MOOT TIMES The Law Student’s Newspaper VOL I FEBRUARY 2009 No. 6 Law School Ski Trip ‘09 Destination: Fernie, BC. Douglas Mac Con (2L) The Law School Ski Trip is one, if not, the most anticipated SLS event of the year and this year was no different. To be honest, I only applied for the SLS VP Marketing position because I wanted to go to Fernie in ’09. So in writing this, it will be a little hard not to be biased. Let’s just say that this was the world’s best ski trip of all time (without hyperbole) and it all took place in the middle of a recession. Good thing we packed about three cases of Lucky brand beers to offset the cost. The journey commenced from behind McMahon Stadium and spirits were high – we prayed for snow (P4S – a little plug for Tim Ross) and our prayers were met. 10cm of fresh pow started to come down while we were revelling at the Northern the first night. The Northern had a good crowd out and some people, namely Laura Coward and Brian Twerdoff, were cutting a fine rug out on the dance floor. A surprising number of us managed to get up for first tracks Saturday morning and it was worth it. Cedar and Lizard bowls were the place to be in the morning for freshies but even a few hearty souls managed to find some untracked pow at the end of the day with a little hiking. Everyone met up for the Apres Ski at the on-hill bar called the Corner Pocket that afternoon and besides the beer flow- ing like water, I have to mention that the pizza was something fantastic. After a few hours of Apres, the evening begins to turn a little blurry but later on I recall a raging tournament of Beer Pong (which featured the longest BP game in recent memory between team Laura Coward/Bethann Crane v. Cam MacCarthy/Kevin Kerr) going on in 119. Rumour has is (and a video) that a man wearing woman’s underwear (let’s call him J. Alexander, no wait that’s too obvious, Jason A.) jumped out of a makeshift cake and did a little dance for his special lady for her birthday. Later on, everyone piled into the Griz Bar and it’s safe to say that we owned the place. We were the only ones there but our one-man band was at our disposal for all our musical requests. Sunday saw a slower arrival to the hill for most but it was a shame because the sun was shinning and the skies were blue. An epic day of skiing. At 4pm we packed the bus and headed back to Calgary. On our return journey we watched a movie (and its sequel) that taught us about life, love, skiing and naked painting and we all grew a little (“skiing is party- ing; partying is skiing”) There was a quasi-theme to the trip of retro ski suit apparel to which we had three glorious competitors – Corinne Grigoriu (a sweet white one- piece), David Woodside (old school instructor uniform) and Ryu Okaya- ma (Red one-piece with matching shaded glasses). Ryu was crowned victorious as he also won Saturday night as drunkest man standing (plus he threatened to kill myself and Kane several times). Honourable mention also went to Gareth Williams for shattering an untouched Texas Mickey the first night. Good one GG. All in all, great memories, great skiing and loads of fun. And remember, its not how far you go, its how go you far. See you next year! In This Legal Issue Murray Fraser Hall page 3 Bound to the Bar page 7 Politics page 8 Sporting Life page 12 Work/Life Balance page 16 More Politics page 19 What the Scott Hall !? back cover
Transcript
MOOT TIMESThe Law Student’s
Newspaper
VOL I FEBRUARY 2009 No. 6
Law School Ski Trip ‘09 Destination: Fernie, BC.
Douglas Mac Con (2L)
The Law School Ski Trip is one, if not, the most anticipated SLS event of the year and this year was no different. To be honest, I only applied for the SLS VP Marketing position because I wanted to go to Fernie in ’09. So in writing this, it will be a little hard not to be biased. Let’s just say that this was the world’s best ski trip of all time (without hyperbole) and it all took place in the middle of a recession. Good thing we packed about three cases of Lucky brand beers to offset the cost. The journey commenced from behind McMahon Stadium and spirits were high – we prayed for snow (P4S – a little plug for Tim Ross) and our prayers were met. 10cm of fresh pow started to come down while we were revelling at the Northern the first night. The Northern had a good crowd out and some people, namely Laura Coward and Brian Twerdoff, were cutting a fine rug out on the dance floor.
A surprising number of us managed to get up for first tracks Saturday morning and it was worth it. Cedar and Lizard bowls were the place to be in the morning for freshies but even a few hearty souls
managed to find some untracked pow at the end of the day with a little hiking.
Everyone met up for the Apres Ski at the on-hill bar called the Corner Pocket that afternoon and besides the beer flow-ing like water, I have to mention that the pizza was something fantastic. After a few hours of Apres, the evening begins to turn a little blurry but later on I recall a raging tournament of Beer Pong (which featured the longest BP game in recent memory between team Laura Coward/Bethann Crane v. Cam MacCarthy/Kevin Kerr) going on in 119. Rumour has is (and a video) that a man wearing woman’s underwear (let’s call him J. Alexander, no wait that’s too obvious, Jason A.) jumped out of a makeshift cake and did a little dance for his special lady for her birthday. Later on, everyone piled into the Griz Bar and it’s safe to say that we owned the place. We were the only ones there but our one-man band was at our disposal for all our musical requests.
