosexuals inother countries.

“We’re training a generation of

students to see the world’s problemsas emanating from one sourcealone, and this is an incomplete pic-ture,” says Boucher. “I think thisviewpoint indicates a type of politi-cal immaturity.”

Boucher also thinks that it isinaccurate to adopt a simplistic “badguy, good guy” vision of the world.She proposes that we change thesestereotypes through education andawareness, including more campusevents, lectures, and debates onthese issues, presenting a variety ofviewpoints.

Strong Views, Big Impact

Irshad Manji has been named a“Feminist for the 21st Century” byMs. Magazine, and Maclean’s choseher as one of 100 “Leaders for

Tomorrow.” She was placed in thecategory of “dreamer,” which shetakes as a compliment. Though ithas been argued that Manji is not ascholar and that her views shouldnot be taken seriously, she remainsan educated woman who has never-theless been extremely effective inpresenting her opinions on religion,diversity, and politics. Like it ornot, Manji is making herself heard,and she has been met with both crit-icism and praise.

Before closing, Manji addressedthe crowd, “Can we at least all agreethat diversity must be defended?”“If we can’t agree, then what are weall doing in Canada?”

The event was co-sponsored byThe Asper Foundation LectureSeries, The Jewish Federation ofWinnipeg/Combined JewishAppeal, The Rainbow Pride Mosaic

U of M, Hillel/JSA, the U of WLGBT* centre, Winnipeg ZionistInitiative, Interfaith Round Table,Rose and Max Rady JewishCommunity Centre, NationalJewish Campus Life, and RandomHouse of Canada (Manji’s publish-er). The UWSA had not beenapproached to be a sponsor, and anysponsorship done by UWSA-recog-nized groups was done solely bythose groups, not by the UWSA ingeneral. Many students and profes-sors of the U of W were present,however, including UWSAPresident Chris Minaker, who mod-erated the question period at theevent.

Readers can visit Irshad Manji’swebsite at www.muslim-refusenik.com


e

F E A T U R E S

B Y J E S S E M A T A S

It was just over two months ago, Iwas on my way to the universitywhen I noticed a black police

SUV parked on Academy Road nearKelvin High School. The van was setup with a radar to take photos of anydrivers who might be speeding.

Upon further inspection, Inoticed the SUV was idling, sitting

there with the engine on. On my wayback from school I saw to my disap-pointment that the SUV was still inthe same place, still idling about 6hours later. Since then, I’ve noticedmany police SUVs and Vans parkedin school zones idling for hours at atime.

There are many myths associat-ed with idling. The most common isthat you will save money by wasting

less gas, this is untrue. Idling yourcar for more than 10 seconds willwaste more gas than turning off yourengine and restarting your car. If youknow you’re going to be stopped formore than ten seconds, simply turnoff the car. In the case of the speedtrap vans and SUVs, tax payers’money is going towards gas for thesevehicles to sit idling for hours a day.

As most of us know, idling caus-

es severe harm to our environment.For every litre of gas a vehicle burns2.4kg of carbon dioxide, a green-house gas which contributes to cli-mate change. In Canada, if we all cutdown on idling by 5 minutes a day, itwould eliminate 1.6 million tonnesof carbon dioxide from polluting ourair every day.

Not only does idling contributeto climate change, it fills our air with

harmful pollutants. Every year16,000 Canadians die prematurelyfrom air pollution. In Canada, 5.7tonnes of pollutants are emitted byeach car every year. Also, 86.5% ofcancer-causing benzene in the aircomes from vehicles. Idling is alarge part of this problem.

It seems that excessive idling isa matter of being unaware of thedamage caused to our environment

and ourh e a l t h .W h e t h e ryou’re apolice vantaking photoradar all day,or stopped ata train for afew minutes,idling ise x t r e m e l yunnecessaryand harmfulto us and theenvironment.If you’regoing to bestopped formore than 10s e c o n d s ,simply turnoff your car.

H O T I S S U E S : C O M M E N T

Idle Cops: Turn Off Your Engines

Rockin’ Richard’sRECORD & CDSh w n’ Sale

• Records(45’s, 78’s, LP’s)

• CD’s• Tapes• Posters

• Videos• Memorabilia• Music Mags• Books• Photos

FOR MORE INFORMATION/

TABLE RENTALS,

CALL: RICHARDor ALEX @

204-338-3655

- Admission $3.00, kids under 12 FREE!

- FREE PARKING

- Refreshments available inside hotel

- Come to the Victoria Inn for the greatest

selection of music that you will ever see!ROCK • HEAVY METAL • COUNTRY • JAZZ

R & B • FOLK • POP

SOUND TRACKS • COMEDY • ALTERNATIVE • DISCO

NEW RELEASES • IMPORTS • PROMOS • RARITIES

Over 50 Dealer TablesTABLE RENTALS STILL AVAILABLE!

Sunday, March 21, 200410:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

VICTORIA INN(formerly INTERNATIONAL INN)

Centennial Rooms 2, 3, 4

1808 Wellington Ave.• Wpg.•MB

In February of2003, I went tosee Kathleen

Edwards in concert at The West EndCultural Centre. The opening act thatnight was a goofy, awkward youngguy from Nova Scotia, named MattMays. Mays had recently left TheGuthries, just as the band was gettingall kinds of attention and rave reviewsfor the debut album, Off Windmill,largely due to the strength of Mays’contributions. Even though that bandhad taken him on countless tours inCanada and abroad, when he steppedonstage at The West End, he seemedrather shy and nervous and out ofplace. He had trouble with his guitar,his harmonica, and as I recall, he mayhave even forgotten the words to asong or two.

I wasn’t entirely won over, so Ididn’t buy one of the few copies ofhis debut solo CD that he was selling.Too bad, because I bet that discwould go for a few bucks on ebaythese days. You see, that awkwardacoustic singer/songwriter has man-aged to come into his own in a rela-tively short time, and is now gettingall kinds of attention, since that self-titled CD was re-released by WarnerMusic Canada last fall.

Since then, of course, I picked upa copy of the disc to find out what I’dbeen missing. It seems that I’d beenmissing a lot; the disc’s 10 originalsongs are really strong and interest-ing, and show great promise for thisup-and-coming artist. The songsrange from the gloriously laid-backcountry twang of “Your Heart,” to thedriving rhythm of “Lonely HighwayNight.” It’s a pretty diverse disc, butmost of the songs convey thealt.country twang and energy of TheGuthries’ work.

Recently, though, Mays hasassembled a new backing band calledEl Torpedo. The band packs a realsonic punch, and has transformedMays’ laid back country songs intosome loose, energetic jams that NeilYoung and Crazy Horse would be

proud to put their names to. Thatband was in town recently openingfor Sam Roberts at The BurtonCummings Theatre, and the confidentand energetic guy I saw on stage thatnight was an entirely different MattMays than the one I saw opening forKathleen Edwards.

I had the opportunity to chat withMays, just before he hit the road foranother Canadian tour with his bandand another exciting young WarnerMusic protégé, Matthew Barber.

Jeff Robson: Was it tough goingsolo after being in a band that wasgetting all kinds of press?Matt Mays: Not really. I just knewthat this was what I wanted to do andI felt so strongly about it that I didn’teven really care what came out of it. Ijust knew that was what I wanted todo. I knew I wanted to be on my own,and to call my own shots and do myown thing and have complete control.I just knew that it was time and Ineeded that.