Sunday saw a slower arrival to the hill for most but it was a shame because the sun was shinning and the skies were blue. An epic day of skiing. At 4pm we packed the bus and headed back to Calgary. On our return journey we watched a movie (and its sequel) that taught us about life, love, skiing and naked painting and we all grew a little (“skiing is party-ing; partying is skiing”)
There was a quasi-theme to the trip of retro ski suit apparel to which we had three glorious competitors – Corinne Grigoriu (a sweet white one-piece), David Woodside (old school instructor uniform) and Ryu Okaya-ma (Red one-piece with matching shaded glasses). Ryu was crowned victorious as he also won Saturday night as drunkest man standing (plus he threatened to kill myself and Kane several times). Honourable mention also went to Gareth Williams for shattering an untouched Texas Mickey the first night. Good one GG.
All in all, great memories, great skiing and loads of fun. And remember, its not how far you go, its how go you far.
See you next year!
In This Legal Issue Murray Fraser Hall page 3Bound to the Bar page 7 Politics page 8 Sporting Life page 12Work/Life Balance page 16More Politics page 19What the Scott Hall !? back cover
ContributorsAndrew Kowalchuk Beamer Comfort Kane Richards Tijana GavricDave Foster Jennifer Koshan James Gibson Adam OppenheimTalayeh Voosoghi Tim Ross Janet Shaikh Kevin MadisonKane Richards Doug MacCon Roxy Petts Drew Campbell
Hello Readers,
The 6th edition of Moot Times should provide you with some extra reading over reading break!
We would like to make two announcements for future issues
PHOTO CONTEST! we are having an open photo contest for our last issue which comes out in April. There are no rules and it is open to faculty and students. Submissions must be sent to [email protected] by March 25 (Strict!). The prizes will be coveted so get snapping.
FREE BLURBS! Want to anonymously (or creepily) tell your crush you’ve been noticing them? Want to advertise an event? Want to get your point across in a few words? Here’s your chance. Moot Times is opening up space for blurbs. Please restrict your sub-missions to 30 words and send them to [email protected].
This month, we hope you enjoy our regulars Adam Oppenheim and K and A. The latter contributors- for better or worse- are being countered by a new, aptly named “T and T.” Take their advice at your own discretion. Last month, we had some letters to the editor about advice that led to some misdemeanours.
We are happy to welcome Professor Koshan’s and Roxy Petts’ views on the recent stimulus package and we hope that you are fired up by our editorial for this month which addresses the question: is the recession good for us, the Gen Yers? On a lighter note, sports fanatic James Gibson gives his predictions for NHL playoffs and ski enthusiast Douglas Mac Con reports on the Fernie trip shenani-gans.
Finally, we are happy to welcome new contributors Beamer Comfort and Meghan Waters. Waters advises us on Chianti’s restaurant and the perils of eating baby cows while Comfort brings us through his chivalrous fight with the city for the love of sport!
What a great group of law student we are, eh? Look forward to many more contributions next month!
Yours truly,
Orlagh O’Kelly, Vhari Storwick, Fiana Bakshan and Esther Kim
Editorial Policy We are irreverent but not rude. We reserve the right to edit for content and length.
Submissions DeadlineWe accept articles between 300 and 700 words, depending on the content. Articles submitted by law students are given priority but we accept any submissions.
Disclaimer The views in this publication do not reflect those of the University, the Faculty, of the publishers. In fact, they may not reflect any honestly held views.
Congratulations to our first year member, Carmen Gustafson, for being selected as one of the 7 Canadian students to take part in the CLA-ACE summer internship program. The competition was tough with over 110 students from all over Canada applying for 7 positions. Carmen will be interning withthe Yukon Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (YRITWC) in both Anchorage, Alaska and Whitehorse, Yukon. The YRITWC is an international organization made up of sovereign Tribal and First Nation governments in both Canada and the United States. It was founded in 1997 by a group of 56 chiefs and elders who gathered to discuss their concern about increased cancers and other health problems in human communities and game spe-cies within the Yukon River watershed.
Our school’s CLA-ACE members will be holding various fundraising events throughout the semester to raise money for the summer internship program. The first fundraiser took place last week with the Bake Sale which was a huge success. The generosity and support of our fellow student body and faculty members is deeply appreciated. Thank you and we hope we can have your continued support in our future fundraising events.
Goings on at Murray Fraser HallAs the January Blues pass into a Chinook filled February, Murray Fraser Hall is finally picking up again. Library spats are resuming, mooting partners are preparing, debaters are arguing, Richard Stallman addressed a packed house and everyone is still happily motivated to “do better” this semester. At press time, the Blackstone debate semi-finalists were anxiously awaiting the announcement of the competition’s finalists to meet Thursday, February 12. Meanwhile more hot opportunities to get engaged are opening up, for instance, applications for the Spin law conference in March (visit: Spinlaw.ca). Closer to home the ablawg continues to offer insightful commentary, for instance Linda McKay Panos com-mentary found at: http://ablawg.ca/2009/01/28/disability-discrimination-in-the-workplace/
The JD LLB debate is ongoing here and across the country. Moot Times was recently contacted by student at Dalhou-sie who was conducting a search on the potential transition to a JD designation. At U of C, the Society of Law Students (SLS) held a series of open panels to hear any questions or concerns from students. We then proceeded to a plebiscite last March. On the question of whether our degree designation should be changed from LLB to JD, 74% of voters opted for the JD. Since then, there has been a process of alumni consultation handled primarily by the faculty. Another panel was held to address any concerns from alumni. The response from alumni has been neither positive nor negative, but there have been a few requests for more information. The resolution is currently at the Faculty Council stage in the process. In this, the SLS will be bringing a motion to the Faculty Council in March.