JR: With The Guthries and onyour solo CD, I hear a strong coun-try music influence. Did you growup listening to a lot of countrymusic?MM: Not really, no. I usually justwrite sort of normal pop songs. It’sthe country instruments that are ontop of them. I don’t find it particular-ly country music; I just like pedalsteel guitar, and things like that. It’snot necessarily something where Ifeel that it’s country music per se, butthere is sort of a country feel on someof the songs.

JR: It seems to me that you’re mov-ing away from the country a bitand more in a rock direction withEl Torpedo.MM: Yeah. I’d say that. I sort of gowith the flow; I just get the group ofguys together and we play. I don’twant to change or inhibit anythingthat comes out. We’ll play and what-ever comes out comes out. It’s defi-nitely been a little more rock oriented.

JR: I understand you’ve hired apretty big time producer on yournext record [Don Smith, who has

worked with Bob Dylan, TomPetty, U2, The Rolling Stones, andThe Tragically Hip.]MM: He mostly started out as anengineer, but he’s been producing forthe last 10 years or whatever. He’sgreat. He’s worked with so manyawesome people. He’s top notch. I’mreally looking forward to getting intothe studio.

JR: It sounds like this is a realexciting time to be Matt Mays.MM: I guess so, yeah. I don’t know.It doesn’t really feel all that differentfor me. I mean, we’re getting somebetter shows and I get to play in frontof a few more people now but otherthan that, I don’t notice too much dif-ferent. With the press and everything,I don’t usually read any of myreviews or anything; I try to stay outof that. I try to keep my head com-pletely clear of it all.

JR: You’ve played in Winnipeg anddone two very different shows, onceopening for Kathleen Edwards soloand once with the band opening forSam Roberts. I was surprised athow different you seemed on stagethe second time. Do you feel moreconfident with a band behind younow, or have you really worked ondeveloping a stage presence?MM: I think solo shows are a lot dif-ferent for me. I get a lot more nervouswhen I’m on my own. With the band,we were playing every night of theweek and I knew that chances are wewould put down a fairly tight showwith that. But with that Kathleenshow, it was my first solo show in along time, and it was a good crowd. Itwas one of the first times that I’veever played to a bunch of people whowere actually silent and listening.That gets sort of intimidating. But it’stotally two different vibes; with theband I feel a lot more comfortable, Ithink. I think it’s fairly important [tobe able to play two different types ofshow], mostly because I don’t reallyhave a preference. I love playing thesolo sets and I love playing the rockn’ roll set. It’s a nice change. Justwhen I start getting sick of losing myhearing every night, it’s nice to beable to go back to get into the songs

and try to get the songs across to peo-ple. As soon as I start getting sick ofthat, it’s nice to get back with theband again and get some jams goingand stuff. It’s nice to be able to goback and forth. I’ve got plans to ven-ture into different styles of music aswell. I like the way that once you getsick of something you move ontosomething else, which I think helpsthe longevity. It’s very important tokeep a fresh mind if you want to staycreative your whole life.

JR: How long have you been writ-ing songs?MM: I guess about 8 years or some-thing like that. I’ve been writing sinceI was about 16, I guess.

JR: How did you learn how to writea good song?MM: Just by writing tons and tonsand tons of songs. I’ve got bags andbags of four track tapes that I’vemade while writing songs. It’s just allcrap. There’s so much bad stuff. It’snot just one of those things that youcan sort of do; I found with me, ittook a long time to learn how to get asong out. I don’t usually work onsongs. When they come out, they’reout. If they don’t come out thenthey’re not worth saving. It was oneof those things where I spent yearstrying to write songs, but the onesthat I’ve always kept have been theones that just sort of came out, youknow? That’s why I can’t reallyworry about writing songs. If theycome out, they come out. And I knowthat I’ll always have songs comingout just because they always have.Sometimes I go two or three monthswithout writing a song and I’ll get alittle bit freaked out, and then all of asudden I’ll write five in a week orwhatever and they’ll all be keepers.It’s very sporadic.

JR: Do you feel more pressure topump out great songs now?MM: Not so much, really, no. I don’tusually get caught up in that. I try notto, anyways. I just like to write songsand I don’t think any of that businessstuff should get in the way or will getin the way. I hope not, anyway. I’mjust trying to keep it real. It’s impor-tant not to get caught up in all of thatstuff.

JR: You’re from the Town ofDartmouth, and I hear a lot of ref-erences to it in your songs. Itsounds like Dartmouth has a bigimpact on your music.MM: I think quite a bit. I thinkDartmouth is one of those places thattakes a bit of heat simply because it’son the opposite side of the harbourfrom Halifax. Nobody who wants tobe cool or trendy lives in Dartmouth.It’s laid back. I grew up here. I’vebeen kickin’ it in Dartmouth since Iwas six years old or whatever. I’vehad so many great times here andthere isn’t a corner in the whole townthat I haven’t had an event happen on.Everywhere you look, I have a storyto tell about the place or whatever. It’sjust one of those things where I’vegrown to love it. I don’t think it’s oneof those places that you come to andfall in love right away, but it is a greattown. I’ve just grown to love it; I’vehad so many great times here. It’shome to me.

JR: The Maritimes, and Halifaxespecially seems to have a strongcommunity of artists, kind of likeWinnipeg does.MM: It’s the same sort of vibe, Ithink. Winnipeg’s always had that

reputation of having that great fami-ly-oriented music scene. I think that’simportant. And Halifax andDartmouth are like that too. There’snot many people, but there’s so manygreat bands for the amount of people.And in so many different genres aswell. So many places it’s all one kindof music. I find the scene aroundhere, there’s a bunch of differentbands and they’re all completely dif-ferent than one another; everybody’sdoing their own thing. It’s great.Everybody’s really behind each other.There’s no competition here; every-body’s really happy to see each otherdo well. It’s really nice to come hometo. Whereas I find in bigger cities likeToronto, everybody’s out to kill andthe music scene seems to sufferbecause of it.

JR: As much as you love it at home,it seems like your focus is on tour-ing these days?MM: Yeah. It goes through stages.Lately we’ve been playing a lot andthat’s what I love to do. The more I’mon the road, the happier I am. I’mreally into it. We’re just touring andtrying to get the songs really tight forwhen we go into the studio.

JR: When it comes time to do thesecond CD, what will you do differ-ently this time?MM: On the first one, I started play-ing everything myself, all of theinstruments, and then I gradually gotsome other people into the studio. Itwas kind of like a patched up pair ofjeans, you know. It’s cool; I’m prettyproud of that record. It sounds prettylive off the floor for having so manyoverdubs and stuff. “City of Lakes” islive on that record, which I’m gladabout. That’s what we’ll do more ofon the next record is to record live offthe floor to capture the feel of theband and get a feeling. We’re going toget the studio really comfortable andjust roll tape forever and captureeverything. We’ll just get to a pointwhere we’re not realizing the tape isrolling anymore and we’ll just do ourthing. We’re not the best musicians;it’s more about the feel and the vibe.We’re not out to capture any specialtake, we’ll just get one good takedown, which is always nerve rackingfor me. I just really want to go in andtry some different stuff and get Donto try to capture some good, honestsounds. We’ll just do our thing prettymuch.

JR: Everywhere you go, it seemslike your CD is really cheap, under$10 almost everywhere. Can youmake any money selling them thatcheap?MM: Yeah. We worked it out withthe record companies and it’s just oneof those things we’re trying out. I’mnot losing any of my cut from it. It’san artist development sort of thing,where Warner’s not looking to makeany money right now; we’re just get-ting it into more hands right now. I’mpretty keen on keeping it as afford-able as I can. It’s really nice to knowthat my CD is only $8 across Canada,you know. And nobody’s is thatcheap. I’m the only guy outside of thebargain bins that’s $8. That’s prettyawesome.