Dear K + AYou ask, we answer, everyone wins @ life.(we forgot the password)
Q: I don’t have any plans for Valentine’s Day. What else can I do?
A: You could head down to 3rd Ave. that night, with a bunch of loonies in your pockets, and make sure to wear your sunglasses.and give all your money to a homeless per-son and take the bus home.
K: Oh man, you and me both. And seriously, it’s not a big deal. No matter what your parents say, being alone on V-Day doesn’t mean you are going to die alone. You can just tell them, “Hey, maybe I want to be alone.” And if they are like, “You should have stayed with that nice girl. She was good for you,” you can tell them that she didn’t respect you and was just trying to make you like her ex, Chad. Seri-ously, she didn’t deserve me...I mean you. I am so alone.
Q: My partner is always telling me to spice things up. How can I?
A: This is where ya gitcha hands derrty. You’re gonna need some honey, whipped cream, ice cubes...oh, and a spatula. Get your girl to strip down and hop in the shower. Then mix all the ingredients together in the blender, scrape out with a spatula, and have a delightful smoothie after she’s all washed up!
K: You came to the right place. Let’s just say all my ex-girl-friends used to call me Mr. Spice. The key is to do stuff they don’t even suspect – really keep them on their toes! Like this one time when she came home, I pretended I wasn’t there, and hid in the closet. As soon as her other boyfriend showed up, I jumped out and totally ruined their Valen-tine’s dinner they had paid for with my credit card. Let’s just say she never called me boring again.
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Q: What’s the best Valentine you ever got?
A: Once, Ronald McDonald sent me one that said:
To: A From: Ron This Valentine’s coupon entitles you to a Free Hamburger or Small Fries.
It meant a lot to me.
K: “I’m leaving you for your best friend.” I knew right away what she really meant.
Q: What are you guys doing for V-Day?
K: Oh you know, the usual. I am going to get up and pretend like I forgot all about it. If someone brings it up, I will say how I don’t agree with the corporate nature of this supposed holiday. I may even read them the poem I wrote about it. Then I will go home early and eat a microwave dinner for one, in front of re-runs of Friends. That Ross is hopeless! And then I will lightly weep into a pillow while listening to “All Out of Love” by Airplane on repeat. You know, just a regular day for K.
A: Antonio Banderas blow-up doll.
Q: I need a good mix-CD for my V-date. Hit me with some knowledge!
A: Nature Songs: Whale Sounds, turned up real loud. That way your neighbours won’t be able to tell where the hump-backs start and her lovemaking ends.K: There is only one song you need on this mixtape, and if you put it on, I guarantee she will forget all about you renting BSG for her birthday. The song you need is “Lady” performed flawlessly by Styx. It says so much; you basical-ly need that 16 times on a CD and you won’t even need to talk the whole time you are on the date. Just let Styx gently rock them, and you can collect the benefits – I am almost
100% sure it won’t be syphilis.
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T AND TThe better half of your heart wants these answers?
1)Valentines Day is next week and I still have no clue what to get my girlfriend, any suggestions?
Dear Clueless, The old box of chocolates and flowers is just sooo cliché. This year try a diamond necklace or earrings. You just can’t go wrong with diamonds because:
“Diamonds are forever,They are all I need to please me, They can stimulate and tease me, They won’t leave in the night, I’ve no fear that they might desert me.
Diamonds are forever, Hold one up and then caress it, Tough it, stroke it and undress it, I can see every part, Nothing hides in the heart to hurt me.
I don’t need looooooooooooooove, For what good will love do me? Diamonds never lie to me, For when love’s gone, they will luster on!”(Shirley Bassey)
Now that those lyrics by Shirley Bassey got you in the mood to go out and buy your girlfriend those dia-monds that she’s been secretly waiting for… make sure to stay away from ‘blood diamonds’. These are diamonds from politically unstable central and West African coun-tries where rebel groups have taken over diamond mines and use the proceeds to finance their operations. Many diamond trading corporations continue to do business with these armed groups and many are smuggled across borders (if you don’t believe me just watch Leo DiCaprio in Blood Diamonds). But rest assured that the Canadian govern-ment has set up a body known as the Canadian Diamond Code of Conduct to help authenticate Canadian diamonds. You are in the clear if you stick to the ‘conflict free’ label of Canadian diamonds. Happy Shopping!!!
2) Dear T&T, I seem to have put on some weight since law school started. Forget “The Freshman 15”, pretty soon I won’t be able to see my feet. How can I fit exercise into my busy school schedule?