Catch Matt Mays and his band ElTorpedo as they return to Winnipegfor a show with Matthew Barber atThe Pyramid Cabaret on March 24.Tickets are $10 in advance at Into theMusic and The Pyramid or $12 at thedoor. www.mattmays.com


e

a & e

J E F FR O B S O N

Arts Editor

Matt Mays is QuicklyMaking a Name for Himself

Matt Mays (second from right)

and El Torpedo.


e

a & e

NORAH JONESFeels Like HomeBY JEFF ROBSON

This is the eagerly antici-pated follow-up to Norah

Jones’ debut CD, Come Awaywith Me, which sold a bazil-lion copies a couple of yearsago. I think everybody I knowowns a copy, yet few are will-ing to admit it. Sure, it’s mel-low and a little too sicklysweet sounding, but damn it,I’ll go out on a limb and saythat it sold so well because itwas pretty darn good. It ain’tcool to like Norah Jones, butit’s pretty hard to knock her,also.

So, there are those thatwill be dying to love her newCD and those that will bedying to rip it apart inreviews. I’m somewhere inthe middle. Again, Jones hasassembled a beautiful, laidback, and very enjoyablerecord that’s not the mostwonderful and original thingI’ve ever heard, nor is it at alloffensive. She seems just finesticking with the “if it ain’tbroke, don’t fix it” ethic, andshe just might be right.

She sticks with the sameproducer and backing band.Again we get stellar contribu-tions by Kevin Breit, JesseHarris, and Tony Scherr onguitar. This time she alsopulls in respected guests, byenlisting the help of GarthHudson and Levon Helm ofThe Band on “What Am I toDo,” and Dolly Parton duetson “Creepin’ In.” Jones writesa little more on this one, co-writing 5 songs, including“Don’t Miss You at All,” forwhich she added lyrics to aclassic Duke Ellington instru-mental, “Meloncholia.” Thereare also great covers of songsby Tom Waits (and his wife)and Townes Van Zandt.Overall, the CD is a bit moreupbeat and varied, but don’tgo thinking that Jones is rein-venting the wheel here; forthe most part, it’s the sameold same old, but darn it, itworks for her, so why not.(EMI/Blue Note,www.norahjones.com)

GREC MACPHERSONMaintenanceBY JEFF ROBSON

G.Mac is back, and it’sabout time. This new EP

doesn’t actually come outuntil March 23rd, but it’s so

good and I’m so excited aboutit, that I just couldn’t wait amonth to review it. Thissometimes Winnipegger is fartoo talented for his own good.He’s got just about everythingit takes to be a huge star, yethe’s such a fiercely politicalindividual that he refuses tosell out to the man and makewatered down music for themasses. Instead, he combinesa political punk rock ethicwith potent lyrics and somevery powerful energy to makegreat rock and roll with amessage. Still, his songsaren’t preachy or overtlypolitical. His is great musicfor the everyman, there’snothing lofty or insultingabout his songs.

His last CD, 2002’s GoodTimes Coming Back Againwas an all-out rock and rollband effort. This new EPtakes him back to his roots;the band is completely absenton these 5 songs, this time it’sall Greg + acoustic guitar.The disc starts off with a gor-geous laid back number,“Wide Turn,” before the fieryClash cover, “Bankrobber.”There is a pair of strippeddown acoustic versions ofsongs from GTCBA, includ-ing the title track and “SlowStroke.” The highlight is along awaited recording of oneof Macpherson’s mostrequested live numbers, andone that’s been around foryears yet has never beenrecorded, “Company Store.”

If you’ve ever seenMacpherson’s gripping liveperformances, you know thathe doesn’t need anything tokeep an audience entertained,he can do spoken word, acapella, and solo singer/song-writer stuff with ease. Fans ofthe rockin’ band stuff on hislast CD should not worry, thisstripped back disc is not mel-low folk music; Macphersonstill packs a mighty punch allby himself. This 19 minuteEP will surely whet listeners’appetites for his next fulllength rocker, which isrumoured to be out later thisyear.(G7 Welcoming Committee,www.gregmacpherson.com)

HOUSE OF MERCURY BANDSings Hymns from the Church in St. PaulBY JENNY WESTERN

This particular gospelalbum was released on

Mercy Recordings, an inde-pendent label that grew out ofa renegade church communi-ty in St. Paul, Minnesota. Thechurch is known as the Houseof Mercy and is known for itscountry-bluegrass approachto worship music, theirorganic food co-operative,

and the Louvin art galleryhoused in the church’s base-ment. Sings... is the eighthrelease from MercyRecordings and it is ahumdinger. Several originaltunes from the band stand tallnext to tried and true tradi-tional numbers like “On theWings of a Dove” and “Just aCloser Walk with Thee.” Themandolin, fiddle, and beauti-ful harmonies are a standout.Fans of Mark Olson and theOriginal Harmony RidgeCreekdippers will want totake note of multi-instrumen-talist Mike “Razz” Russell’sinvolvement here. Learn tosing some hymns and more at (Mercy Recordingswww.mercyrecordings.com)

JAMES KEELAGHANThen AgainBY JEFF ROBSON

Winnipeg’s most famousfolkie returns with a

new album, 3 years after hisacclaimed Home CD. Callingthis one “new” is a bit of amisnomer, since all of thesongs on it have been releasedbefore. But this isn’t merely a“Best Of” compilation, it’sbilled as a “Better than Ever”compilation, since it presentsnew recordings of 11 ofKeelaghan’s finest composi-tions. And this is a guy whoknows a thing or two aboutsongwriting, so when he com-piles a disc of his best, youcan bet that there are nostinkers in the bunch. Hissongs have been recorded andrecognized by some of thebest singer/songwriters in theworld. Twice he’s won topprize at the highly respectedUSA SongwritingCompetition.

One of those award win-ners, “Cold Missouri Waters,”is updated for this set, andKeelaghan now incorporatessome changes made byRichard Shindell for the ver-sion he recorded with thesinger/songwriter supergroupCD, Cry, Cry, Cry. That song,and others here, like “JennyBryce,” show Keelaghan’sgift for interpreting historyinto wonderful story songs.“Gladys Ridge” showsKeelaghan’s gift with a sim-ple, sing-along melody, and itprominently features thepowerful voices behind localsoul group Rudimental, andeven incorporates an audi-ence at The Winnipeg FolkFestival. Keelaghan’s strongguitar playing guides thesongs, but it’s the words thatare most powerful and impor-tant. He’s got a rich and deepvoice, often reminiscent ofStan Rogers’, but a style ofhis own.

Keelaghan is known andrespected around the world

for his songwriting and per-forming, yet many readersmay not be familiar with allof his material. This is a per-fect start for someone not upon all things Keelaghan, it’s agreat overview of the bestsongs, drawn from 4 of hisprevious 7 discs and taking usall the way back to his debut,17 years ago. By re-recordingthem, he’s able to make amore modern and cohesivesounding package, and itworks wonders. (Jericho Beach Music,www.keelaghan.com)

KYLIE MINOGUEBody LanguageBY JEREMY STRUB

Hot off of the multi plat-inum release of her

album Fever, Kylie Minogueputs out her newest CD BodyLanguage in the hopes thatshe can diversify her soundand appeal to the already for-getful teenage, pop musicdevouring set. It’s not a badidea but not the most originaleither. With this release, youalso get two additional tracksreleased only in Canada, anda bonus disc of video footage.My main gripe was that Feveralready had a unique sound,and now I found I was beingbombarded by a ton of con-temporary influences alongthe likes of Britney Spears,Prince, Madonna, JustinTimberlake, and MichaelJackson. Somewhere in there,whatever uniquenessMinogue had on her lastalbum is lost in a myriad ofbeats and largely syntheticmusic. I will give some creditto the guitarist, JohnnyDouglas, who at least man-ages some decent R and Bstyle guitar parts on the tracks“I Feel For You,” and“Loving Days.” Even morebizarre is the 80s influenceson the CD that she just can’tescape, which hearken backto her days when she did “TheLocomotion.” All in all, thespicy and distinctly kinkytracks that caught my atten-tion on Fever have beenreplaced with more minimal-ist tracks that simply don’t doa thing for me. My recom-mendation is that unlessyou’re already a fan (and forthe record, I’m not), you willbe disappointed. (Capitol/EMI,www.kylie.com)

THE ANTIGRAVITY PROJECTAnnuit CorruptusBY JON SYMONS

When The Moody Bluesreleased Days of

Future Passed in 1967, it sig-nalled the beginning of adelightful little genre known

as “prog” rock. During thegolden years of prog, bandslike King Crimson, Yes andthe Mothers Of Inventionmade a living crafting epicalbums with ten-minute gui-tar solos and experimentalinstrumentation based onclassical scores. By the eight-ies, it had all but disappearedfrom the musical landscape.

Enter Winnipeg’sAntigravity Project. Withconspiracy theories on themind and multiple instru-ments in their hands, the boysin the Antigravity Projecthave managed to record analbum that would fit in nicelywith Dark Side of The Moonand Red. The AntigravityProject combines loud, driv-ing guitar and bass lines withjazz-tinged keyboards andsaxophones. Brad Fenwick’slyrics touch on pollution,alien invasions, and the reali-ty of an “OrwellianNightmare Revealed,” andeach track on AnnuitCorruptus takes you to a dif-ferent place. The album opensup with ocean sounds.“Illuminazi” finishes with aGerman drinking song.“Celestial Train Song” is justthat, a tune that literallysounds like a train lumberingthrough space. While AnnuitCorruptus is fantastic, bril-liant rock, the band puts on aneven better live show. Checkout the website, go to a show,and start to believe in theAntigravity Project.(Progspiracy Music,www.progspiracy.comwww.antigravityband.com)

THE GUMSHOE STRUTLet’s Get Dangerous (2xEP)BY JENNY WESTERN

After a CD review of theplayful Buck 65 for the

Uniter a few months back, itseems to me that this doubleEP by Winnipeg MC TheGumshoe Strut presents listen-ers with the darker side ofCanadian hip hop. Lyrically,the first EP is a series ofresponses toward the unmerit-ed authority of the rich, thepolice, and upper manage-ment. Along with two inter-ludes, these are collected underthe heading of On the LOOK-OUT. The second EP of thedisc, Death in the eyes, movesaway from public conflict andaddresses more personalissues, including a brush withinfanticide on the chilling “Tonof Bricks.” While the thematiclinks remain fairly subtle, TheGumshoe Strut himself is cer-tainly not shy about sharing hisfrustration and disappointmentwith society. Tracks done in aminor key create an underlyingtension to these sentiments,and the appearance of localrappers Yy, Pip Skid, and

Grubbs confirm the politicalbent of this album. Dangerous?No, maybe just appealinglyserious.(Peanuts & Corn,www.peanutsandcorn.com)

THE HOME TEAMStay Calm EPBY JENNY WESTERN

Released at the West EndCultural Centre on

February 17th with Winnipegfavourites The Rock Band andThe Carter Monroes (a.k.a.Carter Monrose), The HomeTeam’s Stay Calm EP is a new-comer, however the Landmarkband is not. They’ve been hon-ing their skills together sincehigh school. The result is apop-punk sound akin to localgreats The Paperbacks andKicker, the latter of which hasfound guitarist Jon Gooch tobe a member in good standing.A true EP at only five tracks,the boys manage to includepiano, cello, organ and pedalsteel among the smashingcymbals and gentle vocals.Hearing more of that addition-al instrumentation would bewelcome on a full lengthrelease as a means of deflatingcomparisons to the lesser emoenthusiasts around town. Staycalm and catchy.(Independent)

THE COOPER TEMPLE CLAUSEKick up the Fire, and Letthe Flames Break LooseBY JON SYMONS

Yeah, I don’t get the titleeither. But whatever it

means, it results in damn goodmusic. The Cooper TempleClause had a massively suc-cessful debut in their homecountry with last year’s SeeThis Through And Leave andare now poised to take overAmerica. A sextet out ofReading, England, the bandwears their influences on theirsleeves on this, their secondalbum. Molding together someof the best British sounds of thepast decade or so, no matterwhat you like, the Cooperslikely have a track for you.There’s “The Same Mistakes,”drawing from the anthemicguitar rock of Radiohead andOasis; the first half of “WrittenApology” resembles the art-school stylings of Pulp; and“New Toys” resembles thepulsing electronica of theChemical Brothers. Even emofans will find solace in riff-heavy songs like “Promises,Promises” and “Blind Pilots.”The only commonality with allthe tracks is that the CTC likesto play loud. Normally, a six-piece rock band is a nightmare,but these guys manage to pull itoff as no sound seems to takeover, and Ben Gautrey’s vocalsremain the centerpiece. KUT-FALTFBL is a solid album, andif the first single, “Promises,Promises” gets good radio andvideo play, success on this sideof The Atlantic is a given. Plus,bass player Didz Hammondsports one wicked mullet,which always helps.(Morning Records, www.coop-ertempleclause.co.uk)


e

a & e

B Y J O N S Y M O N S

Concept albums are usually a difficultthing to tackle. Many artists have suc-ceeded (Tommy, Ziggy Stardust), while

some have failed miserably (the film version ofSgt. Pepper’s, anyone?). Love them or hatethem, concept albums always have an intrigu-ing quality. When I heard that not only was NeilYoung releasing a concept album but a film toaccompany it, I was ecstatic. Young’s been oneof my favorite artists for a long time, ever sinceI heard “Down By The River” in high school.But he’s slipped in recent years, and a conceptproject seemed to be the perfect way for Youngto get the creative juices flowing again and alsoan outlet for his outspoken views. Well folks,Neil’s got those juices flowing and he’s back tohis old form with Greendale.

The film version of Greendale, whichrecently played at Cinematheque, tells the storyof the Green family, an ordinary farming fami-ly in a Northern California town. We are intro-duced to the various family members, Grandmaand Grandpa (longtime Young collaborator BenKeith), their artist son Earl and his wife Edith,and most notably their18-year old activistdaughter Sun Green, played by newcomerSarah White. When a cop is murdered andcousin Jed is the killer, the family becomes atarget for the media and Young’s story begins tounfold.

Young (credited as Bernard Shakey) shootsthe majority of Greendale with a Super 8,resulting in a grainy, home movie type feel. Nota word is spoken in the film, as the story is toldthrough song, and the actors lip-synch toYoung’s signature thin vocals. This does look

odd at points, but the actors keep it low-key,saving themselves from the potentially disas-trous over-emoting common in 1920’s silentfilms. The story becomes hard to follow occa-sionally (I still don’t get why Earl packed upand left for a while) but the scenery is beautifuland the characters are developed well enoughfor the audience to get an idea of what’s goingon. Young has termed Greendale a “musicalnovel,” and to the less imaginative in the audi-ence, Greendale could be viewed as a 90-minute music video. If it is a music video, it’s adamn good one.