Dear Chunky, You will just have to FIND time. You could always try going to the gym on your breaks. If you absolutely hate the gym, carrying around your law textbooks works won-ders too! And next time you want to be lazy and take the elevator, take the stairs instead! So put down that burger and start walking! If none of the above seems to work, just remember,
now there is more of you to love!
3) Dear T&T, these days all I seem to hear is gossip. I really feel like I am in high school again. It’s driving me crazy! What can I do?
Dear Gossip Girl/Boy, You will just have to accept that gossip is an inevi-table part of law school life. We’ve all had to deal with it at some point. The best thing to do is ignore it and people will find something new to talk about in a week. Such is the cycle of gossip.
4) I like someone in law school but think they are way too young for me, what to do?
Dear Cradle Robber, Aaliyah once said: “age ain’t nothin but a number, throwin down ain’t nothin but a thing”. Just follow your heart, because if they are old enough to get into law school they are fair game. If you are still not sure just look at Demi and Ashton it sure worked out for them.
5) I came to law school to meet a man, get married and quit working, now I realize there is no one here worth meeting...what should I do?
Dear disappointed, You’re not trying hard enough… really put your-self out there, go to every event, drink all the free booze you can and make sure that when it says business attire, you wear something to make sure you are ‘noticeable’ and NO we don’t mean your mother’s old suit. If that doesn’t work try lowering your standards. Guaranteed the glass will look half full rather than half empty.
6) So I have a rather serious flatulence problem and usu-ally I just deal with it, but it got especially embarrassing just the other day when on the bus home from the ski trip I passed so much gas that I actually made most of my classmates and bus driver nauseous. I would really like to work on this problem of mine, mostly out of concern for my classmates.
Dear Gassy, try Beano - works like a charm !
7) I know that reading week is just around the corner and all my friends have plans but I have no clue what to do. Can you give me some last minute ideas?
Whatever you do, don’t read! We hear vitamin D is very important for you, so why not go to Mexico and get some much needed rest? If you’re not into tropical places, you could always hit up a local mountain. Or do what we plan on doing - a whole lot of nothing.
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Politics: What Stimulus?MOOT EDITORIAL Dude, where’s the stimulus? Orlagh O’Kelly( 2L)
It seems like eons ago that the prorogued Parliament resumed and released a stimulus package, responding to the state of Canada’s economy and echoing the responses of governments worldwide. Yet, Canada’s was a Christmas tree stimulus providing a nice present for everyone but nothing you really need. “The approach is scattergun, rather than consistent programs aiming at longer term ob-jectives,” Dean Alistair Lucas commented.
The package is rife with make-work projects to build and dredge, with the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia and the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie coming out the winners with $14.5 million. Then there’s the $2-million allocated for the resurrection blueprint of a burned down Quebec landmark. Another $12 million per year is going to help spread the word and the ports for international cruise tourism in the Saint Lawrence, since that’s exactly what’s on your mind during a recession. And even if there’s no Kraft dinner (or food stamps like the US stimulus provides) to fill your cupboards, the govern-ment will help you get new cupboards with the Home Renovations Tax Credit. If these measures (and there are many) are meant to create jobs, it’s hard to see how anyone outside construction might benefit.
Sure, the stimulus considers the views of “thousands of Canadians who participated in on-line con-sultation,” but at what cost? It is the flipside of the old adage, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Instead our government has put an egg in every basket and not enough in any one basket for the coveted Easter egg hunt. Although the stimulus is intended to do what its name suggests, that is to stimulate the economy, it lacks innovation in painfully obvious areas where investments could be made to promote Canada’s long term prosperity.
Take for instance environmental sustainability. As workers are laid off in the oil industry (rumours suggest that Ledcor is set to lay off 500 workers, for instance), as President Obama outlines plans to diversifyenergy sources, and as the dirty oil in the tar sands becomes less profitable and less desirable, the Canadian government has three initiatives under the umbrella of a “More Sustainable Environment.” There is $ 10 million to report on these matters. There is a more promising $1 billion over 5 years for projects(undefined) including carbon capture and storage and $351 million for AECL nuclear initia-tives that may be environmentally controversial. Still, the area cries out for a combination of long-term vision and job creating initiatives.
If these measures are meant to be an embodiment of Canada’s zeitgeist, an Environics poll provides a contrary reading of these issues. A new poll of Americans and Canadians found that more than 70 per cent of respondents in both countries want restrictions on the ability of energy companies to use
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the North American free-trade agreement to sue governments over their environmental-protection polices. So where is the egg for this basket?
By now, we’ve heard critiques of the stimulus package from all sides of the spectrum. It all but cuts research and development out of the equation. Some are unhappy with the five weeks added to EI, the plans for re-training long tenured workers (available to 10,000 workers in total) and the work sharing programs. The other line goes something like this: Harper made a volte-face, the stimulus gives too much money from the public purse and puts us into a big fat “d” word. We’re left with true blue Conservatives whimpering in the corner.
But the stimulus has left one basket empty that has been overlooked by the media: the one for us Gen Yer’s, millenials, the Net Gen, “Ego Boom” generation. Any spending on postsecondary education, for instance, is limited to $2 billion for more mortar and bricks.
While many Baby boomers are unfortunately having to delay retirement for another five years, little if any consideration is given to the growing glut of young people who are fresh from trades’ schools, universities and law schools. It does not take a student of history to understand what happens in societies with large armies of disaffected youth. That is not to make any doomsday prophecy, but it is to suggest more attention is needed.
The closest thing to a plan of action in the stimulus is a Youth Employment Strategy designed to provide more summer jobs. Again, myopic at best. Even the lovely sounding grant to the YMCA and YWCA to place youthwith environmentally focused projects is only a one time grant- a quick remedy to a problem that needs a real cure.
But these suggestions that Ottawa listen to our generation’s needs are unwanted. As Lianne George suggested in her Maclean’s article, “Dude, where’s my job?” we think the world owes us everything and our employersowe us big birthday cakes with our names in extra bold writing. The line of reasoning concludes that the recession is good for us. Eureka!
Unemployment will surely cure our disdainful attachment to facebooking,that sinful combination of narcissism and envy.
Instead of using one of our country’s greatest resources- young minds and spirits- we exclude them from public discourse. We ask of them- after accumulating $1,000s in student loans, staring at a long road to owning a house and what normally goes along with raising a young family- to work for free, for the “experience.”
If ours is the entitled generation we have all but the most needed and desired entitlement: to be heard.
If that’s too much to ask, perhaps we are all entitled to some ingenuity from the homogenous bunch in Ottawa, which is facilitating little more than stunted coalitions and home renovations. Ignatieff, whom even the New York Times dubs the putative heir of Trudeau, has yet to offer glaringly better leadership with our $17 billion rush of emergency spending.
So, in the meantime, this author finds inspiration in the words of Sam Cooke. “A change is gonna come.”
Ski Trip 2009: Good Times On...
... and Off the Slopes!
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The Sporting Life ULTIMATE FIGHTING WITH THE CITY Beamer Comfort (2L)
After a decade of wrestling at levels ranging from local to international, I got pretty sick of the same old grind. After coming up a few spots shy of the Olympic dream in 2008, the idea of spending the next 4 years clawing my way up the ladder didn’t seem very appeal-ing. I realized pretty quickly that I hadn’t lost my passion for beating people up, or for that matter, getting beat up. I started working with a group of mixed martial arts fighters (what most people call ultimate fighters).
For the last 3 years I have been training in kickboxing and jujitsu as well as teaching wres-tling to fighters. I have competed in submission wrestling tournaments and coached fighters in professional cage fights. Now I am trying to move into the business end of fighting by becoming a promoter.
This new life as a part time promoter very quickly intersected with my life as a law student. My first event is an amateur fight card scheduled for March 28th, 2009, but my intention to run Calgary’s first all amateur mixed martial events ruffled the feathers of the Calgary’s Combative Sport’s Commission. The Commission is the municipal regulating body for pro-fessional combative sports. Why would they be concerned you ask? That’s what I thought, and so began my fight with the City.
ROUND 1
I informed the Commission that I intended to promote an amateur event by email and the response I got was that they did not believe amateur mixed martial arts existed and that I would require professional sanctioning. I took a few minutes to read the enabling bylaw that governs combative sports in Calgary and gives the Commission its power. The bylaw clearly defines amateur mixed martial arts (MMA) as a contest where the athletes are not being paid. It also states that “amateur events do not require sanctioning.”
ROUND 2
I met the Commission at their monthly meeting in December. I directed them to their relevant legislation. In the face of the clear legislation the Commission still tried to claim they had the power to govern or prohibit amateur mixed martial arts because no association or organization exists to regulate amateur MMA. I left the meeting convinced that the legisla-tion was clear and referred the Commission back to their own legal department to get independent legal advice.
ROUND 3
Notwithstanding the Commission has no authority to decide what is or is not amateur so long as it meets the definition in the bylaw, I registered a not-for-profit society to govern amateur MMA in Alberta. I then set a date for my first event, and, out of courtesy, I informed the Commission of our plans and the new society.
The Commission responded with a “Letter of Concern” stating again that there is no such thing as amateur MMA and that they would contact my venue and tell them the planned event was illegal and that they would do anything in their power to stop the event.
Not appreciating the bully tactics I responded with my own letter of concern. I reminded them that the only powers they have are confined to the bylaw and that if they over stepped their authority they would be sued for a host of things including slander and tortuous interference.
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ROUND 4
My reply email finally got the attention of the city law department. However, the law department wasn’t interested in talking to me about it because I’m not a real lawyer. So I referred them to my partner who is a real lawyer. The city lawyer voiced the several concerns of the Commission- none of them were grounded in any law.The next day we met with the Commission at the February meeting. When we arrived the commission Chair spoke to us outside the meeting room and completely reversed her previous position and stated, without any qualification, that, “amateur MMA is exempt from the bylaw.” You would think that would be the end of it.
ROUND 5
The next day the Commission sent me a new letter claiming I was “clearly promoting the event as a professional event,” which is just patently untrue. It also bizarrely stated that we should seek sanctioning for our event. Didn’t you tell me that you don’t have the power to sanction amateur events yesterday?