Old Neil’s reunited with his band CrazyHorse, and the result is a magnificent return tothe glory days of After The Gold Rush andEverybody Knows This is Nowhere. The musicis front and center and it doesn’t let up for thewhole ninety minutes. It never drags and isalways interesting. There’s nothing fancy here,just simple guitar lines and a whole lot ofpreachin’. The film (or album, which ever wayyou want to look at it) starts off with Grandpacalling for “a little love and affection,” and bythe end, Neil’s taken shots at President Bush,the unnecessary drilling of oil in Alaska, andthe war in Iraq. The music is fantastic, mostnotably the tunes “Sun Green,” the Dylanesque“Bandit,” and the Eco-hymn “Be the Rain.”

Greendale is Neil Young at his angriest,and shows him to be a master storyteller. If youmissed the film during its short run don’t worry,a DVD release is slated for the summer, andNeil’s website is chock-full of info including allten tracks from the album, character bios, andfilm clips.

www.neilyoung.com

Neil Young’sGreendale is a

Concept That Works Secret WindowContinues King’s

Sad DeclineB Y D A N H U Y G H E B A E R T

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.It’s about a film, based on a StephenKing story, about a writer who must deal

with an obsessed fan insisting he change hisstory to the version of the fan’s. It also takesplace in a deserted locale away from civiliza-tion. The trailer for Secret Window mirroredRob Reiner’s Misery too much for my liking,but I was willing to give this film a chance.Besides, I know from experience that trailersare not the be all and end all of movies.

Writer/director David Koepp (Stir ofEchoes, Spiderman) wastes no time to get tothe point. We find Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp)mulling on an important decision aboutwhether to return to a motel. He does, only tofind his wife, Amy (Maria Bello - The Cooler,Coyote Ugly) in bed with someone else (aslimy looking Timothy Hutton). We cut to thepresent, where Mort lives on his own in aremote cabin. He’s woken up by a persistentloud knocking on his door, only to discoverJohn Shooter (John Turturro of O Brother,Where Art Thou?), who accuses Mort of steal-ing his story, Secret Window, and demands hechange the ending and give him credit or elsesome unpleasant things will happen to him.

Films like this can be a dime a dozen, andthe story here is no different. We are talkingcookie cutter Stephen King here, but this is aman who has become an American franchiseon the level of McDonald’s and Wal-Mart. Hewas damn good writer once when he was afresh new voice (I’ll talk more about himlater). But he repeats himself often here.Seriously, how many times can King refer tocorn in his stories? I felt like I was watching agreatest hits version of Stephen King stories.Koepp tries to keep things interesting byinjecting some subtle humor, and this is wherethe payoff to the film is. Johnny Depp deliversin this regard, as the slothful writer goingthrough a messy d-i-v-o-r-c-e. He conveys hischaracter’s terrified state a of mind quite effec-tively, all the while capitalizing on his charac-ter’s state of confusion with that subtlehumour. The film truly rides on his shoulders.

John Turturro is as chilling as a redneckcan be, (save for those southerners inDeliverance - “just drop dem pants”) as asouthern ‘rubbernecker’ who terrifies Mortwith his matter-of-fact ultimatums. The rap-port these two have is a treat to watch, for theyseem to know they only way to treat this kind

of pablum is by injecting it with some faintnuances of self-deprecating humor. TimothyHutton also seems to be on the same page as heoozes creepiness as Amy’s lover, for itbecomes a joy to watch him being treated likedirt. The performances are worth the price ofadmission, but alas, the story is not.

But let’s get back to Stephen King. At lastlook he’s had some odd 80 films or televisionproductions based on his work. This includeseven - yes seven! - Children of the Cornmovies. (The sixth one was called - youguessed it - Children of the Corn 666.) Hisfranchise has gotten so huge that there is nowan obligation to drop his name before hisworks, a la Frederico Fellini. The latest, the TVseries Stephen King’s Kingdom Hospital, isprobably the most offensive of these works.The series is based on 1994’s The Kingdom, aDanish mini series from acclaimedwriter/director Lars Von Trier (Breaking theWaves and the yet to be released - here any-ways - Dogville). How Stephen King canrewrite the mini series and then claim it as hisown is beyond me.

But this contributes to my argument aboutKing as a franchise. Who cares about sub-stance when it has the famous King name onit? But this is America after all, a place wherefilms are marketed on looks alone. When wasthe last time you saw a movie poster withoutthe major stars’ faces all over it? King is, afterall, the embodiment of Americana, where styleoutdoes substance. His works are rife withAmerican pop culture references, from namebrands to American rock n roll songs,(Something that a lot of people missed withAmerican Psycho was this sly stab to the KingOf Horror) as well as numerous self references(he tends to pop up in cameos in all of hisadaptations and refer to his own works). Butone can argue that this is indeed what King isgetting at, the eroding of substance from thespirit of America. But I don’t buy it. The Standstill remains, to me as one of horror’s all timeepics, but I think King has lost sight of thecornfields of Nebraska and is basking in themarquee lights of Las Vegas. Gone from themini series are the characterizations and themystery - the original built up its tensionthrough patience, slowly building up the storyline and the characters, thereby making usinvest some emotional connection with them.The original Kingdom was about substanceover style, spirituality over money. Do your-self a favor and go rent the original Kingdom.

B Y E R I C G U I L L E M E T T EExcalibur, York University

TORONTO (CUP) — Before TheLord of the Rings, the name ViggoMortensen was virtually unknown tomost people.

However, the actor’s face proba-bly looked familiar since he hadalready been in well-known filmssuch as G.I. Jane, Crimson Tide,Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and1985’s Witness, with Harrison Ford.

Since his role as Aragorn in theincredibly successful LOTR trilogy,the modest actor has become aninstant global celebrity, capturingthe hearts of millions of geeky fans.

“I suppose I’m a geek myself, Iguess they’re my people,”Mortensen laughs. “I’m flattered onthe one hand, but on the other hand,that’s a movie character. I sort oftake it with a grain of salt.”

In his latest film, Hidalgo,Mortensen stars as Frank T.Hopkins, a long-distance horse racerwho travels to the Arabian Desert tocompete in one of the most danger-ous races on Earth.

“It was enjoyable, it was inter-esting. It made an unusual Westernthat’s for sure,” says the 45-year-oldactor. “That, and the interaction withthe Arab culture. I like the fact that[Hidalgo director] Joe Johnston shotthis film in an old-fashioned way.But underneath that, the fact that itdeals in a respectful way with sever-al cultures is interesting.”

One of the great visual aspectsof the film is the use of stuntsinvolving horses. In fact, Mortensen,

an avid rider himself, pretty muchdid all his own stunts, with the helpof stuntman Mike Watson.

“If I can do it and believe I cando it safely and the stuntman feels Ican do it too, then it’s going to bebetter for the director because he canshoot close and you can see that it’sme jumping on a horse or shootingback or riding around in an arena,”says the actor. “Let the audience getcloser without using some digitaleffect.”

Although Hidalgo was original-ly said to be based on a true story,historians called into question thevalidity of the story of Frank T.Hopkins, and whether his feats werejust tall tales spun by a master story-teller. Whatever the case, Mortensencasually says not to take everythingyou see or read literally or elseyou’ll miss the meaning of the mes-sage.