The Commission clearly doesn’t understand the scope of its own authority so we will move on with the event. The real irony is that technically under a strict interpretation of the criminal code it would be illegal to run an MMA event re-gardless of whether or not there is sanctioning. Interestingly enough technically many Olympic Sports including, Judo, Taekwondo and wrestling. LOCK ME UP!!!
www.hardknocksfighting.comTickets for the event are available from Beamer or on the internet at: www.ticketweb.com
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The NHL Season is HEATING UP! James W. Gibson (2L)
With the school year slowly winding down, two things come to mind: exams and the NHL playoffs! I apologize for mentioning every law student’s favourite pastime… back to hockey. Ok , well it may be slightly premature to be thinking of NHL playoff matchups which begin in April, but, with most teams having played just over 60% of their games, the final stretch of the regular season is underway. That being said, while the Eastern Conference playoff race is about as dead as disco, the race for the final few Western Conference playoff spots is tighter that Paul Taylor’s infamous “Captain Underpants” Halloween costume.
With about 30 regular season games left to be played, just 9 points separate the 5th from 15th (last) place team in the Western Confer-ence. WOW, that is a whopping 11 teams competing for the final 4
playoff spots in the Western Conference. Conversely, in the Eastern Conference, only 6 teams are battling for the final 4 playoff spots. All you avid hockey fans out there: keep your eye on the Western Conference standings. The final playoff push should be almost as interesting as the playoffs themselves, well maybe as interesting as the first round.
The hometown favourite Calgary Flames look poised to finish atop in their division this year and third overall in the Western Conference. For a team that had a very shaky start, it seems that most of the pieces have fallen into place for the Flames. Calgary has continued to win games, even while enduring Jerome Iginla’s goal scoring drought before the All Star Break. Much of Calgary’s success can be attributed to Mike Cammallari, who has been on fire this year, scoring goals both on and off of the powerplay.
While Flames fans are looking forward to beverage filled playoff nights on the red mile, Toronto Maplelaughs fans like myself are dreaming of the copious amounts of trades GM Brian Burke will hopefully make, while blowing up the team, on or before draft day. Hopefully, the Leafs lose the majority of their remaining games and don’t blow their chance at drafting Tavares!
Although Calgary is looking good, my prediction is that the defending Stanley Cup Champion Redwings will emerge as victors from the Western Conference Finals and hoist the coveted Lord Stanley once again this year! Detroit has fought off the dreaded Stanley Cup hangover and is sitting 2nd behind the San Jose Sharks in Western Conference standings. Many believe the Sharks are odds on favourites to win the Cup this year, but that is what they said last year, when San Jose was upset by the Dallas Stars in the second round. Dallas started this season horribly, with their playoff chances looking slim but with the departure of the ever so eloquent Sean Avery and the great play of Marty Turco and Mike Ribero as of late, the Stars are making some major waves in this year’s playoff race.
The biggest surprise of this NHL season- besides the all out collapse of the Ottawa Senators -has been the dominant shut-down play of the Boston (B’s) Bruins. The B’s are favoured to finish first in the Eastern Conference Standings, but watch out for the New Jersey Devils who have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL since the All Star Break, with-out the likes of superstar goaltender Martin Brodeur, who is likely to return in a few short weeks.
All that being said, remember that nothing says “study break” like watching a period or two of hockey at the Den with a tasty beverage or possibly two!
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Hockey Pool updates presented by BD&P
Phone: 403-260-0100 Fax: 403-260-0332
www.bdplaw.com
Common SenSe, UnCommon InnovatIon.
Hockey Pool updates presented by BD&P
Phone: 403-260-0100 Fax: 403-260-0332
www.bdplaw.com
Common SenSe, UnCommon InnovatIon.
So you think you can swim? Interview with U of C Dino and Olympian, Erica Morningstar
1) What is your Favourite swimming drill?
My favorite drill is probably one we do with fins, paddles and a snorkel where we kick do 10 kicks on each side and then switch working on our freestyle catch.
2) What is your favourite swimming set?
I don’t have favorite set, but I pretty much like any set that has to do with sprinting. So I like doing 4x50 meters fast, 25 metres fast, or 75s or 100s fast.
3 How much do you swim a week?
I usually swim 8 times a week, which adds up to about 14 hours in the water, and then I do weights as well which adds another 3 hours at least.
4) Do you think Michael Phelps is a bonger?
As for Phelps, I don’t know him personally so I can’t say for sure. There’s two ways to look at what he did. Either you can say yeah he was stupid to have gotten caught, and because he is a star it did get blown more out of proportion then it would have if he was any other swimmer. Or you can look at it and say that the 3 month ban isn’t long enough because one, he is a role model for thousands of young kids and two, he isn’t even in shape or training right now and a three month ban will not cause him to miss any major international swim meets. I mainly think he was just stupid to get caught because he knows that people are taking pictures of him all the time.
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Work/Life Balance WHY WE’RE WINNING THE WAR!