“If you take it literally, then youare separating it from yourself andyou’re not really involved in themyth of your country or your reli-gion or your society. You’re apartfrom it … and then people startshooting themselves over details andbooks, it’s ridiculous. You lose thepoint.”

Mortensen also notes thatalthough Hidalgo is shot like an old-fashioned film, it was a very differ-ent kind of Western, as “it deals in atruthful way about, in some aspects,the way life really was at the end ofthe 19th Century in North America.”

“That was kind of the end of thefrontier. In the East, especially alongCanada as well but especially in theUnited States, industrialization and

urbanization [were] really movingforward rapidly. So things werechanging.”

The actor also delves into howhis character, Hopkins, becomesinvolved during these shifting timesin the Wild West and how he inter-acts in new environments and withnew cultures and people. “I’vealways been interested in these sortsof stories where there is someemphasis on compassion and a con-nection with others,” saysMortensen.

“It’s interesting to have a char-acter that sort of symbolizes thatfrontier life when there didn’t seemto be any limits, to have a characterlike that go the other way, go East –and go to the Middle East in particu-lar, considering what’s going onthese days – on invitation, and dis-play some curiosity and a certainamount of respect, [and] try tobehave in a more or less dignifiedway.

“It talks to the fact that we havea lot in common with other cultures,whether we choose to realize that ornot, no matter how different wemight seem or sound.”


e

a & e

Lord of the HorsesViggo Mortensen on acting after Rings

B Y J O N A T H A N B A L LNewWinnipeg.com

“There are few places out ofreach of the pervertingarm of the entertainment

industry, where you can just gettogether with your friends and dosomething,” Mark McKinney states.”Winnipeg is one of them.”

It’s hard to believe that the pleas-ant, jovial, modestly sized man in frontof me is such a giant. When I wasyoung, The Kids in the Hall was myfavourite show, a timeless series thatredefined sketch comedy and was thebiggest influence on my own comedywriting and strange sense of humour.

It’s fitting that, just prior to myinterview, a fan of McKinney’sapproached us to have his picturetaken. I was enlisted to operate thecamera, and as I was returning it to theman he saw my name on the passaround my neck and exclaimed:”You’re Jonathan Ball! I love yourHaiku Horoscopes column inUptown!” Such an occurrence standsas a testament to the influenceMcKinney and Co. have had on myown life and writing, and it was withgreat nervousness that I managed tosay anything to him at all.

I haven’t had time to type up atranscript of my interview, so I can’tquote McKinney at any length.Previous in the day, I attended the“Conversation with Mark McKinney”event, where delegates showed up indroves to watch as Al Rae interviewedthe comic, an talk encompassingMcKinney’s work from his early daysworking with Bruce McCullough inthe Loose Moose Theatre Company to

his work on the Kids in the Hall(KITH) and work after the group’s dis-banding. McKinney talked most aboutthe KITH’s formation and first season,and the filming of the KITH movieBrain Candy, ending with a brief dis-cussion of his role in Guy Maddin’sThe Saddest Music in the World andtaking questions from the audience.

When I talked to McKinney wemostly discussed his role in Maddin’sfilm. McKinney plays Chester Kent, acharacter whose extreme repression ofhis immense sadness results in Kentbecoming the most bombastic, over-the-top, irrepressible optimist aliveduring the Depression. McKinney’sperformance is stunning, bearing somesimilarities to his KITH characters inboth the absurdity of the character andthe situation, as well as the veryhuman core of the character (unlikemost sketch comedies, the KITH treat-ed its characters not as human jokesbut humans around whom jokes cen-tred).

We also discussed the KITHDVD, which collects all 20 episodesof the first season with a bonus disc ofextras. The DVD set is currently avail-able online at www.kidsinthehall.com,and will be in stores at the end of April,around the same time that The SaddestMusic in the World will have its the-atrical release.

Of course, I had to ask whatMcKinney would have said if I hadtold him two years ago that he wouldbe starring in an art film oppositeIsabella Rossellini.

“Well, I probably would have qui-eted, and stared into the distancedreamily for a few minutes, sighing.Then I would have punched you in theface.”

McKinney GoesOut With a Bang

…literally, if he had it his way


e

s p o r t s

B Y S H E R I L A M B

“I’m glad game one is over,”sighed Wesmen head coachTanya McKay with relief

after her 4th-seeded team’s 70-62dramatic comeback quarterfinal vic-tory on Friday night against thespeedy 5th-seeded Bishop’sUniversity Gaiter’s.

Slow starts have plagued theWesmen all season and the Gaiter’stook advantage by using their speedto jump out to the nine-point lead atthe half.

With the CanadianInteruniversity Sport NationalChampionships (CIS) being playedat the Duckworth Centre, theWesmen women have had a brightred circle marked on their calendarfor this weekend all season. Aftertaking home the bronze and silvermedals the last two years atNationals, the Wesmen have onlyone goal this year – add a gold totheir collection!

At the half, the Gaiter’s wereahead 37-28 and the Wesmen weresitting back passively allowing theiropponents to control the pace of thegame in front of the stunnedDuckworth faithful crowd. McKaygave her team an earful about theirsloppy play of the first half, basical-ly reminding them that they werethrowing their season away.

“I don’t know if I can repeatsome of those comments,” said agiggling JoAnne Wells about hercoach’s words of wisdom to theteam at the half. “She pretty muchreminded us that we weren’t playing

to our potential andwe’re playing at homein front of our home-town fans and we can’tlet them down.”

Whatever McKaysaid worked to erase thenervous jitters the teamshowed in the first half as theWesmen came out flying to start thesecond. Led by the invincible Wells’sisters- Janet and JoAnne, theWesmen began the second half byoutscoring their opponents 16-2.

“[McKay] was-n’t to happy with the firsthalf, but we all knew thatour first half wasn’t thegreatest, so we knew wehad to come out in thesecond half with a lotmore intensity, and a lot

more drive,” fifth-year forwardJanet Wells explains on the Wesmenturnaround in the second half.

The sisters pulled the Wesmento within one point of the Gaiter’swhen JoAnne found Janet alone

under the basket and tossed a per-fectly placed ball to her sister. Acouple of minute’s later, fifth-yearguard Sally Kaznica netted threeconsecutive 3-point shots to securea comfortable lead. For awhile, itlooked as if the lead wasn’t com-fortable enough when the Gaiter’spulled to within three points, butfourth-year forward HeatherThompson came to the rescue,stealing the ball and driving downthe court to put the Wesmen up byfive.

“Everything came together, ourdefence shaped up and it worked,”said JoAnne Wells, who had a teamhigh 24-points, in regards to the dif-ference in the Wesmen’s secondhalf compared to the first half.

Playing her last games in aWesmen uniform this weekend,Janet Wells finished the night with24-points and 8 rebounds, whilepoint-guard Sally Kaznica chippedin with 13-points, 8 assists and 6rebounds. The Gaiter’s were led bysecond-year guard AnoukBoulanger with 17-points, whilerookie and California transplantEmilie Crofton had 14-points.

Janet Wells was named player ofthe game for the Wesmen, whilethird-year guard France Lanoiepicked up the honours for theGaiter’s.

The Wesmen want a semi-finalmatch up versus Canada West rivaland number one seed University ofRegina Cougars.

“We want Regina. We want thenumber one team in the country.We’ve got them in our house and weknow we’ve got to play very, verywell to beat them. It’s going to be agreat emotional game,” McKay saidwith confidence.

Getting their first half problemsunder control is key if as expectedthe Wesmen face the Cougars inSaturday’s semi. The Cougars bringa tough defence and a high-flyingoffence, led by CIS player of theyear Cymone Bouchard who alongwith her team, makes spectacularcomebacks a rarity against oppo-nents.

BY BRAD PENNINGTON

The first half of the gameproved to be a bit of a chal-lenge for the Wesmen as

the Gaiters exhibited theirstrength from the three-point line.The game play was back and forthwith both teams creating basketsoff of turnovers, at the end of thefirst 20 minutes the gaiters wereup 37-28.

With the start of the secondhalf the Wesmen went on a 16-2run in the first 7 or 8 minutes.

Sally Kaznica followed the runwith three 3 smooth 3 pointersthat barely bothered the mesh asthey made their way through thenet.

“Sally played awesome in thesecond half especially in thosethree, three-pointers in a row, saidWesmen head coach TanyaMcKay. As the Wesmen took con-trol of the game Joanne and Janetwells were commanding the courtlike only they can. Joanne andJanet were the games two highestscorers with 24 and 18 points

respectively. Both players playedimportant roles in this highlyintense and very exciting gamethat only a national tournamentlike the CIS can bring.

“We want Regina”, those werethe words of coach Tanya McKayafter the Wesmen women’s basket-ball team defeated the Universityof Bishop’s Gaiters. The scenewas set, after team introductionsthe gym was filled with noise lev-els of immeasurable amounts ofdecibels in support of home teamWesmen.

Half-Time ‘Pep’ Talk Ignites Wesmen

Second Half PerformanceEarns Victory

C I S C H A M P I O N S H I P S

CIS ChampionshipWomen’s BasketballTOURNAMENT WINNERS

1st place- UBC (Bronze Baby)2nd place- Regina (Silver medal)3rd place- Winnipeg(Bronze medal)TOURNAMENT STATS

Total Points

Joanne Wells- Wpg- 74Cymone Bouchard- Reg- 73Carrie Watson- UBC- 52

DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS

Maria Trowel- Ottawa- 30Heather Thompson- Wpg- 27Morgan Mclauglin- SFU- 25

THREE POINT FIELD GOALS

Dani Langford- SFU- 7Anouk Boulanger- Bishop- 6

Kelsie Thu- SFU- 6

Last Saturday’s CIS championshipsemi final game verses the ReginaCougars wasn’t about playing a good

game or bad game, it was rather playing aperfect game, and in this particular case, itwas Regina who played the ‘perfect’ game.

It was five, nearly consecutive threepointers, which turned a see-saw defensivebattle into an offensive attack by Regina atthe halfway point of the first half that pulledthe team ahead of the Wesmen by 15 points.

The attack by the Cougars was orches-trated almost solely from behind the threepoint arc with the team nailing a total ofeight three-point shots in the game, six ofthem coming in the first half alone, consti-tuting for a double digit lead.

The effectiveness of Regina’s shootingwas something the Wesmen were aware ofcoming into the game, but it was somethingthat they only had so much control of dur-ing the match.

“Sixty percent in three points is prettygood for a team; not many teams can shootthat good, and when any team gets that hot,it’s pretty tough to get on everyone- itseems like they just couldn’t miss in thefirst half,” said 4th year veteran JoanneWells. “They’re definitely a great shoot-ing team, but they’re great penetrators aswell. They have big posts and those threesjust kept falling today, and sometimes thatjust happens,” she added.

“Every single part of their game wasperfect tonight,” said 5th year veteran SallyKaznica on the effectiveness of Regina’splay. “They hustled, they shot the ballwell, and they passed the ball well.”

The game also rekindled a flaw that hasplagued the Wesmen all season long - anunproductive first half. And as Wellspoints out, it was something that is nearlyimpossible to break out of against a high-powered team like Regina.

“Our first half is something that we’vestruggled with all season, and we were try-ing to pull it together but it didn’t quitework,” she said. “When you dig yourselfin a hole against the number one team inthe country, your not going to get out of it.It takes so much energy to fight back; youget a little close and you just can’t do it.”

Although the teams’ first half wasrather lacklustre, the team inarguablyplayed a strong game overall. And as sec-ond year guard Uzo Asagwara points out, itwas a game that was simply lost in the firsthalf.

“We made a lot of mistakes in the firsthalf, and we just can’t be a second halfteam,” she said. “What we had was whatcoaches like to say is a game slippage,which happened a few times in the firsthalf and is something that kicked us in thebut. We didn’t play a bad game; they beatus on our best game, and kudos to them,they played a really good game.”

A Flawless ReginaPerformance


e

s p o r t sC I S C H A M P I O N S H I P S

B Y M I K E P Y L

The University of Winnipeg women’s bas-ketball team entered the CIS NationalChampionship tournament aiming for

gold, after having won silver and bronze medalsthe last two tournaments. But unfortunately, forboth players and fans, it will have to wait.

As was the case for much of their season, theWesmen dug themselves into a hole early on in thegame. However, this time, the deficit was just toolarge to overcome, as Winnipeg fell to the numberone-ranked University of Regina Cougars 90-77in front of a raucous Duckworth Center crowd inthe CIS semi-finals.

“They came out with a lot of intensity,” saidfourth year guard JoAnne Wells, who led her teamwith 30 points. “We dug ourselves a hole andwhen you do that against the better teams, some-times you just can’t get out of it.”

Regina, who now move on to the finalsagainst UBC, came out firing, proving their valid-ity as the number one team in the country. Pacedby the CIS Player of the Year Cymone Bouchard,the team capitalized early on weak perimeterdefense exercised by the Wesmen by hitting on 6of 10 three-point attempts in the first half.Winnipeg, in contrast, struggled to keep up withthe red-hot Cougars. Lacking a viable secondaryscoring option to complement Wells, Winnipegcould not answer U of R’s strong perimeter play.Regina head coach Jeff Speedy credited the win tohis team’s blazing start.

“Our shooting certainly allowed us to havethe halftime lead,” said Speedy. “And whenWinnipeg made that big comeback, thank good-

ness we had had that lead.”After falling behind 42-27 at the break, the

Wesmen undoubtedly drew from the previousnight’s game against Bishop where a 14-point runallowed them to overcome a significant halftimedeficit. Despite an improved second half showingby guard Uzo Asagwara, and a spark off the benchfrom Melanie Talastas, Regina had an answer foreverything the Wesmen threw at them. Afour or six point run would always be metby a deflating Cougar three-pointer ormomentum-changing foul.

“We weren’t going to give up, espe-cially with our hometown crowd,” saidWells on the attempted second half come-back. “And we did fight to the very end.With ten minutes left, we knew it was door die, and we had to take it at ‘em and give it allwe had and we did, we got back a bit but again,fighting back against such a great team, we got abit tired and they’ll come right back at you andthat’s what they did.”

In addition to Wells, Asagwara was the onlyother Wesmen to hit double figures in scoring, fin-ishing with 15 total points. Fifth year guard SallyKaznica chipped in with nine assists and forwardHeather Thompson led the team with 9 boards.

The Wesmen now look ahead to the bronzemedal game. While disappointed by falling shortof their team’s preseason goal, there is no doubtthey believe a third place finish would be fairlygratifying.

“We just have to put tonight behind us and refo-cus,” said Wells. “The bronze medal game is aboutwho can regroup the fastest and comes out ready toplay tomorrow. That’s what we’ll have to do.”