Adam Oppenheim (1L)
The two most significant footnotes in music history textbooks will undoubtedly be No-vember 27, 1967 and October 7, 1959. On the former’s fateful 60s day, a sixteen year-old Johannesburg native named Andrew Oppenheim lined-up at his local record store with 5 rand crumpled in the pocket of his bell-bottomed jeans. He pushed open the shop door, browsed the aisle and placed his selection on the cashier’s counter. After collect-ing his change, he tucked the album under his arm and made his way home. When Andrew got back to his bedroom he closed the door behind him. He examined the album’s cover art, pulled the disc from its inner-sleeve, and gingerly placed it on the turntable. When the needle dropped, what emanated from his over-sized, wood cased speakers, is arguably the most important piece of vinyl in recorded sound.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is the first concept album. Although the Beatle’s genesis from boy band to pop’s greatest experimenters was evident as early as Revolver, Sgt. Pepper is unquestionably their seminal release. Sgt. Pepper made it possible to give an album a context and a story. The substance no longer resided in the single, but in the album’s entirety. To this day, when a band releases an album of unquestion-able integrity, it is referred to as their Sgt. Pepper. So what changed?
On October 7, 1959 Simon Cowell was born. Growing up his child-hood consisted of holding his Nanny’s hand, walking the Dover pier and riding carousels (I bigotedly believe this encapsulates the experience of all British children, and somehow torments them into their adult years resulting in angry outbursts at contestants on reality chef, singing and dance competition shows). After rebellious and rambunchous teenage years, Si-mon took a job in the mailroom at EMI records. He rose dramatically through the company’s ranks, eventually growing into the most successful A&R rep in the music industry. After the Beatles advanced pop music into an art form, Simon Cowell Benjamin-Buttoned the business back to its infancy. Using the McDonald’s ham-burger model, he mass produced music and made it unsurprising. He is the music’s business’s hamburgler.
And so we find ourselves at the Grammys. Every year is the same. Rick the Temp clichedly quizzes music’s biggest names about their best gala wear, their legal troubles and their baby bumps. They humor him, pre-tend they care about ET Canada, kinda-sorta give him the time of day, and then move on to more important American networks to answer the same canned questions. The next morning Perez Hilton draws cocaine dribbles on their photographs, and yet another awards gala is behind us.
Now, fairly predictably, the Grammys almost always present the best album prize to sub-par, but successful, releases. In fact the only wise decision the awards made in recent memory was giving Homer J. and The Be Sharps the Grammy for Outstanding Soul, Spoken Word, or Barbershop album of the year. At the Grammy’s Simon Cowell is king, and the Grammy Selection Committee his willing subjects. We seemed doomed to a never-ending spiral of monotonous, emotionless music awards. But then the unimaginable happened, the citizens of Cowellville said no more, they rose up, and the revolution was on.
Admittedly, every so often a truly great album is also commercially successful, and accordingly it wins best album. Yet for every Graceland and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below there is ten of George Michael’s Faith and Santana’s Supernatural… but then came napster. With the increasing availability of pirate-provided musical variety (Arrrrrr!), you just knew things were about to change. The first inkling that creative-alienation was
coming to a meteoric end was at the 2002 Grammys. The O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack was not the first soundtrack to be crowned best album. Rater in ’94, Whitney Houston’s The Bodyguard received music’s highest accolade. So what’s the difference between these two discs? Well, Whit-ney is formulaic, stale and boring. The O Brother soundtrack is inventive, resourceful and imagina-tive. A bluegrass compilation album was hailed as 02’s best, and it was well worthy of the designation.
With artistic integrity breaching the Simon Cowell stranglehold, the Grammys reveled in their new-found legitimacy. Sure there were hiccups along the way (U2’s 2006 win for How to Dismantle an Atomic bomb… that disc sucks rocks), but pride in the music over pride in the buck was winning out. 2008 appeared to be the coup d’état, the nail in the Cowell coffin. Herbie Hancock, the tireless Jazz crusader, was awarded for River: The Joni Letters, the first time a Jazz LP was ever recognized as the year’s best. But the true triumph came on February 8, at the 2009 Grammy awards.
I like Tha Carter III, but Lil’ Wayne’s breakout album is a collection of club bangers, and its nomi-nation was dubious at best. In the “proud” tradi-tion of by-gone Grammys, it was widely regarded as the favorite to win. The album that did win is certainly not my favorite, and with the exception of my parent’s demographic and a bunch of critics that no-one reads, it was broadly ignored. The pairing of Nashville queen Alison Krauss and metal god-father Robert Plant was one of those peas & carrots sorta situations. What emerged was Raising Sand, a smart and sophisticated adult record. It was a novel idea that translated into critical acclaim. Although the disc was certainly not commercially unsuccess-ful, it didn’t exactly dominate Billboards Top 200. Yet its potential to influence future musicians and evolve how the listener conceives duets is unpar-alleled. Raising Sand was picked because it will further future artistic ambitions. And that’s what the Grammys should be, a celebration of artistry, ‘cause a club banger is a flash in the pan, a classic lasts forever.
Chianti’s is an outstanding restaurant choice if you’re looking for tasty, plentiful pasta at a reasonable price.