Too Little, Too LateSecond half push falls short,

Wesmen lose to Cougars

Instant symbolism-this was the

picture all nightlong where

Regina’s defenceclosed every gap

on the court.

Joanne Wells isseen attempting

to get by twoRegina Players

B Y L E I G H T O N K L A S S E N

Player of the Week

Sally KaznicaW O M E N ’ S B A S K E T B A L L

Congratulations!Winners receive a free smoothie, enviro mug andBooster Juice t-shirt compliments of Booster Juice

- on Portage, across from the UofW

Call 786-9790 for information on how to claim your prize.

B Y S H E R I L A M B

With history on their side theUniversity of British ColumbiaThunderbirds muzzled the

University of Regina Cougars offensive attackin the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS)women’s basketball final.

The 2nd seeded T-Birdslast captured CIS gold 30 yearsago in Winnipeg so makingtheir first appearance at nation-als in a decade, they had a bit ofdestiny on their side in beatingthe top-ranked Cougars 60-53.The T-Birds also avenged ahumiliating 73-36 defeat to theCougars in the Canada Westfinal two weeks ago in Regina.

“Regina’s a great team and to hold themto 50-points, I think that’s a huge accomplish-ment for our defence. We haven’t played thatwell defensively the last couple of times thatwe met up with them and I just thought wecame through so big today,” fifth-year guardCarrie Watson said of her last game in a T-Birds uniform.

After keeping the Winnipeg Wesmen atbay Saturday night with an impressive first halfthree-point shooting percentage of 60% (6-10),the Cougars ran out of steam in the final, firinga humbling 14.3% (1-7) in the first half fromoutside the arc.

The CIS player of the year Cougar’s fifth-year point guard Cymone Bouchard was heldto just 23 points in the final, after sinking 31 inthe semi-final, while the T-Bird’s stiflingdefence held the Cougar’s other fifth-yearstarter Phoebe De Ciman in check all nightallowing her just 12 points, with only a singlefield goal in the second half.

“Defence is our number one priority,offensive execution, composure and poise onthe court, I think we have a deep team and wesaw that today, because we had a lot of very

strong performances today and throughout thecourse of the tournament,” UBC head coachDeb Huband said on her team’s ability to holdthe offensive powerhouse Cougars to 53points. “We feel that when you play defenceyou have opportunities to win games.”

Bouchard was in foul trouble halfwaythrough the first half and sat helplessly on the

bench in the dying moments ofthe half watching as her Cougarssurrendered the lead going intothe break trailing 29-25. BothBouchard and De Ciman fouledout late in the second half.

After the emotional high-scoring semi versus the Wesmen(90-77), the Cougars were unableto attain that same intensity in thefinal, while the young T-Birds

squad showed their hunger to get their handson the Bronze Baby.

It was a veteran and a rookie leading thecharge for the T-Birds, as Watson delivered 16points in her final game with UBC, while first-year guard Erica McGuinness showed she ismore than ready to step in next season with 17points.

“Well Carrie was simply outstanding.Carrie has had just a wonderful end to hercareer - a punctuation mark - she was an All-Canadian; she’s been a silent leader of ourteam for a number of years,” Huband said ofthe fiery Watson. “She just wanted this game sobadly and did everything in her power, takingcharges, getting to the hoop, scoring, defendingand just an outstanding consistent performancethroughout the tournament.”

As Watson moves into the next faze of herlife, McGuinness is perched to take on a lead-ership role with the T-Birds for the next sever-al seasons, “She’s a very poised, composed andintelligent young basketball player and we’rereally looking forward to having her for fourmore years,” Huband says.

The gold medal this year is the fourth in T-

Birds history, having made the nationals a totalof six times in their past, winning gold from1972-74 and taking silver in ‘75. Meanwhile,the Cougars have made the championships fivetimes in the last six years, securing gold in2001, bronze in 2000 and losing the bronzemedal game to the Wesmen in 2002. Last year,the Cougars failed to qualify for the nationals,after the Wesmen knocked them off in the

Canada West playoffs.It’s the 13th year in a row that a Canada

West team has won the CIS title, the 1991Sudbury Laurentian Voyageurs were the lastnon-Can West team to get a hold of the BronzeBaby.

“Everything was just perfect and it need-ed to be today,” the CIS’s defensive player ofthe year Watson said on the T-Birds day.


e

s p o r t s

Regina’s Cymone Bouchard expresses her dissapointmentwhile the last seconds on the clock wind down

C I S C H A M P I O N S H I P S

UBC CapturesChampionship The Wesmen learned

the hard waySaturday night

verses Regina that a lack-adaisical first half in the CIS championshipspretty much stencils the blueprints for a loss.But the team sure didn’t make the same mis-take in the Bronze medal game on the follow-ing afternoon, where a productive first halfresulted in a 65-62 win over the Simon FraserClan and earned the team aBronze medal at this years CISnational championships.

After overcoming a heartbreaking loss to the number oneseeded Regina Cougars the pre-vious night, the Wesmenunleashed a first half bomb runthat resulted in the teamcrank-ing out an impressive 35 pointswith a 40% field goal rating incomparison to Simon Fraser’s 32.4% fieldgoal rating.

“They turned it around after yesterdaysloss, and they played with a lot of pride, andcourage and character, and we found a way toget it done,” said Wesmen head coach TanyaMckay following the game.

Despite the Wesmen’s exuberant first halfproduction, the teams’ historical first halfwoes resurfaced in the second half where theirshooting percentage plummeted to a pale 28%,allowing Simon Fraser to capitalize and take aseven point lead with just minutes remaining.But a key steal by 5th year veteran SallyKaznica resulted in a three point play by

Heather Thompson, who also scored again onthe next drive in regaining the Wesmen lead.

“We were down by seven with only a fewminutes left and it really shows what kind ofplayer that kid (Heather Thompson) is; sheplayed hard and with determination and shewas a big part of why we have the bronzemedal today,” said McKay.

“When they went up by about seven withabout three minutes to go, we realized that wecan’t be that team again,” said second yearUzo Asagwara when asked what the last twominuets of the game was like. “But near theend there was one point where I knew wewould win because we never doubted each

other and we just stuck togeth-er.”

The Wesmen defense con-tinued to shut down SFU in theremaining minutes if the game,earning the three point marginalvictory.

The game marked the lasttime that both Janet Wells andSally Kaznica will play due totheir graduation and the expiry

of their eligibility as university athletes.“The feeling is priceless right now,” said

Sally Kaznica following her last performanceas a Wesmen. “We were really focused onwinning the bronze medal, and we wanted tosend the message right from the start whichwas exactly what we did.

The Wesmen will now look to build ontheir success and capture the gold at nextyears CIS championships which are onceagain held at the University of Winnipeg’sDuckworth center.

“We’re hosting again next year, so we’llmake a run for the gold and hopefully get tothe final next year,” said Mckay.

The reaction from the Wesmen bench as the last secondson the clock wind down in the Bronze medal game

L E I G H T O NK L A S S E N

S p o r t s E d i t o r

Wesmen Win BronzeMedal Game at CIS

Championships

Ph

oto

s: L

eig

hto

nK

lass

en

Documents

Page 16 Volume 58, Issue 24 march 18, 2004 Uniteruniter.ca/pdf/uniter-58-24.pdfCIS Championships - page 18 THE Uniter Winnipeg at Centre of Battle for CDC Contract U of W Partnership