It may not be as good as the pasta nonna used to make, but Chianti’s recovers from its occasional lapses in quality with selection and quantity. On a typical night, there are 40 or more pasta dishes to choose from, with a variety of meat, seafood and vegetarian options. Substantial servings means light eaters will have enough leftovers for another meal.
Our party went on a Monday night to take advantage of the $7.99 pasta special that runs all day Sun-day, Monday and Tuesday, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Coupled with a glass of Chianti’s affordable house wine ($16.75 for a half-litre), Chianti’s is an inexpensive way to unwind after Crime class.
The atmosphere is relaxed but bland. The only noticeable decoration is the large chalkboard that dis-plays daily specials. Jeans and other casual attire are completely acceptable.
The weekend menu is slightly more elaborate but still inexpensive. Most pasta dishes range from $10 to $12 on non-special nights and there are some offerings not available on the $7.99 menu (including pillowy gnocchi that melts in your mouth and is well worth the $9.99)
The place was packed on Monday night with diners , but the volume of customers likely contributed to the poor customer service and long delays between visits from the wait staff. When the meals ar-rived, one person in our party erroneously received the veal canneloni. While we appreciated that the waiter offered to remove the item from the bill, the idea of eating baby cow made that offer com-pletely unappetizing.
Chianti’s is conveniently located on 17th Ave. SW., which makes it a great location for a fortifying dinner before a night of partying on the Red Mile. A second Chianti’s location, at Crowfoot Crossing, may be more convenient if you live north of the university.
Reservations are recommended for pasta special nights.
Getting there from the universityBy Public Transit: Take the C-train southbound to Lions Park Station. Transfer to route 414, exit at 17th Ave. S.W.By Car: Take Crowchild Tr. northbound to the 17th Avenue S.W. exit
Hours: Monday to Friday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.Saturday 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.Sunday 4 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
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More Politics Lights! Camera! Funding? Jennifer Koshan
Federal funding for the arts is near and dear to my heart. As a movie lover I was outraged when the government attempted to tie funding for films to their content last year through its tax credit system. While I did not necessarily agree with David Cronenburg that this was a Charter violation, as the feds arguably have no positive obligation to fund expres-sion, I was glad to see that arts funding was not tied to ideology in the February budget. On the other hand, I was disap-pointed to see that the PromArt program was not reinstated. My partner is chair of the Old Trout Puppet Workshop, and the Trouts will premiere their latest production – Don Juan - with Alberta Theatre Projects this spring. They spent several months last year working on Don Juan in Mexico, and hoped to return to mount the production there. Yes, we are in tough times, and the feds’ promise of funding for the arts ($335 million) is similar to other aspects of the 2009 budget in that it is aimed locally and at infrastructure and training. However, its $25-million pledge for Canada Prizes in the Arts and Creativity rewards international artists, showing some support for “cultural diplomacy” - just not when our own art-ists travel abroad. Does the Canadian government really support the arts, or is it just trying to get back the votes it lost in Quebec after its fall 2008 cuts to arts spending?
Bitchin’ about the Budget Roxy Petts (2L)
47.4% of the national workforce should be very concerned about the latest Conservative budget. The right to ad-vance retroactive pay equity claims has been eliminated. Who should be concerned? Women, of course, and anyone else who happens to care about women and women’s rights. For shame, Canada. The rationale that some developing countries often offer for human rights violations is that economic development precedes human rights until those countries are able to be more self-sufficient. What’s Canada’s excuse? What kind of country do we want to live in? We belong to one of the most affluent countries in the world and yet our federal government has seen fit to move human rights a step backwards. The recession is no excuse. President Obama on January 29th passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that allows women to pursue retroactive pay equity claims. The President had this to say: “Signing this bill today is to send a clear message: that making our economy work means making sure it works for everybody, that there are no second-class citizens in our workplaces.” I get the message, Mr. Obama. So should our government. Just for the record, the federal Liberals aren’t high on my happy list either. I did not see too many challenges coming from that quarter over women’s rights and the overall impact of this budget on women. There are lots of hand-outs for industries typically dominated by men and not much for sectors that employ large numbers of women. Who is complaining about this budget, and pointing out the massive inequities? The N.D.P. of course. They’ve just won my vote.
HOT or NOTHOT: Mooting (and debating) at U of C. The Faculty continues to boast a strong program in oral advocacy. Most recently, Becky and Talayeh Voosoghi participated and represented U of C in the labour moot. But like the debaters, our mooters are only getting warmed up.
NOT: The annual marks’ appeal, perhaps a price to pay with the tyranny of the B median.
HOT: Nigel Bankes and Shaun Fluker commenting in the media on the potential reopening of the royalty debate and the private prosecution of Syncrude’s Ducks case, respectively (Even Hotter: Sally Powis and her eye for spotting us wher-ever we go! Check out the awesome edition of VERSO posted on the website). Meanwhile, Kathleen Mahoney recently travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo to participate in a UN envoy of advisors.
NOT: The stimulus lack of funding for human and knowledge infrastructure. As a sign of the times, perhaps, Harvey Weingarten decided that it is time to move on from his position as president of the U of C since 2001. Perhaps it has some-thing to do with the hiring freezes and loss of endowments to universities across Canada?
